We Take A Break and Meet Tom H. and Merryl R.

You can only keep working for so long,and then you need to take a break. So, after lunch I asked HW2 if she wanted to take a break, and she agreed she did, so we went to town for a few things like ant traps, a mat for outside, and some few groceries. Then we decided to explore Ingram which is slightly to the west of where we are staying, since we heard that there was a glass store there, and I could use some supplies. The glass shop was found, but the owner was away; but she had rented quarters in the rear of her store, and we went there to see if he knew where the glass shop owner might be. He thought that she might have gone for lunch and then started explaining what his work shop was for. Tom H. makes Odds and Ends with Wood. He refinishes and makes new furniture to meet the requests of his clients. He retired in 1995 and after two weeks of completing 'honey do jobs' for his wife, he decided he'd better do something or go crazy. He opened this shop and has probably three months of projects waiting for his attention. He helped us locate some glass stores in Fredericksburg and in San Antonio, and we discovered that he was from Pennsylvania and had attended a military prep school in New York very near West Point. Deciding that the military life was not for him, he did not attend West Point but did his military service in Texas and fell in love with the state. He gave us a hand-made toothpick holder, two phone books, and we departed back toward the front of the store to see that the 'glass lady' had returned.

We went inside the store to meet Merryl R., who has been doing custom stained glass for thirty years after serving a four-year apprenticeship in stained glass in Cleveland, Ohio. Now this is one well-trained glass professional. She showed us a door panel project under way and suggested that the best store for glass supplies was in San Antonio. She didn't have supplies, but if we needed something, she would try to help. What nice people we meet, so friendly, and so helpful and willing to share their expertise.