Back in 2015, a wonderful thing happened to us – a longtime friend of my wife’s turned the big five-0, and her family all chipped in to bring my wife (and me, tagging along) down for the weekend as a surprise gift. They hadn’t seen each other for 11 years or so, and so it was a pretty good stunt. And we got the ancillary benefits.

The people in question live in Greenville, east of DFW. We got to visit their “Rally Round Greenville” downtown festival, which featured some fun ersatz bands such as Trio Grande, Infinite Journey, Pearl Gem, and Def Leggend, among others.

Downtown Greenville

Auto Show

If we hadn’t just gorged ourselves at a Chinese buffet – and I mean gorged – the street eats looked really tempting.

Later in the afternoon we had the chance to visit the Audie Murphy/American Cotton Museum. I had heard of Murphy, but had no idea what an amazing person he was.

But more than Murphy himself, I came away from that visit with a profound feeling of astonishment at the expense and ingenuity man put into ways and means of destroying one another, and a deepened sense of respect for all who ever wore the colors and the families that support them.

I learned a lot about the history of the cotton industry, as well.

Cotton Museum Display

Slave cabin

Audie Murphy

Audie Murphy’s Medal of Honor

Audie Murphy’s other medals.

A visit to the 6th Floor Museum was haunting, having lived through the days of the assassination.

The Book Depository from the Grassy Knoll

The view from the 6th floor. The “x” marking the spot where Kennedy was shot is in the center lane, just to the left of the white car.

Nobody knows what kind of president Kennedy might have become if he had lived to complete his term and perhaps win a second one. We can only speculate.

On the way to the airport for our trip home we dined at Taco Loco in Dallas. They make a mean taco, and have some varieties I had never experienced before.

All in all it was a stupendous trip and a great opportunity – we’re grateful to the family that flew us down for this lovely weekend.

The Old Wolf has spoken.