When I was four years old, my mom dressed me as a spider for Halloween. She handmade the intricate, black costume and rigged the spider legs to move whenever I moved. I'm not sure how long it took, but I doubt it was easy. She dressed me in the costume and led me to a mirror where I could marvel at the costume she had created. But when I saw ... [Read More…]

Some people are born in towns and states without professional sports teams. Some people are born and go to high schools where the cross country team has 60 members and the football team has 20. Some people are born with the need to talk about their favorite president rather than their favorite basketball player. Some people are born without cable ... [Read More…]

A horse's saddle seems to be a popular spot for characters in old Western films and cowboy legends to learn important life lessons and reach profound insights about nature or humanity. I'm picturing a lone, rugged cowboy riding across the plains and sleeping under the stars, his horse roped to a tree near the campfire while he plays his harmonica ... [Read More…]

While current governor Rick Perry may have plenty of experience in Texas politics, former Houston mayor Bill White has decades of experience in actual leadership. Perry has been an excellent PR rep for Texas for the past few years, mostly because his role as governor required very little. For many of the challenges that face our state in the coming ... [Read More…]

I don't believe in travel mugs. Don't get me wrong, I love coffee. The taste of coffee is more pleasing than any food, and the caffeine in coffee is more beneficial than a full night's sleep. I just can't dig the travel mug. The  point of a travel mug is to free the coffee drinker from the house or neighborhood coffee shop. The handy sippy-cup ... [Read More…]

I was in my car the other day going somewhere or other, and in the dry grass of the church on my right, I noticed a dog. The late afternoon sunlight gleamed off his thin fur coat to reveal an impressive musculature for such a young Labrador. He was well-groomed and clean, which I thought was odd for a stray. His fur was a brownish-yellow, sort of a ... [Read More…]

There's a new pair of socially responsible shoes in town. Every time you buy a pair of these shoes with a one syllable name, a pair is donated to a child in an impoverished part of the world. The canvas slip-style shoes come in a variety of colors and patterns. Of course, I'm talking about BOBS. Sound familiar? Obviously BOBS, produced by the ... [Read More…]

They say actions speak louder than words, and most of the time, I would agree. Watch someone long enough and you'll learn why he chooses to laugh loudly, talk frequently or hug often. But what if you don't have a person's actions to learn from? I discovered this past week, when there is an absent of living action, words can be the best guide to the ... [Read More…]

I hate flying. The thought of being several thousand feet in the air sitting with a bunch of strangers in uncomfortable chairs for a couple of hours just doesn't appeal to me. Not to mention my constant paranoia that a catastrophic, one-in-a-million accident will plague the flight, bringing the plane down - and me with it. I also worry about my ... [Read More…]