Darlene P. Campos
My Grandma Raquel left Bat Springs every summer to visit the LBJ Library. She loved LBJ so much, she carried a picture of him in her wallet and had more pictures of him all over her house. According to her, he was the best president in US History. When my parents found out they were having me, Grandma Raquel pointed at them and said, “You better name my nieto after LBJ.” And they did, sort of. They settled on Lyndon Baines Juan Perez instead.
But in summer 1995, Grandma Raquel didn’t go to the LBJ Library. That summer, I was sick. I felt tired all the time. I couldn’t eat much because I’d throw up. Grandma Raquel drove to El Paso, her childhood home, to visit Great-Grandpa Armando’s grave. She visited his grave whenever someone close was sick. She believed his grave had power because he was the only family member who didn’t die from being sick. He died from being old. Even Dr. Feldman didn’t know what was wrong with me. He told me to rest and do whatever Grandma Raquel said.