Lost . . . in Tulia, Texas
By Hal Haralson, Attorney (ret.)
Austin, TX
I left Austin at about 5:00 a. m. on July 12. I was headed for Santa Fe, New Mexico. I like taking long drives in my pickup and this was to be one of those trips. The day ended with me camping in Las Vegas, New Mexico, only one hour from Santa Fe.
At about 2:00 p.m. I had stopped in a small town called Tulia to stretch my legs and send some flowers to my wife. The flowers would be my way of telling her that I missed her already. (That`s how you stay married for 48 years.)
While looking at my map I realized that I was lost. Tulia was not on my route to Santa Fe! I had obviously taken a wrong turn and gotten on the wrong highway. No big deal. I could drive west to Dimmit and go north from there.
The courthouse square in Tulia is one of its major tourist attractions. As I explored it and the surrounding area I spotted an antique shop across the street. I headed for it. I`m always looking for some reminder of my rural life in west Texas, and I never know what I might find in one of these out-of-the-way places.
I stopped in Paint Rock one time and came away with a pair of old leather "knee pads" like the ones I wore as a boy on our farm north of Loraine, Texas. Those pads had kept many a grass burr out of my knees. Best five dollars I ever spent for a good ol` memory-jogger.
The antique shop had free coffee. While I enjoyed a cup I struck up a conversation with the shop owner, Jeannette Herring. She is a former English teacher who is a member of the FirstBaptistChurch in Tulia.
She asked where I was from.
"Austin," I replied.
"What do you do there?"
"I have practiced law for over 30 years . . . and I`m a writer."
The "writer" part of my answer brought an immediate response, "What kind of writing?"
"Stories mostly about everyday people that I have met in the law practice and their conversation about the part God plays in their lives. They are what I call stories of faith in faded blue jeans. Hold on a minute and I`ll give you a copy of my book."
I went to my pickup and returned with a copy of Gentle Mercies, Stories of Faith in Faded Blue Jeans. We talked about the book and how I had begun writing ten years ago for the journal Christian Ethics Today when Dr. Foy Valentine invited me to submit an article. I told her that since that first article I have had an article in over forty consecutive issues.
"Do you know about our local artist?" she asked.
"No," I replied.
"Kenneth Wyatt. He paints the kinds of things that you write stories about."
Debra Barnes, a local resident who had come into the shop, volunteered to take me to Wyatt`s studio.
I`m really glad that I accepted Debra`s offer. Wyatt`s painting of Jesus, the Apostles, and cowboys are incredible! I don`t know how I have lived in Texas all these years and missed knowing of him. Debra told me that he has a gallery in Red River and has had exhibits in 91 countries around the world.
Wyatt, a retired Methodist minister, was out of town. I determined then to return to Tulia to talk to him. I have a book I want him to illustrate.
I should have an agent like Debra Barnes. I spent $140 on Wyatt`s books and paintings.
I left Tulia thinking that if one is going to get lost in Texas, Tulia is as good a place as any to do it.
Little did I know what still lay ahead!
Read on . . .
On September 3 a letter arrived from Jeannette Herring:
"Dear Mr. Haralson: I don`t know what prompted you to come to Tulia that day in July when you were on your way to the writing workshop, but I wanted to tell you that your stories and your book have had quite an impact. My husband writes a farm article for the weekly Tulia newspaper. He is an avid reader of farm articles and keeps up with the world news, but he hardly ever has the time or takes the time to sit down and read a book. I related to him that you had been in the store and had left your book. He sat down that same evening and read over half of the book without stopping. As he was reading, he kept remarking that he knows several friends of ours who could benefit from the book and that we should order some to have on hand to hand out to people when we felt they needed something to brighten their day. My husband told me to order at least 10 more than I had names down to hand them to, so I am hoping that I am ordering enough to accommodate the people who we have in mind to give them to."
"As I said, I don`t know what prompted your coming into Tulia or why you happened into my store. My business had been so slow during June and July that I was little discouraged. However, on that day, I had sales totaling more than for any week for those two months. I know that God takes care of His children, and I trust Him to do just that. I also believe that He allows us to see miracles in little ways. Thank you for giving me a little `miracle` that day. I teach a Junior-Senior girls` class at church, and I couldn`t wait to tell them on Sunday about meeting you. I have shared some of your stories with them."
"I recently went to a committee meeting at my church, and my pastor handed me a copy of Christian Ethics Today, Summer 2004. In it was an article by you and one by your brother. He knew that I would be interested because my husband had told him about your book, and had related to him that you had been in my store. I told him that I would like to have you in our church at some point, and he said that perhaps that could be arranged."
"I am enclosing $300 for 30 of Gentle Mercies. I finished reading the one that you left at my store, and I realized how many of the people with whom I come into contact could benefit from or relate to the stories in the book.
Sincerely,
Jeannette Herring"
It wasn`t long afterward that I got a call from Charles Davenport, pastor of the FirstBaptistChurch, Tulia (Jeannette`s church). He was inviting me to "come back to Tulia" to speak. "Back to Tulia" sort of sounds like a country-western tune. I like it.
I returned to Tulia and spoke on a Sunday night. After our story time together, I spent over an hour signing my books. My newfound friends who had come to listen ended up buying over $850 worth of my books.
Tulia is a great place to get lost, thanks to folks like Jeannette and John Herring.
Lost? Was I truly lost? Those of us who are on this journey called life know that God puts us where he intends for us to be. There are no accidents.
