Star-struck

Faithful readers of this blog (and I know you’re out there!) no doubt are aware of my lifelong interest in space and the manned space program. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve had the chance to hear two great speakers with remarkable, albeit very different, contributions to the realm. As it happens, the presentations were very different, as well.

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Yippie-ki-yay!

Last weekend, I took in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo downtown parade for the first time in several years. The weather was spectacular, and the crowd was massive, diverse and enthusiastic. There were horses, riders, and marching bands. All in all, a great day to be in Houston.

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A walk in the Lower Ninth Ward

Last week, I took a long-awaited vacation to New Orleans, a city that has long figured in my imagination. In addition to covering a court hearing and doing some of the usual tourist stuff, I had another objective: I wanted to see firsthand what has happened in the Lower Ninth Ward since the community was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

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Apollo 13′s Gene Kranz: No room for failure

Gene Kranz was one of my heroes long before I ever really knew who he was. And earlier this evening, I finally got to hear him speak.

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Fog and explosives

This past weekend, I had to the opportunity (with several hundred others) to watch a major building in Houston be turned to dust.

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How I remember 9/11

I was in bed, listening to the radio.

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Of newspapers, storms and whistleblowers

What a difference a decade makes.

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Restoring history amidst a sea of change

I had the opportunity this weekend to visit Freedmen’s Town, the historic black community formed by newly freed slaves on the outskirts of downtown Houston, in the Fourth Ward.

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A cab ride in the Crescent City

I hadn’t been in New Orleans since 2002, three years before Hurricane Katrina swept through and wrought havoc. Though I have several relatives in South Louisiana, most of my experiences here were when I was a young kid. My knowledge of the storm and its aftermath was from afar, from news accounts and my own reporting on refugees who arrived in the Houston area.

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