The Lone Star is hanging at half mast

One of Texas' favorite sons has died. Writer and award winning Texan Elmer Kelton passed away recently in San Angelo. He was the man who received the very first Lone Star award for lifetime Achievement from the Larry McMurtry Center for Arts and Humanities at Midwestern State University. On top of that he was my favorite novelist and a good man.

I had an opportunity to meet him once at a steak house in San Angelo. Despite the fact that several other people walked up to his table to say hello, I stayed in my seat. He had a handshake and a kind word for each of them. I'm fairly shy and really didn't know what to say, so I missed out. I really wish now that I had.

For those who have never read the man, his novel The Time it Never Rained did a lot to shape my thoughts on both manhood and government. It and McMurtry's Lonesome Dove are the two books that I read more than once a year, every year. Stand Proud, The Man Who Rode Midnight, and The Good Ol' Boys are also favorites that I would recommend to anybody.