Was Glen Campbell a genius? What is a genius?

On Aug. 8, country-western musician Glen Campbell died after battling Alzheimer's disease. He was 81. I have been listening to Campbell's music for the past 15 years or so, and I really enjoy the big "Nashville Sound" that powered his hits in the late 1960s. The orchestras and arrangements used back then—mostly earlier in the…

Facts and numbers I find interesting—and you might, too

I was eating pizza with my wife the other day, and as we sat in the restaurant, an interesting stat scrolled across the bottom of the TV: According to ESPN, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has been "hit or sacked 922 times since ... 2011. Second during that span is Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson at 615." Two…

Cremate me, bro

The university from which I graduated is bordered on one side by Woodland Cemetery, which is 200 acres in size, according to the cemetery website—roughly the size of a really small town I might drive through on my way to Lubbock. My heroes the Wright brothers are buried at Woodland, as is Erma Bombeck, the…

My 5 favorite merit badges I earned as a Scout

Scouting was a big part of my life from ages 6-18 or so. I started in Tiger Cubs, which is the earliest one can join and is for boys in first grade, and earned every rank in Scouting, becoming an Eagle Scout. To this day being an Eagle Scout is one of my proudest accomplishments.…

5 TV shows I watched in the 1980s

The 1980s was pretty much the best decade ever, aside from its lack of the internet. If you lived it as a kid like I did, you know there was no greater time to be alive, especially when it came to the TV shows we had to choose from. Here's five that I enjoyed and…

No major yet? Don’t fret, college students

My cousin (-in-law) graduated from high school in the spring, and I was super proud of him. He was among the top academic performers in a Lubbock-area class that seemed to be an extremely competitive group. That, and like his older sister, he's just a good person raised by good people. Many of his classmates…

Am I shy or snobby? I don’t know my neighbors

As a child, there was perhaps no greater validation of my existence than hearing the doorbell ring and knowing it was one of the neighborhood kids seeing if I was available to hang out. I don't have any siblings, so I think the effort on someone else's behalf to seek me out was a nice…

10 Texas vacation observations

I took a day off from work recently to spend time with my wife over a long weekend. We went to a local resort on the edge of town—we didn't go very far away—to try to save money. Key word: try. My mind never shuts off, for better or worse, so here's some things I…

I was a 3rd-string quarterback, Part 2

Read Part 1 of this series with an obvious ending here! I had to throw the ball better. I worked on tightening the spiral of the football and being aware of when it left my hand—if I let it go too soon, the ball would go over the receiver's head; if I let it go…

I was a 3rd-string quarterback, Part 1

For proof that dreams do come true—and that we should also be careful of what we wish for—I'm transported back to the 10th grade. The summer of 1995 is a sweaty, dusty blur that is forever ago yet easily recalled by Montel Jordan's "This is How We Do It." I was 15. A young woman…