"
She ain't much to look at, but she's hell for stout."
That's a quotation from grandfather William J. "Bill" Maiden that echoes back to me occasionally as shared by brother John, who remembers the phrase from grandad's description of items he crafted over the years. I well remember some of those items, including a small sewing stand that sits in the corner of our den.
And while its rustic style doesn't fit most modern tastes, it surely was built "for stout." In earlier years, I even stood atop the wooden stand -- something that now causes me to shudder, fearing the damage that could have been caused to what has become a treasured item.
But if style and aesthetics weren't high on grandpa's list, that doesn't mean the Maiden family line was devoid of such traits. In fact, creativity and a flair for artistic endeavors can be found in several descendant lines.
One such person is Johnny Davis of Denton, Texas, a great-grandson of Bill Maiden and a son of Bruce and Linetha (Miller) Davis of Madill, Oklahoma.
Like several of his cousins, young Johnny Davis, now 47 years old, was enamored with rock music back in the '70s and '80s. Soon he was cranking out music in a rock band, all adorned with hairstyles and attire of the time -- probably to the chagrin of his parents. But we're pretty sure they recognized his propensity for "the arts," though it would manifest itself in ways they might not have predicted.
Now married and the father of two boys, Johnny Davis has developed into a top-rate artists. His favorite subject seems to be motorcycles. We've seen several of his pieces, and they're extraordinarily good -- and usually extraordinarily large. But now his creative juices are flowing in a new direction.
Johnny has become an editorial contributor to the flashy Ride Texas magazine, a quarterly publication out of Austin that focuses on the best back roads in the Lone Star state. He's crafted an engaging narrative about an old-time general store that adorns the roadside in the north Texas hamlet of Rosston.
He had passed through the town a few times in recent years -- had noticed the weathered wooden building that houses the Rosston General Store -- but had never stopped. Sparked by memories of a story he had read earlier about the decline of such unique places, and having passed over opportunities to visit the store, Davis saddled up on his motorcycle and headed toward Rosston.
"I was so enchanted with this place and its friendly clientele that I opened my saddlebag, got my camera, and took a quick snapshot of my motorcycle next to the hitching post," he wrote in the latest (December 2013) edition of Ride Texas.
Of course, we're delighted at the description that Johnny shares about the Rosston General Store and his experience there. But we remain utterly fascinated by his skill as an artist, capturing things on canvas in a way that few are able to do (photo above).
Perhaps we shouldn't be so surprised, since his mother, Linetha Davis, has been turning out wonderful paintings for several years. You'll find some of those in our
Davis Gallery.
Now, we'll have to add a place for son Johnny!
But perhaps his greater accomplishment is as a stay-at-home dad for a pair of cute sons, Eli and Isaac, and as a husband to Kathleen, who recently earned her Ph.D.
It's fun watching the development of the "younger generations."
