Welcome to Redemption, Texas population 687, well, minus one now. Let’s try that again. Howdy from Redemption, Texas, population 686 proudly known as the “Sweetest Rolling Green Hills Town in the Lone Star State.” But since that doesn’t fit on most license plates the people here call their home simply Sweet Rollin’ Redemption. And while Texas has many a small town inside its borders not one is as eccentric as the one you are right now standin’ in. Like as not of a sunny day you might see a small funnel fall out of the sky and take out a coupla trees. Not a one of ‘em has ever hurt anyone though. And standing here, if you look out…do you see how green everything is? And the sky so big and blue. It’s a wonder more people don’t come out this way and call it home.
But that’s not what you’re here for is it? I suppose it is the cemetery you’ll be wanting to see. Shame about what happened. Guess I do ramble a bit. I just want you to know that despite what you’ve read this town is as great a place to live as any, better than most even I’d say.
:Dead:
Slip aside the brambles and thicket and you can read what is the town’s last word on one John C. McRooney. Yes, that John C. McRooney. The one you read about on the front page of every newspaper in the area for about three weeks, I guess it would be about two months ago now. That’s why they hid his stone here behind all this brush. A town needs a little “outta sight outta mind” to get over something like that. Redemption has bounced back from it though but every once in awhile we get reporters or curious college students who missed out on the initial stir stopping by to snap a few pictures and ask questions.
You can pretty much tell how Redemption feels about John C. McRooney looking at his headstone. That says it all I think. He was a native son of sorts but once what he done got out, the family moved and left him behind. Redemption didn’t like what he did but they sure as hell weren’t going to leave a man unburied and unremembered. Plus for awhile there were so many people flocking into town to do stories and investigations and stuff that Curley and Sarah Drake, owners of Drake’s Café could finally afford to get the leak in their roof fixed and save up for a new truck. What he did was awful, just awful, but Redemption made a lot of money from it and I think that is why the Rotary held a bake sale to raise money for the stone. I’m not too sure who came up with the “:Dead:” idea but it does seem to fit, don’t you think?
About M. Jaynes