| Calvin's Page |
June 5, 2010, Calvin writes:
Immediately after graduation, I spent the summer of 1960 working at
the family business and working out in preparation for yet another
football season at Texas A & I in Kingsville that summer, I along with
Richard Inman, was selected to play in the Oil Bowl game in Wichita
Falls, Texas, between Texas and Oklahoma High school graduates.
Since I was selected as an alternate, the week in Wichita Falls was
exciting for me, and especially so when I made the starting lineup. It
was of course a given that Richard would start and do well, and he
did. Another meaningful experience was the time I spent there with
Scott Appleton, who had been a powerful nemesis at Brady against
Belton. He played left guard in the game and I played left tackle.
In the fall of 1960, I lived and breathed football at A&I. I majored in
business administration with a minor in science, but until later
semesters my studies were regrettably secondary to football.
Academically my time at A&I was rewarding, not so much because of
my diligence, but because our president, Dr. Ernest Poteet, had
assembled such a great faculty. Campus life there at that time was
warm and animated, and we athletes were probably treated better
than was merited.
At A&I, the football program was year-around and didn’t leave a lot
of time for traditional organizational and social activities. During my
freshman year, I didn’t get as much playing time as I wanted, but I
was in the starting line up, except for some down-time for injuries,
for the next three years.
I was fortunate to play with a lot of talented and motivated guys,
especially with my brother Jarrell for two years and for three years
with my dear friend and roommate Charlie Williams, another Big Red
alumnus. During my years there we won two conference
Championships, and during my junior year we had A&I’s first
undefeated season.
In retrospect, I think the main reason for those wins was that it was
easier to win on Saturday night than to endure Coach Gil Steinke’s
workouts after a loss. Seriously, we had great coaching.
In December of 1963 I was married to Phyllis Troutman of Robstown,
also an A&I student. We lived in the student family apartments next
to campus, which I also managed.
After graduating in 1964, I worked for a year with Metropolitan Life
Insurance Company in Corpus Christi as a management trainee.
Even though the compensation was good and the people in the
office were enjoyable to work with, it was obvious that relocation
out of state would be necessary for the kind of position I wanted.
My dad and my mother-in-law were having health problems, and the
prospect of moving out of state, combined with a still unabated
interest in pharmacy, prompted me to go to pharmacy school. Years
earlier, Richard Inman had spent several hours with me over dinner
in Temple encouraging me to follow through on that desire, and I
think that support, which I appreciate to this day, was a factor in my
decision.
From September, 1965 to June, 1968 my world narrowed to pharmacy
school. At the University of Houston it was a major adjustment to go
from a small campus where everybody seemed to know my name to
a highly structured academic environment with all science and no
play. Pharmacy did prove to be fascinating to me, and the rigorous
curriculum was purposeful, so I had no complaints.
My personal style was somewhat crimped, though. For three years,
football scars weren’t exactly seen as marks of genius in the
College of Pharmacy, so until graduation and licensure in June,
1968, I suppressed my urge to talk about the Belton Tigers and
Texas A&I Javelinas, and passed as an exemplary nerd.
Despite the rigid program and its requisite focus, there were some
grand highs and painful lows during that period. My grandfather,
George Thomas Hayes – a simply wonderful man – died in 1966. In
that same year on November 30, a son, James Kevin Hayes, was
born, which was exhilarating.
In 1967, the joy of playing with Jim and rocking him to sleep each
night was treasured time, and is still one of my fondest memories.
In November, 1967, while doing my internship at a local pharmacy, I
received a call that my beloved dad had died suddenly at home in
Belton, and it seemed that at that instant the world just stopped.
The funeral and burial in Belton, the adjustments, and the remainder
of 1967 still seem surreal.
The final semester in 1968 moved quickly and in May, concluded
with a field trip to Indianapolis to tour Eli Lily & Co., and to Chicago
to tour the operations of Abbott Laboratories, both of which were
enormously interesting. We were hosted so well and fed so
sumptuously by them that it was hard to avoid a bias toward them
later on when practicing pharmacy.
After graduating, we moved to Victoria, where I worked in retail
pharmacy. In 1969, I accepted an offer to run a pharmacy in Refugio,
Texas, with the intent of ultimately buying it. The following year I
contracted a resistant strain of streptococcus, which left me with an
immunological disorder that mimics rheumatoid arthritis. After two
painful years and the insightful therapy of Dr. Cecil Troop of
Ardmore, Oklahoma, I fully recovered. By that time though, I had
decided to forego purchase of a retail pharmacy, and to combine
pharmacy with other business activities.
In August, 1972, my daughter, Deanna Elizabeth, was born. That
wonderful event caused me to postpone any major business
change, and I continued full time in pharmacy until 1977.
In 1977, while doing relief work in retail and hospital pharmacies, I
worked part time as a technical representative in marketing
computer mapping and log analysis services to geologists and
petroleum Engineers. In doing so, I developed a strong interest in
geology and began self-teaching and interactive learning from
customers in my work.
In 1978, I tried my hand at exploration, and with an associate formed
a company to put together prospects in the Woodbine Play in East
Central Texas. That first effort, covering a nine-month period,
worked well, too well, in that the lucrative first effort was taken by
me to be prologue to future success.
In early 1979, I discontinued work in pharmacy. The logistical strain
of managing the East Texas project and driving back to teach a
pharmacology course to nurses at our local hospital caused me to
enter the oil and gas business on a full-time basis.
Starting in 1980, most of my work was in Corpus Christi and
Houston, and in the various rural counties where we acquired oil
and gas leases. The hours were long while the business was being
established and alliances being made but, holistically, less
demanding than daily life in Refugio.
Civic life in a small town can be seductive, with one commitment
leading to another until almost all family and other private time is
spoken for. From 1970 to 1980, I served on the Chamber of
Commerce Board, the Historical Society Board, the Jaycees, Hospital
Board, President of the Little League, President of the School Board
for one term and member of the RISD Board of Trustees for 9 years –
and I was ready for a change.
From 1980 to 1986, the energy business did very well, and I spent a
lot of time with my children.
We took a long vacation to New Orleans for a July 4 celebration and
toured many of the old antebellum mansions. We ended up at the
world’s fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. During that same period we
took several ski trips to Red River, N.M., and Steamboat Springs,
Colorado.
In 1986, everything changed, for me and almost everyone else in the
exploration business. OPEC collapsed, oil prices dropped
precipitously, and two successful businesses I was involved in
suddenly had a negative cash flow. At that time I was president of a
small exploration company, and executive vice-president and one-
third owner of Balcones Capital Corporation, an energy funding
company. The exploration company operated out of an office in
Refugio which I owned. The funding business operated out of an
expensive office by the Galleria in Houston, and had to be
unraveled as soon as was feasible.
At that point I should have gone back into pharmacy, because there
were always plenty of opportunities there. Late in my pharmacy
career, I had managed a hospital pharmacy and really enjoyed it. It
didn’t require continuous standing as retail pharmacy had, and the
working arrangement was excellent.
Nevertheless, to paraphrase Mrs. Waldrip and Robert Frost, the two
roads before me diverged and I had to make a choice. I took the
one less traveled by and it has made all the difference.
Prior to the crash, I bought an interest in a new modular methanol
plant technology, and had negotiated development rights. The
design, by an Oak Ridge, Tenn. scientist, was small enough to be
skid-mounted and transported to shut-in natural gas reserves.
The development effort which I discussed at our 1990 reunion, was
promising but challenging because it was an R&D project. After a lot
of work, the project ceased to be feasible when the price of
methanol plummeted.
The first six years of the nineties were spent primarily in Houston,
working on a mix of upstream and downstream development
projects. My marriage to Phyllis ended in divorce in 1994, after
which I lived in Houston full time.
In 1997, at a multiclass reunion, I crossed paths with Gayle Tolkmitt,
whom I dated in school, and about whom I always had fond
memories. For me, the old feeling came back immediately and we
began seeing each other on the next weekend, and all weekends
thereafter. She always was the kindest and sweetest person
imaginable, and after almost thirteen years together, I can say that
she hasn’t changed.
We were married on February 14, 1998 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in
Waco, and every day since has been special and fulfilling. We have
had some ups and downs in our lives, but not in our marriage.
Gayle brought to our marriage two wonderful children, Denise and
John. We have become close and I enjoy them more all the time.
Shortly after our marriage, we lost my dear mother, Ruby Hayes, of
Belton. In this short space I can’t began to convey what she meant
to me. She was a person of constant vision and strength, tempered
at all times with faith in God and love of mankind, especially her
family. She always urged us to “make do” with what we had and that
“you haven’t failed if you are still trying”. After my divorce, when I
questioned a lot of conventional wisdom and myself as well, she
asked me to consider shutting out outside influences and spending
an hour a day, in a quiet place, reading the scriptures. She assured
me that the Holy Spirit would come in and clarify things. It worked.
In 2001, Denise married Jeffrey Smith, to whom she had been
engaged for quite some time. He is a bright, diligent and a caring
father who is in the air conditioning installation and repair business
in Castroville. Denise is a dear, tender-hearted person who is a
great wife and mother. She assists Jeff in his business and works
part-time at a law firm in San Antonio.
On January 29, 2002, Denise gave birth to Beth Marie Smith, our first
grandchild. She was named after Gayle’s beautiful daughter, Beth
Marie Bramlett, who died in 1981 in tragic circumstances. Beth, our
granddaughter, also beautiful, is a free spirit who is a mixture of one
part Mother Theresa and two parts Scarlet O’Hara. As with all our
grandchildren , we were present at her birth, and Gayle stayed with
and helped Denise and Beth much of the next year. Not
surprisingly, Gayle and Beth are very close. Very often when we
drive up to their home, Beth rushes to hug Gayle, yelling “my G.G.,
my G.G.”
Also, early in 2002, John married Harmony Renshaw, of Dallas, in a
large, traditional wedding in Los Vegas. It was well attended,
beautiful, and fun. The hospitality was more generous than were
the slot machines where we stayed at MGM Grand.
John and Harmony and their two boys are such an important part of
our life that it is hard to put into words. John is the kind of person
you just can’t get enough of. He is strong in important ways, but is
so responsible, reliable and unselfishly helpful and loving that it is
often difficult to suppress tears of appreciation. He is a man for all
seasons who you can “hang your hat on.”
Harmony is vivacious, beautiful and loving, and is just a dear
daughter, as opposed to a daughter-in-law. She is a wonderful wife
and mother, and does so much in a week she seems to be
supercharged.
On November 17, 2002, Harmony gave birth to Luke Thomas
Bramlett, our first grandson, a very talented guy who is so special to
me. We have had fun together from day one and I can’t say enough
good things about him. He has really done well in the basketball in
The Upward Program at the First Baptist Church in Belton. I’m
predicting that when Belton wins its second state Championship,
Luke will be the Big Red Point Guard. I’m hoping that at some point
we can get Will G. and Richard .I to give him some pointers.
Since Luke’s birth, Gayle and I have been immersed in business and
in spending time with family. We really enjoy keeping the kids. We
watch the kids, but there is no one to watch us – we spoil them
unashamedly, and love it.
By that time, I had narrowed my business focus to a niche of the
exploration business. Using a wellbore data base I own, I was
working with an outstanding group in south Texas to create leads
and couple those with lease opportunities. Those leads and land
were then sold to good operating companies for conversion to
drillable prospects.
In June, 2002, my brother Jarrell and I formed GeoLand Group, LLC
to use the same business model, with special focus on by-passed
natural gas reserves. In 2004, GeoLand Group formed an alliance
with another group to form Genesis (USA) Oil & Gas, LLC. We are
still doing business as Genesis; Jarrell is President and I am
Executive Vice President. I do about half my work from Waco, and
split the other half about equally in various South Texas counties
and our office in Houston. We are pleased with the position of
Genesis in the Houston oil and gas community.
Gayle and I have not vacationed much during our marriage, unless
you count our much more meaningful time with family, in which case
we have vacationed a lot.
Prior to the birth of Beth and Luke, Gayle and I did enjoy vacations
to Reno/Tahoe/SanFrancisco and Hawaii. I fell in love with Hawaii.
We didn’t take another single-purpose vacation until 2009, when we
spent a week in San Francisco. We rationalized that we should do a
walking vacation, to help offset our gluttonous inclinations. We
discussed Arkansas and San Francisco, but I rationalized that San
Francisco was better because the hills were steeper. Once in San
Francisco, I finally admitted that it was because those sidewalks
lead to some of the best restaurants anywhere. I have to mention
that seafood probably doesn’t get any better than Scome’s
Restaurant at Fisherman’s Wharf. I am a museum nut, and our visit
to the King Tut exhibit at the DeYoung Museum and everything at
the California Academy of Science Museum in Golden Gate Park
were a real pleasure.
In August of 2005, John and Harmony had another son, Druw Carson
Bramlett, who is also special in his own way. He and Gayle are close
and seem to have their own special language. Since his birth I have
thought of him as Winston Gerber. He looked like the Gerber baby,
and had and still has the personality of Winston Churchill. He is
rarely ambiguous or equivocal, and he loves to go to G.G.'s house.
He is now 4 years old and until recently we thought he would not be
very academic. When we ended up with a surplus computer at the
office, I gave it to Druw for use in the future. To my surprise, he
loves his “puter” and is on it a lot.
Life went very well for us until April 4, 2007. I received an early
morning call from Deanna, who through her tears, asked me to sit
down and then told me that my son Jim had been killed in an auto
accident. I won’t try to describe the feelings that coursed through
me, other than to say that it is an intensity and type of anguish that I
wish no one would have to experience. Gayle, having been through
that with her daughter, instantly knew what to say, how to touch me
and what to do. Without her I think I would have melted down.
If in my subsequent state of emotional impairment I overlooked
thanking you for the flowers sent by the Class of 1960, and the
touching sympathy cards, please accept my much belated thank you
from the bottom of my heart.
Jim and I had always been close from the start, as mentioned I
relished the time in his infancy when I rocked him to sleep each
night. He seemed to have a charmed infancy, until one day in his
18th month in one of his sprints he tripped and hit his head on a
concrete driveway. He sustained a serious brain injury and it was
touch-and-go for a couple of days and then he quickly returned to
normal. I commented to his physician, Dr. Lawrence Sterne, that I
was so thankful that we had apparently dodged a bullet. He looked
me in the eye and said, Calvin, I pray that is the case, but I’m afraid
that this is going to come back to haunt you in about 20 years. It did.
Jim was so special from the start. He learned very quickly, was
happy, and never complained about a no. Almost never. In 1968 we
went to the Hemisfair in San Antonio and then to the zoo at
Brackenridge Park. After we left the zoo, he sat on my knee, looked
me in the eye and said “Daddy”, can we please, please move to the
zoo.” Telling him that it simply wasn’t something we could do – thus
breaking his heart - was one of the most difficult things I have ever
done.
Jim made all A’s from kindergarten on, and was a model student. He
participated in seemingly everything – and loved it. He won the
county spelling bee, and led his three-student group in winning the
annual quiz show on the public TV channel over the other schools in
South Texas.
He wrote a book in the ninth grade, and as a gift to me he wrote a
computer program for my Tandy computer which was tailored for my
business. It worked well. Every year, from the 7th grade through
his senior year, as he was president of his class. He spent the
summer after his senior year in Washington as an intern for our
congressman, the Hon. Mac Sweeney.
In addition to his academic achievements in Refugio, he was a
National Merit Scholar, and was very involved in church activities
and in the Boy Scouts, especially the Order of the Arrow.
Texas A&M University in College Station granted him the best
scholarship – the President’s Endowed Scholarship, a 4-year
scholarship, which paid for everything. He lived in Aston Hall and
participated in campus activities. He majored in computer science
and was on the Dean’s List the first year. He was active in his local
church, and he also found for time to write a weekly column for The
Battalion, the student newspaper.
Toward the end of his freshman year, Jim indicated that he was
having some difficulty in concentration. In retrospect, I realize that
he was exhibiting symptoms that should have caused me to suspect
a major problem.
Jim continued at A&M but ultimately changed his major from
computer science to economics. Although he continued course
work and his work at the Battalion, he was becoming more
introspective and socially withdrawn. A friend of the family who was
a therapist in mental health suggested subtly and then not so subtly,
the nature of his problem. In denial at first, I think that we somehow
sensed the nature of his problem. Despite having problems, he
proceeded with his degree plan and graduated A&M with a degree
in economics.
After graduation, he worked with me in generating prospect leads
and handling various tasks with the computer. For a time he also
worked in Houston handling telephone inquiries about various
computer problems. He eventually accepted therapy and a
diagnosis of schizophrenia and began a medication regiment, but
his compliance was erratic. Despite his illness, all his work done for
me was excellent.
He lived with me until Gayle and I married in 1998, after which he
lived in Refugio.
Eventually he needed regular, expert help, and he lived most of the
time in a private facility in San Antonio which provided structured
interaction with public and private programs.
His mother, sister and I visited with him often, usually separately,
but sometimes together. We would usually go to a restaurant where
we would joke and talk about issues of the day – while he enjoyed
his vegetarian meal. His last words each time we parted or ended a
phone conversation were “ I love you, Dad.”
Despite his problems, he could always think through things. In our
last conversation just before his death, we discussed the
implications of global warming. I emphasized the ecological and
global financial damage caused by flooding, crop damage,
desertification, etc. He thought that the greater and earlier calamity
from the warming would come from a shut-down of the North Atlantic
currents caused by the ice melt from the Arctic and Greenland,
resulting in a new ice age. That was our last conversation.
The son I loved so much was not less to me because of his illness.
His caring, courteous, thoughtful nature never changed. Although
his communication skills decreased. His beautiful mind and soul
remained, and his death left a hole in my heart that only Gayle can
fill.
Deanna has been hurt deeply by Jim’s sickness and death. Despite
an almost six-year age difference she adored Jim as a brother and
best friend, and because he was such a genuine, principled
person. Deanna did well in school, but inclined more toward ballet,
music and acting than Jim. She recognized injustice and quickly
came to defense of others, and herself. Prompted by that, I pushed
for and got funding for a girl's gymnasium and girl’s sports programs
while I was school board president. As it turned out, Deanna was
not into basketball or track, but she did make academic all state in
volleyball.
As Jim’s illness became more pronounced, Deanna changed as well.
She did her course work and earned a degree in communications
and languages at the University of Texas in Austin. For a year or so
she worked for Apple Computer Company in Austin handling callers
who spoke French.
She has done much of her work from home in the past and is now
doing some interesting work. She has always been inventive and
presently she is working up innovative ideas for new product lines
and is doing well.
After Jim’s death, Deanna went through an anger phase that caused
her some problems. She seems to have accepted it now, at least on
a cerebral level, but I think the hurt will be a long time in subsiding.
Looking to the future, Gayle and I plan to spend as much time
together as we can, both in work and with our family and friends.
We may buy a place closer to the grandchildren. If so, I want to keep
our country place. Not only is it the focus of so many precious
memories – it has some special quality that is both satisfying to the
soul and conducive to creativity.
Gayle wants me to cut back on work. I am going to try to do that,
while at the same time staying involved with the enterprise we have
gently nursed to viability.
Jan, I want to apologize for the delay in getting this to you. It was
been difficult to write for obvious reasons, but I did tell you I would
do it – so however belatedly, I set aside this afternoon to do it.
Thank you for being a loving shepherd of our wonderful class.
Best regards, Calvin
Immediately after graduation, I spent the summer of 1960 working at
the family business and working out in preparation for yet another
football season at Texas A & I in Kingsville that summer, I along with
Richard Inman, was selected to play in the Oil Bowl game in Wichita
Falls, Texas, between Texas and Oklahoma High school graduates.
Since I was selected as an alternate, the week in Wichita Falls was
exciting for me, and especially so when I made the starting lineup. It
was of course a given that Richard would start and do well, and he
did. Another meaningful experience was the time I spent there with
Scott Appleton, who had been a powerful nemesis at Brady against
Belton. He played left guard in the game and I played left tackle.
In the fall of 1960, I lived and breathed football at A&I. I majored in
business administration with a minor in science, but until later
semesters my studies were regrettably secondary to football.
Academically my time at A&I was rewarding, not so much because of
my diligence, but because our president, Dr. Ernest Poteet, had
assembled such a great faculty. Campus life there at that time was
warm and animated, and we athletes were probably treated better
than was merited.
At A&I, the football program was year-around and didn’t leave a lot
of time for traditional organizational and social activities. During my
freshman year, I didn’t get as much playing time as I wanted, but I
was in the starting line up, except for some down-time for injuries,
for the next three years.
I was fortunate to play with a lot of talented and motivated guys,
especially with my brother Jarrell for two years and for three years
with my dear friend and roommate Charlie Williams, another Big Red
alumnus. During my years there we won two conference
Championships, and during my junior year we had A&I’s first
undefeated season.
In retrospect, I think the main reason for those wins was that it was
easier to win on Saturday night than to endure Coach Gil Steinke’s
workouts after a loss. Seriously, we had great coaching.
In December of 1963 I was married to Phyllis Troutman of Robstown,
also an A&I student. We lived in the student family apartments next
to campus, which I also managed.
After graduating in 1964, I worked for a year with Metropolitan Life
Insurance Company in Corpus Christi as a management trainee.
Even though the compensation was good and the people in the
office were enjoyable to work with, it was obvious that relocation
out of state would be necessary for the kind of position I wanted.
My dad and my mother-in-law were having health problems, and the
prospect of moving out of state, combined with a still unabated
interest in pharmacy, prompted me to go to pharmacy school. Years
earlier, Richard Inman had spent several hours with me over dinner
in Temple encouraging me to follow through on that desire, and I
think that support, which I appreciate to this day, was a factor in my
decision.
From September, 1965 to June, 1968 my world narrowed to pharmacy
school. At the University of Houston it was a major adjustment to go
from a small campus where everybody seemed to know my name to
a highly structured academic environment with all science and no
play. Pharmacy did prove to be fascinating to me, and the rigorous
curriculum was purposeful, so I had no complaints.
My personal style was somewhat crimped, though. For three years,
football scars weren’t exactly seen as marks of genius in the
College of Pharmacy, so until graduation and licensure in June,
1968, I suppressed my urge to talk about the Belton Tigers and
Texas A&I Javelinas, and passed as an exemplary nerd.
Despite the rigid program and its requisite focus, there were some
grand highs and painful lows during that period. My grandfather,
George Thomas Hayes – a simply wonderful man – died in 1966. In
that same year on November 30, a son, James Kevin Hayes, was
born, which was exhilarating.
In 1967, the joy of playing with Jim and rocking him to sleep each
night was treasured time, and is still one of my fondest memories.
In November, 1967, while doing my internship at a local pharmacy, I
received a call that my beloved dad had died suddenly at home in
Belton, and it seemed that at that instant the world just stopped.
The funeral and burial in Belton, the adjustments, and the remainder
of 1967 still seem surreal.
The final semester in 1968 moved quickly and in May, concluded
with a field trip to Indianapolis to tour Eli Lily & Co., and to Chicago
to tour the operations of Abbott Laboratories, both of which were
enormously interesting. We were hosted so well and fed so
sumptuously by them that it was hard to avoid a bias toward them
later on when practicing pharmacy.
After graduating, we moved to Victoria, where I worked in retail
pharmacy. In 1969, I accepted an offer to run a pharmacy in Refugio,
Texas, with the intent of ultimately buying it. The following year I
contracted a resistant strain of streptococcus, which left me with an
immunological disorder that mimics rheumatoid arthritis. After two
painful years and the insightful therapy of Dr. Cecil Troop of
Ardmore, Oklahoma, I fully recovered. By that time though, I had
decided to forego purchase of a retail pharmacy, and to combine
pharmacy with other business activities.
In August, 1972, my daughter, Deanna Elizabeth, was born. That
wonderful event caused me to postpone any major business
change, and I continued full time in pharmacy until 1977.
In 1977, while doing relief work in retail and hospital pharmacies, I
worked part time as a technical representative in marketing
computer mapping and log analysis services to geologists and
petroleum Engineers. In doing so, I developed a strong interest in
geology and began self-teaching and interactive learning from
customers in my work.
In 1978, I tried my hand at exploration, and with an associate formed
a company to put together prospects in the Woodbine Play in East
Central Texas. That first effort, covering a nine-month period,
worked well, too well, in that the lucrative first effort was taken by
me to be prologue to future success.
In early 1979, I discontinued work in pharmacy. The logistical strain
of managing the East Texas project and driving back to teach a
pharmacology course to nurses at our local hospital caused me to
enter the oil and gas business on a full-time basis.
Starting in 1980, most of my work was in Corpus Christi and
Houston, and in the various rural counties where we acquired oil
and gas leases. The hours were long while the business was being
established and alliances being made but, holistically, less
demanding than daily life in Refugio.
Civic life in a small town can be seductive, with one commitment
leading to another until almost all family and other private time is
spoken for. From 1970 to 1980, I served on the Chamber of
Commerce Board, the Historical Society Board, the Jaycees, Hospital
Board, President of the Little League, President of the School Board
for one term and member of the RISD Board of Trustees for 9 years –
and I was ready for a change.
From 1980 to 1986, the energy business did very well, and I spent a
lot of time with my children.
We took a long vacation to New Orleans for a July 4 celebration and
toured many of the old antebellum mansions. We ended up at the
world’s fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. During that same period we
took several ski trips to Red River, N.M., and Steamboat Springs,
Colorado.
In 1986, everything changed, for me and almost everyone else in the
exploration business. OPEC collapsed, oil prices dropped
precipitously, and two successful businesses I was involved in
suddenly had a negative cash flow. At that time I was president of a
small exploration company, and executive vice-president and one-
third owner of Balcones Capital Corporation, an energy funding
company. The exploration company operated out of an office in
Refugio which I owned. The funding business operated out of an
expensive office by the Galleria in Houston, and had to be
unraveled as soon as was feasible.
At that point I should have gone back into pharmacy, because there
were always plenty of opportunities there. Late in my pharmacy
career, I had managed a hospital pharmacy and really enjoyed it. It
didn’t require continuous standing as retail pharmacy had, and the
working arrangement was excellent.
Nevertheless, to paraphrase Mrs. Waldrip and Robert Frost, the two
roads before me diverged and I had to make a choice. I took the
one less traveled by and it has made all the difference.
Prior to the crash, I bought an interest in a new modular methanol
plant technology, and had negotiated development rights. The
design, by an Oak Ridge, Tenn. scientist, was small enough to be
skid-mounted and transported to shut-in natural gas reserves.
The development effort which I discussed at our 1990 reunion, was
promising but challenging because it was an R&D project. After a lot
of work, the project ceased to be feasible when the price of
methanol plummeted.
The first six years of the nineties were spent primarily in Houston,
working on a mix of upstream and downstream development
projects. My marriage to Phyllis ended in divorce in 1994, after
which I lived in Houston full time.
In 1997, at a multiclass reunion, I crossed paths with Gayle Tolkmitt,
whom I dated in school, and about whom I always had fond
memories. For me, the old feeling came back immediately and we
began seeing each other on the next weekend, and all weekends
thereafter. She always was the kindest and sweetest person
imaginable, and after almost thirteen years together, I can say that
she hasn’t changed.
We were married on February 14, 1998 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in
Waco, and every day since has been special and fulfilling. We have
had some ups and downs in our lives, but not in our marriage.
Gayle brought to our marriage two wonderful children, Denise and
John. We have become close and I enjoy them more all the time.
Shortly after our marriage, we lost my dear mother, Ruby Hayes, of
Belton. In this short space I can’t began to convey what she meant
to me. She was a person of constant vision and strength, tempered
at all times with faith in God and love of mankind, especially her
family. She always urged us to “make do” with what we had and that
“you haven’t failed if you are still trying”. After my divorce, when I
questioned a lot of conventional wisdom and myself as well, she
asked me to consider shutting out outside influences and spending
an hour a day, in a quiet place, reading the scriptures. She assured
me that the Holy Spirit would come in and clarify things. It worked.
In 2001, Denise married Jeffrey Smith, to whom she had been
engaged for quite some time. He is a bright, diligent and a caring
father who is in the air conditioning installation and repair business
in Castroville. Denise is a dear, tender-hearted person who is a
great wife and mother. She assists Jeff in his business and works
part-time at a law firm in San Antonio.
On January 29, 2002, Denise gave birth to Beth Marie Smith, our first
grandchild. She was named after Gayle’s beautiful daughter, Beth
Marie Bramlett, who died in 1981 in tragic circumstances. Beth, our
granddaughter, also beautiful, is a free spirit who is a mixture of one
part Mother Theresa and two parts Scarlet O’Hara. As with all our
grandchildren , we were present at her birth, and Gayle stayed with
and helped Denise and Beth much of the next year. Not
surprisingly, Gayle and Beth are very close. Very often when we
drive up to their home, Beth rushes to hug Gayle, yelling “my G.G.,
my G.G.”
Also, early in 2002, John married Harmony Renshaw, of Dallas, in a
large, traditional wedding in Los Vegas. It was well attended,
beautiful, and fun. The hospitality was more generous than were
the slot machines where we stayed at MGM Grand.
John and Harmony and their two boys are such an important part of
our life that it is hard to put into words. John is the kind of person
you just can’t get enough of. He is strong in important ways, but is
so responsible, reliable and unselfishly helpful and loving that it is
often difficult to suppress tears of appreciation. He is a man for all
seasons who you can “hang your hat on.”
Harmony is vivacious, beautiful and loving, and is just a dear
daughter, as opposed to a daughter-in-law. She is a wonderful wife
and mother, and does so much in a week she seems to be
supercharged.
On November 17, 2002, Harmony gave birth to Luke Thomas
Bramlett, our first grandson, a very talented guy who is so special to
me. We have had fun together from day one and I can’t say enough
good things about him. He has really done well in the basketball in
The Upward Program at the First Baptist Church in Belton. I’m
predicting that when Belton wins its second state Championship,
Luke will be the Big Red Point Guard. I’m hoping that at some point
we can get Will G. and Richard .I to give him some pointers.
Since Luke’s birth, Gayle and I have been immersed in business and
in spending time with family. We really enjoy keeping the kids. We
watch the kids, but there is no one to watch us – we spoil them
unashamedly, and love it.
By that time, I had narrowed my business focus to a niche of the
exploration business. Using a wellbore data base I own, I was
working with an outstanding group in south Texas to create leads
and couple those with lease opportunities. Those leads and land
were then sold to good operating companies for conversion to
drillable prospects.
In June, 2002, my brother Jarrell and I formed GeoLand Group, LLC
to use the same business model, with special focus on by-passed
natural gas reserves. In 2004, GeoLand Group formed an alliance
with another group to form Genesis (USA) Oil & Gas, LLC. We are
still doing business as Genesis; Jarrell is President and I am
Executive Vice President. I do about half my work from Waco, and
split the other half about equally in various South Texas counties
and our office in Houston. We are pleased with the position of
Genesis in the Houston oil and gas community.
Gayle and I have not vacationed much during our marriage, unless
you count our much more meaningful time with family, in which case
we have vacationed a lot.
Prior to the birth of Beth and Luke, Gayle and I did enjoy vacations
to Reno/Tahoe/SanFrancisco and Hawaii. I fell in love with Hawaii.
We didn’t take another single-purpose vacation until 2009, when we
spent a week in San Francisco. We rationalized that we should do a
walking vacation, to help offset our gluttonous inclinations. We
discussed Arkansas and San Francisco, but I rationalized that San
Francisco was better because the hills were steeper. Once in San
Francisco, I finally admitted that it was because those sidewalks
lead to some of the best restaurants anywhere. I have to mention
that seafood probably doesn’t get any better than Scome’s
Restaurant at Fisherman’s Wharf. I am a museum nut, and our visit
to the King Tut exhibit at the DeYoung Museum and everything at
the California Academy of Science Museum in Golden Gate Park
were a real pleasure.
In August of 2005, John and Harmony had another son, Druw Carson
Bramlett, who is also special in his own way. He and Gayle are close
and seem to have their own special language. Since his birth I have
thought of him as Winston Gerber. He looked like the Gerber baby,
and had and still has the personality of Winston Churchill. He is
rarely ambiguous or equivocal, and he loves to go to G.G.'s house.
He is now 4 years old and until recently we thought he would not be
very academic. When we ended up with a surplus computer at the
office, I gave it to Druw for use in the future. To my surprise, he
loves his “puter” and is on it a lot.
Life went very well for us until April 4, 2007. I received an early
morning call from Deanna, who through her tears, asked me to sit
down and then told me that my son Jim had been killed in an auto
accident. I won’t try to describe the feelings that coursed through
me, other than to say that it is an intensity and type of anguish that I
wish no one would have to experience. Gayle, having been through
that with her daughter, instantly knew what to say, how to touch me
and what to do. Without her I think I would have melted down.
If in my subsequent state of emotional impairment I overlooked
thanking you for the flowers sent by the Class of 1960, and the
touching sympathy cards, please accept my much belated thank you
from the bottom of my heart.
Jim and I had always been close from the start, as mentioned I
relished the time in his infancy when I rocked him to sleep each
night. He seemed to have a charmed infancy, until one day in his
18th month in one of his sprints he tripped and hit his head on a
concrete driveway. He sustained a serious brain injury and it was
touch-and-go for a couple of days and then he quickly returned to
normal. I commented to his physician, Dr. Lawrence Sterne, that I
was so thankful that we had apparently dodged a bullet. He looked
me in the eye and said, Calvin, I pray that is the case, but I’m afraid
that this is going to come back to haunt you in about 20 years. It did.
Jim was so special from the start. He learned very quickly, was
happy, and never complained about a no. Almost never. In 1968 we
went to the Hemisfair in San Antonio and then to the zoo at
Brackenridge Park. After we left the zoo, he sat on my knee, looked
me in the eye and said “Daddy”, can we please, please move to the
zoo.” Telling him that it simply wasn’t something we could do – thus
breaking his heart - was one of the most difficult things I have ever
done.
Jim made all A’s from kindergarten on, and was a model student. He
participated in seemingly everything – and loved it. He won the
county spelling bee, and led his three-student group in winning the
annual quiz show on the public TV channel over the other schools in
South Texas.
He wrote a book in the ninth grade, and as a gift to me he wrote a
computer program for my Tandy computer which was tailored for my
business. It worked well. Every year, from the 7th grade through
his senior year, as he was president of his class. He spent the
summer after his senior year in Washington as an intern for our
congressman, the Hon. Mac Sweeney.
In addition to his academic achievements in Refugio, he was a
National Merit Scholar, and was very involved in church activities
and in the Boy Scouts, especially the Order of the Arrow.
Texas A&M University in College Station granted him the best
scholarship – the President’s Endowed Scholarship, a 4-year
scholarship, which paid for everything. He lived in Aston Hall and
participated in campus activities. He majored in computer science
and was on the Dean’s List the first year. He was active in his local
church, and he also found for time to write a weekly column for The
Battalion, the student newspaper.
Toward the end of his freshman year, Jim indicated that he was
having some difficulty in concentration. In retrospect, I realize that
he was exhibiting symptoms that should have caused me to suspect
a major problem.
Jim continued at A&M but ultimately changed his major from
computer science to economics. Although he continued course
work and his work at the Battalion, he was becoming more
introspective and socially withdrawn. A friend of the family who was
a therapist in mental health suggested subtly and then not so subtly,
the nature of his problem. In denial at first, I think that we somehow
sensed the nature of his problem. Despite having problems, he
proceeded with his degree plan and graduated A&M with a degree
in economics.
After graduation, he worked with me in generating prospect leads
and handling various tasks with the computer. For a time he also
worked in Houston handling telephone inquiries about various
computer problems. He eventually accepted therapy and a
diagnosis of schizophrenia and began a medication regiment, but
his compliance was erratic. Despite his illness, all his work done for
me was excellent.
He lived with me until Gayle and I married in 1998, after which he
lived in Refugio.
Eventually he needed regular, expert help, and he lived most of the
time in a private facility in San Antonio which provided structured
interaction with public and private programs.
His mother, sister and I visited with him often, usually separately,
but sometimes together. We would usually go to a restaurant where
we would joke and talk about issues of the day – while he enjoyed
his vegetarian meal. His last words each time we parted or ended a
phone conversation were “ I love you, Dad.”
Despite his problems, he could always think through things. In our
last conversation just before his death, we discussed the
implications of global warming. I emphasized the ecological and
global financial damage caused by flooding, crop damage,
desertification, etc. He thought that the greater and earlier calamity
from the warming would come from a shut-down of the North Atlantic
currents caused by the ice melt from the Arctic and Greenland,
resulting in a new ice age. That was our last conversation.
The son I loved so much was not less to me because of his illness.
His caring, courteous, thoughtful nature never changed. Although
his communication skills decreased. His beautiful mind and soul
remained, and his death left a hole in my heart that only Gayle can
fill.
Deanna has been hurt deeply by Jim’s sickness and death. Despite
an almost six-year age difference she adored Jim as a brother and
best friend, and because he was such a genuine, principled
person. Deanna did well in school, but inclined more toward ballet,
music and acting than Jim. She recognized injustice and quickly
came to defense of others, and herself. Prompted by that, I pushed
for and got funding for a girl's gymnasium and girl’s sports programs
while I was school board president. As it turned out, Deanna was
not into basketball or track, but she did make academic all state in
volleyball.
As Jim’s illness became more pronounced, Deanna changed as well.
She did her course work and earned a degree in communications
and languages at the University of Texas in Austin. For a year or so
she worked for Apple Computer Company in Austin handling callers
who spoke French.
She has done much of her work from home in the past and is now
doing some interesting work. She has always been inventive and
presently she is working up innovative ideas for new product lines
and is doing well.
After Jim’s death, Deanna went through an anger phase that caused
her some problems. She seems to have accepted it now, at least on
a cerebral level, but I think the hurt will be a long time in subsiding.
Looking to the future, Gayle and I plan to spend as much time
together as we can, both in work and with our family and friends.
We may buy a place closer to the grandchildren. If so, I want to keep
our country place. Not only is it the focus of so many precious
memories – it has some special quality that is both satisfying to the
soul and conducive to creativity.
Gayle wants me to cut back on work. I am going to try to do that,
while at the same time staying involved with the enterprise we have
gently nursed to viability.
Jan, I want to apologize for the delay in getting this to you. It was
been difficult to write for obvious reasons, but I did tell you I would
do it – so however belatedly, I set aside this afternoon to do it.
Thank you for being a loving shepherd of our wonderful class.
Best regards, Calvin
| Our Calvin in 1960. |
| Granddad with Beth-8, Luke-7, and Druw-4. |
| Beth, Luke, and Druw enjoy eating at the children's table. |
| Beth, Luke, and Druw. |
| Dec. 2009: San Francisco. |
| 2009: Lake Tahoe |
| Feb. 14, 1998: Gayle and Calvin looking blissful! |
| 1999: Calvin and Gayle enjoy a trip to Hawaii. |