In early 2009, when I moved into my apartment in Seoul’s Gangnam District, I had a bit of self-directed advice: “Don’t let this drive you crazy.” The environment is quite different from that where I had lived (in two...
I remember Jerry Sandusky when he was famous for coaching football. There seemed to be a consensus that Penn State’s defensive coordinator was a fine coach. Surely it was just a matter of time before he took over for Joe Paterno or got a...
Reading, in my opinion, is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Because I am almost insatiably curious, I read a lot, whether it is text on a computer screen, newspapers, magazines or books. This does not mean, however, that everything I...
More than two decades ago, I worked as a proofreader/editor at G&S Typesetters, a company involved in the publication of scholarly books. One of my colleagues was a short and stout female by the name of Adrienne. I was reminded of her by...
My maternal grandfather, William Adair Cox (“Grandpop”), used to take me and my brothers to various events in and around downtown Dallas. One of them was the running of the Soap Box Derby. For those unfamiliar with the Derby, I...
I came across a lot of interesting stories during the research and writing of my 1998 book Longhorn Hoops / The History of Texas Basketball. Some were curious, some were amusing, and some begged for more attention. In the latter category I...
Long ago, even back when I was in high school, I had no qualms about corresponding with other writers. It began with letters to the editor, a section of the newspaper at which veteran journalists scoffed. Maybe they did not care what the...
I recently finished a 392-page biography of Leroy “Satchel” Paige, a man whose professional pitching career started in 1926 (during the presidency of Calvin Coolidge) and ended 40 years later (Lyndon B. Johnson). First, about...
My 38th marathon was not altogether different from the previous four (one in Daegu, two in Seoul and one in Suwon). I am drastically undertrained, seldom varying from my pattern of two miles each morning. Back when I followed the rules and...
At some point in the 1980s, a naming frenzy began at my alma mater, the University of Texas. After the state legislature started cutting back on funding higher education, UT and other schools had little choice but to hit up the alumni even...
One morning in 2004, I was on my way to work at the McElroy Translation Company. First, however, I pulled into a convenience store at the intersection of 10th Street and Lamar Boulevard with one purpose in mind: to become fabulously wealthy in...
Aleta Fairchild, a colleague at a company where I worked in the 1980s, told me an interesting story. This woman, a native of Idaho, had been determined to avoid becoming a secretary. She thought the best way to prevent that was to not learn...
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