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Rowland Cook says that while he was growing up, he knew his mother and father were no longer in love.
He says his father was having an affair with his secretary, who followed him from job to job and eventually became Rowland's stepmother. But his mother and father decided to stay together until the children were out of school in order to minimize the impact on them.
Years after the divorce, Cook was talking with DeDe, the former mistress who became his stepmother. She told Cook she hadn't minded waiting, but she didn't quite understand the timeline.
It seems the wait wasn't just for the children to finish high school, but for the youngest-Rowland-to complete law school.
Cook tells the story 37 years later as serious tale, but punctuates what he considers the punchline with a chuckle.
That's how Cook is. With a life full of events that many people would regard as crises-or at least disruptive-he takes them all in stride with a touch of humor.
By day Cook is a high-powered Austin lawyer, a shareholder in the Austin office of Jenkens & Gilchrist. He handles clients such as fast food company Schlotzsky's Inc. and pawn shop company EZ Corp. But once the legal briefs are put away, those around him say a surprising quirky side emerges.
His brother, Don Cook, will tell you at night he turns into an "outgoing party machine."
Before City Coliseum was demolished, it used to house a Carnaval celebration every February. The Cook brothers and their wives would dive into the sometimes hedonistic party until the wee hours.
Don Cook says at head of every conga line would be Rowland, dressed in a white suit with a white hat, garish scarves and a whistle around his neck for leading people along.
"People would say, 'by day he's a polite lawyer, but come night time at Carnaval...." Don Cook says.
They may not have seen him in the conga line, but Cook's sense of humor has made an impression on the young associates in his office.
Jenkens associate Alex Allemann got a firsthand impression thanks to the Human Calliope trick.
Allemann has been with the firm a few months and says at the holiday party, Cook taught him...