Good stick, no speed

It's a loss not only to First Presbyterian Church, but to Amarillo that Dr. Jim Bankhead, the senior pastor of the church, is leaving in August. Bankhead's final sermon will be Aug. 15, 11 years to the day after first sermon as First Presbyterian's pastor.

Bankhead said he began to consider retirement about three years ago, but instead is taking a position as interim associate pastor of discipleship at West Hills Lake Presbyterian in Austin.

Jim also knows his way around a baseball field. We were part of two adult teams who met monthly during the spring and summer about 10 years ago. That's baseball, not softball. We should have known better, but there's too much kid in a bunch of us not to get out there make fools of ourselves. And then two years ago on Fathers Day, we had one more game, sort of an Old Timers Game.

Jim is a pretty good baseball player. For his age.