December 12, 1997

GABBY

It was great getting into Johnson City, TX around 2:30 p.m. even though I was a week late. Johnson City was the boyhood home of President Lyndon Johnson. The ride was okay today but it was cold in the thirties. I called up my new friends, the Hardy's. Tom came truck to pick me up and take me to their house in the country.

They were getting ready to take part in a Living Nativity at their church. Tom was going to be one of the three kings. He wanted to know if I would be one of the two shepherds if one of the boys picked wasn't going to make it.

Right after dinner, we loaded up their pet donkey Oscar and took him to the church. From the church, we went over to an exotic animal farm to pick up a four-horned ram, a small donkey, and a small baby goat named "Gabby". The little goat was just four weeks old. It was kept in the office.

Instead of being a shepherd, my job was to make sure that Gabby was kept warm between showings. Making sure that Gabby was warm and fed from a bottle reminded me of my childhood because when I was young I was a sheepherder.