A month before Madeline and I married in 1971, I had a 3 year old Ford Galaxy 500 and I rear ended a Williamson Country Road Maintenance Pickup in Liberty Hill, completely demolishing the front end.

It took a couple of months to get it out of the shop. I finally got it out of the body shop on a Friday afternoon. On Saturday we were leaving for the Jordan Christmas Party in Houston.

The Jordan Christmas Party was a huge deal. I had made every excuse imaginable about why I didn’t need to go. I didn’t know any of those people. Besides I’d worked hard all week and needed to rest. She wasn’t going to take no for an answer. I finally gave in and we loaded the car and headed from Sherwood Shores, (go ahead and call it Granite Shoals if you like) to Houston.

Since there was no getting out of going, I had finally settled into how exciting it was going to be and how much fun we were going to have.

Just as we got on the Pedenales River Bridge, and it was much more narrow back then, a two lane affair, the hood flew up, breaking the windshield and destroying the hood.

I got to the other side of the bridge, a distance of more than 1000’, by looking out my side window and judging that I was about where I needed to be and pulled over. Seeing how badly damaged the car was we decided against continuing on to Houston. The hood wouldn’t latch but I fashioned a piece of rope or wire to keep it closed so we could cripple our way back to Marble Falls.

If was evident that the Body Shop had failed to adjust the hood properly so it returned it to Becker and Philpott’s for them to fix it.

Madeline to this day, and it’s been well over 50 now, thinks I somehow sabotaged that trip. Like I told her, if I was going to do that I wouldn’t have picked a narrow bridge for it happen on.

The next year we made it to the Jordan Christmas Party and I went every year thereafter that I could possibly make it to as long as they continued to have them. It became something that I truly looked forward to each year. After growing up in less than opulent circumstances in Smithwick, it was like going to see how rich people lived.

I sure do miss those Jordan Family Christmas Parties.