Wednesday, August 04, 2010


Sooner or later if God allows it a man will have the woman he deserves. I am happy to report that Michael East is one of those lucky men.

Having just seen with Rosemary (minutes before I began to write here) the wonderful film The Young Victoria in which we see how Prince Albert, skillfully, but with a big heart, became the Prince Regent and companion to Queen Victoria I now understand why, upon Albert’s death, Victoria mourned him until the day she died.

As the man who runs a large South Texas ranch, Michael East is obviously taking the queen’s part while his loyal and loving companion, Letty García is Prince Regent.

After having observed her in action I must assert here that she runs a most shipshape household with a smile on her face. This is not lost by the “Queen” who knows how lucky he is.

In our four days at the Santa Fe Ranch Letty befriended my Rebecca, taught her to make tortillas and perhaps even instilled in her an awareness and an appreciation of what Texas hospitality is all about.

I have observed how children instantly feel comfortable in the “Prince Regent’s” presence particularly when they just might be reinforced in the Spanish language. Without Spanish nothing can really be done in a South Texas ranch. But then she is not only a master of English and Spanish but also of an increasingly important lingua franca that she calls Spanglish.

Important in a house in which the corridors are line with pictures that are Texas history, Letty García has been looking for precious stuff from the past that has been stored away. One beautiful Mexican sarape that was Sarita Kenedy East's had begun to deteriorate. This time around I noticed it had been framed under protective glass. When I was ambivalent in removing or not removing the candle stick in this picture she pointed out that it and a companion on the other end of the dining room table were important family heirlooms. Michael East knew nothing of this until she told us both, "The initials on the candle sticks are of Sarita Kenedy East. These were hers."

Like all dutiful Prince Regents, Letty sees to the health of her Michael East. She makes sure that even in a South Texas ranch where beef is king, if beef is not all that good for a her man’s stomach then there shall have to be more fish.

In some way she may have been instrumental in eliminating Michael East’s nasty baseball habit of chewing tobacco. Having unlit Kinky Friedman cigars in one’s face is a step in the right direction.

As I watched Michael East indulge in his ice cold El Patrón Tequila Silver with a Bud Lite chaser, after a long and strenuous day, I could see the contentment.

It was about time he got the woman he deserved.

The gentleman cowboy in the painting behind Letty and Michael is that of Michael's great uncle Arthur East who was married to Sarita Kenedy. Because their marriage had no issue the result was one of the longest will lawsuits in Texas history. Below is the genealogy of Michael East's relatives. Michael is bottom, left of the first geneaology, Kings, Klebergs and Easts.