Darrell profile picture

Darrell

GO SPURS

About Me



.. "
My youngest daughter Stef and her new "baby" .... "
My newest granddaughter Arielle and her new "Santa"
After 21 years in the U.S. Air Force and seven years in the sports and entertainment world, I'm finally able to retire and rest a bit. These days I'm spending my days taking the grandkids to the pool and letting my oldest grandson beat me in basketball. In short, I'm finally having the time of my life.

Shouts out to my kids: Jennifer, who has struggled for years through some pretty tough times, always with dignity and grace; Chris, who has his head on straight, knows exactly where he wants to go, and exactly how he plans to get there; Chris and Justin, who will always be in my heart even though they're a thousand miles away now; and Stephanie, my little sunshine, growing up way too fast, but turning into a fine young lady.
The main reason I'm setting up this page is to regain lost friendships. Being in the military for so many years, I've lost track of more friends than I can count. I'd like to hear from some of them again. Also, believing that one can never have too many friends, I'm always looking for a few more who share some of my interests.
-- Click here to see the "Family Photos" Loop!

My Interests

History, traveling, sightseeing, the Atlanta Braves and San Antonio Spurs. Hanging out with the grandkids. Playing basketball, spades, Trivial Pursuit and other board games. Visiting with old friends from the Air Force and Turner Field. Reliving old memories from high school (Lubbock High School, class of '77). Debating politics. I'm a very nostalgic person by nature, and love reliving old memories from my childhood. That's what my blog is all about. I love sightseeing and visiting historical sites, and I've seen much of what the world has to offer. I've come back to Texas to retire because as many places as I've visited over the past three decades, I still haven't found any place that appeals to me as much as my native state.

MY TEAMS: The Dallas Cowboys
The Atlanta Braves
The San Antonio Spurs
The Texas Tech Red Raiders
Lubbock High School
Lubbock, Texas
Burkburnett High School
Burkburnett, Texas
Wheeler High School
Marietta, Georgia
Kennedy High School
San Antonio, Texas
Centennial High School
Roswell, Georgia
You Know Who You AreI collect baseball memorabilia, mostly autographed caps, baseballs and cards. Most of my stuff is from the Atlanta Braves, but I do have items from other teams as well. Any other collectors out there wanting to trade should feel free to contact me. I love all kinds of art, but I'm particularly fond of southwest art, especially desert landscapes and native American still life. It's hard to appreciate the desert until you've actually lived there. Once you have, it gets into your blood and never lets go.

I'd like to meet:

The main reason I'm setting up this page is to regain lost friendships. Being in the military for so many years, I've lost track of more friends than I can count. I'd like to hear from some of them again. Also, believing that one can never have too many friends, I'm always looking for a few more who share some of my interests.

Music:

I love all music. Lately I've been listening mostly to rock and roll from the 60s and 70s.

SOME OF MY FAVORITE ARTISTS:
From the country genre: Willie Nelson, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and Martina McBride

Old style rock and roll: CCR, Earth Wind and Fire, Jim Croce, the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones

Modern Pop: Uncle Kracker, Avril Lavigne, the Dixie Chicks

Movies:

The greatest movies of all time:
El Dorado
The Great Escape
Honeysuckle Rose
Shawshank Redemption
The Godfather

Television:

I'll admit it, I've been bitten by the reality show bug. Specifically, Big Brother and Survivor. In addition, I love the Sopranos, news programs (mostly MSNBC), and sports (provided the Dallas Cowboys, Atlanta Braves, or San Antonio Spurs are playing).

Books:

Anything by James Patterson, Stephen King, or Tom Clancy. I'm currently reading "The Last Don" by Mario Puzo.

Heroes:

All of our brave young men and women serving tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. Let's get them all home safely and soon.
A TRUE STORY:
Some people have been a bit offended that the actor, Lee Marvin, is buried in a grave alongside three and four- star generals at Arlington National Cemetery. His marker gives his name, rank (PVT) and service (USMC). Nothing else. Here's a guy who was only a famous movie star who served his time, why the heck does he rate burial with these guys? Well, following is the amazing answer:

In a time when many Hollywood stars served their country in the armed forces often in rear-echelon posts where they were carefully protected,only to be trotted out to perform for the cameras in war bond promotions, Lee Marvin was a genuine hero. He won the Navy Cross at Iwo Jima. There is only one higher Naval award... the Medal Of Honor. If that is a surprising comment on the true character of the man, he credits his sergeant with an even greater show of bravery.

Dialog from "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson":

His guest was Lee Marvin. Johnny said, "Lee, I'll bet a lot of people are unaware that you were a Marine in the initial landing at Iwo Jima...and that during the course of that action you earned the Navy Cross and were severely wounded." "Yeah, yeah.. I got shot square in the bottom and they gave me the Cross for securing a hot spot about halfway up Suribachi. Bad thing about getting shot up on a mountain is guys getting' shot hauling you down. But, Johnny, at Iwo I served under the bravest man I ever knew... We both got the cross the same day, but what he did for his Cross made mine look cheap in comparison. That dumb guy actually stood up on Red beach and directed his troops to move forward and get the hell off the beach. Bullets flying by, with mortar rounds landing everywhere and he stood there as the main target of gunfire so that he could get his men to safety. He did this on more than one occasion because his men's safety was more important than his own life."
"That Sergeant and I have been lifelong friends. When they brought me off Suribachi we passed the Sergeant and he lit a smoke and passed it to me, lying on my belly on the litter and said, 'where'd they get you Lee?' 'Well Bob... if you make it home be fore me, tell Mom to sell the outhouse!'"
"Johnny, I'm not lying, that guy was the bravest man I ever knew. The Sergeant's name is Bob Keeshan. You and the world know him as Captain Kangaroo."
On another note, there was this wimpy little man (who just recently passed away) on PBS, gentle and quiet. Mr. Rogers is another of those you would least suspect of being anything but what he now portrays to our youth. But Mr. Rogers was a U.S. Navy Seal, combat-proven in Vietnam with over twenty-five confirmed kills to his name. He wore a long-sleeved sweater on TV, to cover the many tattoos on his forearm and biceps. He was a master in small arms and hand-to-hand combat, able to disarm or kill in a heartbeat. After the war Mr. Rogers became an ordained Presbyterian minister and therefore a pacifist. Vowing to never harm another human and also dedicating the rest of his life to trying to help lead children on the right path in life. He hid away the tattoos and his past life and won our hearts with his quiet wit and charm. America 's real heroes don't flaunt what they did; they quietly go about their day-to-day lives, doing what they do best. They earned our respect and the freedoms that we all enjoy. Look around and see if you can find one of those heroes in your midst. Often, they are the ones you'd least suspect, but would most like to have on your side if anything ever happened.

Rest in peace, Lee Marvin, Bob Keeshan, Mr. Rogers, and thousands of other true heroes out there who make America what it is...
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My Blog

Mrs. Greer

   Every street has one: a wrinkled old prune who spends his or her life eavesdropping on others, whose window curtains flutter almost constantly throughout the day, as people come and go, u...
Posted by Darrell on Mon, 26 May 2008 02:01:00 PST

You Can Go Home Again After All

    These days, I can't seem to return to my hometown of  Lubbock, Texas, without taking a slow drive through the old neighborhood where I grew up so many years ago. I frequently s...
Posted by Darrell on Mon, 26 Feb 2007 05:16:00 PST

Peanuts and Crawdads

     I was born and raised in west Texas. I used to think that this part of our great country was unique for its idiosyncratic habits, which I had seen in no other place on th...
Posted by Darrell on Thu, 01 Feb 2007 07:37:00 PST

Why I Owe Lyndon Johnson A Big One

    You can't miss something until you're aware you don't have it. If that makes no sense, try this one: the only way a blind man knows he's blind is because somebody told him he was at...
Posted by Darrell on Tue, 23 Jan 2007 03:14:00 PST

Yellow Dogs

    It's been said that some things never change. I had occasion to ride on an old yellow school bus not too terribly long ago when I helped chaperone the Burkburnett High School band t...
Posted by Darrell on Wed, 17 Jan 2007 08:32:00 PST

The Quarry

   In south San Antonio, not far from the house where I lived when I was young, lies an old quarry in the middle of 600 acres of Texas scrub brush. Surrounded on three sides by housing devel...
Posted by Darrell on Fri, 12 Jan 2007 06:53:00 PST

Game? What Game?

     I learned during my sophomore year in high school that there are a hundred things you can do underneath the bleachers during a high school basketball game, and few have anythi...
Posted by Darrell on Thu, 04 Jan 2007 01:32:00 PST

Doc McKenzie

     I miss the whole concept of a family doctor. In these days of assembly-line medicine and HMOs, what too many families have instead is a medical factory, where they take their ...
Posted by Darrell on Wed, 27 Dec 2006 10:30:00 PST

Best Car I Ever Had

    I asked several of my friends the other day which, of all the cars they've owned in their lifetime, brought them the greatest number of pleasant memories. Almost all of them said it...
Posted by Darrell on Sun, 05 Nov 2006 06:20:00 PST

The Eye in the Drain

    When I was a youngster, I just knew that my house was haunted. In addition to the usual ghosts and witches, there were monsters lurking about. Every time I turned a corner, or opene...
Posted by Darrell on Mon, 30 Oct 2006 12:43:00 PST