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LETTERS

By D Magazine |

Cheers And Jeers For “Best And Worst”



Media references seem to abound like never before in this year’s edition of “Best & Worst” [January}, and unfortunately when you took your shot at our newspaper, your pen misfired.

The so-called quote from an issue of Park Cities People was an intentional filler in a sixteen-page promotional flyer (designed to look like a newspaper) that was conceived by our ad agency to tout our new subscription drive.

Furthermore, that flyer was distributed in August 1985, not 1986. You could have made the same mistake last year and gotten it over with! Our award for sloppiest “Best & Worst” reporting goes to. . .

Reid M. Slaughter

Publisher & Editor

Park Cities People



The Editors Reply:

Our item, in which we reprinted your garbled copy, never stated that the source was the newspaper itself. As for the matter of the year, well, 9eigu9dkowotudij20983-sikdjd;s.



Even though you stated that “Best Barber” Louis could make a balding journalist look like Frankie Avalon, after thirteen years of repeated requests, he has yet to make me look like Robert Redford.

One thing, among many, that you over- | looked; Louis is a gentleman! During all these years, amidst the banter of barbershop bull, I’ve never heard him say a harsh word about anybody. Here’s to Louis!

Don Wingard

Dallas



I thoroughly enjoy your Best & Worst edition every year, but this year I feel you pulled something out of your hat just to have a space filler for your “Worst 7-Eleven Store-Y.”

Your assumption that Southland execs were “ever mindful to avoid even the hint of scandal” is just that. Southland happens to be the sponsor of the U.S. Cycling Team, and with an ever-increasing interest in cy- cling, Southland decided to sponsor the citywide Bike Ride because Dallas never had such an event. I know this because I designed the logo, brochure, T-shirt, posters, ads, etc., for the event and was in on all the ’ meetings early on. And as far as racing being strictly forbidden, that was because it was a twenty-one-mile ride for the public, not a race for professionals. Southland sponsors enough of those around the country every year for those who like to race.

Joseph Galate

Dallas



Parkland And The AIDS Problem



Katherine Dinsdale’s article on Dr. Barbara [“A Second Opinion For Parkland’s AIDS Doctor” February] stated that AIDS Clinic samples are lost at a higher rate than samples from other clinics and that nervous “lab techs ’lose’ some samples rather than taking the risk of handling them.”

It was becoming a chronic problem that all clinic samples were not reaching the laboratories-this was a problem with all clinics, not just AIDS. To solve the problem, the Outpatient Clinic Laboratory technologists on the first floor (who draw and process the majority of samples to be taken to the specific laboratories on the ground floor) now personally deliver samples to the specific laboratories and sign a log sheet of all samples delivered. The ground floor laboratories and the Outpatient Laboratory do not have control over samples personally drawn by physicians and/or medical students that are supposedly brought down to the laboratories. In my seven and a half years of experience as an American Society of Clinical Pathologists certified medical technologist, I have never seen a sample thrown away because of the disease that the patient has, or is believed to have. We are all highly aware of the importance of the laboratory tests on AIDS patients and we treat their samples as we do all others-in a professional manner-both technically and ethically.

Patricia Kutscher

Senior Medical Technologist

Clinical Immunology Laboratory

Dallas



SMU: Trouble On The Hilltop



I want to express my admiration for your prescient SMU cover story [“Can It Make The Leap To Greatness,” December). I am certain that it has been and will be extremely helpful. There is now an opportunity to discuss a sports program for SMU that is appropriate for a major university, but it will take all the powers of persuasion that all of us can muster to bring about significant change.

Carter Murphy

Department of Economics

SMU



As a student at Southern Methodist University, I was understandably dismayed by the results of the student survey in the December issue. I was quite surprised to discover where my contemporaries stood on sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. Imagine, fifty-eight students enrolled at SMU who are unfamiliar with Carly Simon! Heavens to Betsy! Wasn’t she once married to Starke Taylor?

Paula Selzer

Dallas



I enjoyed your article about SMU and its dreams of greatness. However, considering the amount of effort your writers expended in comparing SMU to other “top tier” schools, I was surprised by the neglect of a “top tier” school already here in Texas. Except for a couple of passing references, no mention was made of Rice. Had it been included in your data boxes (“average freshman SAT scores,” “student-faculty ratio,” etc.) it would have surpassed SMU in all categories, and frequently tied or beaten Stanford or Princeton.

Now I’m sure this was merely an oversight on the part of your writers and not a result of any lingering Dallas provincialism. I’m sure D Magazine is sophisticated enough to recognize the fact that Texas already has a top tier university, even if it is in (gasp!) Houston.

Marc Hairston

Richardson



Hats Off To Baskett



Thanks for your story by Jann Baskett [“Cat Without A Hat,” February). I happen to be one of those rare birds who wears “real” hats. They provide needed warmth or cooling, depending on the season, and they look great. However, if you insist on wearing fedoras or snap-brim caps in the Metro-plex, come prepared with a secure ego or very thick skin. While my friends have become accustomed to my hats, all of them felt compelled to comment at first. Interestingly, the patterns of comments are gender-related. Female comments are uniformly positive while males lean toward negatives and sarcasm: “Who do you think you are, Indiana Jones?”

Some of us endure the negatives and enjoy the positives. But as a local minority, we certainly stand out.

Ralph G. Carter

Dallas

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