It’s been a good summer thus far. In this memoir I will recount the events that have taken place in the past week because it was a good one. I returned to my home in Houston on a Tuesday, May 9th after a night in my Mom’s apartment in downtown Dallas. The drive away from Tech was relaxing and it was just a nice time to think about life for 6 or so hours, which is one of my favorite activities: driving and contemplating the meaning of life. I sat on the balcony that night watching middle aged people going to downtown clubs and just enjoying their lives. I recounted the countless memories I had collected this past year at Tech, but those perhaps belong on another blog. When I arrived at my house in South Houston the first thing I recognized as being different was my fat fluffy hound was not there to greet me as my home was graced with my presence. She had to be put to sleep in mid March due to complications of old age. It was nice coming back to where I grew up but I missed the relationships and memories I had built up at Texas Tech. The rest of the week was spent unloading my car throughout my house and seeing the friends who had stayed in Clear Lake or were just coming back from their schools of choice.
After a little bit of trouble on his way back from Texas Tech, one of my best friends Ryan Murphy had finally contacted me saying that it was about his time to make his presence known in Clear Lake where he had grown up. Also, a few of my other best friends from Tech, Kenzie, Kendra, and Mitchell were on their way to Clear Lake to see what all the commotion was about down in these parts of Houston. It was a great reunion of our family of friends from Tech. Kenzie, Kendra, Murphs, Mitchell, Halina, Scarlett the hound and myself took a journey to the lake to grill some hamburgers and spend time enjoying the weather. We all roamed around the Clear Lake for a part of the night being attacked by mosquitoes while taking part in a late night skate session at an unlit skatepark followed by a trip to the boardwalk to walk around. Pretty much everything had began to shutdown that night which is when the real fun began.
A good portion of my teenage years was spent playing extreme games of hide and seek in the Hilton on Clear Lake and I figured this would be a perfect opportunity to get my adrenaline pumping with my out of town friends. After a passionate shake of Mitchell’s Magic 8-ball app on his iphone it was determined that I would be teaming up with Kenzie while Mitch, Murphy, and Kendra would be on another team. With some expert seeking and hiding from both teams, the night was left with nothing but good memories. The final match turned to be a success for both teams, as we located the master key to the penthouse floor of the hotel. We all engaged in munching on snacks and fruit loops that were meant for the high paying customers. After spending some time in the hotel we decided it was a good time to venture back to my house and get our slumber in for the night, because day two of this adventure was going to be spent at the beach.
The morning of Monday, also known as day two of adventure week, began with a meeting at a southeast Texas specialty commonly known to most as Shipley’s Do-Nuts. After filling our bodies with nourishments of fried flour and sugar, we made a quick rendezvous with another Houston native, Macy Pruitt, and made way for our Galveston adventure. Anytime spent in Galveston is a good time, but it’s even better if it’s spent with your best friends. Our time in Galveston was spent on various escapades including tossing the football around, longboarding down the seawall, a little more relaxing, delicious milkshakes and burgers and basically just goofing off and enjoying life. We played a game of volleyball but it appeared based on our efforts that the nutrients that were provided by our donuts, milkshakes, and burgers had worn away and we were ready to call it a day. But who could call it a day at the beach without the ceremonial burial of a live human? So as the day continued everyone down there contributed in my burial in the sand and a quick picture was taken of my friends surrounding me. We decided that would be an ideal conclusion to our day at the beach and headed back to Clear Lake. That night after watching The Lords of Dogtown, I said my final goodbye to Murphs before leaving to Spain for the summer. Waking up on day three spawned the idea in my mind to make breakfast for Kenzie, Kendra, and my Pops before beginning my journey up to Boerne.
We left after breakfast and I caravanned behind Kenzie and Kendra which without a doubt was fortuned to be filled with excitement. Following close behind their Nissan, at one moment I thought I was about to witness the death of both of my friends. In a short but furious battle with a rather annoying piece of hair that had escaped Kenzie’s head had caused the driver to swerve in a split second onto the shoulder, when she quickly realized the danger the hair had put her in and corrected the mistake and we were underway again. Several hours later, we made our appearance in Boerne, home of the Tweesters. This would have been my second visit to this quaint town; first being a short passing through to a quick stop at a rather delicious Wendy’s in town.
This visit with my friends to Boerne was nothing short of remarkable. Not being surprised but more so delighted with pulling up to “El Rancho Not So Grande”, I caught my first glimpse of the ever famous Zeebz, a truly extraordinary example of God’s wonderful creation. Everyplace in the house and property was a new adventure for me. It was the perfect establishment located on prime land in this town of Boerne. Such like our normal behavior in Lubbock, the three of us came to the quick conclusion that it was dinnertime. A delicious feast of fried foods at the Hungry Horse Café was the ideal introduction to the down home southern cuisine that had its spot in Boerne. After a quick toss of the softball, Kendra came up with the plan to hop in the hot tub to enjoy our night. It was rather pleasant, so much so that Kendra and I began to completely lose our minds in the relaxation the night had brought. Laughing at the utmost ridiculous accounts, to an outsiders eye we must have looked like several small children watching a SpongeBob episode for the first time.
The next morning brought about a very important life lesson to always have a backup plan. Parts of the previous night was spent devising a great days worth of activity, which was promptly demolished by the fact that Kenzie’s dental appointment was at 3 instead of the predetermined time of 11. Not to worry! We are a group of friends that doesn’t need much to have a good time. With that plus the mindset of myself just letting things happen instead of running by a plan, the day ended up being another filled with great memories. The day began with a voyage to one of the top ten pie companies in the nation known as Tootie’s Pie Company to purchase a large and delicious apple pie. A quick stroll through the downtown district of Boerne was very pleasurable, however it was becoming difficult to conceal the excitement that all three of us had when we knew another of our closest friends was going to be giving us company for a short period in the afternoon. We met Courtney in a familiar location and escorted her back to the Szymarek residence. Courtney was driving through Boerne on her long voyage to Baton Rouge for a summer internship and was kind enough to pleasure us with her presence. She is an incredible young woman of whom is a member of my family of friends and is a person I love very much. Seeing her eased some of the pain of missing my friends that I grown so close to in Lubbock. We all four enjoyed a hearty slice of Tootie Pie and while Kenzie was getting her teeth squeaky clean, I was watching in humility as Kendra and Courtney uploaded pictures of the already exciting week and found one in particular that seemed to them to be a good idea to give us all a digital makeover. As far as Facebook goes, the final copy does not exist. Upon the arrival of Kenzie which resulted in many more laughs and the even greater humiliation of myself due to the fact that I looked like a drag queen. Wishing Courtney a safe and wonderful travel, presenting her with a goodie bag filled with love, and escorting her safely to I-10, it was time to say goodbye until October to my incredible friend Courtney.
Sending one great friend away to a foreign destination for many months is never the most fun thing to do, but making new friends is always enjoyable. We made a quick rendezvous outside a Valero gas station with a couple companions of Kenzie and Kendra and went on a tour to a mall in the San Antonio area followed by a super delicious barbeque from the family of newly acquainted friend Nichole. A night filled with volleyball, board games, Mario Kart, great food and goofiness seemed like the perfect way to end an adventure to Boerne, Texas. However, if any of those participating in the reading of this epic know anything about Ryan “Drew Brees” Haymaker, you may presume the end was nowhere in sight.
Upon arrival at “El Rancho Not So Grande,” Kenzie, Kendra, and myself participated in a classic late night discussion of stupidity and goofiness. During one of our careless conversations a loud shuddering noise occurred, like the sound of a man’s hand bringing a ceiling fan to a halt. Quickly catching all of our attention we eye each other with uncertainty. In the peripherals of my eyes, I see a black vibrating object lying on the other side of the door. Fully consumed with dread and terror of the preceding schism that has just taken place, I muster up all the strength in my distressed body to go take a closer glance of what is happening. It appears to my eye that a wounded bird has somehow found its way into the house and only had enough energy to flutter to the crack that was left open in the door. Coincidence that the wounded warrior was merely able to make it far enough for us to see its distress before having to eject from the sky and have a crash landing on the plush carpet… I am not one to believe so. Fate would be a more appropriate word for this situation. With adrenaline pumping through all of our bodies, we were quick to take action. With Lieutenant Kenzie barking direct orders at her sister to pass me a worn cloth to pick up the exhausted poultry, I knew we were in the hands of a great leader. Without hesitation I picked up the fowl and after several escape attempts by the bird itself we were all three able to send it on to safety. Due to such exhilaration we knew it was time to catch some shuteye.
On the morning of Thursday, I arose rather early due to the fact that I had to be at my house in Houston by 2 in order to drive up to Dallas that same day to help my Mom move out of her apartment. A wonderful scent of sweet, sweet cinnamon had filled the air and I was rather anxious to find out the cause of this aroma. With excitement like that of waking up on Christmas morning, I sprang to my feet to wake Kenzie but was surprised to find an empty bed. A little confused upon the whereabouts of Kenzie, I continued to wake Kendra of whom was still sound asleep. We both made our way downstairs to the source of this wonderful fragrance to find that Kenzie had gone against what her body was telling her to do and found a way to rise early enough to surprise me with freshly cooked cinnamon rolls. This truly was the perfect ending to a fabulous week. So as I sit on my Moms balcony, this story ends much the same way as it has begun; myself recollecting the great memories of my enjoyable life.
-Ryan Haymaker
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