A Texas Boy Vs. the Air Traffic Control Bully

State Farm is committed to being your top choice when ensuring the things that matter to you. My cultura podcast host, Dramos, also believes in the power of financial knowledge. That's why he makes sure to share his financial tips on his podcast, Life as a Gringo.

Financial freedom usually means having enough savings, financial investments and cash on hand to afford the kind of life we desire for ourselves and our families. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Learn more at es.statefarm.com. State Farm is a proud partner of the My Cultura Podcast Network. Find new entertainment on Xfinity Flex. All for free, no strings attached. Say free this week into your Xfinity voice remote. Are you ready to get the mom in your life the mother of all gifts this Mother's Day? We've got just the thing. Right now you can get a 65 inch Vizio V-Series Smart TV for just $398 at Walmart. 4K picture and superior Dolby Vision HDR clarity? You've got it. With its big screen and crystal clear picture, this is the perfect TV for family movie nights. Stream what you love using built in apps like iHeartRadio and listen to some of the greatest musical moms out there with the iHeartMoms playlist.

Get yours at Walmart today. And for another story from our regular listener and contributor, Roger Latham from Fort Worth, Texas. Let's take a listen. John Steinbeck once wrote that Texas is a state of mind. I've come to understand that in more ways than one and agree with it 100 percent. In this story, I've got to have a little preface, that being that I'm a rather slight individual.

In my youth, I'm probably five foot nine inches tall and weight 150 pounds. I wasn't much of a Texan, but I was one. In 1967, I joined the United States Army and later after my joining day in basic training, I was sent to Keisler Air Force Base to undergo air traffic control training.

I successfully got through most of that until the very end. At the very end, I was at a lunch line one day when I overheard another friend of mine from Texas. Named Lewis, and he was talking to another private about a situation, and he said, Jackson's been picking on me and I don't know why. I said, boys, let me inject myself here for a second. Why don't you just take a slap upside the head that big boy and explain to him in that way that you're not going to take any more of his guff? And Lewis said to me, well, he's six foot two and I'm five nine and a half and I don't want to get killed. And I said, well, you're not going to get killed because a bully and that's what he is, a bully. They don't want to fight. They want to just humiliate smaller individuals.

And you're a smaller individual like me. And he doesn't want to fight. So the other guy, the other private said to me, said, well, why don't you go over and slap him upside the head yourself? You're so tough. And I said, well, he ain't picking on me.

So I see no reason to go start something, but it's not my style. But, you know, I think that Lewis here ought to go take a shot. About that time we went through the lunch line and that big Jackson boy, about six foot two and two hundred and twenty pounds standing next to me. And I told him, Jackson, I hear you're trying to pick a fight with old Lewis over there. I just think I ought to give you a little warning. He said, a warning?

What are you talking about? And I said, well, there's something about him you don't know. He said, yeah, what's that? I said, well, he's from Texas. He said, what's so big about that? I said, well, you're not. Well, he saw my comment on that. He said, how do you know so much about it?

I said, well, I'm from Texas, too. Well, he pushed me real hard and I pushed him back and we split off and he went one way and I went the other and went through lunch line. And then later in the evening, he went to dinner and I didn't. I was ready to take a shower and go to bed. So I went back to the barracks and took a shower and was standing by my locker in my skivvies. When this big guy, Jackson, walked by me having finished his dinner and he gave me a real hard look.

Well, I reciprocated in kind. And he said, who are you looking at? And I said, well, I guess I'm looking at you. He said, you think you're so tough?

Why don't we step outside, teach me all about Texas? And I said, well, I can't right now. All I have on is my skivvies. I said, we can go upstairs if you want to scuffle. And he said, all right, I'll go upstairs.

So we climbed the stairs in the old army style barracks and all the rest of the crew, soldiers that heard that followed us. And he squared off and I squared off and he punched me and knocked me down. Well, he could hit pretty hard. But I jumped up and I squared off again and I threw a punch and missed and he hit me and knocked me down again. I jumped up and I'm determined and I'm going to go back at him. And he hit me again, knocked me down.

And this time I kind of stunned and I'm kind of shook up a little bit. And I noticed his two feet were on either side of me and I glanced up and he had his hands drawn back like he was going to hit me in the face while I was down. So I darted between his legs and popped up on the other side and turned around to face him.

When he turned around to face me, I did the most beautiful kick I've ever kicked. And I kicked him right in the testosterone generators and he fell on top of me. And he said in a very odd way, in a kind of a gasping way, you want to quit? And I said, hell no, I ain't quitting.

You started it, you have to quit. He said, I quit. So I crawled out from under him and I'm walking back downstairs and all the rest of the soldiers are patting me on the back saying, way to go Latham. He's been picking on all of us and you straightened him out. So we went downstairs and the big boy had to go take a shower and I laid down in my bunk. I'm going to bed and the lights are starting to turn out and this big boy Jackson's walking by me and real loud so everybody can hear it. He says, yeah, Latham, we'd like to put a picture of your eye on the bulletin board tomorrow. And I said in equally loud tone, yeah, we can put next to a picture of your testosterone generators. They're all flattened out now. And the whole barracks busted out in laughter.

I mean, it was it was like I was doing a stand up routine and everybody loved it. He was slinked off in there, took a shower, went to bed. I never heard from him again. He never wanted to fight again.

Well, that was the end of that story, except henceforth and forever. I always thought about the fact that every time because a bully is always a bully. Bully is a state of mind, just like Texas is a state of mind. And he's going to pick on somebody else. But I guarantee you sometime in some air traffic control tower, he's going to be bullying somebody else. But before he does, he's going to say to that individual, are you from Texas?

Because if he is, he's going to leave him alone. That's a true story. 1967. And we love to tell listeners stories here on the show. If you have a story, any story, send them to our American stories dot com.

You were listening to one of our listeners and regular contributors. Roger Latham telling a Texas story, a Texas state of mind story and a good job on the storytelling and production and editing by Greg Hengler. And again, send your stories, listeners stories to our American stories dot com.

They are indeed some of our favorites. The story of a Texas boy versus the air traffic control bully here on our American stories. Here at our American stories, we bring you inspiring stories of history, sports, business, faith and love stories from a great and beautiful country that need to be told.

We can't do it without you. Our stories are free to listen to, but they're not free to make. If you love our stories in America like we do, please go to our American stories dot com and click the donate button.

Give a little give a lot. Help us keep the great American stories coming to our American stories dot com. Stay farm is committed to being your top choice when ensuring the things that matter to you. Michael Dura podcast host dramas also believes in the power of financial knowledge. That's why he makes sure to share his financial tips on his podcast, Life as a Gringo. When it comes to investments and it's real estate, I didn't want to just buy a house.

I wanted to buy a property that also made me money, you know, so I ended up buying an investment property, a mixed use property. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Learn more at ES State Farm dot com.

State Farm is a proud partner of the Michael Dura podcast network. With so many streaming devices out there today, what sets Roku apart? Roku players are made for one thing to get you the entertainment you want quick and easy. That means a simple home screen with your favorites front and center channels like I heart radio that launch in a snap and curated selections of TV for when you only sort of know what to watch. Not to mention all the free TV you can stream, including over 300 free live channels on the Roku channel. Find the perfect Roku player for you today at Roku dot com.

Happy streaming. I'm Malcolm Graber. I live way out in the country. I drive everywhere.

And you know what scares me? That feeling of finding myself stuck on the side of the road. But now all of us can avoid that pain by getting our vehicle the part it needs before that breakdown. Oh, no moment with eBay guaranteed fit and over one hundred and twenty two million parts and accessories. You can make sure your ride stays running smoothly for the parts and accessories that fit your vehicle. Just look for the green check. Get the right parts, the right fit and the right prices.

eBay Motors dot com. That's right. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.