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Category Archives: Uncategorized
1968, a year of hope, discovery, fear and loathing
A WHILE AGO I saw a Facebook post in which people were asked about their memories of 50 years ago, of the year 1968. I was tempted to write something but I quickly realized that much, way too much, happened on … Continue reading
‘BANG’ Offers a Dark Look at the Human Cost of Mexico’s Drug War
Daniel Peña is not sparing in his assessment of Texas, where farmworkers are poisoned by fertilizer and pesticide, and Mexico, where guessing who will be next to die in the drug wars has become a lottery game. Book review by … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Daniel Peña, Drug wars, Harlingen, Mexico, narco traffickers, Rio Grande Valley, Texas
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Leaders and speeches: HHH, LBJ and the COWH
I HAD GREAT plans for this afternoon to do productive things. Instead, I’ve spent most of the afternoon listening to/watching old political speeches on YouTube. I started with Hubert Humphrey’s civil rights speech to the 1948 Democratic Convention and ended … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged civil rights, Great Society, Humphrey, LBJ, Leland Olds, Lyndon B. Johnson, Lyndon Johnson, New Deal, politics, Robert Caro, Texas, the South, Trump, voting rights
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In defense of Yuli Gurriel
I WASN’T IN the Astros’ dugout when a camera caught Yuli Gurriel making what has been described as a racially insensitive gesture, so I don’t know what he was saying or what was going through his mind when he did … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Astros, baseball, chinito, Dodgers, Houston Astros, LA Dodgers, Los Angeles Dodgers, racial slurs, racism, World Series, Yu Darvish, Yuleski, Yuli, Yuli Gurriel
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Potato-picking World Series memories
[I wrote this column for USA TODAY in 1998 (October 14), shortly after yet another disappointing Astros year. A friend suggested I post it here. It starts off talking about my penchant for choosing underdogs when it comes to sports. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Astros, Dodgers, Houston, north dakota, potato picking, potatoes, World Series
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A week in paradise, San Miguel de Allende
ON MY LAST morning in this beautiful colonial city, I am sitting outside on the patio. It rained last night and the air is crisp and cool. The sounds I hear are those of a nearby wall-mounted fountain, which, despite … Continue reading
Applying weight to the memories that feed our souls
[Six years ago I posted this on another blog. I’ve long since abandoned that blog but it still resides in the Internet. One day it will probably die of neglect. So I’ve decided to migrate some of my favorite posts … Continue reading
