The Dogs Days Arrive

This is the 45th August I have spent in Texas, nearly all here Behind The Pine Curtain. This month in East Texas is to be endured, not enjoyed — at least by this transplanted Yankee. An aside: I have milked the Pine Curtain phrase — in dozens of columns, a couple of books, and a few magazine pieces — for so long that some younger folks think I coined it. I didn’t. First time I heard it was from a now-dead buddy — Michael Busby. Michael was a poet and scholar. We met at Stephen F. Austin State University in the early 1970s. He became the godfather of Kasey, my oldest daughter. Michael...

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