It was a lovely night for a rodeo, the storm clouds dancing around the area but never landing, a sweet spring breeze wafting through. The nearly incessant rain of previous weeks meant the dusty haze that usually fills rodeo arenas was absent. The Mount Pleasant Rodeo was kicking off its 51st year.
Rodeos are as American as it gets. The queens and junior queens, decked out in their finest Western apparel, open the night by bringing in the American flag and waving to the crowd. The crowd stands, hats off, while the preacher prays for safe rides. And a raise the hair on the back-of-the-neck rendition...
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In the course of a day recently, I did the following:
While driving to work, listened to music stored on my phone and played by some miracle on my vehicle’s stereo through Bluetooth technology.
Bought tickets to an upcoming Red Sox – Rangers game and stored the tickets on my phone. When we get to the ballpark, all I have to do is let the person at the turnstile scan my phone screen. (I’m bringing printed tickets as a backup. With my luck my phone will die just as we walk up).
Watched video on my laptop of B.B. King playing “The Thrill is Gone” in a tribute after his death.
Checked...
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Newspaper offices and trains have gone hand-in-hand throughout my checkered career. This current gig is no exception.
We moved our office downtown last August, on my birthday. It was not my intent to celebrate the final year of my sixth decade on this planet by sweating profusely and risking back injury while moving desks, filing cabinets and the like. But that is how it worked out. Football season was set to begin the following Friday, and I wanted us settled in our new digs before that commenced. Moving downtown proved to be a wise choice. Our walk-in traffic has increased immensely, and being...
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When “A Prairie Home Companion” first went on the air, Richard Nixon was a month away from being run out of the Oval Office. “Annie’s Song” by John Denver topped the pop charts. The Ford Pinto and the Plymouth Valiant were the best-selling cars in America, and the median price of a home in America was $37,400. It was July 1974, and Garrison Keillor and his troupe took the stage for about a dozen people in the audience in Saint Paul, Minn.
Today, the show is heard by four million listeners each week on more than 600 public radio stations, as well as abroaThank youd, according to its website...
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We celebrated our nephew Connor’s 10th birthday in a time-honored East Texas manner: grilling hamburgers, pitching washers — and plinking balloons and Diet Coke cans with pellet guns. The clan sat outside on a Saturday afternoon enjoying a rare respite from the incessant rains. Our swimming pool is still covered for its winter hiatus. For the first time since we have lived here, the water is lapping the edge of the pool and floating the cover. That’s how much rain has fallen this winter. When uncovered, and before the pool service shows up to rejuvenate it, that pool is going to look like...
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Patriots Day in Boston passed without incident last Monday. The Boston Marathon was completed under highly tightened security. And the Red Sox beat the Orioles 7-1 at Fenway Park in a game shortened by rain. My beloved team is in first place, but it is far too early to get excited. Only two games separates first from last place in this nascent season.
April is the season of hope for baseball fans. Even those who follow the Cubs or Astros can feel optimistic. As this is written, the Astros hold a slim lead in the AL West. The team improved somewhat last year, still finishing under .500 but managing...
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The heavily accented Spanish voice speaking as I answered my cellphone was familiar and welcomed. “Hallo, Meester Gary. It’s Jaìme. How are you?” I haven’t heard from my compadrè since my birthday in 2010, when he called to remind me I was turning 55. “Muy viejo,” he joked at the time. Very old.
Jaìme and I became acquainted 15 years ago in Nacogdoches, when I was looking for someone to help out on weekends doing yard work. Day laborers gather each morning at a park just south of downtown. When one drives up, usually a dozen or so men run over. Jaìme beat the crowd to my Jeep,...
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I wrote a few months back about downsizing, getting rid of stuff so that my daughters or wife do not have to go through the arduous task of doing so after I’m gone. (Not that I plan on that occurring anytime soon, but who does?) Both my Beautiful Mystery Companion and I had to dispose of our parents’ possessions, with our brothers’ help, after their deaths. In my case, I had to do it twice: the first time after moving them into assisted living, and once again with what remained after they passed. Even after we three sons gathered what photos, artwork and other memorabilia we wanted for our children...
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Johnny Cace’s Seafood and Steak House in Longview served its final meal last Saturday night. A 66-year tradition ended with a two-month farewell that brought out folks who had gotten engaged, celebrated birthdays or enjoyed family reunions at the iconic restaurant. Or they simply patronized the place because of its great Cajun seafood and impeccable service.
The strain of running a 13,000 square-foot restaurant that needed renovation and updating was finally too much for Cathy and Chelsea Cace — the mother-and-daughter team who kept the operation going after Gerard Cace died suddenly of a heart...
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Drones make the news quite often lately, both for the large unmanned versions used to launch stealth attacks in places like Afghanistan, and the much smaller ones used for a variety of non-lethal purposes: photography, tracking cattle in desolate places, or trying to catch drug traffickers. The Federal Aviation Administration recently outlined its proposed new rules in what has been a largely unregulated area, such as keeping drones within sight of the operator, no higher than 500 feet or faster than 100 mph. This is likely going to scotch Amazon’s plans to use drones to deliver packages. I will...
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