THERE'S NO BAWLING IN TEXAS

I wonder why it is that crying is acceptable only by women. And they can't overdo it or they might hear comments directed about them. Such as "like a dog from a bad litter, they should have drowned her right after she was born." I heard that once from a teacher lamenting over a high school cheerleader who turned on the faucets way too often.

But a tear expelled at just the right time is so touching it can melt a heart. And when they scrunch up their mouths just a little when it is released, well, we're just putty.

My first time crying in public was faked. We had lost a close game in the city basketball tournament final game. I was a 5th grader and I hadn't played in the game dominated by 6th graders. The other team, Horse Man, we called them (nee Horace Mann) had one 5th grader playing, but he was at least 6th or 7th grade age. Although the team that would win the city title the next season really had a 6th grader who already shaved. At least in 8th grade, that's when Walter Pogue told me he started shaving. But back to 1958. I'm a 5th grade rider of the pines when we go down to defeat something like 31-28.

When the game is over, I'm ready to shower and change into street clothes and go home. But our whole first five is crying. I look to the stands and I see people like Stephen Reichert, another fifth grader crying. And he wasn't even on the team. So I fake cried.

I really don't remember if I bawled, bellowed, or gasped. I just remember rubbing my eyes and trying to make them look red, since I couldn't drum up any real moisture.

So I guess that's one exception. Guys can cry when they lose at sports. Or when they get older if they become preachers. But not, under any circumstances if they live in Texas. It's a rule there.