My Personal Picks
One of the great things about being publisher is that I get to choose my own Bests and Worsts.
BEST PUBLIC ART: Until the Nasher Garden opens, the most exciting display of sculpture is up in Frisco, where Craig Hall has installed a permanent collection of contemporary Texas sculpture at his office park off the Tollway. Under the direction of Patricia Meadows, the works of 38 Texas artists dot the office park’s windswept landscape. (When I say windswept, I mean it: I’d guess there’s an average 10 mph steady blow.) Contemporary art can be unpredictable in quality, but in a collection that ranges from the whimsical to the solemn, Meadows has maintained a consistent standard of excellence that is almost as impressive as the works themselves.
BEST VANITY BOOK: Dallas author and D Magazine contributor A.C. Greene has written a wonderful memoir called Chance Encounters about fortuitous meetings, lucky run-ins, celebrity sightings, and dramatic moments. Life couldn’t be this strange, but when the subject is someone with A.C.’s curiosity and verve, strange things are bound to happen. And they do.
WORST VANITY BOOK: A Dallas equity fund manager named Robert Haas has decided to be a wildlife photographer. His fourth self-published book, Ten Days on the Chobe, shows that he could have what it takes: some of his pictures are evocative, sharp-edged, and even poignant. Unfortunately, he also decided he is an author and a philanthropist. The result is a text so grossly self-centered and egotistical that the photos pale beside it. As for the philanthropy, Mr. Haas says he donated 18,000 copies of the book to members of the FDNY and victims of September 11th. Imagine if you will: at 50 coffee-table-sized books per box, a truck pulled up to FDNY headquarters with 360 boxes of Mr. Haas’ creativity. Note to rich boors who have written and produced their own books: next time, send a check.
BEST PEDIATRIC RESPONSE: When confronted with a problem, most organizations react defensively. Not Children’s Medical Center. Our child was scheduled for surgery at Children’s, but when hours of delay stretched into an entire afternoon with no explanation, my wife walked. When Children’s administrators were alerted to the problem, Dr. Brett Giroir, the chief medical officer, investigated personally and got back to us with an apology and an answer.
WORST PEDIATRIC RESPONSE: Our experience at Children’s may have been atypical but it was also fortunate. As it turned out, the surgeon who was supposed to operate on our daughter, Dr. Michael Biavati, had failed to warn us of risks associated with that particular surgery for someone with her condition. When he recommended that we move the operation to another institution, we told him to take a hike instead.
BEST CIVIC ASSET: Laura Miller has latched onto a wacky idea to solve the city’s budget problems: sell off assets, starting with the frequency of city-owned classical station WRR. Let’s see where that could lead. For example, why not sell off Fair Park or White Rock Lake? Is this what our city has come to, that we’ll grab a temporary fix at any cost? There was a time, not too long ago, when the idea was to build a city that we could proudly pass on to the generations. Now the best we can do is to cash in what the generations before bequeathed to us?
WORST CAMPAIGN TRICK: Three days before the Republican primary last March, a mail-delivered flier from DA candidate David Finn declared, “Justice is for sale by our District Attorney.” The copy accused DA Bill Hill of blocking prosecution of a spousal abuse case against a campaign contributor. We had endorsed Finn, so after the election I felt an obligation to check out the accusation with the police, the family, and local prosecutors. It was a lie, and David Finn had known it was a lie. The voters were smarter than we were: they rejected Finn by more than 3-1. Do us a favor, David. Run again. Give us a chance to redeem ourselves.
