There are two newsworthy events scheduled for later this month and early April that pay tribute to the best among us.
First, at 5:30 on March 31 at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Ronnie Williams, who recently retired from my alma mater of UCA, will read from and sign his eagerly awaited book "Markham Street."
It's the compelling story about the May 1960 brutal beating and murder of his older brother, Marvin L. Williams, after Conway police took him into custody for no legitimate cause and locked him in the Faulkner County jail.
That case was close to my heart for more than a year as I researched and wrote about the lies and bigotry surrounding Marvin's murder. My initial involvement stemmed from a letter from Charles Hackney, a white one-armed inmate at Cummins Prison who had witnessed two officers bludgeoning Marvin in the jailhouse 20 years earlier as a storm and tornado raged outside. The Williams family received the same letter, which Ronnie includes in his book.
As the columns continued, we acquired a copy of Marvin's coroner's inquest under a Freedom of Information Act request, and the lies told under oath by the arresting officers became evident. A friend and producer for ABC's "20/20" arrived to bring the case to national attention.
Gov. Bill Clinton ordered a special prosecutor be named. Prosecutor Gary Isbell quickly impaneled a grand jury that convened secretly in Conway for nearly a month before issuing two first-degree murder indictments against the arresting officers.
There was so much wrongdoing discovered and written during that year, I'll leave the shocking details to Ronnie's book except to say the resulting exhumation and incredible result told me, the Williams family and the entire state that God's hand and Marvin's spirit had been involved in shedding light on this crime.
I can't recommend Ronnie's captivating and poignant tribute to his brother highly enough. You can find "Markham Street" at all the usual outlets.
The second event will see friend and former Harrison and Huntsville head football coach Tommy Tice inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame on April 8 alongside two other coaches, outstanding former Razorbacks Matt Jones, Corey Beck and Tyson Gay, and four deserving others.
Having known Tom for years, I assure you that, other than being the third-winningest football coach in our state's history, he's a truly genuine man with a divinely inspired gift for coaching and mentoring.
Peter Gray Lewis, the actor who portrayed Tom in "Greater" about the life and passing of Harrison native and All-American Razorback football player Brandon Burlsworth, should have won an Academy Award for his spot-on portrayal of Tommy when he asked his players if he'd told them he loved them lately.
When they responded, "No, Coach," he replied (in classic Tice deadpan wit), "Well, I'll have to get back to you on that."
Tommy left coaching with an enviable record across 42 seasons of 289 wins, 160 loses and six ties. Besides a Harrison state championship in 1994, he coached his teams to 13 conference championships.
Each player and coach to be honored has their own story of achievement and remarkable legacy. Unfortunately, I have never met them. And the Tom Tice I know is definitely a Hall of Famer in every respect.
Shuttle reflections
First it was actor William Shatner. Now a "Saturday Night Live" star will join five other passengers to ride Jeff Bezos' Blue Horizon rocket into space. That triggered memories from Jan. 28, 1986.
That's when the Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff, killing its seven-member crew, including public school teacher Christa McAuliffe, who was the first civilian to be rocketed into space.
At that time, NASA had a nationally competitive program which selected one ordinary working American for a Shuttle trip. McAuliffe was to be followed by the first journalist in space.
From an original field of about 1,000 applicants, I was fortunate enough to wind up in the group of 40 semifinalists scheduled to head for Washington for the final selection of the journalist and an alternate.
I was 39 and heading investigations for WEHCO Media and the Arkansas Democrat.
In preparation, I had been walking and exercising to lose some weight, hoping I had at least a slight chance to be chosen during the final selection stage weeks away. Among the finalists were some of the leading journalists of the day from major print and broadcast outlets, including Walter Cronkite.
The journalist and alternate selected would face a challenging and extensive training program alongside the actual astronauts.
Then came the unthinkable tragedy and an end to NASA's plans for civilians in space.
So I filed my hopes to visit space away in the dust bin of life's might-have-beens and moved through my career now exceeding half a century.
Now go out into the world and treat everyone you meet exactly like you want them to treat you.
Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist, was editor of three Arkansas dailies and headed the master's journalism program at Ohio State University. Email him at mmasterson@arkansasonline.com.