I played countless games of backyard basketball with my older brother Randy. As far as college hoops, we both liked the hometown SMU Mustangs. In the pros, however, we diverged. He favored the Boston Celtics, and I, almost by default, took the...
I have lately found myself thinking about William Henry (Bill) Gates III. Who can deny that the co-founder of Microsoft is in an enviable position? Whenever he walks down the street—anywhere in the world—kings and queens step...
I went back to the University of Texas in 1982 and took a series of courses in creative writing, journalism and editing. Around the middle of that 18-month period, I passed a test and joined the staff of the Daily Texan, UT’s student...
May 24, 2011 Dave Winfield c/o San Diego Padres P.O. Box 122000 San Diego, CA 92112 USA Dear Mr. Winfield: Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Richard Pennington. I am a native of the USA but have been living in...
Dr. In-Hwan Kim, founder and head honcho of LIKE Schools, had called a meeting of his foreign teachers. We gathered in a large room near the LIKE headquarters in downtown Daegu around Christmas 2007. After having a nice meal, we heard some...
More than two years have passed since I taught my last class at a hagwon in Daegu. It is human nature to remember the good and forget the bad, and I am no exception. Some of those kids, I loved them dearly. In fact, I think about them almost...
In the fall of 1978, I was back in Texas after spending most of the previous 18 months in Kentucky, Michigan and North Carolina. While working at yet another meaningless job, I decided to offer my services as a basketball coach. Somehow I...
During those long-ago growing-up years, my brother seemed quite certain about the identity of his favorite baseball player: Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees. I liked the Mick too—what was there not to like?—but it was clear...
In the mid- and late 1960s in our section of east Dallas, there were a limited number of ways for an energetic boy—girls just did not do this stuff, sticking to baby-sitting chores—to earn money. I washed cars, but that was...
I recently finished Joe DiMaggio: The Hero’s Life by Richard Ben Cramer and thought I would do a book review of sorts. I read the 515-page tome avidly, underlining and annotating as is my habit. DiMaggio was the subject of numerous...
During my childhood in Dallas, the Civil War was less than a century in the past. It seemed that a lot of people did not want to let go—as if that were such a wonderful and glorious time. The Confederate States of...
In the spring of 1977, I had decided to leave Texas—at least for a while. Behind the wheel of a blue Ford station wagon, I headed in a northeasterly direction. I spent a couple of days in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It was a nice...
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