The Pecan Park Eagle

Early 20th Century
Houston Buff Champions

It’s not even a case of “do or die”. – The world will always startle “old folks” – as time goes by.

A couple of weeks ago, I received the featured tin-plate team picture from Houston Buffs history friend Darrell Pittman as a gift. Well, Hobby Lobby was having one of their perennial 50% off frame sales so I stopped by there to have the metal piece mounted on a mat that would fit and look good in a 12×16 inch frame. I picked it up today.

Sorry it doesn’t photograph well once it is behind that natural glass due to all of the glare, but you should be able to see it well enough to easily get the drift of this short weekend errand story. It was the only place I went today because of a back problem, but maybe my disability was showing more than I thought.

The young man who retrieved my order and wrapped it for my trip home seemed mildly interested in the picture. Then he suddenly asked the question in all apparent innocence that set me back smiling on my heels:

“Which one is you?”

Did you hear that? The kid wanted to know which one of those fellows from 1910-1913 was me. – He didn’t ask, “Are you in this picture?” – He asked, “Which one is you?”

Let’s see, had I been, say 25, in 1910, that would make me about a pretty good-looking-for-his-130-years-on-earth age in 2015!

“None of them are me,” I told the young man. “I had gotten into a little trouble in a bar fight the night before and had to spend the night in jail.”

“That happened to me once,” the young man said.

“Glad you made it out OK,” I told him.

I didn’t have the heart to mess up a good story with an admission of the truth at this point – so I just thanked him and let it slide from there. Besides, I needed to go home and rest. Guess my penalty will always be one of wonderment: Was this kid really that naive? Or was he simply the greatest dead-pan con man that I’ve ever run into in the normal flow of everyday life.

Don’t I look OK for a 130-year old man?