Recalling Nacho & Israel

This tragic Fourth of July weekend will long linger in our collective memories. The Hill Country flooding was a horrific — and ongoing — nightmare. We grieve and pray for the families and friends of the victims. Tragedy struck much closer to our Northeast Texas home on Sunday afternoon. Ignacio “Nacho” Aguillon, 53, and his son, Israel, who was 11, died in a head-on collision in Upshur County. An SUV driven by a 16-year-old crossed the center line on Farm-to-Market Road 852 near Lake Gilmer and struck Nacho’s 1997 Nissan pickup, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. I learned...

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The Time I Saw the Lone Ranger

The ink is faded but still legible on an 8x10, black-and-white photograph hanging in the bedroom. The inscription reads “Kemo Sabay,” Clayton Moore, The Lone Ranger. The masked avenger crouches in a desert setting, a saguaro cactus in the background. Besides the requisite black mask, the Lone Ranger wears a bandana around his neck, a long-sleeved snap pearl western shirt, a fancy belt with silver studs, and a revolver strapped to his right hip. He looks ready for action. He also appears to be sweating profusely. When I was a kid, Clayton Moore, the Lone Ranger, came to Pleasure Island, a short-lived...

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