Central Texas

When I was 9, we moved from Vidor, Texas to Davilla, Texas (about an hour north of Austin). We lived there until I was 17 and I loved every minute of it. Davilla is a tiny town of no consequence to anyone but those fortunate enough to have lived there. The buildings in the center of town (a four-way stop) have been standing there since the 1800s. There was something so comforting in that. It seemed like they had always been there and always would be there. If you travel through today, they are still standing. It's as if that small piece of the world is in slow motion, creeping along to catch up with the modern world, but not nearly fast enough to ever make it there. The people live a slow paced, calm life. Every day leads to another, the same as before. Growing up there was sheltered and peaceful. I didn't know about drugs... or curse words, for that matter. It sounds really naive, but I knew they existed; I just didn't know the names of the drugs or the curse words. I miss that innocence. I was so fortunate to live there; I know now. I learned and experienced things that most people only see on T.V. and in National Geographic. We raised most of our own food. We bought our milk and a few other things, but we grew our own vegetables and raised our own meat and eggs. I learned to tend chickens, bottle feed a calf, dig a fence post hole, work a tiller, bait a hook and set a trout line, identify breeds of cows and various wildlife and I learned how to work. I spent time with both my parents, my dad outside and my mom inside. My mom taught me to crochet, quilt, make preserves and can peas. I used to love to sit on the front porch swing and watch the sun set in front of our house. I would walk down to the tank (stock pond for those who don't know) with a blanket and a book in the evening and read until it got too dark to see. Marianne, Kelly and I used to pitch our tent right by the tank and camp out all night. David and Travis would come build a fire for us and we would toast marshmallows while we listened to the coyotes in the neighboring pasture. I was never closer to my siblings in our youth than I was in Davilla. I cherish the time I spent in this beautiful nothing-of-a-town. I would not be the person I am today without those experiences.

Here is a sample of the beauty of Central Texas. I took these photos when I was a teenager, still living in Davilla:
This is the bridge above Donahoe Creek, where we went swimming every summer.
This was my great-aunt's house.This was a field we passed on our way to school every day.This was a common sight in the area. I have often looked at this picture and wondered who used to live in this house. How many people were born here and died here? Why did they leave?I love this photo, because the rippling hay reminds me of our back pasture. It was so beautiful to watch the wind blow the hay like waves of water.
This is the center of Bartlett, the nearest town to Davilla. There was a movie filmed her in the '90s that David got to be an extra in. It was called "The Stars Fell on Henrietta" and starred Robert Duvall, Francis Fisher and Aidan Quinn. Clint Eastwood produced it, so he was on sight, too. This is the center of Davilla. A couple of these stores still open up from time to time. There is a store around the corner from this angle called This & That Open Now & Then. Its name said it all. It was a junk store that was open from time to time with no rhyme or reason.This is my favorite photo of all. It encompasses the beauty and tranquility of the area.