Jim Dent v. The Bottle

[FileNotFound]

Saw this in the social media today. Great read from The Dallas Morning News about Jim Dent, who was promoting his Manziel book even as he was hiding from the law in Mexico after his 10th DUI conviction.

Exclusive: The story behind writer, 10-time DWI convict Jim Dent a hard one to believe

I was left wondering: Did he approach Dave Smith (or vice versa) about a gig at The News after the Times-Herald closed, or did he just throw himself full-on into writing books at that point?

Anyway, great story about a writer whose talent is exceeded by his amazing arrogance.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

Beat me to it.

Doug Lord, billed in Twelve Mighty Orphans as "one of the mighty mites who ruled Texas high school football" in the 1930s and 1940s, is 87 now. He retired as a colonel in the U.S. Air Force after 9 years of active duty and ran an insurance business in Garland.

He said Dent was always welcome at his Dallas home for a few days when he needed a place to stay. The one caveat was no drinking.

Lord said the relationship soured soon after "our book was published."

Lord said he loaned $5,000 to get Dent out of jail.

"I made you famous. It's worth $5,000 to you," Lord recalled Dent saying. Lord replied, "You didn't need to make me famous."

Although Lord said he never got his money back, he said he "really liked the book"

Told that Dent was back in jail in Collin County, Lord said, "Good."

He needs to do some jail time.
This dude will never learn.

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

The only question is whether he kills someone else before he kills himself.

 

[RecoveringJournalist]

I was just about to post this...

Insane story. I can see my bookshelf from my desk and I have Junction Boys and The Undefeated on it.

Can you imagine this guy and Skip Bayless covering the Cowboys together at the Times Herald?

 

[Dick Whitman]

It boggles my mind that a functioning, intelligent professional keeps driving drunk. Ten times! How many times has he done it and not gotten caught?

 

[Bronco77]

Can you imagine this guy and Skip Bayless covering the Cowboys together at the Times Herald?

I was there at the time. Their working relationship covering the Cowboys was OK, but I don't think they had much rapport beyond that. Not that Skip had a lot of friends among co-workers, anyway. My recollection is that Skip and Frank Luksa, the Times Herald's other sports columnist and a really good guy, despised each other and didn't speak, not even in the pressbox.

 

[RecoveringJournalist]

I was there at the time. Their working relationship covering the Cowboys was OK, but I don't think they had much rapport beyond that. Not that Skip had a lot of friends among co-workers, anyway. My recollection is that Skip and Frank Luksa, the Times Herald's other sports columnist and a really good guy, despised each other and didn't speak, not even in the pressbox.

I have a few former co-workers who were at the Times-Herald and the stories were pretty nuts.

 

[goalmouth]

You'd think after just a few DUIs he'd have gotten it right, killed himself, and saved the planet from his presence.

 

[franticscribe]

It boggles my mind that a functioning, intelligent professional keeps driving drunk. Ten times! How many times has he done it and not gotten caught?

Addiction is a powerful thing.

Guy like him is the poster child for ignition interlocks.

 

[Riptide]

You'd think after just a few DUIs he'd have gotten it right, killed himself, and saved the planet from his presence.

Or you could hunt him down and save the planet yourself, seeing as you want him dead.

Hate the sin, not the sinner. But do send him off to prison to get him off the streets.

 

[BDC99]

Two things:
This guy is an arrogant fork. "Be sure mention the book in the story."
This is a fascinating story, but I didn't think it was very well written. I guess it's tough when the story isn't resolved yet, but it just tailed off at the end.

 

[Thomas Gibbons]

I quit drinking shortly before Jim Dent was arrested for the first time. So I have been sober for awhile. I was 24 and I would have never seen 30 if I hadn't. I already had two DUI (that was charge then) arrests, though no convictions. When I was 20, I ran a car into a utility pole and damned near killed myself. I quit for awhile, but I went back to it.
From the outside, the answer seems simple — and it is - quit.
From the inside, the answer are deceptively complicated. You have to give up the good times.You have to give up some of who you are.You have to face the tough stuff that life throws at you without getting hammered.If you could somehow just manage to control it a bit ...
Of course, the benefits from quitting totally outweigh the drawbacks. The problem is the person making the decision has trouble seeing it that way.
Jim has lived a colorful and productive life in some ways. And in other ways, a wasted and horrible life. He has done some dishonorbale things.
I hope he makes the right decision and finally quits.