Scott's Spot

In response specifically to the tragedy in Orlando, and generally to the state of our national discourse, I wrote the following essay, published today in our local newspaper. “Words are things,” the inimitable Dr. Maya Angelou once said.  “You must be careful about calling people out of their names, using racial pejoratives and sexual pejoratives and all that ignorance.  Don’t do that.” She continued, like a prophet, “Someday, we’ll be able to measure the power of words.  I think they are things.  They get on the walls.  They get in your wallpaper.  They get in your rugs, in your upholstery and your clothes, and finally, into you .” As an educator, I learned early in my career that a single word, rightly chosen or ineptly used, could make all the difference in my students’ likelihood to grasp a difficult concept.  Later, as a school district leader, I was taught again and again, often in very difficult situations, that the words I chose...

This appeared in today's Corpus Christi Caller-Times... My morning routine goes something like this: first, start the coffeemaker and feed the cat.  Next, go outside and fetch the newspaper.  Third, pour the coffee and slide back into bed to read the Caller-Times, starting with the obituaries and ending with the opinion columnists. I save the editorial pages for last because they are so entertaining and provocative.  Ann McFeatters and Tom Whitehurst make me laugh.  Leonard Pitts makes me think.  Charles Krauthammer usually makes me mad, but I took special note of his column this past Saturday. “Doctors’ reasons for quitting” was the headline.  He wrote of the growing number of physicians who are leaving the profession, fed up with government interference in the practice of medicine.  Krauthammer detailed the complaint of classmates in his medical school class 40 th -year reunion report as “not financial, but vocational—an incessant i...

  May 24, 2015 I was honored this week to keynote the commencement ceremonies for Branch Academy for Career and Technical Education and Collegiate High School here in Corpus Christi.  Having been part of the planning and building of these two remarkable schools since their beginnings, it was a very special occasion for me to be able to share some thoughts with the students as they complete their courses of study. As often happens, I reflected on the speech after giving it and realized that I was, perhaps, preaching to myself.  The "keys to superheroism" are ideals I strive for in my life even today...sometimes with success, often times without. Earlier this month, “The Avengers:  Age of Ultron” opened to critical acclaim and amazing box office figures.  The sequel to “Marvel’s The Avengers” brought in $187.7 million in the first weekend of release.  The first movie in 2012 raked in over $207.4 million the first weekend, setting an all-time box ...

November 28 (Day 39 and beyond) As we turn back to South Texas on Sunday morning, I have to say my expectations for this trip have been met and exceeded in so many ways.  It has been a lifelong dream to ” see the USA in my Chevrolet… ” (you have to be of a certain age to know what that’s about!), and the places we have visited have been remarkable each in their own way.  The destinations, however, have not been entirely what this trip was about.  Indeed, it was the in-between spaces…the journey…that made this trip so special. And so it is with life.  Life is lived in the spaces between the big events.  The highs and lows—just like the desert valleys and mountain tops we’ve seen driving over 5000 miles in these past 7 weeks—are what make a life.   MB and I marked wanted to mark our retirements with this sort of once-in-a-lifetime cross country trip, and we feel fortunate to have seen that dream come true.  We feel blessed and ready f...

Thanksgiving--Thursday, November 27 (Day 38) Although we are supposed to count our blessings everyday, I'm even more mindful of the many blessings I have in my life on Thanksgiving every year.  I'm sure many others feel that way, too. My heart is especially gratitude-filled this year...for family ( Adam--I am missing you greatly today! ), for health ( yowza! ), for dear friends, for a wonderful career, and for this trip. The turkey and dressing are ready to go in the oven...the green bean casserole will be soon...and MB will be making his famous mashed potatoes, as requested by the grandkids.  Life is good, God is great, and bellies will soon be full.  Happy Thanksgiving to all! The colors of Fall in Napa Valley, CA...November 2014 Tomorrow:   Headed Home

Sunday and Monday, November 23-24 (Days 34 and 35) The drive from Grand Junction to Vail came with the possibility of some extreme driving conditions (well, extreme for South Texans), and the forecasts were right.  Snow had fallen along the route, enough to dust the red-rock mesas with snow to look like huge slices of red velvet cake covered with confectioner’s sugar.  The fallen snow became much deeper as we drove east, and began falling heavily just west of Eagle County and Vail.  By the time we arrived at Vail late on Sunday, a thick blanket covered the entire Streamside property, and we were happy to have arrived safely.  Our home for the next several days provided just what we needed:  a beautiful view of the landscape outside, and a fireplace to keep us warm since the temperatures outside hovered near 10 degrees! Monday was a driving day to pick up Natalie and the girls in Denver.  The drive over was intense, to say the least....

Wednesday, November 19 (Day 30) Drive Day—Columbia Gorge, Western Oregon, and on to Boise Leaving Portland to travel east, we learned what winter is all about!  Icy rain pelted us along our drive through the Columbia River Gorge.  I was not familiar with this area at all, and was surprised at how wide the river is…and how strongly the winds howled through the gorge!  Temperatures dipped into the 20s as the gale-force winds created whitecaps on the river. Columbia River Gorge from I-84... Brrrr! Despite being a little white-knuckled as I drove, I was in awe of what we were seeing.  The scenery was dramatic, with mountains, then cliffs, then the other-worldly look of the windswept hills near The Dalles, Oregon.  It was there we captured this photo of what cold can look like in the Northwest! The Dalles, Oregon Idaho's version of Oz After the long drive through the Eastern Oregon plains, we arrived again at the mountains at Pendle...