Sam and I have been friends for a long time. Actually for over half a century. In just a couple of months, it will have been 49 years since we graduated from Marble Falls High School.

I always insist that he wear that hat when we travel, it makes him look more like my chauffeur.

After we got grown we didn’t see much of each other. We didn’t travel in the same circles. But about a decade ago we started running around together. I don’t get much of a kick out of driving and Sammy kind of enjoys being behind the wheel. So when I head off to far away places and my wife doesn’t want to go I call Sam to see if he’s ready to go on a trip. He usually is. In fact, I don’t ever remember him not being ready to go.

A funny thing about going a long time without seeing a friend like we did. We missed out on seeing each other in the role of being fathers and even being grandfathers. It always gives us a lot to talk about.

Of course we have plenty of stories from our growing up years to remind each other about.

I had a dentist appointment this morning down in Mexico so I went yesterday and picked up Sam at his house. After spending the night down in McAllen we eased across the border early this morning and I got root canal while Sam caroused around town making new friends.

We headed back across the border before noon and had some lunch and hit the road home. While I messed around on my phone and whined about my tooth hurting Sam was making good time coming up US 281. About that time I glanced over at one of those highway crossovers where there was Jim Wells Sheriff Deputy setting. Sure enough here that fellow came. He said we were running 89 mph in a 75 mph zone. We told him all about ourselves and what we had been doing. He could tell we weren’t up to any mischief so he let us go. He was a young fellow and really didn’t see fit to even lecture us.

We got back on the road and talked about how good that it was that he didn’t get a ticket. That would have just put a damper on our trip.

We made it up road a few more miles to George West, Texas where a city policeman stopped him for driving 44 in a 30. This fellow was about our age and wasn’t taken with our banter. So that resulted in Sam now having to pay a speeding ticket. That kind of took the starch out of him. But it hasn’t really slowed him down. I’m hoping we can get back home without him getting another ticket.