The Road Less Traveled

Today was the kind of day that comes around far too seldom. In fact, it was an alternative plan that brought such delight as a cold, constant rain fell from the Texas sky. It was the perfect use of a gray day to reinvigorate my soul after business meetings in Ft. Worth that went fairly well. As in Robert Frost's classic poem "The Road Not Taken", I decided to drive home along the road less traveled, and just as Frost had poetically suggested, it really did make all the difference. In a most roundabout route, I took Highway 377 outside of Ft. Worth and traveled south passing through one small town after another. For the longest time the blinding mist from fast-moving 18-wheelers in the opposite lane flew up from the road making it difficult to see what was ahead. I had never driven this road and therefore had no idea what to expect, but that was fun of it all. I never knew that Stephenville was home to the Cross Timbers Country Opry where for just $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and $4 for children under 18, you could be entertained every Saturday night by Carroll Parham and his Country Express. They've been doing it since 1979. Then there was the town of Hico, Texas. There were two signs at the city limit welcoming visitors to this busy little community along Highway 6 west of Waco. The first sign said, "Welcome to Hico. Where Everybody is Somebody." I think that's the same slogan used by Luckenbach, but what the heck? The other welcome sign proudly announced, "Hico, home of Billy the Kid". Luckenbach may have had Waylon, Willie and the boys, but they didn't have Billy the Kid. There was even a big sign inviting me to visit the Billy the Kid museum and gift shop. I never found the museum, but the life sized bronze statue of Bad Billy in a shooting stance with his gun drawn was prrrret-ty impressive. The highlight of the road trip was the two hours that I spent in Dublin, Texas, population 3000. For the past 112 years Dublin has bottled the famous Dublin Dr Pepper, the only Dr Pepper still made using Imperial pure cane sugar from Houston. When bottlers around the World were switching to corn syrup and other sweeteners, the little plant in Dublin kept turning out bottles of my favorite soft drink the old fashioned way. The 30-minute tour of the old bottling plant and museum was a serious trip back in time. As the rain continued to pour outside, the sweet, fruity Dr Pepper continued to pour inside. Next door in Old Doc's Soda Shop I sat at one of the small, wire-framed retro tables across from the soda fountain that had been painted lime green to match the wood interior of this century-old stone building. Dr Pepper memorabilia and gift items hung from the walls. I ordered a PB&J sandwich and chips and washed it all down with a couple of ice cold DPs. For dessert I sampled a few Dr Pepper flavored Jelly Bellys. It was too good. Being the Pepper that I am, I grabbed a couple of cases of the original formula in the bottle (no cans . . . it changes the taste) to share with the uninitiated back home on Friday. "I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference" . . . You got that right Mr. Frost. Michael Baxter www.baxwrtr.com