Texas was a large place full of all sorts of people. Some people were more terrifying than others. Some people had yet to become terrifying.
In a slaughterhouse on July 12, 1968, the Sawyer family was hard at work. It was the 23rd birthday of the two twin brothers, Duncan and Henry.
"You think we gonna get anything for our birthday?" Duncan asked.
"If all I do today is hit these cows in the head with a sledgehammer, this'll still be a great birthday!"
Alfredo Sawyer, age 20, looked at his two cousins. He could not believe that he was related to delinquents such as these.
"You two are insane," he said.
"Just trying to make Grandpa proud!" Henry said. "He was the best at this until he retired!"
Jedidiah, age 21, hit a cow in the head before backing away.
"Pick up the pace, Jebadiah!" Duncan said to their younger brother, who was cowering in a corner with a sledgehammer.
"His name is Jedidiah," Alfredo corrected.
"Name's too complicated! I'll just call him something short, like...Bubba! Means brother, I hear."
"Jed's a wimp," Henry said. "He kills a few and then whimpers about what he's done. I always have to cover for him!"
"Be nice to Jedidiah," Alfredo said.
"If he does not like working here, he oughta just work at the gas station with Daddy!" Henry said.
"We both know that your dad would never let any of you boys handle a gas station."
Jedidiah kept staring at the dead cow he had hit.
"Take a picture!" Henry taunted. "It'll last longer!"
"Nobody needs to take any pictures," Alfredo said. "Jed, if you don't feel comfortable working here, you ought to say something."
"He don't say nothin'," Duncan said. "It's like a piece of his brain was chopped off the top of his head!"
Tears appeared on Jedidiah's face.
"You gonna cry now, Bubba? Baby Bubba's gonna cry! Baby Bubba's gonna cry!"
Though there was nothing wrong physically with Jedidiah's face, he wished that he had someone else's face at that moment.