As I drove on 83, I slowed down somewhat in my mind. I stopped running from Dallas I was as far as 1 could get from a big city and my escape mode ended. It was laid back not slurred quiet easy going yet firm slow yet purposeful. I was starting to feel at home. I saw him on the property line. This guy was real not a cliché and after hearing his voice well it all made sense. I wrote the check and we shook hands on the deal.

The sky was clear as I mounted his dark brown 83 Ford F-250 Super Cab with tan interior and 2 small fold-out seats facing each other behind the main bench seat. The truck had the obligatory Ranch Hand cattle guard. We drove down highway 83 south towards Leakey and the Real County courthouse. I had passed the courthouse on many an occasion. It had the near classic Texas Courthouse look with an oak in front and dark grey limestone exterior. We walked in with our lawyers waiting for us. The deed and title changed hands in an old sheet rock room in the courthouse. I was now a landholder in Real County. He offered me lunch at his place I gladly took him up. As we climbed back into the truck. The drive was pretty and I was only somewhat struck by the beauty.

We took a right on a familiar dirt road that took us down on the north side of HE Butt Foundation property to his main gate. I went out and opened it. We chugged along side the northernmost point of the East Fork of the Frio River. I noticed power poles were further up then where I was. He noticed my look and explained about 20 feet beyond the hundred-year flood mark. His ranch was much the way the settlers of this area would have found it. He must have done a good job keeping down the Cedar count by controlled burns. Cedar if let loose would shoot up from the creeks and gullies almost choke as landscape sucking what little nutrients that were in the soil out of it. The ranch house was simple small building with white siding, white porch, and a fenced in front yard. Nearby the house was a tractor and another pick-up. We walked in and he removed his white felt Stetson. I noticed that small den had dark wood paneling. I dated it 1970's. The kitchen had a gas stove. We walked in the small dining room with a beautiful wood table. He then said,"I hope you like slow smoked brisket." I smiled a bit and responded "Slow smoked brisket I will gladly eat thank you sir." I was beginning to enjoy myself his wife asked me what I wanted to drink and I responded "I would like a glass of water ma'am." I was handed big tall glass of cool water and I greeted it with a "thank you." These manners were dug out of an old memory bank from another lifetime and I was more then happy to use them again. I drank my 1st sip and tasted the lime within it the lime and other minerals were sweet a reminder of where I was. They tasted like home sweet safe secure home. I was then asked point blank by the rancher, "What do you intend to do with the property?" I replied,"Build a drive in fly in café coffee house that serves beer. I will deny pilots access to their airplanes eight hours after they take their last sip of beer." He nodded and then made the comment, "I got a friend who is a meat inspector and I would be happy to provide you a steer or two to custom slaughter at a local meat market." I thanked him. He then asked me another question, "Where are you from?" I replied, "Born in Austin, raised in New Braunfels finished high school in Denton which right now is just a part DFW metroplex." He looked at me and then asked,"Why the café?"I responded, "I got tired of the big city yet I like good gourmet coffee's everything I cherished in many ways I am like Kerouac looking for what is real and neat that is mainly on the backroads for what I cherish I see fading into memory." As lunch was served he made the comment, "I see you have good intentions and you have my blessing to use the land as you have indicated." I replied, "Thank you sir." He then made the comment, "I can see on your face you are look a whole lot like a calf in trouble running like the dickens I'll bet you are wanting to leave the big city." I replied "You read my face like a book you don't really want to know what I have seen might disgust you." The rancher nodded half under-standing half not wanting to get an understanding beyond that. A loaf of bread was on the table as well as vinegar honey and ketchup home made Bar-B-Que sauce. I started eating the brisket my mouth was greeted by some good juicy spicy and tender meat. The expression on my face was undeniable. The rancher made the comment "I'm glad you like the brisket." I replied, "This is great hospitality thanks for the meal." The rancher responded, "That is how we do business here." I found myself pleasantly in culture shock. I finished the meal enjoying every bit it along with the beans served along with it. After the meal was finished he then made then said you; my boy and I got some fencing to move. I replied, "I got my wire pliers and work gloves in my car." We left the comfort of the air-conditioned house.

His son met us driving up the ranch house with truck full of wire and a sledgehammer. Both trucks heading to the new job-site. Once there the attack was directed. 1st the son would drill the holes with the sledgehammer. I would attack some of the work my sledge. The holes would be filled half full with sand and then covered with some quick drying concrete. A generator was fired up. The son continued to climb and march across the Texas sky we sweated and got the half the posts set. I then set up camp beneath a cedar tree and my latrine. Work would continue the following morning when we would finish setting the posts and then resetting the wire.

I tied one of my tarps to a cedar tree and the other I laid out. I got my camp stove going and put a pound of hamburger meat on dumped a can of tomato paste along with some spices for two alarm in. The chili cooked and I ate heartily. I washed it down with half a gallon of Gatorade. The sun started setting and I started relaxing. My mind was racing a mile a minute and I was oblivious to the beauty around me. Finally after the sunset I fell asleep.

The following morning began at sunrise. I dipped into my ice chest and got out 4 eggs and 4 slices of bread. I would have one eyed jacks and sausage sandwich. A 1 eyed jack is toast with an over easy egg in it. The hole for the yolk made the bread for the small sausage sandwich. The jacks and sausage shared the grill top over my dark green Coleman shove and I toasted the center of the bread and ate heartily. Following that came dish washing putting my mess kit on in a bucket filling it with water boiling it scrubbing it with a rag and boil rinsing then setting them items out in the sun. Right then a new Super Cab pulled up from the ranch.

We did not say much but rather went right to work. The pace of the work in the early morning was best described as fast. The heat was building and we wanted to be able to do as little as possible in the later afternoon. This land was harsh at times and as the wind picked up from the south we knew God made the rules around here and we best respect his creation and adapt to it or pay severe consequences. We had to work, as team we had to be neighborly or else things would be very rough.