Actually, these days are not lazy for most of our friends and neighbors! Harvest is winding down.   

I was raised in Groom, Texas. That town is about 600 people and is 42 miles east of Amarillo on I-40. When I lived there it was route 66. I met Roy Rogers, the two guys in the Corvette that did that show, and the manager of the Ringling Brothers Circus. My father was the doc in town, and that gentleman had a car wreck close to Groom and broke a leg. My father fixed him up and I got to visit him and hear the wonderful stories of the circus. I was in awe. Every year after that event when the circus came to Amarillo, he would stop and give us tickets. 

I had a front-row seat to route 66 when I worked at John Reeds Gulf station. Gulf Nonox was 23 cents a gallon. It was magic and I didn’t know it. Life got a little tougher when I was old enough to drive farm equipment and combines. Cornelius Weiberg had Baldwin Gleaner machines, and we cut a lot of wheat. The best food I ever ate was at the tables of the farmers in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas when we were custom cutting.  Steak, ham, garden vegetables, carrot and cucumber salad, and the pies are still vivid in my memory. Harvest was symbolic of America. I felt more “American” driving those machines as a teenage kid and I can honestly say I was aware of that feeling. I remember most folks standing around the table with our hats in our hands and saying grace before those fabulous meals. We drank gallons of ice tea.

July 4th was always amazing, and we went to the rodeos in the area. When the harvest was over, most families went to Colorado for 3 days to see the mountains and then hurried home to go back to work. That still happens today. Our farmers are our lifeblood and are one of the foundations of our great country. It was a pivotal time of my life, and I feel sorry for the kids that never get to have that experience. Hard work is a gift that too many are missing today. 

I like this time of year. I’ve never been uncomfortable in the heat, and the gardens are starting to produce. Our goal is to have ripe tomatoes by July 4th, and I haven’t done it in a few years. Mine are green and growing.   

The best recreation is the night fishing. The shad have gotten big enough to be a meal for the predators, and we hang green lights and minnows. The lights attract the bugs, the bugs attract the minnows and small shad and they attract the bass, wipers, walleye, catfish, and crappie. It is cool, usually calm (we’ve been blown off and gotten soaked more than a few times) and you have time to enjoy the moment. The catch is usually not a large number of fish, but we are selective. If there is a fish fry in the works, we use trotlines in the lakes, limb lines in the rivers, and put “matured” soybeans in the lake. You can get a lot of fish using those methods. Some of my best night fishing memories are with Ed Breit and Lavern Karst at Webster and Cedar Bluff. I miss those guys. Lloyd Jaynes, Ray Deutsch, Herman Skoulat, and Gene Bitter were all champion fishermen. I will skip the stink bait stories where we waded the Smokey and Saline fishing brush piles. Orville Bowers was a master at that—and smelled like it.  

Enjoy this spectacular time of year. Fall, dove and teal season and big game hunting are almost on us. I drew another cow elk tag in Wyoming, so I won’t starve. Be careful and safe in the heat and let’s skip all the hail storms we can.

We live in a great place!

Doc

Doctor Dan Witt is a retired physician and nature enthusiast. He can be reached at danwitt01@gmail.com.