Winters in Texas have almost never exhibited the spectacular snow-covered vistas as other parts of the country during the same time of the year. Mostly, everything looks dead and barren and the holiday season of 1955 was no different. The classes of Barrick Elementary School were holding their annual Christmas parties the morning of December 16, the last day of school before the holiday break. It was a half-day for all the students, and at the end of the parties, teachers let students outside to run off all of the sugar consumed before sending the children home.
Miss Weatherford, C.J.'s kindergarten teacher, let her class out first, and the children, wearing their light jackets and coats, ran out to the playground to play on the equipment, wander around a bit, or just jibber-jabber. Other classes let out gradually until the playground was filled with sugar-fueled children aged kindergarten to sixth grade. The younger children played on and off the equipment. The older children talked in small groups to each other. Several teachers came out to supervise – many using the opportunity as a smoking break. C.J. sat on a swing and contemplatively dragged her feet through the foot trails left by other students. She was wearing blue cuffed slacks and over her shirt and vest, she wore a light, ecru, story book style tweed jacket that flared out with wide pleats. She wore her hair in a ponytail and bangs. Other girls and boys were competing on the other swings over who could go the highest.
Mattlock came out with Miss Hotchkiss' class, running far ahead of the group, wearing a green, plaid flannel shirt and khaki corduroy pants with cuffs and brown shoes. Once on the playground, he met C.J.'s neighborhood friends, Charlie and Steven. At first, they talked with each other with their hands planted in their pockets and kicking the playground sand. Periodically, they would laugh. C.J. observed them from her swing and started swinging casually. Her best friend Julia lived next door to her but didn't go to Barrick Elementary, and when Charlie and Steven were at school, they tended, understandably, to want to play with other boys. C.J. had gained the unwarranted label of "teacher's pet" early in her educational career. She had made friends with one girl at her school, but she had taken off early for the holiday and wasn't present on this day. Mattlock would make an effort to talk to C.J. at recesses since they met on her birthday in October of that year, but like a lot of boys, he wasn't particularly chatty, but more active. And he'd only been marginally successful in encouraging her to play.
The seesaw became available on the playground. Mattlock saw C.J. and he ran to the seesaw and staked his claim on it.
"C.J.!" he yelled.
She stopped swinging and looked at him.
"C'mon over!" he yelled, motioning her over to the seesaw.
She looked around at the other children who were busy playing, and she hopped off her swing and started walking over. On the way, she saw Mattlock shooing other children away from the other end of the seesaw.
As she approached, she heard him say, "I'm saving this for C.J. It's our turn!" And a disappointed child walked away. As C.J. got closer, Mattlock patted the lumber with his right hand, indicating that C.J. should take a seat. He lowered the plank so she could get on. She enthusiastically jumped on and straddled the equipment and gently kicked off the ground and up into the air, driving Mattlock downward. He responded in kind and the two began their dance.
"Whatcha doin' for Christmas, C.J.?" he asked with a big smile.
"I'm not sure. I think we're going to Dallas to see Gramma and Grampa," she replied. She clarified, "My Daddy's mom and dad."
"What about your mom's mom and dad?" he inquired.
"We already celebrated Hanukah with them. They don't have Christmas at their house. They're Jewish," she said.
"Really?" he said, seeming flummoxed that someone would NOT celebrate Christmas. "What's Hanukah?"
"I don't understand it yet," she admitted. "At Mawmaw and Poppa's house they light candles and there are food and games. We don't do anything for Hanukah at our house. What are you doing for Christmas?" she asked.
"My aunt and uncle and cousin Will are coming to visit us for the first time," Mattlock replied.
"That sounds like fun," she said.
"I can't wait," he said.
"Julia and I will probably play together a lot while we're on break," she said.
"She's funny. Do you get presents on Hanukah?" he asked.
"Children have to give away something, not get something," she said.
"Wow! Do you get any presents at Christmas?" he asked.
"Oh, yes. Momma and Daddy and Gramma and Grampa all give me presents," she said.
"Whew!" he exclaimed.
"I hope it snows," she said.
"Probably won't," he said.
"Yeah," she said in a disappointed tone. "What are you going to do with your cousin when he comes?"
"I don't know. Depends on what he wants to do. Daddy says he's the guest and that's who gets to decide," he said matter-of-factly. "I hope it stays warm and we can play a lot outside and go exploring and play with our toys that we get for Christmas," he said.
"Sounds fun," she said.
"You should come out sometime and play," he said.
"I'll ask Momma," she said.
"Great!" he exclaimed with a big smile. The two seesawed for a while until teachers started rounding everyone up to go out front of the school to either get in their parents' cars or on a bus. C.J. and Mattlock ran up to the front of the school. He grabbed C.J. by the hand and pulled her over to where his father was parked. She was surprised, but went along willingly and kept up.
"Daddy, can C.J. come over to the house sometime?" he asked.
"Of course," he said. "If it's alright with her parents…. Hello C.J.," Bill said with a smile through the rolled down passenger window of his car.
"Hi Mr. Houston," she said.
"You can come over anytime," he replied. "Just have your momma or daddy call me and we'll set something up."
"Hop on in, Mattlock. I'm going to take you home, and I have to run back to work for a bit before dinner," Bill said. Mattlock had been standing there the whole time holding C.J.'s hand and he finally let go and jumped into his father's car.
"See you after Christmas, C.J.," he said with a big smile. Houston jumped into his father's car and waved at C.J. through the passenger window as he and his father pulled out and drove away. C.J. got on her bus and it pulled out of the school parking lot and went on its daily route to deliver children to their families.
"What's Jewish?" Mattlock asked.
Bill glanced at Mattlock while he drove. "What makes you ask, son?"
"C.J. told me her grandma and grandpa are Jewish," he replied.
"Well…let's see…how can I explain this…," Bill mused aloud.
Mattlock waited, listening intently.
"Jewish people are a specific group of people who came from a place called the Fertile Crescent. In the Bible, they are called God's Chosen People," Bill said.
"Chosen?" Mattlock asked.
Bill seemed to be stumbling. "Abraham in the Bible made a covenant with God and became the first Jew. Jewish people worship the same God we do only they call him Yahweh and we call him 'God the Father.' The Jewish and Christian people worship the same God, but Jewish people don't worship Jesus."
"Still doesn't explain 'chosen,' Daddy," Mattlock said.
"They're chosen because God chose Abraham. Do you know who else is in the family of Abraham?"
Mattlock stared at him, befuddled.
Bill answered his own question. "Jesus, Mattlock. Jesus was Jewish."
"I thought Jesus was a Christian," Mattlock said.
"No. He wasn't, but we are all from the family of Abraham," Bill said. "Jesus was a member of the Jewish faith when he walked on earth. He was what they call a Rabbi or a Jewish teacher," Bill explained further.
"But if Jesus was Jewish and we're all from the family of Abraham, are we Jewish?" Mattlock asked.
"No, Mattlock," Bill replied. He paused and sighed, and said, stroking his chin, "this isn't working. Why don't we save this for another time? I'm not equipped to explain this and you may be a little young to understand the intricacies of religious doctrine."
Mattlock just stared blankly at him and Bill took notice.
"Which grandparents of C.J.'s are Jewish? Her mother's or her father's?" Bill asked.
"C.J.'s momma," Mattlock said.
"How about this…Next time we're around C.J.'s momma, I'll have her explain it to you. That way you can get the information from the source. Okay?"
"I guess," Mattlock said. He paused for a bit and openly speculated, "If we're all from Abraham, and Jesus is from Abraham, and we're all in a family, does that make us all cousins?"
Bill smiled. "Yes, Mattlock. That's a good way to look at it. We're all cousins. But I think I will have Cynthia explain it to you more in depth one day."
Bill drove Mattlock home and Bo and Lamar greeted them on horses as they pulled up. Bill pulled to a stop and rolled down his window. "Hi Bo. Hi Lamar," Bill said.
"Mr. Houston," Bo acknowledged, as Lamar tipped his cowboy hat at Bill.
"Would you two mind taking Mattlock for the afternoon? I've got some work to finish up at the office," Bill said.
"Sure thing, Mr. Houston," Bo replied.
Mattlock jumped out of the passenger side of the car and ran over to the two men. He ran up to Lamar who sat high on a dapple gray mare, and Lamar reached down to Mattlock and pulled him by his hands up onto the front of the saddle. Mattlock held onto the horse's mane.
"What are we gonna do?" Mattlock asked with enthusiasm.
"Well, hold your horses, little cowboy," Bo said. He turned to Bill and asked, "What time will you be back so we can have him ready for supper?"
"I should be back around 5 o'clock as usual," Bill replied. "See you later, son," Bill said.
"Bye Daddy," Mattlock replied, and then Bill pulled out of the driveway and back to work.
"Well, Mattlock, what do you wanna do?" Bo asked atop his Palomino gelding.
"Ride!" Mattlock yelled.
"I figger'd as much, you little rascal," Bo replied with a big grin. The two men and Mattlock rode leisurely around the expansive property. Periodically, they'd both get off their horses and feed some cattle – leaving Mattlock watching, high astride of Lamar's horse.
They rode around for a while, sometimes stopping to do a variety of chores. It didn't feel like work to Mattlock who was ecstatic to be riding. Few things made him happier. The terrain was a mix of wooded areas, low sloped hills with small shrubs, flat, open areas, and a variety of small ponds, trails and gravel roads. The Houston mansion was situated at the northwest corner of the ranch which had fencing all around its 2500 acres. The mansion had a large concrete and wrought iron front gate, a vast front lawn, and a smaller back lawn that backed up to forest.
"Are you excited 'bout the visit from your cousin?" Lamar asked Mattlock.
"Yes! I can't wait!" Mattlock exclaimed.
"I had a cousin I was close with when I was a boy. We had a lot of fun together. Much better than a brother or a sister. It's like an automatic friend," Lamar philosophized. "Bo, did you have a cousin you were close to?"
"You could say that, Lamar," he said, and winked at Lamar.
Lamar looked at him askance and took his hat off and waved Bo's comment away. "You know that's not what I mean, Bo. I swear, you cain't help yourself," Lamar said. The ranch hands' bawdy witty banter was lost on Mattlock. He pretended to be a cowboy on the back of Lamar's horse by holding on to the horse's mane like it was the reins.
"What are you going to do while your cousin Will is here?" Bo asked.
"Ride!" Mattlock yelled.
"You sure you're gonna have enough time for that?" Bo asked, looking at Lamar and winking.
"Well…yes!" Mattlock exclaimed.
"I don't know. It's gonna be Christmas. Loads of new toys to play with. Games to play," Bo said.
"Now Bo, there's always time to ride, right Mattlock?" Lamar countered Bo's teasing.
"Yeah. We'll ride, no matter what else we do," Mattlock asserted, sitting up straight on the horse and looking determined. His brown, wavy hair was fuzzy from the static generated between his hair, flannel shirt, and the dry Texas winter air.
"If you say, so," Bo replied teasingly.
"Besides playing with your new presents and riding horses, what else are ya gonna do, Mattlock?" Lamar asked.
"Help you and Bo with chores," Mattlock replied.
"Mattlock…it's your Christmas vacation. You don't have to help us," Bo said.
"It's fun," Mattlock said.
Bo and Lamar just looked at each other incredulously.
"Aw, kid….you don't know what yer talkin' 'bout," Bo replied.
"Besides, Mattlock, there's not much that needs doin' in the winter on the ranch," Lamar said.
Mattlock shrugged them off. "I'm going to take Will exploring too," Mattlock said.
"Could be a might cold, Mattlock," Lamar said.
"We'll wear coats," Mattlock retorted.
"Well, sounds like you have a plan," Bo said.
"Yep," Mattlock replied.
"We better get to choppin' up some firewood," Lamar said to Bo.
"Okay, okay," Bo said as he got back up on his horse. "Let's go to the west side of the property. I saw some old, dry, fallen timbers there the other day."
"Ride fast, Lamar!" Mattlock exclaimed.
"Whoa, boy! Whatever happened to 'please?'" Bo said. "I tell ya, Lamar, kids today don't have no respect for their elders."
"Uh-huh," Lamar said. "You got that right."
"Ride fast, please?" Mattlock said more quietly a second time.
"What do you think, Bo?" Lamar asked with a grin on his face.
"The boy did say 'please," Bo replied.
Lamar looked at Bo and signaled with his head to go west without saying anything out loud. Then, Lamar put his arm tightly around Mattlock's waist, shook the reins suddenly, and kicked the horse to move. Mattlock fell back against Lamar's stomach with wide eyes and a huge smile. Bo kept up from behind. Eventually, they made it to the west side of the property and Mattlock sat on a felled log, while the two men took turns chopping wood.