Monthly Archives: May 2015

Toby in a flowered hat

Toby on Race Day

Share

We did not have time to stitch together some racing silks for Toby to celebrate the running of The Kentucky Derby today, so he insisted that we create a hat. With flowers. We did. He looks charming, doesn’t he?

Our little dog is VERY excited about horse racing! He keeps telling me there’s a horse he wants to bet on called TOBY’S HAUNCHES, but I have yet to find it in the line-up. I’ll keep looking…JS

Share

Moises Alfaro, a wonderful and kind man

Share

There is a wonderful and kind man I know in Dallas named Moises Alfaro. He works for Federal Express. He and his wife, Barbara, have been friends with my family for years and years, but it started way back, even before they were at the marrying age.

My younger brothers, Pat and Mike, were twins. They became friends with Moi in Jr. High School at L.V. Stockard and the three of them went everywhere together. A few years later, they all grew their hair long and threw frisbees constantly and it seemed we always had two or three of those discs stranded up on the roof. Once a week, one of the twins would climb up there and rake them off, then they’d start over. Indeed, Moi became a World Champion Frisbee dude, winning contest after contest with his skill and athleticism. So, there’s the back story.

Years and years later, in 2007, when my brother Pat was in Methodist Hospital, dying of lung cancer, Moi was there every day, holding Pat’s hand, praying beside his bed. One day, I said, “Moi, when did you come on the scene? I mean, I can’t actually remember a time you weren’t at our house. Do you remember?” He got a sweet look in his eyes. “Mine was the first Mexican family to move into your neighborhood,” he said, “and yours was the first family to be nice to us.”

“We were?” I asked, “We did? Huh. Well, good for us.”

And, I’m thinking that was Mother’s doing, really. She didn’t care what your background, skin color, or culture was as long as you treated her kids right. If you did that, if you were a good friend to her children, you were part of her brood, so don’t expect to get away because it wasn’t going to happen. I loved that about her. JS

Share

People good at sales say…

Share

I have been informed by people in sales who are very good at their jobs that my offer of a refund if people don’t like my books is a dumb idea, that I need to take a sales course, etc. And, while all of that might be true, my offer still stands and my reasoning is this: the number of moments we have here on Planet Earth is finite and we don’t know what that number is. I don’t want anyone to be disappointed that they spent time or money on what I have written. Thus, if you buy either or both of my books and don’t like them, just tell me. I can’t give you your time back, but I can give you your money back.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. JS

Share