The Idle American Norman V. Horner is a retired educator who doesnât really care whether folks call him âDr.â or not. His distinguished career--plus his 40 articles in professional journals and his leadership in scholarly organizations--suggest that heâs been worthy of his degree for a long time. A Brown County native, Horner earned A.A., B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, respectively, from Tarleton State (then Junior) College, two from the former University of North Texas and his doctorate from Oklahoma State University. Most of us would need help to pronounce--much less understand--all the multi-syllabic words employed by this distinguished educator. He rose from the role of instructor to Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics during his tenure at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls (1971-2006). Mild-mannered and Christ-centered, he is at once humble, modest, agreeable and engaging, even chuckling when folks refer to him as âthe spider man.ââ¦