Explore the captivating tale of Johnny Rodriguez and a fateful goat rustling incident at Garner State Park, filled with nostalgia and friendship.
Category: history
Joseph Willis: 250 Years Ago Today
250 years ago, my 4th Great-grandfather, Joseph Willis, became a Patriot. Today, his descendants, which include three of my grandchildren, celebrated that anniversary!
Jerry Kennedy & Johnny Horton
Read about Johnny Horton's premonitions and tragic death after playing the Skyline Club in Austin. And his friendship with Elvis, Hanks Williams, Jerry Kennedy and his best friend Johnny Cash.
Ole Sally & Grandpa
Everyone needs a best friend, especially children of all ages, like Ole Sally.
1852 Christmas Day
Joseph Willis whispers in her ear, "If there are white horses in Heaven they will need pack mules." Ole Sally seems to understand.
Polk Willis & Anna Canady Willis
Anna Canady, 17, and out of harm's way on the Red River. The dirt is gone, but not her fears. Her Irish red hair can be seen for the first time in years. She soon meets a brash young boy, her junior, whom she does not understand. He will become the second most important person in her life, forever.
The Spanish Flu 1918 / Randy Willis
She was beautiful, charming, and graceful.
That would all fade within hours after exposure to the 1918 flu pandemic.
Destiny | In Appreciation | Randy Willis
Destiny | In Appreciation | Randy Willis
Randy Willis | Friends
Randy Willis, Earl Campbell, Willie Nelson, Darrell Royal
Randy Willis | One of my favorite novelist
One of my favorite novelist, Lewis Wallace, was inspired to write his second novel, in 1880, by an agnostic. The novel was conceived after sitting on a train, listening to Colonel Robert Ingersoll for two hours. Wallace wrote that Ingersoll poured out “a medley of argument, eloquence, wit, satire, audacity, irreverence, poetry, brilliant antitheses, and …
Randy Willis | No Sunshine?
The year was 1920. The son of a poor sharecropper from the now-ghost town of Beech Springs in north Louisiana decided he wanted to get an education. His family was so poor that he did not have a bed in which to sleep until he was nine years old. Upon graduation from high school, he …
Randy Willis | It’s No Secret
A "chance encounter" with an unknown preacher and a question from Hollywood's most famous movie star would change his life. ~ Randy Willis
Randy Willis |Trust & Respect
It took me a year to gain his trust. I named him Big Jake after my Dad. He arrived at sunrise (at my barn) this morning...
Randy Willis | Love
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always …
Randy Willis | A Chance Encounter
A "chance encounter" with an unknown preacher and a question from Hollywood's most famous movie star would change his life. ~ Randy Willis He was a huge star. And, the composer of many hit songs. The original manuscript of one of those songs is buried in the cornerstone of the Copyright Building of the Library of Congress, …
Randy Willis | The Ole Willis Home Place
Baptist love this story! It was inspired by the true story of my Great-Grandmother Julia Ann Graham Willis. After the death of her eight-year-old son Eugene from appendicitis, she almost lost her mind. She would lay on his grave, in the Graham Cemetery, weeping for hours at a time. One day she was overwhelmed with peace. Later she learned …
Randy Willis | Robert E. Lee
This horse reminds me of Robert E. Lee's horse Traveler. When Robert E. Lee was two years old, his dad went to debtor’s prison. After resigning from the U.S. Army, in 1861, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s 200-acre Arlington estate, where he had married his wife Mary, raised seven children, and lived for over 30 …
Without Louisiana College there might not have been “Sunshine.”
When I was a boy one of my heroes was the man standing to the right of President John F. Kennedy. I had a gracious letter that he had written to my mother after her first husband had prematurely died. When I entered the entertainment business there were only two famous people, in that world (there …
Continue reading Without Louisiana College there might not have been “Sunshine.”