Thirty-eight years ago today, this happened. About a month later — with two years of interviewing and writing about the likes of Jackie Sherrill, Shelby Metcalf, Bear Bryant, Grant Teaff, Gary Kubiak, Eric Dickerson, Akeem Olajuwon and Doug Flutie under my belt while working at Texas A&M’s student newspaper, The Battalion — I started as a sports writer at The Odessa American.
Although I left sports writing decades ago to move into full-time editing, the passion for writing that propelled me into journalism still burns. I let the words flow when time allows here on my blog, on Facebook, occasionally for The Dallas Morning News, in the pieces I’ve written and won awards for at the Mayborn literary competition, and with the freelance stories I’ve been writing in recent months for Methodist Health System.
And, 38 years and only three newspapers later (The Odessa American, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The Dallas Morning News), I’m still joining a remarkable team of journalists in the daily mission of reporting the news — and fighting an ongoing fight for survival.
I didn’t see us being in this fight when I graduated from Texas A&M in 1983, but this is where we are, and we’re doing our damnedest to keep local journalism alive. We could all use your help. Wherever you are, please, please support your local newspaper. Thank you. 
A Life of Words 
I think I told you that I grew up reading the St. Petersburg Times. It was a great paper. Since the demise of the Tampa Tribune a few years ago, The Times became the Tampa Bay Times. It’s not as sharp as it once was. I think the 70’s and 80’s were great decades for print journalism. I still believe journalism is a noble profession. It’s so misunderstood by most Americans. They either forgot or never learned the history of how deeply connected journalism is to democracy. It’s vital. One of my strongest memories from childhood goes back to when I was three or four and watching my parents drink their coffee and read the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer while sitting in our dining room. “Whatcha doing?” I’d ask. “Reading,” they answered. I just thought it was so fascinating that just looking at words and sentences could enter your mind and teach you things. Newspapers are why I fell in love with learning, reading and writing. I know I’m not alone with this experience. You deserve to be proud of your education and your work and your co-workers should be proud also.
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Sorry I’m so slow in responding. Always so darn busy. Not enough time for writing! Thank you for your kind words. The St. Pete Times has always been a great paper. I’m sure it’s dropped off some since the change, but I hope the quality is still there. So cool that you grew up loving reading and picking up some of that from your parents. And you are so right about newspapers being a critical piece of our democracy, despite the rubbish DJT preaches and how so many people now feel. Newspapers and their journalists are still on a mission to pursue and report the truth and hold officials accountable. I shudder to think what will happen when newspapers no longer exist in either print or digital form.
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Oh, I think they will always exist in at least digital form. I think there still are enough intelligent people and scholars who would pick up the revolution if djt and his band of nitwits do enough damage.
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