Wayman Tisdale was a phenomenal basketball player. I'm sure he tortured the Aggies when he played for Oklahoma during a career that would land him in the College Basketball Hall of Fame. A gold medalist in the 1984 Olympics, he was also the leading scorer in Sacramento Kings' history, remains the Sooners' scoring leader, and was a beloved athlete respected by all his colleagues.
Then, he went on to an amazing jazz career...not the Utah Jazz, but jazz music...award-winning jazz music. Wayman's second album was the first CD I ever bought. I can remember wearing that disk out on the long bus rides to school in the dead of a North Dakota winter.It was a good way to start the days, and I've got a few more of his albums. As much as he had an eye and a body for basketball, he had an ear for good music.
Wayman Tisdale has died at the age of 44. As if playing basketball at the level he did with the attitude he did wasn't enough to awe, as if the music he created for so many to enjoy wasn't enough to entertain, Wayman inspired through his battle with a cancer that forced two rounds of chemo and cost him a leg that made the 6'9" man the hall of famer he was, but never cost him his spirit.
If a person is not inspired by a man who can smile in the face of a cancerous sentence that turned deadly, there is no hope for that person's soul. Anyone who saw, heard or met Wayman in any way, shape or form is better for it.
As I get older I find myself reflecting more and more. Some days a trickle, today a cascade. If you are over the age of 30 the passing of two legends today has to bring something to mind. (Read Blog)
At a time when banks are failing, the stock market is in a tailspin, the housing market is dismal and the country’s in a recession, Don Adam, a very successful Bryan businessman ,is back in the local market with a new bank. (Read Blog)
It’s been a month since I have written about my upcoming AC/DC concert with my 14 year old son Geoffrey. I had a real hard time getting tickets for the sold out event. Three different times in the final 12 hours my “deals” fell through. My alternative was to hit the concert and the ticket scalpers at the last minute. (Read Blog)