Walter E. Johnson: An Amazing Life

a memoir an amazing life A Journey of Curiosity and Destiny Walter E. Johnson Assisted by James Chandler Harbour II

a memoir an amazing life A Journey of Curiosity and Destiny Walter E. Johnson Assisted by James Chandler Harbour II

© Copyright 2021 by James Chandler Harbour II. All rights reserved. Published by The Life Stories Group, LLC, Dallas, Texas [email protected] Printed in U.S.A. To my readers— I was the author and editor of this book, and only proofed it six times! You may still find errors, so please overlook them like you would in messages sent with a smart phone! Walter

Dedication ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 5 Introduction ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 7 Born to Be an Entrepreneur & Entrepreneurship ������������������������������������������������������ 17 Part I: Youth Years �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 29 Life as I Remember It—Starting at an Early Age ��������������������������������������������������� 31 Hurricane Voyage—1957 ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 47 Part II: My Family ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 51 A Blind Date, a Fast Boat, a Lifetime Partner ���������������������������������������������������������� 53 My Family Life �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 65 A Balanced Life ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 75 The Johnson Family Bay House Retreat—“Home” ���������������������������������������������� 81 Part III: Five Seconds from Death �������������������������������������������������������������� 85 Five Seconds from Death—An Amazing Experience ����������������������������������������� 87 Part IV: Travel, Fun and Interesting Memories ���������������������������������������� 97 My Favorite Travel Trips �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 99 Boating, Hunting, and Fishing—An Awesome Way to Entertain Clients��� 105 A Boating Story—The Aquarius ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 111 Risky Fishing Adventure with Comical Ending ���������������������������������������������������� 115 The Amazon Adventure ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 119 Part V: Pre-Amegy ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 123 The Beginning of a Career—From January 1958 ������������������������������������������������ 125 Close to Disaster—Prime Rate at 21% �������������������������������������������������������������������� 139 Houston’s Historic Crash Due to Oil Glut ��������������������������������������������������������������� 143 To Catch a Thief �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 149 The Joe Albritton Story—12 Months of Hell �������������������������������������������������������� 155 Joe Russo and Timing is Key �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 163 Part VI: Amegy ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 165 Amegy Bank Story ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 167 The Culture of Amegy Bank ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 189 Words and Phrases Used in Amegy’s Advertising ���������������������������������������������� 197 A Critical Time—Working with the Federal Reserve ����������������������������������������� 203 The Ultimate Triumph—Building Amegy Tower ������������������������������������������������ 207 Contents

Part VII: People, Colleagues, Customers and Friends ��������������������������� 229 Bob McNair ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 231 Berdon Lawrence ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 235 Carey Gray—An Incredible Artist ����������������������������������������������������������������������������� 241 The Smartest Guys in the Room—Joe Argue and Randy Meyer ������������������ 251 Part VIII: Keys to Building a Successful Company ���������������������������������� 255 Successful Sales Techniques �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 257 Leadership Strategies ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 275 Curiosity ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 289 Hard Work and Determination ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 295 Continuous Learning ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 303 Reading to Broaden the Mind ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 311 Loyalty �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 315 Having A Positive Mental Attitude ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 319 Teamwork ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 329 Hiring for Excellence ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 335 Mentorship ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 343 Live Up to Your Commitments ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 349 Part IX: Other Things About Me �������������������������������������������������������������� 351 A Life of Character and Integrity ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 353 84 Years Old and Still Entrepreneurial �������������������������������������������������������������������� 359 Quotes from Walter ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 367 Quotes from Others that Walter Finds Inspirational ����������������������������������������� 375 Trading the Boat for Golf Clubs ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 381 Craftsmanship ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 387 The Legacy ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 393 About Me and My Favorites ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 399 Memories and Musings from Colleagues, Friends and Family ���������������������� 407 Part X: Giving Back ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 451 Living a Charitable Life—Boy Scouts of America ����������������������������������������������� 453 Providing Blood to Accident Victims—Life Flight ��������������������������������������������� 457 Living a Charitable Life—Star of Hope ������������������������������������������������������������������� 461 Part XI: Looking Forward ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 471 The Next Chapter ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 473

INTRODUCTION 5 Dedication To all those people who helped me during my career—too many to name, but you know who you are. I have never forgotten the difference that you made for me. No one can find success alone; no one makes it through life without people who are willing to step alongside. You took a chance on me, trusted me, challenged me, and helped my career to be what it was. For that, I will always be thankful. With great appreciation and gratitude. Walter

6 AN AMAZING LIFE

INTRODUCTION 7 Preamble WHY I WROTE THIS MEMOIR AND WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT So, what compelled me to spend nearly 4,000 hours writing a book of mostly my memoirs? It’s safe to say that over the last 15 years or more there have been hundreds of people who know about my life experiences, including of course, many customers, who have urged me to write a book. My “bosses,” Steve and Scott, really pushed me to do a book after they hosted a two-hour conference in Amegy Tower’s Walter Johnson Conference Room where about 250 employees asked me questions for two hours, mostly about how to deal with customers as well as how to excel in their own careers. That’s why a good portion of the book (Part VIII) is devoted to building a successful company. I think it is a MUST READ for Amegy’s young people. Everyone looking for success in their early career searches for the right profession and how to be successful. And then as they do succeed, they want to learn how to enjoy and balance a career. I hope my book provides food for thought and illustrates to some degree how I have done this. It can’t happen without first focusing on family! If you believe in God and Destiny, Part III, “Five Seconds from Death,” is a harrowing story of survival, determination and luck. It’s about two near-death harrowing experiences! Part II also makes me believe in Destiny because two young busy people (Yvonne was 17 years old) met on a blind date and got married in 90 days. Sixty-five years later, they are still living a “Cinderella Story” life. And, amazingly, Yvonne has been my personal assistant in the bank for 31 of those years—surely Destiny! Perhaps the highlight of my life is found in Part IV which includes stories of my boating experiences, mainly our adventures with my 70-foot boat, Aquarius. We spent 10 years exploring the Bahama Islands and never had help. I was the Captain and Yvonne was the Admiral. I like Part V because it includes brief recollections about disasters in Houston caused by OPEC and my prediction that it will happen again, this time at the hands of China, due to our seemingly urgent push to abandon energy as we know it.

8 AN AMAZING LIFE The Amegy story, found in Part VI, will enlighten many of our employees who have joined us in the last 10 years as it is about our history and our amazing success. Part VII contains a few stories—out of hundreds I would like to tell— that are great illustrations of entrepreneurs who started with nothing and worked hard. They were lucky enough to have a great banker (me, of course), built great companies, and wound up extremely successful. Part X, “Giving Back,” is really particularly useful. Giving back is important to me and I have done all I can to have an impact on the lives of so many unfortunate people in our city, as have Amegy and the staff. This great city has been generous and supportive of me for nearly all my life and I, as well as Amegy, feel a moral responsibility to help those in need. Very few in this city have done more to meet needs than I have. And at my direction, so has Amegy Bank. Also in this section, you will find a story about what I did that could help save your life in the event of a tragic accident. Every day since sending the book to the printer, I have thought of another episode in my life that I wish I had included. But if I shared them all it would be an intimidating, six-inch-thick book—and you would not read it! I sincerely hope you enjoy reading about my AMAZING LIFE. Excerpts of Memories and Musings • from Family and Friends As selected by Chad Harbour, assisting author Dad was a terrific father. He was always home for dinner with the family and always had time for me. I have so many fond memories of riding bikes, motorcycles, and horses with him. He was always ready, willing, and able to engage and have fun with his children. Dad and I were in the Indian Guides and he always attended all the meetings. I feel very fortunate that he was around so much, providing unconditional love and support. —Ted Johnson

INTRODUCTION 9 I came to appreciate Walter even more after Zion acquired Amegy Bank, admiring his philosophy, management style and leadership abilities. His integrity and hard work are exemplary and produced in him the confidence needed to build a great business. He is scrappy, full of energy and leads by example. And he is always focused on creating lasting relationships with customers. I have always wanted to thank Walter for being an extraordinary teacher and mentor, and for agreeing to partner with Zions. —Harris Simmons Chairman and CEO, Zions Bancorporation Walter’s most significant influence at Amegy can be found in his ability to lead by example and continuously think about business development. He is such a force and remains steadfast in growing the bank and building deep customer relationships. Our motto for business development is: “Everyone’s a Prospect,” based on Walter’s zeal for bringing everyone he meets to the bank as a new customer. There is no endgame with him because he always pushes out the horizon—that next project, the next potential customer, the next fund-raising challenge, the next problem to fix. He never reaches a final destination where he can say, “I have arrived.” What does create our sustainable, successful organization is the culture. Walter takes his beliefs, leadership skills, and values and infuses them into his co-workers so they can build a culture that allows many to grow, lead and attract others. He has created an enduring culture that keeps moving from good to great. In whatever Walter does, he involves others, wanting others to be a part of the success. Clearly, he has a deep-seated orientation to people. One of the cornerstones of Amegy’s culture is: “Everyone Counts.” As well, he is the ultimate team player. Two other enduring qualities that really push Walter ahead of the pack are his work ethic and curiosity. Both go hand-in-hand. No one can outwork Walter Johnson. —Scott McLean President and COO of Zions Bancorporation

10 AN AMAZING LIFE I always knew that Walter would do the right thing for his team and the bank. Everyone trusted him implicitly. His passion and perseverance encouraged us all to be the best we could be. If we did that, then success was sure to follow. It has been a wonderful ride and I’m excited and encouraged about our future of Amegy. The foundation initially laid, built on passion, doing what is right for our customers, and the diligence of all our employees at the bank, cannot be understated. First and foremost, it all started with one person who lead the charge—Walter Johnson. —Steve Stephens CEO, Amegy Bank Walter’s work ethic, relationships and high moral compass set the bank on a new trajectory. Walter’s strong leadership and guidance have made Amegy a top-tier banking institution in the state. I am thankful that he agreed to come aboard with us so many years ago and I am proud to have been a part of Walter’s vision. —Johnny Johnson Director, Amegy Bank I have always admired Walter’s interests in so many things. His curious mind enables him to get involved in so many hobbies and achieve excellence in those interests. We share a common interest in carpentry and construction however, his talents vastly eclipse mine. He wants to know everything he can about plumbing, insulation, electrical, design, engineering—nothing is too small or too complex for his active mind to learn and accomplish. This attention to detail and his desire to learn has helped him in the banking arena—to figure how what works best and find a way forward to accomplish his—and the banks’—goals. When Walter is passionate about a charity, he gets involved, not just to do a favor, but going all in to make a difference. He exceeds expectations versus just getting involved and showing up. He wants to make a difference and help in a significant way. —L.E. Simmons

INTRODUCTION 11 Walter was decisive and had an uncanny ability to think outside the box. He quickly developed a game plan, moving fast; the grass did not grow under his feet. Walter’s confidence and fast-paced business style did give the board pause at times. The board, mostly comprised of investors, not bankers, with an investment mind-set, wanted Walter to slow-roll his steadfast decisions. Often the board would tell him, “We need to think about this.” Once Walter explained a plan or idea, though, he always went on to assure them that he was extremely confident his team could execute the plan successfully. He would tell the board, “No, we need to move forward” and rarely did the board stand in his way. —Beth Robertson Amegy Bank Director Walter is one of the most unique people I’ve ever met. He’s a workaholic and he doesn’t have a second gear. If he’s relaxing, it’s an intense, relaxed state. He can be very demanding because he wants things done quickly, efficiently and done right the first time. But he’s never asked anyone to do something that he hasn’t done or is willing to do. Loyalty is huge with Walter. You have to gain his respect and loyalty. Once you do, there is no one better to be with in battle and win the day. He will stand beside you and give you everything he’s got to help you be successful. He likes to see others win and he likes to see his bank win. —George Marshall Real Estate Division Manager, Amegy Bank I t’s almost embarrassing to be around Walter because he is so talented in so many areas besides banking. He’s a wood carving master, builds furniture, and repairs stuff with tools galore, especially power tools. He’s also a gadget man with incredible skills. He designed the Amegy building and almost single-handedly picked out all the art, furnishings, stone and wood materials. It’s really an incredible building, a masterpiece, a monument to the achievement of all at Amegy. —Larry DuBose Friend and bank customer

12 AN AMAZING LIFE Walter is still a networking machine with a finely tuned Formula One engine. He is a human B-12 shot that floods you with energy and invigorates you so that your feet don’t hit the ground for months. His motivational prowess is legendary. And yet, there is no mystery in his message. He is straight-forward in everything he does and has the highest ethics when it comes to dealing with others. —Kirk Wiginton CEO of Dallas-Fort Worth Region He has very strong opinions about matters, and it can be challenging to change his mind. That said, he is always respectful and willing to listen. Because he’s a good listener, he is a master at problem solving. He’s a deep thinker and solves problems by asking penetrating but targeted questions and sincerely appreciates the contribution of every employee. —Teresa McLeod EVP Human Resources, Zions Bancorporation Dad values honesty and the importance of being yourself. He encouraged us always to tell the truth because you could never get out of a lie. When things got difficult with the kids, my father was always right there and was a Dad with a big heart and always loving and compassionate. Very little upsets him. —Michelle Douglass, daughter

INTRODUCTION 13 Introduction It’s hard to beat a man that never gives up. —Babe Ruth Great accomplishments can only be achieved by perseverance. —WEJ Walter Johnson will tell you that he strongly believes in destiny, because nothing else can possibly explain how an average guy, with very humble beginnings, and no mentor, can possibly achieve what he has achieved in 84 years. Walter built four successful companies in his life. He built two great banks. The first one, Allied Bank of Texas, grew for 18 years under his leadership from nothing to become Houston’s third largest bank. In the late 1980s Houston had a severe depression, in which 250,000 jobs were lost. The financial crash crippled Allied to a point that it was prudent to sell to First Interstate of California. Walter’s $10 million in equity went to zero after he paid off the debt created from the purchases of stock options and taxes on grants. His bank, Texas Commerce, and Frost in Texas were the only significant Texas banks not turned over to the Feds. In 1989, in the middle of the Texas banking crisis, while others saw despair and destruction, Walter saw an opportunity. He refused to let the loss of 18 years of successful banking ruin his vision of what he thought he could do. So, he started over again at the age of 54 to build Amegy Bank from the ashes. Walter raised $12 million from investors and took over a small bank with 17 employees and built it into a powerhouse. Fifteen years later he sold the bank to Zions Bancorp for $1.7 billion. The investors that put up $100,000 each received back 35 times their money, each earning $3.5 million in fifteen years. Upon selling to Zions, Walter started his third new business, one that would assure him of a stable lifetime income. Walter founded LaPorte Commercial Properties and bought up numerous parcels of land within

14 AN AMAZING LIFE sight of the Port of Houston. He judged it to be an area where the opportunity for stable growth was most assured. He also discerned that very little industrial land was available for future growth anywhere near the port. In addition, La Porte is the epicenter for the massive chemical industry. Walter built parking lots for 18-wheelers that served the Port of Houston. He built crane-served warehouses with generous sized equipment yards attached and even built residential homes. Income from LaPorte Commercial today pays over twice his highest salary ever as a banker and has for nearly 15 years. For me life is about continually being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist to survive, but to move ahead, to go up and achieve and conquer. —Arnold Schwarzenegger At age 81, long after most people have been retired, Walter created his fourth successful business. He saw an opportunity in the railroad storage industry and in a three-year period he raised $70 million and with that cash, built two companies that will likely turn his investors an annual return of more than 20%, forever and ever, on their original investment, and of course Walter gets his share. Walter’s story is one of insatiable appetite for education, achievement, and giving back to the community as well as mentoring hundreds of young people who made up the teams that drove his companies to success. When I asked Walter, “What is the secret of your success? he said, first of all, it is finding the right people. Then it is inspiring them to be the best of the best, work as part of a team highly motivated to be as successful as they can possibly be every day and continue to drive success that requires continuous training and education. And, we have created a company culture at Amegy Bank that has been carried on as a tradition by our amazing teams that will sustain it forever. Walter said he thinks he was born with fire in his belly and never saw an obstacle that he could not find a way to overcome. He coupled that with a work ethic that is admired by everyone. He wants to be noted for his integrity, honesty, doing the right thing, and always being fair. No one that ever worked with Walter has ever questioned the job they were supposed to do. They were always reminded when they took a misstep on the path to achievement and encouraged to be the best they could be. No one was ever

INTRODUCTION 15 in doubt of where they stood with Walter. When asked how he would describe himself and the traits that have helped him achieve all he has done, Walter’s reply was that he thinks that the key traits are that he has been entrepreneurial his whole life. Also, being passionate, avoiding hiring lethargic people, and does not let short term failures and obstacles disappoint him but instead is challenged so that his creative mind could find a way to resolve the issues. Additionally, he thinks that he is resilient and does not accept mediocrity. He does not remember a day that he was not enthusiastic, which to him is a natural gift, but something anyone can learn. Most of all Walter feels that he was born with a very curious mind and nearly every opportunity in his life was developed from his curiosity. He also believes that people have much more potential than they exploit. Many accept mediocrity and settle for second class. They are happy with earning a B or C when they are capable of making an A. Some lack convictions and too often associate with others who can drag them down instead of building them up. The book that Walter has written is full of great stories about his life that illustrates the lessons that he learned. These lessons from Walter’s stories are worth remembering, especially for young people who are on their own journey in life and want to achieve success.

BORN TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR & ENTREPRENEURSHIP 17 Born to Be an Entrepreneur & Entrepreneurship The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity. —Peter Drucker To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act. —Anatole France I guess you could say I was born to be entrepreneurial. I inherited characteristics like tenacity and determination from my father, who also taught me the value and rewards of hard work. Some of my earliest successes in making money required me to be resourceful and seek out opportunities that were not necessarily right out my front door. I cultivated a curiosity for a wide variety of subjects and educated myself through a continuous habit of being a lifetime learner. I kept an eye out for opportunities and was willing to try new things. As has been stated earlier, I began building Allied Bank in the early 1970s when I was in my mid-30s, growing the $100 million Houston bank to $5 billion in assets before it was sold 18 years later to First Interstate. At the same time, for $12,000 cash I purchased the distressed Kon Tiki apartments in League City, spent 8 years developing them and then sold for a $800,000 profit. In my life of entrepreneurism, however, I am obviously most proud of creating Amegy Bank and providing jobs for over 2,000 families—everyone knows that story. Growing it from a tiny Southwest Bank of Texas with $40 million in assets and 17 employees to Amegy which was worth $1.7 billion when we sold it to Zions; a real thrill and a great example of entrepreneurship at its finest. Our team at Amegy should be justifiably proud of the work they accomplished in developing a bank that values its customers and cares about its continuing relationship with them.

18 AN AMAZING LIFE A real curious mind is often the key to finding opportunities others overlooked! —WEJ As exciting as the Amegy story has been, though, it may be what I have done since that is as equally entrepreneurial, fun, and financially rewarding. Below are some of entrepreneurial projects I have been involved in over the last several years. Building for Industry When we sold Amegy to Zions in 2005, I was 70 years old. I put most of my profits in about 40 acres of industrial real estate near the Port of Houston, five minutes from my Bay home. There is not much chance that anyone was going to move the Port of Houston! Real estate was scarce in the area and there were only a few industrial buildings available for lease. Also, LaPorte is the epicenter of the chemical industry. I sold some of the land over the years at a healthy gain and began a building program over 15 years. To be conservative, I built with no debt, paying cash. I built seven “spec” residential houses in LaPorte, selling each by the time the foundations were poured. I developed for my own portfolio of eight “spec” craneserved office warehouses and two 18-wheeler truck parking lots. All of my tenants are involved in trucking, port, or chemical services, which is basically very stable and reasonably recession proof. Of course, all of my tenants bank with Amegy. Turning a Lake into Railroad Storage Facility I n 2017, I agreed to be the financial partner for two friends that wanted to buy a 50-year-old lake in Pasadena, Texas that was in the heart of the chemical complex. The plan was to build a 300,000-square-foot warehouse for a plastic pellet distributor. A Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) would fund the $20 million project and agreed to purchase it upon completion. We would split profits three ways. Things were going great with draining the 40-foot-deep lake that had been dug by Ethyl Chemical when they needed clay to build their plant many years past, but my curious mind started working overtime. Were we maximizing our opportunities on this extremely strategic location? I asked one of my partners to introduce me to Debra Willits, whom he had told me about a few years earlier. She was a rail logistics specialist,

BORN TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR & ENTREPRENEURSHIP 19 and I was curious what she might think about our strategic location. It was definitely one of a kind. Debra proved to be an incredible resource with amazing knowledge and contacts in the chemical and rail (as in railroad) industry. She gave me stacks of reports to read and she spent hours teaching me about the chemical industry trends, including plastic pellet production, as well as refined products such as gasoline, diesel, and many more sophisticated products that all rely on rail car storage and transportation. I chartered a helicopter and she and I flew to every rail storage yard anywhere near Houston. I discovered there was not room to park a Volkswagen in any existing yard. After convincing myself that Debra was a genius and could be the key to an exciting new venture, I engaged her to be my consultant for $10,000 a month. My two existing partners had no interest in developing a rail operation, so I bought them out for $5 million. Debra and I hired a rail engineer to design and build a rail yard to store close to 500 rail cars. He said it would cost about $20 million not including land. I was ready to go! The next challenge I had was to raise $26 million to turn the lake into a rail yard. As amazing as it may sound, it took me less than a week, and the total commitments from investor friends far exceeded the $26 million needed when they learned I was making a significant investment in it with my own money. Businesses sometimes fail because of too much leverage (debt)— not necessarily bad management, but unforeseen events. —WEJ Debra and I finished the project in one year just as Hurricane Harvey hit, flooded the chemical plants, and destroyed our market opportunity for six months. But when a project has no debt, it is easy to weather a storm! We recovered quickly. The project is now about 24 months old, and despite the set-back, my investors have had 10% return each year and much higher returns are forecasted. Everyone is happy with our project called Pasadena Rail Park. The following year Debra and I were able to create another rail yard on 44 acres, about two minutes from Pasadena Rail Park. This time I made

20 AN AMAZING LIFE Debra my 50/50 partner. She has proven to be absolutely invaluable to me. She will deservingly become a very rich lady. Awesome, amazing, professional, tenacious, enthusiastic, cautious, are only a few of the superlative attributes of Debra. She is my retirement plan and I trust her with all I own… and I am so fortunate because she is appreciative and loyal. Our second yard is 44 acres, stores nearly 1,000 rail cars. For this yard, I raised $44 million and will soon make my investors over 20% annual return forever. Debra runs it. I have a $10 million life insurance policy on Debra and that is not enough. So, in the last three years I have raised $70 million and created two new companies. These two properties combined will store nearly 1,500 rail cars. We forecast it should make $20 million a year or more, considering some very lucrative terminal and transloading opportunities we are developing now. We have an excellent young contractor, Matt Norwood. He operates our yard turn-key and does marketing. We subcontract our accounting, bookkeeping, and check writing to one of Houston’s largest accounting

BORN TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR & ENTREPRENEURSHIP 21 firms and Debra over sees it all, with some help from me. So, we have a strategic company capable of making $20 million a year with no employees on our payroll… just me and Debra as partners. The smartest entrepreneur knows that the key to a really successful operation is finding the right people to run it— witness Amegy Bank. —WEJ The reader might be wondering why these two rail storage yards were a big hit. Because of the cheap natural gas created from the shale drilling play throughout the US, and especially in West Texas, American ingenuity discovered a way to make plastic pellets from natural gas. The pellets are used to make plastic parts, bottles, toys, and everything else that we see made of plastic. In the past five years, the Gulf Coast Region has seen nearly $200 billion in new chemical plants, either built or announced, and many of the new companies are for production of plastic pellets. Surprisingly, the plastic made goes straight into rail cars (as does much of refined products) and is stored until it is sold and ready to deliver to clients, including export. The export of containers for plastic pellets have increased from 200,000 in 2016 to over 600,000 in 2019. This chemical production has resulted in the need for 50,000 or more new rail cars, for storage. So, more new rail cars create the need for more rail parking lots and rail terminals, which is happening. The two storage yards we built have no peers because we are one of the few yards available in this strategic location on the south side of the shipping channel where 75% of all Houston chemical plants are located. Therefore, we are able to get much higher rates, offer quicker service, and many other competitive advantages that make this an amazing investment. The best news of all is that this is the only land left in the vast chemical area and no competitor can duplicate what Debra and I have done. It is amazing what might be accomplished when a curious mind is used to seek opportunity —WEJ

22 AN AMAZING LIFE On Being Entrepreneurial Creating and running a successful business has never been easy, but it seems that in today’s ever-evolving, fast-paced marketplace the challenges are greater than ever. Business leaders have to adapt and change in order to keep their organizations competitive, and in today’s business environment, being “entrepreneurial” has become a key part of successful strategy. People have often said that they consider themselves entrepreneurs, or that it’s something they have always wanted to do, but some of them probably lacked a basic understanding of just what an entrepreneur does from day to day—or even what one is, when you get right down to it. The way I see it, being an entrepreneur means more than just starting a business for yourself. Pretty much anybody can do this with a handful of cash and a few forms to sign. No, being an entrepreneur means a mindset and approach to life that is dedicated to spotting opportunities where they exist, creating a niche that others overlooked, putting your resources where they can have the best effect, generating value creatively, and refusing to give up. The biggest key of all is surrounding yourself with loyal, highly motivated, and smart people. It involves a bulldog-type, plow-through stubbornness that has to be oddly matched with an optimistic outlook on things. It means pushing forward, even in the face of skepticism. All of these characteristics proved necessary when we were trying to start a new bank out of the ashes of the multiple bank failures in Texas. We seized the opportunities to create a bank that could meet the needs of our longtime customers and prospects who were being disregarded by the banking corporations that had taken over the failed Houston banks. Entrepreneurship allows you to be an infinite learner, constantly breaking new ground. —Reid Hoffman Co-Founder/Former CEO, LinkedIn Being an entrepreneur also requires a rare mixture of ingenuity and discipline, creativity, and organizational skills. Entrepreneurs are constantly breaking new ground, innovating, and building upon their ideas. There is often no blueprint to guide them and so they have to sometimes make things up as they go along. They are born problem solvers—more than

BORN TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR & ENTREPRENEURSHIP 23 that, they see obstacles as opportunities, as an open doorway to fixing the problem by offering a product or service that removes it and makes things better for all involved. Problems are just solutions waiting to happen, and solutions can be sold. Building a business will take everything you give it. —Tim Brown, Allbirds True entrepreneurs have committed themselves totally to achieving their goals and fulfilling their vision. They are always thinking about it, planning their next move. Even when they do not want to think about it, they find themselves thinking about it. I would not say they are obsessed but building a business takes a lot of thinking. It takes everything they have. As an entrepreneur, you must be prepared to take risks, because otherwise nothing can be gained. Yet they must be calculated risks, and you need to be talented at judging which risks are worth taking, and how much to put on the table. You cannot suffer from a fear of failure, but you have to possess a healthy respect for the realities of business, and a burning desire to overcome and succeed. If you face failure, keep at it…like many things in life, if you rise up one more time than you are knocked down, it is worth it. 99 percent of success is built on failure. —Charles Kettering You miss 100 percent of the shots you do not take. —Wayne Gretzky I failed my way to success. —Thomas Edison Being an entrepreneur is not all sunshine and roses—not by a long shot. It can be stressful, it can mean feeling extra pressure and accountability, and not every idea is going to work. One of the hardest parts of being an entrepreneur is feeling the weight of responsibility on your shoulders. There is a constant anxiety that comes with founding your own business. You may have co-workers or investors, who care deeply about the success

24 AN AMAZING LIFE of the company but you, as the founder, are taking the risk. It can be very lonely at times when you have to stand up and be the “boss” to make sure things are done correctly. Inevitably, some strategies fail, and some ventures fizzle out. Sometimes things happen that no one saw coming—like this coronavirus. Then entrepreneurs have to pivot and learn new ways to adapt. Contributing to a successful business is hard, no matter how you slice it. There is a reason that the country is not crawling with billion-dollar companies founded on integrity, excellence, and entrepreneurial vision—it is extremely difficult to actually pull off. Still, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. An entrepreneurial mindset means that the future will continue to be bright so long as there are new problems to face and new ideas to solve them. Fortunately, Steve Stephens, Paul Murphy, Marylyn Manus, Yvonne and many others were entrepreneurial enough to take a chance on me in the very early ‘90s. We created Amegy bank together. Cultivating a Company with Entrepreneurial Spirit Being entrepreneurial, however, no longer just means an individual taking an idea and independently transforming it into a self-directed enterprise. It now means a company-wide culture that values collaboration and creative problem solving. It is a team approach, a set of skills, and a mindset that has as its hallmarks of innovation, empowerment, smart risk-taking, and creativity. It is encouraged with all, shared and rewarded, and intended to support and enhance every aspect of the business. It is not about one person—it is about what all of us can accomplish together, through innovation and teamwork. I determined from the beginning that I wanted a high-performance environment that attracted people who could catch my vision and help make it a reality. I wanted my team to be intentional in constantly looking for ways to improve customer service and be the best bank we could be. I tried to share that vision with everyone I interviewed to join the team. I wanted passionate, hardworking employees who were driven by a larger purpose and were willing to stand up in a tremendous way. This kind of entrepreneurial culture is highly desired and sought after, but it does not come easily. In fact, pulling it off well is a pretty rare feat. This culture has to be constantly nurtured, and it is modeled from the top down. It can make the difference, though, between abysmal failure

BORN TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR & ENTREPRENEURSHIP 25 and explosive growth. So how can an entrepreneurial spirit be successfully ingrained into a company? First the goals of a company must be aligned with the needs of the customers. Amegy grew because we recognized the needs of the customers. They needed a bank that would develop and cultivate a relationship with them so that they could accomplish their business goals. Companies must also develop learning or technology solutions to enhance performance, and matching strength with opportunity in a win-win scenario for all involved. Amegy had to listen to the needs of its customers and provide the customer services that fulfilled those needs. This is not always clear-cut with an easily discernible series of steps. Sometimes it is a winding road. Sometimes it is a customized, never-before-dreamed-of proposition. Sometimes it is thinking so far outside the box that the box is not even in sight anymore. This reminds me of a fun story. In about 1993, we decided to go big with a computer (we probably had fewer than 10 desktops in the company) and we had IBM make a presentation. They brought three computers and spoke about each. The first one was what we needed at the time and it cost $250,000. The second one would be what we would need in a few years if we stayed on our growth path and it would cost $500,000. The third one, costing $750,000, was their dream machine. Now in 1973, $750,000 sounded like what $1 billion sounds like today. In the discussion, the sales representative said Citibank used the expensive computer because it had so much technology for security, especially for wire transfer. My quick reply “I want it!” was very impulsive. But that computer quickly changed our life. I joined our new Treasury Management team and called on Jim Day, CEO of a monster company, Noble Drilling Company. He had operations all over the world and transferring money in a timely manner was his “hot button.” It still amazes me that he moved his “huge” banking account to us immediately, but it was “only” because we had the sophisticated computer that Citibank used. Jim Day became our calling card for the next company and many that followed that. It put us on the map. He also became one of my very good friends over the next 25 years. It is also important to say, we recruited Devica Patel, raised in India, who ran the wire transfer department for the failed First City Bank in Houston. She was also a game changer because of her amazing network of key banks in strategic locations where many of our wires had to go.

26 AN AMAZING LIFE I might also mention that the board realized I was a little bit like today’s Donald Trump in that I told them of such expenditures at the next board meeting, after I made decisions. They never complained or second-guessed any decision I made. And while this entrepreneurial spirit is held and encouraged in every person in the company, like most business strategies, the starting point is leadership. I had to be willing to do whatever it took and had to create a culture in which all would do whatever was needed to provide quality customer service. People take their cue from those who are at the top of the organization. All of the leaders must model and embrace this entrepreneurial drive in order to increase innovation and productivity as well as achieve higher employee satisfaction and bigger breakthroughs. Fostering curious minds is a responsibility of great leadership. —WEJ Another key to sustaining a company-wide entrepreneurial spirit is that innovation and teamwork must be maximized. This is what an entrepreneurial spirit means in a workplace: to have the shackles removed that might limit one to preconceived notions of what is possible; to be given the freedom to dream big, and to generate ideas as broad as the horizon; to create and imagine not just what is easy, but what is possible—what best meets the need; and then to work collaboratively with others, each contributing toward the end result, each a critical component of the final achievement. Teams take ownership, they make it happen, they forge success by doing the right thing—all with an indefatigable work ethic. A good leader continually recognizes and rewards success—especially verbally. —WEJ It falls on everyone—not just the leaders—to create the sort of workplace culture in which an entrepreneurial spirit thrives. The whole point of empowerment, in fact, is for people not just to be empowered— but to empower themselves, so that they will take the lead, take risks, and innovate solutions. This is how positive change occurs. Entrepreneurial workers are more passionate about their work, which brings a level of

BORN TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR & ENTREPRENEURSHIP 27 excitement to the day-to-day job. They are also more challenged, more creative, and more invigorated—which helps them to feel more involved and more dedicated. It really is a win-win. Entrepreneurship must be a part of a company’s identity; it has to run through the veins of every person there. It means continuous effort. An entrepreneurial spirit is the result when everyone works together to cultivate it, within themselves and in others, and is dedicated to the long haul and the big picture. It has to be tied to your values, and these values have to be sincere and genuine; they have to authentically matter to everyone in the company. If you value innovation and teamwork, taking ownership to find solutions, the entrepreneurial mindset will shine through. One of the things you don’t realize when you start a company is the impact you can have on employees’ lives. —Payal Kadakia, ClassPass Entrepreneurs often do not realize when they start a company the impact they can have on the people who share the journey with them. These team members grow right along with the company, taking on responsibilities and leadership positions that lead them to new professional experiences. As the founder, it is exciting to see them grow and succeed. I love seeing the people around me that I care about become successful. I love seeing them experience things they have never done before and accomplish things they never knew they could accomplish. Entrepreneurs can ultimately see successes they never anticipated as they provide the support and encouragement their employees need as they stretch themselves. Some Highlights of My Entrepreneurial Achievements • Age 34, 1971: CEO Small Bank—$100 million—Allied (originally named Bank of Texas) • Age 35, 1973: Invested with Berdon Lawrence by guaranteeing his CIT loan so he could create Hollywood Marine • Age 36, 1973: Purchased Kon Tiki Apartments, League City • Age 45, 1981: Sold Kon Tiki Apartments for $800,000 gain • Age 52, 1988: Allied Bank, a $5 billion asset bank, sold to First Interstate

28 AN AMAZING LIFE • Age 54, 1990: Founded Southwest Bank of Texas (pre-Amegy) with initial capital raise of $12 million • Age 70, 2005: Sold Amegy for $1.7 billion to Zions Bancorporation • Age 70–82: Built and own to lease—no debt Two 18-wheeler truck parking lots, Port of Houston area Seven spec homes in LaPorte (sold when foundations were poured) Eight spec crane-served office warehouses in LaPorte • Age 82, 2018: Raised $26 million and built a train rail storage yard in Pasadena, Texas* • Age 84, 2020: Raised $44 million and built a train rail storage yard and rail terminal operation in Pasadena, Texas* * These two could have a market value of $300–400 million by 2025.

Part I Youth Years

LIFE AS I REMEMBER IT—STARTING AT AN EARLY AGE 31 Life as I Remember It Starting at an Early Age Two of America’s greatest crises shaped my life from age 6 to 10. —WEJ People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents. —Andrew Carnegie On February 19, 2020, I turned 84 years old. I can say I have been amazingly blessed. My health, for one, is as good today as it was when I was 50 years old. However, more than anything, I am amazed at my memory, particularly, my long-term memory. I can still travel back to my early childhood. I have some memories, albeit vague ones, of living on a farm at age four or five, of my momma catching the pigs that got loose. I remember a big ole rooster that got after me one day, how my daddy went after it and kicked it so hard that it went over the fence. I remember that we ate the rooster that Sunday. My mos t v iv id memor y, however, starts a little later. It goes back to the first grade when I lived at 313 North Chandler on the east edge of Fort Worth, Texas, in an area called Riverside. All the houses A comfortable beginning

32 AN AMAZING LIFE in the area looked the same. They were simple wooden structures, quite small, and mine had a back porch with a lean-to, which was where the potty was. In those days, there were no school buses, and my mom did not have a car, so I walked to school, but it was not too far. I did not mind. When I walked by Tommy-Jo Hipp’s house, my girlfriend at the time, she and I would walk to school together. Every Saturday, Tommy-Jo and I would walk to the Tower Theatre and see a movie. I think it cost 25 cents at the time. There was always a serial, and, like Netflix, it never had an ending, which was perfect. Unlike today, there were no scary movies, except the religious ones where the Romans threw the Christians to the lions, or some hunter would kill Bambi. In any case, we thought they were captivating. We could hardly wait for Saturday to come. WWII and School On Sundays my little sister and I always went to Riverside Baptist Church. I remember loving to sing. I loved the Baptist songs and still do. As a matter of fact, even today, I find myself humming or singing those great songs of Baptist music. It was wartime, and our Sunday School teacher gave us war patches and ribbons for our moms to sew on our jackets. We were awarded the war patches, which resembled the patches the military wore on their uniforms, for reciting things like the Lord’s Prayer, Psalm 23, or John 3:16. I had a lot of patches before I moved to the country in the third grade. When we went to school, we all sat in a big auditorium and sang war songs, which were popular at the time because America was in the war fighting for its life. Additionally, in 1936, the year I was born, America was still suffering from the tragedies of the Great Depression. The war ended the 1929 depression, but now literally everything was rationed for needs of the war effort, including clothes, food, beverages and anything made out of metal. When I was in the first grade, we had just entered World War II, which was declared on December 8, 1941, the day after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. I was almost six years old, and I remember it like it was yesterday. Some things, I suppose, you never forget if they scare you to death. Today I still remember some of the songs that we sang in our auditorium every morning in school. I also remember every night when Daddy got home, we would sit and listen to the radio and hear Gabriel Heatter and Walter Winchell, the

LIFE AS I REMEMBER IT—STARTING AT AN EARLY AGE 33 news correspondents who were on the front row of the war, giving a blow by blow account of what was happening each day. We knew our soldiers were losing the war and taking a beating, marching in the rain for hundreds of miles as they confronted the enemy. I became obsessed. For the next six years, what few toys I had were those very small two-inch metal soldiers (we did not have plastic Chinese toys at the time). The toys consisted of soldiers, guns, trucks, tanks, and airplanes. In my free time, I fought many wars with my soldiers, my navy, and marines. I would enact what I overheard. Some things you experience make you believe anything is a possibility. —WEJ Over the radio, we would hear the planes and the bombing. Very few Americans today realize that America had 16 million serving in the military, or 11% of our population, that we suffered over 425,000 deaths, plus the many wounded. Very few can grasp that, all in all, as many as 80 million—including civilians—died in the WWII. I was reminded every night. So, from 1942 to 1944, when I was eight years old, I lived in fear that America was going to lose the war, that we were going to be overrun with Germans in Fort Worth, Texas. I will never forget D-Day, June 6, 1944. I was eight years old and had been holding my breath, I think, for four years. I am sure my toy soldiers, ships, planes, and tanks made a difference. It is odd how an event can both upset and fascinate a person. Even today, I have an amazing amount of interest in World War II. I have probably read twenty-five WWII history books, and, even recently, have read books about Hilter and Winston Churchill and the Battle of the Bulge. Last year, I took my family to New Orleans to see the World War II Museum, which I recommend for everyone. It has a short movie introduction with Tom Hanks as narrator, and it is scary because you could see on big maps how Hilter had dominated most of the entire continent of Europe. All of my uncles and Yvonne’s were in the war in various areas in Europe. Luckily, Dad did not have to go to war because he was working for Hobbs Trailer Manufacturing Company, and they were strategic to the war effort, building trailers 24/7 as fast as they could turn them out. Literally, every manufacturing company in the United States of America that could

34 AN AMAZING LIFE make anything was making something for the war. Ford and General Motors and Chrysler were making tanks, jeeps, and airplanes, which were pretty simple back then. By the time I was big enough, even after the war, instead playing with toys, I would buy airplane kits that were replicas of World War II airplanes, which were not expensive, and built to fly. Later on, we were able to get small gas motors that we would use on the airplanes. The planes would be attached to cord, and we would fly them until they crashed. I still remember the car that my dad drove back then. It was a gray 1937 Plymouth Sedan. It was at least eight years old at the time, one year older than me. My Family’s First Home At some point in the third grade, we moved to Bernice Street in Haltom City, which was just beyond the outer edge on the Eastside of Fort Worth, Texas. My dad bought our first house on six acres of sand with some enormous oak trees. The house was not much larger than what we see today in small apartments. It did have two bedrooms, but no bathroom. The bathroom was about 50 steps away, an outhouse that had two holes—cozy. I remember how my dad transformed that place. The first thing he did was to get rid of the pig pen because it smelled so bad. Dad also started a large garden, plowing it with a very contrary mule, pulling this plow that few could manhandle. I did not do this, but I am sure I dug thousands of potatoes out of that plowed sand, and Mom canned hundreds of jars of vegetables. Even today, I am mostly vegetarian. A distant neighbor, I remember, had a strawberry farm, and I could pick and keep all I wanted. I just had to give the neighbor half of what I picked. So, one time, I came home with a big crate of berries and had to eat them quickly because we had a very small ice box, not a refrigerator. An iced box was an insulated box and would keep ice fairly well. In any case, I could not finish the crate of berries. Before I got halfway through, I began to get sick of strawberries. A valuable lesson I learned is that strawberries are like candy—until you eat too many of them. Lesson Learned: Too much of anything I do can become monotonous, and too much of my favorite fruit or dessert can ultimately seem like taking medicine.

LIFE AS I REMEMBER IT—STARTING AT AN EARLY AGE 35 My dad was 6’2, strong as an ox, and tough as nails. He was quite handsome even though he was missing a few teeth in those early years. Dad only had a six-grade education because he and his brother had to quit school and go to work to help his momma support five girls after his father was killed. My Dad was twelve years old in 1925 when he and his brother got jobs riding bicycles and delivering telegrams for Western Union. That was the modern communication at the time. Necessity is the mother of invention. —WEJ He was also an inventor. From him, I learned that necessity is truly the mother of invention. Even though he only had a sixth-grade education, there was nothing in the world he could not do. I remember him jacking the house up and putting 6-inch steel pipe underneath it on top of plywood because the house was not facing the street. Then he used another jack against the oak tree and literally moved the house around to get it in the position he wanted. After that, he added an in-house potty and connected it to a septic tank that we had built. I helped dig the hole and the laterals for all the piping. Of course, digging in sand was fun for a child… also, at about eight or nine years old, I dug a 20-foot well! My Dad at about age 70 My Mother in her 40s

36 AN AMAZING LIFE With our huge lot and a garden, we had to have a well, so Dad figured out how to do it. First of all, he had one of his employees bring a friend to our house who was going to “witch” a spot for us to dig the well. This man had a forked limb from a willow tree, about two feet long. He walked all around our property and in one spot the branch twisted in his hand and pointed down. The man then declared… this was the spot for the well. Next, Dad brought home some huge pipes (at least they were huge to me because I was pretty little). Dad rolled one of the three-foot pipes to the exact spot and sat it on its end. Then he put me inside the three-foot pipe with my small shovel and a five-gallon bucket. My job was to fill the bucket…over and over and over. When the bucket was full, Dad lifted it out, emptied it and returned it to me. It took more than a day but as I dug, the pipe slipped down in the sand. When the three-foot pipe was in the ground three-feet deep, it was time for Dad to roll another pipe in place on top of the first one. I don’t remember how long it took, but my big old Daddy sure could not get in the pipe and bend over with a shovel. I, however, fit perfectly and loved it. It was probably a few months but finally we had seven pipes in place. By then, I was using a bucket to shovel with because I was standing in several feet of water even though Dad had a pump hooked up. It was pumping pretty hard! So, we had a great well that served the purpose Dad needed for his entire life at Bernice Street, until he ultimately bought a 75-acre farm in Azle, Texas. That is all we did to the house for a few years because Dad had to build a very big garage in order to repair cars, rebuild engines, and do body repair. He could do it all. He could build a car if you gave him enough scrap metal. Dad’s job at Hobbs Trailers, where he was Service Manager, was always more than 40 hours a week. Coupling that with the work that he did at home, he had the ability to provide for the family. Still, we were poor by today’s standards, but I did not know it. In any case, I was about ten years old when he started rebuilding cars, repairing damaged fenders, painting. Then he went back to working on the house. I never saw another worker on our property. Besides being a mechanic, my Dad was an electrician, a plumber, and a carpenter. He was also a teacher of sorts. At least, I acquired all of those traits, which have been a fun and necessary part of my life.

LIFE AS I REMEMBER IT—STARTING AT AN EARLY AGE 37 It is a lot less painful to do the job right the first time, rather than the second, third or fourth time! —WEJ I was constantly helping my Dad. My job was cleaning engine parts with kerosene and a steel brush, or sanding the rims of the cars or the beer trucks, so he could paint them. My dad wanted things done right. He would continually have me do things over until the task was done absolutely perfectly. I soon learned it was a lot quicker to do it right the first time rather than being made do it the second or third try, or however long it took. At the same time, my Dad had the patience of Job when he would teach me how to do something and why. I think I enjoyed Dad teaching me about car engines most, why each part was necessary for the engine. It might be the crankshaft, and its connecting rods, and the wrist pin that connects them together, or the tappets, or the valves. We would take the carburetor apart and put new parts in it. We would often go to the wrecking yard and buy junk car parts, which were better than those on the car we were fixing. There are probably not many people alive today that know as much about the internal operations of an engine as I do. This is because of him. Dad was incredible in that there was nothing he could not do. If something broke, he fixed it. If he needed something, he would make it. If a problem seemed impossible, he would figure out a solution. I am thankful to have acquired these abilities from my Dad, which even today keeps me busy. I do not know what the words “idle time” mean. I love a challenge, just like my father did. •

38 AN AMAZING LIFE The Analytical Mind—Father like Son It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. —Aristotle You have a brain and a mind of your own. Use it and reach your own decisions. —Napoleon Hill The human mind, once stretched by a new idea, never goes back to its original dimensions. —Oliver Wendell Holmes My father worked at Hobb’s Trailers as a service manager and fixing trailers. He really had a knack for fixing just about anything. I was always amazed at how he could fix something that was really complex or in really bad shape. He was just a genius at figuring out things, using his analytical mind to come up with mechanical solutions. I remember once this ability really stepped forward, front and center. He was asked to look at a very mangled trailer, something he considered beyond repair. But he told me that he slept on it that night and the next day, he had a solution to repair that trailer and get it back to working order. Well, for people that know me, I don’t have to tell them that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. In many ways, I inherited Dad’s analytical mind. I can, for the most part, fix about anything. It’s just not about figuring a problem out, but, as important, it is having the passion to figure it out and come up with a viable solution. Often the mechanical fix-up projects are easy compared to those much more complex problems I faced at Amegy over the years. Not only do these issues affect millions of dollars potentially per issue, but they also affect the clients, prospects, and, of course, team members at the bank. These multilayer hurdles have to be addressed, often quickly. And though it might take me and our teams a few hours, or sometimes even a few days, we rack our

LIFE AS I REMEMBER IT—STARTING AT AN EARLY AGE 39 minds to figure out a win-win for all the stakeholders. In conclusion, I know one thing with certainty. Using your analytical abilities to fix things is very worthy, satisfying, and fulfilling. • I have always had tremendous admiration for my dad. Despite the toughness he exuded, he never raised his voice to me or to my sister, or, especially, to my Mom. She was also beautiful and strong in her own right, a pretty woman, who never weighed more than 102 pounds. Dad worshiped her. In fact, the only time I remember Dad spanking me was because I sassed back to my mother. I was careful not to make that mistake twice. In those days, Mom made our clothes. The feed that Dad bought for our flock of chickens was in big bags, which resembled pillowcases, and the flowers on the cloth were pretty enough to make cute dresses for my sister or shirts for me. So, Mom would make clothes out of them. In addition to constantly sewing and cleaning the house, she was always canning vegetables for future use. In this way, they both influenced me. No doubt I spent hundreds of hours snapping peas so mom could cook and can them. In the third grade, when we moved to Bernice Street, I attended Oak Knoll Elementary. In those early days, our house did not have a lawn. We did not have a sidewalk or a curb. Our street was not much more than a pile of sand, and if you did not go fast, you would get stuck. The cars that went fast threw a cloud of dust on our house. Fortunately, there were not very many cars. But my mom had to dust constantly. The following year, I got a new girlfriend, Gay Music. Her dad was one of the teachers. Her father and I somehow became quite chummy, so somewhere around age 10, Mr. Music started paying me to mow his lawn. The Music family lived across the street from the school and I thought they must be really rich. Obviously, I wanted to impress Mr. Music and Gay. Therefore, I did not just mow the lawn. I manicured it. We only had push mowers back then and no weed eaters. There was just a little tool you could run on the edge of the sidewalk and curb to trim the grass around the edge. In any case, when the neighbors saw the job that I did, they asked me to mow their lawns, and before you know it, I had a pocket full of money. I had become an entrepreneur at age 10!

40 AN AMAZING LIFE Work Ethic Starts Early Making money was more fun than playing, so I had very few friends. My early years taught me a lot about having a work ethic and how fun it was to make my own money. When I was 13 years old, I worked for a man, delivering Encyclopedia Britannica circulars. He would take me and a friend to one of the better neighborhoods in Fort Worth and would let us out at the corner and pick us up at the next corner after having put a circular at every door. Then we would do the next street and the street after that. During this time, I also had a job working on a milk truck. Back then, we would deliver milk to every house. As we pulled up to the house, there would be milk bottles on the front porch for me to pick up and replace with milk. If there was a note on the door asking for ice cream, the truck driver would take that and put it inside the refrigerator of the home. Next, I got a real job, a paper route. For this one, I had to get up every morning around five o’clock and go to the local filling station where the other boys and I would sit on the floor and fold the papers, then I put mine in a bag on my bicycle and would ride through the neighborhood that was assigned to me and throw the papers on everyone’s porch. Looking back, this was probably the toughest job I have ever had because most of the streets were sand. Riding a bicycle over sand is hard enough without a saddle-bag full of papers. I also had to outrun the dogs that would nip at my shoes. However, the people could be worse. There were some poor neighborhoods, at least, where collecting my money was not easy. On some occasions, my dad had to go with me to collect a past due. He was intimidating enough that no one ever told him to come back tomorrow or that the money was in the mail. If you cannot express yourself without profanity, you need to learn more English. —WEJ Dad was a great role model. My entire life, he never smoked a cigarette, never drank a beer, and he never said a cuss word. Instead, he used words like gee whiz, dog gone it, gosh, I be darn. Even when he would go and help me collect, he expressed himself without profanity. I do not always see that today, even from scholars. But I learned from Dad, and my kids from me, that profanity is not respectable.

LIFE AS I REMEMBER IT—STARTING AT AN EARLY AGE 41 Your tone of voice can be more expressive than profanity. —WEJ Later on, Dad became foreman and, ultimately, manager of the service department of Hobbs Trailers. He had as many as 25 men working for him. It was a union shop, and I heard hundreds of stories about how he hated the union because it was so difficult to get productivity under the circumstances. I grew up with a bad impression of unions, and, I suppose, I still do. In any case, no matter what emergency came up, he was always able to fix it. There was nothing he could not fix. Absolutely nothing. I would like to think this rubbed off on me. Unions certainly serve their place in our history, but I learned from Dad that it is almost impossible to fire someone for being insubordinate, lazy, absent, or doing shoddy work. (As an example, the school teachers in California.) Also, the 27 Southern and Midwestern states in the United States that have “Right to Work” laws—not demanding union participation to getting a job—are the 27 most prosperous states in America. Their economies are more productive, have lower taxes, and grow more rapidly than states heavily controlled by unions. We grew up without many toys and spent most our fun playtime on bicycles. While I never had a new bicycle, I always had a beautiful one. I would take somebody’s junk or two old bikes and make one. I often would put in new bearings, a new sprocket, realign the spokes, repaint the bicycle with a two-tone finish. And I could ride with the best of them. After the age of 10 or 11, I spent my own money on clothes, shoes, a motor scooter, a shotgun and anything else I wanted. I always had money. I saw how hard my dad worked to make a living and do not remember ever asking him to buy anything for me, my entire life. Then I turned 15. That was a big year, the year I bought my first car. It was a 1936 Ford Club Coupe, which cost me $145.00. It was just a little better than a piece of junk. My Dad helped me rebuild it. When we got through, that car looked like a new vehicle. I even bought some new plastic seat covers out of a Montgomery Ward catalogue. Everyone did their shopping there. I bought drapery material and put new coverings on the door panels and even a new headliner in it. We totally rebuilt the engine. I had a crisis when a connecting rod came loose and went through the cylinder wall. I had to buy a shim to go inside the cylinder and then get a new piston machined a millimeter smaller. But that was another learning experience.

42 AN AMAZING LIFE Nothing is more rewarding than being creative, especially if you are doing something others could not! —WEJ This is how life should be. Growing up, I worked my fair share of jobs. At age 16, I left school every day at 2:00 p.m. and went to town where I worked as a stock boy for Monnig’s Department Store. Shortly after that, I got a job in the display department. Back then, department stores took up an entire block, and it would be surrounded with display windows. My job was to build the display for the creative people. At the age 17 and 18, I could build anything out of wood or paper mâché they could dream up, no matter how wild. I was very imaginative, and it was often a great challenge. And a lot of fun. I remember some of the projects I would work on all day Saturday and spend the night sleeping on the floor, then work again Sunday to finish a project to be ready for Monday. Honestly, I never really liked school, so I was very happy to leave every day at 2:00 p.m. to go to Monnig’s and do something fun, working with my hands, and being creative as well as making money. Working hard, life was fun! In May 1954, a life-changing event occurred the week I graduated from high school. I joined the Naval Reserve. The Korean War had started, and I had decided that I wanted to go to college following graduation. I still do not remember why I decided to go to college. No one that I ever knew went to college, and no one in my family had ever told me that I should go to college, but a few of my buddies were being sent to college by their families, so I said, “Why not me?” I had a good job and plenty of my own money! To the Navy for Me But first I had to endure a summer of tough boot camp in Great Lakes, Illinois, for three months. My first airplane ride was a trip in June 1954, to Chicago. Boot camp was followed by eight years of schooling one night a week. Also, during these eight years I went to radio school near Virginia Beach, Virginia, and spent another seven of the years on a ship at sea two weeks a year as a radioman. The thing I liked best about basic training in Illinois was the obstacle course. I was pretty close to the smallest kid there, and many were real tough boys. In any case, as Ronald Reagan, said, “Excellence demands competition.” The obstacle course was the place for me to prove I was as tough as anyone. I loved the competition and I loved the wrestling matches

LIFE AS I REMEMBER IT—STARTING AT AN EARLY AGE 43 and the swimming team we had to participate in for the same reason. I was always the first person to finish the obstacle course daily. The big guys, the athletes, and many of the rest could have assuredly outpaced me. But they did not. They were not tough enough in determination, desire, and competitiveness. They thought it was too much work, it was too hot. The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination! —Tommy Lasorda In 1954, I first attended Arlington State Junior College. It was a two-year college about 20 miles east of Fort Worth, Texas. I finished it in a year and a half. Then I enrolled at Texas Christian University for my other two years, but I was able to finish that in a year and a half. So, I finished four years of college in three years. I made good enough grades to pass, but I was not a scholar. Because I was working nearly 40 hours a week to put myself through college, I never went to a football game and was never a member of a fraternity. I did not spend any time in the recreation hall. I had to spend every spare moment studying. Fortunately, by the time I was enrolled in TCU, there were a lot of veterans coming back to college. The Korean War, in which South Korea Off to Navy boot camp At Great Lakes, Illinois, boot camp

44 AN AMAZING LIFE and the United States drove China and North Korea out of the south, ended in 1953. So, TCU had a program to help Korean veterans. It started at 7:00 a.m. in the morning. So, I went to school from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and then went to work from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. After work, I went back to school from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. That is how I finished college in three years, graduating in January 1958. From the time I was big enough to mow lawns I paid my own way—my bicycles, motor scooters, guns, shoes, clothes and everything—including all my college expenses. Before I was 18 I had owned these cars: 1. 1936 Ford Club Coupe 2. 1946 Chevrolet 3. 1950 Ford Convertible But in 1956, my Dad and Mom gave me the greatest gift ever received. It was their 1953 Chevrolet and was a great sacrifice for my Dad. I am sure he did it out of love and admiration because I was a junior in college at TCU and was accomplishing things on my own that exceeded all accomplishments of anyone in our family histories. The Lesson No one, quite frankly, has ever accused me of being brilliant or even smart. But few I know have ever matched my work ethic or perseverance. This, I believe, is what has helped me achieve my goals and accomplishments, many of which I did not even imagine I could accomplish. I have achieved so much more than many people who were far smarter than I will ever be, people who have had had wonderful opportunities in their early life. The difference is being enthusiastic and prepared, having the courage to take a risk and the drive to keep going. Dad died in October 1988 at the age of 75 of cancer. He had a sixthgrade education; never made a lot of money; didn’t have a bank account for My first car, 1936 Ford Club Coupe

LIFE AS I REMEMBER IT—STARTING AT AN EARLY AGE 45 most of his life; and never had a credit card to my knowledge. Mom died before him, so he left an estate with about 30 head of cattle, a 75-acre farm and a nice amount of cash. He left, as I remember, about $500,000 in assets to me and my sister, but I opted out of the will because she deserved it much more than me. She lived close to our parents, while I was five hours away, and she had taken such good care of them in their last years.

HURRICANE VOYAGE—1957 47 Hurricane Voyage—1957 Hurricane season brings a humbling reminder that, despite our technologies, most of nature remains unpredictable. —Diane Ackerman Anyone who says they’re not afraid at the time of a hurricane is either a fool or a liar, or a little bit of both. —Anderson Cooper I n October 1954, I had been in the Naval Reserve nine months when I got the opportunity to go aboard my first ship and spend two weeks training. I was already attending night classes to be a Navy radioman. Who knew that on my maiden voyage at sea, our ship would encounter Hurricane Hazel. My best friend at the time was Norman Turnage—who ultimately married my sister. He and I joined the reserves at the same time. Now we were on a train to New Orleans where we would play a few days before we boarded our ship that was headed to Cuba, where we would have further training at Guantanamo Naval Base. The ship was one of the smallest in the Navy, a destroyer escort. It was fast and designed to attack anything threatening the destroyers it accompanied on military voyages. The length of a typical escort was 300 feet and the width was 36 feet. It only needed 11 feet of water to navigate. Its speed was close to 30 mph and it had a range of over 5,000 miles. They were extremely navigable and tough. When we battened down all the external doors, it would handle any violent ocean condition.

48 AN AMAZING LIFE Swimming with the Barracudas We had a ball in Cuba. I was on the Navy swim team in boot camp and I loved to swim. One day at a Cuban public beach, I swam about a mile from the beach to a floating buoy where I rested for a few minutes before starting back. As I neared the beach, I saw a crowd of people shouting at me to come to the nearest shore. They appeared to be in a panic. When I got to the beach, a lifeguard said the water was full of barracuda and there was no swimming as far as I went. Of course, I had on my silver dog tags (the tag all military people hang on a chain around their neck with their name, ID number, etc.) which looked like the silver lure like the ones I now use for catching many kinds of fish. Hurricane Hazel That night, we got a warning that we were leaving Guantanamo early because Hurricane Hazel had suddenly developed in the Caribbean. It was October 5, 1954. As the boat was leaving dock, it was “all hands on deck” and everyone was ordered to tie down every item that we did not want lost. And if one line (rope) would hold it down, then our order was to use three lines. As fast as our ship was, it was not fast enough and we hit the hurricane broadside. It had developed in the windward islands and headed north across Haiti and then into the Caribbean. Hurricane Hazel, a category 4 with 134 mile per hour winds, was deadly and left over 100 people dead in its path. It spread devastation all the way to Toronto, Canada and did over $3 billion in damage in today’s dollars. It was called “The Perfect Storm” and the storm of the century. I was in the most vulnerable part of the ship as a radioman. Back then, there were no radios and we had the one-key teletype—which you may have seen in some old movies. We would use the key to produce a message by creating numbers or letters such as dot-dash-dot, dot-dot-dash-dot, or dot-dot depending on how long you pressed the key. The radioman’s job was to know what letter each series of dots or dashes meant. I was never very good at it. Because the ship’s antennas were at the top of the bridge, even higher than the helmsman or captain was stationed, there was nothing at higher elevation than the radioman. When the ship would roll in any direction— whatever the degree of list—you could multiply it by 10 for the poor radioman. I had many times, over my life of ocean excursions, when I got