We were on the road again this weekend, Bill Bybee and myself. Friday afternoon, Bill came to my shop in Corsicana, and we headed off to Deep East Texas. The occasion was the "East Texas Locksmith's Crawfish Boil" in Longview, TX . This is an industry event hosted by Ralph and Tommy Warren of Lock Doc, Inc. of Longview, and sponsored by IDN-Acme, and Alarm Lock, represented this year by Mike Clark.

The party was held at Ralph's country home west of Longview. Ralph Warren and his wife Becky have a beautiful ranch among the piney woods just west of Longview, Tx. Here Ralph raises many types of exotic animals. Allways the gracious host, Ralph provided tours of his ranch and animals by Golf Cart and several 4-wheelers (ATV's). These pictures of Ralph Warren, and the animals he raises are actually from last year, as I forgot to take the same pictures again this year. Not shown are the several species of deer, exotic cattle and goats that he raises. Back in the woods, there is a fishing pond where feeding the catfish was a favorite particularly among the youngsters there. Those taking the tour had a blast.

Many East Texas Locksmiths showed up to feast on Boiled Crawfish, Smoked Sausage, Corn-on-the-Cob, Hush Puppies, Fried Catfish, various kinds of fruit cobbler, Beer on Tap, Ice Tea, and more trimmings than you can mention. This was all free to the attendees. Crawfish is finger food, and our plates were cardboard box tops. Emily Post was not there.

The Party started at 6:30p this year and lasted until late in the evening. The kids played baseball and soccer in the yard, while the rest of us were entertained by a live country band and singers. Shown above, they were in the middle of Jerry Jeff Walker's "Ya don't have to call me Darlin', Darlin'" where everyone there joined in. I know, but you just had to be there to appreciate it. No one went away hungry. You just dipped up the cooked Crawfish from the steaming insulated chests, and ate til you were satisfied. This was not an association event as such, and there was no speaker, formality, sales pitches or politics. This made for an easy living, most enjoyable evening of fellowship. Here, competitors got together and visited in an informal atmosphere. This is the eighth year that Ralph has hosted this event and it gets bigger and more famous each year. With their hospitality, our hosts did much for locksmith unity in the area.

The next day, we went to Ralph's shop to participate in a PRP Exam there proctored by none other than our own David Lowell. (Those pictures are not available just yet, but will likely be part of a spotlight report later this year.) There were 8 locksmiths being examined for various levels of the PRP. Afterwards, we headed back home to start another week's work. Lasting much longer than the taste of the excellent food is the memory of this pleasant weekend of fun and fellowship among so many members of our industry in the piney woods of East Texas.

Respectfully, C.D. Lipscomb, CML,CPS,CIL