Post Sixteen - Cows and College

Post Sixteen - Money Man - Estacado Heart (c) 2013 J. Scott Vernon


There they ordered hamburgers and Tijuana fries. Old  enough to drink, Vondale opted not to at the coach's request and ordered a Coke. Cooter ordered a chocolate milkshake with his hamburger. Tucker followed their lead and thought is was weird that they could even be in the Dixie Chicken in the first place. It was more of a bar than a restaurant and he certainly wasn't old enough by California standards. Texas, ever the independent state, didn't adopt the federal drinking laws until it was forced to by the federal government. Minors could be in bars if food was served.

The trio sat at wooden tables that had be carved on by many Aggies through the years. For the middle of the day, there seemed to be a bunch of students hanging out drinking beer and playing dominoes. When they saw Vondale, somewhat of a student celebrity as an athlete, several students came to their table to say "gig 'em." Vondale was humble. He smiled and returned their greeting, "Gig 'em." 

Tucker asked, "What the hell does gig ' em mean?" Cooter said, "It's our way of saying good luck or go get 'em." Tucker nodded yet still found it humorous.

They talked about A&M and baseball. Vondale and Cooter each had their personal perspectives. Vondale spoke of his academic experience more than about baseball. Cooter talked about the "damn fine Texas women" more than about school or baseball. Oddly, he was not particularly gifted in any of those subjects. Tucker appreciated both ends of the conversation and said, "all the girls seem friendly." Vondale had a steady girlfriend and didn't offer an opinion, he was happy with Laticia Jones, a shapely business major from Killeen. As homely as Cooter was, he couldn't add much real experience with the girls except for the one time he got laid in his dorm room after a night of drinking. Cooter had lied and told Sheila Taggert, a freshman from Luckenbach, that he was the starting catcher and would probably be drafted by the Houston Astros at the end of the season. Impressed and drunk, she believed him. It was the previous year and Sheila dropped out not long after their tryst. Cooter hadn't been with a girl since; he missed Sheila. Badly.

Tucker was enjoying his time with the guys and felt comfortable about coming to Texas A&M but wasn't sure what his major might be in the fall if he got in. He thought someday he could be a veterinarian. He had doctored plenty of cows, calves and horses back home. He spent a couple weeks one summer with the local cow vet Dr.Vosberg preg checking dairy cows and drawing blood for Bangs testing. Tucker had also successfully replaced a rectal prolapse on one of his commercial cows. He liked the work, but that was all he knew about the profession.

When the three of them returned to the Coach's office, Mace and the Coach were finishing up their conversation. The men were at ease, shaking hands and sharing a laugh about the hapless Texas Rangers. Tucker's prospects looked good. The Coach said he could get Tucker admitted with an "athletic special" exemption but reiterated he didn' t have any scholarships for him next year.

After spending the afternoon talking to folks in the agriculture college Tucker decided to major in animal science. That was the closest thing he could think of to being a veterinarian. Having never gone to college Mace couldn't offer much advice so he concurred. Tucker's life on the farm could come in handy in college.

Tucker would be a Texas Aggie.