It is the second week in August and quite naturally I have Furr’s Cafeteria on the mind. That is what I should be thinking about. Every year, during the second week in August, my mother took me school shopping. We always shopped at Anthony’s, which later became Beall’s. I bought my first suit at Anthony’s to wear at high school debate tournaments. It was an Angel’s Fight suit, which reflected the disco era of the late ‘70’s. I felt like dynamite in my black suit and stacked heels.

Lubbock did not have Walmart at the time, and my mother was just not a K-mart shopper. K-mart just did not fit her traditional Southern genteel ways. The word “quality” was a favorite in my mother’s vocabulary. In her estimation, K-mart just did not reflect “quality.” (You have to pronounce that word with a Southern accent to get the full effect.) It did not take long to buy school clothes for a boy. A stop at Anthony’s followed by a run through J.C. Penney’s pretty well did the trick. My sisters had long since left home. School shopping was a lot more fun without both of them. And then it was time for Furr’s…

Eating out was a big deal back then. Our family always dined at home. Every year I loaded my tray with chicken fried steak and fried potatoes from Furr’s. The iced tea just seemed to taste extra good on an August day in Lubbock. The meal was topped off with a generous slice of chocolate pie. How would I ever be able to wear those 30” waist Levi’s that I just purchased at Anthony’s? To have such problems today….

I had my best conversations with my mother during those annual visits to Furr’s. I am quite sure that I was not the most pleasant person to be around when I was a teen. The chicken fried steak and iced tea must have broken the barriers down between us. My mother did not mind sharing her traditional values of loyalty to friends and principles of good hospitality. She grew up in a very dysfunctional home. Consequently she was very sensitive to people who had not had all of the breaks in life. I suppose you could say I learned a lot at Furr’s every August. It was a great tradition.

Next Monday I am going to take my younger boys school shopping. Their older brother has graduated on to more costly retail endeavors with his father. Mitchell is already complaining about shopping at Kohl’s. How I wish K-mart was still around! Threatening to purchase a pair of Rustler brand jeans at Walmart generally puts a stop to his commentary about stores.

The boys are not fans of Furr’s Cafeteria. I suspect we will eat in the Food Court at the mall. I hope the conversation is rich. I hope we build some good memories and form our own traditions. Last year I bought Daniel a suit for debate tournaments. This year I may have to buy him another one. Angel’s Flight suits and stacked heels are of course out of the question.

One August day I will get in the car and drive to Lubbock. I will have to make a small purchase in the Beall’s store, where Anthony’s once stood. I will go by myself to eat a chicken fried steak at Furr’s. I will finish the day by placing fresh flowers on my mother’s grave, which ironically is not too far from where K-mart once stood…. I promise to tell her that all of my purchases reflected good “quality.” I will even imitate her Southern accent. And I will think about tradition. It is the second week of August, and quite naturally I have Furr’s Cafeteria on the mind. You know…tradition is a good thing.