2015 February Lakewood

STORIES

Memory Care at White Rock Lake

Matchmaker

For some neighbors, online dating was a surprising success; for others it was a definite dud.

48

Still hoppin’

After 50 years, Keller’s Drive-In is doing better than ever, and so is Keller’s longest-standing carhop.

launch 20

Who is Jack Keller?

What’s the story behind the man who founded nationally recognized Keller’s Drive-In?

24

Going for gold

In a year, neighbor Dawn Grunnagle hopes to compete for a spot on the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team.

28

Time out Neighbor George Riba is retiring from his position as a WFAA sportscaster after 37 years.

32

Digital dating

Four East Dallas entrepreneurs are bringing old-fashioned chivalry to the digital world.

Photo by Danny Fulgencio

Take

DATE: Saturday, February 7

JOIN

TIME: 8:00 to 10:00 a.m.

LOCATION: Doctors Hospital at White Rock Lake West Tower 9330 Poppy Drive, Suite 207 (near Garland Road and North Buckner Boulevard)

• Blood cholesterol check.

• Blood glucose test.

• Blood pressure monitoring.

• Weight evaluation.

• Personal health assessment with a nurse.

Reservations are required for the screening and space is limited.

Heart disease is the #1 killeramong women. Make your appointment today and learn about your risk factors.

Dallas Arboretum

Presents Dallas Blooms

February 28-April 12

Nothing says spring more than enjoying the largest floral festival in the Southwest. dallasarboretum.org

Summer Camp Fair

February 7

In a blink of an eye summer will be here. National consulting organization Tips on Trips and Camps will be in Dallas to help you find the right summer camp for your child. tipsontripsandcamps.com

Hot Chocolate for a Cause

February 7

Join the Hot Chocolate 5k/15k which supports the Ronald McDonald House Charities and race through parts of Old East Dallas and more. hotchocolate15k.com

Valentine Tea featuring author Michael Devine

February 10

The Women’s Council of The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden invites you to tea with Michael Devine, a tastemaker and gardener extraordinaire, who will share the joys of outdoor dining and entertaining. womenscouncildallasarboretum.org

Garden Like a Pro this Spring

February 14 & 21

Get tips from the Lakewood gardening experts on February 14th with a training on making the perfect Valentine bouquet and on February 21st learn special gardening techniques to specifically for your Texas garden. calloways.com/events

SMU Meadows School of Arts: Verlaine Trio Recital

February 17

Enjoy a concert featuring three internationally acclaimed musicians who will perform music by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Shostakovich. mcs.smu.edu/calendar

MEET! East Dallas

February 24

Branch out this spring and join the MEET! East Dallas group, which brings together premier business and community advocacy organizations all based in East Dallas. facebook.com/MeetEastDallas

31st Annual Texas Home & Garden Show

March 6 – March 8

Ready for some spring cleaning? Get your inspiration at the 31st Texas Home and Garden Show. texashomeandgarden.com

Rock ‘n Roll Half-Marathon

March 21 - 22

Get ready to rock this spring in the Dallas Rock ‘n Roll 5k and half-marathon. runrocknroll.competitor.com

IT’S ABOUT TIME TO PEEL OFF YOUR MITTENS AND SCARVES AND START THINKING ABOUT SPRING, SO MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR SOME FUN ACTIVITIES THAT WILL GET YOU OUT-AND-ABOUT AND SHAKE OFF THE WINTER BLUES.

Gia Marshello | 214.616.2568 | gmarshello@briggsfreeman.com

1807 Corona | Coming Soon 1810 Tucker | Under Contract 1717 Arts Plaza #1804 | $785,000

Showing

to the

3235 Cole #90B | SOLD

6308 Bryan Parkway | Under Contract

OBSCENE ONSCREEN

Movie-going is becoming increasingly awkward

I enjoy going to the movie theater. Watching shows at home is OK, too, but there’s something about a movie on the big screen that makes even a bad story seem better.

I’ll watch just about any genre, although foreign flicks with subtitles and horror movies are at the bottom of the list.

Maybe my love for movies says something about my psyche; maybe I love to watch stories on film because I’m more interested in the lives of others rather than my day-to-day routine. Or maybe I like watching stories told on a screen because I make a living reading and writing stories myself. Or maybe I’m just too lazy to read books.

Anyway, my usual movie companion is my wife, who has far more limited movie tastes. She absolutely refuses to see a movie if there’s too much drama or blood, although she’s always willing to make what I invariably point out are hypocritical exceptions for movies with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger or Harrison Ford.

She loves Westerns, which is a pretty limiting characteristic of movies these days. And she refuses to see provocative or sexually suggestive shows, although that prerogative is starting to severely limit what she can watch these days.

So I was surprised when she volunteered to see the latest Chris Rock movie, Top Five. Rock is a funny guy, but he has a sharp edge to his comedy and he’s no stranger to an obscenity-laced monologue. But the previews she saw on David Letterman looked harmless and funny.

So off we went, settling in with two strangers as the only people in the theater. And then it began: Top Five has everything in a movie she hates, except for blood and death. It was

crude, obscene, sexually provocative and downright disgusting. It literally made my wife cringe, and I was right there with her.

It’s the kind of movie that, had any of you or worse, either of our sons — been sitting next to us, I’m not sure there would have been a hole deep enough to crawl into.

I wondered why Rock felt the need to go as far as he did when he could have made his point and told his story just as well in a lessdisgusting way.

In fact, why do so many entertainers feel the need to push boundaries in such a way that a viewer like me is almost embarrassed to be seen in the theater?

This movie featured a tampon soaked in generic hot sauce (I guess Tabasco refused to pay product promo fees) rammed up a naked guy’s kiester; I guess it was meant to show that the guy was being a jerk to his girlfriend.

In addition, one of the coming-attractions previews shown prior to the movie showed a naked guy stretched out face down in front of a naked woman, with her holding his legs in wheelbarrow fashion (this is a Vince Vaughan movie, so it’s probably only going to be rated PG-13).

I hate to sound like a prude or someone who can’t take “edgy.” And from a business standpoint, I understand the need to push the envelope a bit to ensure that an idea doesn’t become lost among the millions of other entertainment ideas out there today.

Of course, I have the option to stay home and not spend money supporting “trash” and “filth,” as some describe movies these days.

Maybe I’m being too sensitive. Maybe I’m asking too much. It’s just becoming harder and harder for me to separate things that “sort of” cross the line from those that obliterate it completely.

I don’t ever want to be someone who thinks that, in the middle of a movie purporting to address serious racial issues, a hot sauce-soaked tampon jammed somewhere it shouldn’t be is laugh-out-loud hilarious.

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EDITORIAL

publisher: CHRISTINA HUGHES BABB

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senior editor: EMILY TOMAN

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editor-at-large: KERI MITCHELL

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editors:

RACHEL STONE

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BRITTANY NUNN

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senior art director: JYNNETTE NEAL

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assistant art director: EMILY MANGAN

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designers: LARRY OLIVER, KRIS SCOTT, EMILY WILLIAMS

contributing editors: SALLY WAMRE

contributors: ERIC FOLKERTH, ANGELA HUNT, GEORGE

MASON, KRISTEN MASSAD

photo editor: DANNY FULGENCIO

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contributing photographers: JAMES COREAS, JACQUE

MANAUGH, SCOTT MITCHELL, RASY RAN, JENNIFER SHERTZER, KATHY TRAN

copy editor: LARRA KEEL

publications each month. Advertising rates and guidelines are available upon request. Advocate publications are available free of charge throughout our neighborhoods, one copy per reader. Advocate was founded in 1991 by Jeff Siegel, Tom Zielinski and Rick Wamre.

Ted Barker continues to fight parking and ‘land abuse’ at Winfrey Point, but is it productive?

“The lake and park were only improved through the efforts of people who live along its periphery — nobody in Oak Cliff or Preston Hollow (and certainly nobody from Allen or Southlake) ever lifted a finger to remediate the lake and make it the ‘regional asset’ that it is today.”

—James Parker

“The appearance is that their goal is to keep people away by minimizing the park’s usefulness and interest. They achieve this by keeping the park as podunk and amenity-free as possible. This is parochialism and possessiveness. In fact, the lake is a regional asset, but it’s being managed as if it’s the private backyard of few people.”

—Aren Cambre

“I think the more fundamental issue is with organizations assuming that they can take over a public park for private fee-based events. Weekend mornings are when everyone wants to use the park (unfortunately, many of them driving) and a private group attempting to hold a large private event significantly adds to the burden.”

—Bob Loblaw

WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Demand may exceed supply at Mata Montessori, DISD’s first school of choice

Szechwan Pavilion to close in late February

Former neighbor and Dallas Cowboy Jethro Pugh dies

Why we should root for the new Minyard Sun Fresh Market replacing Albertsons

Five things happening on Lowest Greenville right now WANT

FOLLOW US. Lakewood Advocate @Advocate_ed

TALK TO US.

Email editor Brittany bnunn@advocatemag.com

March 4

Presented by State Farm

John Maeda

Design Partner, Kleiner Perkins

Past President, Rhode Island School of Design

JOHN MAEDA has worked for more than a decade to integrate technology, education and the arts into a 21stcentury synthesis of creativity and innovation. He believes art and design are poised to transform our economy in this century as science and technology did in the last.

April 8

Presented by Ericsson

Hosted by UT Dallas’ Arts and Technology

(ATEC) program, the series features speakers from a wide range of backgrounds in science, technology and art. They will present public lectures on topics aimed at exploring the evolving relationships among art, technology, engineering, and behavioral and social sciences.

April 28

Presented by the Ann and Jack Graves Charitable Foundation

Hugh Herr MIT Media Lab Biomechatronics Program Head

Tony & Jonna Mendez

Author of Argo and both former CIA Chief of Disguise

HUGH HERR is responsible for advances in bionic limbs that offer new hope to people with physical disabilities. Time magazine called him the “Leader of the Bionic Age” because of his work in the emerging field of biomechatronics, a technology that marries human physiology with electromechanics. Visit utdallas.edu/lectureseries for tickets and more information.

TONY and JONNA MENDEZ are former CIA officers whose lives have been featured in books, TV documentaries and the Oscar-winning film Argo Tony Mendez engineered the 1980 rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Iran in an operation that inspired the movie. Jonna Mendez worked as a technical operations officer with a specialty in clandestine photography.

LAKEWOOD | 6702 LAKEWOOD BOULEVARD

$1,375,000 | 4 Bed | 3 Bath | 4,133 SqFt

GINA HOWELL | 214.794.8001 | gina.howell@alliebeth.com

GREENWAY PARKS | 5520 W. UNIVERSITY BLVD

$975,000 | 3 Bed | 3 Living Areas | 77’ x 191’ Lot

MARIBETH PETERS | 214.566.1210 | maribeth.peters@alliebeth.com

M STREETS | 6434 LAKEWOOD BOULEVARD

$849,500 | 4 Bed | 3 Bath | 2,921 SqFt

MARSUE WILLIAMS | 972.733.9481 | marsue.williams@alliebeth.com

M

$839,900 | 4 Bed | 3 Bath | 3,596 SqFt

MARSUE WILLIAMS | 972.733.9481 | marsue.williams@alliebeth.com

LAKEWOOD

$819,000 | 4 Bed | 4.2 Bath | 4,567 SqFt

TIM SCHUTZE | 214.507.6699 | tim.schutze@alliebeth.com

Pending!

LAKE HIGHLANDS | 530 CLASSEN DRIVE

$275,000 | 3 Bed | 1 Bath | 1,152 SqFt

BERNICE EDELMAN | 214.384.7700 | bernice.edelman@alliebeth.com

For More Information on These and Other Listings: 214.521.7355 | Alliebeth.com

STREETS | 6001 MERCEDES AVENUE

HEIGHTS | 6227 BELMONT AVENUE

Q&A: Jack Keller

Longtime Forest Hills resident Jack Keller opened the first Keller’s DriveIn on Samuell across from Tenison Park Golf Course more than 65 years ago. “It was the last wet spot going into East Texas, right across from hole number two,” he remembers. “We had a lot of fun down there.” That location closed in 2000, but by that time Keller had opened three other locations, including the iconic Keller’s Drive-In on Northwest Highway near Abrams. This year is the location’s 50th anniversary, and Keller says the burger business is “better than ever.”

What’s the crowd usually like at Keller’s on Northwest Highway?

This is a funny picture. [Keller pulls several photos out of an evelope and indicates one of a man wearing a T-shirt that reads “Cancun,” relaxing in the lounge chair in the bed of his truck.] My wife says he’s our

Ronald McDonald. I guess he just puts that shirt on and pops up there in the back of his truck and pretends he’s in Cancun. He’s got his beer and his cigarette.

[Continues flipping through the photos]

This is the biker side. We get a lot of bikers. They just congregate on that one side.

They all know each other. There are a lot of people who were in Korea or Vietnam service people. Some of those bikes are very, very expensive. They cost more than a new Cadillac.

[Showing another photo] These are some of the cars that are there every

Jack Keller: Photo by Scott Mitchell

page 48.

Saturday. They’ve got all kinds classics, rods. They spend a lot of time and money on them. On Saturday night, if the weather is good, they’ll have about 150-200 cars in the back. Then there’s the biker side, and the regular customers occupy the rest of it. It’s three separate groups, and they stay three to four hours. Tailgating is today’s going trend. Texans will drink beers so long as they’re comfortable. You’ve got women and children, too. Some of them bring their dogs. A lot of people come up there just to see the cars and the bikers and the activity. It’s kind of fun, like sitting in the entrance to Las Vegas or something.

Speaking of Vegas, don’t you have a reputation as a high roller?

[Laughs] Well, you know, when I was younger, we had a lot of fun. We’d go all over the country and the world and everything else, bet on anything that moved. We spent a lot of time in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, France. And I played a lot of cards. We had a lot of fun. We’d play gin rummy. I was good enough, but you get to a certain age and you’re not as sharp as you were when you were younger. You gotta know when to quit.

How is business these days?

Business is better than it’s ever been, and we continue to grow.

Have you been surprised at the longevity of the drive-in?

Especially as you’ve seen other drive-ins close?

Oh yeah, Dallas is and always has been a tough city to have a restaurant. Joe Campisi [founder of the iconic Dallas restaurant Campisi’s Egyptian Lounge] told me one time, ‘The eye of the master makes the horse grow fat.’ So, the eye of the master, the owner, makes the business succeed. You’re not going to catch everything, but you’ll catch some things. Sometimes we go down to get a hamburger, and sometimes I can’t enjoy the hamburger because I see so many things [his employees] are doing wrong. So we get it to go.

READ ABOUT Shirley Ehney, a carhop who has worked at Keller’s Drive-In for 49 of its 50 years, on

— Elizabeth Ramirez

You have carhops who have been around for decades. How do you do that?

I don’t know what it is, really. I’ve got a girl who’s been there 40-some-odd years, and I’ve got another gal who’s been there 20-some-odd years. They’ve got their own customers that come to see them, and they make good money.

What do you think of the trend of restaurants selling $12 gourmet hamburgers?

What is a ‘gourmet hamburger’? We haven’t raised our prices, but we have more volume. We see a lot of older people. It’s a shame that people would charge that much. Food costs are higher, but it doesn’t make any sense when people think that if meat costs $1 then they should get $5 per hamburger or whatever. It doesn’t matter if you make $20 per hamburger; if you don’t sell any, what have you done? You owe your customers, as an operator, to explore every other option before you change your price — whether it be electricity or maintenance. Because then on Sunday morning someone will come in and order 40 cheeseburgers and 40 fries. Well, they can’t go to a $12 joint and do that. It all works out.

So you remember when the first Dallas drive-ins opened?

Have you ever heard of a place here in Dallas called Kirby’s? [He means Kirby’s Pig Stand, the nation’s first drive-in that opened in 1921.] Billy John Kirby’s daddy is the one who owned them, and Reuben Jackson bought him out. They had men carhops, and they wore aprons all the way down to their knees. They used to pay them 10 cents an hour. There was one place in Fort Worth that wouldn’t hire any waitresses unless they weighed 240 pounds and up, and they put them in baby doll dresses. Another one had a girl on a horse who would sell cigarettes. That was a time when you couldn’t sell beer if your skirt was four inches above the knee. Some places had them on skates. Some places still do.

Why did drive-ins start using female carhops?

That was before my time, but it was because of World War II. They didn’t have drive-ins before Kirby’s Pig Stand, and they started with men, but when the war came along there was a shortage of everything. Girls had taken it over by the time I opened Keller’s.

You raised four children in Dallas. Did any of them join you in the burger business?

Two boys and two girls. They grew up in it. Jack Jr. is active in it. He goes all over the world studying Pilates, but whenever he’s in town, he helps with the business,

and as needed. And my daughter Jackie is very active in it. She checks for service, does payroll, whatever needs to be done. She’s very well versed in the business.

You also have a Keller’s sit-down restaurant on Garland Road near Northwest Highway. What do you think of the changes happening around there?

We’re gaining a lot of places around there. Garland Road is kind of like Knox-Henderson now. We’re getting more eating places, more people in the neighborhoods. There was a time when you had to have the nerve of a high diver to open a restaurant on Garland Road. The reason you don’t see so many drive-ins anymore is that it takes quite a bit of land to put them together. [The Northwest Highway Keller’s sits on three acres.] Of course, when you have a sit-down restaurant, you have to have a place for them to sit down and a place for them to park, too.

*Interview edited for clarity

—Brittany Nunn

“Garland Road is kind-of like Knox-Henderson now, [but] there was a time when you had to have the nerve of a high diver to open a restaurant on Garland Road.”

Run for your life

Dawn Grunnagle makes running look easy during her laps around White Rock Lake.

She’s a professional, logging about 90 miles a week, rain or shine, sometimes 20 miles at a time. It’s a fairly recent career path, however. She spent a decade as a teacher, including seven years at Merriman Park Elementary, where she continues to volunteer with the Merriman Park Elementary Running Club.

In June, with Nike as a sponsor, Grunnagle ran the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon in less than an hour and 15 minutes, meeting the qualifying standards for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Marathon. In February 2016, she’ll race in Los Angeles, alongside 20-plus other runners, to compete for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team in Rio de Janeiro.

It’s taken years of dedication, discipline and hard training to get to where she is now, plus the support of her family and community. As a full-time athlete, Grunnagle

Dawn Grunnagle: Photo by Danny Fulgencio

is proof that it takes a village to make a runner. “No one at this level could do this by themselves,” she says.

Grunnagle has been running since she was 16. She always had a competitive spirit, and when her high school coach told her a track scholarship could be her ticket to college, her passion intensified. She ran track for Texas Tech University and the University of Houston before entering grad school to become a teacher. She continued to run while teaching third grade at Merriman Park and then fourth grade at Good Shepherd Episcopal School in North Dallas for three years. She signed on with Nike while prepping for the 2012 Olympic trials and then quit teaching to focus on running.

Within the last couple of years, Grunnagle decided to switch from running track to running marathons. Her trainer has been by her side, helping her transition into long-distance running, and her husband, Harry, rides his bicycle beside Grunnagle during her runs whenever he can.

Grunnagle also has an entire team of supporters in the running organizations she created, SpeedKIDZ and SpeedKIDZ Elite. The latter is a team of girls ages 8 to 14 who come from all over the Dallas area to receive Grunnagle’s coaching and opportunities to race. It’s her way of continuing to teach.

The girls aren’t the only ones who have benefitted from the mentorship. Grunnagle’s work with SpeedKIDZ has changed her perspective on running, she says.

“Before, I ran for myself and my own goals,” she explains. “Runners, we’re never happy. Now I have 36 girls watching every single thing I do. They’re watching how I react to failure and success. It’s a whole different mentality for me.”

LEARN MORE

Visit speedkidz.com to find more information on Grunnagle’s work as a running coach.

—Brittany Nunn

“No one at this level could do this by themselves.”

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Riff off

Tap dancing was once a respected art form, says neighbor Katelyn Harris, founder of Rhythmic Souls Tap Company. But its popularity died off in the ’50s and ’60s, she says, when “ballet and jazz rose up, and they were considered more high art forms; whereas tap was considered more a form of entertainment.”

That mindset recently shifted around the world, and Harris, a neighborhood resident, intends to change the perception of tap here in Dallas, which she believes is ready to embrace what has long been viewed as fringe art.

Dallasites are finally starting to appreciate the Dallas art community, Harris points out. Artists and dancers are starting to stay in Dallas instead of pursuing success in other cities, and Harris wants tap dancing to be a part of that movement. Already she’s snagged Dallas-born tap dancers, and with their help she hopes the rest of Dallas will rediscover tap dancing.

It should be an easy sell, she thinks, because a tap dance is deeply rooted in various cultures around the world and, ultimately, an American art form.

“A lot of people don’t realize that it came from Irish dancing, African-American slave dances and English clog,” she says. “All these things mixed together to form tap dance.”

It is to dance what jazz is to music, Harris explains.

“Things are heavily based on improv,” she says. “You’ll have the head of the tune, and that will be the basic melody. Each of the instruments [dancers] will take a solo, and they’ll improvise around that melody, but they get to go off on their own and speak whatever they want to. You have to be really present.”

THE LITTLE THINGS

The Little Things is an online children’s shop offering unique and fun styles in sizes newborn to size 8. We carry toys, books, and gifts for all those little ones in your world. Find us at: shopthelittlethings.com 214-821-3015.

In January, Harris hosted the Rhythm In Fusion Festival (RIFF), which featured tap dance fused with similar dance forms from around the world.

“The audience usually responds to tap in a really enthusiastic way,” she says. “It’s more engaging than the other dance forms.” —Brittany Nunn FOR MORE INFORMATION, visit rhythmicsouls.org.

Alex Edwards, Katelyn Harris, Maddie Owens: Photo by Danny Fulgencio

who are both North Stonewall Terrace neighbors. Abu-aitah says the pair of pups loves to swim and ride in the car, and most importantly, they get along with everyone.

NowforScheduling Spring

That’s a wrap

Old Lake Highlands neighbor George Riba has been a familiar face on Channel 8, where he has worked as a sports anchor, executive sports producer and sports director since 1977. He remembers when WFAA made the switch from film to digital. He remembers when major sports teams like the Texas Rangers, the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars first signed on in this city. But now, after 37 years, the final countdown on Riba’s colorful career has begun.

Riba is retiring this month, and his reason for doing so is simple: “I can’t do it forever,” he says with a shrug. He had a good run and has produced or co-produced more than 10,000 stories during his career. From here on out, Riba has one objective for how he’ll spend his time: “If it’s not fun, I’m not doing it,” he insists.

Riba’s career began while he was still attending the University of Texas at Arlington. He originally started in radio before he found out TV pays better. He worked a couple of different TV stints while still in school, and he was hired on at Channel 8 after he graduated.

For the first few years he did half radio and half TV, and he loved it. “I still think radio is very cool,” he says. He never planned to cover sports full time, but it fit him well.

In 37 years, Riba says, it’s hard to pick a favorite story; there are too many. But Riba says he usually enjoyed stories that involved trips, and he has especially fond memories of a trip to Tokyo to cover SMU

playing Houston in the 1983 Mirage Bowl. Spring training and football training camp stories also hold a special place in his heart.

Since the late ’70s, if Riba wasn’t in the newsroom, you could find him running or cycling at White Rock Lake — often with his wife, Maggie, who works as a personal trainer. He has run 29 marathons and completed the Dallas Marathon 21 times. “I try to do one every year,” he says. “That’s one of the reasons why I moved over here to the lake area.”

He says he plans to keep running after retirement and maybe work or volunteer somewhere part time, or possibly learn an instrument or two — or who knows, maybe none of that. The point is: He can do whatever he wants.

Nunn

SEE MORE photos of Riba’s early career at advocatemag.com

George Riba: Photo by James Coreas. Riba at the WFAA news desk (top) and lugging around camera equipment (above): Photos courtesy of George

The neon sign has survived a fire, tenant changes and decades of wear and tear: Photo by Jacque Manaugh

A sign of the past

The easily recognizable sign has been casting neon light along Lower Greenville since 1933 when Greenville Bar & Grill (GBG) opened shortly after prohibition ended (it is rumored to have one of Dallas’ oldest liquor licenses) and quickly became a neighborhood staple.

“Over the years, GBG has consistently been a bar and grill that catered to the neighborhood worried about the neighborhood first and worried about the outsiders who come into the neighborhood secondarily,” says Shawn Foley, who identifies himself in his LinkedIn profile as “chief bottle washer and owner at Greenville Bar & Grill.”

The bar first won Foley’s heart in the ’80s, when he and his friends would frequent Lower Greenville and rotate through their favorite bars and restaurants.

In 2010 a well publicized fire destroyed GBG along with Terilli’s, Nick’s Café and Hurricane Grill. Terilli’s rose from the ashes, but the others didn’t.

GBG’s sign survived the fire, but the space turned into Rohst, a Korean barbecue joint. It soon closed, and the Londoner opened in its place, turning the space into a dark pub, but that didn’t last long either.

“I was looking for an investment, and I kind of happened to run across this place last spring,” Foley says. “I realized, if I was going to do this, it wasn’t going to work as a pub. I needed to turn it back into the Greenville Bar & Grill.”

The original sign outside was not working at the time, but Foley had it restored. He cleaned up the building’s interior and made better use of its natural light.

Then he opened the doors to Greenville Bar & Grill once more in October, serving “comfort foods” such as fried chicken, shrimp and grits, and rib-eye.

The historical sign out front continues to shape the restaurant’s future.

Virtual chivalry

In a world where love letters have been replaced by text messages, and meeting someone new means scrolling through a seemingly endless supply of internet profiles, four East Dallas men are asking the question: Whatever happened to romance and good old-fashioned chivalry?

We can’t go back, obviously. The digital age is here to stay, so these young entrepreneurs — brothers Alex, Peter and Adie von Gontard, along with Hunter Coffey, who are roommates as well as colleagues at APAA Sports Group — want to find a way to teleport the good ol’ days of courting to the future.

Their solution? A new dating app called Courtem, born of their frustration with the phone app Tinder, which has garnered a reputation as “the hook-up app.” Their goal was to create something that reveals more dimension than so many of the looks-focused apps on the market.

“We narrowed it down to what we thought made sense from a dating perspective, and allowed people to actually put themselves out there, so it wasn’t just

based on appearances alone,” explains Peter von Gontard.

To do this, the Courtem experience centers around “date proposals.”

After scrolling through the profiles (there’s pretty much no way around this on any dating site), a user can propose a date to another user based on common interests. The receiver can then reject the proposal, request the sender improve his or her offer using preselected responses, accept the proposal, or ask to bring along a wingman/wingwoman for a double date instead.

The hope is that the date proposal interaction allows users to gauge various characteristics of the other person. Is he or she romantic, funny, clever?

Once a date proposal is accepted, the chat feature between the two users is engaged. Dates can be canceled at any time. After each date, Courtem invites users to rate other users to ensure they are being courteous during their dates.

Chivalry is not dead, at least in the digital realm. —Brittany

Nunn

Alex, Peter and Adie von Gontard, Hunter Coffey:

Photos by Scott Mitchell

Best Pet Service IN

And the winner is … Homegrown Hounds

If Melanie Fox, the founder of Homegrown Hounds Dog Deli and Bakery, has anything to say about it, the term “It’s a dog’s life” should be a good thing.

And she does everything in her power to make that dream a reality, which is why Homegrown Hounds was the neighbors’ pick for the best pet service in Lakewood/East Dallas.

When guests walk into the shop on the edge of East Dallas at 4101 Worth, they’re greeted by the welcoming smell of homemade baked goods.

But don’t start salivating just yet, because it’s all for the dogs. Sure, people could eat the baked goods if they wanted to, Fox points out, but it’s a little bland for human taste buds.

Homegrown Hounds is a bakery that serves handcrafted, healthy treats designed with our favorite four-legged friends in mind.

“I think dogs should live forever,” Fox says. “All this stuff is what I would feed to my own dogs.”

Actually she does feed it to her own dogs, and she was doing so long before she opened the shop. Fox created Homegrown Hounds to help raise money for the bakery’s counterpart, Hound Haven.

Hound Haven is a nonprofit dog rescue, and all the proceeds for Homegrown Hounds go straight to Hound Haven.

Not only does Fox sell dog chow, but she also hosts cooking classes to teach neighbors how to make their own healthy puppy meals and treats, and she hosts pet-centric events and “yappy hours” to give local pet owners a chance to show off their favorite family members. Homegrown Hounds even has its own dog food truck, the Snackin Waggin, which is a howl at private pooch parties.

—Brittany Nunn

Runner-up: White Rock Pet Food

Delivery

Third place: Taddy’s Pet Services

Dog treats at Homegrown Hounds: Photos by James Coreas

Out & About

February 2015

Feb 28-April 12

Dallas Blooms

Get ready for the Dallas Arboretum’s biggest floral festival, Dallas Blooms. On Feb. 28, the garden explodes with color as more than 500,000 springblossoming bulbs burst, and the beloved peacock topiaries return to spread their colorful petal tails in the Jonsson Color Garden.

Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Road, dallasarboretum.org, 214.515.6500, $10-$15, plus $15 on-site parking

FEB. 7

‘Pollinators and Predators’

Attend the opening reception for this exhibit, which features photographs of nature by Bob Curry, from 7-9 p.m.

Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther, 214.670.8749, bathhousecultural.com, free

FEB. 7-MARCH 7

‘El Corazon’ exhibit

It’s time for the 21st annual El Corazon exhibit, which features eclectic and passionate art inspired by the heart, curated by Jose Vargas.

Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther, 214.670.8749, bathhousecultural.com, free

FEB. 14

Shoreline Spruce-Up

For the Love of the Lake invites neighbors to join its monthly Second Saturday Shoreline Spruce-Up at White Rock Lake. They will meet at the office starting at 8 a.m. For the Love of the Lake office, 1152 N. Buckner, whiterocklake.org 214.660.1100, free

FEB. 19

‘Shades of a Rich Culture’

Celebrate African-American History Month at the Lakewood Library with Robin Perry, founder of Bringing the Joy Entertainment, from 7-8 p.m. Take a journey through the poetry of African-Americans from 1851 to the present with a dramatic and musical performance by Perry. Lakewood Library, 6121 Worth Street, lakewoodlibraryfriendsdallas.org, 214.670.1376, free

FEB. 19

David Cook

Don’t miss “American Idol” contestant David Cook when he comes to play at the Prophet Bar in Deep Ellum. The concert starts at 8 p.m. The Prophet Bar, 2513 Main, 214.742.3667, theprophetbar.com, $20 advance, $25 day of show, $70 VIP, $15 parking

FEB. 7

Hot Chocolate 15k/5k

Gear up for a brisk 15k or 5k run with inflatables and games to occupy the kids and an all-chocolate post-race party. Proceeds benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Dallas. The 5k is at 7:30 a.m. and the 15k is at 8:15 a.m. For expo/ packet pickup, go to the Fair Park Automobile Building at 1121 on First Avenue on Feb. 5 from 2-7 p.m. or Feb. 6 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Fair Park, 1300 Robert B Cullum Boulevard, hotchocolate15k.com/dallas, $44-$74

FEB. 8

‘Why the Arts Matter to Faith’

Join theologian Dr. Jeremy Begbie as he argues that the arts are crucial to faith because they immerse us in this world in a way that is bodily rooted, emotionally engaged and socially uniting. As they do this, they make us wonder if there is anything other than this world. The lecture beings at 5 p.m. and is followed by a reception.

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Cathedral, 5100 Ross Avenue, cathedralartsdallas.org, 214.887.6552, free

FEB. 20-MARCH 1

‘Teen Brain: The Musical’

This shows follows the life of eight teens as they navigate the rough waters of high school, and gives an honest, powerful look at the inner workings of the mysterious teenage brain.

Dallas Children’s Theater, 5938 Skillman, dct.org, 214.740.0051, $14

THROUGH FEB. 22

‘Skippyjon Jones’

Skippyjon Jones is a rambunctious Siamese kitten with big ears and an even bigger imagination. When his loving but exasperated mother puts Skippyjon in time-out, he starts to daydream. His imagination takes him far, far away to Mexico, where he pretends that he is a swashbuckling Chihuahua named Skippito Friskito.

Dallas Children’s Theater, 5938 Skillman, dct.org, 214.740.0051, $15-$28

SHUCK N JIVE

5315 Greenville Avenue 214.369.9471

dallas.shucknjive.com

AMBIENCE: LAID-BACK, CASUAL

HOURS: 11 A.M. - 2 A.M. DAILY

PRICES: $4-$15.50

Thedoors to Shuck N Jive Cajun Food Restaurant on Greenville open, and a warm, aromatic gust drifts out. It smells exactly as it should, like kitchen grease and French fries. Inside, a pack of rowdy football fans crowds the central bar, which dominates the small space. They sip on tall glasses of beer and yell lighthearted banter back and forth across the restaurant to the waitresses. Along the walls, couples sit at small tables scanning the menu. At a table near the door, a dad prods his young daughter to eat more of her chicken strips, but she’s more interested in showing off her latest boo-boo to a patient waitress. Shuck N Jive is a T-shirt and jeans kind of joint where you’re probably not going to make it out without eating something with your fingers. John Kranz founded the original location in East Dallas, and it survives on its friendly service and fresh Cajun food. The oysters are delivered fresh from the Gulf every week, and its biggest seller, Shuck’s Famous Catfish, is delivered daily. Happy hour is 4-7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and karaoke is on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. For those looking for some late-night grub, it’s always open until 2 a.m. —Brittany Nunn

Oysters on the half shell: Photo by Brittany Nunn

CHOCOLATE LOVERS’ GIFT GUIDE

Chocolate is a favorite treat throughout the year, but the month of February makes us crave it a little more. With so many decadent recipes and creative ideas, it’s a great Valentine’s Day gift for the ones we love. Plus, everything tastes better with a little chocolate.

1. CHOCOLATE SUGAR LIP SCRUB

A little scrub goes a long way, so why not throw in two of our favorite ingredients, chocolate and sugar? The lifestyle blog Live Laugh Rowe shows us how chocolate is not only delicious to eat but is also full of antioxidants and will rid you of those dry lips during cold weather.

2. CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SPREAD

A rich addition to fruit, crackers or toast, this spread is a perfect gift to share. A combination of chocolate, hazelnuts, sugar, butter and cream featured on the website Epicurious, the treat also can be spooned over ice cream or swirled into brownies.

3. HOT CHOCOLATE SPOONS

With only three simple ingredients — sugar, cocoa powder and chocolate chips — these

handmade chocolate molds from the Adventures of Cake Girl blog will keep you warm all winter long.

4.CHOCOLATE ALMOND BARK

Chocolate bark is one of the easiest and prettiest gifts you can make. There are no rules and really no recipe required. Bon Appetit has a recipe for a salty, sweet bark, but feel free to sprinkle in your choice of nuts, dried fruit or candy pieces.

5.CHOCOLATE CREAM SHOOTERS

Whether you need a cocktail or a mocktail, chocolate cream shooters will win your heart. Food Network shares one of its favorite chocolate drinks filled with rich chocolate syrup, half and half, and a shot of seltzer water to make it foam.

6. CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PRETZEL BALLS

Two pantry staples, peanut butter and pretzels, make it easy to whip these up for a Valentine’s Day celebration. This bite-size candy was created with the perfect amount of salty, sweet and crunch. It will be hard to have just one.

7. CHOCOLATE CARAMELS

These little gems fall somewhere between the chewiest caramels and decadent dark chocolate fudge. If you are a lover, play around with the different intensities and choose your favorite brand to make these bite-size confections your very own. FIND THE RECIPES at advocatemag.com or inkfoods.com.

This month, show your Valentine just how much you care. Nothing says “I love you” more than a pizza from Greenville Avenue Pizza Company. Late

in and Delivery!

Now open until 1 A.M. on Monday nights.

NEW! Online ordering! Our famous homemade pies, cakes, cookies and muffins can now be made to order in any quantity for take out!

The

Winter blues? Warm up with house-made burgers, or pizza by My Family’s Pizza, at the Pour House. Specialty beer and cocktails until 2am. Open for lunch Mon-Fri 11AM

CAFE

Kristen Massad writes a monthly column about sweets and baked goods. The professional pastry chef graduated from the French Culinary Institute in New York City and owned Tart Bakery on Lovers Lane for eight years. She blogs about food and lifestyles at inkfoods.com.

IN THE AGE OF TECHNOLOGY

WHEN INTERNET DATING GOES RIGHT (AND WRONG)

With each advance in technology and communication comes the broadening of romantic opportunity. Neighborhood couples share the ups and downs of seeking love, courtesy of contemporary innovations.

STORY BY BRITTANY NUNN — PHOTOS BY DANNY FULGENCIO

BUT SERIOUSLY

Lakewood neighbor Karina Riedle wasn’t taking the whole online dating thing even a little bit seriously.

“To me, online dating still had that 38-year-old virgin living in the basement of mama’s house while protecting the world from zombies via an Xbox feeling to it,” she explains.

And who doesn’t hate awkward first dates?

But one night while alone and bored in her apartment with “too much cheap champagne and too little Lifetime movies,” Riedle decided to give the online dating site OKCupid a shot and began filling out the questionnaire:

On a typical Friday night I am: Reliving my parents’ divorce. What I’m doing with my life:

Whiskey

So, she was shocked when dozens of messages began rolling in, she remembers.

“In that moment, online dating became a man buffet for me,” she jokes. “I could browse as long as I wanted. I could go back for seconds. I could actually go out with some of these guys while keeping the internet as my very own sneeze guard.”

She’d already come this far, so she started arranging drink dates. She didn’t commit to dinner, and she always paid for her share. Although she was an active participant, she still wasn’t totally sold on the practice.

“I was just fascinated by the idea of selling yourself on a screen to live up to your own words in person,” Riedle says.

“I had some terrible dates and some notso-terrible dates. I never heard from some boys again, and a few turned into lifelong friends. But three months in, I was finally tired of talking about myself and having to identify strangers in bars by the length of their beards and/or pompadours.”

But before shutting down her account, there was one last guy she wanted to meet — Jeremy Siler. They’d been messaging but had yet to meet because he’d been away on business in Nuremberg, Germany, which Riedle points out, is only 90 miles from her hometown of Augsburg.

Siler also lives in East Dallas, so he invited Riedle to a concert at the Granada Theater. Riedle suggested they meet up for drinks the week before, and she says she was neither nervous nor hopeful driving over.

Riedle recognized Siler instantly from his long, curly, dark hair and beard down to his chest. The sleeves on his bright cerulean blue, button-down cotton shirt were rolled up just enough for a feather tattoo on his forearm to peek out, Riedle noted. She, too, has a feather tattooed on her forearm.

“Nervousness swept over me as we exchanged pleasantries and ordered drinks,” she recalls. “The next few hours are a blur because the more we spoke, the more nervous I became. I could tell he was nervous, too. We eventually tabbed out and made plans for the concert.”

Unlike with her previous dates, Riedle looked forward to seeing Siler again, and they hung out a couple more times before the concert.

“He was charming, genuine, funny, smart and gorgeous, and completely unaware of it all,” she says. “By the time we were dancing and laughing at the Granada, it was all over for me. I’ve never had so much fun with anyone in my life. That was the best and hopefully last first official date I’ll ever have.”

Less than four months later they were living together in a 1937 red brick house in the middle of Lakewood. A year and a half after that, they now are talking about what adventures the next five years will hold, including possible marriage.

“I’m so glad there was nothing good on television the night I signed up for internet dating,” Riedle concludes.

A ROSE AMONG THORNS

In 2002 Lakewood neighbor Rose Villasana signed up for a three-day trial on match.com because it was free, and why not?

She’d just gotten out of a two-year relationship, and her friends were always talking about their online dating experiences — albeit not always positively.

“I wasn’t really looking hard, but I figured, ‘Eh, what the heck?’ ” Villasana remembers.

She filled out as little of the questionnaire as possible and didn’t even add a photo to her profile, but soon enough requests began coming in anyway.

She knew what she was looking for: an intellectual liberal who likes the arts. When Harry Ingram contacted her, he seemed to fit the bill. And as a bonus, he lived nearby in the M Streets.

Ingram had been using match.com for a while and had taken the time to fill out a

well-rounded profile, so he typically ignored those without sufficient information and photos, but Villasana lived so close by, he figured it was worth a shot.

some of the same people.

“And that was the end of it,” Villasana says.

That is, the end of Ingram’s online dating run and Villasana’s practically non-existent online dating run.

A couple of days later, Villasana shut down her profile without having talked to any other potential partners. She called a couple of their mutual friends and grilled them about Ingram — just to be safe. Everyone confirmed he was a good guy.

They started a friendship, which turned into a romantic relationship, which continued for eight years. In January 2010 they married in Washington, D.C.

They met for coffee at the Lakewood Starbucks and hit it off. It wasn’t exactly sparks, but it was comfortable. They shared common interests and discovered they knew

They still live in the Lakewood area, and they continue to tell the story of how they met whenever they can.

“We love our story,” Villasana says.

She knew what she was looking for: an intellectual liberal who likes the arts.

HEALTH & REHAB

“Following my hip surgery, my doctor suggested rehab and I told him, ‘I want to go to Fowler.’ ” Norma Worrall, Fowler Rehab guest

Fowler Health and Rehab offers physical, occupational and speech therapies. The Fowler team creates an uplifting environment which nurtures the healing process. To learn more, please call

MISMATCHED

Neighbor Laurie Lynn Lindemeier has sworn off online dating for good.

“Internet dating is kind of like LASIK,” she says. “It doesn’t work for everybody.”

Of course Lindemeier has had LASIK

three times in each eye (and cataract surgery), but she doesn’t plan to find out if the timeworn adage “third time’s the charm” is true when it comes to internet dating.

Twice was enough.

Lindemeier first started online dating somewhat by accident. She signed up for match.com in 2006 to check something on a friend’s profile. While she was snooping around, a curious search revealed a profile for her ex-husband, whom she’d recently divorced.

“I thought, ‘If he can do it, I can do it,’ ” she remembers with a laugh.

She went on a couple of dates, but overall she wasn’t impressed. Then she found a guy who piqued her interest, and they dated for two years before she determined they had nothing substantial in common.

She stopped dating altogether for a couple

of years to deal with the aftermath of her divorce before deciding to try again. This time Lindemeier signed up for eHarmony, hoping she’d have better luck finding a good match since “a scientific approach to compatibility” is eHarmony’s big selling point. She filled out

the detailed questionnaire required of new members and soon enough found a match. Kind of.

Lindemeier and eHarmony Guy were different in all the ways that really mattered, as she eventually found out. Lindemeier is an extroverted creative type who thrives on color, warmth and communication, and she uses all those things to express herself via music, painting and writing. eHarmony Guy was a tad too emotionally unavailable for Lindemeier, who never could breach his walls, although she tried — for four years.

Lindemeier was determined to make it work. The couple broke up and got back together once, but after four years Lindemeier finally admitted her “internet match was a mismatch.”

In the end, however, Lindemeier doesn’t see the failed relationship as a total waste of time. She learned an important lesson: Sometimes the checklist comes up short.

“I think it’s a nice concept, but it doesn’t really work,” she says.

“In the end, when I meet somebody and I look them in the eyes, I can tell a whole lot more than a bunch of checkmarks on a list. They can check anything they want off, and it doesn’t have to be true. But you can’t lie to me eye to eye.”

Obviously online dating works for some people, Lindemeier points out, but it has yet to convince her.

“I’m never going to trust it,” she says. “I don’t think it’s as good as face-to-face human

“In the end, when I meet somebody and I look them in the eyes, I can tell a whole lot more than a bunch of checkmarks on a list.”

Lastcarhopstanding

Keller’s Drive-In celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and one of its carhops has delivered burgers since (almost) the beginning

Story by Brittany Nunn | Photos by Scott Mitchell

Two trucks are parked side by side at Keller’s Drive-In on Northwest Highway. They’ve been there a while, as both drivers are taking their sweet time, enjoying a beer or two in the shade of the metal overhang.

Shirley Ehney, a 73-year-old carhop, stands between them making small talk. She lets out a ringing laugh in response to the drivers’ banter before heading back to the kitchen. She has a grandmotherly way about her (probably because she is one) but also a sort of vitality, which she figures is the result of her active lifestyle, working as a full-time carhop for nearly 50 years.

As she passes another car, she nods toward the double-meat cheeseburger she brought out a few minutes ago. “I bet that’s the best burger you’ve ever tasted,” she says.

It’s nothing gourmet, but people say there’s just something about the flavor in the two thin patties stacked between perfectly grilled poppy seed buns, topped with a slice of melted cheese and the usual burger garnish.

It’s the reason foodies from all over the country stop by Keller’s on their way

Opposite/ A young Shirley Ehney (middle) poses with two other Keller’s carhops in 1974. From the collections of the Texas/Dallas History and Archives Division, Dallas Public Library.

Above/ Shirley Ehney photographed at Keller’s on Jan. 12, 2015. Photo by Danny Fulgencio

through Texas — and why Ehney has stuck around for so many decades.

“It’s like an addiction,” she says.

Few who regularly travel the thoroughfare have entirely resisted the call of the vintage “Keller’s Hamburgers Beer” sign. The green and yellow paint is chipping, sure, but the slapdash aesthetics only add to its charm. Keller’s appearance reflects the rugged reliability of the food, staff and customers that have sustained it since 1965, when White Rock area resident Jack Keller established the beloved burger joint’s Northwest Highway location.

The menu has not changed — burgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese, fries, tots, onion rings. The prices have barely budged since the beginning. Customers don’t speak into a machine or punch a touchscreen. It’s what Keller calls a “pure” drive-in experience.

Drivers pull up and flash their lights. A carhop comes out to take the order, face-toface, and returns with the goods.

Day after day, year after year, Keller’s delivers a product crafted with care and knowhow. “Consistency, that’s the key,” Keller says. “Consistency and quality. There’s no substitute for quality.”

Keller’s meat and produce are delivered fresh every morning, he says, and “when you run out, you run out.” The drive-in magnate reported grossing $1 million in the ’70s, and 40 years later, business is better than ever, he says.

Keller’s opened at a time when drive-in diners were still popular throughout the United States. It operated among famous and well-established roadside joints in Dallas such as Kirby’s Pig Stand and Prince’s Hamburgers. Kirby’s was the nation’s first

drive-in when it opened in 1921, and the barbecue joint eventually was dubbed “the nation’s first drive-in empire” before it closed its last location in 2006. Although Prince’s still operates in Houston, its Dallas location on Lemmon closed several years ago.

Keller, too, has closed several restaurants over the decades, including two longstanding drive-ins on Samuell and Harry Hines. But the remnant of his empire is still standing. Perhaps the reason is Keller’s unrelenting commitment to consistency and quality, or the money he has saved on fresh paint jobs or other remodeling projects — or, as Wilma Keller points out, her husband’s head for business and investing.

“He’s smart,” Wilma says with a wink. “I always knew he could do whatever he wanted to.”

Ehney agrees that Keller is “real smart when it comes to his hamburgers.” Even still, she’s amazed at how much business the drive-in continues to garner.

“I guess it’s just hanging in there because there aren’t that many places like it anymore, and [Keller’s] is famous all over the country,” Ehney says.

Ehney began working at Keller’s just a few months after it opened. Some people have been parking in her section for years. She knows the bikers, who park on one side of the lot, the hot-rod and vintage-car enthusiasts, who park on the other, and the families who bring their children. No doubt those families’ matriarchs and patriarchs sat in the same spots years ago, beside their own parents.

“We get all kinds of people,” she says. Ironically, many patronize the ’60s holdover because they are seeking a new experience. “I’ve had people come from out of state and get very excited because this is something different.”

Keller says one reason he keeps prices low is because it encourages diners to tip more. The carhops work primarily for tips, and some of them, including Ehney, thread dollar bills through their fingers as a subtle hint to patrons. In the early years, she usually worked nights. Ehney had such a sharp memory, she could handle a large section by herself without writing down a thing.

“It came very natural for me,” Ehney says, “and I never took a beer back when I made a mistake, because I always found someone on the lot who would buy it.”

It helped that Ehney was a pretty, capable and friendly girl in her early 20s. Men always flirted with her, she says, although she insists she never dressed provocatively save maybe a short skirt or two. “I always presented myself well,” she says.

Over the years, she married and had four children, which eventually led to six grandchildren and one great-grandson. Although she passively considered leaving Keller’s to try other things, she ultimately stayed on at the drive-in. After all, she was good at it, and her customers loved her.

Ehney is the only Keller’s carhop who has stood the test of time, although a couple of others can boast a decade or two. The fami-

ly-like community at Keller’s is hard to beat, Ehney says. She has story after story of when “the girls” (as she and Keller still refer to the carhops) and her customers helped her during hard times.

When Ehney lost her daughter to cancer in 2008 and fractured her foot the same year, her co-workers collected funds to help her get through the time away from work.

“I think that’s what kept me here. I love my job, love the people,” Ehney says. “I’ve made a good living and had a lot of good customers.”

“Don’t ever do a job you don’t like, no matter the amount of money you make,” she says. “Always do a job you love.”

Keller’s famous no. 5

In 2005 decorated food writer Alan Richman of GQ went on a quest to find the 20 best burgers in the United States. He dined at 95 joints and consumed 162 burgers. In the end, only one Dallas burger joint landed on the list — Keller’s. And it didn’t just make the top 20; it made the top 10.

Keller’s no. 5, a $2.89 double-meat burger with a Thousand Island-style “special sauce,” found a fan in Richman, even though it was a bit overcooked for his medium-rare taste. He described the no. 5 as “made exactly the way hamburgers were back when drive-ins first appeared” and said Keller’s was “the best drive-in I’ve ever seen, and I try not to miss many.”

If you’re especially inclined toward that special sauce, ask for extra and Keller’s will slather it on the bottom and top buns. You’re welcome.

THE market

NORTH HAVEN GARDENS

Urban Garden Center 7700 Northaven Rd. Dallas, TX 75230 214-363-5316 www.nhg.com

Your gardening partner since 1951, specializing in garden education, the best quality plant selection and the most knowledgeable staff committed to your gardening success!

SMALL PLANET eBIKES

Hello Fun, Hello Fitness!

www.smallplanetebikes.com

Bishop Arts District 330 W Davis Street 972.773.9611

Join The eBike Revolution

The Future is Electric! Free Test Rides

100% CHIROPRACTIC

Chiropractic Treatments

7324 Gaston Ave. Suite 118 Dallas, Texas 75214 214-812-9906

100percentchiropractic.com

Dr. Keith Maraffa is passionate about helping others maintain a healthy natural life. The staff is 100% committed to helping you feel & perform at your best by providing the best treatments. So, stop by today and feel better for a lifetime.

POPPYSEED BUN

SPECIAL DRESSING

SHREDDED LETTUCE

TOMATO

HAMBURGER PATTY

AMERICAN CHEESE

HAMBURGER PATTY

(ASK FOR EXTRA SAUCE)

POPPYSEED BUN

BEADS OF SPLENDOR

Bead Boutique & Gift Gallery

9047 Garland Rd. Dallas, TX 75218 214.824.2777 beadsofsplendor.com

Come visit us at our new, bigger & more beautiful location. Splendor offers introductory + advanced jewelry classes, jewelry co-design, + jewelry making supplies. Current class schedule: www.beadsofsplendor.com

FOSSIL RIM WILDLIFE CENTER

Lodging

2299 County Road 2008 Glen Rose, Texas 76043 254.897.2960

fossilrim.org

Make plans for a relaxing family getaway and book a night’s stay at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center’s lodging The Lodge and the Foothills Safari Camp both offer unique experiences with beautiful views, a hot breakfast and a scenic wildlife drive.

MAKERS CONNECT

Local Handcrafted Items 10242 E. Northwest Hwy. Dallas 75238 www.facebook.com/MakersConnectDallas 972.803.8890 www.makersconnect.org

Discover one of a kind items fresh from the hands of over 50 local North Texas artisans. Also, offering workshops on Etsy and Pinterest-inspired themes. More information at MakersConnect.org and www.facebook.com/MakersConnectDallas

Build analytical skills, self-esteem and character... Just don’t tell the kids, they just think...

CHESS IS FUN!

Ages 7 to 14 on the UT Dallas campus. For Beginners, Intermediate or Advanced

Morning (9 am-noon) or afternoon (1-4 pm) sessions. June 8-12, June 15-19, July 13-17, July 20-24, 2015 and extended playing classes.

972-883-4899 utdallas.edu/chess james.stallings@utdallas.edu

your child’s academic journey close to home.

PreK - 6th Grades

Programs

Grades Lessons offered

Computer Curriculum

whole child,” and provides an individualized approach to teaching – meeting the student where their needs are. Students are educated socially through community time, physically through daily PE, academically through a wellrounded curriculum, and spiritually through a fostering of awareness and individual growth.

HIGHLANDER SCHOOL

9120 Plano Rd. Dallas / 214.348.3220 / www.highlanderschool.com Founded in 1966, Highlander School offers an enriched curriculum in a positive, Christian-based environment. Small class sizes help teachers understand the individual learning styles of each student. Give us a call for more information.

LAKEHILL PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Leading to Success. 2720 Hillside Dr., Dallas 75214 / 214.826.2931 / lakehillprep. org Kindergarten through Grade 12 - Lakehill Preparatory School takes the word preparatory in its name very seriously. Throughout a student’s academic career, Lakehill builds an educational program that achieves its goal of enabling graduates to attend the finest, most rigorous universities of choice. Lakehill combines a robust, college-preparatory curriculum with opportunities for personal growth, individual enrichment, and community involvement. From kindergarten through high school, every Lakehill student is encouraged to strive, challenged to succeed, and inspired to excel.

SPANISH HOUSE

grounded in love, humility, and wisdom. Accredited by ISAS, SAES, and the Texas Education Agency.

UT DALLAS CHESS CAMP

800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson 75080 / (972) 883-4899 / utdallas.edu/chess ) 2014

Summer Chess Camp Campers learn while they PLAY. Chess develops reading, math, critical and analytical skills, and builds character and self-esteem. Just don’t tell the kids…they think chess is fun! Join beginner, intermediate or advanced chess classes for ages 7 to 14 on the UT Dallas campus. Morning (9am-noon) or afternoon (1-4pm) sessions are available June 8-12, June 15-19, July 13-17, July 20-24 and extended playing classes. Camp includes t-shirt, chess board and pieces, trophy, certificate, score book, group photo, snacks and drinks. Instructors are from among UT Dallas Chess Team PanAm Intercollegiate Champions for 2010-2012!

THE WINSTON SCHOOL

PreK - 6th

Grades

We educate the Whole child Low Teacher Student Ratio

SACS/CASI Accredited

4411 Skillman 214-826-4410 / 5740 Prospect 214-826-6350 / DallasSpanishHouse.com

After School Enrichment Programs

Before & After School Care

We Educate the Whole Child Low Teacher Student Ratio

Art, Music, Library Time, Daily Spanish, Reading Lab

SACS/CASI Accredited

Spanish Immersion School serving ages 3 month - Adults. We offer nursery, preschool, elementary and adult programs at two Lakewood locations. Degreed, nativeSpanish speaking teachers in an “all-Spanish” immersion environment. Call for a tour today!

5707 Royal Lane Dallas, Tx 75229 / 214691-6950 / www.winston-school.org If your bright child struggles with things like Attention and Concentration, Executive Functioning and Dyslexia, The Winston School may be able to help. The Winston School has a robust academic program which prepares a student for college while at the same time developing the whole child. We understand bright children who learn differently and recognize their unique gifts and talents. Celebrating and validating these assets with our students enables them to discover who they are, and empowers them to be consistently successful. The Winston School brings hope for today and a road map for tomorrow. School Preview: February 26th, 9-11am

WHITE ROCK NORTH SCHOOL

Ave. Dallas TX 75208 • 214-942-2220 www.thekesslerschool.com

After School Enrichment Programs

Before & After School Care

1215 Turner Ave. Dallas TX 75208 214-942-2220

TheKesslerSchool.com

Art, Music, Library Time, Daily Spanish, Reading Lab

CLAIRE’S CHRISTIAN DAY SCHOOL

The Kessler PumPKin PaTch anD arT Fair saT OcT 5

ST. CHRISTOPHER’S MONTESSORI SCHOOL

7900 Lovers Ln. / 214.363.9391 stchristophersmontessori.com

9727 White Rock Trail Dallas / 214.348.7410 / WhiteRockNorthSchool.com

1215 Turner Ave. Dallas, TX 75208 214-942-2220

TheKesslerschool.com

8202 Boedeker Dr., / (214) 368-4047 / clairesdayschool.com At CCDS, we encourage a child’s sense of exploration and discovery in a loving, nurturing, and safe environment. We offer a parent’s day out program with a play-based curriculum fostering socialization, motor skill development, and an introduction to academics for children aged 4mo – 3yrs. Our preschool for children aged 3-5 further develops these skills, along with a more focused approach to pre-math and prereading. At CCDS, we have developed our own science, math, and reading enrichment classes to ensure kindergarten preparedness for every child. We make learning fun!

THE KESSLER SCHOOL

Pre K – 6th Grade / 1215 Turner Ave, Dallas TX 75208 / 214-942-2220 / www. thekesserschool.com The Kessler School offers an innovative academic environment that gives students a solid foundation, confidence, and a love of learning. Located just minutes from downtown Dallas; The Kessler School’s mission is to “educate the

St. Christopher’s Montessori School has been serving families in the DFW area for over a quarter of a century. We are affiliated with the American Montessori Society and our teachers are certified Montessori instructors. Additionally our staff has obtained other complimentary educational degrees and certifications, including having a registered nurse on staff. Our bright and attractive environment, and highly qualified staff, ensures your child will grow and develop in an educationally sound, AMS certified loving program. Now Enrolling.

ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL

848 Harter Rd., Dallas 75218 / 214.328.9131 / stjohnsschool.org Founded in 1953, St. John’s is an independent, co-educational day school for Pre-K through Grade 8. With a tradition for academic excellence, St. John’s programs include a challenging curriculum in a Christian environment along with instruction in the visual and performing arts, Spanish, German, French, and opportunities for athletics and community service.St. John’s goal for its students is to develop a love for learning, service to others, and leadership

6 Weeks through 6th Grade. Our accelerated curriculum provides opportunity for intellectual and physical development in a loving and nurturing environment. Character-building and civic responsibility are stressed. Facilities include indoor swimming pool, skating rink, updated playground, and state-of-the-art technology lab. Kids Club on the Corner provides meaningful after-school experiences. Summer Camp offers field trips, swimming, and a balance of indoor and outdoor activities designed around fun-filled themes. Accredited by SACS. Call for a tour of the campus.

ZION LUTHERAN SCHOOL

6121 E. Lovers Ln. Dallas / 214.363.1630 / ziondallas. org Toddler care thru 8th Grade. Serving Dallas for over 58 years offering a quality education in a Christ-centered learning environment. Degreed educators minister to the academic, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of students and their families. Before and after school programs, Extended Care, Parents Day Out, athletics, fine arts, integrated technology, Spanish, outdoor education, Accelerated Reader, advanced math placement, and student government.

Accredited by National Lutheran School & Texas District Accreditation Commissions and TANS. Contact Principal Jeff Thorman.

THE UT DALLAS CHESS TEAM HAS BEEN 1ST IN 10 PAN-AM INTERCOLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPS!

BAPTIST

LAKESIDE BAPTIST / 9150 Garland Rd / 214.324.1425

Worship — 8:30 am Classic & 11:00 am Contemporary

Pastor Jeff Donnell / www.lbcdallas.com

PARK CITIES BAPTIST CHURCH / 3933 Northwest Pky / pcbc.org

All services & Bible Study 9:15 & 10:45. Trad. & Blended (Sanctuary),

Contemporary (Great Hall), Amigos de Dios (Gym) / 214.860.1500

PRESTONWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH / “A Church to Call Home”

Sundays: Bible Fellowship (all ages) 9:15 am /Service Time 11:00 am

12123 Hillcrest Road / 972.820.5000 / prestonwood.org

WILSHIRE BAPTIST / 4316 Abrams / 214.452.3100

Pastor George A. Mason Ph.D. / Worship 8:30 & 11:00am

Bible Study 9:40 am / www.wilshirebc.org

DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

EAST DALLAS CHRISTIAN CHURCH / 629 N. Peak Street / 214.824.8185

Sunday School 9:30 am / THE TABLE Worship 9:30 am

Worship 8:30 & 10:50 am / Rev. Deborah Morgan-Stokes / edcc.org

LUTHERAN

CENTRAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, ELCA / 1000 Easton Road

Sunday School for all ages 9:00 am / Worship Service 10:30 am

Pastor Rich Pounds / CentralLutheran.org / 214.327.2222

FIRST UNITED LUTHERAN CHURCH / 6202 E Mockingbird Lane

Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am / Call for class schedule. 214.821.5929 / www.dallaslutheran.org

METHODIST

LAKE HIGHLANDS UMC / 9015 Plano Rd. / 214.348.6600 / lhumc.com

Sunday Morning: 9:30 am Sunday School / 10:30 am Coffee

Worship: 8:30 am & 10:50 am Traditional / 10:50 am Contemporary

RIDGEWOOD PARK UMC / 6445 E. Lovers Lane / 214.369.9259

Sunday Worship: 9:30 am Traditional and 11:35 am Contemporary

Sunday School: 10:30 am / Rev. Ann Willet / ridgewoodparkchurch.org

WHITE ROCK UNITED METHODIST / www.wrumc.org

1450 Oldgate Lane / 214.324.3661

Sunday Worship 10:50 am / Rev. Mitchell Boone

PRESBYTERIAN

NORTHRIDGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH / 6920 Bob-O-Link Dr. 214.827.5521 / www.northridgepc.org / Welcomes you to Worship

8:30 & 11:00 am / Church School 9:35 am / Childcare provided.

ST. ANDREW’S PRESBYTERIAN / Skillman & Monticello

Rev. Rob Leischner. / www.standrewsdallas.org

214.821.9989 / Sunday School 9:30 am, Worship 10:45 am

UNITY

UNITY OF DALLAS / A Positive Path for Spiritual Living

6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX 75230 / 972.233.7106 / UnityDallas.org

10:30 am Sunday - Celebration Worship Service

UNITY ON GREENVILLE / Your soul is welcome here!

3425 Greenville Ave. / 214.826.5683 / www.dallasunity.org

Sunday Service 11:00 am and Book Study 9:30 am

THE SCRIPTURAL ‘STICKY WICKET’

Why biblical interpretation is literally a challenge

I wish it were easy.

I wish we could all just open our Bibles to the table of contents, find the subject we are interested in, read it once, then move on to live accordingly.

Some people seem to think it’s that easy. The Bible is God’s Word. Its sense is plain. If you understand it rightly, you will always understand it the way I do.

It’s not that easy.

On countless matters, Christians (not to mention Jews and Mormons who also hold

ture: history, poetry, law, narrative, prophecy and proverbial wisdom, to name a few. Just as you can’t read a recipe like you would read a novel, so you can only understand the Bible according to the form of literature you are reading. So to say that you “take the Bible literally” can only mean that you read the symbolic parts symbolically; otherwise you are not reading them literally, you are just reading them wrongly.

all or part of the Christian Bible sacred) disagree on what the Bible means, and thus what we are supposed to believe and how we are supposed to behave. To one degree or another, according to one theory or another, all of us consider the Bible to be Spirit-inspired writing and authoritative for faith and life.

How so? That’s the sticky wicket.

Quick review: Human beings wrote the Bible across a span of about 1,500 years. They either lived the events they described and reflected upon them, or they were close to those who did live those events, or they wrote down once and for all the stories that had been kept alive orally before then. The book didn’t drop out of heaven like a special delivery from an Amazon drone — from God’s lips to human ears to scribal pen.

The Bible is more like a library than a book. It contains different types of litera-

In his helpful book “Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today,” United Methodist minister Adam Hamilton suggests that there are three broad categories that passages fit into. First, those that reflect the timeless will of God for human beings; for instance, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Second, those that reflect God’s will in a particular time but not for all time; this may include ritual law of the Old Testament. And third, those that reflect the culture and historical circumstances in which they were written but never reflected God’s timeless will; and here slavery comes to mind. Figuring out what belongs in which category is often difficult and debatable.

Reading the Bible alongside others, keeping your heart and mind open, and seeking to understand it with the aid of God’s Spirit will take us most of the way toward agreement on most matters. We will always wrestle with some things, even as we do today — about the death penalty, the role of women, or gay marriage. If it were easy, it wouldn’t take faith and it would hardly be worth it. Things that are worth it — like love, say — are worth it precisely because they take effort.

When Jesus was asked to summarize the Bible (the Law and the Prophets), he said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

We should start and end there.

To say that you “take the Bible literally” can only mean that you read the symbolic parts symbolically; otherwise you are not reading them literally, you are just reading them wrongly.

George Mason is pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church. The Worship section is a regular feature underwritten by Advocate Publishing and by the neighborhood business people and churches listed on these pages. For information about helping support the Worship section, call 214.560.4202.

BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

Send business news tips to livelocal@advocatemag.com

The new cure

Remedy, a new concept from the owner of H.G. Sply Co. and Social Mechanics, opened on Lowest Greenville (2010B Greenville) in January. The restaurant’s concept is based around the old-fashioned soda fountain. Owner Elias Pope came up with it after reading “The Dispenser’s Formulary,” a practical handbook written for soda fountain operators compiled by the editors of “Soda Fountain Magazine” in 1915. “At Remedy, we believe in bringing old-school hospitality back to life,” Pope says. But it’s not just about sodas and ice-cream sundaes. Chef Danyele McPherson is at the helm of Remedy’s kitchen, serving American favorites such as fish sandwiches, BLTs, grilled cheese, pork chops, potpies and more. Early reviews have been excellent.

Burgers and fries (and dogs and tots)

A new burger joint from the founder of legendary greasy spoon Barbec’s is coming to Old East Dallas. Barry Brown plans to open his new concept, Harvey G’s, in the shopping center at Columbia and Carroll (4506 Columbia). The takeout restaurant had been expected to open in January with a menu consisting of burgers, chicken sandwiches, chili cheese dogs, Frito pie, chickenfried steak, tater tots and cheddar spiral fries. Desserts include soft-serve ice cream cones and shakes. Everything is under $10.

Bye-bye buffets

Ali Baba in the Lakewood Shopping Center closed at the end of the year after 25 years because of declining revenues. The restaurant originally was located on Lower Greenville and relocated to Lakewood in 2009. Its owners, brothers Adam and Jalal Chanaa, have opened four other restaurants over the years, which are still in business. Another longtime neighborhood restaurant, Szechwan Pavilion in Casa Linda Plaza (1152 N. Buckner), is expected to close this month because of increasing rent. The Wang family opened the restaurant 35 years ago. They

More business bits

plan to focus solely on the Plano restaurant they own with friends, Umeko Sushi & Grill.

Healthy hounds

Hollywood Feed, a retailer of natural and holistic pet products, opened in the old Cantina Laredo spot off Abrams (2031 Abrams) in December. The Tennessee-based pet store has four other locations in Dallas.

Ace’d

ACE Hardware opened in its new location in Arboretum Village in mid-January, and it’s hosting a grand opening on Feb. 27-28. Ace began serving the Lakewood community more than 30 years ago in the Lakewood Shopping Center. Earlier this year, it moved to a temporarily location at Gaston-GarlandGrand. In January it closed the temporary location and opened across the street as one of the first retailers in Arboretum Village shopping center.

every week on

1 Construction has begun on C’Viche, the Lowest Greenville ceviche-and-tequila concept from Clark Food and Wine Co. owner, chef Randall Warder. 2 Village Baking Co. is working on its newest store, in the former Pipedream smoke shop on Lowest Greenville. 3 Three new restaurants are coming soon to the new development adjacent to Trader Joe’s: BB Bop Seoul Kitchen, Yucatan Taco Stand and an approachable French concept from the owners of Boulevardier, called Rapscallion.

Remedy: Photo by Kevin Marple

HEALTH WELLNESS

PRESENTED BY

ADVISOR

HEALTHY AND ACTIVE AT ANY AGE

As we age, maintaining good health can become a challenge. Luckily, there exists a community that has been dedicated to providing senior care since 1970.

Back then, the forward-thinking staff at Monticello West envisioned that as baby boomers aged, they would need to provide a place where people felt at home and have access to personalized medical care.

Today, nearly 45 years later, Monticello West has pro-

vided a community for aging adults to stay fit, active and mentally sharp well into the golden years.

“Critical to the overall atmosphere is the combined sense of community with high-quality healthcare,” says Monticello West communications representative Robin Daniels.

“Today, the community is operated by a leading provider of senior living communities, Life Care Services,

that shares forward-thinking mindsets and is advancing care through special programs.”

When you meet with the staff at Monticello West, you immediately realize the difference, such as the tenure of staff. The staff is the foundation for the high-quality care, which has been honored with the industry’s coveted five-star rating.

In today’s modern age of information available on the internet, caregivers at Monticello West respect and realize that families work to gain advance knowledge and expertise about care for their loved one.

“We welcome family discussion and interaction to ensure that residents are receiving personalized, high-quality healthcare,” Daniels says.

“Communication is critical throughout all stages of memory care from early onset to advanced memory loss.”

Monticello West provides the full range of care, including all levels of assisted living to advanced memory care so patients remain in a familiar environment.

“Our goal is to enable our residents to live an active, independent lifestyle while our dedicated team members, including licensed nurses, provide assistance with medications, personal grooming, transportation and other specific services depending on the needs of our residents,” Daniels says.

At Monticello West, at least five scheduled activities are on the calendar daily, providing opportunities for intellectual stimulation.

“Activity selections are varied, with examples including a van ride, an afternoon social, or an afterdinner event with refreshments,” Daniels says.

Two outdoor courtyards provide opportunities for seniors to stay active while strolling amidst nature and beautiful flowers, right in the heart of Highland Park.

Monticello West’s chef, Taylor Self, has trained at the world-renowned Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Self works to get to know residents’ food preferences and provides clean, healthy food choices.

“The special attention we provide to our residents is what sets us apart,” Daniels says.

monticellowest.com

A Park Cities Classic in Senior Living

Over the past 30 years, one senior living community has earned a reputation for exceptional care in the heart of the Park Cities. Monticello West. It’s a classic! But better. With up-to-date amenities and the latest innovations in supportive assisted living and memory care.

• Gracious assisted living with privacy when you want it, support with daily activities when you need it

• Innovative memory care featuring the nationally recognized Heartfelt Connectionstm Memory Care Program

• Exceptional senior living in the prestigious Highland Park neighborhood of North Dallas

Ready, set

…

The Woodrow Wilson High School volleyball team won many accolades this past season. Sophomore Jillian Barthelemy won the 11-5A district outstanding setter award. Sophomore Cabrina Becker won the outstanding attacker award. Junior Alissa Amaro won the outstanding libero award. All-district first team awards went to sophomore Alex Land, freshman Audrey Patranella and freshman Paula Hammond. Pictured, left to right, Alex Land, Audrey Patranella, Alexa Zotos, Lauren Murray, Paula Hammond, Jillian Barthelemy, Mary Grace Doviak, Molly Weber, Cabrina Becker, Laurel Diaz, Alissa Amaro, manager Cole Martinez and Coach Jim Harris.

Local BULLETIN BOARD

CLASSES/TUTORING/ LESSONS

ART: Draw/Paint. Adults All Levels. Lake Highlands N. Rec. Ctr. Yearly fee. 18-59 yrs-$15, 60+$10 Mon-1-3: Wed 10:15-1:15, Jane Cross, 214-534-6829.

ARTISTIC GATHERINGS

Casa Linda Plaza. Art Classes & Drop In Pottery Painting For All Ages. 214-821-8383. Tues-Sat 10am-6pm

GUITAR OR PIANO Patient Teacher. Your Home. 12 Yrs Exp. Reasonable rates. UNT Grad. Larry 469-358-8784

MATHNASIUM has a new Math Learning Center at 7324 Gaston mathnasium.com/dallaslakewood 214-328-MATH (6284)

MUSIC INSTRUCTION Especially For Young People

Aged 5-12. Guitar, Piano, Percussion. ChildPlayMusicSchool.com. 214-733-1866

Learn to draw with Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain ®

Classes

Brenda Catlett Certified Instructor (972)989-0546 www.PerceptionDrawing.com

CHILDCARE

LOVING, CHRIST-CENTERED CARE SINCE 1982 Lake Highlands Christian Child Enrichment Center Ages 2 mo.-12 yrs. 9919 McCree. 214-348-1123.

EMPLOYMENT

AIRLINE CAREERS Get FAA Approved Maintenance Training At Campuses Coast To Coast. Job Placement Assistance. Financial Aid For Qualifying Students. Military Friendly. AIM 866-453-6204

MCSHAN FLORIST is currently accepting applications for full & part time drivers. Please apply in person @ 10311 Garland Rd.

PET SITTERS, DOG WALKERS reply to http://www.pcpsi.com/join

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY to earn residual income on electric bills. Call Jay at 214-707-9379.

SERVICES FOR YOU

AT ODDS WITH YOUR COMPUTER? Easily Learn Essential Skills. Services include Digital Photo Help. Sharon 214-679-9688

SERVICES FOR YOU

CAREER/EXECUTIVE/STRENGTHS Coaching for ages 9-99. www.alisecortez.com 214-597-6463

CONFUSED? FRUSTRATED? Let A Seasoned Pro Be The Interface Between You & That Pesky Computer. Hardware & Software Installation, Troubleshooting, Training. $60/hr. 1 hr min. Dan 214-660-3733 or stykidan@sbcglobal.net

DISH TV RETAILER Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 months) & High Speed Internet starting at $14.95/month (where available) Save. Ask about Same Day Installation 1-800-615-4064

FUNCTIONAL ART BY MD SOLIS

Metal & Wood Artworks for the home or office. 214-727-7957

MY OFFICE Offers Mailing, Copying, Shipping, Office & School Supplies. 9660 Audelia Rd. myofficelh.com 214-221-0011

IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU EVENTS - Floral design with you in mind! itsallaboutyouevents.com Yvette Patton. 214-232-7587

LEGAL SERVICES

A SIMPLE WILL. Name a Guardian for Children. Katherine Rose, Attorney 214-728-4044. Office Dallas Tx.

A WILL? THERE IS A WAY Estate/Probate matters. Free Consultation. 214-802-6768 MaryGlennAttorney.com

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

ACCOUNTING, TAXES Small Businesses & Individuals. Chris King, CPA 214-824-5313 www.chriskingcpa.com

BOOKKEEPING NEEDS? Need Help Organizing Finances?

No Job Too Small or Big. Call C.A.S. Bookkeeping Services. Cindy 214-821-6903

FARMERS INSURANCE CALL JOSH JORDAN 214-364-8280. Auto, Home, Life Renters.

MIND, BODY & SPIRIT

PERSONAL FITNESS TRAINING To Suit Your Specific Training Needs. Terry 214-206-7823. terryrjacobs@outlook.com

One in a pavilion

The White Rock Lake Conservancy and the City of Dallas ceremonially broke ground on a project to restore the stone tables at White Rock Lake. The tables were built by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s, and the conservancy has raised money for a multi-phase restoration project, including replacing the floor and adding lighting. Work began on the project last month.

Local BULLETIN BOARD

PET SERVICES

DEE’S DOGGIE DEN Daycare, Boarding, Grooming, Training. 6444 E. Mockingbird Ln. 214-823-1441 DeesDoggieDen.com

HOMEGROWN HOUNDS DOG DELI / BAKERY Healthy homemade dog food/treats. 100% goes to rescue. hghdogs.com

POOP SCOOP PROFESSIONALS Trust The Experts. 214-826-5009. germaine_free@yahoo.com

SKILLMAN ANIMAL CLINIC Is Your Friendly, Personal, Affordable Vet. 9661 Audelia Rd. #340. 214-341-6400

In-Home Professional Care

Customized to maintain your pet’s routine In-Home Pet Visits & Daily Walks

“Best of Dallas” D Magazine Serving the Dallas area since 1994 Bonded & Insured www.societypetsitter.com 214-821-3900

BUY/SELL/TRADE

TEXAS RANGERS AND DALLAS STARS

front row seats. Share prime, front-row Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars tickets (available in sets of 10 games). Prices start at $105 per ticket (sets of 2 or 4 tickets per game available) Seats are behind the plate and next to the dugouts for the Rangers: seats are on the glass and on the Platinum Level for the Stars. Other great seats available starting at $60 per ticket. Entire season available except for opening game; participants randomly draw numbers prior to the season to determine a draft order fair for everyone. Call 214-560-4212 or rwamre@advocatemag.com

TOP CASH FOR CARS Any Car, Truck. Running or Not. Call for Instant Offer. 1-800-454-6951

ESTATE/GARAGE SALES

CLUTTERBLASTERS.COM-ESTATE SALES

Moving/DownSizing Sales, Storage Units. Organize/De-Clutter Donna 972-679-3100

ESTATE SALES & LIQUIDATION SERVICES

Moving, Retirement, Downsizing. One Piece or a Houseful. David Turner. 214-908-7688. dave2estates@aol.com

2629

BLINDS, SHADES & DRAPERIES

SMARTLOOKS WINDOW & WALL DECOR Window Treatments & Repair. 972-699-1151

CABINETRY & FURNITURE

SQUARE NAIL WOODWORKING Cabinet Refacing, Built-ins, Entertainment/ Computer Centers. Jim. 214-324-7398 www.squarenailwoodworking.com

CARPENTRY & REMODELING

BO HANDYMAN Specializing In Historic Home Renovations & Pro Remodels. Custom Carpentry, Doors, Kitchens, Baths & more. 214-437-9730

FENN CONSTRUCTION Any Tile Anywhere. www.dallastileman.com Back Splash Specials! 214-343-4645

O’BRIEN GROUP INC. Remodeling Dallas For Over 17 Years www.ObrienGroupInc.com 214-341-1448

RENOVATE DALLAS renovatedallas.org 214-403-7247

BRIAN

PayPal ®

WWW.BGRONTHEWEB.COM

BRIANGREAM@YAHOO.COM

TK Remodeling

Your neighborhood remodeler

•Repair •Remodeling •Restoration

•Complete full service

Name it — We do it

http://dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com

Tommy 972-533-2872 INSURED

Unique Home Construction

- Design, Build, Remodel - Kitchens & Baths

- New Construction or Additions

Many references available

- Licensed, Insured, Member of BBB www.uniquehomebuild.com

214.533.0716

CLEANING SERVICES

ALTOGETHER CLEAN

Relax ...We’ll Clean Your House, It Will Be Your Favorite Day! Bonded & Insurance. Free Estimates. 214-929-8413. www. altogetherclean.net

AMAZON CLEANING

Top To Bottom Clean. Fabiana.469-951-2948

CALL GRIME STOPPERS • 214-724-2555

Wanted: Houses to Clean • 20 years experience. Dependable. Efficient. Great Prices. Excellent Refs.

CINDY’S HOUSE CLEANING 15 yrs exp. Resd/Com. Refs. Dependable. 214-490-0133

DELTA CLEANING Insd./Bonded. Move In/Out. General Routine Cleaning. Carpet Cleaning. Refs. Reliable. Dependable. 28+yrs. 972-943-9280.

MAID 4 YOU Bonded/Insured. Park Cities/M Streets Refs. Call Us First. Joyce.214-232-9629

MESS MASTERS Earth friendly housecleaning. 469-235-7272. www.messmasters.com Since ‘91

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM

Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS

ALL COMPUTER PROBLEMS SOLVED

MAC/PC Great Rates! Keith 214-295-6367

BILL’S COMPUTER REPAIR

Virus Removal, Data Recovery. Home/Biz Network Install. All Upgrades & Repairs. PC Instruction. No Trip Fee. 214-348-2566

IT SOLUTIONS/SUPPORT For Home & Small Business. Parental Controls Speciality. 8 Yrs. Exp. Husband & Wife, Licensed Minister called to His Work. Texas Tech Guru. 214-850-2669

CONCRETE/ MASONRY/PAVING

BRICK & STONE REPAIR

Don 214-704-1722

BRICK, BLOCK, Stone, Concrete, Stucco. Gonzalez Masonry. 214-395-1319

BRICK, STONEWORK, FLAGSTONE PATIOS

Mortar Repair. Call George 214-498-2128

CONCRETE, Driveway Specialist Repairs, Replacement, Removal, References. Reasonable. Chris 214-770-5001

EDMONDSPAVING.COM Asphalt & Concrete

Driveway-Sidewalk-Patio-Repair 214-957-3216

FLAGSTONE PATIOS, Retaining Walls, BBQ’s, Veneer, Flower Bed Edging, All Stone work. Chris 214-770-5001

CONCRETE/ MASONRY/PAVING R&M Concrete

Concrete Retaining Walls Driveways Stamped Concrete 214-202-8958

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com Family Owned/Operated. Insd. 214-328-1333

EXPERIENCED LICENSED ELECTRICIAN Insd. Steve. TECL#27297 214-718-9648

GOVER ELECTRIC Back Up Generators. New and Remodel Work. Commercial & Residential. All Service Work. 469-230-7438. TECL2293

LAKEWOOD ELECTRICAL Local. Insured. Lic. #227509 Call Rylan 214-434-8735

TEXAS ELECTRICAL • 214-289-0639

Prompt, Honest, Quality. TECL 24668

TH ELECTRIC Reasonable Rates. Licensed & Insured. Ted. E257 214-808-3658

WHITE ROCK ELECTRIC All Electrical Services. Lic/Insd. E795. 214-850-4891

EXTERIOR CLEANING

G&G DEMOLITION Tear downs, Haul. Interior/Exterior. 214-808-8925

FENCING & DECKS

#1 COWBOY FENCE & IRON CO. Est. ‘91. 214-692-1991 www.cowboyfenceandiron.com

4 QUALITY FENCING Call Mike 214-507-9322 Specializing in Wood, New or Repair.

AMBASSADOR FENCE INC.

Automatic Gates, Iron & Cedar Fencing, Decks. Since 1996. MC/V 214-621-3217

HANNAWOODWORKS.COM Decks, Fences, Pergolas, Patio Covers. 214-435-9574

KIRKWOOD FENCE & DECK New & Repair. Free Estimates. Nathan Kirkwood. 214-341-0699

LONESTARDECKS.COM 214-357-3975

Trex Decking & Fencing, trex.com All Wood Decks, Arbors & Patio Covers

Swimming Pool Remodels • Patios Stone work • Stamp Concrete 972-727-2727 Deckoart.com

COWBOY FENCE & IRON CO.

214.692.1991

EST. 1991 #1 SPECIALIZING IN Wood Fences &Auto Gates

cowboyfenceandiron.com

Business Resources

TO ADVERTISE 214.560.4203

FIREPLACE SERVICES

CHIMNEY SWEEP Dampers/Brick & Stone Repair. DFW Metro. Don 214-704-1722

FLOORING & CARPETING

ALL WALKS OF FLOORS 214-616-7641

Carpet, Wood, Tile Sales/Service Free Estimates

CLIFTON CARPETS 214-526-7405 www.cliftoncarpets.com

FENN CONSTRUCTION Any Tile Anywhere. www.dallastileman.com Back Splash Specials! 214-343-4645

HASTINGS STAINED CONCRETE New/ Remodel. Stain/Wax Int/Ext. Nick. 214-341-5993. www.hastingsfloors.com

LONGHORN FLOORS LLC 972-768-4372. www.longhornflooring.com

N-HANCE WOOD RENEWAL. No Dust. No Mess. No Odor. nhance.com. 214-321-3012.

WILLEFORD HARDWOOD FLOORS 214-824-1166 • WillefordHardwoodFloors.com

NEED FLOORING?

Carpet • Ceramic • Wood • Luxury Vinyl Call John Roemen 972.989.3533

john.roemen@redicarpet.com

REDI CARPET

Reinventing the Flooring Experience

GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS

A FATHER, SON & GRANDSON TEAM Expert Window Cleaning. Haven 214-327-0560

DOVETAIL CUSTOM SHUTTERS Louis Wiggins 214-342-0889 dovetailshutters.com

GREENGO WINDOWS & DOORS 903-802-6957, 214-755-6258

LAKE HIGHLANDS GLASS & MIRROR custom mirrors • shower enclosures store fronts • casements 214-349-8160

ROCK GLASS CO Replace, repair: windows, mirrors, showers, screens. 214-837-7829

HANDYMAN SERVICES

A R&G HANDYMAN Electrical, Plumbing, Painting, Fencing, Roofing, Light Hauling. Ron or Gary 214-861-7569, 469-878-8044

ALL STAR HOME CARE Carpentry, Glass, Tile, Paint, Doors, Sheetrock Repair, and more. 25 yrs. exp. References. Derry 214-505-4830

BO HANDYMAN Specializing In Historic Home Renovations & Pro Remodels. Custom Carpentry, Doors, Kitchens, Baths & more. 214-437-9730

FRAME RIGHT All Honey-Dos/Jobs. Crown mold install $125/rm. Licensed. Matt 469-867-9029

GROOVY HOUSE Is A Different Handyman Experience! Find Out Why At www.groovyhouse.biz 214-733-2100 • 19 Year Lakewood Resident

HANDYMAN SPECIALIST Residential/

Commercial. Large, small jobs, repair list, renovations. Refs. 214-489-0635

HOMETOWN HANDYMAN All phases of construction. No job too small 214-327-4606

HONEST, SKILLED SERVICE With a Smile. General Repairs/ Maintenance. 214-215-2582

WANTED: ODD JOBS & TO DO LISTS Allen’s Handyman & Home Repair 214-288-4232

Handy Dan

The Handyman “ToDo’s” Done Right Save $25 on Service Call of $125 or $50 on Service Call of $250 handy-dan.com 214.252.1628

Your Home Repair Specialists

HOUSE PAINTING

1 AFFORDABLE HOUSE PAINTING and Home Repair. Quality work. Inside and Out. Free Ests. Local Refs. Ron 972-816-5634 or 972-475-3928

#1 GET MORE PAY LES

Painting. 85% Referrals. Free Est. 214-348-5070

A+ INT/EXT PAINT & DRYWALL

Since 1977. Kirk Evans. 972-672-4681

A1 TOP COAT Professional. Reliable. References. TopCoatOfTexas.com 214-770-2863

ABRAHAM PAINT SERVICE A Women Owned Business 25 Yrs. Int/Ext. Wall Reprs. Discounts On Whole Interiors and Exteriors 214-682-1541

ALL TYPES Painting & Repairs. A+ BBB rating. Any size jobs welcome. Call Kenny 214-321-7000

BENJAMIN’S PAINTING SERVICE Quality Work At Reasonable Prices. 214-725-6768

MANNY’S HOME PAINTING & REPAIR Int./Ext. Sheetrock. Manny 214-334-2160

RAMON’S INT/EXT PAINT Sheetrock, Repairs. 214-679-4513

ROMEO’S PAINTING Int/Ext. Drywall, Damage Repair. Prep House To Sell. 214-789-0803

TEXAS BEST PAINTING • 214-527-4168 Master Painter. High Quality Work. Int/Ext.

TONY’S PAINTING SERVICE Quality Work

Since 1984. Int./Ext. 214-755-2700

VIP PAINTING & DRYWALL Int/Ext. Sheetrock Repair, Resurfacing Tubs, Counters, Tile Repairs. 469-774-7111

BRIAN GREAM

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

TOM HOLT TILE 30 Yrs Experience In Tile, Backsplashes & Floors. Refs. Avail. 214-770-3444

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

A BETTER TREE COMPANY • JUST TREES Complete tree services. Tree & Landscape Lighting! Mark 214-332-3444

A BETTER TREE MAN Trims, Removals, Insd. 12 Yrs Exp. Roberts Tree Service. 214-808-8925

A&B LANDSCAPING Full Landscape & Lawn Care Services. Degreed Horticulturist. 214-534-3816

ALL YARD SERVICES Fertilization, Trim, Edge, Color. Com./ Res. 30 Yrs. Exp. Call Brooks. 972-279-3564, 214-923-5439

AYALA’S LANDSCAPING SERVICE

Call the Land Expert Today! Insured. 214-773-4781

CHUPIK TREE SERVICE

Trim, Remove, Stump Grind. Free Est. Insured. 214-823-6463

COLE’S LAWN CARE • 214-327-3923

Quality Service with a Personal Touch.

DALLAS K.D.R.SERVICES • 214-349-0914

Lawn Service & Landscape Installation

GREENSKEEPER Winter Clean Up & Color. Sodding, Fertilization. Lawn Maintenance & Landscape. Res/Com. 214-546-8846

HOLMAN IRRIGATION

Sprinkler & Valve Repair/ Rebuild Older Systems. Lic. #1742. 214-398-8061

NOW IS THE TIME TO PLAN FOR SPRING

Call Us for Your Design Work, Bed Prep, and Tree Plantings. Walton’s Garden Center 8652 Garland Rd. 214-321-2387

ORTIZ LAWNCARE Complete Yard Care. Service by Felipe. Free Est. 214-215-3599

RED SUN LANDSCAPES • 214-935-9779 RedSunLandscapes.com

GARAGE DOORS

ROCKET GARAGE DOOR SERVICE -24/7. Repairs/Installs. 214-533-8670. Coupon On Web. www.RocketDoorService.com

UNITED

Drywall Doors Senior Safety Carpentry Small & Odd Jobs And More! 972-308-6035 HandymanMatters.com/dallas Bonded & Insured. Locally owned & operated.

HOME INSPECTION

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

ALL SURFACE REFINISHING 214-631-8719. Tub/Tile/Refinishing. allsurfacerefinishing.com

FENN CONSTRUCTION Any Tile Anywhere. www.dallastileman.com Back Splash Specials! 214-343-4645

MELROSE TILE James Estrello Sr., Installer 40 Yrs. Exp. MelroseTile.com 214-384-6746

STONE AGE COUNTER TOPS Granite, Marble, Tile, Kitchen/Bath Remodels. 972-276-9943 stoneage.dennis@verizon.net

TK REMODELING 972-533-2872

Complete Full Service Repairs, Remodeling, Restoration. Name It — We do it. Tommy. Insured. dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com

RONS LAWN Organic Solutions. Not Environmental Pollution. Landscape & Maintenance 972-222-LAWN (5296)

SPRINKLER REPAIR SPECIALIST $25Off. 972-226-1925 www.rainmakertx.com LI#7732

TAYLOR MADE IRRIGATION Repairs, service, drains. 30+ years exp. Ll 6295 M-469-853-2326. John

TRACY’S LAWN CARE • 972-329-4190

Lawn Mowing & Leaf Cleaning

WATER-WISE URBAN LANDSCAPES

www.TexasXeriscapes.com 469-586-9054

WHITE ROCK TREE WIZARDS Professionals, Experts, Artists. Trim, Rmv, Cable Repair, Cavity-Fill Stump Grind. Emergency Hazards. Insd. Free Est. 972-803-6313

PLUMBING

NTX PLUMBING SPEC. LLLP 214-226-0913

Lic. M-40581 Res/Com. Repairs & Leak Location

REPAIRS, Fixtures, General Plumbing, Senior Discounts. Campbell Plumbing. 214-321-5943

SPECK PLUMBING

Over 30 Yrs Exp. Licensed/Insured. 214-732-4769, 214-562-2360

UPTOWN PLUMBING. Serving Dallas 40 + Yrs. 214-747-1103. M-13800 uptownplumbing.com

POOLS

ADAIR POOL & SPA SERVICE

1 month free service for new customers. Call for details. 469-358-0665.

LOCK’S POOL SERVICE - 469-235-2072

40 years experience. Pool Electrical TICL #550

ROOFING

A&B GUTTER 972-530-5699

Clean Out, Repair/Replace. Leaf Guard. Free Estimates. Lifetime Warranty Allstate

A

PEST

kids, pets in mind. Organic products avail. 972-564-2495

Keeping

MCDANIEL PEST CONTROL

Prices Start at $85 + Tax For General Treatment.

Average Home-Interior/Exterior & Attached Garage. Quotes For Other Services. 214-328-2847. Lakewood Resident

PLUMBING

A2Z PLUMBING 214-727-4040

All Plumbing Repairs. Slab Leak Specialists. Licensed & Insured. ML# M36843.

ANDREWS PLUMBING • 214-354-8521

# M37740 Insured. Any plumbing issues. plumberiffic69@gmail.com

Sewers • Drains • Bonded 24 Hours/7 Days

*Joe Faz 214-794-7566 - Se Habla Español*

ARRIAGA PLUMBING: General Plumbing

Since the 80’s. Insured. Lic# M- 20754 214-321-0589, 214-738-7116, CC’s accepted.

HAYES PLUMBING INC. Repairs. Insured, 214-343-1427 License M13238

JUSTIN’S PLUMBING SERVICE

For All Your Plumbing Needs. ml#M24406 972-523-1336. www.justinsplumbing.com

M&S PLUMBING Quality Work & Prompt Service. Jerry. 214-235-2172. lic.#M-11523

ADVOCATE PUBLISHING does not pre-screen, recommend or investigate the advertisements and/ or Advertisers published in our magazines. As a result, Advocate Publishing is not responsible for your dealings with any Advertiser. Please ask each Advertiser that you contact to show you the necessary licenses and/or permits required to perform the work you are requesting. Advocate Publishing takes comments and/or complaints about Advertisers seriously, and we do not publish advertisements that we know are inaccurate, misleading and/or do not live up to the standards set by our publications. If you have a legitimate complaint or positive comment about an Advertiser, please contact us at 214-560-4203. Advocate Publishing recommends that you ask for and check references from each Advertiser that you contact, and we recommend that you obtain a written statement of work to be completed, and the price to be charged, prior to approving any work or providing an Advertiser with any deposit for work to be completed.

Athletics

ED & LH

Joseph Ritter, a power forward for the Woodrow Wilson High School Wildcat basketball team, has committed to Cornell University for next fall. The 6-foot-8 240-pound senior is ranked by texashoops.com and Max Preps.

Education

S.S. Conner Elementary School teacher Katey Batey won an essay contest about being a teacher and was a speaker at the Extra Yard for Teachers Summit in January.

Woodrow Wilson High School’s 324 seniors were treated to a pizza lunch in November after 90 percent of them sent college applications, meeting the DISD goal before the Thanksgiving break.

HAVE AN ITEM TO BE FEATURED?

Mount Auburn Elementary School has the highest math proficiency rate in DISD for students using the Reasoning Minds program.

Robert T. Hill Middle School students and staff collected 247 gifts in December for the Salvation Army to give to children and teens in devastating circumstances.

J.L. Long Middle school students collected 150 toys in December for WFAA’s Santa’s Helpers Toy Drive.

Nonprofits

The White Rock YMCA has raised $12 million, about $2 million shy of its fundraising goal for the new building on Gaston. Supporters can purchase a bricks with their name on them for $1,500 each as part of the YMCA’s “click the brick” campaign. Construction began in April 2014 and is nearing completion.

Please submit news items and/or photos concerning neighborhood residents, activities, honors and volunteer opportunities to editor@advocatemag.com. Our deadline is the first of the month prior to the month of publication.

TRUE Crime

POLICE: SUSPECT ADMITS TO SHOOTING WOODROW STUDENT

On July 15, 2014, Eric Romero, 16, a junior at Woodrow Wilson High School, died of a gunshot wound to the head after being anonymously dropped off at Baylor Medical Center. Police believed the shooting took place near Woodrow. Romero died just one day before his 17th birthday. For months, police said only that a homicide investigation was ongoing. Recently, however, homicide detectives identified Juanito Molina, 21, as the suspect. On Dec. 29, police say Molina admitted to accidentally shooting Romero before transporting him to the hospital. According to the police report, Molina told police that he and Romero were at Molina’s home when Molina picked up a revolver and pulled back the hammer, put his finger on the trigger and “the gun went off.” Then Molina “realized that he shot [Romero] in the head,” according to the report. He put Romero in his truck and drove him to the hospital. Molina has been arrested for criminal negligent homicide and placed in jail on a $15,000 bond, police say.

ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION For more information call 214.560.4203 or email jliles@advocatemag.com

MEYER www.dallaseyeworks.com

Blue light has the most energy of visible light and constant exposure with hand held devices and computers may be causing damage. Children are more susceptible to this exposure due to the fact that older eyes filter out the blue high-energy light more that younger eyes. At Dallas Eyeworks we recommend a lens treatment called Recharge by Hya Vision. This allows a clear spectacle lens to filter out the high energy blue light and protect the eye. Call for an appointment today!

Dallas Eyeworks 9225 Garland Rd., Ste. 2120, Dallas, TX 75218 214.660.9830

COSMETIC AND GENERAL DENTISTRY

DENA T. ROBINSON, DDS www.drdenarobinson.com

Dr. Robinson is a Preferred Invisalign provider in the White Rock Lake/Casa Linda area. Give us a call to see if you are a great candidate for Invisalign.

FAGD - Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry 8940 Garland Rd., Ste. 200, Dallas, TX 75218 214.321.6441

Eric Romero

DALLAS, WE NEED TO TALK

It’s time to get serious about your future

Dear City of Dallas:

I want to have a heart-to-heart chat with you about your future.

I know we’ve had our differences over the years — I’ve said some things, you’ve said some things. I’ve mocked your charrettes and your desperate need for world classiness. You’ve accused me of trying to send a billion dollars down the river when I tried to kill the Trinity Toll Road. I’ve questioned your insatiable thirst for bigger and shinier and massively more expensive things. You’ve gotten mad that I won’t go along to get along.

sion bridge, it’s only because I know you’re capable of so much more. You could be an amazing city to live in, but you won’t get there by fixating on projects like this. That kind of stuff won’t do a thing to improve Dallasites’ everyday lives.

So, as your frenemy, I’d like to offer you some advice.

First of all, you’ve got to let go of this world-class nonsense. You spend way too much time talking about being a world class “this” and having a world class “that.” Then you petulantly threaten that if you don’t get a gazillion dollars to spend on some shiny new bauble, your friends won’t think you’re world class. You must stop trying to out-fancy the more popular cities and focus on being the best Dallas you can be. And stop worrying about what your friends think.

a huge swath of Dallas parkland so they can get home a couple of minutes faster. Once you give them what they want, they’ll drive past, and won’t even stop by to visit. Is that really what’s best for you and your residents?

City of Dallas, I want you to take a good, long look in the mirror. Embrace who you are. Get comfortable with the fact that you are not Paris or London or New York City. Stop trying to impress your regional friends with more and more freeways. Stop collecting fancy baubles to show off to the rich kids.

There have been times I’ve had harsh words for you. But when I’m critical of your submersible toll road or city-owned hotel or faux suspen-

Speaking of your “friends,” I’m worried you’re being overly influenced by this crowd you’re hanging around with, these rich kids. When they say “jump,” you say “how many horse parks do you want?” I just don’t think they have your best interests at heart, and I think they manipulate you to line their own pockets. Do they even live in Dallas, or do they retreat to their manses in the bubble when it comes time to return your friendship? What does that tell you about how much they care?

Your friends from the suburbs are another matter. I like them. I do. And I think it’s important for you to work on projects together. But you’re letting them take advantage of you. You’re more than willing to spend your own money and pour concrete over

Instead, start listening to your neighborhoods. Focus on the little things that make a big difference to us, like smooth streets, beautiful parks and public safety. Your rich kid friends might sneer at such prosaic notions, but this isn’t a plea to think small. It’s a plea to think big about the small things. We love bold ideas like Klyde Warren Park, the Katy Trail, the Dallas Arboretum. These are grand projects that benefit us, your residents and your neighborhoods, instead of commuters or visitors or big business.

So help us shape a new city that puts neighborhoods first. Give us better infrastructure and better city services. Help us construct and connect bikeways and sidewalks with schools, transit and work centers. Support our small businesses by reducing City Hall’s red tape. Invest in more Lower Greenvilles and Bishop Arts Districts. Most importantly, remember who your true friends are — your residents.

I’m worried you’re being overly influenced by this crowd you’re hanging around with, these rich kids. When they say “jump,” you say “how many horse parks do you want?”

Angela Hunt is a neighborhood resident and former Dallas City Councilwoman in East Dallas. She writes a monthly opinion column about neighborhood issues. Her opinions are not necessarily those of the Advocate or its management. Send comments and ideas to her at 6301 Gaston, Suite 820, Dallas 75214; FAX to 214.823.8866; or email ahunt@advocatemag.com.

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