He H ad it coming

Is that a good enough reason to break the law?

I was riding in a friend’s car on our way to some place now forgotten, and as we tooled along, a car raced up from behind us, careened into the adjacent lane, and then slid inches in front of us as we continued driving down the highway.

My friend, normally a calm sort but prone to an occasional invective or two, spoke up.

“Someday, when the doctor has told me I have two weeks to live, and I have nothing to lose, I’m going to slam right into that guy’s car. And when he gets out and starts yelling at me, I’m going to tell him he had it coming.

“And then I’m going to get back in my car and do it all over again to the next car that cuts me off.”

There wasn’t a lot I could add to those comments because even though he was obviously wrong, he was also right.

There have been plenty of times over the years I’ve felt the same way, although most of my bad-driver fantasies involve me driving a big truck with a snowplow so that when I slam into the idiotic driver, my vehicle isn’t damaged but his or hers is totaled.

I know, I know. There’s nothing to be proud of here. Clearly, neither my friend nor I should be doing anything like this to anyone at any time; taking the law into our own hands and acting like a bully to someone who already is a bully isn’t going to solve anything.

But it sure would feel good from time to time, wouldn’t it?

There seem to be plenty of times these days when taking the law into our own hands seems — if only for a fleeting moment — to be a really good idea.

And people express their opinions on everything from international topics to local issues instantly and loudly on social media it’s not uncommon to see “suspects” convicted and sentenced online by peers long before they’re ever charged in court these days.

I even led a Sunday school lesson awhile ago where that was the theme — sometimes, you have to do “what’s right,” even if it means breaking the law.

Of course, the lesson was more of a theoretical exercise, and during the ensuing discussion, it was easy to see why.

I asked the class this question: If I’m attending a movie and the plot turns out to be sacrilegious (at least in my opinion), what should I do?

Should I walk out? Should I complain to the manager? Or should I just sit through it and be quiet?

The class was divided. Some said to forget it. Some said ask for my money back. One person suggested something more along the lines of my snowplow idea: Stand up and start yelling to everyone in the theater that the movie isn’t worth seeing and we all need to walk out right now.

And therein lies the problem in terms of taking “the law” into our own hands. Who’s to say I’m right about the movie and that it’s OK for me to disrupt the good time of the guy sitting next to me? Who’s to say I’m the good driver and the other guy is the idiot? Both likely have their own perspective, and both are likely much different from mine.

It’s easy to mouth-off online, where decisions are instantaneous and implications often don’t come into play. It’s harder to do it in person, because every decision has immediate and personal consequences.

Ultimately, that’s what laws and regulations do: They keep individual perspective on the sidelines for the most part and force us to live every day with the expectation that we will be here tomorrow to suffer the consequences of our actions.

Because more than likely, we will. And for the sake of our overall sanity, it’s probably best that we continue to think and act that way.

Rick Wamre is president of Advocate Media. Let him know how we are doing by writing to 6301 Gaston, Suite 820, Dallas 75214; or email rwamre@advocatemag.com.

DISTRIBUTION PH/214.560.4203

ADVERTISING PH/214.560.4203 office administrator: JUDY LILES

214.560.4203 / jliles@advocatemag.com display sales manager: BRIAN BEAVERS

214.560.4201 / bbeavers@advocatemag.com senior advertising consultant: AMY DURANT

214.560.4205 / adurant@advocatemag.com senior advertising consultant: KRISTY GACONNIER

214.560.4213 / kgaconnier@advocatemag.com advertising consultants

CATHERINE PATE

214.292.0494 / cpate@advocatemag.com

NORA JONES

214.292.0962 / njones@advocatemag.com

FRANK McCLENDON

214.560.4215 / fmcclendon@advocatemag.com classified manager: PRIO BERGER

214.560.4211 / pberger@advocatemag.com classified consultant

SALLY ACKERMAN

214.560.4202 / sackerman@advocatemag.com marketing director: L AUREN S HAMBECK

214.292.0486 / lshambeck@advocatemag.com

EDITORIAL PH/ 214.292.2053 publisher: CHRISTINA HUGHES BABB

214.560.4204 / chughes@advocatemag.com senior editor: KERI MITCHELL

214.292.0487 / kmitchell@advocatemag.com editors:

MONICA S. N AGY

214.292.2053 / mnagy@advocatemag.com

RACHEL STONE

214.292.0490 / rstone@advocatemag.com

B RITTANY N UNN

214.635.2122 / bnunn@advocatemag.com associate editor: LAURI VALERIO

214.635.2120 / lvalerio@advocatemag.com senior art director: JYNNETTE NEAL 214.560.4206 / jneal@advocatemag.com designers: JEANINE MICHNA-BALES, L ARRY OLIVER, KRIS SCOTT, JESSE DIAz contributing editors: JEFF SIEGEL, SALLY WAMRE contributors: GAYLA BROOKS, SEAN CHAFFIN, GEORGE MASON, BLAIR MONIE, ELLEN RAFF photo editor: CAN TüRKYILMAz 214.560.4200 / turk@advocatemag.com director of multimedia: DANNY FULGENCIO 469.916.7866 / dfulgencio@advocatemag.com photographers: MARK DAVIS, ELLIOTT MUñOz intern: BETH DIDION the Advocate are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the publisher’s viewpoint. More than 200,000 people read Advocate 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.

New LH homes

From the looks of the lot layout, it’s another “zero lot” project like they have across the street, with overpriced homes — probably $300,000-$450,000 — crammed in as close as they can squeeze them (lakehighlands. advocatemag.com, Jan. 10, “New houses planned behind Lake Highlands Kroger”). All the existing mature trees will, no doubt, be removed and hopefully relocated. I’m amazed that there is consumer demand to live in a development like this.

—The Spoiler, via advocatemag.com

A house is worth what someone’s willing to pay the most for it. And frankly, I welcome higher-priced homes in our neighborhood. Yes, trees will be cut down. Trees will be planted. It’s all the cycle of life.

—Lord Humungus, via advocatemag.com

Dirty water?

Has anyone noticed the water now has a very strong smell of chlorine or some other chemical (lakehighlands.advocatemag.com, Jan. 7, “Did Dallas’ water system fail?”)? As the mom of a child with several autoimmune illnesses, including inflammatory bowel disease, I was not pleased to receive a vague postcard from the City of Dallas about water treatment issues. —Susan, via advocatemag.com

Our water has been undrinkable since before Thanksgiving. Repeated calls to the city, including more than a few late-night visits from the guys over at Water Utilities, still haven’t yielded drinkable water. We intermittently have water that has a pale yellow tint to it (think of the color of a post-it note). Clean and safe drinking water should be a priority. Why it isn’t for the City of Dallas is baffling me. —Jbales, via advocatemag.com videO

Talk to us.

Catherine Ogie-Lucas

To see a video about Catherine Ogie-Lucas visit lakehighlands. advocatemag.com/video.

On an unseasonably warm Saturday evening in December, 43 burmese children and their mothers gather in what is either an unfinished or extremely rundown clubhouse at the Newport Landing apartments on Walnut Hill. Catherine Ogie-Lucas, a woman of Nigerian descent, hurries around the room, laying down carpet so the children have a place to sit, carrying in bags of food donated by the neighborhood Chick-fil-a, and employing helpers (namely her 9-year-old daughter, Princess) to line a table with the 40-some gift bags she filled with clothing, hygiene products and other donations the previous night.>>

Catherine and husband Darren Lucas, founders of Rock Haven Ministries, and Princess have been hosting get-togethers for this group of people since last May, when they held a back-to-school rally.

An estimated 500,000 political refugees have been driven from their homes in Burma, an Asian country of 54 million, according to the office of Refugee Resettlement. Texas is home to the largest number of refugees, and Dallas is the second largest destination behind Houston.

A huge number of refugees from Burma, Bhutan and Iraq live in the Park Lane/Vickery Meadow area, but a large percentage of Burmese refugees have moved to the Lake Highlands area.

Most of the children in the group mothered by Ogie-Lucas attend Lake Highlands’ Wallace Elementary.

This gathering and the others — religious yet not proselytizing — are about building relationships, Catherine says. The idea is to eventually offer English and life-skills classes to the parents and help them gain American citizenship. Her dream, she says, is to form a coalition of refugee-aid programs called “Willing Workers.”

“My desire is to build a collaborative effort by the groups who are already helping,” she says. “First we need to make sure we are effective as possible in our efforts, reaching the neediest and most-recent refugees, making sure everyone is touched and no one is left behind. Once we are working together we can stop duplicating one another’s efforts, pool our resources and get an efficient system down.”

These refugees, she says, are coming from a different culture, they speak a different language and something such as using our public transportation system can be extremely confusing. In the group at the December event, only one of the Burmese parents speaks English. However, notes Ogie-Lucas, the children help with the interpretation and, she adds, “The language of love is universal. When you love people, it is easy to make them understand.”

As his wife works, Darren Lucas explains how they got involved with the

Burmese community. She had a dream one night about helping a large community of Asian people. She woke up and asked herself, what does it all mean?

Through their church, Covenant in North Dallas, and Catherine’s job, where she works with large numbers of Asian immigrants, they were led to this group, which Darren agrees is in enormous need of support.

“They come here and, often living in low-income, crime inhabited apartment communities, they are vulnerable to all of the ills of our culture — drugs, crime, violence. They desperately need someone to help them acclimate,” he says.

He calls his wife the “energizer bunny.”

DETERMINATION.

Determination is the key to Dani Hanna’s success. I don’t think I have seen a more focused individual when given the task of meeting her clients’ real estate needs. I have seen Dani create her own market many times by keeping in mind the future needs of her clients and putting deals together out of thin air. This work ethic and creativity in business is what makes her consistently a top producer at Dallas City Center. Dani is also a proud member of our Board of Directors and our Luxury division. Congratulations Dani!

Kevin Caskey Director @ Dallas City Center

“We hosted a Thanksgiving dinner where she cooked for all of them. The Friday after Thanksgiving I was ready for an easy day off — go see a movie, you know? But she wasn’t hearing it. We took food to the apartments. I was instructed to load the car,” he says with a laugh. “It turned out to be better than any movie,” he admits.

In the old clubhouse, once the children all settle on the rug, Darren, a preacher, tells stories that have the kids rolling in laughter. The parents, though they don’t understand his story, smile broadly as they observe their children’s joy. Catherine prays for each child individually.

Her daughter Princess good-naturedly rolls her eyes and warns, “This part will take forever.”

Catherine calls this a dedication ceremony.

She is not forcing religion on the children, she says, but letting them know God loves them. —Christina

Hughes Babb