Ten Years

It is right and appropriate to jump on the bandwagon of everyone remembering 9/11. It has fundamentally shaped how we have interacted with the rest of the world, almost as much as WWII. Yes, I still maintain that WWII has so far had a greater impact that 9/11, but it had a 60 year head start. Given time, 9/11 may well surpass it, though both world wars set the stage for 9/11 in how the Middle East was carved up by the fading colonial powers. We did very little to alleviate those problems and thus have inherited them.

It has shaped my life directly as well. While I don’t know anyone personally that was lost that day, one very close friend lost a friend in the towers. Another acquaintance lost a brother I think in the Pentagon. Friends from grad school were on the observation deck the Saturday 3 days before. Mike remarked to me in an email shortly afterwards, “I remember standing on the roof and thinking how solid it was.”

Cactus Pryor

Yesterday, Austin lost a local icon and legend. Richard “Cactus” Pryor died Tuesday (August 30) at age 88. He worked in local broadcast media for sixty years, mostly at the radio station once owned by the LBJ family. Rather than rehash what others are saying about him, I’ll just offer links.

So why talk about him here? I always admired him, and want to honor him on my stage. The one time we met, we talked Longhorn football and his favorite word. He always signed off saying, “Cactus Pryor, Thermostrockermortimer.” Everyone, including everyone at the station, longed to know what it meant. Of course, he refused to reveal it to me, a stranger. He once said somewhere, "The phrase is in the Bible; if you don't find it, keep reading."

I’m not sure if anyone really knows even now, although, a former coworker of his called in to the station today claiming he told her recently that “It doesn’t mean a #%$@%$ ^#@#$  $^%$^%&* thing.” Fair enough.