Texas Ed

 Texas Ed, By Maya Kent

 I wanted to interview someone who is a true Texan, so that’s why I picked Ed, my new neighbor. Although he was not born there, Ed considers himself a Texan. Ed was born in Louisville, Kentucky on the banks of the Ohio river in 1937.  It was very different than now. Nobody traveled much outside of their town. His mom had many brothers and sisters and everybody lived within two miles of one another. Kids would play outside all day instead of being inside on electronics all of the time, like they are now. He would  also make up games and play in the mud a lot. Some of his hobbies were sports, riding bikes, building model airplanes and puzzles.

When he was young his nickname was Eddie Joe because his name is Edward Joseph. He has one brother who is four years younger than him who he liked to tease. They didn’t get along very well then,  but now they have a closer relationship.  He went to one school all the way up to eighth grade.  In high school he remembers going to lots of dances and parties.  He also played football, basketball and baseball.  In his opinion the 50's were the best time to live and grow up in.

Ed went to the University of  Louisville in Kentucky. Then when he was twenty-two he moved to Texas City, and then to Galveston, Texas. While living in Galveston he met his wife, Minda. It was when he was at a Halloween party.  At the stroke of midnight she walked in.  That was the first time he ever saw her. He went up to her and found out her name and phone number. The next week they had their first date, and the next year they were married. Minda was born in the Philippines. She was a nurse, and had come to the United States so she could get paid better. When they first met she had only been in the United States for three weeks.

Ed was an engineer. He had many different positions, and worked for Monsano, Van Leer and Exxon chemical. He then lived in Spring Branch, Texas before moving to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He moved from there to Houston, Texas and has now lived there for thirty-three years. If you would like to know why he thinks Texas is such a great state he could tell you in one song, Oh beautiful Texas, which you can listen to right here. He is also a huge Notre Dame fan.  He grew up listening to all of their games on the radio, because they did not have a TV.

Ed and Minda have traveled all of other the world. The countries he has been to are Canada, Mexico, England, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Finland, Sweden, Croatia, Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Serbia, Russia, Japan, China and  Columbia! He has also been to 49 out of the 50 states. The only one he has not been to is North Dakota. His favorite place he has ever traveled to is Hawaii, and he would love to visit New Zealand someday. They have three boys, and now have 11 grandchildren.  They have been married for almost 55 years. Ed says he is most proud of getting married and raising his family. He would describe himself as inquisitive, outgoing, extrovert and interested in new things.

He has interesting  advice for us on how to become true Texans, like if you see a cockroach you have to step on it and kill it with your bare feet! Ed is a very friendly person, which is great because when you move to a new place you never know what your neighbors are going to be like. So, when we moved to Houston, Texas, Ed was there to welcome us in and make us feel at home in our new neighborhood. That is why Ed is such a great neighbor.