LETTERS

In Praise of “Unsung Saints”



For the many years I have been reading D, I have been touched, shocked, amused, angered, and set to thought by many feature articles in this fine magazine. To date, however, I have never been made so proud of Dallas, the city of my birth, as I was by Richard West’s “Unsung Saints” [December] . West has taken the time to show us the real heart of Dallas, not the glitter of exclusive clubs and restaurants, the parking lots overflowing with BMWs and Mercedes, nor the throngs of “chic” people staking out the “in” places in which to see and be seen. On the contrary, he takes us behind the scenes and shows us some of the unseen people who make Dallas a city of which we can all be proud.

Certainly, Dallas would not be the same without a certain amount of exaggeration and glamour, but it is good to forget that aspect of the city for a moment and to look into ourselves. It is good to get our priorities in proper order and to offer up thanks to God for these and other “unsung saints” who make the lives of our less fortunate citizens a little easier, perhaps a bit happier, by extending a caring hand to hold, a place to stay, a warm meal, and most of all, love.

Thank you for showing us the better side of Dallas and for making us strive for the better good in ourselves, and for reminding us what Christmas is really all about.

Tom Starks

Richardson



Waco: tellers From the Front



The War In Waco has indeed heated up [“Inside Dallas,” November] with the people of Waco enlisting and coming to the aid of Vic Feazell. You would have had to have been dead not to know the issues in the district attorney’s race here. The working man and woman campaigned for Feazell, and he won his reelection bid handily.

Watching what law enforcement did to the Feazell family on September 17 outraged the people here. Planted, slanted news stories and grandstanding by the federal prosecutor and others in law enforcement only made them look worse.

The business with the syringes was a real joke too. Better be careful if you are diabetic or give your dogs their shots. You could have drug paraphernalia headlines too. It was a vulgar display of power and Vic Feazell is and always will be great in my book. Thank you for the article-most everyone else is interested only in empty, sensational headlines, not the truth. Thank you very much.

Barbara Fenwick

Waco



Thank you for your article written by Carlton Stowers on Waco District Attorney Vic Feazell. The Waco media has shown us only surface stories and hype. It would be a real surprise to see a real investigative report on Vic Feazell in Waco. The people of Waco reelected Vic Feazell on November 4, He remains the champion of the people in spite of media and law enforcement overkill.

I thank you and Stowers for showing the truth for a change. It is a shame that the people of Waco have to look to Dallas for a decent story.

Helen Jones

Waco



The Rest of the Story



Richard West [“Crime and More. More Punishment,” November] did not tell the whole story of the work of the Mayor’s Criminal Justice Task Force. Of course the Task Force dealt with crime and punishment issues. Who could ignore them?

Ofher issues such as crime prevenlion, rehabilitation, and alternatives to incarceration were studied by appropriate committees. Sound recommendations have been made in each area, such as drug and alcohol education programs K-12 in DISD. life coping skills training for offenders and (heir families, job training and employment counseling for offenders, and widespread dissemination of crime prevention information.

The task force did not “ignore history” and “concentrate on punitive rather than preventive measures.” We have simply been realistic about the current crisis and yet willing to propose a future in which crime prevention, rehabilitation, and alternatives to incarceration will be as important i” ’he overall justice system as are punitive programs.

Herbert V. Cooke, Jr.

Co-Chairman

Corrections Committee

Mayors Criminal Justice Task Force

Dallas



Another Side of the City



Thank you for “Deliverance or Delusion” and “Sins of the Fathers” (December]. Although we’d all like to think that Dallas comprises only successful and happy people, the sad truth is that so many fall victim to depression and acute denial of life and themselves at no fault of their own. Your articles prove to these people that they are not alone, that there is support from others who really understand, and that life does have a purpose for everyone: adult or child, big or small, straight or gay. We all have the right and the freedom to know and understand who we really are. Thank you once again.

Gary Walker

Dallas



I would like to say that I feel Katherine Dinsdale did a terrific job in creating what I feel was a very moving story [“Delusion or Deliverance”]. I was very touched and happy to find that there is hope for the gay community becoming “straight” or heterosexual. I myself am a very devoted Christian who follows what the Bible leads. I feel that homosexuality is a sickness and not a natural upbringing. To find out that someone is as open as Jim Pocta is about the fact that you can overcome this sickness fills my heart with joy.

Confessing to be a Christian can sometimes cause you to be considered an outcast, but not nearly as much as confessing to be gay. Therefore, to confess you were gay and now you’ve found Christ’s love for you is very commendable and I thank God for giving Pocta his courage. 1 would like to find out more about AIM, as in ways that I may be able to help, and to let Pocta know that he, his family, and ministry are in my prayers.

Velma Byford

Seagoville



Hooray for evangelists like Jim Pocta. Evangelism has all shapes and molds.

Ina Rubin

National Coordinator, North American Transvestite-Transsexual Contact Service Seattle, Washington



Staubach: Unnecessary Roughness?



I really enjoyed “The Tale of Our Overbuilt City” [November]. It is ironic that only two months ago we had the displeasure of trying to make a deal in our project with tenants who were represented by The Staubach Company. The repercussion of their image in Dallas has filtered down here in San Antonio. It is obvious that The Staubach Company has forgotten who pays their commissions. Wayne Swearingen said it best: “What comes around goes around.”

John D. Tobias

Director of Marketing

Murray Properties Company

San Antonio