Author Ellen Collier—she writes fun novels about 1928 Galveston and a ‘Flapper’ Sob Sister (that’s a woman journalist, young readers) —saw a Model T and became mesmerized. Fairly lost her mind writing about the early 1900s antique mass-produced automobile. Shucks Ellen, a still standing Model T isn’t a ‘Eureka’ discovery for this old college editor. I rode in a handsome classmate’s Model T in 1949. Back in the days when you didn’t need to add ‘..at
Author: Dick Elam
Smartest Dog
Magazine article just read rated the Border Collie as world’s smartest dog. I agree. Our first dog ‘Brownie’ was primarily Border Collie, although relegated to the Animal Shelter because of his mixed bloodline. That’s where my bride of one month found him. Maxine wanted a dog in the house while I worked the morning newspaper shift. The duplex neighbors thought that was a good idea. They renamed him ‘The Brown Bomber.’ Later, the three little
Dowry Questionnaire
“Oh Daddy, you wouldn’t do that….would you?” When the teenage boys got ‘wheels’ and started asking my daughters for dates, I threatened to require each boy to complete a questionnaire so I could check his credentials. I didn’t. But #3 Daughter never forgot. And when she accepted his invitation, she helped Jack Wood write the questionnaire he presented when they announced their engagement. Questionnaire for the Father of the Bride Asset Value of Daughter 1.
Silent Cal’s Press Conference
The recent Presidential press conference brouhaha reminds me of another presidential press conference. A prominent journalist shared this story during a lunch of journalists and journalism teachers at the University of North Carolina campus in the 1980s. I forget the journalist’s name, who worked for a national publication, but have not forgotten his historical description of one of President Calvin Coolidge’s press conferences. “Silent Cal” Coolidge may have been the first President to hold
When the Boys Honk
One of the two pretty daughters told me this story. Dressed in their spring dresses, the Grocer’s two daughters waited for their dates to arrive. When the two guys parked their jalopy at the curb, they honked the horn. Not once, but four or five times. The daughters didn’t move from their living room chairs. But their father marched to the front porch. Then yelled loud enough to be heard at the Abilene high school, four blocks away.
Missed America
’Twas the 1963 Saturday night Miss America contest on live TV. We were viewing three miles outside Abilene, our West Texas home, when my three daughters wanted to disown me. Not only did the 13-year-old huff away from the television set, she also led her two younger sisters, ages 12 and 11, in a scornful walkout. My failing was showing our jackrabbit symbol on the television station I managed. Or, specifically, NOT showing
Shoot ‘Em Coming at You
If you’re also a “camera nut,” you will remember when your first photograph was published. I do. Jordan Steyer, a student at the University of Texas, recently wrote his thanks for the Maxine Smith Elam scholarship award and exuded the same enthusiasm for his published Daily Texan photos. Of course, publishing your photo these days takes only a punch or two on your I-phone. But not in 1944 when I was a weekend, high school “cub”
90th Blog
“The past is history, the future is mystery, and the moment is a gift. That is why this moment is called ‘the present’.” I quote from a “success” book written by Deepak Chopra, because on this October 11th day I receive the ‘present’ of a 90th birthday. Because I write this message on October 4, 2018, there’s still some mystery left. One birthday present will come when Amazon and Audible sell another “Anne Bonny’s Wake” audiobook. Maybe E-book
Fred the Printer
Year 1968, I taught my first Editing and Copy Reading class to would-be journalists. I warned about a fictional bully from the International Typographical Union (ITU). “Beware Fred-the-Printer in the leather apron who locks up the lead type inside the metal page form. “Don’t touch, don’t rearrange the type. You may violate union rules and the newspaper’s contract. The ITU shop foreman might even tell his printers and linotype operators to ‘walk out.’
Talking Back
At the old folks home where I live, the 80-something-old Grandma goes by the nickname of “Weese.” The cable TV network salesmen wouldn’t want their advertisers to hear what she yells at the programs they sponsor. Confession: I once managed a West Texas television station,and I paid close attention when our advertisers complained. Examples of what we hear from Weese: “Where did you ever get that idea?” That’s a rare, tame inquiry. “Just