A few months ago, just as John Kerry began to dominate the Democratic presidential primary races, John O’Neill lay in bed at Houston’s Methodist Hospital, recovering from surgery he’d undergone to donate a kidney to his wife, Anne. It’s rare that a husband can successfully donate organs to his wife,…
Unbuttoned-Down Muse An anti-slam crowd takes to verse Are there two words in the English language more ill-suited for each other than “poetry” and “Republicans”? But Republicans, we have learned, are tricky: Just when you think you have them all sussed out, they dispatch a curious specimen of the order…
It’s been a while since Buzz checked in with Belo. Maybe that’s because the new, well-received managing editor at the The Dallas Morning News, George Rodrigue, has so far impressed newsroom naysayers. (Note to them: You know Buzz appears every week, don’t you?) Finally, though, word comes of recent unrest…
Whole Lotta Bull Death-defying: Great article (“Bull Riding,” by John Gonzalez, July 22); besides big-wave surfers and race car drivers, you ask, who else risks their life in pursuit of sport? Bull riders–one man, 130 to 200 pounds, against a 1,500- to 2,000-pound bull full of testosterone and vinegar. And…
It begins, as it always does, with a dream. A kid grows up wanting to be a baseball player. He sleeps with his glove beneath his pillow, his bat next to his bed. His walls are adorned with posters of players; his drawers are filled with their baseball cards. He…
TX Eff U Was Channel 11’s TXU report shocking or old news? Channel 11 investigative reporter Robert Riggs sits on a Florida beach, talking on his cell phone while on vacation, trying to explain how his story two weeks ago caused a huge one-day sell-off of TXU stock. “We were…
Over the weekend, the news flashed all over the world. The Guardian in London, the Star Phoenix in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CNN and The Washington Post all ran stories saying that charges against Joanne Webb, infamous dildo saleswoman of Burleson, have been dropped by the Johnson County Attorney Bill Moore. In…
It’s hard to decide which legend is bigger–Greg Noll or the famous wave he battled like some Hemingway character decked out in striped board shorts and a scowl. Noll is a surfing god and long since retired, but both of those things are due as much to his lifetime spent…
A Bunch of Crape An ugly eyesore: I fervently hope that whoever vandalized Norma Minnis’ house is caught and punished appropriately–preferably by having to remove the graffiti with paint remover and a toothbrush (Buzz, by Patrick Williams, July 15). That sort of behavior has no excuse. BUT!!! The story is…
The last time Patty Clarke talked to Suzanna Wamsley, the Christmas season was just beginning. Her neighbor was on her way to purchase some pretty towels for an elderly lady moving into an assisted living facility. Typical Suzanna. If a neighbor had a death in the family, sweet, upbeat Suzanna…
Riding Coattails Friends of Bill take his case to the cineplex Usually, the films produced and released by Regent Entertainment go straight to cable, then to the video-store discount racks; such is the inevitable fate of fare starring Jack Wagner, Lorenzo Lamas, Adrienne Barbeau, Bruce Boxleitner and other Love Boat…
You think you have problems in your neighborhood? Crack houses? Rat-infested vacant lots? Listen, wuss, you don’t know how mean the mean streets of the city can get, and if you don’t want to find out, then don’t ever, ever touch one bloom on a crape myrtle. Someone should have…
Restart the Insanity Remember Susan Powter–the brash, blond, buzz-cut Dallas soccer mom who was screaming “Stop the insanity!” on her weight-loss infomercials in the ’90s, like some sorta inverse Richard Simmons? Well, she lives in Seattle now, has grown her hair long, has converted to lesbianism and is making a…
Dastardly DART Officer unfriendly: I’m so glad that you have brought to the public’s attention DART’s “blind eye” attitude toward the public (“DART Guns,” by Jim Schutze, July 8). I’ve been riding DART off and on for about 15 years (depending on my car situation). Although my experiences were not…
The bass pulses in my bones, causing my hips to thrust involuntarily to the beat. Most nights, this is not a particularly rhythmic activity for me; it’s more of a seismic anomaly than a dance move. Tonight is different. I’m poured into my best Italian suit. I’m recording urbane observations…
Home Suh-weet Home Preserve history, get a tax breakis that a bad deal? It’s a beautiful home the Pattersons have. Sits on nearly five acres of land just off a gravel path near Wendover Road in Lakewood. The home–with its six fireplaces, four bedrooms and bathrooms, and three porches, two…
Listen up, conservative people, could you please give the ol’ Buzzer a break and stop being so damned nice and reasonable when we call you? It would make our job–i.e., flinging stones at you–much easier if you would give us a little more rabidity and a little less rationality. What…
Temperature Rising Feel for the veterans: I happen to like Michael Moore’s work and have debated with many of my friends over the editing of his documentaries (“George of the Bungle,” by Gregory Weinkauf, June 24). There is one thing we do agree on and Mr. Moore himself has said,…
When David Williams walks into a little pizza joint near SMU’s campus, it’s nearly two in the afternoon. He looks college-kid smooth–worn jeans and a comfortable shirt, pimp sunglasses hiding his eyes–and he has a beautiful woman on his arm. They move easily together, and people notice as they stroll…
The Enemy Within Buddhisms peaceful message draws Dallas young CHANGE YOUR MIND, change the world. This is the radical thought of Buddhism–regarded by some as a religion and by others as a philosophy–and the message is finding its way to a growing number of young adults in Dallas who are…
We all know that it’s illogical to compare apples and oranges. Anyone who would attempt to draw a comparison between two such dissimilar things is a fool. But that’s never stopped Buzz before, so here goes. See, we were talking on the phone Monday with Mario Hernandez, president of the…
Pissin’ on the Prez Well gollleee: When pissing on a flaming picture of the president won’t get you in the paper (Buzz, by Patrick Williams, June 17), the gun-toting Dallas Redneck Assholes (we all know who they are) will. So a bunch of hack, twentysomething, do-nothing-but-bitch “political rockers” (what the…
