Juan Martinez

800 S. Bouziden…..My memories start in 1978, when we would go to the house every Sunday after church to see the progress that was being made with the construction.   Fast forward.  I remember taking a picture of the first day of kindergarten on the front porch in my chocolate brown bell bottom slacks and brown and white striped shirt and white shoes.  My mom told me I was so handsome and looking back I have to agree with her!  The Pink Panther…I was 7 or 8 years old,  I remember watching The Pink Panther and this scene in which there was this nude woman in bed with pink feathers falling from above… I was laying on the floor on my stomach with my hands on my…well you know where they were.  Turning to my mom, I said to her…”Momma… my boners getting big.”  Although she tried to hide it, she about died laughing.  I remember Brenee about jumping through the ceiling and about amputating Kyla’s breast with her bare(or bear) hand when Jason came out of the pond.  I'm pretty sure she peed her pants too…LOL.  I remember the anticipation of Dad taking me, Peetie, Brent,  and whoever wanted to go on our vacations to New Mexico and Colorado…so excited that I couldn’t sleep the night before.  Almost like Christmas in August.  Piano lessons and fighting neighborhood kids in the front yard.  Mom always said I would regret quitting piano lessons when I grew older…Somehow she was right..   My dad teaching me a few chords on the guitar in the bonus room…then playing “the Oldies” together.  Stephanie learning to play the piano.  High Frequency…the first band we put together. We would practice in the bonus room… Prolly drove Mom crazy but she allowed it and she bought us beer..really I’m just kidding about that last part!!  I remember this one time when Peetie and I was upstairs.. we must have been bored, but he made some kind of makeshift drum set using a wire clothes hanger as drumsticks, a somekind of light fixture base as a cymbal, and I can’t remember what he used as a snare but I promise you it was something unorthodox.  Anyway, I was playing a song that I made up that sounded very similar to The “A” Team theme song.  He started playing along with his Mexican-American drum set and we created such awesome music that could be heard throughout the bonus room…Mom came up to listen to the hit song.  At that moment, she breathed a sigh of relief knowing that her boys had no future as rock and roll stars.    I remember sneaking out of bed at 10:30 at night and watching TV…M*A*S*H* and Taxi…Sometimes I would turn on the TV and watch Benny Hill!!  I remember the excitement of Christmas..always wanting mom to put up the Christmas tree.  

She has the best Christmas tree ever.  I remember mom making Christmas ornaments…popsicle stick sleighs, macaroni angels, drums, owls…she always has such a magnificent tree.  

I still look forward to Mom's Christmas tree.    Anyway….the one party I had at the house…It could have been a disastrous event, but nothing was broken…except for a couple of hearts…and not by me…I could go on and on and on...one of my most favorite pictures of Rylee was taken in Grandma's back yard… Rylee was in some green and white striped overalls with a flower in her hair and she was holding a plastic bat and ball.  I loved swinging Grace in the swing hanging from the tree.  Oh yeah the tree…who knew that planting that tree in the back yard some thirty years earlier would serve the purpose it did on May 20, 2013?  What a mighty tree to play an instrumental part in keeping the house from being totally leveled and sparing the life of my wonderful mother….I have many memories of my home, too many to write down.  But these are some of my favorites that I will hold in my heart and soul for years to come.