Rick Bass didn’t set out to resume his football career at the “somewhat desiccated age of 60.” It just kind of happened.

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Bass, the journalist and author of books including “Oil Notes,” “The Ninemile Wolves,” and “Why I Came West,” wrote a 2015 story for Texas Monthly magazine about the Brenham Express, a semi-pro football team in the town known chiefly for its beloved food export: Blue Bell ice cream. Kirby Simmons, Bass’s best friend from high school, was a trainer for the team, and Bass was intrigued enough to return to his native Texas from Montana, where he now lives. 

Bass, who as a young man played a year as a tailback for the Utah State Aggies, was fascinated by the program, and its coach, Anthony Barnes. Je noticed that the team was being “decimated” by injuries, and thought he might as well get off the sidelines and onto the field. “I don’t recall precisely how it happened, but I do recall in shuttered, fractured vignettes, suiting up with the ever-diminishing number of the team,” he writes.

Bass chronicles his experience playing for the team in “Wrecking Ball: Race, Friendship, God, and Football,” published by High Road Books. He talked about his book via telephone from Austin, Texas, where he was in town for the Texas Book Festival. This conversation has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

Q: You grew up in Texas. Were you interested in football when you were a kid?

Oh, gosh, yeah. That was all there was. Yeah. Soccer was rumored to be a passing fad, like the hula hoop. I lived in Houston, so I followed Bum Phillips and the Houston Oilers, for better or worse. Usually, the latter.

Q: And then you went on to play college ball.

Yeah, at Utah State, and that was an amazing experience. I look back at some of the players that I practiced with, and hit, and was hit by, like Eric Hipple, who went on to play for Detroit, and Rick Parros, who played for Buffalo for a while. Our record was miserable, but we had some great individuals, and our coaches went on to coach for Dallas and Detroit and so forth. It was pretty strange just how you get to participate in these little dots of history.

Q: How did you first learn about the Texas Express in Brenham?

My best friend from high school, Kirby Simmons, was the trainer for the Express, and he told me, “This is an amazing group of young men. So I got an assignment for Texas Monthly to write about it, and went down there and met the guys and the coach and was just hanging out with them for a while. They were not overly clad with muscle, and I thought, These guys are smaller than the ones I used to play against. I could hang with these guys.” So I spoke to Kirby and Coach about it, and they said, “Yeah, jump on and see what you can do.” So it went from observatory journalism to [George] Plimpton’s famed participatory journalism.

Q: Is the team pretty popular in Brenham?

No. They’re incredibly unknown. Friends and family are the only fans, and it’s totally a shadow team, a shadow league, very insular. So that was wonderful, the anonymity, they’re just there purely for the love of the game, just accountable to each other and themselves. It was a learning process for everyone of us, each player on the team with regard to that. But I think what was most moving to me was the affection and dignity with which they received me across the age divide and the racial divide. It was really a beautiful experience for all of us.

Q: Did you find it difficult to get back into the groove from your college days?

It was hard. I had major knee surgery in January, a meniscus repair, and it was a six-to-eight week rehab. I went in still within the window of my rehab, but I had good surgeons, and it all worked out. I trained a little more, but I try to stay in as good shape as possible anyway. I was not prepared for the pulled muscles from the cleats and artificial turf. When we played at the Rock in Brenham, it was natural turf, but mostly rocks and gravel. But that AstroTurf in your cleats — I mean, you make a plant to cut and it’ll pop your groin every time. 

Q: Do you have any standout memories that stick out of your time on the Express?

I have a lot of them. The one that first comes to mind is that we had this giant offensive lineman, and we were getting beat badly by somebody. He just was a mountain of a man, probably 6’8,” 350 pounds. And he was just getting hammered, beaten down by the defensive line, and he just quit. At halftime, he walked off and there was just this archetypal view of this huge mountain of a man blocking out the setting sun, trudging with his helmet and his head down, dejected, toward the setting sun, and we knew he was not coming back for the second half. That was a real image, really sticks with me about who stays and who leaves and why. Another image, I can’t remember the linebacker’s name, but he tore his patella, and he was hollering out on the field, and the ambulance came and six of us carried him off the field with him screaming in pain. It was real.

Q: What do you think it is about football that has captured the imagination of America?

For me, it creates an alternative universe of accountability and cause and effect and good versus evil within a finite globe of time, in which time is able to be manipulated and controlled, unlike the real world. You can call a timeout to stop the clock. You can step out of bounds, you can throw an incomplete pass, you can manipulate time toward your desire, toward your goals, which is to advance the ball to the end zone or to stop the opponent from reaching theirs. And the complexity of it is really attractive. The permutations of 22 players on the field on any given play, in a 120-yard-long universe is like looking at a cell under a microscope with all the organic activities swirling within. It’s both organic and very intellectual and obviously very physical. It’s just an extraordinary game in its design and logic and rules. The unfortunate serpent in the Garden of Eden is the guaranteed damage it does to young men’s bodies and minds.

In ragtag crumbles or genteel chunks, feta cheese gives a frisky flavor edge to food. Its salty, sour-sweet sharpness gives a classic Greek salad its signature taste; romaine, olives, cucumbers and red onions would be just another salad without feta’s tart earthiness. Its flavors also add oomph to everything from black beans to pasta to tacos.

Feta dates back thousands of years in Greece, where it’s made with goat’s milk or sheep’s milk. Today, in America, it generally is made commercially with cow’s milk. This rindless, bed-sheet-white cheese is cured and stored in a brine made with salt and either water or its own whey (the watery liquid that separates from the curd during the cheese-making process). Brining stops the ripening process, keeping the cheese fresh and flavorful. Because of this brining procedure, it’s often dubbed “pickled cheese.” And because of the salt content of the brine, this cheese acts as a salty element in recipes, something to keep in mind when adding salt to those dishes.

At about 264 calories for a 3 1/2-ounce serving (21 grams of fat), feta hovers midway between the higher-in-fat cheddars at about 403 calories and the low-in-fat part-skim ricottas at about 138 calories. Feta can range in texture from soft to semidry, and “fetaphiles” differ in their preferences. Made in Bulgaria, France, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Romania and Italy, as well as Greece and America, products vary in texture as well as saltiness and tartness.

Feisty Feta Dip is shown served with Pita triangles. (Photo by Nick Koon, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Feisty Feta Dip

This perky dip showoffs feta in an alluring way. Serve it with triangles of pita bread (toasted or plain) and/or raw veggies. Garnish with pitted, imported black olives, such as kalamata. If you want to fancy up this dip, fry some thinly sliced prosciutto in vegetable oil until crisp. Drain on paper towels; when cool enough to handle, crumble over top of the dip. Delicious.

Yield: About 2 cups

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup crumbled feta (plain or flavored with tomato and basil)

3 minced green onions (include part of dark green stalks)

1 medium clove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons minced Italian parsley

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano (or generous 1/4 teaspoon dried)

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Optional: fresh lemon juice to taste if needed

Optional garnish for dip: 2 to 3 pitted Kalamata olives

Optional garnish for plate: cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes

DIRECTIONS

1. Place ingredients in a bowl and mash with the tines of a fork. Taste and add a little lemon juice, if desired. Garnish with the dip with pitted, imported black olives, such as kalamata. If desired if you like, garnish the serving plate with either cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes.

Spinach Salad with Roasted Bell Peppers and Feta Fingers also features capers and black olives. (Photo by Nick Koon, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Spinach Salad with Roasted Bell Peppers and Feta Fingers

Spinach salad gets spunk from feta and roasted peppers. Capers and black olives add to the appealing complexity. If you decide to roast and peel the red bell peppers at home, start by lining a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, leaving some extra foil on the ends. Place the bell peppers in a single layer on the foil.  Place 6 to 8 inches below heated broiler element.  Broil until lightly charred.  Rotate peppers with tongs and char on all sides.  Remove from oven and draw up ends of foil to enclose peppers for 5 minutes. Open foil; when cool enough to handle, peel peppers and discard seeds. Resist temptation to wash skin off with water; use hands, the pepper will be more flavorful.

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

Olive oil for greasing pan, about 2 teaspoons

8 (1- to 1 1/2-inch wide) strips of roasted and peeled red bell peppers, roast and peel at home or buy commercially prepared in jars

Block of feta cheese, cut int 2-by-1/4-by-1/4-inch rectangles

2 medium-sized garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons drained capers

2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 generous handfuls of fresh clean baby spinach

12 pitted Kalamata olives

Vinaigrette: 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, pinch dried red pepper flakes, salt to taste, freshly ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a small roasting pan or gratin dish with olive oil and place 8 (1- to 1 1/2-inch wide) strips of roasted and peeled red bell peppers in single layer. Place a rectangle of feta lengthwise in the center of each pepper strip. In a small bowl, stir together the garlic, capers, parsley and oregano; spoon the mixture atop the feta. Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil. Bake in preheated oven 12-14 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned.

2. Place handful of cleaned baby spinach in each of 4 salad bowls. Place 2 cheese-topped pepper strips on each, spooning any mixture from pan over cheese. Place Kalamata olives on top of spinach.

3. Prepare vinaigrette: Combine all vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl and whisk with a fork; taste and adjust if needed. Drizzle spinach with vinaigrette. Serve.

Marinated Feta is served atop cooked faro, but other types of pasta can be used. (Photo by Cathy Thomas)

Marinated Feta

Cubes of marinated feta cheese atop blanched green beans, cooked farro, or a bowl of cooked pasta, turn the dish into something bright and inviting with minimal effort needed. Make the marinated mix a day ahead and store it airtight in the fridge. I like to keep it in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Remove it from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes ahead of use so that the solidified olive oil liquifies.

Occasionally I add 1/2 cup coarsely chopped Castelvetrano olives to the concoction; the olives buttery flavor balances the vibrant personality of the feta and tastes delicious when using to top grains, pasta, or toasted baguette slices.

Yield: About 2 1/2 cups

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed

2 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons minced lemon zest (colored portion of peel)

1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces firm feta cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Cook’s notes: For the photo, I used the marinated feta spooned atop cooked farro. I love the chewy texture of farro. I cook 8.8 ounces of farro according to package directions (Trader Joe’s sells Ten Minute Farro). I drain it and toss it with a little extra-virgin olive oil. Spread out on a large plate or small platter, it’s topped with the marinated feta, scooped up to include a generous amount of the herb-spiked olive oil.

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, add olive oil, parsley, oregano, zest, dried red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Stir to combine. Add feta and gently toss to coat cheese (I use a silicone spatula to the it).

2. Transfer to a jar or lidded container. Mixture should be covered with oil, if needed add more olive oil to immerse feta. Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours or up to 5 days.

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By ALBERT STUMM

Even as a kid, Alice Lovatt was always getting in trouble for being late.

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She was often embarrassed after letting down friends for her tardiness, and she was routinely stressed about arriving at school on time.

“I just don’t seem to have that clock that ticks by in my head,” said Lovatt, a musician and group-home worker in Liverpool, England.

It wasn’t until she was diagnosed with ADHD at 22 that she learned she was experiencing a symptom sometimes called “time blindness.”

Russell Barkley, a retired clinical neuropsychologist at the University of Massachusetts, is often credited with linking time impairment with people with ADHD or autism. In 1997, he called it “temporal myopia.”

But recently, time blindness has sparked a social media debate: Where is the line between a genuine condition and someone who is disorganized or just plain rude?

When arriving late means more

Time blindness is the inability to determine how long a task will take or conceptualize how much time has passed. It relates to executive function that occurs in the frontal lobes of the brain, and it is a well-documented characteristic of many people with ADHD, said Stephanie Sarkis, a psychotherapist in Tampa Bay, Florida.

“Anyone can have issues with running late, just with ADHD there’s functional impairment,” said Sarkis, author of “10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD.” “It impacts family life and social life. It impacts work, money management, all areas of life.”

Sarkis said if a person’s chronic tardiness is “one star in the constellation of symptoms,” then it could be evidence of a treatable disorder. She cited research that stimulant medication prescribed for other ADHD symptoms, such as inattention or restlessness, is also effective at treating time blindness.

That’s not to say, however, that everyone who is chronically late has ADHD — or a built-in excuse.

FILE – Commuters ride the subway in New York on April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)

Consider the reason for being late

Jeffrey Meltzer, a therapist in Bradenton, Florida, counsels people who never show up on time to examine the core issue behind their lateness.

Some people who hate small talk fear arriving early, which could point to anxiety as the underlying issue, Meltzer said. Others may feel they don’t have much control over their lives, so they try to reclaim a few minutes from responsibilities.

“It’s the same psychology concept behind revenge bedtime procrastination,” he said, referring to the urge one may have to stay up later to recoup personal time after a busy day.

In those cases, one tool is to create a small “coping card” to refer to regularly, he said. After determining a reason for chronic lateness, take an index card and write down a reframed thought about that reason and a consequence of being late.

For instance, on one side write, “Attending this meeting doesn’t mean that I lose my freedom.” On the other side, write: “Being late again will upset people at work.”

Meltzer said the hardest reason to change the habit would be something that early-arrivers often attribute to late-comers — a sense of entitlement. People who feel their time is more important than others’ time may give themselves permission to be late.

But Meltzer said those people would also exhibit entitlement in other areas, such as parking in a spot designated for people with disabilities or tending to make a grand entrance at an event.

“Maybe they’re 20, 30 minutes late, and it’s like, ‘Oh, look who is here,’” he said. “So it’s a way to kind of get attention.”

FILE – Commuters walk from the PATH rapid transit station into the World Trade Center in New York on Nov. 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

What to do about it

Whether a person has ADHD or not, they’re still responsible for their actions, said Sarkis, who was also diagnosed as an adult and struggles with managing time.

The good news is that the same interventions that help people with ADHD can work for all late-arrivers.

Sarkis said using a smart watch to set alerts can help with knowing when you need to leave, although having analog clocks around also helps. Relying only on your phone to see the time creates more distractions.

She also suggested breaking tasks down into a checklist of smaller parts and resisting the urge to cram too many activities into one day.

Lovatt has learned to give herself much more time than she thinks she needs. She also uses Forest, a time management app, and another app to lock herself out of other apps on her phone to help keep track of time while concentrating.

Particularly helpful has been making granular lists of how long things take. Getting out the door in the morning felt like it took 20 minutes until Lovatt listed every step from bed to door.

“Walk downstairs, one minute. Find shoes, one minute. And I had a list that was a whole page long of literally walking between rooms,” she said.

She learned it instead took 45 minutes.

“It doesn’t work, like, 100% of the time. But generally, I am a lot more reliable now.”

Albert Stumm writes about food, travel and wellness. Find his work at https://www.albertstumm.com.

Holiday spending was expected to be tempered this year but the latest data shows Americans aren’t slowing down, even with growing debt.

The National Retail Federation said nearly 203 million U.S. shoppers went to retail stores and websites from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday — its highest in nearly nine years.

Some experts have expressed concern about growing credit card debt and burdens from other factors. U.S. household debt reached $18.59 trillion as of September, said the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a record high.

Just how bad the debt situation is for the economy is up for debate. Some economists have argued the overall economy is still strong. They point to low unemployment as a reason why debts will be paid because money is still coming in.

Question: Are Americans’ household debt levels a major concern for the economy?

Economists

Caroline Freund, UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy

YES: Household debt is a concern, especially as delinquency rates rise. Credit card and auto loan delinquencies are climbing to levels not seen since the Great Financial Crisis. The strain is concentrated among lower income households, reflecting the K-shaped economy, where the most vulnerable are falling behind. Delinquencies on big ticket items like cars are increasing especially rapidly among this group. With the job market becoming less certain, these trends point to growing economic risk.

James Hamilton, UC San Diego

NO: The latest data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that American households have added $4.4 trillion in debt since 2019. But there’s been a lot of inflation since then and our incomes today are higher. GDP increased by $9.2 trillion over those same five years. Measured as a percent of GDP, the real burden of household debt is actually the lowest it’s ever been since the New York Fed started reporting these numbers in 2003.

Norm Miller, University of San Diego

YES: Rising credit card debt at $1.23 trillion is moderately troubling, but the larger risks are the $1.73 trillion in student loans and weakened auto loan standards where delinquencies have climbed to 5%. Even more alarming, non‑bank lenders (i.e. Milo.io or Lendfriendmtg.com) are considering crypto‑backed mortgages, echoing the speculative credit that preceded the 1929 crash. As more lending shifts outside regulated banks and to volatile-priced collateral, the likelihood of another credit market meltdown increases.

Kelly Cunningham, San Diego Institute for Economic Research

YES: Discretionary spending now will be paid with interest by inflated dollars in the future, meaning future spending will be reduced by paying off debt while also paying inflated future prices for essential items. Although nominal debt is at an all-time high, adjusted for inflation, total debt remains below peaks during the 2008–2009 Global Financial Crisis. Household debt accounted for approximately 65% of nominal GDP in 2025, significantly lower than the peak of 85.8% reached in December 2008.

Alan Gin, University of San Diego

YES: The increased debt load is one result of a “K-shaped” economy. Those with high incomes are doing well; Moody’s Analytics reports that the top 20% of income earners accounted for 63% of consumer spending. Those at the lower end have been stressed by rising prices, particularly for necessities such as food and housing. That has reduced their purchasing power and forced people into increased debt. If job growth remains slow or even turns negative, many people could end up in bankruptcy.

David Ely, San Diego State University

NO: While aggregate nominal household debt is rising, so is personal income. Household debt service payments as a percent of disposable personal income is not at a worrying level and is well below rates experienced around the financial crisis, in 2005-2010. Loan delinquency rates are somewhat elevated and should be monitored. However, current household debt conditions are not so severe that they should be regarded as a major concern for the economy.

Ray Major, economist

YES: Debt is money that is spent before it is earned. Used properly, it’s not a problem. However, mounting debt on credit cards which now exceeds $1.23 trillion, is evidence that people are not able to pay their daily expenses without borrowing from their future earnings. At current levels, this is unsustainable for mid- and low-income families. Instead of building generational wealth by saving and investing money, they are mortgaging their futures.

Executives

Phil Blair, Manpower

YES: And always should be. My biggest concern is the ease and popularity of buy now and pay over many months for almost any product. It’s far too easy for impulse purchases rather than major planned buying. As with businesses in San Diego, cash/liquidity is king. Personal spending needs to be under control to protect against a potentially deteriorating employment picture and still very high interest rates.

Gary London, London Moeder Advisors

YES: The U.S. economy appears to be in decent shape, even as American debt levels are hovering high as a percent of GDP. The critical story is at the household level, and it remains statistically untold. Something is going on. There is bubbling discontent rooted in rising food, fuel and insurance costs, as well as mortgages and rents, among others. Job uncertainty is a festering factor. All of this is likely to play out in the polls next November.

Chris Van Gorder, Scripps Health

YES: Americans depend too much on debt to finance lifestyles that might not be supported by their income. I am not worried as much about recent increases in debt, as those increases seem to track inflation, but I am concerned about our overall reliance on debt and the things we use it for.

Jamie Moraga, Franklin Revere

YES: Americans are taking on increasing levels of household debt many cannot sustain financially. Low consumer sentiment contrasts with continued spending, revealing a disconnect that deepens financial strain and risk. With high living costs, inflation, stagnant wages and layoffs, many households face mounting stress, limited savings and uncertain retirement prospects. The so-called “resilient” consumer may ultimately reveal deep economic vulnerability and serve as a warning sign for long-term economic stability.

Bob Rauch, R.A. Rauch & Associates

YES: But the household debt levels themselves are not the problem. The combination of record balances, rising delinquencies, and demographic concentration of stress among lower- and middle-income families makes this a legitimate concern for the 2026 economy. It is not a crisis; a recession is not looming, but it is a headwind. Lower interest rates and inflation, reduced tariff impacts, tax reductions and the World Cup will significantly benefit the economy. To a solid 2026!

Austin Neudecker, Weave Growth

YES: Elevated household debt and higher interest rates are squeezing budgets. Delinquencies on credit cards and auto loans are climbing. Debt payments impact categories like retail, services and discretionary spending, which are substantial growth drivers. While low unemployment and anticipated rate cuts in 2026 are staving off negative consequences, we may be in a different situation if the labor market softens, charge-offs rise, or banks tighten credit. The economy isn’t collapsing, but elevated debt is now a clear risk.

Have an idea for an Econometer question? Email me at phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com. Follow me on Threads: @phillip020