Kevin Lyons recently fractured his pelvis. That unfortunate injury, while certainly unpleasant, led the former Star-Telegram reporter to unexpectedly score a revealing interview with Gov. Rick Perry.
Lyons, who now works as an insurance reporter with Bankrate.com in Austin, was getting physical therapy recently when he spotted Perry lying on the table next to him.
From Lyons' blog post:
The Texas governor? Can't be. His hair was too messed up - way way way messed up - and he'd not shaved.
This did not look like the slick-looking guy I've seen on TV.
And then, one of the attendants reached out to shake his hand.
"Hi, Governor," she said.
"How are you," Rick Perry replied.
Lyons asked Perry what he was doing at a physical therapy center.
"I've got a pain in the butt," he laughed. "Seriously - I've got some back pain."
Lyons was upfront with Perry that he was a former newspaper journalist. They chatted about running and South by Southwest. Perry told him his back problems stemmed from a spinal condition he had had since childhood. The two also chatted about the newspaper industry's woes. Perry told Lyons he doesn't like the anonymous comments newspapers allow at the end of their stories online.
Lyons asked Perry about the recent drama he sparked by blocking journalists on Twitter.
"Oh, I was just giving those guys a hard time," Perry laughed. "You know, the First Amendment cuts both ways."
And with that, Perry's time on the traction table was up. I told him he had a hard job and I didn't envy his position. He tapped me on the leg and said he'd had a nice visit.
Lyons wrote about his entire, surreal experience over at his blog.
-Aman Batheja
This is the stupidest story I have ever read! Not really a story or an interview! What a crock!
Posted by: BMar64 | March 15, 2011 at 02:45 PM
you should have asked him why he won't raise funds for jps county hospital. i have beat cancer,a heart attack,etc..but i am now in heart failur because of the under-funding of jps.the way the system is run is killing people in his county.if you get a chance please ask him for me. thank you
Posted by: Jack Williams | March 16, 2011 at 01:09 AM