Monthly Archives: May 2024

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‘Storied’ Walton passes on

The world of college and pro basketball is filled today and for the future with stories about Bill Walton, the legendary center who died of cancer today at age 71.

Teammates at UCLA, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Boston Celtics all are saddened to hear the news. The NBA staff, along with Walton’s former colleagues at ESPN and ABC Sports all have fond memories of their years with the Big Red Head.

As long as we’re sharing stories about Walton, here’s mine.

Sometime around 1975, I happened to be at Portland International Airport. The pre-9/11 era meant anyone could go to the departure gates to send someone off. I did so that day. I can’t remember who I was delivering to the gate, but I did and then began the walk back to my car.

I heard a commotion down the hall and around the corner of terminal. I kept walking, then I made the turn down the next ramp.

That’s when I literally ran into Bill Walton, all 6-foot 11-inches of him. He was packing a guitar. He and his Trail Blazer teammates were walking to their chartered plane to fly to their next game date.

I don’t recall precisely what Walton said when my head bumped into his chest. Maybe it was “excuse me,” or “hey,” or “watch where you’re going.” Whatever. He didn’t seem angry at that moment.

He would go on to lead the Blazers to their first and (so far) only NBA title a couple of seasons later. Injuries took their toll on the big guy. He was sent to the San Diego Clippers after the 1979 season and then to the Boston Celtics where he teamed up with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish to win another NBA title; he also won Sixth Man of the Year honors during that title season.

But … that was my brush with a fellow who came to my hometown with high hopes and a big promise. For a brief moment, he was able to make our NBA title dream come true.

Rest in peace, Bill Walton.

Sports news

Does he belong in the Hall?

One more brief word about Bill Walton, the college and pro basketball legend who died today of cancer at the age of 71.

I once doubted whether Walton deserved to be in the Naismith Hall of Fame. Not any longer.

My doubt stemmed from his professional career stat line, which wasn’t great. He was injured for much of his career, suffering an assortment of foot and ankle injuries. His first two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers — my hometown NBA franchise — were an exercise in futility and frustration for us fans.

Season No. 3, though, was a breakout year. The Blazers won the NBA championship, defeating the favored Philly 76ers in six games. The Sixers had Julius Erving and George McGinnis, Darryl Dawkins and Bobby Jones on their roster. The Blazers had Walton, Maurice Lucas and a bunch of other guys few NBA fans remember.

No. 4 figured to be even better. The Blazers rocketed off to a 50-10 start; then Walton went down with an injury. He was voted MVP that year, but the Blazers failed to repeat as NBA champs. Then he was gone. Walton sued the Blazers for medical malpractice and ended up in Boston playing for the legendary Celtics team. He won another championship with Boston before retiring.

Prior to joining the NBA, though, Walton was a stellar standout at UCLA. He won two NCAA titles in college.

It dawned on my a while ago that the Naismith hall of fame honors college players as well as pros.

Ok, so Walton’s pro career fluttered a bit before soaring to great heights. He did, however, stand out as the nation’s pre-eminent collegiate player at UCLA. Taken together, I will declare that Bill Walton’s legacy as a basketball player deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame.

military news

Do you really support this moron?

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Memo to my MAGA friends, acquaintances and those I see with bumper stickers on their pickups ….

Do you really and truly want to support an individual who has labeled those of us who have worn our country’s military uniform “suckers” and “losers”?

The former POTUS launched an unhinged, incompetent rant against judges, legal foes, jurors and the very judicial system as his way of paying tribute to those who died in service to the country. Memorial Day is a special day for the former Moron in Chief.

He denigrated the late Sen. John McCain’s service during the Vietnam War because he “got caught” and spent all those years as a POW. He has smeared the character of a Gold Star Family whose son died an Army hero in the Iraq War. He once told his former fixer/lawyer Michael Cohen that those who went to war in Vietnam were “stupid.”

Here he is. He is competing for the presidency yet again. How does the MAGA movement, comprising individuals I will presume support those who fight for our country, react to their hero’s rants? They give him an unfettered pass.

I have to ask: Does he speak for you, or does he speak only for himself?

I know the answer. He speaks for the cult followers. The good news as I interpret it is that the cult base isn’t growing. It well could be shrinking. Distressing, though, is that their volume remains full-throated.

I will go to my grave wondering how in the world the MAGA movement can possibly support an individual who is incapable of paying appropriate tribute to those who serve our great country.

I mean, to “make America great” requires a faithful commitment to public service.

Uncategorized

Nothing ‘happy’ about this holiday

A good friend of mine this week posted a message that resonates loudly with me, as it should with all Americans.

Don’t wish David Norris a “happy Memorial Day,” he admonishes us. It is a holiday of commemoration, of honoring those who gave their lives in service to this country.

Norris told the story of a fellow Marine who died while serving the rest of us. They were good friends and every Memorial Day, he remembers his friend’s sacrifice.

We should remember and honor all who paid the ultimate price in service to the great nation.

I served a tour of duty in Vietnam while employed by the U.S. Army for a couple of years in the late 1960s. Every Memorial Day I recall the sacrifice of a young man who was slated to go home after he had extended his ‘Nam tour a couple of times. Jose de La Torre served in the same aviation battalion that I did; he was assigned to a Huey helicopter company and I served in a Mohawk company.

He took off one day on a mission to drop sone troops off in a landing zone. It was “routine,” or so they thought. The LZ was hot and the enemy was waiting for our ships, De La Torre died that day.

I’ve seen his name on The Wall. It still fills me with sadness to recall the exuberance of the then-young man who was going home.

So … let us honor all the men and women who paid the steepest of prices.

And as my buddy David Norris said, don’t wish anyone a happy Memorial Day.

local news, media news

So many acquaintances

Blogging is my newest form of self-expression, although it certainly isn’t all that new, as I have been at it full time since 2012.

That makes a dozen years since I commenced this latest endeavor to put my thoughts on some form of cyber “paper” and distribute it throughout our known world.

Where am I going with this? I want to explain one of the phenomena associated with blogging that doesn’t seem to get as much attention as I believe it should. This form of commentary has introduced me to many acquaintances with whom I have no other personal connection.

They read these musings and are moved, either out of total agreement or the exact opposite, to be notified every time I post something that flies into cyberspace.

Am I moved at times to get to know these individuals? It depends on whether we agree politically. Occasionally, I hear from one of them whenever I write something positive about President Joe Biden. He will respond usually with a snarky comment aimed at his dislike of Biden’s policies.

The other stuff that flies into space from my laptop? All I get are the proverbial crickets.

Hey, no worries. I always await his reaction when I bellow something good about Biden or something negative about the moron who wants to run against him this fall.

He is far from alone among those lying in wait. The good news is that many critics of High Plains Blogger express themselves with a form of gentleness. I am casually acquainted with some of them. They might know members of my family. I might have actually met them. Then again, maybe not. I will engage them in some repartee, but only if I’m in the mood.

I tend to let my views stand as my final word on a subject once they are posted and sent rocketing into space. I am advised to engage more frequently than not, though. Debating readers who respond is supposed to “connect” me with the audience. Well, maybe so. Then again, it might widen the divide.

I continue to enjoy this avocation. It doesn’t pay me much money, but I ain’t in it for the cash. I do this because I just like writing and I like putting my stamp on this ever-changing world of ours.

Plus, it builds my sphere of acquaintances.

national news

Head vs. heart

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My head and my heart have declared all-out war against each other and today I got a chance to verbalize my concern over that inner struggle with a good friend of mine.

Tom asked me today about how I think the current political struggle is going to play out. He meant the presidential election … even though he didn’t say it. He didn’t have to say it.

My ticker is pulling hard for Joe Biden’s re-election as president of the United States. He remains on top of his game. Do I worry about the occasional gaffes, misstatements? Hell no! I make many of the same mistakes as he does. I happen to believe I am still bringing my “A game” to this business of blogging.

My noggin, though, suggests a different outcome could be on tap this November. The man President Biden defeated in 2020 wants his old job back. What he intends to do with it simply scares the living sh** out of me!

He vows to sic the Justice Department on the media and on his political “enemies.” He said he might pardon those accused of storming the Capitol on Jan. 6; he calls them “political hostages,” and not the criminals they have been accused of being and in some cases convicted of being.

POTUS 45 pledged to bring in the “best people” to serve with him when he was elected in 2016. The “best people” turned out to be a gang of bumbling nimrods who didn’t know whether to sh** or wind their watches. The next batch would be a gang of blind loyalists who will swear an oath to be loyal only to the man who selects them and not the Constitution they all should swear to support and defend.

I told Tom that my heart hopes for all its worth that this country is smarter than to allow this moron anywhere near the Oval Office. I also said my head tells me I might be overselling out nation’s collective intelligence.

God help us if my noggin wins this war!

Donald Trump

Some issues defy reason

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Some issues in this world of ours simply defy the human brain’s ability to process certain facts.

For example: How does one justify supporting an admitted sexual assailant, a serial philanderer, an individual who never has sought forgiveness, and someone who denigrates prisoners of war, people with handicaps and a Gold Star family whose son died a hero?

I will go to my grave never understanding how POTUS No. 45 continues to generate the kind of support he gets from the MAGA cult base that latches onto his every lying pronouncement.

It does, though. And throughout all of this weird presidential campaign, the former dipsh** in chief is continuing to cling to a small, and statistically insignificant lead over the current president who in actuality has accomplished more in his first term than any other POTUS in US history.

I am done making political predictions. I have told friends and loved ones far and wide that the former liar in chief cannot possibly be elected POTUS again. I might be wrong. I am holding out, though, for some truth-telling to finally crack this numbskull’s veneer.

I will admit that my hope is beginning to take on an air of desperation. The puzzle, though, remains as to precisely how this moron continues gin up the support he has out here in Voterland.

local news, media news

It’s like riding a bike

One of the things I discovered immediately upon taking up this gig as a freelance reporter is that I retained my ability to craft a human-interest feature story.

I spent the bulk of my nearly 37-year career in print journalism as an opinion writer and editor. Before that, though, I broke in the way most reporters do, writing general-assignment news stories and features about interesting individuals.

My full-time print journalism career ended in August 2012 and I was, to borrow a phrase, sent out to pasture. Then my wife and I moved to North Texas and I started working on a freelance basis for a husband-and-wife-owned group of weekly newspapers. My beat, such as it is, covers mostly Princeton and Farmersville.

That’s when the realization struck. I hadn’t lost the touch I acquired when I was starting out pursuing this joyous craft. I am not going to fill you with false bravado about the quality of the work I have done for my new bosses. Suffice to say, though, that they can depend on me to deliver them what they seek in a timely fashion. Deadlines, man, are everything in print journalism.

I also have determined that communities such as those I cover in Collin County still depend on local newspapers to tell their stories. It certainly is true that the digital age of journalism, the COVID pandemic and political pressure from on high all have had an impact on our influence in people’s lives.

However, community journalism is still kicking in Collin County, Texas. I am delighted to be able to continue to contribute to the telling of those stories to people who constantly tell me they still relish the feel of an actual newspaper in their hands.

national news

POTUS 45 wants a ‘third term’?

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POTUS No. 45 says he would like to hold the presidency for three terms. He said that? Oh, wait. He must’ve been “sarcastic.”

That cannot happen without amending the U.S. Constitution.

The 22nd Amendment limits presidents to two elected terms. The former Liar in Chief won election in 2016. He got defeated in 2020. He could — God forbid! — win it again this year.

That’s two terms, dude. You’re out after that.

I suppose he wants a third term. Maybe even a fourth.

C’mon.

The 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt won election to four terms; FDR died about a month after taking office for his fourth term in April 1945. Congressional Republicans had become alarmed at what they feared might become an “imperial presidency.” So, the GOP pushed the 22nd Amendment through.

Most of us know these days about the grandeur that No. 45 seeks, what with declarations about becoming a “dictator” for one day. He expresses admiration for dictators around the world. He wants to be one of them, I reckon.

However, our Constitution prohibits such nonsense from actually occurring. No., 45 needs to read the document. Oh, wait! He doesn’t read anything!

local news

Some topics way off limits

I want to elaborate for just a brief moment on something I mentioned in an earlier blog post.

It deals with human sexuality.

A friend of mine died of HIV/AIDS in 1994. He had been sick for about six years before the virus took its gruesome toll. Tim was a colleague with whom I worked at a newspaper in Beaumont, Texas.

One Sunday morning, my phone rang at home. It was Tim. He wanted to meet me at the office to discuss something very important to him. I agreed. I hung up and told my bride that “I think Tim is going to tell me he has AIDS.”

Those who knew Tim had noticed a significant change in his appearance over the years. He lost weight. His color had gone quite pale. He didn’t look right.

Sure enough, that’s what he did. He and I sat in the vacant newspaper office and he informed me had been stricken with the then-deadly virus. He told me he had drafted an op-ed column and wanted to know if I would consider publishing it. I answered with an emphatic “yes!”

Then he said the following related to how he contracted the illness., “You know that I am gay.” My answer was the best I could produce in the moment. I told Tim that he and I never discussed his sex life. I also told him that is a subject I dare not broach with anyone. So … my answer was “no,” I could not possibly know for certain about his sexual orientation. Did I suspect it? Yes, but suspicion is far from knowing.

My point is this: I am uncomfortable talking about sexuality, be it with a gay person or a straight person, When I see people, or groups of people, bellowing about their sexual “pride,” it is a turnoff to me. This notion of having to identify people with a string of letters meant to be sure we cover all the sexual orientations available, to put it bluntly, leads me toward a discussion topic with which I am in no way comfortable.

It’s why I generally stay away from the topic on this blog.

Is this the old-fashioned version of me telling you this? It is! It well might be the final time I raise this issue in this forum.