The West is Best

 

I like the town of West, population 2,860. It's the Czech capital of Texas and justifiably famous for its kolaches. Pull off I35 on the way to or from Waco and get some, worth the stop. But that's not all, there's plenty of bars, see LL's franchise, and restaurants, which gives the place a happy, small town country vibe.

Plenty of Hardware, no Bullets

But I wasn't there for that, I was after ammo at True Value, which is a hardware store that sells guns and ammunition. At least it did, and even in the days of the infamous Obama bullet shortage this store was always stocked with ammo at normal prices. Maybe history would repeat itself, I walked through the door to find out.

Looking West

No. A few rifles, mostly Henry levers, nice, but hardly any bullets and what there was wasn't affordable. A solitary 500 round "value pack" of .22 LR for $80? Sorry, guys, not gonna do it. The pleasant young Czechoslovakian woman behind the counter apologized, "I'm sorry, nothing is normal now." I agreed, and we looked each other in the eye, "Ain't that the truth." A meeting of minds, for sure, but no bullets.

West is Catholic And Has More Fun Than Other Towns

So I headed back down the speedway deathtrap that is I35, and in a few short minutes was back in the rural haven of the County Seat itself. At its Walmart, in fact. Maybe this evil Chinese incursion onto US sovereign land would have bullets.

A Typical West Street Scene

Sure enough, there they were! Boxes of 12 and 20 gauge, .22 LR, .22 Mini Mag, .22 WMR and .17 HMR, and all at normal price. Shocked and astounded, I bought three 50 round boxes of CCI .22 WMR to go through the Marlin I don't have, and looked at a Savage bull barrel .17. Nice looking gun for 212 bucks, then again, so were the levers at True Value. Hmmm.

Look at Those Bad Boys!

And that was that, a short excursion into ammoland in North Central Texas. Now it's time for Hamburgers, to celebrate the victory of it all.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Go West

Go West? Yes, to the town of West, a small Texan farming community known for its Czech Stop bakery on the side of highway I35. The town's named after Thomas West, the town's first Postmaster who sold land to the Missouri-Kansas-Texas railway in 1881.

West grew up around the rails and prospered along with its Postmaster, attracting immigrants from Czechoslovakia who were drawn to the area by the heady lure of rich farmland and all-round opportunity. 

You can see their influence today in the catholicism of the place and its several bars or pubs, to say nothing of various bakeries, not least the notorious Czech Stop. The Czechs are there today as of the 2012 census, which credits West with the highest concentration of Czechoslovakians in the state.

The railway still bisects this curiously attractive town, though it's now sadly restricted to freight. What a shame, it'd be a far more civilized thing to be able to get on a train at Hillsboro, ride to West or Waco, have fun, then ride the rails back home as opposed to driving on the hideous and deadly I35. 

Who knows, maybe that day will return in some form or another, but hopefully not in the way of another Crush Crash. You can see all about that infamous disaster here.

Crush Crash aside, it was good to go to the Two Amigos restaurant with a crew of churchpeople, and they say, interestingly, that a congregation which meets during the week is more likely to grow than one which doesn't. Good point. 

Sound

They also say a church which actually believes in Christianity is more likely to grow than one that doesn't. Bizarre, perhaps someone should inform Pope Francis and his lesser colleague, the apologetic Archbishop of Canterbury. But therein lies another story.

Travellers Club Forever,

LSP

I Went to West and Got a Haircut

Typical West Street Scene

Like the song says, I was born to have adventure, so I climbed in the truck and drove to West for a haircut. They have a barber there.

He was in his 70s and had a dyed blond "fauxhawk." Pretty sharp, and I told him, "I'd like a haircut please." He replied, "Like you're 16 again and all the girls like you! Gets to where they don't even notice you if they're under 35. Yessir. Medium." So out came the clippers and off went the hair, almost all of it.

Where's Your Hair Gone, Buddy?

He wasn't very happy about being in the Korean war and thought it was pretty much "bullshit." He was even less happy about having to clean planes that had been part of the hydrogen bomb tests.

"But you look alright," I said as I paid him his clipper fee.

"I am not, internally," he replied.

Next year, when my hair's long enough to cut again, I'll go back to that barber.

If you get the chance, go to any of the bakeries in West. They're outstanding.

God bless,

LSP