• As a student of presidential history, I like to find out how each president tries to portray himself to the media and country. For instance, Bush 43 and Obama were often seen at the golf course, and many people criticized them for not working hard enough. That wasn’t the case with LBJ; he would frequently get photographed or filmed working in the most unconventional places; there are pictures of him talking to his staff while getting a haircut or conducting business while he’s in his swimming pool at his ranch. In this example, he’s “working” two hours after gallbladder surgery on 11/06/1966. In case you were wondering, a total of ten doctors worked on him and three Secret Service agents were in the operating room. I mean, I get why the Secret Service agents where there, but really, what could they do?
  
• One person who always interested me during the LBJ presidency was Jack Valenti, who later became the head of the Motion Picture Association. The man hated the VCR and thought it would end the movie industry. He was also at LBJ’s swearing-in on Air Force One at Love Field. Last night, I found an article about him speaking about what led to that moment and how he started to work for LBJ, who wouldn’t accept any excuse for him not working for him.

• Several students were attending an informal gathering of the swim team at an on-campus residence on September 6 when one of them used a box cutter to scratch the n-word on another student’s chest, according to statements made by the college and the family who says their son was the victim.

• The last time the Longhorns and Mississippi State played was at the 1999 Cotton Bowl, which you can watch in its entirety here, with Joe Buck making the call. I remember because I was there. It was my first college football game (football games at Hardin-Simmons don’t count) and the first and only game I’ve seen in the Cotton Bowl.
• The reason I got to go to the game was because my brother gave me tickets. Six months prior, our father died. My spring semester grades were mailed to our house in Mineral Wells, and he saw them and chastised me. I tried telling him that these particular set of classes, like Business Law, were hard and cut me a break, I’ve been distracted by our father’s health. The following fall semester, I earned a 4.0, made the President’s List and Good Will Hunting fashion, slapped my grades in front of him, and asked him, “How do you like them apples!?” (The movie came out two years prior.) It was hard to ever get a compliment from him; I tried my hardest repeatedly. I can’t remember what he said, but I do remember a smile. But he rewarded me with tickets to the Cotton Bowl to see my favorite player and current Heisman winner, Ricky Williams. He couldn’t go, but I tagged along with one of his friends. I mentioned that he probably lucked into the tickets and probably got them for free, but his friend corrected me, saying that wasn’t the case at all, that he told him he was proud of me and he had to do something for me for such a great turnaround. I have mixed emotions about not speaking to him since 2006 after Mom died.
• I vividly remember hearing Prince’s 1999 played on every radio station on the way there. It was the first day of the year, after all. But it was just too much in a short time period that I voiced my displeasure about it. It became a joke with us. Then, at halftime, you can guess what the band played.
• That was a memorable Cotton Bowl for Longhorn fans. Of course, Ricky Williams won the Heisman and had a great game. On one run, he knocked out a tackler. The opposing coach was former Aggie nemesis Jackie Sherrill. He’s still alive and 80 years old, in case you were wondering. It was also Mack Brown’s first year.
• All I wanted that season was one of those Ricky Williams Heisman shirts. At that time, stuff like that was hard to get, especially in Abilene. But someone was selling one in the parking lot, and I finally got one.
  

@joshpet Betty met a new friend! #alzheimers ♬ original sound – JoshPet