A goat and a wagon

From the late 1920's. Young Ray and Earl order a wagon from the Sears catalog to hitch to the head goat, Billie. It doesn't end well but there's a lesson or two.

The Dorcheat Bayou takes a watch

The Dorcheat Bayou runs through Columbia County, Arkansas, into Louisiana where it heads on to the Gulf of Mexico. Ray tells the story from 1966 when yours truly dropped a family heirloom, a watch, my great uncle's watch, into the Dorcheat. It's a mostly true story, but Ray wasn't the only one mucking around in the red clay muddy waters. And lhe leaves out the the cottonmouth and the snapping turtles. It's a bayou, the Dorcheat.

Where did he get the name “Papa Ray”

Ray sets the record straight.

Bee Hives and Tree Limbs

Ray and Earl come home from school to discover a new queen bee and a swarm of worker bees were looking for a hive. Their father wasn’t home, so they did it themselves, but the worker bees made it hard and Ray ends up on on a high limb with a bee swarm.

1953 Fishing Trip

Papa Ray tells the story about the time Tina, their dog, chased a flock of geese and went swimming and explains what happens when the anchor isn't tied to the boat. Along the Brazos River near Waco, Texas.

First Week Report

13.5 Kilometers / raised over $8000.00. All good and thanks for your donations to Mile High United Way.

1940-42

Papa Ray returns home from National Guard training, to attend college. It wasn’t long, though, until his Guard unit was activated and sent to the Philippines but ends up in Yakutat, Alaska, and then WWII starts.

Late 1930s

In Walkerville, Arkansas, Papa Ray learned a name to get into a musical show for free. Now he can’t forget that name.