AMARILLO — I think it was Boone Pickens — the late, legendary oil tycoon — who once told me he didn’t return often to Amarillo “except to attend funerals.

It’s weird saying so, but I am finding myself in the same boat as the former Amarillo resident. My wife and I lived here for 23 years. She’s gone now and I don’t come back much these days. I have returned to attend a memorial service for a friend we both new. Kathy Anne is here in spirit, while I am here in the flesh.

And the sad truth is that my life has relocated from the Panhandle to the Metroplex. Which means that I don’t return often to the community where my wife and I forged a wonderful life.

We made a lot of friends during our time here. I reckon I’ll see many of them as we all bid farewell to a woman who also cultivated many friendships during her 70-something years on the good Earth. I don’t want my return here to revolve only around funeral services. It seems that is the inveviable trend my life will follow.

Whatever. I have returned this weekend. Hope to hug a lot of folks before I head back home.