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LET’R RIP

By D Magazine |

Magazines, like politicians, serve as many things to many people. That was brought home to us immediately after our February issue hit the stands with Mark Donald’s story “Suddenly Single.” Before we could say “let’s just split the tab,”or “I’ll settle for affectionate, non-orgasmic petting, thanks,” we knew that Donald struck a nerve with his Everysingle’s odyssey through the labyrinth of the lovelorn: letters, we got letters, from quite a handful of ladies who wanted to confer with Donald about the merits of his story-preferably over dinner, drinks, a movie, what have you. Phone numbers included.

Since these letters were sent to D, which does not function as Mr. Donald’s private dating service, we thought we’d advance the dialogue between the sexes, which can always use some advancing, by sharing excerpts from a few of these heartfelt missives:

“In your search for a new companion, don’t forget that there are still some pretty great women around who don’t care if you drive a Hyundai or a Mercedes; who wear underwear purchased at Fotey’s and not Frederick’s of Hollywood; who enjoy nice quiet conversations about whether or not Nancy is going to die on ’thirty-something,’ and most of all, who can look good with or without Extra Strength Mousse and glow-in-the-dark lip gloss.”

“The hardware store is a good place to find men. I’m often at Home Depot when they open on Saturday morning. I’m looking for toggle bolts and grout saws and mitre boxes. . . Forget eligible men; I have house repairs to attend to.”

“I’ve read the singles sections of the papers. Aside from not being able to figure out the SLMs and BVDs, I smoke, drink, and am too old.”

“I thoroughly enjoyed the article and can certainly relate to the situation. Your ability to place your first personal ad under the guise of D Magazine is very clever. I’ll take the bait and also enclose a photo-sorry, it’s from an old Sam’s Wholesale Club card.”

“I would imagine that last line about ’looking for a few good women’has resulted in a barrage of mail (though it’s doubtful that blonde in the red leather could string three sentences together). . . If this letter sounds as if the author is someone you’d like to meet, I’d love to hear from you.”

Glad we could oblige, Mark. As for your story idea on the changing singles scene at certain Caribbean resorts-give us a little while to think about that one, huh?



Pride and Prejudice

Re: Ruth Fitzgibbons’s edit orial regarding “A World of Difference” [February]. Her comment that “as a community we did not stand idle, fiddling while synagogues burned” bears examining in light of the following: one of the worst hate crimes to occur in Dallas in recent times was the murder of two gay men. The outrage of this crime was intensified by the behavior of Judge Jack Hampton. If his bigoted comments had been directed toward an African-American or a Jewish-American, I feel there would have been such an outcry that he would have been compelled to resign within a few days. Instead, some Dallas civic leaders said nothing, and he continues to have support in powerful places. Although the desecration of a temple or cross burnings are horrible affronts to groups that have suffered greatly as minorities, can anyone argue that they are less than the loss of life? Given what I’ve described above, I find it difficult to share Fitzgibbons’s pride in Dallas.

THOMAS LEIGHTON NEAL

DALLAS



Kudos To Brown



I was deeply moved by Joyce Ann Brown’s article [“Nine Years, Five Months, and Twenty-Five Days”] in your February issue. I truly believe she has a great potential to succeed in a writing career. Her story is couched in simple language, is direct and to the point, yet is not cheapened by sensationalism. Best of all, it is a true story.

MARK E. FARLEY

GARLAND



Chants Encounter



Kalachandji’s Restaurant and Palace, reviewed in the “Around the World in Fifty Restaurants” article [February], is an establishment owned and operated by the Hare Krishnas. The “blissed-out dining experience” you described is offered by a sect considered by most to be a destructive cult, which uses deceptive recruiting tactics, mind control, emotional deprivation of children, and, in a few cases, has been involved in felony criminal activity.

BARBARA HOROWITZ

CULT AWARENESS COUNCIL

DALLAS



A World Apart



I live in the city of Dallas. I pay taxes in Dallas- My mail is addressed to me, here in Dallas. So why does Betty Cook’s February review of the Bishop Arts Cafe make me feel like I live in a different country?

“Again the question arises,” writes Cook. “Will Dallas diners cross the river to sample a delightful dining experience in Oak Cliff?”

Here’s a flash, Betty: thousands of Dallas diners (like me) don’t have to “cross the river” to eat in Oak Cliff. We do it every night.

Driving to this part of Dallas may be an “inconvenience” for some of your readers, but please acknowledge the fact that unless you change the title of your magazine (North D?), you have an obligation to help end the journalistic segregation of Oak Cliff.

WALT ZWIRKO

DALLAS

Closing Arguments

Re: February’s “Thumbs Down,” “Sour Notes at the Mort.” Had you bothered to do any investigation of the injuries suffered by my client Lauren Charbonneau, a violinist with the Dallas Symphony, you would have learned that the loss of her finger occurred while she was making room for another member of the symphony to pass through the door. The heavy steel door had a powerful and rapid automatic closer on it that was described by many members of the symphony as a “guillotine.” In fact, immediately after this accident, the city came in and altered the closing mechanism so that it now closes more slowly to give people time to get out of the way. If there wasn’t something wrong with the door, why do you suppose the city immediately changed the manner in which it closes after this injury?

Rather than be responsible, you chose to play the popular tune of a litigious society. You will, of course, never lose readers in Dallas by condemning people for filing a lawsuit.

Coyt Randal Johnst

Dallas



Even the least talented of professional hacks should possess the imagination to assess the danger to a professional violinist’s career from the loss of part of a bow arm finger, as well as the wit to discern possible culpability in the construction process of a large and complicated building.

It is a disservice to the musicians of the DSO that your writer was unable to summon up either of these qualities, ordinarily so useful to those in your professio

James Lond

Musici

Dallas Symphony Orchestra



More On That Beaver Cleaver School

With reference to “The “Apartment Kids’ and a Beaver Cleaver School” [January], Laura Miller’s biases led to a one-sided column. The plight of the “apartment kids” is presented with abundant and properly placed empathy and understanding. I agree that many come from regrettably disadvantaged circumstances.

By contrast, however, the neighborhood people are portrayed as one-dimensional, cookie-cutter clones who cannot see beyond their privileged lifestyles. They are seen at best as silly anachronisms and at worst as meddlesome, repressive elitists.

Why do we not welcome the invasion of the apartment kids? Not because of feelings of superiority. I assure you. Most of us were apartment dwellers at some point in our lives. Rather, they disrupt the school with their random comings and goings. Their presence precludes us from giving our children the educational experiences we value, such as field trips.

Why won’t we allow our children to attend their parlies? Not because we’re snobs, but because we don’t know the parents or home environments our children will be entering.

Do we see the situation differently than teachers and administrators? So it seems. But consider that it’s our children and our neighborhood. They live elsewhere.

JOHN D. KENNELL

DALLAS



I went to White Rock Elementary and grew up in that neighborhood. I have always loved that area and now I am ashamed and embarrassed. Where do those parents get off thinking that the children from the apartments are not worthwhile?

The fact that the PTA rejected the idea for the Giving Tree and that they held their Santa Shop on a Saturday so the “apartment kids” wouldn’t see it is absolutely the most selfish and snobby thing I have ever heard of! God bless the caring teachers who give their hand-me-downs to children who need them. That is the White Rock Elementary School that I fondly remember.

SUSAN SOUTTER GILLEN

TUCKER, GEORGIA



I was one of the “apartment kids” that Laura Miller described in her article. I went to Forest Meadow Junior High School in 1983, and I lived in Forest Springs apartments with my older sister and her husband. While the kids I went to school with were nice enough to me, their parents treated me as if I had a disease.

My best friend’s father was VP of a now-defunct bank, and her mother was a consummate housewife/volunteer. They would not let their daughter visit me at home or spend the night simply because I lived in an apartment. (Although I was “welcome anytime” to visit their $350,000 home.) I suppose they, and other parents like them, thought that their children would somehow be contaminated by any contact with us apartment kids.

The contrary proved to be true. This apartment kid went on to graduate in the top 10 percent of her high school class and Arts Magnet. 1 am graduating from Texas Women’s University in May and starting law school in August. On the other hand, my best friend moved away from home to move in with her boyfriend before she even finished high school, and she has never gone to college.

TAMMY S. WOOD

GRAPEVINE

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