Antsy Onslaught
Scientists last year came up with a global ant census, and it’s unfathomable: 20 quadrillion. That’s 20 followed by 15 zeroes. Think of it this way: Ants outnumber humans at least 2.5 million to 1.
And, no, most of them don’t live in Texas, though more than 250 of the 14,000-plus species worldwide are native to our state.
The dreaded fire ant isn’t one. They’re invasive in Texas.
Golf star Sam Bennett, right, sometimes gets to have his brother Marcus, a lineworker at MidSouth Electric Cooperative, serve as his caddy.
Bragging Rights
Sam Bennett of Madisonville became the first Texas A&M University golfer to win the U.S. Amateur Championship, last year. The title earns him a spot at the Masters Tournament; watch for him April 6–9.
The All-American’s family are members of MidSouth Electric Cooperative.
Spring Cleaning
Open wide for National Dentist’s Day on March 6.
Did you know Texas has four dental schools? There’s Texas A&M in Dallas, Texas Tech in El Paso, and University of Texas branches in Houston and San Antonio.
“This thing between me and my writing is the strongest bond I have ever had—stronger than any bond or any engagement with any human being or with any other work I’ve ever done,” Katherine Anne Porter, born in 1890 in Indian Creek, said in a 1963 interview. “I really started writing when I was 6 or 7 years old.”
Hulton archive | Getty images
Women’s History Month
More than a century ago, Katherine Anne Porter survived a pandemic. At 28, she was hospitalized for months with influenza, and her hair turned white. Porter’s harrowing experience informed the title story in her trilogy, Pale Horse, Pale Rider.
Known for her precise, lyrical prose, Porter won a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award in 1966 for her Collected Stories.
The author’s childhood home in Kyle, now the Katherine Anne Porter Literary Center, hosts readings by visiting writers and was designated a national literary landmark in 2002 with a benediction from Laura Bush. “This house now stands as a living memorial to one of our most beloved, and best, storytellers,” Bush said.
Fours To Be Reckoned With
The Final Four for women’s and men’s basketball take place here in Texas. The women’s Final Four is March 31 and April 2 at American Airlines Center in Dallas. Two hundred miles to the south, the men’s champion will be crowned during an event that runs April 1 and 3 at NRG Stadium in Houston.
It’s the first time both Final Fours have been held in the same state.
