My name is Loren and I'm one of four men on a roughneck crew working on an oil drilling rig out of Gladewater, Texas. The other three guys are Mousie, Pappy and Ben. Our rig was on location outside of Grapeland, Texas. That was about a two hour drive from Gladewater through some backcountry on narrow farm to market roads.

One stretch of this road ran through some dense woods and we always saw armadillos along side of the road on this stretch. One day this led to a discussion as to how fast an armadillo could run. Pappy said he had heard they could outrun a horse. I laughed at him and said I bet I can catch one. Well this led to a bet of milkshakes for the crew and the great armadillo caper was on.

We worked the evening shift from 3:00 pm until 11:00 pm and we always left home at noon so we would have plenty of time to get to work on time. The next day after the bet was made we were ready for the big race. When we got to this stretch of road that ran through the woods we were all watching for an armadillo. The little farm to market blacktop was just wide enough for two cars to pass. This was Pappy's day to drive and he had been driving down the middle of the blacktop watching both sides of the road.

All of a sudden Pappy slammed on the brakes, threw the transmission into neutral and jerked up on the emergency brake handle. All four doors flew open and we all made a mad dash after the varmint.

To the armadillo it must have sounded like the whole Sioux Indian Nation at the battle of the Little Big Horn. He turned and made a mad dash for the woods. He was running as fast as his little legs could carry him.

We were right behind him whooping and hollering like a bunch of wild Indians. I was in the lead with Ben and Mousie right behind me. Pappy was bringing up the rear. In and out of brush piles, around trees and under logs that little varmint went with us in hot pursuit. 

Finally I got close enough to reach down and grab his tail. I lifted him off the ground and he rolled up in a ball. I turned around and held him up so Pappy could see him. Ben told Pappy he owed us all a milkshake. We were laughing and talking about the chase as we walked back out of the woods to the car.

Just as we got to the edge of the woods we saw a Texas highway patrol car sitting there in the middle of the road nose to nose with our car. Our car was sitting in the middle of the road with all four doors open and the motor running.

As we walked out of the trees the two highway patrolmen saw us and came over to us. We lined up on the shoulder of the road with me on the right end. I was standing there holding this armadillo out in front of me like I was trying to hide behind it. No one said a thing.

Finally one of the highway patrolmen asked whose car that was blocking the road. Pappy managed to say it was his. The patrolman asked him why it was sitting in the middle of the road with the motor running and all four doors wide open. Pappy looked at me like I was supposed to answer that question. All I could do was hold up the armadillo a little higher and point to it.

For the next 30 minutes the patrolman lectured us and what he said is a whole nother story for different time. Afterward I let the armadillo go and we got in our car and went on to work, but the rest of the ride was sure quite. No one said a word. We even forgot about the milkshakes that Pappy owed us.

        ~  By Loren Moore Copyright 2002 who is 72 years old and an "uneducated redneck" that took early retirement from the General Motors assembly plant in Arlington, Texas, and is from the piney woods of East Texas. He writes saying: "Now that I'm in my old age and do most of my hunting and fishing in my memory, I decided to write about a few of my experiences. Those were the days my friend. We would live the life we choose we would fight and never lose for we were young and sure to have our way. ~

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