An Oasis in West Texas

My father wanted his ashes spread near the little town of Christoval, Texas, where he spent a lot of his childhood. My sister and I went up there a couple of weeks ago to do this final task.

I’d never been there, though I’ve gone to nearby San Angelo a number of times, so I was picturing the usual sun-baked place with a dying downtown of decrepit buildings. But although the post office is the main building left downtown, there were trees everywhere you turned, courtesy of the south branch of t...