A recent tailgating invitation from the editor of the Texas Exes Alcalde magazine noted that space for tailgating was available in the parking lot. The email reminded me of my first tailgate party. As the new broadcast and film chairman at University of North Carolina, I was invited to tailgate with one of my new colleagues. The University of North Carolina was playing Texas Tech. We didn’t like when they came to my home town
Barefoot Football
If you played football in Hawaii, you played barefoot. Sure, if you played football at the University of Hawaii, the manager issued you shoes with cleats. But because the weather rarely gets colder than 80 degrees, because there’s not many who could afford football shoes, and because everybody grows up walking and running barefoot, why would a Hawaiian parent buy expensive football shoes? The better to put your toe into an extra-point attempt, you might
Alex’s Courtroom
My long-time school and sailing friend, and political opposite, was Alex Eastus, Esquire. Alex’s favorite lawyer story happened in the Abilene Texas, Taylor County courtroom. The case concerned a vehicular accident at the intersection across the road from where Old Mose had sat in his front porch rocking chair. In the courtroom, Mose used his walking cane to help him take the witness chair. Blinked often. Rubbed his eyes. “I seen it all…” Mose testified.
A Fine Coach
He was a fine coach, although I don’t think he ever played football. Mr. Jeffries was a fresh graduate out of a nearby Abilene college. He studied to become a teacher, and Mr. Jeffries taught us well in the fifth grade. I still remember he told us to ask for a free Texas road map at a Hamlin service station, draw lines as he suggested, and make cards for Texas industries. The classroom game was
Bosun Mate, the cat
Our sea-going cat was named Bosun Mate. Boatswain Mate is correct spelling for the Navy rank, but our Bosun Mate wasn’t always correct. When Bosun was a kitten, we took him aboard the Makaleka, our 36-foot Pearson sloop. Bosun shared the boat with Captain Jack, our 85-pound golden retriever, who also sailed the North Carolina waterways with us. Bosun must have thought he was a dog. We found that out on his first summer voyage
West Texas Distance
In West Texas, what we have most is distance. To get somewhere, you often have to step a little farther, stride a little farther. That’s my philosophy: when troubles increase, just stride a little farther. That’s why the Lord must have given me long legs. My measured stride is 35 inches. One winter day, fellow Boy Scout Hubert Seale and I walked from Buffalo Gap to Abilene—about 21 miles—in three hours and a few minutes.
Prettiest Airport
If you know a friend who flew, or flies, a private airplane there’s a high probability your amateur flying friend can tell you a harrowing flying story. Private pilots wait for the weather to improve before they roll their single-engine, small planes from the hangar. If more than one pilot waits, they gather and tell stories about their flying exploits. Such a gab session pilots call “hangar flying”. Here’s one example: My sports photographer friend
Texas Rangers
The history of the Texas Rangers goes back to the early 1800s when Stephen F. Austin brought colonists to Tejas. Austin organized ten peace officers and called them “Rangers”. The original Texas Rangers were farmers and ranchers who wore their own clothes, rode their own horses, and used whatever guns they could shoot well. They came together when there was a threat to early Texas colonists then went back to their work when it was
A Few Words about Weddings
You answer, “I do.” And you remember the words forever. A few words really count at weddings. Not only for the newly-married, but also for the Father of the Bride. To answer “who gives this woman…” with only two words “I do” doesn’t begin to express a father’s emotion at that moment. Many times we fathers answer “Her Mother and I.” That’s four words and I don’t remember any of those four words costing me
Teach me to trade
I was working in the same office with my Dad as I listened to his half of a telephone call. A.R. (Red) Elam, Sr. was trading for some oilfield pipe. If the trade occurred, he would dispatch an A.R. Elam Trucking Co. driver and a swamper to load the pipe. I listened for several minutes. I couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation but I heard Dad’s quoted numbers rise and fall. Finally Dad