[Hou Chron] Cyberspace not the same without her

Here's a nice little article I read in the Houston Chronicle today, thought I might share it......


Link to Article

Cyberspace not the same without her

By JOHN P. LOPEZ
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

I began to worry when three weeks passed and I had not heard from her.

I never spoke to Thelma Miles in person, or saw her, or even heard the gentle kindness in her voice that came through so clearly in the e-mails she sent.

Her messages to the inbox were different than most. Even when she disagreed with something I wrote, Mrs. Miles tempered it with the soothing understanding of the Southern lady she was: "Bless your heart ... "

Thelma Miles was 90 years old and a sports fan of remarkable knowledge and immeasurable dedication.

When an amazing 2004 year in sports for Houston ended and the Chronicle named local fans as its sports people of the year, I did not think of the thousands of well-to-do folks and corporate glad-handers who filled Reliant Stadium for Super Bowl XXXVIII.

I did not think of the raucous masses who filled Minute Maid Park for the Astros' unforgettable playoff run. I didn't think of baseball's All-Star Weekend, Texans fans, Rockets fans or any of the thousands who fill the e-mail box every year with various rants, raves or observations.

I thought of Mrs. Miles.


Dear John e-mails
She rarely left the comforts of her country home near La Grange, where she lived with her son, F.W., and daughter-in-law, Brenda. Every morning she would hustle from her bedroom to the kitchen table to grab one of the two newspapers the family received.

"She had a real fancy walker," Brenda Miles said. "It had a little basket, where she would put her mini-dachshund and her sports section. It was so funny in the mornings when she grabbed the paper. (F.W.) wouldn't even try to grab the sports section. Mom and I would grab the sports, and he read the other parts. She could remember different statistics and so forth that I could not believe."

Thelma Miles first began sending e-mails to me about three years ago, telling her daughter-in-law exactly what to write. They began arriving regularly, asking insightful questions and commenting on things I wrote about her teams.


Sports ties started early
She never went to an Astros game but knew more baseball than most any fan I've known. She never saw Reliant Stadium but dissected Texans games with a keen sports eye. She recognized an unstable Rockets relationship between Steve Francis and Jeff Van Gundy long before most did.

But without question her favorite teams were the Astros and Spurs. She never missed a televised game and read everything she could about them from the kitchen table or front porch.

Miles grew up in the same area of Arkansas as legendary Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and knew him well. She once was engaged to Bryant's cousin, had a brother who played football at LSU, loved Arkansas football and was avidly into tennis.

She moved to Texas and fell in love with the Astros and Spurs, but she followed the Rockets and every Houston team closely.

It was because of Mrs. Miles that whenever I was covering an event and the copy desk called, asking if I would have a column done early enough for the state edition, I always tried to make the early deadline.

The state edition is the one that goes to La Grange. It's the one Mrs. Miles read. And whether she agreed or disagreed, she would have her daughter-in-law end the e-mails to me with, "Your fan."

I always laughed at that. Sportswriters should not have fans, least of all me. But she was sweet, gentle and a devoted reader, none of which you get a lot of in this business.

Then the e-mails stopped coming.

Miles woke her daughter-in-law one morning around 5 a.m., experiencing great pain in her stomach and unable to stand upright. Soon after, her health began deteriorating quickly.

While in the hospital on morphine, too weak to read the sports section every day, she still asked Brenda to read the previous day's scores to her.

Then she asked if Brenda could read one of my columns. But on that day, Brenda did not have the Chronicle's sports section.

"I grabbed something else and tried to pass it off as yours," Brenda Miles said. "She laid there listening with her eyes closed as I was reading, and when I was through she said, 'Well, that's not John's best, but OK.'

"I tried to contain my laughter while I excused myself to a ladies room down the hall. Thelma was Thelma, and she was sharp. She could pick up on anything when it came to sports. Until her last days, she loved sports, loved talking about sports and loved reading about sports."

Thelma Miles was buried near her hometown in Arkansas.

Today, as the Spurs soar and the Astros crash, I think of the lady I never actually met.

I wonder what Mrs. Miles would have to say about her two favorite teams now. I wonder if professional athletes ever really understand the impact they have on lives.

And I look at the empty space in the inbox, knowing she would rave about "Pop and the Spurs" and know just what to say about the Astros. Bless their hearts.

john.lopez@chron.com: