Heart

May 24, 2026

I just got off the phone with Bug. There were tears on both ends of the wireless line. I had to write this now. Right now.

Bug is my youngest daughter. I gave her that nickname long ago, because as a toddler, she skipped the staggering, stop and start stage of learning to walk and went full steam ahead from the get go. She was a tiny bundle of coordinated boundless energy, and quick…so, so damn quick.

She had a ball of some sort in her hand as soon as she could hold one. Softball, basketball, volleyball, or soccer ball. She would end up playing all of those competitively on school teams. She ‘left it all’ on the field, the court or the diamond. She was a coaches dream. That quickness and nose for the ball paid off in spades in sports…but the real key to Bug was, and is, her heart.

It is said that arguably, the greatest racehorse to ever run a track was Secretariat and I fully, fully agree. It was also documented that after his death it was found that he had a heart that weighed 21-22 lbs. - more than twice the size of a normal thoroughbred. Figuratively speaking, Layne has a Secretariat heart.

H.S. - Big volleyball tournament win. Layne is bottom row second from the left. This team went to state and damn near won it all.

This is not a brag fest although I’ve certainly done that before. Its a tribute. She has always been a winner and if you bet against her…you’re gonna lose. Whether it was sports or academics, in high school or Texas Tech, or now in her career. She will succeed. So in this upcoming, most important game she will ever be in, my money is on her. I’m all in, as they say in Texas Hold’em.

Because those tears? They were from unbridled joy. A great, solid as a rock guy (and one helluva baseball player in his own right) whom I’ve known now for at least six years, has just asked for Layne’s hand in marriage.

She will always be my little girl, my bug.