A Life of Words

Seventeen years ago, I was blessed to gain a big sister — and two big brothers, but that’s nothing like suddenly having a sister, amiright? They, and their families, are all part of this remarkable birth family journey that’s changed my life in wonderful ways I could never have dreamed of. Yes, I’ve learned about … More Happy birthday to Teresa Ann, the wonderful Big Sister who blessed my life when she arrived in it 17 years ago

When my freshman year at Conroe High began in August 1974, I’d turned 13 just six months earlier — really young for a kid starting high school, especially one as nerdy, naive and introverted as I was. Thanks to my adoptive parents and Mr. Schaefer, the principal at St. Matthew Lutheran School in Houston — … More Thanks to the wonders of Zoom, seeing and catching up with a wonderful friend I’ve known for 48 years

When my longtime friend Randy Lightfoot called me early on the morning of Nov. 1 and left the briefest of messages, he didn’t sound right. “Hi, Frank,” his message began before a long pause. “This is Randy Lightfoot. I was just touchin’ base, seein’ how you were.” That was it. Though we’d stayed in touch … More My friend Randy flew over hurdles with record-setting grace and wrote sports stories with the best of ’em. And then he courageously tried to outrace his toughest foe.

Since birth, I’ve been part of a community that numbers millions upon millions — people who’ve either been adopted (me), lost their own biological children to adoption, or brought children into their families through adoption. It’s called the triad, and it’s made up of people of all ages, genders, races and ethnicities, nationalities and socioeconomic … More A Saturday spent with an extra-special group of folks: For a potluck, with some adoption reunion support on the side

Monday was a pretty cool day — and I don’t mean the weather. It was a long one that started when I woke at 6:20 a.m., drove an hour and a half to take our youngest to school (the same commute from SW Arlington to Richardson that Kay makes most mornings), then went to work. … More This was a somewhat rainy day and a Monday, but with a little work and a lot of fun, nothing to get me down

I’m not a newspaper journalist anymore, yet I’ll always be a newspaper journalist — and support newspaper journalists. That’s the main reason I went to Tuesday night’s annual holiday dinner gathering of the Fort Worth Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Although I’m not a dues-paying member of SPJ, I’ve been to a couple of these … More Applause — and dinner — for striking Fort Worth newspaper journalists, standing up for what’s right

Kay and I shivered a little but cheered a lot for the No. 4 TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday with our friends John and Lisa Reed, who like Kay are TCU grads (I’ve known John since elementary school in Houston, but we’d had no contact since sixth grade until I found him three years ago). … More Another game, another TCU win: Make that 12 and OH! — with all the marbles left to play for

Our small, close-knit congregation at The Welcome Table Christian Church in southwest Arlington enjoyed quite a treat — two, really — on the first Sunday of Advent. It was also Commitment Sunday, as we all made our pledges of support to the church and its vital outreach efforts for 2023. First of all, after our … More A minister’s family journey to sacred spaces a world away, shared with his church family in beautiful images, words

Ten days ago, I ventured to an oft-visited cemetery site a few miles north of the southwest Arlington home where we’ve lived for 26 years. After arriving at Shannon Rose Hill Memorial Park in far east Fort Worth, I checked a couple of online sources to help me find the notable grave I was looking … More A visit to the grave of JFK’s assassin and an unexpected visit with a conspiracy theorist. Did he change my mind?

With the Aggies a 4-6 debacle after opening the season (over)ranked No. 6, I have zilch to get excited about where my alma mater’s football team is concerned. Heck, from what I can tell on the play-by-play (I didn’t watch the game), they struggled to beat 1-9 UMass on Saturday before “pulling away” to win … More Another Saturday, another Horned Frogs win to stay perfect — but this one was nothing short of miraculous