Here we all are coming out of the Forth of July weekend of America’s 237 year of independence; how does that not make y’all think of the current state of our freedom? Remember the Bill of Rights? They were awesome. Anyway, it’s been the longest dang weekend! Uncle Bubba’s weekend started the weekend before and rolled all week long. He and Sweet Pea had a stroke of good fortune befall them recently; their friend Bull purchased the house next door. Uncle Bubba and the Bull have been buddies now for some time, having been introduced through their other compadre the Duke. The Duke and Bull have been friends and business associates for years and have a long history of good times. So it’s a bonus for Uncle Bubba to have two good friends close by; well, on occasion. Bull is from Texas and still resides there as well. He bought the place next to Bubbie and Sweet Pea as a second “vacation” home. The plan for the past 2 weeks was for Bull to show up and they’d get busy making his new house into a Bull abode. They spoke of working some and playing some; this was actually an edict rung down from The Duke. Uncle Bubba took a little time to survey the house and property prior to Bull’s arrival and assessed that there was just too much work that needed to be accomplished before Bull started “moving in”. Bull agreed after his arrival and self perusal. Still, they rolled up their t-shirt sleeves and got busy tearing out the old, starting with the yard. The previous owners who had resided there some 46 years or more were old and hadn’t been able to keep up on the overgrowth of vegetation. The homegrown wrecking crew got busy and discarded three heaping 16 ft. trailer loads in the dump that resulted in Bull happily finding a much bigger yard than he had originally witnessed. It increased his view of the river by 10 fold. The sunny summer days were hot and humid reaching nearly 100 in the afternoons so the general rule, also directed by The Duke was to work hard for 30 minutes and then jump into the river to cool off, drink a cold beer, and then get back to work. Hey, it got done in a hurry so don’t knock it until ya try it.
 |
| Bull & The Duke |
Mixed among the seemingly endless hours in the cool, clear river waters the “boys" spent a fair piece on their Harley’s taking short trips here and there and back again. One morning they dashed off to the Duke’s ranch to complete a couple chores before speeding back to town so the Uncle Bubba could make his dentist appointment. Oral hygiene is essential around these parts where they invented the toothbrush; that’s because most people round here only have one tooth. But not Bubbie; he has a fine set of choppers.
At any rate, Bull was on a mission from day one to get a plate full of delicious grouper, which isn’t as easy as it once was in restaurants; the fishing limits have been restricted lately to give nature some relief and to replenish the population. But one fine day Bubbie and the Bull jumped on the bike’s and opened them up down the coast to a bar & grill where they were able to score some fried grouper. Bull was satisfied in that it was a good start and more would come. As they swung from their bar stools and walked out to their hawgs Bull paused and then said to Bubbie, “I can’t believe that this is going to be a part of my life!”
“What do ya mean gonna be? Bubbie asked, “You’re living it now.”
Bull smiled and said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Day after day they swam and rode. They ate some great meals and in the evenings they sat around and played cards, listened to music, and talked. Uncle Bubba’s friend Crash joined them and the two of them played guitars and sang some favorite songs; some they practiced and some they fielded as requests and amazingly managed to pluck out. The charcoal grills burned with smokey goodness wafting on the air. Friends drifted in and hung around; some even danced. Their children splashed in the water and were chased like greased pigs at the fair as the adults tried to get the objectionable, squirming tykes slathered in sunscreen. There was no bigger kid there than Bull. The previous owner left a water pump and several lengths of 1 1/2” hose behind that he had used to clean out the algae in the swimming hole. It works as an enormous, underwater pressure washer and Bull was on the dumb end of that thing incessantly. He even referred to it as addicting. It has so much power that if one lost their footing it could propel them effortlessly thru the water; even Bull who is a Texas sized man. But he enjoyed it and had the swimming hole sparkling clear in a few days time.
 |
| The Bull and the pump. |
Yessir, it’s been the longest weekend; Sweet Pea called it "the boy’s week” but to hear Uncle Bubba describe it, they lost track of the days for all of the fun they were having. In Bubbie’s view, what’s one extended week of the men having fun when the rest of the year around here is equivalent to “Girl’s Night Out”.
