Today’s the day!! It’s the day we *finally* escape the subfreezing captivity that has gone on for what seems weeks — but has been only 10 days. The day we finally start to see some of the snow that has blanketed North Texas since Sunday begin to melt. The day we can look up and … More A week of bitter cold, lost power, boiled water and hot Texas tempers over outages

This is taken from a Facebook post I wrote six years ago today, Feb. 9, 2015 — coincidentally, almost exactly four years before I started this blog. Although it wasn’t the last time I would be in Dad’s house in Missouri City — I did go back later for the grandfather clock — this visit … More 6 years later in my memory, Dad’s red jacket waits for him

Don’t ask me why I have zero pictures of my first car, a 1980 Ford Fairmont that my parents bought for my 20th birthday in February 1981, when I was a sophomore at Texas A&M. Who the heck doesn’t take photos — lots of them — of their first car? I came home from school … More There’s something perfect about our first car, isn’t there? For me, it was an ’80 Ford Fairmont

To say I was thrilled to have a brief phone visit Thursday with the gentleman at left in this cool 1970s photo would be an understatement. Jan. 7 marks Dr. Gilbert Alonzo Ratcliff Jr.’s 83rd birthday, and he and his late wife Betsy have been the definition of family to my family since 2005.  We … More Happy birthday — and thank you — to Dr. Gil from all of us

“I thought you might enjoy it … and have something to remember your mother by. I’ll talk to you later. I love you. I love *all* of you, very, very much. Have a merry, merry Christmas. Bye-bye.” clyp.it/5hwclvrq (Betty Talks to Her Children) Every Christmas in recent years, I’ve listened to those words over and … More “I love you. I love *all* of you, very, very much.”

In the weeks leading up to Christmas 1954, the family leasing 121 Perry St. in east Huntington, West Virginia, was brimming with anticipation and excitement. In a home where a father’s heavy drinking and years-long molestation of his oldest child — unknown to the boy’s mother — had brought unhappiness, fear and pain, a much-needed … More Christmas, Betty and her family

Fifty years ago on a cold, rainy, foggy Saturday evening, tragedy visited my birthplace of Huntington, West Virginia. “This town died today,” a local hospital nurse would say that night, according to an Associated Press report. Save for those few who hadn’t made the trip, the bulk of the Marshall University football team and staff, … More 50 years after 75 lost their lives, We Are, And Will Always Be, Marshall

Last week, I posted a tribute to my best friend Doug, who left a huge hole in countless lives and hearts 18 years ago when he died suddenly at the age of 45. In those 18 years, Kay and I have done a very poor job of spending time with his kind, giving, compassionate and … More Making up for lost time with a sweet friend, the wife of another dear friend we lost 18 years ago

A few hours ago, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram family — which I’ll always be a part of after working there from April 1987 to February 2000 — received devastating news about the passing of one of the kindest, most easygoing, funny, professional and skilled friends and colleagues we’ve ever had the privilege of working with. Stephen … More Another friend and former colleague gone too soon — one of the *really* good guys