by Bob Kranich
This is a new story. Robert’s Best is a sail boat. Grandfather Roberts is going to sail it on the Intracoastal waterway from Texas to Key West, Florida. That will be an adventure. Then his grandchildren and their parents will come to Key West on a visit. There will be a lot of funny happenings until the criminals from a previous story get into action. A side note is that a 1935 antique Chris-Craft Model 557 Cabin Cruiser is going to play an important part in the rest of the story.
Roberts’ Best
The year is 1955. It is the evening meal at the Roberts’ family house-hold. The family lives in a small single-family bungalow just to the west of Houston, Texas. This house is in the town of Alief. It is your typical small Texas town, lots of pickup trucks, cowboys, and boots.
“Daddy, Daddy, can we please turn on the air conditioner? Please, Daddy?”
“Now Sonny, you are correct. It is a bit humid. Tell you what, right after supper we’ll drop all the windows, and turn it on. That will cool it down for sleeping.”
“Daddy, Daddy, can I please visit grandfather Roberts this weekend? I love to sail his boat on the lake. He is teaching me to be a sailor. Besides he always has his air conditioner on! I love it. It’s so cool.”
“Now Harold Junior, just be calm. If your mother says it’s ok, you can go over Saturday morning for the weekend. Let’s go and ask your mother.”
“I heard you two. Yes it will be ok. But Harold you will have to do your homework here or over there,” Mom stated.
“How come he always gets to do everything he wants? What can I do?” Harold’s sister Suzie complained.
“Now, Dear, you and I are going shopping,” her mom added.
I guess you could say that the Roberts’ family was a good old Texas country family. Harold Junior’s dad was a tall and muscular thirty-year-old man. He was clean shaven and had a trim and short haircut. He worked for a local drilling supply. Oil drilling, that is. Sometimes he clerked and took orders, and sometimes he drove a big straight-bed, ten-wheeler delivering pipe and supplies to drilling rigs.
The little lady, Harold Junior’s mom, was short and petite, very pretty, and had shoulder length brown hair. Mary was a couple of years younger than Harold Senior. Then there was Harold Junior’s older sister, Suzie, who Harold loved to tease and aggravate. However, he made sure he did it discreetly. Suzie was ten years old, not too tall, kind of like her mom. Since she was two years older than Harold Junior, she made sure he didn’t forget it. She was blessed with long brown hair, like her mom’s, a style of the times.
Now we come to our star of the story, Harold Junior. A very sharp young fella. Harold was going to take after his daddy. Already at eight, he was as tall as his sister. Even though he was tall, he was thin and scrawny. Harold Junior kept his dark brown hair kind of short, but not a crew cut. He had a little bit to comb, and that away he sometimes had some sticking up in the back.
Saturday morning came soon enough. At the breakfast table:
“Well, Daddy, are we going to go over to Grandpa Roberts? I’ve got my homework done...well almost. But all I've got is some reading, and I can do it on the drive over. Are we going to go?”
Harold Senior looked at Mary over the steaming cup of coffee he was holding in both hands.
She nodded her head yes and said to Harold Senior, “I already called him and he will be looking for you two. Harold Junior, get your reading book and the day-bag of clothes and toiletries I packed for you. Your dad will be going soon, and brush your teeth!”
“See you later, Hon.” Mary said.
The two Harolds went out of the house to Harold Senior’s pride and joy, a 1950 Ford F-150 pickup truck. It was Midnight Black and had reversed Mercury rims on the rear, sporting large tires. He was running Oldsmobile star flippers on the front wheels. The one hundred horsepower engine had been hot rodded up to at least one hundred and twenty-five horsepower. It had high compression Edelbrock aluminum heads, dual carbs, and a three-quarter cam. It would certainly move. Oh, did I mention, dual exhausts.
They drove a couple of miles from the Alief area and got up on the Beltway. Now let’s talk a bit about Houston, Texas, the fourth or fifth largest city in the US, booming because of oil refineries on the east side and a large shipping port there also. Probably also fourth or fifth in the USA for its port. This all made it big and growing.
They drove first north and then the Beltway turned due east. They passed and went over and under bridges everywhere. Houston, Texas also led the nation with its advanced freeways.
After they got to the far northeast corner of the city’s outskirts, they left the Beltway and went a few miles north. They were now in beautiful oak and tall pine wooded country. Then they took a turn into a lake-side development that sold large wooded lots. The more fortunate ones were on Lake Houston.
Now Lake Houston was built in 1953, as the primary water supply for Houston. It was built by damming up the San Jacinto River. Its dimensions are approximately three miles wide by twenty one miles long, running north and south. One branch runs an additional twelve miles due west.
They turned left, drove up a dirt lane, and broke out into a clearing. It was Grandfather Roberts’ lot. On it he had a two-bedroom woodland log cottage. There was a two-car garage right off to the side.
They pulled up and stopped. Harold Senior revved the engine once and then shut it down. As Harold Junior was getting out, he heard a yell coming from down by the water. There standing out on a pier waving was Grandfather Roberts. Harold Junior took off running with Harold Senior walking behind.
They could see that just a short distance off the pier Grandfather Roberts’ sailboat was anchored. The dingy was tied to a post at the dock.
“Hi! Harold Junior, Hi, Son,” Grandfather Roberts welcomed.
“Grandfather, are we going sailing?”
“Now hold your horses, Junior. First things first.”
“Thanks for bringing Junior out, Son. I will bring him back in time for supper tomorrow.”
“That will be great Dad. He’s said he had some schoolwork to do. It’s reading.”
Grandfather Roberts was a little above medium height, and well built for a man of fifty-five. He had an average haircut to his brown hair, not too long or short. He had a shadow of a mustache which was a little darker than the hair on his head. He, too, was into the oil business. An oil engineer at the age of twenty two, the company he worked for had wildcatted by drilling wells and struck it big. Roberts’ stock skyrocketed, and he had retired three years earlier to take care of his ill wife of thirty years, who went on to see the Lord a couple of years later. That is when he downsized by moving from interbeltway, Houston, buying this lot on the lake, and building the cottage. He and his wife had the sailboat docked at a marina at the end of the lake, so he just moved it over here.
“Well, what we plan to do,” said Grandfather Roberts as he put his arm around Harold Junior, “we’ll work some on the sail boat today, and after Sunday school and church tomorrow, we’ll take the boat for a sailing and fishing trip on the lake.”
“Oh, Grandfather, why can’t we go today?” Harold Junior questioned.
“Because we’ve got some work to do on the boat. We’ve got to get it fixed so we can sail. If we have time we’ll take the dingy and fish some around here.”
“Yes, that will be fun, grandfather. But why do we have to go to church and Sunday school?”
“Now Junior, we need to thank the Good Lord for all of our blessings. You know we always do that. Now let’s run along and go inside. Want to stay for some coffee, Son?”
“Just a short cup, Dad. As you know, it’s a fair trip over here, and I’ve got to get some things from the hardware store, and then put them on our house. You also know, the repairs never stop.”
“Tell me about It, Sonny,” Grandfather exclaimed.
Roberts’ Best
The year is 1955. It is the evening meal at the Roberts’ family house-hold. The family lives in a small single-family bungalow just to the west of Houston, Texas. This house is in the town of Alief. It is your typical small Texas town, lots of pickup trucks, cowboys, and boots.
“Daddy, Daddy, can we please turn on the air conditioner? Please, Daddy?”
“Now Sonny, you are correct. It is a bit humid. Tell you what, right after supper we’ll drop all the windows, and turn it on. That will cool it down for sleeping.”
“Daddy, Daddy, can I please visit grandfather Roberts this weekend? I love to sail his boat on the lake. He is teaching me to be a sailor. Besides he always has his air conditioner on! I love it. It’s so cool.”
“Now Harold Junior, just be calm. If your mother says it’s ok, you can go over Saturday morning for the weekend. Let’s go and ask your mother.”
“I heard you two. Yes it will be ok. But Harold you will have to do your homework here or over there,” Mom stated.
“How come he always gets to do everything he wants? What can I do?” Harold’s sister Suzie complained.
“Now, Dear, you and I are going shopping,” her mom added.
I guess you could say that the Roberts’ family was a good old Texas country family. Harold Junior’s dad was a tall and muscular thirty-year-old man. He was clean shaven and had a trim and short haircut. He worked for a local drilling supply. Oil drilling, that is. Sometimes he clerked and took orders, and sometimes he drove a big straight-bed, ten-wheeler delivering pipe and supplies to drilling rigs.
The little lady, Harold Junior’s mom, was short and petite, very pretty, and had shoulder length brown hair. Mary was a couple of years younger than Harold Senior. Then there was Harold Junior’s older sister, Suzie, who Harold loved to tease and aggravate. However, he made sure he did it discreetly. Suzie was ten years old, not too tall, kind of like her mom. Since she was two years older than Harold Junior, she made sure he didn’t forget it. She was blessed with long brown hair, like her mom’s, a style of the times.
Now we come to our star of the story, Harold Junior. A very sharp young fella. Harold was going to take after his daddy. Already at eight, he was as tall as his sister. Even though he was tall, he was thin and scrawny. Harold Junior kept his dark brown hair kind of short, but not a crew cut. He had a little bit to comb, and that away he sometimes had some sticking up in the back.
Saturday morning came soon enough. At the breakfast table:
“Well, Daddy, are we going to go over to Grandpa Roberts? I’ve got my homework done...well almost. But all I've got is some reading, and I can do it on the drive over. Are we going to go?”
Harold Senior looked at Mary over the steaming cup of coffee he was holding in both hands.
She nodded her head yes and said to Harold Senior, “I already called him and he will be looking for you two. Harold Junior, get your reading book and the day-bag of clothes and toiletries I packed for you. Your dad will be going soon, and brush your teeth!”
“See you later, Hon.” Mary said.
The two Harolds went out of the house to Harold Senior’s pride and joy, a 1950 Ford F-150 pickup truck. It was Midnight Black and had reversed Mercury rims on the rear, sporting large tires. He was running Oldsmobile star flippers on the front wheels. The one hundred horsepower engine had been hot rodded up to at least one hundred and twenty-five horsepower. It had high compression Edelbrock aluminum heads, dual carbs, and a three-quarter cam. It would certainly move. Oh, did I mention, dual exhausts.
They drove a couple of miles from the Alief area and got up on the Beltway. Now let’s talk a bit about Houston, Texas, the fourth or fifth largest city in the US, booming because of oil refineries on the east side and a large shipping port there also. Probably also fourth or fifth in the USA for its port. This all made it big and growing.
They drove first north and then the Beltway turned due east. They passed and went over and under bridges everywhere. Houston, Texas also led the nation with its advanced freeways.
After they got to the far northeast corner of the city’s outskirts, they left the Beltway and went a few miles north. They were now in beautiful oak and tall pine wooded country. Then they took a turn into a lake-side development that sold large wooded lots. The more fortunate ones were on Lake Houston.
Now Lake Houston was built in 1953, as the primary water supply for Houston. It was built by damming up the San Jacinto River. Its dimensions are approximately three miles wide by twenty one miles long, running north and south. One branch runs an additional twelve miles due west.
They turned left, drove up a dirt lane, and broke out into a clearing. It was Grandfather Roberts’ lot. On it he had a two-bedroom woodland log cottage. There was a two-car garage right off to the side.
They pulled up and stopped. Harold Senior revved the engine once and then shut it down. As Harold Junior was getting out, he heard a yell coming from down by the water. There standing out on a pier waving was Grandfather Roberts. Harold Junior took off running with Harold Senior walking behind.
They could see that just a short distance off the pier Grandfather Roberts’ sailboat was anchored. The dingy was tied to a post at the dock.
“Hi! Harold Junior, Hi, Son,” Grandfather Roberts welcomed.
“Grandfather, are we going sailing?”
“Now hold your horses, Junior. First things first.”
“Thanks for bringing Junior out, Son. I will bring him back in time for supper tomorrow.”
“That will be great Dad. He’s said he had some schoolwork to do. It’s reading.”
Grandfather Roberts was a little above medium height, and well built for a man of fifty-five. He had an average haircut to his brown hair, not too long or short. He had a shadow of a mustache which was a little darker than the hair on his head. He, too, was into the oil business. An oil engineer at the age of twenty two, the company he worked for had wildcatted by drilling wells and struck it big. Roberts’ stock skyrocketed, and he had retired three years earlier to take care of his ill wife of thirty years, who went on to see the Lord a couple of years later. That is when he downsized by moving from interbeltway, Houston, buying this lot on the lake, and building the cottage. He and his wife had the sailboat docked at a marina at the end of the lake, so he just moved it over here.
“Well, what we plan to do,” said Grandfather Roberts as he put his arm around Harold Junior, “we’ll work some on the sail boat today, and after Sunday school and church tomorrow, we’ll take the boat for a sailing and fishing trip on the lake.”
“Oh, Grandfather, why can’t we go today?” Harold Junior questioned.
“Because we’ve got some work to do on the boat. We’ve got to get it fixed so we can sail. If we have time we’ll take the dingy and fish some around here.”
“Yes, that will be fun, grandfather. But why do we have to go to church and Sunday school?”
“Now Junior, we need to thank the Good Lord for all of our blessings. You know we always do that. Now let’s run along and go inside. Want to stay for some coffee, Son?”
“Just a short cup, Dad. As you know, it’s a fair trip over here, and I’ve got to get some things from the hardware store, and then put them on our house. You also know, the repairs never stop.”
“Tell me about It, Sonny,” Grandfather exclaimed.
From The Author:
My second full-length book , Florida Keys’ Watercolor Kapers is composed of 336 pages. There are 12 stories running from 6 pages to as many as 72 pages. It is fully illustrated with 88 watercolors and sketches. The watercolors I made roaming around Key West after I finished my 750 mile hike from Georgia to Key West. (See book or Don Browne’s SouthWest Florida Online News records, A Walk Across Florida.) As you read these stories you will experience Key West, the Keys, and the Caribbean. These stories span the time of the early 1800’s to 1969. bkranich.wixsite.com/bobkranich
No comments:
Post a Comment