Many years ago I was working at Paul Revere Middle School when I had the pleasure of interviewing a young man who was seeking a position as an English teacher. There was something magical about Bob Buley that game across during the interview. He had a twinkle in his eyes and an enthusiasm about life and people that made him enchanting. To say that I was quite taken with him would be to underestimate my strong desire to hire him on the spot. I was quite pleased to learn that the principal was in total agreement with me. We both viewed Bob as being someone who would be passionate and warm in his approach to teaching and it took little time for us to learn that we had indeed been right in our initial assessment of this young educator. Continue reading “A Beautiful Life”
Category: Death
In the Heat of the Night
There are no words for this. All the language that I know is inadequate for what I want to express, but for Darren I will try. I can’t describe him with cliches and platitudes – I need to do better than that. He deserves better than that.
My husband was an incredibly, intricate blend of toughness and gentility. He was loyal…fiercely so. And he was ethical; the right thing to do is what guided his internal compass. I admired this quality, perhaps the most. For that’s what made Darren good and he was good. So, if people want to know what kind of man he was….this is it. He was who you wanted for a friend, a colleague and a neighbor.
However, it is I who was blessed so richly that I had the privilege of calling him my husband and my best friend.
–Kathleen Goforth
Until last Friday night I had never heard of Darren Goforth and probably never would have were it not for a random act of violence that took his life. He was a ten year veteran of the Harris County Sheriff’s Department whose beat took him around the Cypress community. From all accounts being in law enforcement was something that he had felt called to do, a vocation. I’ve known other people who also felt that they were called by a higher power to be peace keepers but for one reason or another they were not able to make it through the grueling process of becoming an officer. I remember being quite surprised at how much testing and education is involved. Like many I had always assumed that if one wanted to be a policeman it was just a matter of signing up and undergoing a background check. I learned that there is so much more to it than that. It seems that many are called but few are chosen. Frankly I find it to be such a dangerous and sometimes thankless career that I can’t imagine why anyone would want to do it and yet there are men like Darren Goforth who somehow feel compelled to serve society in one of the most hazardous jobs that there is. Continue reading “In the Heat of the Night”
This is Dr. Red Duke
Years ago the daughter of a friend was traveling down Beltway 8 on a lovely Saturday morning when the driver of an eighteen wheeler lost control of his rig and slammed into the young woman’s car. The wreckage was horrendous and when the first responders arrived they realized that the passenger in the car was near death. They immediately requested the aid of the Life Flight helicopter which arrived quickly and then transported my friend’s daughter to Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Houston Medical Center. Dr. James “Red” Duke and his team were on call in the trauma center and they immediately swung into action. With a lifetime of knowledge the good doctor used his skills to virtually bring the severely injured woman back to life. Her wounds were so life threatening that in another place and time she might have died. Instead she was under the care of one of the premier trauma surgeons in the world. She lived to tell her story in spite of the odds against her survival. Continue reading “This is Dr. Red Duke”
A Pensive Morning
It’s another stormy morning and as the rain comes down I find myself feeling pensive. It’s been a quiet week after my vacation. I came home tired from the long drive and never really got back into the routine of things because I was almost immediately scheduled to visit my oral surgeon to have my implant set in place. I spent time catching up on some phone calls that I had been unable to make in the mountains. One of them was to my cousin who had suddenly and tragically lost her nephew in an accident. Her beloved Chris and his wife had gone on their dream trip to the Florida Keys. One moment they were joyfully riding on a rented scooter and the next they were hit head on by the driver of a Ford Explorer. The young man died instantly. His wife was sent to the hospital in critical condition. When the calls came to the family back here in Houston there was a sense of disbelief, as though it was all somehow a terrible mistake. Continue reading “A Pensive Morning”
His Heart Will Go On
I so love movies! My idea of a perfect day would involve watching one favorite flick after another without a care in the world, no laundry, no bills to pay, no cooking, no worries whatsoever. I suppose that it is not at all surprising that my granddaughter has been completely taken by the prospect of working in the film industry. She comes by her love of movies naturally. I suspect that it is in her DNA. At this juncture in her young life she is mostly fascinated by the art of learning about all aspects of the trade. Landing a starring role is secondary to her love of the process. She is just as happy with working all week long on a set only to be featured for a split second as she would be if she were one of the major characters. She so enjoys watching the anatomy of a presentation unfold and she imagines herself one day working as a production designer, a career that would use her creative and artistic abilities quite well. She has already done a research project on the job and knows which universities in the United States offer the best educational programs for learning more about the filmmaking trade. As of now she is most interested in one day attending NYU or Northwestern University but I suppose that in the next seven years there will be many changes in who she is and what she wants to eventually do with her life. In the meantime she is having great fun learning about all of the facets of movie making. Continue reading “His Heart Will Go On”
All It Takes Is A Little Love 