November 26, 1992: Thanksgiving in Dallas
	November 14, 1992: Frank and Joe Visit Us in Dallas
	Return to the Index for 1992

My birthday is actually Monday, November 23rd, but my friends have been invited over to my house for a party the Saturday before. This will be my first birthday in Dallas without Grant, who died in December of last year, and so that will be a subduing factor. But, on the other hand, it will be the first birthday I'll celebrate with my new friend, Fred Nabors. We have been doing lots of stuff together since the first trip we took this past March, and it looks as if our friendship could be quite long-term.

Fred has a tradition that he follows with his family at their own gatherings, and that is to always take at least one group picture. He thinks that this provides the best record of who was there; much better than a series of candid shots of a few people at a time. That seemed logical, so Fred set up his tripod and camera and we all lined up for our portrait.

In this particular picture are, from left to right, Fred; Larry Marshall, a long-time friend of both myself and Grant; Lowery Evans, a really great guy that Grant and I met one evening at the Trestle and who has become one of our best friends; Ron Drew, another really neat guy whom Lowery met a while back and who has become very close to him; myself; Ron Mathis; a guy Grant and I met out one evening and with whom I play pool regularly; and, finally, Chris Young, another great guy who shares a house with Ron Mathis. These are my six best friends here in Dallas; certainly they are the people I see the most often.

This evening, they gathered at my house for a birthday party- but just a small one. Fred got a cake, and there were the usual risque birthday cards. I feel fortunate to have so many good friends. Grant knew all of these people except for Fred, of course, and Chris, who Ron met earlier this year. You might notice that the living room looks the same as in other pictures earlier in this album. I have not made any changes to the decorating that Grant did; he did it so well that I can't think of any way to improve it. I will probably keep things just as they are, replacing whatever wears out or breaks.

Lowery and Myself

(Picture at left) At the time Grant and I met Lowery, he lived in a small house down the street from his mother out in Garland (an eastern suburb of Dallas). After he met Ron Drew, they moved to a nice house in Grand Prairie. It is farther away, but actually easier to get to. Lowery was one of the many people who were very supportive and helpful when Grant died. Lowery's own mother died this summer, and I did all I could to return his kindnesses.       (Picture at right) Fred told me that to put the right number of candles on the cake would constitute a fire hazard, so I would have to settle for one. Beginning in the following year, we started getting those "numeral candles"; they are certainly a lot easier to deal with.

Blowing Out the Candles

We had a really great time, going out to dinner together and then coming back to the townhouse for coffee and cake. I hope this will be the start of a new tradition with Fred, myself, and our friends.

You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.

	November 26, 1992: Thanksgiving in Dallas
	November 14, 1992: Frank and Joe Visit Us in Dallas
	Return to the Index for 1992