How do I honor Thee except in admiration? I wish to be joined inextricably with my brothers and sisters of the two legged, four legged, and winged ones and those that swim, as well as the plants and trees and the firmament and the air which sustains them. In all I wish to be part of the Creator and the Spirits which inhabit this world and others.

I seek so much outside of myself and I must release my selfish interests in order to obtain these relationships. My inner world is made up of all that I have accumulated, including memories, current desires, and hopes for the future. Captured within its environment are parts of the Souls of those who I have encountered in life, those who I have helped and those who I have injured. It is littered with the thousands of corpses lost to my appetites. Many have gone without prayers for their sacrifice.

My debt is insurmountable; with what currency can it be repaid?

Some say personal sacrifice
Some say servitude
Some say solitude and reflection
Some say by living a merry life
Others say in sackcloth
Through teaching others
Through silence

Which do I choose?

I don’t have the answer but I suspect it lies somewhere in a growing number of patriotic Americans who refuse to allow the military and our lost brothers and sisters to be scapegoated. College campuses are no longer the hotbed of social resistance they once were. The professors with their tweed jackets and Che tee shirts are no longer the cornerstones of political upheaval. We get our commentary from a huge variety of sources and everyone can find a “place” where their ideas harmonize with others.

We shall continue to disagree but we will not use the graves of those who died for this right as our battleground.

David Brockett

As a person Dale Rowe was a painfully shy individual and he found it impossible to develop or maintain deeply personal relationships. Void of either a capacity for malice or intimacy, he spent his life mostly alone with few friends and no known enemies.

Having discovered his existence almost four years ago I had hoped for some type of personal relationship but, due to his limitations…and mine I guess,…that wasn’t to be. To his family who knew him he remained a mystery throughout his life, rarely voicing opinions or recriminations. To my mother, he was her first love and the father of her first and second born children. Once she realized her love would not be returned she moved on with her life and married the man with whom she spent the next forty-eight years. In talking with her friends I learned that she had confided an enduring love for her childhood sweetheart despite his having abandoned her at the tender age of sixteen.

Dale Rowe’s lineage goes back to two of the first three hundred families who settled Texas and fought for Independence. His ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War and there has been a Rowe (or in my case aka Brockett) in every war since, up to and including Viet Nam. My Dad was a tank commander in Korea and spent nine months on the front lines, often engaged in combat activities. One of Dale’s brothers was shot down over Austria in a P38 while escorting a bomber squadron. He survived despite being wounded twice during the dogfight and having to bail out of his plane.

Dale’s union with my mother, Martha Brown, produced two children, five grandchildren, and six great grandchildren. Additionally, he fathered another boy and girl with his wife, Edith.

On the morning of April 4, 2011 Dale will be laid to rest at Taylor, Texas where he spent most of his life. Although his life’s journey was witnessed by many, his personal perspective shall always remain a mystery.

David Brockett (Edgar Dale Rowe)

First Meeting

Night comes, and with it, dreams. Bleak scenarios sometimes play across my sleeping mind. Where is my God these nights as I lie here, a helpless victim of my darkest self? What sinister loom weaves this tapestry of madness?

Pray for light. Pray for that awakening which brings back the dawn. Does God only exist in my conscious mind? Must I conjure up this Great Spirit anew each morning? Do I create the Creator?

Which is madness, the night or the day? The threshold between dark and light is the birthing ground for doubt as this shadow of confusion stretches from one to the other.

The waking world is filled with the wonders of Creation and my soul is renewed. Prayers begin and end the day. I will myself a closer seat to the Divine Spirits who inhabit my conscious world. All is within my grasp… until…my eyes close like curtains on this grand stage and darkness smothers my prayers.

The first light of day announced Grandfather Sun’s arrival and as he peeked up over the mountain his eyes grew wide in amazement! “What is THIS?” he wondered. Sitting in a small clearing was the strangest creature he had ever seen….and he had seen a LOT of strange creatures in his day. This one, though, may just be THE strangest of them all.

The Snake People, lying on a large rock, were catching the first rays of warming sun and they saw it too. “Good morning Grandfather Sun!” they hissed in unison. “What is that creature in the clearing?”.

“Not sure.” replied Grandfather Sun as he climbed up in the sky for a better look.

Old Coyote was trotting into the clearing on his way home after an exhausting night of chasing rabbits. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of the creature too. “WHOAA!” he exclaimed as he circled the new arrival in curiosity.

Flying high above the meadow Hawk caught a glimpse of this strange being. “Screeeeee” what on earth IS that!!!????” His shrill question echoed through the forest and into the canyons and soon all of Creation was crowded into the clearing staring at it.

“It has no fur” said Bear and Coyote in unison. “How will it stay warm?”

“Look how clumsy it is” remarked Deer “how will it escape danger?”

Armadillo moved closer for a better look, peering through his small watery eyes. “Why it doesn’t have any armor!” he said as he poked it with one of his fingers. “It is way too soft to make it through the briars and bushes.”

Badger looked thoughtfully at this outsider and mused “It has no claws to dig for food or to make a cave. It will NEVER survive!”

“Where did it come from?” chattered Squirrel from a tree branch overhead. “It wasn’t here yesterday.”

“It wasn’t here last night when I went over the mountain” acknowledged Grandfather Sun.

“Can it talk? hissed the snake people.

“Can it hear!!!!??? yelled Mouse as he perched on the creature’s shoulder.

“Does Creator know about this?” cawed Raven. I’ll BET not!”

“Creator knows everything!” said Owl. “But what do we DO with it?”

“It’s too big to go home with me” remarked Badger.

“It has no feathers so I can’t take it anywhere” said Hawk.

“It is too slow to go with me” said Deer sadly. “I would have enjoyed the company”.

“We can’t just LEAVE it” insisted Owl. “Creator sent it to us for a reason.”

“Maybe it was a joke!” said Coyote. He knew ALL about practical jokes.

“No” said Owl. “It is no joke. Let me go to Water Spirit and see what it knows.” With that he flew swiftly through the forest to the river. “Good morning” said Owl. “I have come to ask a question.”

“Certainly” replied Water Spirit “but I already know what you are going to ask.”

“I thought you might?” Owl responded.

“The new arrival you are wondering about” stated Water Spirit “ was sent by Creator so that you could all learn to look after something other than yourselves.”

“Have we become that selfish?” asked Owl.

“Yes” replied Water Spirit “you have turned inside out.”

“Inside out!” Owl responded in amazement “what does THAT mean?”

Water Spirit was silent for a long time.

“Well??” implored Owl “What does that MEAN??”

“You know” Water Spirit said softly. “You know.”

Owl DID know but he didn’t want to think about it. He had been having too much fun with his gift of silent flight and his ability to see in the dark to think about much of anything else. “Besides”, he thought, “most of the time the rest of creation was asleep when he was out so he didn’t know too much about what was going on anyway.”

Water Spirit heard his thoughts but said nothing.

Owl hung his head and closed his big eyes in shame as he realized just how self-centered he had become. “I AM inside out!” he thought ruefully. “All I can see is myself. No wonder I feel so alone most of the time!”

“Yes.” responded Water Spirit to Owl’s realization. “So Creator has sent you a being that is also inside out. It cannot survive without your help. This will require you all to right yourselves in order to take care of it and to teach it all you know. Perhaps, if you are successful and you demonstrate the correct behavior, this creature will also learn to right itself. Then this job will be finished ”

“It will be a lot of work” moaned Wind Spirit.

“Yes I suppose it will be” acknowledged Owl.

Water Spirit gathered itself up into a tall wave before Owl and said “Now you must return to the other creatures and tell them Creator’s message.”

“Oh my!!!” said Owl. “They will NEVER listen to me about something this big!!”

“I will come with you” said Wind Spirit. “I will blow as hard as I need to and for as long as I have to until they listen.”

“I will come too!” boomed Grandfather Thunder. “They will listen to me!!”

“Good” said Water Spirit. “Go now while they are all gathered together.”

(Story Number One in the “Tate and Sammy” Series)

The Present

It had been a very special birthday present because it meant that Abe was growing up. His very own watch! Just like the grown-ups, just like Mom and Dad! Abe was so proud that he showed the watch to everyone. He showed it to his teacher. He showed it to the crossing guard on his way to school. He showed it to the postman. He showed it to the minister at his church and his Sunday School teacher. Abe was very proud of his new watch.

Each night, before Abe went to sleep, he carefully placed his watch on the little table beside his bed. The face of the watch would glow in the dark just like a firefly! Sometimes when Abe would wake up in the middle of the night he would stare at the pretty green dial until he fell fast asleep again. His very own watch!

When Abe would wake up he couldn’t wait to put his new watch on and fasten the little leather band on his wrist. He was always very careful to make sure it was on securely so he wouldn’t lose it.

Abe’s Dad had told him to make sure and put the watch in his pocket if he was playing so it wouldn’t accidentally come off or get broken. This was very hard to do for Abe because there were so many people he wanted to show the watch to and they couldn’t see it if it was in his pocket!

Abe decided that he would just be really, really careful when he played and then the watch would be OK. After all he was a lot more grown up now and he was sure he could take good care of it without having to take it off.

The Park

Abe really looked forward to Saturday because some of his friends would go to the park and play catch. Abe was a very good player and could throw the ball farther than any of the other boys his age. Sometimes he would throw the ball so hard it would go way over their heads and they would have to chase it. He was that strong!

Abe was playing catch with his friend Marty that Saturday and Marty had to move farther and farther back because Abe was really throwing the ball hard. After all, he was a lot more grown up since his birthday, and stronger too! They played catch for a long time until they got hungry and then they decided to walk back to Abe’s house for a sandwich.

As they were walking Abe glanced down at his wrist to see what time it was. What he saw, or actually didn’t see, was his watch!!! It was gone! He hollered “Oh no”! “Marty my watch is missing”!!!

The two boys looked around where they were standing but the watch wasn’t anywhere to be seen. They tried to remember the exact route they had taken leaving the park and retraced their steps. They walked and they looked and they walked and they looked but couldn’t see the watch anywhere.

Finally they were back at the park where they had been playing catch and they looked and looked everywhere they could remember having been. They stopped everyone they saw and asked if they had found a watch but no one had.

Abe was getting really scared that he had lost his new watch for good. He remembered what his father had told him about taking it off when he played and all of a sudden he didn’t feel so grown up anymore. If only he would have put the watch in his pocket!

Even though their stomachs were growling with hunger the two boys kept looking. They looked all through the grass and even in the trash cans, yuck!!! But no watch. Finally Marty had to go home and Abe watched him sadly as he walked away. Somehow it hadn’t been as bad with his friend there but now he was alone.

Abe looked and looked, covering the same area over and over hoping he had just missed seeing it in the grass. Abe heard his name being called and he looked up to see his Dad walking towards him. “Oh no!!!” He was late getting home and now he was in real trouble AND he had lost his watch!

Abe’s Dad walked up and said “Son, don’t you realize how late it is? What are you doing out here all alone?” Abe just hung his head. He couldn’t bear to tell his Dad what he had done. When Abe didn’t answer him, his Dad knew that something was wrong. “Abe, what is the matter”? He heard his Dad ask.

Abe’s head just drooped lower and he finally mumbled “I’m sorry Dad I lost my watch. I was playing catch and I didn’t put it in my pocket.” There was a long silence and Abe finally looked up at his Dad. “Abe it is getting too dark to look for your watch now. We have to go home. Maybe we can find it tomorrow after church.”

It was a long silent walk back to his house with his Dad and Abe had plenty of time to think about what he had done. He wished he really was as grown up as he had thought when he got that watch for his birthday. Now it was gone.

His Sunday School lesson the next day was about “pride”. Abe’s teacher asked the class if they knew what “Pride cometh before the fall” meant. Abe knew what it meant and he told the class his story about how proud he had been of his watch and how he was too proud to put it in his pocket and had lost it at the park. He knew that his pride at being able to throw the ball so hard had probably caused his watch to come off too. He told the other kids how feeling more grown up had convinced him that he didn’t have to listen to his father’s advice.

When he was finished talking one of his friend’s said “Hey why don’t we all go look for Abe’s watch after church!!!” The other kids all yelled “Yay!!” And Abe’s Sunday School teacher agreed to go with the class to the park that afternoon if their parents were OK with it.

When Abe and his parents arrived at the park his whole class was there plus some of their parents and even some older kids from the church. Abe explained where he and Marty had been playing and everyone spread out looking for Abe’s watch.

They looked and they looked and they turned over leaves and looked under things but no watch! Abe was getting worried that someone else had already found the watch and kept it.

Two of his friends were looking under a bush when a squirrel jumped out of it and ran across the grass and up into a big oak tree. As the squirrel climbed out onto a limb and chattered down at them one of the boys yelled “Hey look” “Up in the tree”!!!

Everyone came running over to the oak tree to see what the shouting was all about. And there, caught in the branches of the tree limb was Abe’s watch! All the kids jumped up and down and yelled and Abe just stood there looking up at his beautiful watch. One of the older boys climbed up in the tree and unhooked Abe’s watch from the branches. When he got down he handed Abe the watch and Abe thanked him and he thanked everyone for coming out and helping find his watch

On their way home Abe told his parents he was sorry that he had not listened and he told them he would take better care of his watch in the future. His father smiled down at Abe, patted him on the shoulder, and told him that it looked like he was really growing up after all.

The End.

But her Momma couldn’t keep her
And her Daddy walked away
But an Angel down in Texas
Was  watchin her that day

Well the Angels down in Texas
They Got a lot of trails to ride
From the rim of Caprock Canyon
To the Louisiana side
From the sands of old El Paso
To the walls of San Antone
To that little town  of Elgin
And a girl  without a home

Then one day in California
In the hills above LA
That little  girl from Elgin
Found another place to stay

A Mamma who would love her
And a Daddy who would care
And her own Texas Angel
Who  always would be there

Well the Angels down in Texas
They got a lot of trails to ride
From the rim of Caprock Canyon
To the Louisiana side
From the sands of old El Paso
To the walls of San Antone
To the hills of California
That Texas girl calls home