57 MAGNOLIA JOURNAL fall 2019
I have lived in Waco my entire adult
life and would consider myself, by
all accounts, a Texan. But truth be
told, I was actually born one state
west in New Mexico, where I lived
for about a decade before my parents
relocated to the Fort Worth area.
Last fall, I convinced Jo and the
kids to take a road trip with me to
Albuquerque so I could show them
around the place where I grew up.
There was something in me that wanted
my family to experience that chapter
of my story, with the hope that they
might appreciate my hometown for the
same reasons I did.I timed this trip just right
so that we’d arrive in Albuquerque
the day before the International
Balloon Fiesta, which is a three-day
event where balloon enthusiasts from
all over the world release hundreds
of hot-air balloons into the sky.CHIP GAINES
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