It came as no surprise that V.G. Rollins planned his own wake, “The Last Scoutmaster’s Roundtable — Cracker Barrel,” in advance of his death in mid-July at 87. Mr. Rollins, as we Scouts always called him well into our own middle age, planned everything. He is best known as Scoutmaster of Troop 201, whose cabin remains at Teague Park. Under his nearly two-dozen years heading the troop, more than 50 Eagle Scouts were pinned, including my youngest brother, Gregg. (I only made it to Life, becoming distracted by cars and girls.)
In the Great Hall at First Baptist Church — where my grandfather,...
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HOUSTON — The dream began in early 2009. My middle daughter, Meredith, and her future husband, Matt, drove us about 10 minutes north of downtown, up Hwy. 59 to look at a house they were negotiating to buy. It was a Victorian-style home with a pair of turrets and robin’s-egg blue horizontal stripes below a red roof. The house was visible from the freeway. I had noticed it for years on treks to Houston. The home, built in the early 1980s, was located on an acre of land and contained two very large metal buildings. The neighborhood is working middle class. This was where one day Matt — a mechanical...
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AUSTIN — We have returned to a familiar city to see it through the eyes of an 11-year-old boy — our nephew, Connor. This is his first trip to A-town. Connor is a bright, inquisitive boy possessed with an old soul in some ways. He talks slowly and seriously, adores his cousin Abbie, and loves spending time with us. He’s my chess opponent as well. Connor is inching closer to the time he will checkmate me. The last time we played, the game lasted more than an hour before I finally wore down his defenses and defeated him. His day of victory is coming.
As we pulled into town, we pointed out the Austin...
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Kasey, my oldest daughter, texted me the other day rather randomly: “In no particular order, please tell me your top five books.”
Now that is tough. I took the Bible out of contention. That is an obvious choice for a Christian. So I sent her a response after I wandered around the study, which has walls crammed floor to ceiling with books. The list I sent Kasey consisted of my five favorite novels — books that I have read more than once. I thought I would share it with you in hopes it sparks similar list-making that can be shared with me and others. So here goes. Remember these five are only...
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AUSTIN — My oldest daughter, Kasey, is visiting friends in Austin, having escaped the humid climes of the Florida coast for a few days in the dry heat of Central Texas. I took off work early last Friday to make the five-hour voyage to A-Town. I once made this trek nearly every weekend, heading back to East Texas after the workweek ended. I still head here for one reason or another at least a half-dozen times a year.
I have sworn off I-35, permanently and irrevocably. The last three times I took that route — Hwy. 31 to Waco, then I-35 to Austin — a wreck turned the interstate into a long,...
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