EDITORS’ NOTEBOOK

In Dallas, blood will tell – but so will oil, transistors, computers and Friends in High Places. There’s a whole ritual to society. We chose A.C. Greene to spell it out in our Social Climbers Handbook. After all, he has been an observer of Dallas’ movers and shakers (and Highland Park women) for many years, as an author, book editor and editorial page editor of the Times Herald and com

mentator for Channel 13 – even if he’s not in the Social Directory. We didn’t list him on page 62, but he easily could have been added to that list of names who will make your party a success if they attend.

This story has not been easy to write. After all, many of our friends fall into the “made it” or “still climbing” categories. But Dallas society, like Dallas itself, is flashy and up-front – D Magazine can’t ignore “the biggest game in town.”

I guess A.C. puts it best: “Society, with or without a Capital S, is no big deal. It’s just a form of coffee break – people brought together by chance, choice or circumstances. People sharing something, some attitude or some attribute.”

A.C. & Associates wormed contributions from many people for this story. Some didn’t realize they were contributing, but that’s part of the game. Some realized too late and tried to take their comments back. But most funny were the ones who called D Magazine to find out if their names were included. We never tell.

Then we had the additional problem of too much information – and some of it was so tacky. The few insiders who had the chance to study our notes couldn’t believe some of those things. One staffer suggested we forget about trying to write a story and just publish the unedited notes. But we couldn’t do that.

One story we never did get was to be called “I’m a Snob and I Like It That Way.” This was supposed to get into such things as “I don’t like the tablecloths at Old Warsaw” and “It always smells like cabbage above the fifth floor at 3525” and “I keep fresh chocolate mousse in the frig” etc. We had several candidates to write the story but Doon-er Doyle was out of town (again) and no one else was willing to let his name go on the story. Maybe next time.

Our social climber, on the cover and throughout the story, is Elaine Butler. She’s not a debutante. (Much too pretty, Darling.) That’s Elaine sipping champagne through a straw, going off to Hockaday, reading the society pages and imitating the monkeys on the no-no list. Despite fatigue and rope burns, she did a terrific job. And she’s not the only social climber to get burned or fatigued and to be left hanging there.

More than anything else, we want to thank you all for your help. I’ll just name a few – Ann, Lupe, Annette, Bil-lie, Juanita, Sis, Carla, Mimi, Louise, Melba, Janet, Val, Wanda, Jeanne, Jane, Judy, Patsy, Mary, Martha, Man-dy, Betty, Nancy and Evelyn. What would we ever do without you? And don’t forget Bobby, Charles, Nelson, Carl, Norman, Dick, Angus, Webster, Blair, Blake, Ed, David, Herman, Fred, Bill, John, Jake, Trav, Erle, Henry, Shannon, Stuart and Jim. And everyone else. You’ve been invaluable. Even if we’re sure you’ll deny having helped us.



A few late entries to squeeze into the editor’s notebook when we ran out of room in the handbook:

“The big question is, ’Will Charley Pride be asked to be a member of Preston Trail?’ Everyone out there loves him but. . . .”

“It’s so in to have the shampoo girls call you by your first name.”

“Old society editors don’t die. They just sober up.”

“You don’t want to be seen at the Pawn Shop. One of those bronze medallions might hit you in the teeth.”

“Did you hear? Ann Draper whitewashed Wanda’s name off the autograph wall at Party Service.”



Such fun. Who else tells you these things, as Suzy says.