Our vacation is winding down. The first half was full of visiting family. We don’t make it to California all that often from Texas, and so we tried to see everyone we could in northern California and Oregon. It was good. The second week was better. We hit Monterey last Sunday, and when we rolled … More Goodbye, Monterey
Day Three of vacation. At home in Texas, the rain continues to fall. Here in Lodi, California, the drought continues. For us visitors, the weather has been very kind. Yesterday was 91 degrees. The locals were complaining about the heat, but for us who are used to humidity, it felt like 80. Feels pretty nice here. … More And Then There Was Confetti
Tonight’s the calm before the…calm. Tomorrow marks the beginning of vacation. Shelly and I are headed off to California to celebrate our 40th Anniversary. Yeah, I know; that’s how we roll. Other professors–and even some of my students–are in Greece this summer, or Italy, or maybe the Holy Land. But Shelly and I are sticking … More A Rocking Chair in a Room Full of Cats
Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson by S. C. Gwynne. 672 pages. Simon and Schuster. If you were to take a look at my yearly goal of 30 books that I posted on Goodreads, you’d see that the vast majority of books I’ve read so far this year (and I am … More Review: “Rebel Yell” by S. C. Gwynne
I saw it as an interesting experiment in dynamics. Patience versus tenacity. The turtle saw it as a matter of life or death. Earlier this week, I was on my way to a board meeting in Pechero Hall on our campus. A buzzard caught my eye, then I saw that there were two of them. … More Patience vs. Tenacity
Well my fears about getting to my two school presentations this morning turned out to be Much Ado About Nothing. Everything went well. Kids were happy, teachers were happy, and I was elated. Now I am sitting in a IHOP eating a chicken salad and taking my time until my plane flies out of here … More Deep In the Heart of Texas
I love traveling. But I hate traveling for business. Most of the time I just do what I came for, then hole up in my hotel room, just like I am doing now. I miss my family, and when I travel alone, I find myself wishing I had someone to share the trip with. It … More How Can You Be Two Places At Once When You Not Anywhere At All?
When my niece accompanied my aging mother from California to Texas to see me graduate with my doctorate about 12 years ago, she was amazed. “It’s so green!” she said. “Everyone has swimming pools and the houses are so big!” I asked her if she expected cowboy boots and tumbleweeds, and from her look I … More A Primer on Speaking Texan
I’ve been at this adventure called indie authoring since the beginning of 2012–so I guess that’s about three years now. It’s a lonely, stressful, exciting, fulfilling pursuit. So far, there’s not a lot of money in it, and there’s a steep learning curve. I’m more confident more than I was when I started, but just … More Writers Helping Writers
At risk of going on and on about my health issues, ad nauseum, I feel I need to explain why I haven’t been on more lately. Other than the usual excuses, such as work, I have had a fever blister that turned into something much worse. I got the original sore before Thanksgiving, and it … More So Ugly That I’m Cute
