Half-nervous, half-energized, and with my hands half-paralyzed by the fear of my upcoming assignment, I navigated the darkening dirt roads. My headlights summoned eerie shadows beyond the rice fields of Beaumont. My editor hadn't answered my calls, and it seemed like he didn't care. Yet there I was, a Houstonian well aware of how Texans treat trespassers, on a quest to find a countryside address I had located in a phonebook. My mission? To ask this mysterious figure if he was indeed purchasing a cherished local golf course to save it from closure. As I embarked on this 2016 road trip from Houston to Southeast Texas, I felt a strange mixture of fear and determination. You might wonder who I am and why I'm headed to cover the Philadelphia Eagles for The Athletic. So, while we're on this journey, let's toss those two bags of laundry from the passenger seat and venture together. NFR live