I was not able to pay my final respects to Eddie Overhultz, who died on Christmas Eve at 71. Holiday plans had already been made, and his passing caught me by surprise. We had largely lost touch since I moved to Longview nine years ago. That is my fault. We talked by phone a few years ago, and I kept promising to come visit him in Nacogdoches, but that did not come to pass. So I thought I would present this modest appreciation of a man who was a close friend for about 15 years and tell a few stories I hope will make those who knew Eddie — and those who didn’t — smile.
Eddie came to Nacogdoches...
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And suddenly it is Christmas, another year nearly in the books. They come around quickly now that I have reached a certain age.
Dec. 25 will cap a Yule season that — in the retail world — began in mid-October. It seems as if every store I entered had Christmas decorations up next to the jack o’ lanterns. I hate to be grinchy, but could we at least hold off on Christmas until after the kids are finished trick or treating?
While I am being curmudgeonly, I am strongly opposed to retail stores opening on Thanksgiving Day, a trend that expanded this year to include most Big Box stores....
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“It’s been a bad year for rock and roll.”
— Chuck Prophet
Singer-songwriter Chuck Prophet, a regular on my Spotify playlist was bemoaning the deaths of David Bowie and Prince, among many others, when he released that song earlier this year. He is right.
Bowie died of cancer two months after releasing “Black Star” in January. Check out the video of “Lazarus” on YouTube. It is the haunting work of a brilliant artist who knows he will die soon.
Prince, one of the finest guitar players on the planet, died far too young of an opioid overdose at 57. One of his greatest performances...
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In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all.
— Isaiah 11:6
Our dog Sam is not exactly wolf material, though he certainly has a hunter’s instinct. On several occasions he has gotten loose and taken off after cats, squirrels and other critters. He never catches anything, but this poodle/cocker spaniel mutt cannot be deterred when on the chase. The other night, during a driving rainstorm, Sam slipped out the back door as my Beautiful Mystery Companion...
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As is East Texas tradition, I worked up a sweat hanging Christmas lights and swatting away mosquitoes on Thanksgiving morning. I don’t think I have ever hung lights when it was cold, even when I have put off the task until mid-December. Invariably, a warm front will sweep in from the Gulf Coast on the appointed day, putting a damper on the Yule spirit. It is likely my Yankee upbringing, but there is something askew about hanging Christmas lights while wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Maybe in Florida or Southern California, but the rest of the nation deserves Christmas-like weather this time of year....
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