There was always excitement whenever Fridays came. Usually Mom would spend the day getting ready for us to go to Laredo and visit our grandparents. My older sister, Mague and my baby brother, Junior, and I would also get excited. Mague used to tell me that mom and dad really are visiting their old homes and parents. Dad would arrive home around 4:45 p.m. and take time only to change his lineman boots for shoes and drink a glass of water before packing the car. It was pretty nice back when, Mague and I had the whole backseat to ourselves. I used to like to sleep on the floor but my parents would tell me not to. Something about the noise of the wheels turning will drive me crazy.

Dad always would make a pit stop in Dilley, Texas at Garcia's Cafe. Garcia's Cafe was located on the edge of town, it was beside the railroad tracks, a white stucco building, with nice clean restrooms that were outside. I would like to go inside the restuarant with my Dad whenever he would go in to buy coffee or a drink for my Mom. It smelled good, like hamburgers and good Mexican cooking. I remember that first time my father took the whole family in to eat. But that's another story.

The drive to Laredo would take about three hours. Every time we would arrive at a point where the Laredo city lights could be seen, my Dad would always, always announce "Ya llegamos a Penjamo!" It is a line from a Pedro Infante song, it means, We have arrived in Penjamo, or in our case, Laredo. Our car was not air conditioned, the cool evening air would fill the car. Usually, depending on my Mom situation, we would first stop at Buelos Saenz, Dad's parents. They lived two blocks away from Buelita Guerrero, Mom's mom.

When we arrived at Abuelos Saenz house, my sister would always make a face. This is because Buelito Saenz usually had two or three days growth of beard. My sister would say it was like kissing a "nopalito," a cactus. Abuelito would scratch us with his heavy thick beard when tried to kiss him on his cheek. Junior was lucky because he was just a baby and my Mom would only let my Buelito touch him with his hand and not his face. My Tia Chonita, Buelito Saenz's sister would be greet us and rush to the kitchen to prepare some food for Dad. Dad was her favorite nephew. Abuelita Saenz would come out and greet us then speak to Dad. We would usually stayed long enough for Dad to eat a couple of meat tacos and then rush to Mom's mother house. When we arrived there, we had to unpack the car. Abuelita Guerrero usually was reciting the rosary on the porch. Mom's younger sisters, Grace and Alicia, would come out and lead us into the house to the kitchen. In those days, there was no television only radio. I remember that the radio would always play the same program of melodies every Friday at the same hour. We would always get fed and ready for bed. My cousin, José, who was the same age as Mague, would always be hiding so he could scare the wits out of us. He usually did.

Early next dawn, after a night's sleep on Abuelita's wooden floors, we awoke to the smell of coffee boiling, the sounds of making fresh corn or flour tortillas, and the everpresent blare of Mexican music. Those Mexican Disc Jockeys used to really get your blood excited and going. We had to wash up at the front or backyard faucet. The only indoor plumbing was the kitchen sink. The outhouse was way back on the property by the chicken coops. I could hear the adults conversing happily in the kitchen preparing a delicious breakfast. During those days we never had a cold cereal breakfast like what is today's standard child's breakfast. During the winter we had hot oat cereal, strain hot oat cereal, hot breads. We had migas, papas con huevo, frijoles con huevo, salchichas picado con huevo, leftovers con huevo. There is joke that goes something like this, In the morning -papas con huevo, at lunch- huevos con papas and for supper, papas a huevo.

On Saturday morning, my abuelita, a widow, would take advantage of my father being there. She would ask him to fix the odd jobs. My dad was knowledgable of carpentry, plumbing, gardening, and of course, electricity. Whatever he did not know, he knew of someone who could help him out. My mother was usually very happy to be around abuelita. My sister and my tias (aunts) got along well. José and I would usually help my dad with whatever he was doing. Being outside in Laredo was always an adventure. We would gather insects, horny toads, pretend to go hunting in the empty lots. The world seemed great and mighty as well as exciting. Sometimes, we would all get in the car, my parents, my abuelita, my tias, José, Mague and I, and my dad would take us across the border to Mexico to visit my abuelita's sisters. They lived in Nuevo Laredo and managed a milk farm with a few cows and a small tiendita. That was the one of the few times we ever tasted raw milk and even helped make butter. As you may have figured out, our primary language was Spanish.

My dad would go to the carniceros-butchers, in the Mercado, Market place and buy some beef for supper. There would be cabritos hanging, chickens in cages ready for butchering, and everything fresh. There were also vendors of everything else, soap, buckets, games, piñatas, candy, and pharmacies across the street. There were toys and books, birds, and clothes.

We usually would cross back across the border and go home. My abuelita and my mother would then make a most delicious supper of bisec a la norteña, grilled steak with sauteed onions and tomatos, beans, and rice. It was meal fit for a king.

After supper, my dad would sometimes take me with him to visit his cousins or friends down the street. It was twilight. My dad's friends would hangout in a small shack. Some were pachucos, they would always show respect for my dad yet tease him about married life and life in the big city, San Antonio. After a few beers, my dad and I would walk back to abuelita's, greeting folks and relatives along the way. Once the sun went down, everyone would gather on their porches and converse. The youngsters would play hide and seek until we were told to go to bed.

On Sunday everyone would awaken early for Mass and stop and buy fresh pan dulce to eat after breakfast. For breakfast, we would eat huevos rancheros and frijoles refritos and some more freshly made tortillas. We would then wind down the day by packing and leaving back to San Antonio.