Texas Summers

I've lived in 3 states in my life. 1/6 in Idaho, 1/12 in Ohio, and the other 3/4 in Texas. With all there is to complain about Texas you'd think I would appreciate leaving for the mountain west. There you have stuff to do, and it's not so humid you have to change your shirt half way through the day. I can complain about many of the aspects of living in Texas, but I'm missing Texas and I haven't even left yet.

One thing that I'm going to miss, even though it sounds crazy, is the heat and the summers. I recall one experience that displays the intensity of the summers, and the intensity of how stupid dehydration can make me.

Our ward used to help the town of Flower Mound on 4th of July by putting hot dogs in buns at the parade. On one such occasion, it was so hot that I couldn't stand being there anymore. I can't remember why, but for some reason my parents weren't going to leave or they already had. This left me on my own to walk home.

I started up a bike trail that went from my elementary school to my middle school. I could get home from there in what I thought was roughly a 20-30 minute walk. Once I got to the end of the trail, I was beat. It was so flippin hot, and I was so flippin' thirsty that I decided to take a detour into the nearest neighborhood to ask some members for some water. When I got there, there was no answer.

"Crap!" I thought. I was stuck walking under the sun getting more sun burned by the minute, and sweating buckets. I tried to think of someone else who might live nearby that I could stop at and ask for some water. Then I remembered Amy Keifer/Goad. (Amy keifer/Goad was in my 5th grade class, and I hadn't talked to her in years. Now you have an idea of how awkward this could get.) I didn't really know if she lived at the house I was going to go by, but it was my only hope.

I walked around the corner to the house, and knocked on the door. This took some guts, but I figured since I still looked young enough to knock on doors and ask kids to play, I was young enough to ask for water from a stranger. When I knocked on the door, a lady opened. "Hi, my name is Jordan. Is Amy around? Can I have some water?" I ask. "Amy's not here. I'll get you some." She walked off into the house. I wanted to go in so bad to feel some air conditioning, but I stayed put. She came back and I drank the water.

I realized walking home just how strange what I had done was. I had asked a completely random person for water. She could have given me a mickey, tied me up, and cut my guts out. If I had been outside a few hours more, she could have made beef jerky out of me.

Again. I don't know how to end this.