Murder, politics and Texas State football

John & Oriter Castleberry in happier(?) times.

The story goes that John Kendrick Castleberry, a respected doctor in Nacogdoches, had a thing for his nurse Dora. They first poisoned her husband, Luther, then put a dab of the same potion in a cup of tea that John’s wife, Oriter, was drinking.

After a suitable waiting period, the doctor and nurse got married and had a child. Then the doc turned up dead, and Dora left with all their cash and the youngest child.

The good doctor’s older children grew up angry and mean. If you got in their way on the streets of Nacogdoches, you paid the price. One of those Castleberry boys was my grandfather, who became first a cop then a convicted swindler. I don’t remember him, but I’m told the last time he was in our house he had a gun in his hand. I think of this story every time Texas State plays Stephen F. Austin in football. I start to wonder how much of the East Texas voodoo the Lumberjacks football team brings with them to San Marcos.

Read the rest of the story here.

'Ruth's Locket' highlights pain of Alzheimer's

I've been meaning to mention Gene Burns' upcoming production of Ruth's Locket for a while now. The short film is about "characters robbed of their past and present, and the connections between the two. The central plot revolves around the loss of a second chance at one’s first love due to the loss of memory."

Set to shoot this month in San Marcos, the film is a nonprofit project that Burns, a longtime actor who wrote the script and will direct, describes as a labor of love based on his own parents. Filmmakers are seeking donations to keep the project going. Check out more about the film and how to contribute to the cause here. Filmmakers are halfway to their financial goal.

Oprah? It's Joe. I've got a book for you...

Good news on the novel front. The San Marcos Daily Record did a great profile in advance of Texas Authors Day there this coming Sunday. And Dawn Papuga wrote a great review.

Meanwhile, my OLDER sister has created a group on Facebook.com aimed at getting Evacuation Plan on Oprah. Join the cause! Start by joining the group. Then send her an email telling her what a great topic it would be...

Nicholas misses his Mommy

Hard to believe he was crying right before this.

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Mommy!



Let's hope Nick doesn't inherit that nose!



The blackmail photo for when he's a teenager.



Vittles be good!

Tiffany is at a conference for a few days, so Nicholas and I and the spotted pooch Spike are toughing it out. I promised I'd post some photos for my lovely bride, so here are some I really like from this past week.

Da-Da goes to Waco

It was a sweaty, fun night in Waco. I met up with Paul and his pal who drove in from Dallas. Some nice Baylor fan gave us two free tickets as we were about to go buy some. We wandered to the Bobcat section to cheer on the school that shall forever be known as Southwest Texas State. The game was forever close, as you can see from the 21-14 score in this photo as Boko the Bobcat mascot gets a ride through the stands after a Bobcat TD. It seemed the night was ripe for an upset, but Baylor passed at will and foiled an onside kick with little time remaining to take the game 28-20. As one Baylor fan said as we walked back from George's where we got a beer at halftime: "We suck." It's the second time in recent years (the other two years ago against Texas A&M) that the Bobcats seemed poised to upset a Big 12 team.

I came home to discover that Nicholas has learned to say (repeatedly) "Da-Da." Fortunately he repeated it for me this morning.