After considering the question for about 2/7ths of a second, a majority of students thought it would be a good idea to leave Lubbock, Texas on Saturday afternoon, rather than spend another night in Lubbock. Thus it was at 4:30pm that we drove home from Lubbock and into the path of a Tropical Storm.
Before we left, we stopped at One Guy’s Pizza, which was very good! It was fortunate that the portions were large because, as it turned out, we wouldn’t be eating again for a long time.
As it turns out, Lubbock looked just fine in our rear view mirror.
Austin, for example, was fascinated by the windmills…
…although the real windmills actually paled in comparison to Jesus Moroles’s granite windmill at Lubbock’s National Ranching Heritage Center.
As we moved to central and then east Texas, however, the weather turned stormy. It was raining heavily by the time we got to Eastland, and the water level rose further as we approached I-45. Ominously, as we came within 10 miles of 45, we noticed that side roads were closed, with officers blocking them. Sadly, this was also true when we arrived at I-45.
To get around what we thought was construction, we drove about 20 miles east, toward Seven Points, then southwest to intersect again with 45. Our plan worked. We took the ramp to 45 and headed south–at 11:30pm, we were less than two hours from home!
Our joy dimmed somewhat when we realized we were the only ones on the highway. This, we surmised, was unlikely under normal circumstances. Within ten miles, we saw that I-45 was completely blocked. This time we asked the officer what was going on, and he said the highway was closed because of flooding. He advised that we drive north to Corsicana, then drive west to Waco, then drive south to Bryan, then drive east to Huntsville.
Thirty minutes after being less than 2 hours from home, it was now midnight, and we were almost four hours from home.
But we dutifully slogged our way home. Of course, just outside of Bryan we were stopped at a Railroad Crossing, waiting for what Austin called “the world’s longest train.”
A little after 3:30am, we got to the green lot, and we scattered in separate directions, going home after a long, but successful trip to Lubbock, Texas.
For all of SHSU’s teams, the opportunity to participate on the moot court team has helped us each become well-rounded and develop skills to help prepare us for law school and our careers as attorneys. Each person grew as a result of our moot court preparation and the guidance we received from our coach, Jean Loveall. Half of the team will graduate soon, while the other half is already anticipating next year’s moot court competition. Many thanks go to the Texas Undergraduate Moot Court Association for organizing the competitions each year, Texas Tech Law School for hosting the competition, the LEAP Center for providing the opportunity to compete in Moot Court this year, and our Coach Ms. Loveall who has helped each of the team members grow and learn in preparation for our regional competition.
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 