I stated previously that I had a story about Fred Gipson (the author of Old Yeller), and I will now tell you about him. Fred Gipson grew up and lived in Mason, Texas, and my mother's mother was also born and raised in Mason. My mother's mother (whom I never got to meet because of her early demise), was good friends with Fred Gipson's family, and my mother's best friend going up was a boy by the name of Richard Polk. Richard Polk is Fred Gipson's nephew. My mother spent many summers in Mason at Fred's ranch, and she knew Gipson and the Polk's very well. The part in the book where the boys are throwing rocks at each other was written after Fred saw Uncle Nurd (the name by which my sister and I call Richard Polk) and his brother throwing rocks at each other. Also, we have autographed copies of both Old Yeller and Savage Sam written to "my dear, sweet Nancy" (my mother's name is Nancy). I wish I had been able to meet Fred Gipson, but he died long before I was born. However, we spend every summer with his nephew, and we visit Mason, Texas every few years to visit the places of my mother's childhood.