Welcome to LONGVIEW RAMBLINGS. My name is JD Durfey, at least that is what everyone calls me. My first name is Jonathan, but only my mother calls me that when she is upset with me. I am married to LeAnn and we have 4 children, three girls and a boy. I am the “extra dad” to the girls and our son was born in 2011

I was born in Nashville Tennessee in 1975. I have two older brothers. In the fall of 1976 my family moved to a farm in Iowa. My father was a diesel mechanic and farmer. My mother was a stay-at-home mom and farmer. My earliest childhood memories are of the hog farm we lived on until 1982.

In January of 1982 we moved to Wisconsin so my parents could start training to be Evangelical missionaries. During their training we lived in two places in Wisconsin, one in Missouri, and also in Iowa. In August of 1986 we moved to Bolivia South America where my parents served until 2003. I lived there until March of 1995 when I returned to the U.S.

As an adult, I have lived in Michigan, Arizona, California, and now Texas since 2008. I am a proud Texan. My parents were both raised in Texas, and I am proud of my Texas heritage. I am currently employed in the Oil and Gas industry, a job I enjoy.

I have always enjoyed telling stories and I have a very vivid memory of much of my life. A few years ago I stared writing small stories about my work on Facebook. The response I received was very supportive. I then started writing stories about my childhood and my adventures in racing motorcycles. I started this blog as a place to post and archive my writings. I also contributed for a brief time to a Facebook page about small town Texas history. I enjoyed writing the history stories, but I felt confined and wanted to do something original and on my own. I am also in the process of writing a historical fiction novel.

The title of my site comes from my early years on the farm in Iowa. My uncle Dick and aunt Mary farmed all the land around our hog farm. Back in those days CB radios were used on a regular basis to communicate between the tractors, pickups, and house. My uncle’s “handle” was Longview and their house was called Longview Base. I don’t know the story behind the name, but I guess I need to ask about that. My uncle and aunt were more like grandparents to my brothers and I. Like I said, my earliest memories are of that farm and many of them are of me spending time with uncle Dick.

My goal with this page is to share my stories. Some will be about my younger years, some will be about my days racing motorcycles, and some will be about my job in the oil field. I hope that all the visitors to my site enjoy my ramblings.