I walked alone on the morning of Father’s Day, down a street in South Austin on which I lived more than three decades ago. My Beautiful Mystery Companion was still stoking up on caffeine and our teenage daughter, of course, was asleep. We were staying in a spotless condo I had rented using Airbnb, the website used by folks to rent lodging. I have become quite a fan of Airbnb, using it to find places to stay for less cost than a hotel — and with a lot more space.
The neighborhood was filled with rental units — mainly fourplexes and duplexes, with a few full-bore complexes. In 1981, I lived...
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I drove by the old S&H Green Stamp store on High Street in Longview the other day, on the way to taking Sam the Dog to the veterinarian for routine vaccinations. One has to have been on this planet a while to remember S&H Green Stamps. An informal poll of the younger crowd in this building drew blank stares when asked about them. But I bet many of you reading this at least remember your moms collecting the stamps, even if you did not personally do so.
S&H Green Stamps were considered the first customer loyalty program offered by retail merchants. Not every store offered them, and those...
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Let us pause a moment to acknowledge the death of America’s most famous headline writer — an admittedly obscure title to the average reader, but a person revered by us ink-stained wretches. Vincent Musetto died Tuesday from cancer at 74 at his home in the Bronx. He was retired from the New York Post, famed for its screaming and often outlandish headlines.
Musetto entered into the land of giants of tabloid journalism on April 15, 1983, according to the New York Times story about his death. A lurid crime scene had been discovered at a Queens tavern. A patron got into an argument with the owner,...
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They sent the Mayor of Bluesville off in grand fashion with a jazz parade in Memphis along Beale Street. B.B. King, the legendary guitarist and singer died in his sleep Masy 14 at age 89.
King earned the title of mayor from the Sirius-XM satellite station Bluesville, Channel 70. All day after his death, his powerful voice and the wailing sound of Lucille, his guitar, streamed on that radio channel as I drove into town, ran around taking photos and then headed home after work. Tributes poured in from across the world, from fellow blues musicians and fans alike.
If I am not listening to National...
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