118: SWALLOWTAILS AND LONGHORNS; DOWN ON THE FARM

It was 6:00am on July 23, 2019 and for the second consecutive day my photographer’s wife sprung out of bed as though the mattress was electrified. Even though we were within walking distance of the Magnolia Market at the Silos, Vicki’s exuberance wasn’t due to Chip and Joanna Gaines. On that Tuesday morning, her excitement was brought on by the fact that she was about to be reunited with her cousin Kim Johnson, along with Kim’s husband Bill and Vicki’s aunt Sally Knight. On our trip in 2016, we were guests of the Johnson’s at their home in Plano. During our 2019 adventure, however, we made our first-ever visit to the Johnson’s place along the southern shore of the Richland-Chambers Reservoir. Bill and Kim’s farm was dubbed ‘Paradise Farm’ and it’s located about a dozen miles east of Streetman, Texas. But my camera guy, who still had the LBJ Ranch burned into his mind after our recent visit, called Bill and Kim Johnson’s farm the “BLJ Ranch” after Tom discovered that Bill’s middle name was Leehy.

Once my companions had the Highlander packed, Vicki made decent time during the 70-mile drive from Waco to the Johnson’s Paradise Farm. While I relaxed inside the camera case that was situated on the back seat, I figured it would be a few days before I would see anything Presidential. I was good with that game plan because I knew how much Vicki loved spending time with her family in Texas; plus, the Johnson’s are amazing people. The two times in the past couple of years that I had spent time with them, I quickly discovered that Bill and Kim were the most easy-going and generous people I’d ever met. So much so, in fact, that when someone created the old saying “Everything’s bigger in Texas”, they were definitely talking about the size of Bill and Kim Johnson’s hearts. Their genuine kindness towards others and their zest for life was second to none; while their avid support of the Republican Party and it’s candidates made me wonder how they could share the same last name with Lyndon and Lady Bird.

Their political affiliation was on full display when the three of us arrived at Paradise Farm around 9:45am. As a matter of fact, had my mouth not been painted shut in China, my jaw would’ve fell off my face because of what I saw. Standing just inside the entrance to the property was President Donald Trump, who held a sign that read: “WELCOME TOM & VICKI!” As I peered out through a small opening in the camera case, I actually thought “The Donald” was standing there waiting to greet the three of us. While it turned out to be a life-size cardboard cutout of our 45th President, the three us couldn’t have had a more special greeting to kick-off our visit; unless ‘Hail to the Chief’ would’ve played during our approach up the long driveway.

We had been on the road for the past 14 days and I could tell that both of my companions looked forward to their time on the Johnson farm.  Since Tom and Vicki are both in their early 60s, the rigorous nonstop sightseeing that my photographer schedules into any given day has the potential to become grueling, at least for most novice tourists.  But my travel mates can be called anything but lightweights when it comes to their summer trips.  And this trip was no different; although the three full days that we were slated to stay on the farm were primarily intended for Vicki to spend time with her family and for my travel mates to recharge their batteries.  Whether they were relaxing in the shade of the outdoor patio; or watching the beautiful butterflies that gathered nectar from the flowers in front of the guest house; or even their dangerous attempts at feeding Rusty, Tyra and Lyla (Bill and Kim’s three pet longhorns); my photographer and his wife were able to nab a little R&R – until Cousin Kim took the three of us for a ride in their Honda Pioneer side-by-side.  During that excursion, Tom and I rode in the front passenger seat, while Vicki and Sally hung on for dear life in the rear seats. Although fun, it was a ride that proved to me that Kim loves to go fast and had no fear of the old crash-and-burn; even on the roughest of terrain and wildest, hairpin turns.  I kept thinking to myself: “Thank goodness this camera case is padded!”

During our first two days on the BLJ Ranch, I split my time between standing on the night table in the bedroom and hanging out in Tom’s camera case.  From the opening in the top of that case, I had the opportunity to see some of Texas’ most beautiful critters – including a green anole lizard, a hummingbird clearwing, a handful of incredibly colorful butterflies, and a small herd of deer that usually make their daily appearance.  I also enjoyed watching the Johnson’s two dogs, Riggs and Cody, as they frolicked around the grounds.  I realize that you want to see Presidential pictures; but check out Tom’s attempt at nature photography. Although I hate to admit it, some of his images actually impressed me.

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While the Sun slowly made it’s way towards the western horizon on July 24, 2019, the six of us piled into the Johnson’s Tahoe as we headed out to find some pizza. Bill and Kim had bragged about the delicious pies from Padrinos in nearby Fairfield, which was roughly 20 miles south of the farm. But when we arrived at Padrinos, I about fell out of the camera case from laughter. While I listened to the gurgles of five hungry stomachs, I saw a sign on the front door of Padrinos that read: ‘GONE FISHIN’ – Back August 6th’. In my mind I thought of the moment when the Griswold’s arrived at Walley World on their vacation and it was closed; the moose out front should have told us.

I could tell that Bill was extremely disappointed; so much so, in fact, that when he pulled out of the parking lot, I thought to myself: “I hope Clark’s not going to a sporting goods store to buy a BB gun.” Luckily for us, “our Clark W. Griswold” decided to take us to a place in Fairfield that was famous for its peaches and food items made from peaches, which I knew would be right up my photographer’s alley. It was called Cooper Farms; and when Tom walked out of the place, he had a jar of peach preserves in one hand and a container of peach ice cream in the other.

Since pizza was their ultimate goal, Bill decided to make the 34-mile journey to another place that he and Kim loved to dine at. It was an Italian restaurant called Napoli’s, and it was located in downtown Corsicana – a town that was situated northwest of the Richland-Chambers Reservoir. Although I knew that my photographer was not a fan of Italian food, he is a huge connoisseur of pizza – and Napoli’s pies didn’t disappoint. When our group had finished dinner, we spent some time walking the sidewalks of Corsicana as Vicki and Kim window shopped under the moonless night sky.

We returned to Paradise Farm at roughly 10:00pm; which gave everyone about an hour to unwind and talk about the families. When it was time to retire, Tom placed me on the small table alongside the bed where I stood the entire night. That not only gave me a chance to reflect on our first two days on the Johnson farm, I also had time to envision what was in store for me in the morning. After all, I was about to make history. Tom had planned to drive the two of us to College Station, Texas where we would tour the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. During our time there, I would become the first bobble head in history to have visited all 39 Presidential gravesites. While there is no official record of that fact, it’s hard for me to fathom that there are any other bobble heads that could boast the same thing; especially since President Bush 41 died only eight months earlier. It’s hard to put into words how excited I was that night; I wondered to myself what would be the appropriate way to celebrate my historic accomplishment. All I knew was I had to come up with something and I had only twelve hours to do it.