Last Wednesday, just hours after our website traffic started spiking and our January cover story, “Kidd Kraddick’s Big Secret,” began to circulate, I stood in line at Whole Foods. Late for book club and minutes from darting home to pick out something to wear for an interview on Fox later that night, I overheard a woman directly behind me.
“Kidd’s big secret?” she said aloud, to no one in particular, pointing at the issue on the newsstand. “He was on drugs.” I couldn’t resist.
“Not true,” I said.
“Then what is it?”
“Cancer.”
She was stunned. As have most who’ve heard the news. But what’s more stunning than the cancer Kraddick battled was the way he did. Jamie Thompson chronicles the choices he made beautifully. The first time I read her piece, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. By the end, I choked up. Every time I’ve read it since, during editing and after publication, the effect has been the same.
We’re excited to share it with you, and we’re grateful for those who contributed–Jamie for her reporting; Kraddick’s friends, coworkers, and family for their trust; and Tim Rogers for his wrangling.
While I’m on the topic of wrangling, Michael J. Mooney did some wrangling of his own as he pursued a sitdown with Rafael Cruz, father of none other than Senator Ted Cruz. It took months of courting—phone calls, emails—but finally, he said yes, and off went Mooney to Conroe, with photographer Elizabeth Lavin in tow. The duo logged some serious time with the elder Cruz, watching him work a room and pose for selfies with adoring fans, watching him interact with the homeowner gracious enough to house him for the evening, listening to him onstage as the keynote speaker. They joined him for lunch back in Dallas as well, in addition to several photo shoots. The outcome of that time is “How Ted Cruz’s Dad Became a GOP Rock Star.”
And finally, a read worthy of cult-like attention is Peter Simek’s “20 Years of The Ticket Radio.” I don’t understand much of their wheels-off guy talk, but according to the ratings, the rest of you do. So enjoy.
