Fortunately for you all, not everything about my life must reamain a mystery.  Certain things have been sneakin' in ta my mind lately, and I feel like some of these things might be safe ta share.  Now, keep in my mind that sharin' ain't somethin' I take lightly.  It might also do ya some good to know that sharin' was one of  the last things I learned how to do.  Addtionally, it seems ta me like some of you sonsabitches still ain't quite figgered out how to do it.  Having thus prepared you for all that you are about to hear, I will now proceed to relate to you some of the aforementioned things that have been sneakin' in ta my mind lately.

First off, my daddy was a lawman, and my grandaddy was a minister.  Suffice it to say, I ain't never been nowhere close to bein' either one.  One day when I was a young whipper-snapper an old lady at our church asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  Well, I was standin' there with my ol' dad, lookin' up at him, and I told the lady that I wanted to be a lawman just like my daddy.  She thought that was real cute or somethin', and then me and my ol' dad walked off towards home.  He waited til we were a ways from the crowd, then he looked down at me and told  me  somethin' that I'll never forget.  He said, "Son, there's two things ya ain't never ta be; a lawman, or a soldier."  Now mind ya, I was just a little bitty ol' Bob Showdown.  I hadn't even gone on my first squirrel hunt yet, so you can imagine what an impact this had on me.  Some of you real patriotic sonsabitches are probably sayin, "What kind of a father would tell his son that it ain't alright to be a lawman or a soldier"?  Well, just for the record you flag-wavin' dullards, my daddy was both.  He and his little brother were both soldiers in Vietnam.  His little brother was blown off of a tank, so wave your flags for him ya bastards.  Subsequently, my ol' dad was releived of duty, and made his way back to the great state of Texas.

He had him a college diploma, and pretty soon he had him a wife and a baby on the way.  Bein' a lawman was an attractive option for an ex-soldier with a college degree.  He had himself a little family to care for, and workin' for the City of Humble Police Department offered security, as well as opportunity.  He figgered out pretty quick that bein' a cop was a pretty thankless job, and the higher he went in the ranks the more political his work became.  He did his job, and he did it well, but he wasn't about ta encourage his youngest son to pursue a career in law enforcement.  He also knew from experience that a big part of bein' a soldier was puttin' your life on the line for some bullshit that could never approach the value of life.  His little brother "died for his country", and I don't think my ol' dad really felt like his country was any better for it.  He also took a lotta shit bein' a cop, and I don't think he really felt like our town was any better for it.  He knew that nobody liked to see a cop unless their husband was drunk, or they had locked their keys in their car.  My daddy wanted his younguns to grow to be somethin' different, and he knew that it takes all kinds of folks to make this here world turn.  Maybe that's why he bought me a guitar when I was fifteen.

My ol' dad has passed on from this earthly realm, but I still have that guitar and it's the only one I ever play.  My daddy loved his country, and he sure as hell loved Texas, but he knew that loving one's country is only an abstraction when compared with loving one's family.

That's all the lesson for today.  Study hard, or just hum a tune and wave your flag 'til your arm falls off.