A Life of Words

Say howdy to Archie! And then say awww, he’s adorable! I took last Friday off from work so Kay and I could drive to Hugo in southeast Oklahoma to meet some wonderful folks who breed Havanese puppies in Vinita in northeast Oklahoma. Kay found them online, and although we’ve never adopted a dog from a … More We’ve got Archie, and our new family member couldn’t be cuter. Now all we need are Jughead, Betty and Veronica!

Kay Caryl Collier, a beautiful bride like no other before or since, and I joined hands and hearts forever 30 years ago today. We both managed to wait for each other until we’d made it to our 30s — she just barely, having turned 30 that June and I having turned 33 that February (we … More Happy 30th anniversary to Kay, the love of my life 💕

I learned very sad news over the weekend – that yet another friend from my formative years is gone. David Fisher, a gifted photographer who spent many long hours with us working for The Battalion, the student newspaper at Texas A&M, in the early 1980s, lost his courageous struggle with pancreatic cancer. He was only … More A beautiful family loses their father and husband to cancer — farmer, stunt man, photographer and heck of a nice guy

I have two wonderful big brothers I’ve known only since 2005, one of whom passed away just a few years later. They’re two of my three full-blooded biological siblings. But I have another big brother I’ve known my whole life, and he’s pretty darn amazing too. Most of you who grew up with me know … More Happy No. 65 to my big brother, the one and only Ikeman!

Douglas Allen Brown was not only a friend to all people – he was a friend to all creatures great and small. His gentle kindness and compassion, innate qualities that flowed in his daily interactions with friends, newspaper colleagues, and strangers, also came shining through when Doug worked with, educated people about, or crossed paths … More It’s Doug’s 67th birthday, and don’t you know they’re having a heavenly party where he is?

Hello, everyone! I don’t know about you, but I’ve been seeing my younger friends’ back-to-school photos on Facebook and trying to figure out where summer went. Since our kiddos are now 23 and on the doorstep of 20, we have college classes ahead for both — the oldest continuing at Tarrant County College and the … More If it’s still 2024, it must be time for a health update … but don’t worry, nothing else has happened!

Turns out I wasn’t the only one getting texts the past several months from my lifelong friend Paul Sweitzer every time Astros second baseman Jose Altuve added a hit to his Hall of Fame-caliber résumé. “I will miss getting text messages from Dad,” Paul’s oldest son Brad shared at Friday’s celebration of life before a … More His sons offer fitting homage to my friend Paul: ‘My dad had a love for God and his family, and he loved people’

Pitcher Framber Valdez was one strike away Tuesday night from sending fellow Houston Astros fan Roger Pinckney and me home with what would’ve been a first for both of us: The rare thrill of witnessing a no-hitter in person, and by our favorite team, no less. But Valdez walked the Rangers’ Josh Smith with his … More Let me tell you about the night we saw an Astros no-hitter … almost!! But what a special game in so many ways