Nothing slaps you in the face harder than another reminder you're getting old. My latest sting of reality came last week on an otherwise innocent stroll amid the walls of the newly renovated Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History over at the Brazos Center. There, hanging with other artifacts of years gone by, were photos of men I know, men I've worked with, men I've tipped a glass or two of ale with, men who I learned not to end sentences with prepositions from.

When you see photos of former colleagues hanging just steps away from the bones of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, knee joints just spontaneously throb. It made me yearn to go home for a Ben-Gay treatment and a bowl of Cream of Wheat.

But the lure of the exhibit called Texas Writers and J. Frank Dobie: Texan Legend, kept me focused and I pressed on. Taking short, choppy steps, I looked down my bifocals at the fascinating descriptions of the works of old sports-writing acquaintances turned famous novelists -- men such as Bud Shrake, Gary Cartwright and Dan Jenkins. These are guys I knew, idolized and wished I could have plagiarized when I was a young sports scribe serving time at the Irving Daily News. They are indeed part of this offering of the museum that features authors, books and quotations from Texas-born book writers, playwrights, film writers and more.

It's anchored by the history of the life of the legendary Texas folklorist J. Frank Dobie, the master of rural Texas writings and thorn in the side of more than a few Texas politicians.

The exhibit will stay at the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History until March 31. The museum is open Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 776-2195 or go to www.brazosvalleymuseum.org.

Consol Tiger on Broadway

Former A&M Consolidated students making it big in the Big Apple is nothing new. Emily Pulley and Sasha Cook are both veterans of the Metropolitan Opera. Now, 1994 Consol grad Tommy Sadoski is rehearsing for his first major Broadway role as the male lead in Neil LaBute's Reasons to be Pretty. The play opens April 2 at the Lyceum Theater. It played to rave reviews off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theater since last spring, with Sadoski playing the part of Greg. To take the Broadway role, Sadoski has had to give up his role in the Second Stage Theater production of Becky Shaw. It was scheduled to close Feb. 2, but was extended to mid-March, conflicting with his new play's rehearsals, which started last Tuesday.

Sadoski is an alum of 'Magination Station, StageCenter and the Navasota Theatre Alliance. He began his professional career 11 years ago and has been seen in several off-Broadway and regional theater works, as well as on Broadway in Reckless with Mary-Louise Parker and Rosie Perez. His big screen credits include Loser with Jason Biggs, Happy Hour and Winter Solstice with Anthony LaPaglia. His latest film, The New Twenty, will open next month at the Quad Cinema in Greenwich Village.

Sadoski is the son of Mark and Carol Sadoski of College Station.

TROUPE's Big Week

Brazos Valley TROUPE has a full week planned, starting Monday night with "TROUPE Night Out" at the Aggie women's basketball game with Oklahoma at Reed Arena. The public is invited to a meeting of the TROUPE Travel Club Thursday at 7 p.m. at their theater, where they will discuss upcoming trips to watch other musical theater -- specifically Houston's Theatre Under the Stars and Alley Theatre, as well as their annual trip to New York City. The theater is at 3705 E. 29th St.

On Friday, TROUPE is on stage at the Christian Life Center of First United Methodist Church in Bryan. Ebony Overtures is its annual salute to Black History Month. Doors open at 6 p.m. with dinner at 6:30, along with a silent auction that benefits TROUPE's scholarship fund. The show starts at 7 p.m. with a lineup that includes Karan Chavis, Eugene-Eugene, Harold Presley, the Marion Anderson String Quartet, M. A. Sterling, Tracy Taylor and the TROUPErdores. Tickets are $30 (or $50 for couples) and can be purchased at the Arts Council at 2275 Dartmouth St. in College Station, or at Troupe's Theater during Youth session hours.

Save the date

* Sunday: Plein Aire Painting Workshop with V. Vaughan, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mud Creek Pottery, 407 Main St., Calvert. (979-450-6367, cecelia-throughmyeyes.blogspot.com).

* Sunday: Unity Theater in Brenham presents Master Class. (979-830-8358, unitybrenham.org)

* Sunday-March 13: The Forsyth Center Galleries presents "Art from Real Life: TAMU Students Collect." (forsyth.tamu.edu, 845-9251)

* Monday-Feb. 28: Arts Council of Brazos Valley presents "Arts of Asia II," The Texas Gallery, 2275 Dartmouth St., College Station. (696-2787, acbv.org)

* Monday-March 31: Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History presents "Texas Writers and J. Frank Dobie: Texan Legend," Brazos Center. (brazosvalleymuseum.org, 776-2195)

* Thursday: Community Chamber Concerts presents Brooklyn Rider with Kathryn Woodard, 7:30 p.m. Rudder Theater (communitychamberconcerts.org)

* Thursday-March 8: Navasota Theatre Alliance presents George Washington Slept Here, Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. (936-825-3195, nta-stage.org)

* Thursday-March 1: The Theatre Company presents Chicago. (779-1302, theatrecompany.com)

* Saturday: MSC Opas Jr., presents The Ant & The Elephant, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., Rudder Theater. (845-1234, mscopas.org)

* Tom Turbiville is The Eagle's arts columnist. He's also sports director for WTAW-1620AM Radio. E-mail him at tom.turbiville@ theeagle.com.