Memory Lane

The Road To Silsbee. To Where?!

Silsbee I.S.D.

Who knew that one of our most memorable speaking engagements would also end up being one of our absolute favorite stories, full stop. And when it comes to Red & Black, all we are … are stories, so that's saying something. But there was no way to know any of that as we set out to do a speaking engagement for high school students. And to this day, we can't decide which part of the story is our favorite … how we got there or what happened once we arrived.

Well, we were off to Silsbee High School in, where else, Silsbee, Texas. Which is about a two-hour drive from Houston and about 25 miles north of Beaumont, which was the closest city we could find to stay overnight as we were due at the school first thing in the morning for a full day (starting with a presentation to the entire senior class, and then one for the students that had used our book as the personal finance textbook in their Economics course).

STORY #1

So, off we go bright and early with me and my paper driving directions, as I'm old school and like to have everything ready in advance, plus I'm not a huge fan of technology. On the other hand, Black's busy on her iPad as we set forth on our latest student adventure. The road to Silsbee (sounds like a country western song) starts withthree lanes, quickly drops to two lanes, and before I know it, I can see that it's about to go to one lane, with no signs indicating exits. And my paper directions are now useless! I turn to Black and ask her (well, really, tell her in my "panic") to see if she can find out where we are on her iPad and how to get to Silsbee, and ideally, Silsbee High School. All I can see is ruralness (Is that a word? If not, it should be) all around me, all I'm missing are some cows crossing the road. And Black's reply?


We're off the iPad!

At that point, I'm literally driving down not quite a dirt road but close when what do I see in the "not too far" distance? A school bus! A beautiful, yellow, school bus and as I get closer (ok, I may have exceeded the speed limit slightly), I see "Silsbee I.S.D." on it. I can honestly say I've never been so happy to see a school bus and I turn to Black, with excitement and hope, telling her that I'm following that bus! Because let's face it, there can only be one high school in Silsbee and I can't imagine whichever school the bus is going to, the others won't be far away.

STORY #2

Fast forward, it's late morning and we're having an absolute blast as our earlier presentation to the senior class, which surprisingly are a few hundred students, was a big hit. (That's not ego talking, we're basing it on audience participation, comments from the students before they left, and feedback from the educators who organized the event.) Now the audience is less than 20 students, and not only were they in the earlier event, but they used our book as part of their Economics class "curricula" to study personal finance. We were only scheduled to have an hour with them, formatted as a Question & Answer session, but as we're about to wrap up they asked to give up their lunch period (can you believe that?!) to have more time with us.

And then a student raises their hand and very politely asks Black,

Can you explain how you're talking to us about money and making smart decisions, but you're wearing shoes with red soles that probably cost hundreds of dollars?

My immediate thought was, wow that student knows about Christian Louboutin shoes! Quickly followed by wondering how Black was going to get out of this one. So much so that I took a seat in the front row (which made everyone laugh). And, without missing a beat, she turned the astute question into an invaluable lesson about budgeting, cost-per-wearing calculations, and investment purchases. In other words, she navigated that question much easier than I navigated the road to Silsbee.

Red's two Labradoodles

Photo taken by Red

If you asked Black about National Pet Month, she’d probably quote you statistics about the number of people who have pets and the health benefits, conveniently “forgetting” what she told Red about unconditional love. But Red would tell you that she celebrates Moo (read the original post from 2021 below to learn about the other “unusual names” of her four-legged family members) every day, letting her know with a hug and a cuddle how much she’s loved.



Red's Head assets.rebelmouse.io


Well, this month marks 18 years since you changed my life, so I wanted to thank you. Again. For bringing such happiness into the lives of the girls and me, although some heartbreaking sadness, too. But there's nothing like unconditional love.


Black's HeadBlack assets.rebelmouse.io


OK, but can you tell me what you are talking about?


Red's Head assets.rebelmouse.io


Do you remember when I moved to Houston after living overseas, and we started going to the Hyatt Hill Country in San Antonio for Memorial Day weekend? You were married to Larry, and his girls were young, and Natasha and Sawyer were even younger. Well, in 2003 you asked me if it was OK if you got us a puppy.


Black's HeadBlack assets.rebelmouse.io


You had always talked about getting a dog but wanted to have children first. The timing seemed right, but given your allergies, the options were limited. Until I learned about a new breed, well technically a mixed breed, originally developed in Australia to be hypoallergenic guide dogs.


Red's Head assets.rebelmouse.io


I'll never forget you showing me photos of the most incredibly adorable dogs I'd ever seen. The fact Labradoodles were half standard poodle, which was what I had initially thought we'd get, and half Labrador Retriever was amazing. But only you could find the perfect dog from an article in a business magazine.
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Another year, another Masters golf tournament! Now, it’s been decades since I was glued to the TV watching golf every weekend. But this year, even though I barely recognize the names of the top Masters contenders, I can’t wait to watch the first foursome tee off. That might not seem to make sense, but the Masters always features an honorary starter, and this year it’s my favorite golfer, Tom Watson. And while my favorite Masters memory is of meeting Arnold Palmer (see below), my favorite golf memory is when my dad and I watched the 1977 British Open at Turnberry and Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus (by one stroke).

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Columbia Pictures

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Yes, I know that Groundhog Day was last week. But truth be told, on the actual day, I almost forgot that it was Groundhog Day. Until Black, on our morning phone call (we talk almost every morning – sometimes specific Red & Black items, sometimes current events, sometimes just "life") wishes me, "Happy Groundhog Day." Well, these days, every day feels like Groundhog Day, so I thought she was just being sarcastic, which wouldn't be unusual. When I started to reply with something like "yeah, same ole, same ole", I paused, because I realized, it really was Groundhog Day.

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