POST SCRIPTS

It's a one general store town smack in the middle farm country, surrounded by rice fields, cornfields and walnut orchards and a sod farm called Zamora Sod, maybe you've heard of it? It's about the biggest operation around here.

Gridley is 22 miles to the east, Colusa is 21 miles south, Willows is 21 miles west and Chico is 23 miles north and there is nothing much else in between, save for little Butte City, but their only two businesses, a bar and a grocery store are closed, so again there's nothing in between! Oh, and lest I offend some of the locals, there is the big city of Princeton Pop. about 150, but, that’s way on the other side of the river, so it doesn't really count.

It's now about 6:30 pm and the work around the family farm is winding down. I just bucked about 30 bails of hay (beardless wheat) and I'm feeling the strain. It's been a long day and work is finally over. So, since the girls are out on horses and I'm home alone, I jump on our four wheeler (Honda ATV) and cruise down the road, well it's not always on a road, part of this trip is cross country and in 5 minutes I'm in the little town of Afton where they make the best Mexican food for at least 20 miles in any direction! Outside the general store/restaurant are some of my friends and they are drinking ice cold Bud from a couple of ice chests and it looks like they have the bar-b-que fired up and are eating burgers.

As I pull in another 4-by pulls out, this one is driven by Luis. Vrrrmmm....he's L bent for somewhere! But, it's not home unless he forgot where it is. He tears off in the wrong direction, but I suspect it's to take the levee road home which is eventually in the right direction. This way he avoids riding on the asphalt...it's safer for 4 wheelers doing 60 mph. I like riding the levee too, very scenic especially from a horse, but a 4 wheeler is good too. So, I pull up on the north end of the store, park and dismount. I'm immediately greeted by my old friend Francisco who does some introductions for some of the guys I don't know there. Then a few more folks drive up. This is turning into a regular community meeting!

We stand around talking and drinking cold brewskies, er, in this case I guess I should call them cervesas, seems more appropriate. Anyway, we take turns telling dumb farm stories, talking about cattle, horses and such. I get a carnitas style burrito from inside the store and its outta this world good! Now keep in mind, more than half of this group doesn't speak much English and the other half definitely doesn't speak much Spanish! But here we are anyway, Americans...some soon to be Americans, and we all speak farm and that works good enough.

Francisco cranks up his pickup stereo on 97.7 FM, all Spanish - all day, musica! After downing a few beers Francisco tries to sing "La Bamba" and actually does a pretty good job one of the guys from the cabins behind the store retrieves his home made guitar. It doesn't look home made and it sounds even better. The singing continues, now me, I wouldn't attempt to sing anything even after a keg of beer. Although I might sound better if I was sloshed! So the times passes quickly. We laugh a lot and drink more beer and then I see somebody pass around a flask of white lightning, most don't try it, but a few brave souls do and it's to their regret...not tonight, but tomorrow...been there done that.

Then it's time for me to head back to the ranch. 3 beers are about my limit, not that I would have to worry about getting stopped as I drive home by way of the cornfield..lol.

So ends my hot time in the old town tonight...it's another kind of life out here, I wish you all could visit some day and see what your missing!

God bless America and protect our soldiers wherever they may be! Enjoy your Veteran's Day.