The Inspiration for a Book Title from Long Ago

It was 51 years ago, actually May 22, 1971, when the title of my current memoir, “With The Bark Off,” was first uttered publicly, and on national television at that. It happened at an event unlike any other at the time, or since then, in Austin’s history. And the occasion has been rarely duplicated anywhere else in the US for that matter during the ensuing half century.

Let me explain. The occasion was the official opening and dedication ceremony of the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum on the campus of the University of Texas. President Johnson and UT System Chair of the Board of Regents Frank Erwin had retained me six months prior to chair and manage the mammoth undertaking. (The university built the facility on UT land before turning it over to the National Archives to operate.)

These were the words uttered by LBJ describing what was included in the Library and Museum:

“It’s all here: the story of our time – with the bark off….I do not know how this period will be regarded in years to come. But that is not the point. This library will show the facts – not just the joy and triumphs, but the sorrow and failures, too.”

So, decades later, as I wrote my memoir (that included fun and interesting facts about that event) it only seemed fitting to name the book, With The Bark Off, A Journalist’s Memories of LBJ and a Life in the News Media. Because I share true tidbits, including some embarrassing moments:

--like when LBJ chewed my butt out

--like when Chairman Erwin broke a state law by surprisingly serving mid-day alcoholic drinks to the guests (that he may have paid for personally or hid somewhere in the UT budget)

--like when I lied to President Nixon

--like when a miscalculation led to the VIP guests getting sprayed with a mist of water when we turned on the towering fountain.

You get the picture. Speaking of pictures, let me share a picture of historical significance.

The ceremony took place on an open platform outside during a time of Vietnam War protests. Four out of the top five officials in line to become president in case something happened to the president were side-by-side on the platform. Talk about security concerns! Look closely at this photo.

The Dedication of the LBJ Library May 22, 1971

With demonstrations being held nearby, in addition to President Nixon, “P”, four of the five presidential successors stood in the open on the platform. “1” first in line is Vice President Spiro Agnew (partially obscured by LBJ), “2” is Speaker of the House Carl Albert, “4” is Secretary of State William Rogers, and “5” is Treasury Secretary former Texas governor John Connally. The President Pro Tem of the Senate, #3 in succession, (not pictured) because he stayed in Washington.

Luckily protests were peaceful and safely away from the stage. But we had national guard troops hidden beneath the stadium, and a cadre of Secret Service and ATF agents were out of sight in the nearby law school building, just in case.

Oh yeah, one final example of how we really do share these memories "with the bark off" in our memoir: I recount how LBJ asked me to follow along as he read his dedication remarks to me. He led me into the men’s room, reading aloud, holding his speech in one hand and guiding his stream with the other.

This Super-8 home movie of the dedication was filmed by HR Haldeman and Dwight Chapin via Jeff Kreines YouTube

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Memories of Mother: Through the Eyes of a Memory Painter

As I was preparing these thoughts about my remarkable mother, I was reminded of what I consider to be the very best Mother’s Day TV commercial. It was also the shortest and most powerful. The gruff, tough legendary football coach Bear Bryant looked straight into the camera and said:

“Have you called your Mama today?” /pause/swallowing/blinking back tears/

“I sure wish I could call mine.” /fade to black/end.

Fannie Lou Spelce

This story, though, is about an amazing woman born 114 years ago on a farm in a tiny Arkansas backwoods hamlet of around 300 people. Gumption? Fannie Lou Spelce showed it early when as a teenager she went to a nearby Big City to study to become a Registered Nurse. And upon getting her RN, she and a fellow nurse answered an ad for nurses in the biggest city of all, New York City. From all accounts, these two attractive southern ladies were “the belles of the ball.”

After a short stint in NYC, she moved back to her home state, married, and gave birth to two boys, Neal and Bennett. Her career as a nurse was amazing all by itself. If for no other reason, she excelled as a nurse while ultimately raising two boys as a single mom, and moving us to Texas.

Just how amazing was she as a nurse? As an Operating Room Nurse she assisted two of Texas’ most famous heart surgeons at the time Drs. Denton Cooley and Michael DeBakey pioneered Open Heart Surgery in Houston.

Fast forward. She moved to Austin as the school nurse at St. Stephens Episcopal School. She wanted to be near my brother and me who were attending the University of Texas. Saying she “always wanted to draw,” she started oil painting during her spare time. Now this is where Mother’s memories become the focal point of this story.

Video: Fannie Lou Spelce, Institute of Texan Cultures Interview

(Please note: To increase the volume in this 35-minute interview with Fannie Lou Spelce, click the speaker icon at the bottom of the video in the footer.)

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“I want to paint Momma and Daddy, Neal and Bennett, the Home Place farm where I grew up and the Arkansas town where I raised my two sons,” she told us. And her very first paintings, without lessons, were widely acclaimed.

Let me show you what I mean. Art critics have called her work Folk Art, or Primitive, or Naïve. She’s compared to Grandma Moses. But I think the best description is Memory Painter.

Fannie Lou Spelce Mother and Child Self Portrait

This is a self-portrait. Mother holding me as her first-born baby. How important is this painting? It was chosen as the cover for the catalog for her major “discovery” exhibit at this nation’s foremost gallery for American artists, the Kennedy Galleries in New York City. What an accomplishment for a self-taught artist. And to be recognized in the best city in the US for art and artists.

Fannie Lou Spelce Peach Season

Even before she gained national acclaim in NYC she had this painting, Arkansas Peach Season, selected by a jury for inclusion in an exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Fine Art. It was also shown at UT’s Blanton Museum of Art. And exhibited in many other museums. Quite an honor.

But, for me, this painting is a “historical record,” in effect, of our growing-up years. Take a look at the lower left. You can see Mother teaching me a life lesson. There she is standing over me as I am leaning over placing peanuts back in the burlap bag where I had sneaked a handful to take home and eat. And she had me go into the general store and tell Mr. Fancher that I “stole” some of his peanuts. Talk about learning right from wrong!

Other scenes: on the upper left is where she placed Bennett and me in a one-room Catholic school so the nuns would “baby sit” us after school until she got off work and walked us home (we didn’t have a car). Mother, Bennett and I are all through this painting. The background shows the peach orchards in the area and on the right is a peach shed where we would get peaches that were too ripe to ship. By the way, this painting is featured with the largest image of any work in the Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century American Folk Art and Artists published by the Museum of American Folk Art.

Fannie Lou Spelce Haunted House

Little did my brother and I know that the stories we used to tell Mother about what we thought we saw when we walked by a nearby vacant house (that we swore was a real haunted house) would end up in one of her paintings. She captured how we were so scared we held hands as we walked by. Ah, youth.

Fannie Lou Spelce Bare Bottom Boys

Why is it that mothers are so fascinated by the bare bottoms of babies? How many family albums contain variations of such images? I guess it’s because mothers were continually patting (or was it, paddling?) those bottoms. Thank goodness Bennett and I were adults when she decided to reveal our bottoms in a painting that will last forever. By then we were beyond embarrassment.

So, Mother, we forgive you for the bare bottoms, at the same time we forget all the deserved paddlings we got.

And to you, as you recall your memories, Happy Mother’s Day.

Fannie Lou Spelce Obituary New York Times

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Words Can Make 2022 More Bearable (if you know what to look for)

One of the joys of a life in journalism is you get to enjoy the “sayings” of public figures – without regard to politics. Despite all the harsh words tossed around in the public arena, some gems can actually emerge – even those with a bit of a bite. Watching for those can make 2022 a bit more bearable. Let me share some examples from the past.

President Harry Truman was the master of telling it like he saw it. After his controversial firing of popular General Douglas MacArthur due to insubordination, he famously told reporters “I didn’t fire him because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was, but that’s not against the law for generals. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail.” Truman’s wife Bess was asked if she could get him to stop saying manure. Her reply: “You don’t know how hard it was just to get him to use that word.”

From that same era, failed presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson said “I will make a bargain with the Republicans. If they stop telling lies about us, we’ll stop telling the truth about them.” A lie? Former Secretary of State Al Haig said “That’s not a lie. It’s a terminological inexactitude.”

President Ronald Reagan quipped that “one of the most important rules in politics is poise – which means looking like an owl after you have behaved like a jackass.” President Dwight Eisenhower cautioned that “sweet praise is like perfume. It’s fine if you don’t swallow it.”

Storytelling is a form of humor used by Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson, as I point out in my memoir, With The Bark Off A Journalist’s Memories of LBJ and a Life in the News Media.

Former Treasury Secretary and Texas Governor John Connally liked to twist the old George Washington-chopping-down-a-cherry-tree-legend into a Texas tale. Connally pointed out George Washington’s father told his son they would have to leave Texas and move to Virginia after young George confessed he couldn’t tell a lie when he cut down a mesquite tree in their backyard. As his father put it: “You’ll never get elected in Texas if you can’t tell a lie.”

Or sometimes, a Texas politician can simply “twist” the facts. Agriculture Secretary John White was badly beaten when he ran for Texas Governor. His rationale: “Texans like the job I was doing as Ag Commissioner, so they voted overwhelmingly to keep me in this job.”

And the following quote was made in jest, but it’s a good ’un: Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice John Hill commented after he was soundly defeated in a race for Texas governor: “The people have spoken – the bastards!”

As 2022 unfolds and the harsh political rhetoric heats up, be alert for the little humorous gems that are sure to emerge and brighten your day a bit.

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