H-Town Diary

It was a beautiful November morning in Houston, decorated with incredibly blue skies, almost unreal yet most definitely a gift from the Gods… I was listening to my beloved manic mechanics, Click and Clack, on a rerun of NPR's Car Talk when I stopped to say hi to my friend Botti at the Montrose Shell service station. There, I was shocked to discover the episode was a rerun, as I'd missed the news that co-host Tom Magliozzi passed away in 2014.

I’ve told my story before, but something was missing. It has taken me 12 years to figure it out. I’ve told the story of how my 44-year-old sister, Julie De Rossi, died a violent death at the hands of a drunk driver on US 59 South near Beechnut in the predawn hours of March 17, 2004. I’ve recounted how the drunk driver was traveling an estimated 117 miles per hour, upon impact, his blood alcohol level three times the legal limit.