Richard Leslie Combs was born in Glendale, CA but grew up in Hereford, TX. “Dick”, as everyone came to know him, went on to attend Texas Tech, where he majored in architecture (and minored in golf!). After college he moved to Denver, CO for his first architectural job. Shortly thereafter he met and married Peggy Duffy. They had three wonderful, and eventually quite accomplished, children: Leslie, Patrick and Daniel. Dick was a founding partner in the Denver based architectural firm of Sink, Combs, Dethlefs. His primary role in the firm eventually became “the partner with the open door”, as many of the young or recent hires often sought his advice regarding a vast spectrum of issues. Dick and Peggy divorced in the late 90s, and in 2002 Dick met and married Sue Wayne. Following his retirement Dick and Sue lived in New Mexico for a short while, but eventually returned to both their Texas roots, settling in Austin, TX. Their new home was on a golf course and Dick enjoyed countless rounds of golf with his many new friends. Dick Combs was a man loved by many for his kindness, his wonderful sense of humor, and his extreme loyalty to friends and family.

“Grandpa” will be fondly remembered by grandchildren Sadie, Wynn, Davis, Quinn and Tillie; and, as he was known to them as “Duck”, Brendan, Sarah and Evan were among his greatest admirers. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation in Dick’s name to Hospice Austin online at hospiceaustin.org.

After opening the Women’s College World Series with a 4-0 win over Stanford, No. 1 Texas rolled to a second straight shutout win by blasting Florida 10-0 Saturday in a game shortened to five innings by the mercy rule at Oklahoma City’s Devon Park. Like freshman Teagan Kavan did against Stanford, Texas starter Mac Morgan threw a one-hitter against Florida. Texas (54-8), now 2-0 in the WCWS, needs one more win to reach the best-of-three championship series while No. 4 Florida (52-14) will try and stay alive against Alabama Sunday.

More: Texas softball vs. Florida: A preview, prediction for Women’s College World Series game

Final: Texas 10, Florida 0

In Texas’ biggest win ever in a Women’s College World Series game, the Longhorns got three home runs from its power-packed lineup and a one-hitter from starting pitcher Mac Morgan. The Longhorns look every bit the No. 1 team in the nation. Up next on Monday? Either UCLA or Stanford. – Thomas Jones

End 4: Texas 10, Florida 0

Absolute dominance by Texas, which is three outs from the win. Freshman Teagan Kavan threw a one-hitter in the WCWS opener on Thursday in a 4-0 win over Stanford. Can Mac Morgan do her one better? – Thomas Jones

Bottom 4: Texas 10, Florida 0

Texas freshman Katie Stewart shows off her raw power with a massive 3-run home run and Texas now has its most runs ever in a Women’s College World Series game. With the 8-run mercy rule looming, the Longhorns are three outs away from going 2-0 and moving within one more win of the championship series. Oh, and they’re ensured of staying on the opposite side of the Oklahoma bracket with a win. If we get OU vs. Texas, it will be in the championship series, as the laws of nature intended. – Thomas Jones

Bottom 4: Texas 6, Florida 0

Texas third baseman Mia Scott launches a solo home run, her 11th of the season and her third of the postseason. You saw the play at third the previous inning, you see the bat, you see the three All-Big 12 selections. So why didn’t she get a spot on one of the three All-American teams from the NFCA, which also had six at-large spots on each team? – Thomas Jones

Middle 4: Texas 5, Florida 0

That’s why they call it the hot corner. Texas third baseman Mia Scott snags a shot that was about 80 mph off the bat of Skylar Wallace, and that followed a nice play by second baseman Alyssa Washington covering first. The Gators do get their first base-runner against Texas pitcher Mac Morgan but still don’t have a hit. – Thomas Jones

End 3: Texas 5, Florida 0

Texas didn’t score that frame after leaving the bags loaded, but the Longhorns have scored five runs or more in an inning on 29 occasions this year, just like they did in the first. That’s helped the Horns play freely tonight. — Kirk Bohls

More: Texas softball remains loose, confident and dino-mite | Bohls

Middle 3: Texas 5, Florida 0

Texas starter Mac Morgan just in a dominant mode right now. She’s one of the most intense women athletes I’ve been around at Texas. And she’s getting superb defense behind her. — Kirk Bohls

Middle 3: Texas 5, Florida 0

Mac Morgan, who’s been rock-solid this entire postseason for Texas, matches her season-high with five strikeouts and has yet to allow a base-runner. She threw a no-hitter in the NCAA opener against Siena, but it’s too early to blog such things, right? And blogs are immune from jinxes, right? – Thomas Jones

More: Texas shortstop Viviana Martinez played for USA Softball, and it helped journey to WCWS

End 2: Texas 5, Florida 0

Florida’s Ava Brown, who came in for starter Keagan Rothrock during a disastrous first inning, retires the Texas side in order. OK, Brown has settled in for the Gators. Now, those bats need to do the same against Texas pitcher Mac Morgan. – Thomas Jones

Middle 2: Texas 5, Florida 0

Texas pitcher Mac Morgan is throwing those dropballs with some heat today and already has four strikeouts, which is just one shy of her season-high. A dandy, diving play by right-fielder Ashton Maloney also helped that inning. Six up, six down for the Gators. – Thomas Jones

Top 2: Texas 5, Florida 0

I really felt like Texas was uptight against Texas A&M and played tight in the super regional because all the pressure was on it. But they look loose and confident in this WCWS. — Kirk Bohls

End 1: Texas 5, Florida 0

Alyssa Washington greets new Florida pitcher Ava Brown with a moonshot into centerfield! That homer gives the Longhorns three more runs, and the Texas bats are certainly glad to have Stanford’s NiJaree Canady in the rearview mirror; the Horns beat Stanford 4-0 in the first game of the Women’s College World Series . – Thomas Jones

Bottom 1: Texas 2, Florida 0

Freshman Katie Stewart comes in and doubles to the wall to score Vivi Martinez, and that’s an early exit for Florida ace Keagan Rothrock. Wow, the Longhorn bats are smoking early, and there’s still two on with just one out. Ava Brown is now in the circle for Florida, moving over from first base. – Thomas Jones

Bottom 1: Texas 1, Florida 0,

The Longhorns open with a bang. Outfielder Bella Dayton hits leadoff for the second straight game and bangs a long single to the wall, reaches second on a sac bunt from Mia Scott, then scores on an RBI single by Vivi Martinez. That’s how Texas coach Mike White would draw it up, eh? – Thomas Jones

Middle 1: Florida 0, Texas 0

Texas is the designated home team, so Texas pitcher Mac Morgan gets her first crack at a Gator offense fourth in the nation in runs per game. Morgan gets 90% of her outs on groundballs, so of course the drop-ball pitcher gets a pop out and two strikeouts. Three up, three down. Now time for Texas. – Thomas Jones

Mac Morgan gets start for Texas

After throwing in all three games during Texas’ series win over Texas A&M in last week’s super regionals, junior pitcher Mac Morgan will get the start against Florida. Morgan, 15-1 on the season, boasts a 1.99 ERA with just 38 strikeouts and 22 walks. She’s a contact hitter that forces lots of ground balls, so expect a busy day for third baseman Mia Scott, shortstop Vivi Martinez and second baseman Alyssa Washington. In 13.1 innings last week against the Aggies, Morgan gave up 11 hits and five runs. Florida will counter with freshman phenom Keagan Rothrock, who’s among the nation’s leaders in wins, complete-games and innings pitched. – Thomas Jones

Listen, a song can’t fix everything. People might not be sold on “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” or whatever three little birds are telling them. But reggae was largely protest music; disco was a refusal to step out of the spotlight; and even the blues gave folks the freedom to express how un-free they were. How it makes you feel is important, and the importance often flies under the radar.

Admittedly, this may all be over-intellectualizing Austin artist Jon Muq’s approach, but that’s part of the beauty of it. By reiterating in interviews that his music is supposed to make people happy, the singer-songwriter from Uganda is employing a simplified marketing strategy that isn’t so common nowadays — and it’s working.

Muq has been featured in writing at NPR, Paste Magazine, Spin, and tons of other blogs and regional publications. He’ll also be making his Austin City Limits Music Festival debut in 2024. “I’ve always admired the ACL ever since I moved to Austin 6.5 years ago,” he wrote on Instagram. “It’s about time.”

On May 31, he released his anticipated debut album, Flying Away, produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. With all this lead-up, listeners might expect a dramatic bursting onto the scene, but the gentle and pleasant tunes slide in smoothly and continue throughout.

This sunny, retro look suits Muq’s happy and tasteful songwriting.Album cover courtesy of Jon Muq

Most write-ups across Muq’s career mention Afropop; The style is certainly present, especially in the buoyant “Shake, Shake,” a mid-tempo dance track built on staccato guitar textures and, appropriately, at least one shaker. But this is global pop, sung in English (one of the singer’s seven languages) and likely unplaceable to most casual listeners in his new hometown.

“Uganda has 50 tribes and English is an official [language], but it’s not that [big] a priority,” said Muq in an interview with CultureMap in April. “So meaning, people will understand the music differently. Maybe ‘Shake, Shake,’ people dance. And my English vocabulary is not that big. So that’s why all my songs are direct and simple so that someone elsewhere can understand easily.”

Semi-incognito African influences woven through include ukulele and percussion instruments from Uganda on most of the tracks.

“I always appreciated that African sound, most especially from Uganda,” “And since I sang English, the whole idea was to mix up two things at the same time to come up with a vibe. That’s where the Afropop comes in.”

Muq’s amazing journey from Uganda to ACL hinges on two accidentally pivotal videos. The first was his original discovery: He used to busk on the streets of Kampala, Uganda’s capital city and his hometown, collecting funds for homeless children. Someone posted a video of him singing, and Norwegian Cruise Line found their next entertainment hire.

Cruise contracts can be huge for artists, who aren’t paying for rent or food while onboard, and Muq was ready to sign another. But by the time they landed in the Bahamas, Muq decided he wouldn’t actually be flying home. He looked up events in the United States, and was struck by one at Casa Marianella, an Austin nonprofit that shelters displaced immigrants.

“I didn’t know anything about Austin, except that there is city that’s called Austin,” says Muq. “I called the number, saying ‘Can I come sing for free on your fundraiser?’”

Once at Casa Marianella, Muq met his roommates, a couple who he says “took him in.” In the morning, he asked why he was seeing so many people walking around with guitars, and learned about South by Southwest. Whenever the couple left the house, Muq would practice the guitar, eventually learning The Beatles’ “Blackbird” and recording the second video that changed his professional trajectory. This time, after three years, the discoverer was Auerbach.

“I just believe every system that’s there is there for a reason. And if you feel like you have a song that you’ve created or something good you have created just post it,” says Muq. “Not for the sake that someone will discover it, but some people watch; That’s why those social media things exist. And you never know who are watching.”

This assuredness is all over Flying Away, full of yearning, yet laid-back tracks like the vaguely funky “Runaway,” the soulful and upbeat “Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying,” and the ever-so-slightly gospel tinged “Love, Love, Love,” where Auerbach’s piano playing really locks in and takes a spotlight. Whatever diversity exists between tracks, this is tea-sipping music. Rainy days and sunsets are a bonus.

When asked if he makes happy music because he is happy, or because he wishes to be happy, Muq posits:

“Yeah, me as a person, I feel happy because [of] growing up differently, where I always ate one meal a day. [Now in] a place that has too much food and all the choices you can make? I’ll never be sad. I don’t have a reason to ever be sad at all. Even if we live in the world of demand and expectation, and wanting more and more, how can you still be happy? I think it’s possible to be happy without expectations of more and more stuff. So through music, I make sure all the songs I write about are about joy and happiness.”

Austinites looking for some of that joy and happiness can find it on Flying Away, now streaming and for sale on various platforms. Signed vinyls ($25) and CDs ($11) are also available via easyeyesound.com. See Jon Muq at the O4 Center on June 7 before he embarks on an international tour and festival circuit. Next time he’ll be back is for Austin City Limits on Saturday, October 5.