The Last Bus To Crawford Texas
The Last Bus To Crawford Texas
by Rod Jones Artist-Writer
"What a stupid song! I wish it would just leave my head! Over and over, ‘ Welcome to the Hotel California.’ I heard that song once and it keeps repeating itself. Why do I keep singing it and saying the stupid words? I've never even been in California, let alone knowing if there really is a Hotel California.” This was the irritating conversation that Kaitlin was having with herself as she sat on the bus seat heading to Crawford Texas.
Kaitlin was married to a man named Delbert Johnson, who most people he knew, called him just Dell. Depending on her level of irritability on any given day Kaitlin referred to him disrespectfully as Delbutt! Although Delbert and Kaitlin had been married for nearly 40 years they never really lived together with the exception of the first year they were together. It was one of those love-hate relationships that advice columnists often referred to in women's magazines, particularly when they were doling out mostly questionable marital advice. For whatever the reason, they stayed married. Never had any children, rarely talked on the phone. As a married couple they were autonomously self-sufficient. But God only knows why they never divorced, never remarried, in fact they never even dated anyone else.
Kaitlin lived in Claymore, the town she grew up in. Claymore became somewhat famous being touted about in the musical Oklahoma. That's where she met Delbert Johnson. It was a short romance lasting only three weeks and then they were wed. Kaitlin never felt she was being rushed into anything. Her parents were much older, and they were just happy to see her finally get married, and they had hoped that they would someday have grandchildren. Well, no grandchildren ever came. Their marriage wasn't a rocky one, but they just came to the conclusion that they didn't want to live with each other. You might think they didn't love each other, but ironically even though they did not live together they stayed faithful to each other. There was some mystery behind their relationship.
A week prior to Kaitlin getting on the bus heading to Crawford, Texas she received a phone call from Delbert. "Kaitlin I need you to head over to Crawford. It's very important that I see you in person. No, I'm not sick or anything like that. I'm as healthy as a horse. Something pretty remarkable has happened and I need to share it with you." That was all Delbert told Kaitlin on the phone, even though she kept asking him more questions of why it was so important for her to take a bus all the way down to Crawford, he simply would not tell her more. Even though Kaitlin hadn't seen Delbert in several years, and they rarely spoke on the phone, she understood by the tone of his voice that she better get on down to Crawford and see for herself what was going on with him.
The best way for Kaitlin to get herself to Crawford, Texas was by bus. She did not trust her old car to make it there and quite frankly didn't like traveling alone. Getting a bus ticket to Crawford, Texas was a bit challenging. There were lots of stops on the way, and the bus would go off the main road to pick up passengers in small rural towns frequently. She did her best to calculate her arrival time so Delbert would be waiting for her. There was no official bus stop in that very small town. The bus could stop anywhere along Main Street, more often than not in front of the old Denby Building, a furniture store that closed down in the 50s. All the ranches within 200 miles bought their furniture there. This time Kaitlin’s bus let her off in front of the Texas theater, which happened to be the home of the Palestine community theater group. Kaitlin thought to herself, "If I lived here I would join that theater group and maybe become an actress." This was the first time Kaitlin ever thought of such a thing, and it was certainly way out of her character.
Kaitlin was the only passenger let off that day. It was pretty late in the afternoon and she was hoping that Delbert would figure out where she was. Standing there alone with her green marble Samsonite suitcase, Kaitlin occasionally drew attention from a car driving through town. They would slow down a bit to see who she was and what she was doing there. In Crawford, Texas everybody knew everybody, and everybody knew everybody's business so this was an unusual sight to see.
Delbert drove up in a brand-new four-wheel-drive dually pickup truck, right next to Kaitlin standing there. She did not know what to think of the truck and she certainly never expected to see Delbert in a fancy big truck like that one. Delbert got out of the driver's side of the truck and walked around to Kaitlin, who at first wasn't sure this was Delbert. She looked at him with total confusion and said, "Are you Delbert Johnson?" Delbert, with a big smile on his face and looking Kaitlin in the eyes after he looked her up and down said "Yes ma'am, I'm your husband Delbert." "Well I don't think I would've recognized you in a million years in that get up and truck." She said to Dilbert with her usual condescending tone. Dilbert replied to Kaitlin with a smile on his face and said, "Well dear, you look wholesome and right smart, with your flip-flops, short pants, oversized coat, and your white washed hair." "By the way, what is that big coat made out of? I don't think I recognize it." Kaitlin replied, "Never mind my coat and leave my hair alone, and those are not short pants I'm wearing, they're called Capri pants. Now let's get in this fancy truck of yours. I'm guessing you're here to pick me up right?" Delbert picked up Kaitlin’s suitcase placed in the crew cab, and helped Kaitlin get into the truck, and off they drove.
Leaving town and heading out into the wide open country, Delbert and Kaitlin really did not say much to each other. Finally Kaitlin looked at Delbert and said, "Where in the hell are we going?" Delbert with a prideful smile replied, "We’re heading out to my nearly thousand acre ranch." Kaitlin with an expression of total disbelief and staring at Delbert immediately said, "You gotta be a big fat lying BS-er! You've never really lied to me in all these years we've been married. But then again I've never really been around you, so I don't know if you’ve become crazy in the head with such an over-the-top story." Delbert, still grinning from ear to ear, told Kaitlin, "Well my dear, I never lie, cheat, or steal. And that's one of the reasons I now have this ranch. When we get there we will have some dinner and I will tell you the whole story."
Pulling off the public road onto a dirt road, they drove for about 10 minutes, then before them was this big giant Texas ranch gate. On top and across two pink and gray feldspar rock pillars was a large piece of carved wood that proudly claimed, Welcome to The Springer Spread the Best Cattle Ranch in America. Kaitlin could not believe what she was seeing as they drove down the road to the ranch. She was even in more disbelief when she saw what was before her. Grand as could be was a large two-story ranch house with outbuildings. It was big like Texas, elegant and certainly lived up to what everyone would say was the most sophisticated but yet practical cattle ranch anywhere. Delbert let Kaitlin out at the main entrance and drove his truck over to a barn-like garage. She stood there on the steps not knowing which way to turn or look. It was all overwhelming for a girl who grew up in Claymore, Oklahoma. Her marriage was anything but perfect, they never had any children. She felt Delbert loved her, but for whatever reason they just never really got along enough to live with each other. Now she was standing on the steps of a magnificent cattle ranch who her husband now claimed was his. A couple of people came out on the porch to greet her. They introduce themselves as the staff. They were there to make sure she had all the comforts she could desire. They also told her that they prepared a wonderful dinner for both her and Dell. Kaitlin quickly learned that everyone called Delbert, Dell or more often than not Mr. Johnson.
Delbert walked up the steps, met Kaitlin and said, "Let’s go eat, I'm starving and I suspect you're pretty hungry yourself, you look pretty thin and underfed to me." Kaitlin was busy looking at everything as they walked into the ranch house. A woman walked up to her and told her that she picked up her suitcase and took it to a room that was especially laid out for her. Kaitlin smiled the best she could and replied, "Thank you very much for your hospitality I'm sure it will be lovely." Kaitlin’s stomach was noticeably growling because she was hungry for sure. Delbert said to her, "I knew you must be hungry, I sure am. Let's head over to the dining room and have our eats." They entered the dining room and there was a table as large as a Mississippi river barge, at least that's what people like to say when they saw Mr. Springer's dining room. There was a large buffet and sideboard near the table, with the whole variety of dishes and platters filled with food. Before Kaitlin and Delbert were fine, China place settings with lots of different sized silverware and cutlery. There were at least four different wine glasses, and a couple of tumblers. Kaitlin was overwhelmed and took on a polite tone when she started to speak to Delbert, "This is so elegant, I don't feel appropriately dressed to sit at this beautiful table. In fact, I don't even think we washed our hands." Dilbert let out a boyish laugh and said, " The kitchen staff will bring us a little wash bowl so we can clean our hands before we dig in on all this amazing food." As their dinner began, various dishes were brought to each of them so they could load their plates as they wished. There was wine to drink, and of course there were several meat dishes that you would expect to be served at a cattle ranch. Between the two of them, Delbert and Kaitlin took their time. Their conversation was respectful and pleasant towards each other. They spent close to an hour a half at that table. When they were both finished they stood up and Delbert showed Kaitlin to a formal sitting room.
Delbert started the conversation, "I think now that we're pleasantly full of all that good food, it's time for me to tell you how I ended up with this ranch." Kaitlin became totally relaxed and respectful towards Dell. In fact, she stopped calling him Delbert or when she was being particularly mean she would call him Delbutt. But now she referred to him as Dell. "Yes Dell I really want to know how you ended up with this magnificent cattle ranch, house staff and I suspect there's a whole bunch of ranch hands on the property." Dell became a bit more serious and responded, "I've been anxious to tell you what all has happened over these last few years over the phone, but I knew that wouldn't mean much to you, so I waited until the time was right and asked you to come down to Crawford.
There was a gentle fire burning in the massive rock fireplace. One of the ranch staff came in with a tray that had three crystal decanters and two glasses. Dell recommended which of the three beverages he thought Kaitlin would like, and told the staff member to pour and serve it to her. Dell had his own favorite and the ranch staff member knew which one to give to him. They were now alone in the room taking gentle sips on their relaxing after dinner Digestif.
Dell started explaining to Kaitlin how he ended up with the Springer Cattle Ranch, " I've been working on this ranch for quite a few years. I started out as a ranch hand and then I became the ranch foreman. The ranch was built by a gentleman by the name Elwood Springer. He and his wife Elsa came to Texas many years ago. It was always Mr. Springer's goal to become a cattleman with a magnificent ranch spread, raising large herds of cattle. It took quite a few years, but he was able to realize his dream. A few years ago, Mr. Springer's wife Elsa passed away. Needless to say, he was heartbroken and it took quite a toll on his health. As the months went by, Mr. Springer depended upon me more and more to run the ranch. He would confide in me all of his thoughts and ideas of what ultimately he wanted the ranch to become. About a year and half ago, Mr. Springer and I were having dinner on the same table you and I ate on. After that dinner we came into the very room that you and I are sitting in now. Then he shared with me his vision for the ranch. He also told me that I was like a son to him, that he felt he could always trust me. I never even for a minute thought of betraying that trust. I have tremendous respect for that man. His heart was made of gold. Everyone that knew him had tremendous admiration for him and his wife. Unfortunately they never had any children of their own, pretty much like you and I Kaitlin. During the conversation we had that evening he told me he wanted to deed the ranch over to me. I was shocked to hear him say that. I asked him why would you want to give me the ranch you took a lifetime to build? He proceeded to tell me why, and what he wanted to see happen to his ranch. Mr. Springer told me some things about his life that I never knew. First off, he never knew his parents. He was an orphan and lived in an orphanage until he was 18. They basically gave him $25 and told him it was time for him to go out into the world and take care of himself. He had it pretty rough for the first several years, then he got a job as a ranch hand here in Texas. Before long he managed to buy 10 acres, then he managed to get a couple of his own cows. A neighbor offered to lend him his bull so his cows could start calving. It took quite a few years and a lot of hard work to build this magnificent cattle ranch. But through thick and thin he said my wife and I managed.
Here's the real reason Kaitlin, Mr. Springer wanted me to take over the property. Although the orphanage he grew up in was generally pretty safe and the people were not mean, he felt that he did not get the guidance he needed as he matured, which put him at a huge disadvantage when he went out into the world. Mr. Springer always had it in his mind that when he got too old to run the ranch he wanted to create a place for older orphans to come where they could stay as long as they wanted to. There they could learn a trade or just stay on working on the ranch. He made me promise that if he deeded the ranch over to me that I would fulfill his dream. I told him that it would be my honor to do such a thing for him as well as for myself and you Kaitlin. Our life together hasn't been exactly a picnic, but now you and I can do something to help out children and young people. I think it would be very good for both of us and also we would be fulfilling Mr. Springer's heartfelt wishes.
Kaitlin listened to Dell never once interrupting him, and actually she became a bit melancholy, she didn't realize just what a good man her husband was. She asked him, "How do you see me fitting in? Or better yet, what do you want me to do to help you honor Mr. Springer's wishes?" It didn't take long for Dell to respond, “I want you to be my full-time wife and partner, between the two of us, we can make this ranch continue to be profitable, while also creating a great home for orphaned children. I know you have a good nurturing heart. I know you have much love and understanding to give. I know that this is a big project, but I know with you beside me we can make this a wonderful experience for these kids that didn't get a fair start in life. You don't have to give me an answer now, you can think about it as long as you want." Kaitlin replied to Dell with little or no hesitation, "Up until now my life has been pretty much meaningless. I certainly haven't been a good wife, and I definitely have not been a good Christian like I was raised. I think it's time for me to actually do something with my life. Nothing would be better for me than to be a full-time wife and help you build this orphanage for older kids. I know the youngest ones generally are adopted, but as they get older it seldom happens. Maybe we can help them get a better start when it's time for them to go out on their own. I especially like the idea of teaching them how to live in society and make a living." About this time Kaitlin's eyes were tearing up, it started to become difficult for her to speak. The emotions welled up inside of her. Dell stood up and walked over to where Kaitlin was sitting and he pulled her up by her hands and gave her a big hug. It was like all of the anxieties, stresses and tension between the two of them just drained away. The hug lasted for several minutes. Then they looked into each other's eyes. Kaitlin's were filled with tears, Dell’s were getting watery, and just about ready to let go of a tear himself. Dell while still hugging and looking at Kaitlin said, "It’s been a long dusty and cold trail to get to this point in my life, and nothing could be more rewarding for me than to know you will be by my side Kaitlin as I live out my years." Kaitlin, still holding on to Dell tightly with big tears rolling down her cheeks, looked at Dell and said, "Amen to that my loving husband."