A Modern Cowboy's Dream

Florida Cracker Cowboy

Christmas time rolls around and the kids get a few weeks off from school. Doug ends up rehiring Travis and Mike the Marine once again both needing a job and he entrusts them with operating the farm deciding he'll head to his hometown of Lake Wales Florida and spend Christmas with his mother letting the kids visit with her. They load up in Sasha's explorer but alas the amount of luggage packed in there dosen't leave enough room for everyone, so Doug opts to drive his old blue Ford all the way back down to Florida. Sasha makes a face "you trust that old truck?" Doug laughs "Sasha it's a Ford it refuses to die." Doug loads up in old Henry and his two sons opt to ride with him and Katya to his surprise decides to ride with him too leaving her boyfriend with his sister in the Explorer with Sasha and Ana. Doug says "oh so you're gonna ride with your old man instead of your boyfriend huh?" Katya sighs "I don't want to talk to him right now." Doug says "what did he do now do I need to knock him upside the head?" Katya says "no Daddy, he just keeps talking about becoming a Marine, hell thats all he talks about anymore." Doug says "now what did I tell you about taking after me cussing?" Katya says "yes I know, don't be like you." Doug rubs her shoulder after cranking up the truck and putting it into gear. "Well darling he's gonna go in whether you like it or not. His father was the same exact way, and their military heritage dates back much farther than mine that I know of. Our ancestors stood alongside Washington, his stood alongside Cesar." Katya just sighs "I just don't want him to get him self killed." Doug says "I hear you baby girl." He pulls out heading into Savannah to get a few things before getting onto I-95 headed south towards his home state of Florida. Doug says "ever heard of a Florida cracker?" All the three kids laugh out loud and Doug says "hey don't laugh! I'm a Florida cracker now!" They keep laughing and Doug shakes his head. Little Doug asks "what is a Florida cracker?" Doug sets his cowboy hat on the dash. "Just slang for a native Floridian like my self." They drive on for hours on end crossing the State line into Florida. Doug continues pressing forward only stopping when Sasha calls him. They drive past the exit to I-4 and he chuckles seeing Sasha throw her hands up. She calls him and he answers "yes my love?" Sasha scowls "you missed the exit!" Doug says "the hell I did! I hate I-4, I know a better way." He looks out over I-4 and can see the traffic nightmare. "Look to your right and tell me why we should go get stuck in that parking lot." Sasha settles "alright then. Lead the way." They stop for lunch and after lunch he lets Katya drive the rest of the way or until she decides she wants to switch back. It's an odd feeling for him to be a passenger but he smiles at his daughter driving along. She says "what?" Doug says "oh nothing, just realizing how much you've grown." Doug looks back "you two have been awful quiet." Both of them are steady texting or playing games and Doug shakes his head "they're gone." Katya laughs and Willie says "huh?" Doug shakes his head "nothing boy go back to your game." Doug tells Katya the exit and she gets off in Vero Beach getting onto highway 60 headed west with Sasha and the others tailing behind them. Doug smiles seeing the orange groves once again. "I'm glad to see some of the citrus survived." Katya asks "what happened?" Doug says "a devastating  disease called citrus greening carried by a tiny bug called the Asian Psyilid took its toll on Florida citrus when I was teenager like you. It bit the leaf and infected the tree. Basically it was a bacterial infection that choked the tree to death no nutrients could flow." Katya says "oh wow." They drive onwards Doug pointing out various groves and cow pastures along the way. They come through Yeehaw Junction where the Florida turnpike crosses over highway 60 the name making the kids laugh. Later on he points out the Polk County and Osceola County line along the Kissimme river as they drive over the bridge and channel locks talking about the days his father used to take him fishing. Katya says "you haven't really talked about Granddaddy too much." Doug sighs "I wish you kids could have met him." Katya asks "what did he look like?" Doug says "you're looking at it." Katya glances at her Father and Doug says "your granny used to call me his clone." Katya chuckles and the boys both smile. Doug looks back at them and says "and you two will look like me or similar when you're this old." Willie asks "was he as mean as you?" Doug laughs "he was worse. You think I'm bad about cussing, Mama used to yell at him for cussing in front of me and he response was go in the house." Katya makes a face "Granny didn't take too kindly to that I bet." Doug smirks "she said, no you shut up!" Katya smirks "sounds familiar." Doug sighs "yeah your Mama can fire back at me no problem." He points out the Lightsey Cattle Ranch still in operation their pastures as green as ever and the orange grove in the far distance. An empty Griffin Fertilizer semi truck trailer sits on the property near the road. Doug says "well Griffin is still in business after all these years." Katya asks "who are they?" Doug says "big outfit down in Frostproof the town where my self and your Uncle went to high school. They mostly dealt in citrus but also had three Fertilzer plants and a cattle ranch down south between Zolfo Springs and Arcadia." They pass by Jay Bee's and Doug smiles "we'll have to go there one night for a burger." They pass by Struthers Honey and then come to where Citrosuco juice plant once stood tall and proud. Doug looks out seeing only the parking lots left with grass growing through them the juice plant having been torn down many years ago. Doug says "and there used to stand Citrosuco juice plant where my father worked." He looks out and sees what was orange groves in his youth is now developed into neighborhoods. He shakes his head "God I never thought Lake Wales would have this many people." They drive on and hit traffic to Doug's absolute shock. He shakes his head "My God there's no way there's this many people." He looks and sees Stokes road. "Cut down that road we can get to Granny's from there." Katya turns and goes down it followed by Sasha and the others. They wind down the back roads a short distance from his childhood home seeing more groves and other groves turned into houses. Katya says "you ok Dad?" Doug sighs looking around "this is heart breaking for me. My father loved Florida Citrus and everything about it. Strangely enough greening was first found in 2005 the year he died." Katya just nods sensing she probably shouldn't pry anymore. Doug says "if we have time maybe I can rent a boat somewhere and I'll take you kids down the Kissimme river a little ways." They finally make it to country oaks and his old home where his mother is waiting. She greets all the kids, Sasha, Ana and finally Doug him self. She says "you need to call me more often!" Doug sighs and Sasha shakes her head "he hardly talks to me at home." Doug says "that's a lie." Sasha says "you stay outside all day!" Doug says "yeah." They head inside eating dinner then sit in the living room. Katya and both her brothers pry their grandmother about their grandfather so she gets up and comes back with several old picture albums showing her grandchildren the Batson family and the Mosley family. Willie is shown a picture of Doug's grandfather William Thomas Mosley the man he's named after. It's a picture of him shirtless and skinny wearing olive drab trousers somewhere in Vietnam. Michael and Caroline look at the pictures too out of curiosity. Pictures of their grandfather Douglas Batson Sr surface along side pictures of a very young Doug. Katya looks up at her father in the chair across the room to see the striking resemblance. Doug smirks and winks making her smile. Sasha and Ana are passed pictures and Sasha says "aww Dougie you were so cute!" Doug says "you saw those pictures when I first brought you home." Sasha laughs "that was long ago." Sasha smiles and pulls out her picture of both boys around the same age and shows Ana who smiles too. Little Doug and Willie look at their grandmother who turns their heads kissing each on the cheek. "Go sit with your mother I want a picture." She looks at Katya "get behind her." They do as told and Sasha smiles proudly in the picture with her children. She takes one of Ana and her two kids then Katya with Michael. She finally makes Doug get in the pictures and he purposely messes some up to Caroline's entertainment and everyone else's irritation. Sasha finally pops him on the lap "behave will you?!" Doug just smirks "as you wish."