I drove by the old S&H Green Stamp store on High Street in Longview the other day, on the way to taking Sam the Dog to the veterinarian for routine vaccinations. One has to have been on this planet a while to remember S&H Green Stamps. An informal poll of the younger crowd in this building drew blank stares when asked about them. But I bet many of you reading this at least remember your moms collecting the stamps, even if you did not personally do so.
S&H Green Stamps were considered the first customer loyalty program offered by retail merchants. Not every store offered them, and those...
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Let us pause a moment to acknowledge the death of America’s most famous headline writer — an admittedly obscure title to the average reader, but a person revered by us ink-stained wretches. Vincent Musetto died Tuesday from cancer at 74 at his home in the Bronx. He was retired from the New York Post, famed for its screaming and often outlandish headlines.
Musetto entered into the land of giants of tabloid journalism on April 15, 1983, according to the New York Times story about his death. A lurid crime scene had been discovered at a Queens tavern. A patron got into an argument with the owner,...
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They sent the Mayor of Bluesville off in grand fashion with a jazz parade in Memphis along Beale Street. B.B. King, the legendary guitarist and singer died in his sleep Masy 14 at age 89.
King earned the title of mayor from the Sirius-XM satellite station Bluesville, Channel 70. All day after his death, his powerful voice and the wailing sound of Lucille, his guitar, streamed on that radio channel as I drove into town, ran around taking photos and then headed home after work. Tributes poured in from across the world, from fellow blues musicians and fans alike.
If I am not listening to National...
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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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