I was an impressionable college student—that is my excuse for having scribbled “Free Timothy Leary” on the cover of my Merriam-Webster dictionary in 1974. People in their late teens or early 20s think they can judge and...
Way back in 1976, college diploma in hand, I was barely making a living by driving a delivery car in Austin. I saw and experienced a lot of the city I would not have otherwise, including an old honky-tonk called the Skyline Club on the north...
Me and Lance Armstrong, we were buds. OK, that’s not quite true. Me and Lance, we hung out together all the time. Maybe I exaggerate somewhat. The fact is, I had one fleeting encounter with him. Armstrong sponsored a 5K race in...
On the afternoon of Sunday, October 7, 2012, I took a short taxi ride to Gangnam Severance Hospital. And yet the path to treatment of my right knee had been rather long. Nearly seven months had passed since I felt an ominous pain there. A...
Since I am both a sports guy and a history guy, I tend to be fascinated by old athletic facilities. I have looked closely at most of the sites of the 1988 Olympics here in Seoul, Dongdaemun Stadium, Mokdong Stadium, World Cup Stadium and...
During the first day of my 2010 trip to Beijing, I was escorted by Li Kai, the Chinese friend of a Korean friend. We went to the heart of the matter—to the balcony atop the Gate of Heavenly Peace, looking out over Tiananmen Square. From...
Countless times I have heard the Korean War described as “the forgotten war.” But forgotten by whom? That term certainly derives from outside sources, not from my adopted homeland. Let me assure you, it is not forgotten here. A...
While I am a proud University of Texas alumnus, I spent my final semester (Fall 1975) at Stephen F. Austin State University. The strange reason for my move from Austin to Nacogdoches is best left unsaid. UT was bigger, richer and more...
In one of my previous jobs, I worked alongside a guy named Al. A hopeless know-it-all, he tended to opine in an ex cathedra manner; his was to speak, and yours was to listen. He brooked no disagreement on any subject. As a result, we tangled a...
I used to get an annual checkup from Dr. Michael Williams at Brackenridge Hospital in Austin. After scanning the various diplomas and certificates on his wall, I realized that he was a graduate of Baylor University. That was enough to spark a...
Nowadays, most jocks and ex-jocks give only the blandest of quotes, knowing that if they reveal their honest thoughts then problems will ensue. Thus, I and undoubtedly many others were intrigued to read what Reggie Jackson told a Sports...
As the title indicates, I spent nine days traveling to, visiting and returning from the country of my birth. I thought it might be of some value—if not comic relief—to compose a summary, and now I will proceed to do just that...
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