A Life of Words

Someone dearer than dear to me celebrated her 69th birthday Tuesday – the sister I didn’t know I had until June 2005, when I was 44 and she was 50. Teresa (Terry) Ann Workman Zoubovitch has been a loving, understanding, patient, giving, funny, accepting and all-around wonderful Big Sis to me for 18-plus years since … More Happy birthday to the Big Sister who came into my life 18 years ago – we love you so much, Terry!

Thirty-one years ago, on Dec. 20, 1992, this angel on Earth graduated to angel in heaven status when lung cancer took her much too soon at age 71. Driving to North Dallas early Wednesday morning for a doctor’s appointment before work, my birth mother Betty and the anniversary of her passing 13 years before I … More Gone for 31 years this Christmas, Betty inspires thoughts of what life would’ve been like growing up with her

Thursday night at Las Almas Rotas (“The Broken Souls”) in Dallas’ Fair Park area, a bunch of current and former Dallas Morning News journalists gathered to celebrate one of those amazing periodistas. Alfredo “Freddy” Corchado, a remarkable reporter and brilliant storyteller, has covered immigration and U.S.-Mexico issues for The News since 1993. He will soon … More A phrase uttered more than once as we feted remarkable journalist Alfredo ‘Freddy’ Corchado: ‘The end of an era’

We love you, Dr. Gil Ratcliff. The venerable, cherished and revered longtime pediatrician/neonatologist in my birthplace of Huntington, West Virginia, joined his beloved Betsy in heaven on November 11, 2023. Gil put up a valiant fight against PSP, progressive supranuclear palsy, after his diagnosis in 2020. A remarkable man whom I’ve had the supreme honor … More Dr. Gil Ratcliff, a remarkable doctor and gracious and brilliant man, has joined his sweet Betsy in heaven

While waiting at a red light late this afternoon, I got out of the car and gave $20 to a homeless man sitting in the median on Sublett Road at the intersection of U.S. 287 in southwest Arlington not far from our home. A bit later after getting an oil change, I drove past him … More Random acts that help others in honor of a husband and father lost to brain cancer are what #dammkind is all about

Wednesday night while the Texas Rangers were shoving aside the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the first World Series championship in the franchise’s 63 years, I was watching that history unfold with a couple of Rangers diehards I’ve known for eight years. We didn’t finalize our plans until earlier that day, when Milt Collins invited Jeff … More Watching the Rangers earn their first title with friends who love this team like I love the Astros? Another winner

Often when men who leave an indelible mark on this earthly life pass away, people will say, “He was one of the good guys.” It’s an overused expression but generally true. Likewise, it’s often said about guys who are still here: “He’s one of the good guys.” We know there are countless good guys in … More My best friend Doug, who’s been gone for 21 years, wasn’t just ‘one of the good guys.’ He was the best.

It really was a gorgeous night for playoff baseball at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Thursday. For a second straight glorious game, this time with my friend Karl Bowman, I was thrilled to be in attendance at the Astros-Rangers American League Championship Series Lone Star showdown. The decision for Game 4 to be played … More With the roof open and the Astros scoring another big ALCS win, it was a cool night all the way around

Wednesday night’s Game 3 of the American League Championship Series in Arlington went down just the way my longtime friends John Reed, Randy Higgins and I hoped it would – with an 8-5 victory for the Houston Astros, the team we all grew up supporting as kids and cheering for in games with our families … More I’ve seen Astros, Rangers play many times, but this was special – and what a win for my team to save its season

When I moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in April 1987 for a newsroom position at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, I was a 26-year-old who loved sports and had just spent four years as a sports writer in the football hotbed of Odessa in West Texas. My team allegiances were pretty uncomplicated: Houston teams and … More A fan of the Astros forever and the Rangers for a while relishes these teams’ first-ever postseason meeting