Rice
by BeijingIrish (2026-09-07 14:29:28)
Edited on 2026-09-07 14:34:18
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There is much to admire about Rice. It is a fine university, one of the nation's finest. Its campus is attractive. I think their mascot, Sammy, is cool. I don't know if they still have a live owl--probably not (animal welfare and all that). There was a time when Sammy flew into the stadium during games.

Many distinguished people number among the list of Rice alumni. My favorite Rice alum is Howard Hughes. I don't think he graduated--he dropped out at some point--but the university claims him as an alum. I spoke about Hughes with Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza once. During one of our frequent meetings, I asked Tacho about him.

In 1972, Somoza had invited Hughes to Nicaragua. Hughes promptly secluded himself on the top floor of the Intercontinental Hotel. His entourage took the entire floor. On December 23, 1972, a 6.5 earthquake devastated Managua, killing 10,000 people and injuring twice that number. Hughes left Nicaragua a day or so after the quake, never to return.

A cleaning crew was dispatched to the floor where Hughes had lived. Tacho told me that the closets in every room were filled to the brim with jars of Hughes' urine. Apparently, he wanted to save it, and he would not let anyone pour it out. The few people who ever caught sight of him reported that he resembled a zombie. His fingernails were several inches long, his emaciated body was covered with bed sores, and his hair was very long.

What does this have to do with the game next Saturday? Nothing, I suppose. But I will attend the game, and if I am seated next to Rice people, I intend to ask them about the urine. "What do you think the Nicaraguans did with it?"

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