In Riding the White Bull, you share the experiences that shaped your life, from early fraternity politics to the early days of your military training. Why was this an important book for you to write?

This book mattered to me because it traces the experiences that shaped my life, from fraternity politics and a reckless rodeo bet to the early days of Navy training. Those moments were not just adventures. They were tests. They forced me to confront fear, pride, ego, and responsibility. They forced me to recognize how lucky I am to have survived despite my sometimes dangerous choices.

I came to see that courage is not loud or theatrical. It grows quietly through experience, through mistakes, and through pushing past hesitation. I wanted to show how those early trials, whether on a bull in a dusty arena or under pressure in uniform, formed the foundation for the man I became. If readers feel as though they are sitting beside me while the story unfolds, then I have done what I set out to do.

I also wanted a little snapshot in time. A picture of a vanished era in American life, when there were no freeways and a couple of college boys could easily hitchhike across the West, when it was still possible for a diligent student to work his or her way through school by doing part-time jobs. Something that my great-great-grandchildren could read and understand something about their ancestor.

Is there anything you now wish you had included in your book?

There are always stories that stay behind when you close the manuscript. I sometimes wish I had given more space to the quieter moments, the people who influenced me without fanfare, the small decisions that changed the course of things in ways I only understood years later.

I also left out stories from my early growing-up years in rural Texas and my law practice in El Paso, during which I represented some outlandish clients and was compelled by court appointments to represent some truly evil people. I also have stories about teaching law at a major university. I set aside those stories for the sake of focus. Some of those memories still tug at me. Perhaps they belong in another volume.

What advice would you give someone considering sharing their memoir with readers?

Write honestly. Not just about what happened, but about what it meant to you. Facts alone do not carry a story. What stays with readers is the reckoning. And don’t back away from stories that show your own mistakes and vulnerability. That is, do not try make yourself the hero. The moments of doubt, embarrassment, and fear are often the most compelling. If you are willing to look at yourself without flinching, readers will respond to that.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from Riding the White Bull?

I hope readers come away with the understanding that courage is steadiness under pressure. It is not bravado. It is not braggadocio. It is the decision to stay present and force yourself to remain calm when everything in you wants to bolt.

Life will hand everyone a version of the white bull. The question is not whether fear appears. It is whether you meet it, learn from it, and walk away stronger and wiser than before. If the book encourages someone to face their own challenge with a little more resolve, that is enough for me.

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