Greetings — one of the reasons Marks and I decided to start this blog and not publish a book is so you can learn about contemporary deaths. Today, the Glenwood update includes not only one of Houston’s premier heart surgeons, Dr. Denton Cooley and his charming wife Louse (who passed within months of each other), but also a dear friend and important historic preservationist, Bart Truxillo.

In addition, we recently attended the celebration for one of Houston’s pioneer cemeteries, Morse Bragg. Marks had known about this cemetery since he was a child but years of neglect and encroaching development really threatened it. Due to the hard work of a number of descendants, city historians, County Judge Ed Emmett and other elected officials, the cemetery has been saved and restored.

Enjoy.

Australia Memorial Cemetery, Thailand

The Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

We have not posted a short story in a while but Marks finally finished a piece he has been working on for several years.  The main character, Rulon Allen James, Jr., is fictional and his early life and the end of his life are figments of Marks’ imagination, but the rest of the story is based on factual information from interviews of American and Australian prisoners of war.

While in Thailand on a visit to the Bridge on the River Kwai we noticed a small group of elderly gentlemen participating in a memorial service at the Australian Military Cemetery.  Later Marks ran into one of the men, a 6’5”, 250 pound chap.  He asked if the gentleman had been here during the War.  His answer was “I was a POW from 1940 until 1945.”  Nervously, Marks asked him if he would be willing to talk about his experience.  In typical Aussie fashion, he said, “Buy me a few pints and I’ll tell you the whole story.”

Unlike Rulon’s fictional demise, the man was about 20 miles from Hiroshima when the atomic bomb exploded, thus saving his life.  Liberated by the Americans he spent nine months on a medical ship in Tokyo harbor before being sent to Australia for two more years of hospitalization.

Marks felt his story was so heroic and horrific it demanded to be told.

Greetings — we’ve added more interesting people to the beautiful Glenwood Cemetery in Houston including one of the city’s favorite television newsmen. Look for the NEW, starting with Kipp, then scroll to Sacaris.

We’ve also posted a fun grave marker that you would find only in Texas.

Enjoy.