Well I can hardly wait to tell y'all about our Monday in the hill country, but it's late and sleep wins. Let's just say it was one for the books. Before I go catch some shut eye (notice the cowboy lingo finding its way in there?), I want to send a big Texas thank-you to Ma and Pa Norton back in Phelps, NY. It wasn't until after their son Adam and I were already best friends that we realized The Holtzs and the Nortons go way back, all the way back to Fishers, NY in fact, a small town from another time. I still remember the first time I went over to the Norton home after school, and since then Peggy, Joe, Bethany and Adam have become just like family to me. Joe has always reminded me of some concoction of Ernest Hemingway and Walt Whitman. He has a guarded glint in his eye, like a prospector who's struggling to resist the urge to tell you about his jackpot claim. You know just looking at Joe he can tell a good story, and you're right. Peggy is someone I called mom the first time I met her, she just has a comforting way. I have no idea what she looks like without a smile on her face. I have countless fond memories of time spent at the Nortons', a place (by the way) where they still string real cranberry and popcorn garland around the Christmas tree. There's a certain magic there, and I'm grateful that they've evidently sent a little of that magic our way by supporting this adventure. But more on that tomorrow...
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