“I get great satisfaction from taking a big block of nothing and turning it into something. Plus, I really enjoy the reactions I get. People stop by while I’m working and they’re awestruck. Young kids and old folks especially are crazy...
“I have fun creating things out of wood. I don’t have another job, so it means that I have to work every day. I have to make something every day and take time to sell it. “I used to be a...
“When I was a child, my mother taught me how to draw. By the time I was in high school, I sort of fancied myself an artist. Then I didn’t make any art for 35 years. Art seemed like such a...
Occasionally, when seeking interviews for The Baytown Project, I’ll introduce myself to someone and get this response: “No speak English.” That’s when I kick myself for never having followed up on my high school Spanish classes. Because of the communication gap,...
“I had a lot of redheaded kids. One of the boys, when he was born, his hair was orange. I mean bright, bright orange. The boy running the place now was a redhead until he was 30, and then his hair...
“During World War II, my father built defense camps all over the country. I grew up moving every three to six months. We’d live a few months in one camp and then go somewhere like Wyoming for several more months, then...
“I got an opportunity in 1970 to buy Leonard’s Meat Market — the land, building and equipment — for $25,000. I was 29 years old. And we had one of the most successful meat markets in the area. We were very...
“One of the freedoms (NFL players) have is the ability to stand or not stand (for the National Anthem). You can’t celebrate having freedoms and then admonish someone for using those same freedoms. Exercising one’s rights isn’t disrespecting those who fought...
When then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick decided to take a knee during the playing of the National Anthem in August 2016, he said it was because of his views on the country’s treatment of racial minorities. About a month after...
“During the hurricane, I watched news coverage from the safety of my home. I felt helpless to try to offer aid and guilty that I was safe while others were suffering. “I don’t have a boat or a ton of cash,...
