In 1934, Manuel King was 11 years old and a fifth-grader in a Brownsville grammar school. The young King was literally born with a whip in his hand — the mastery of which he developed to grow up to become one of the youngest lion tamers in the world.
You might think you’re seeing double at first. Bentley and Tommy, both born in September 2020, are very handsome dilute orange tabbies, who look enough alike to be brothers, if not twins. However, they are from different litters, with different moms of course. (The identity of their father is unknown, but it’s not likely they are related at all.)
We have a crazy terrier mix named Ryder who does bizarre things. Now he’s getting older, though, and it’s a sad sight to watch pass by. He’s the last of the five we had for years, three that lived indoors, and two that lived outside in a kennel when they weren’t out playing, dealing drugs on the street. I miss those days when we still had all five, even though caring for them took some work.
I was going to write a column about Bob Dylan since he turned the big 80 Monday, but where is there to write that hasn’t already been written. Only thing I can say is, it’s nice to have been born during a time when I could enjoy his early stuff when it came out, after becoming a huge fan circa ’72. It’s been an uphill ride from there. Now I have to go listen to “Tweeter and the Monkey Man” for today’s writing inspiration (thanks, Mickey).
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Pharr, TX 78577