By Trent Rosser
Every week, I try to bring smiles and laughter to the readers of my Colum. Rosser’s Ramblings have been going strong for quite some time now. Yes, every now and then, the editor, (with my request) will rerun a story. Here is the reasons for the reruns. Most of the time, I am working on something and I am unable to finish it before the deadline. This is no one’s fault but my own. Sometimes I believe that the story will be better a week later than before. Sometimes, with my job, I just don’t have the time. Then there are the times, that I spend all day and night staring at a blank computer screen and have nothing to say. I will start on a story and the words that are coming are not humorous at all or makes no sense. Kinda like wiping before you poop. Yes, not everything I write about is funny and unfortunately sometimes I do what I said I would never do - dabble in local politics. Politics and religion is something that I said that I would never write about, but like everything in life, things changes. So yes, I have wrote about politics before. It was usually met with bad responses.
I have written about the homeless being criminalized and about the new trash cart system. I spoke about how my family was targeted after I addressed the city council about the problems with our current city council and the trash carts. I have done a little history of our area with stories about Doc Scurlock (friends with Billy the Kid) and how, after the Lincoln County War, he became a postman for Potter county here in Amarillo. I relived the Big Fight at Jenkins Saloon in what was Old Tascosa, TX (now currently Boys Ranch). Where more people were killed than the fight with Wyatt Earp at the O.K. Corral. I also told the tale of Frenchy McCormick and her love of her husband and her town of Old Tascosa. She was the last living resident of that old ghost town. I have written, with great response of our animals. How Rascal the cat sacrificed himself for the female cats by taking on 2 dogs. How Marco the cat had the mishap with the sticky fly strip and his bath that we had to give him. Most of the funny things that I have written were about Hunter the dog. How he has tried to choke me out when we go to bed, and how he used to steal my food off the counter when no one was looking. I have express the fun of my grandson and his antics while playing and learning to talk and walk. But most of all, I have spoken about myself and my past. I have talked a little about being homeless and a little of me being a recovering alcoholic. I have talked about cousins and old friends. I know that people's jaw would drop at reading the stupid things we did. For instance, did we really think that a 4 door 1970 something dodge aspen would be a good idea to take to the sandy river? Or putting a swamp cooler inside of a 1979 dodge van? All these stories about myself, my grandson, my family and our pets are all mostly true. I have said it before and will say it again, 90% of every story is true. Just the 10% might be a little exaggerated. I have written about the good times, (celebrating my sobriety) and the bad times (the unexpected death of my cousin).
I have even had the pleasure of interviewing some amazing people. My first was the World Wrestling Federation Hall of Famer, Jake “The Snake” Roberts. After playing cat and mouse with him over the weekend, I was finally able to get a phone interview. It is one that I still hold dear as my first. I had the pleasure of interviewing Tonya Trimble of the Palo Duro Paranormal group. She shared some fascinating stories of paranormal activity here in the Amarillo area. Would still love to go on an investigation with her some time. One of the best interviews that I have done was with Genelle Guzman-McMillan. She was the last survivor of the devastating 9/11 attacks. She was in one of the towers when it came down on her and she was trapped in the rubble until the next day. She was the last survivor pulled from the rubble and author of the book “Angel in the Rubble”. When I sat down with her, there was a peace that I have never felt before. It, in itself was an experience that I will never forget! One of my best interviews was that of a United States Sailor during the Vietnam war. Pete (yes, my father) was a river rat and told a few stories of his experience before, during and after the war. It was my only series that I have done to date.
I try to keep up with the time of year and will do my usually “Soldier's night before Christmas” and other themes around their respected holidays like Thanksgiving, Halloween and Valentines day. I have even expressed how my wife and I were going to get into shape after the new year. Just a side note, my 200 pound frame still does not look good in yoga pants!
I mostly write about myself and my family. Things that happened throughout the week, or something that would remind me of the past that I thought was funny. I have written about my “Bad Day at Work” and my “Amazing Spouse”. I will keep writing stories, as long as “writer's block” stays far away and I can come up with other topics to write about. Sometimes it is hard to write about anything if you just go to work and back home. Nothing much happens that way, except what I watch on T.V. I have already written about reality shows and my own restaurant called “Squirrel’s”. I was recently inducted into the Amarillo Pioneer Hall of Fame. It is an honor. I will cherish that for the rest of my life. In the meantime, I will continue letting you know the outcome of the fight between myself and Hunter the dog. I will continue to try to bring a smile or laugh from you each week. And, I will try to refrain from talking about politics..... Maybe.
This past few weeks, there is something that I have been thinking about. What if you had all the articles of Rosser’s Ramblings at your fingertips instead of having to go back to look for them across the vast internet. What if you could go back and read all the articles and learn a little about why I wrote them or what I was thinking when I wrote them. With an idea from my editor a long time ago, I have decided to put them in a paperback form. Remember, this is just the beginning stage of this process, so it could take a little while. In the meantime, look forward to new articles each week and maybe a rerun every now and then. Hopefully, it won’t be any more articles of doing the ninja spider dance when I walk into a cobweb!
From the Rosser Family to yours, thank you for reading and sharing.
Rosser/Provided