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For me history has been important. I enjoyed it in school as an elective subject. One of the best teachers I ever had was Dr. Carlton Jackson in an American His-tory class at Western Kentucky University in 1961, when it was known as Western Kentucky State Teachers College. For...

Signs, advertising signs that is, can be somewhat misleading. I learned my lesson fairly early in life while on a spring break trip to  Fort Lauderdale back in 1965. I had been there before, but this time it was different. This time I was driving my own car… a 1964 white...

I’m not saying I’m old, but I am saying I’m old enough. If I had my choice I’d stop aging right now. When I look in the mirror I realize I’m old enough… don’t need anymore. Heck, I can remember when automobiles were advertised as having a radio and heater. Although I never...

There might not be another man in America more focused and disciplined than Jim Morris. Let me explain. The name may not immediately resonate with you, but for those who followed high school basketball back in the late 60s and early 70s, Jim Morris was a 6-5 prolific record...

Over the years I’ve experienced some interesting, and sometimes funny happenings I have encountered all the way back to my college days, first at Western Kentucky University and then the University of Kentucky. Anyone who has ever written anything probably has a story to tell of...

Bobby Knight’s recent passing brought up memories of my encounter with the former Indiana basketball coach. It was like a volcano erupting in my ear when Coach Bobby Knight picked up the phone to answer my phone call back in 2014. I was in the middle of writing a book, Better...

His life was the stuff movies are made of. You’ve probably seen such a movie where the Kentucky farm boy was the sixth of eight kids destined to make it big in something someday. He knew he wanted more than pitching bales of hay on his farm and for nearby neighbors in Greenup...

It’s a time of year when many of us reflect on what has transpired over the past months. I for one have developed a philosophy when it comes to writing, and it is really quite simple. I want to write about what I think readers will enjoy. This column marks the twenty-first year....

Roy Kidd was a football coach. Was he ever! I got to know the former Eastern Kentucky coach a few years back while I was writing a book, “The Boys From Corbin, America’s Greatest Little Sports Town.” Roy Kidd was one of those boys. He died at 91 years of age on September 12. I...

I’ve always enjoyed chasing a story. By this I mean writing something where the facts don’t jump up and smack you in the face. When I found out Coach John Burr of Adair County was going in the Kentucky Basketball Hall of Fame this year, I immediately set out on a chase. It tested...