He spat in the doctor’s face with his only remaining strength to let him know he was still alive. Dodie and I went to Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio during the spring to visit her father, Raymond Bailey’s gravesite. Then on July 4th weekend 2020, we went by the Arlington National Cemetery…
March 19, 2021 will be the 64th anniversary of the day Elvis Presley bought the Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. Over the years Presley welcomed many people into his homes, but in Pat Napier’s case, it was the house Presley owned before Graceland. “I was a friend, not a fan,” Napier was gracious enough to…
1976 was the Bicentennial of America and it was a big year for me. A journalism major at Southwest Texas State University (SWT), I won statewide in reporting and columnist writing awards for news, entertainment, fine arts and humor. My confidence was high, but being honored as Investigative Reporter of the Year Award at the…
It was a lifelong dream to visit Sun Records in June 2020. As weird as it sounds, I also wanted to know what the back of it looked like. I’ve seen photos of the iconic and historical building in Memphis, but they were all front facing views. Dodie and I decided to go for it.…
The death of baseball Hall of Famer second baseman Joe Morgan brought a flood of memories to fans of “America’s Pastime.” In 2020, we’ve lost such greats as Lou Brock, Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Al Kaline, Don Larson, Tom Seaver, and more. Many boyhood friends, classmates, fellow team players, as well as more recent pals…
America’s youth has shared the trials of 2020, with empty classrooms, virtual graduations and quarentines. Many sporting and student events were cancelled and substituted with streams of not so peaceful protests. The looting, destruction and violence on American streets exceeded the riots many of us saw in the 1960s-70s. Just as we did, youth today…
Read more 250,000 Expected at ‘Field of Faith’ Christian Events Next Week
If you’re like me, it was an exciting annual event to watch The Wizard of Oz on television. The classic 1939 movie taught us there’s no place like home and we all have brains, heart and courage. One of the Greatest Movies of All Time According to the Library of Congress, it’s the most viewed…
Read more Wizard of Oz (1939) is Still the ‘World’s Favorite Movie’
I miss rain. When I was seven, we lived on West Ansley in south San Antonio. Three Dennis families, lived side by side, with six acres among us. It was my last innocent summer in many ways. In just a few months Blackie, my devoted Cocker Spaniel would be dead. Nineteen days later, I would…
Read more My First Great Adventure Was In a Torrential Storm
President Donald J. Trump announced in front of Mount Rushmore in July he was signing an executive order to establish the “National Garden of American Heroes,” which will be a “vast outdoor park that will feature the statues of the greatest Americans to ever live.” It was clearly a welcomed action against protesters who have…
Read more Honoring Our Heroes and Monuments is a Growing American Tradition
A Hollywood Visit The most I ever laughed in a cemetery was in December 2011. I remember it well because a few days later my father died. The eccentric oddball that I am, on a Disneyland vacation with my two youngest sons, Jack and Brady, I took them to Hollywood first. Talk about weirdos, they…
Read more The Most I Ever Laughed in a Cemetery was an Unexpected Roar
