2018 October Oak Cliff

S. Montreal Ave. $385,000 Jason Melton

Holliday Dr. $250,000 Vinnie Sherman

S. Willomet Ave. $337,500 Diane Sherman

Belleview St. #201 $339,000 Jack Carter

Cliffdale Ave. SOLD Bart Thrasher 469.583.4819

CONTENTS

UP FRONT

8 Deaf education

The Hogg Elementary teacher who knows her students’ struggle.

11 Lookie Lou Peek into Oak Cliff’s most intriguing homes without it being creepy.

14 Home grown Grassroots Kitchen grew out of a streetcorner business.

FEATURES

20 The great Trinity Does Dallas need a $200-million park between the levees?

Photo by Danny Fulgencio

ONE MAN’S TRASH

DALLAS BULK TRASH RENDERS TREASURES

Story by RACHEL STONE

What is the best thing you ever found in Oak Cliff bulk trash?

For Sarah Valdez-Tate, it’s this 12-foot macramé planter that’s now a focal point of her dining room.

She found it in the Red Bird area, outside a house that was being emptied out for sale. The workers put everything out on the curb. That same cache had an antique sewing machine and a marble tabletop that Valdez-Tate turned into a lazy Susan. “I’m a raccoon,” she says. “I love trash.”

What about rogue trash piles?

Neighbor Juan Rodriguez had one on his block. For years, people consistently dumped trash near his home where there is a side yard facing the street.

As soon as bulk trash was picked up, a new pile would appear. Annoyed, Rodriguez wrote a letter to the person he thought was the dumper. And he wrote a letter to the property owner. But the trash pile persisted.

A few weeks ago, he got the idea to plant a garden there. Since he installed two chunks of grass and a leafy plant, there’s been no dumping.

“I had to find a way to stop it from happening,” says Rodriguez, a lifelong neighborhood resident. “North Oak Cliff is booming, and people don’t want to see trash out there in their neighborhood all month long.”

The City of Dallas is considering changes to how it handles bulky trash and brush pickup. Stay updated at oakcliff.advocatemag. com. Meanwhile, please tell us: What is the best thing you ever found in bulk trash? Have you ever done battle on a rogue trash pile? Send a photo and few sentences to rstone@advocatemag.com.

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ABOUT THE COVER

The Margaret Hunt Hill bridge in West Dallas was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and was constructed in 2012.

Photo by Danny

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A neighbor installed some landscaping to discourage rogue trash piles.

Sarah Valdez-Tate rescued this huge macrame planter from bulk trash.

Fulgencio

Free squeeze

A strolling party in Bishop Arts and free mammograms are on tap this year for Shop Eat Drink Pink, from 6-9 p.m. Methodist Health System’s mammography bus will provide 12 mammograms, funded by the Mammogram Poster Girls, during the event. Call to schedule an appointment, 214.947.3441. The VIP event at House of Dirt includes dinner, dessert, cocktails and entertainment. $25-$60

When: Oct. 4

Where: Bishop Avenue at Seventh Street

More Info: mammogrampostergirls.org

National night out

Find your neighborhood association’s gathering or attend the Kings Highway Conservation District’s National Night Out with Owls from 5-7 p.m. Window to the Wild will bring a screech owl and a great horned owl. Methodist Dallas Medical Center celebrates with a cookout and kids activities in Hitt Auditorium, Colorado at Bishop, from 6-8 p.m., free

When: Oct. 2

Where: Twelve Hills Nature Center, 817 Mary Cliff Road

More Info: twelvehills.org

Nina, 1962

“The Champions,” based on true events, portrays a turbulent day in the life of Nina Simone and kicks off the theater’s 25th season. $18-$30

When: Oct. 11-28

Where: Bishop Arts Theatre Center, 215 S. Tyler St.

More Info: bishopartstheatre.org

Lively up yourself

The fifth-annual roots-reggae festival Oak Cliff Lively Fest features live music from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. free

When: Oct. 14

Where: Lake Cliff Park, 300 E. Colorado Blvd.

More Info: oakclifflivelyfest.com

New Orleans brass

Put a little wiggle in your back with Rebirth Brass Band and Big Sam’s Funky Nation, starting at 8 p.m. $26-$56

When: Oct. 20

Where: The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis

More Info: thekessler.org

Horror and dancing

Dallas Neo-Classical Ballet performs a “Suspiria”-inspired piece at 8 p.m., followed by an 8:30 screening of the original Dario Argento masterpiece. $16

When: Oct. 31

Where: The Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd.

More Info: thetexastheatre.com

Elliott Muñoz

Hike it Baby North Dallas

Closed Group 743 members

UP FRONT

QUIET CONFIDENCE

A teacher empathizes with her deaf students 

Story by WILL MADDOX / Photo by DANNY FULGENCIO

Julia Manincor applied for jobs in biotechnology after graduating from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.

She received plenty of interest, but her need for a sign-language interpreter dampened prospective employers’ enthusiasm, she says.

Some companies flat-out turned her down. Others accommodated the interviews, but no one hired her.

Manincor did find her calling, though. She is now a teacher of deaf students at James Hogg Elementary in Oak Cliff, bringing her back to Dallas ISD, where her education began.

Manincor grew up in East Dallas near Stonewall Jackson Elementary, which was a regional school for the deaf in Dallas ISD. While many deaf students fall behind in elementary school, Manincor managed to stick with her peers. Her sister is also deaf, and their hearing parents learned to sign. They fought for their daughter to stay in high-level classes and receive the accommodations she needed.

About 90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents, most of whom don’t learn to sign, according to the National Institute of Health. The median reading level for deaf highschool graduates is equal to an average fourth-grade student, according to a 2012 report in the Journal of Deaf Studies.

Manincor’s parents’ commitment to learning helped her develop the vocabulary she needed.

“I don’t know where I would be without that communication,” Manincor signed through an interpreter.

Manincor is profoundly deaf, meaning she hears almost nothing at all on her own. She received hearing aids in elementary school, but they didn’t have much impact. She says she had to work harder than other students to keep up, and there weren’t many deaf students in her classes.

“I feel like I can connect with them,” she says of her Hogg students. “There are not a lot of deaf teachers, but I am deaf just like them.”

She teaches kindergarten through fourth-grade students who are deaf and have special needs. Many of them are on the autism spectrum and have

language delays. Manincor teaches her students to sign and communicate beyond pointing. “I have seen them slowly improve over the last four years,” she says. “I am excited to see them use language and words and trying to communicate with other friends in class.”

She knows how far deaf people can go in life.

The desire to push herself academically led her to move to the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin, where she boarded through high school. Being surrounded by high-achieving deaf students was a boon to her confidence, and Manincor excelled there while playing soccer and other sports.

After graduating from Rochester and losing interest in biotechnology, she began substitute teaching. Other teachers and administrators encouraged her to become a teacher, so she earned a master’s degree in deaf education at Lamar University in Beaumont before an internship and full-time job at Hogg, one of the deaf education schools in Dallas ISD.

Manincor eventually received a cochlear implant and was amazed to hear the rain falling and her steps on the pavement. One day, sitting alone in her house, she realized she could hear the ticking of a clock. “That is so annoying! How do you ignore that?” she says.

Her husband is also deaf, and they have two young boys who have normal hearing but know sign language. The Manincors strategically set up mirrors in their house so they can see what the boys are doing behind their backs. She says she enjoys being immersed in the deaf community while existing in a hearing world, and her last four years of teaching have been an important part of that. “I felt very isolated and alone, but now I feel more involved socially,” she says.

TAKE A LOOK

TOUR SOME OF OAK CLIFF’S MOST INTRIGUING HOMES THIS MONTH

Nine Oak Cliff homes representing a century of architecture, from Interstate 30 to Red Bird Lane, make up this year’s Heritage Oak Cliff Fall Home Tour. All proceeds from the tour go toward funding grants to member neighborhood associations. The nonprofit gave more than $40,000 to neighborhoods in 2017 for beautification, sidewalks, crime-watch programs, neighborhood schools and other needs. Here is an overview of a few homes on this year’s tour.

A LAW FIRM BROUGHT this historic home back to its former glory.

Cedar Crest House, also known as the L.O. Daniel mansion, was built in 1905, when it was on the Texas and Pacific Rail line. It was a Victorian style “country house” originally surrounded by about 27 acres. It housed a title company for many years and was underutilized for years after they moved out.

Kelly, Durham & Pittard LLP, which previously had an office on Haines at West Davis, bought the house, which is across the street from Sunset High School, in 2016. Painstaking renovations included building a new staircase and crafting replacement hardware to match the old ones. A neighbor salvaged the original light fixtures from the trash, and those will be installed once they are refurbished.

Painstaking renovations included building a new staircase and crafting replacement hardware.

SOMETIMES OLD THINGS have to be taken apart, cleaned and put back together.

That’s even true for this 94-year-old house in the Lake Cliff Historic District.

The owners who bought it in 2013 removed the original clay roof tiles and had them cleaned by hand before they were reinstalled. Wood window frames were refurbished and reused. They also salvaged doors, trim, hardware, baseboards, oak flooring, ceiling lath and some cabinet doors to retain the home’s original character.

They increased square footage of the home by converting the 1,115-square-foot attic for two bedrooms and a full bathroom and turning the 1,174-square-foot basement into a family room. But the dramatic centerpiece of the home are the 1,500 square feet of elevated concrete porches that are decorated with cast stone railings and pedestals.

Left: The Cedar Crest house was constructed in 1905, and a law firm bought it in 2016. Right: This house near Lake Cliff Park has a converted attic and basement.

AN ESTATE SALE drew the current owners to this unique home near the Golf Club of Dallas. They bought it, becoming only the second owners.

Architect Robert E. Davies designed the Wynnewood Hills house for the Chafin family in the 1960s.

The house has a stone and brick façade and a low-pitched roof with lots of patio space. It backs up to the golf course’s second fairway, and multi-trunk trees, retaining walls and large planting beds remain from the original landscape design.

It features two living areas, two dining rooms and five-and-a-half bathrooms. All three bedrooms have en-suite bathrooms with Roman tubs.

The new owners kept the original silk draperies, wallpaper, light fixtures and decorative elements. Updates include countertops, hickory hardwood floors and mechanics.

Heritage Oak Cliff Fall Home Tour Noon-6 p.m. Oct. 20-21 $20 in advance and $25 on the days of the tour ($5 discount for seniors). Buy tickets at Tom Thumb on Hampton Road, at Kessler Cookie Co. on Beckley or at heritageoakcliff.org/home-tour.

This 1960s house was built for entertaining and backs up to the Golf Club of Dallas’ second fairway.

DALLAS NEEDS A HERO

After a City Councilman’s disgrace, who will lead Oak Cliff?

Former Dallas City Councilmember Dwaine Caraway left a dark cloud over City Hall when he pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges in August.

Caraway, who served a total of about 15 years on City Council, admitted to accepting about $450,000 in bribes related to the scandal that ended the 171-year-old Dallas County Schools bus service and wasted as much as $70 million in taxpayer funds.

The good news is that 13 candidates are running to fill Caraway’s seat, District 4, which includes the Bottoms, the Tenth Street Historic District, the Kiest Park area, Cedar Crest and part of Red Bird.

The Advocate is interviewing all 13 candidates, and so far, we’ve found that each has his or her own impassioned reasons for running and a vision for what the area needs.

The City Council snap election for District 4 is Nov. 6. Register to vote by Oct. 9, and look for our District 4 candidate interviews at oakcliff. advocatemag.com.

RACHEL STONE

SEEDING THEIR OWN BUSINESS

GRASSROOTS KITCHEN GREW FROM A STREET-CORNER GRILL

ADAM LOEW SPENT EVERY WEEKEND cooking

on an Oak Cliff street corner for 14 months.

The guy knows his stuff. He has a culinary degree and years of fine-dining and hospitality experience. But all those nights grilling up jerk chicken outside of North Oak Cliff Beer and Wine introduced him to the neighborhood.

Loew and his wife, Thania, wanted to open a restaurant in the warehouse behind the beer store after they moved to Oak Cliff three years ago. But finishing out that space and obtaining permits would’ve cost about

Grassroots Kitchen

Price range: $10-$17

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Monday-Saturday, closed Sunday 2109 S. Edgefield Ave. 972.707.7226

$1 million, Loew says.

By the time they gave up on that, though, they had connections.

Elmwood residents Joe and Robbie Christopher offered them a lease in their building at 2109 S. Edgefield, and they opened Grassroots Kitchen about six months ago.

“I came here because I wanted to be a part of this neighborhood,” Loew says.

They built out the restaurant from an empty box, and it has a big industrial kitchen with tons of equipment purchased for their earlier warehouse plans.

Story By RACHEL STONE Photos by KATHY TRAN

The hummus plate comes with roasted eggplant dip and pickled vegetables.

Did

Loew and two employees make everything from scratch except the bread, which comes from Empire Baking Co.

Customer favorites include a pork or chicken banh mi, Cuban-style pork sandwich, gyro platter and meatloaf. There are also big salads, a hummus plate and house-made pickles and potato chips. The Jamaican jerk chicken is a popular throwback to the beer-store days.

While Loew’s street business was known for brisket tacos, that delicacy is banned from Grassroots.

“There are seven taquerías within two blocks of here,” he says. “My wife said, ‘no Mexican.’ We’re not here to poach anybody’s customers.”

$380,000 IN WYNNEWOOD 716 MAYRANT 1972 SQFT 3/2/2

SOLD IN WYNNEWOOD 723 MAYRANT DR. 2210 SQFT 3/2/2 POOL

SOLD IN WYNNEWOOD 507 MONESSEN DR. 1924 SQFT 2/2/2

FOR SALE IN WYNNEWOOD 1817 SHELMIRE DR. 2344 SQFT 3/2/2

The bahn mi comes with pork or chicken and house-made pickles.

FACES OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

SUSANNAH M. HAMBRIGHT

Susannah M. Hambright is more than just an Oak Cliff proponent. A specialist in general and Hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) surgery at Dallas Methodist Medical Center, Dr. Hambright rooted her family in her much loved community while pursuing her professional passion, treating cancers and benign conditions of the liver, pancreas and gall bladder.

For a consultation with Susannah Hambright call 972.298.2138 or visit methodistsurgicalassociates.com

FLAMENCO FLAMES

FOR ONE WEEK IN OCTOBER, OAK CLIFF BECOMES A BIG SPANISH PARTY

FLAMENCO FEVER IS REAL.

Dallas native Julia Alcantara caught it 20 years ago as a student in New Mexico.

And she’s been bringing the funk to our neighborhood with the Oak Cliff Flamenco Festival since 2015.

Alcantara, who lived in Deep Ellum and organized festivals there, moved to Oak Cliff eight years ago.

Oak Cliff has the venues, arts scene and culture to feed the flamenco flames, she says. “It just seemed like it was the perfect neighborhood to house something like this.”

This year’s weeklong festival kicks off Oct. 7 with “paella

and pasión” at the TyPo campus backyard.

Local flamenco artists and students perform, and tokens can buy paella, but the event is free to attend.

Other free events include the “Bishop Arts barrage,” which features live performances at venues throughout the district as well as strolling flamenco performances. That’s followed by a jam session with flamenco professionals from Spain at the Wild Detectives.

The art form, which includes a singer, a guitar player and a dancer, is so complex and layered that artists can spend their whole lives reaching for the next level.

Story by RACHEL STONE / Photos by DANNY FULGENCIO

It takes about 10 years before students can really call themselves flamenco artists, Alcantara says. There is only one flamenco guitar player for dance in the Dallas area, she says, and only about 12 singers in the United States.

This is the first year the festival is offering a residency for a Spanish artist. Dancer Miguel Infante will teach for six weeks at Alcantara’s studio in Winnetka Heights.

“It’s a real delicacy, and it’s very exciting to see it at the level these people bring in,” she says.

The festival costs about $20,000 to produce and gained nonprofit status earlier this year. Alcantara raises money through sponsorships, and Bishop Arts restaurants pay the musicians they hire during Bishop Arts Barrage. The festival also has received grants from the City of Dallas.

Tickets for the finale, at Poor David’s Pub on Oct. 14, cost $20.

“We want people to get involved. We want people to learn to sing and play and dance,” she says. “So that we can have flamenco all year long and not just when these [Spaniards] come through town.”

Find all the details at flamencofever.org.

“We want people to learn to sing and play and dance, so that we can have flamenco all year long.”

RE-IMAGINING

What should a park between the levees look like?

BY WILL MADDOX AND RACHEL STONE PHOTOS BY DANNY FULGENCIO

n May 24, 1908, Biblical rain soaked Dallas with devastating consequences. A 1957 Dallas Morning News article described it. “The leaden heavens continued to send down torrents of rain as the day wore on,” causing the Trinity river to crest at 52.6 feet. It knocked out the city’s power and water supplies and displaced 4,000 people from their homes. A police horse drowned on McKinney Avenue, and three people died when the rushing water took out the railroad viaduct where they were watching the raging flow. The waters paralyzed the city for days.

Since the 1800s, the river has both frustrated and captured the imagination of Dallasites. In 1910, urban planner George Kessler began designing a plan to unbend the river and build levees to prevent such a flood from happening again.

In the 1920s, engineers straightened the river, designing it to flood between the levees and flow quickly downstream, acting as flood control for a downtown Dallas that regularly flooded. Today, the Trinity river runs in a straight southwest path just west of Downtown, dividing it from Oak Cliff. Most of the year, it remains a small band inside its banks, with expansive floodplains on either side and levees rising beyond, like two sentinels watching over the flowing green waters. Every once in a while, heavy rains will cause the river to flood out of its banks, at times making its way up the levees.

Dallas leaders once envisioned a highway in the flood plain. Voters approved it twice, but after former City Councilwoman Angela Hunt led a charge against putting a highly trafficked road

THE TRINITY

“My hope is that they learn from their previous mistakes and acknowledge that we want a park where we can live with nature.”

SCOTT GRIGGS CITY COUNCILMAN

in a flood plain, public opinion and leadership turned against it. The tollroad plan finally died last year.

Other than simple trails along the levees and down near the river, the area remains undeveloped.

The latest vision is Harold Simmons Park, a 200-acre flood-friendly park between the levees that would run from

the Ron Kirk Pedestrian Bridge in West Dallas to the Interstate-30 Margaret McDermott Bridge to the south. The Simmons family donated $10 million toward the development of the park, with $40 million more to come if the organization meets governance and fundraising goals.

While not as contentious a fight as

the one that killed the Trinity tollroad plan, not everyone agrees on what $200 million should pay for between the levees.

From the ashes of several iterations of Trinity design, a nonprofit organization called the Trinity Park Conservancy rose to lead the charge in fundraising, designing and seeking public input about what the park should be. The park will be developed in a publicprivate partnership between the city and the conservancy, called a Local Government Corporation.

Trinity Park Conservancy President and CEO Brent Brown has been attached to the Trinity project for more than a decade, and now he is tasked with building a park between the levees. Brown founded bcWorkshop, a nonprofit design firm that sought to improve life in Dallas. The nonprofit founded and directed CityDesign Studio, which contracted to guide design for the City of Dallas from 2011-2017.

Brown says he wants to turn the green space into something that stitches the city together and entices Dallasites from both sides of the Trinity. “The park is a vehicle,” he says. “Yes, we are building a park, but we are also building a city.”

Designing a park in a flood plain will require a unique sensitivity to nature, he says. “There is a tension between the natural forces surrounding our river and the physical construction and management of the space,” he says. “Nature is fighting to have it be less manmade. We are going to build a park, and it is going to flood.”

IF HOUSTON COULD DO IT…

What should a park that floods look like? There are precedents. Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston is both made to flood and managed by a government and nonprofit partnership, though it is smaller. The park includes nature trails, a dog park, a skate park and more, running along the flood-prone bayou near downtown.

New York-based landscape archiadvocatemag.com

tect Michael VanValkenburgh’s firm was selected for the park, but the design and elements are still up in the air and open to input from Dallas residents.

Brown wants to create access to the river bottom while connecting it to the community, balancing natural existence with recreational enjoyment. “It has to work in the context of flooding. Our approach is the most pragmatic to date,” he says.

Not everyone is sold on that vision.

City Councilman Scott Griggs, who opposed the Trinity toll-road “boondoggle” even before he was elected to Council in 2011 and was part of the new guard that finally slayed it, says a park between the levees doesn’t have to cost $200 million.

“For rewilding, the money is already there. That would be so low cost,” he says.

PRIORITIZING NATURE OVER PEOPLE?

The city already has $47 million from bond funds for the park. Rewilding, which prioritizes the natural ecology and encourages migratory birds and native plants, wouldn’t require a name-

“We are going to build a park, and it is going to flood.”

BRENT BROWN TRINITY PARK CONSERVANCY CEO + PRESIDENT

Brent Brown

brand architect or a billionaire’s endowment.

“They want to do these fancy monuments to themselves,” Griggs says. “And leave taxpayers with the bill on the maintenance.”

Griggs points to the $4-million whitewater feature the Trinity Conservancy’s predecessor pushed at Oak Cliff’s Moore Park. Soon after it was installed, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined the “standing wave” made the river un-navigable, and the city opted to remove it earlier this year at a cost of $2 million, a couple of million cheaper than fixing it.

“And that was a top project of the Trinity Conservancy,” Griggs says. “That’s one way they operate is to try to build grand designs and then there’s some ‘value engineering’ that makes it unusable.”

Consider the Margaret McDermott Bridge, another top project of the conservancy’s predecessor. Bike lanes on that bridge are currently unusable because the city paid for a Santiago Calatrava design but pinched pennies on engineering.

“My hope is that they learn from their previous mistakes and acknowledge that we want a park where we can live with nature,” Griggs says. “All people really want down there is to see nature, to see birds, they want it rewilded, and they want simple trails.”

City Councilman Philip Kingston, also a staunch toll-road opponent, says Brown’s CityDesign Studio showed support for a toll road. As proof, he says CityDesign Studio awarded its Connected City Design Challenge award to a Spanish firm that included a toll road in its renderings.

“Brent Brown has no more cred in that job than Harold Simmons would have,” Kingston says, referring to the Dallas businessman and philanthropist who died in 2013 and once operated nuclear waste dumps

in West Texas. “It is in the hands of the same people.”

Brown is proud of his connection to the Trinity plans. He says he never personally advocated for a toll road. He is building out a team of local firms to advise on the construction of the park, including hydrologists and experts in blackland prairies.

When Council voted on the LGC, Griggs won amendments, including one that requires at least one conservationist on the board.

Kevin Sloan, a local landscape architect on the park’s design committee, is that. He’s advocating for rewilding.

Rewilding begins with the natural order of things rather than prioritizing humans. Sloan already is working to re-wild an adjacent section of the river, which he sees as a good partner for Simmons Park. “Cross pollination between the two projects is happening,” he says.

Oak Cliff-based architect Robert Meckfessel also is on the LGC board.

“We want to work with the natural rhythms of the river. The river will flood,” Meckfessel says. “We’re striving for a park that can be used at different levels of flooding. When the river goes into a flood stage, the park will still be usable although in a different way.”

Urban access points as well as natural parts of the park,

including rewilding the wetlands and prairie, are part of Brown’s vision too, he says. “To assume those approaches would be absent from Harold Simmons Park is false,” Brown says.

Brown says his grand vision for the Trinity is one of justice and inclusion that aligns with the needs of the people of Dallas, making the city more equitable and healthy along the way. Over the next few years, neighbors will see whether the river that once paralyzed Dallas can transform into a green space for everyone. Brown says they want to complete the design and break ground by 2020, completing the park in 2022. “Trust is a huge factor,” he says. “We don’t expect people just to trust us. We don’t earn it by telling people, but by doing things, listening and evolving.”

To stay up to date on the park, community meetings and adventures in the space, visit TRINITYPARKCONSERVANCY.ORG

By BRENT MCDOUGALL

Identity crisis

How do you see yourself? How do others perceive you?

One of the earliest names for God is really no name at all. When Moses was called to the Pharaoh to say “Let my people go” (what would become the Exodus), Moses asked, “Who should I say sent me?” God responded, “Tell them I AM sent you.” What kind of name is “I AM”?

It speaks to the nature of God beyond description, defying one name. Being without beginning or end.

Which leads me to ask: who are you, really? You have a name. People could describe you in various ways. But what is your core identity? How would you complete the phrase, “I AM____”?

A few weeks ago I heard on NPR about a performance in New York, called “In and Of Itself,” by an illusionist named Derek Delgaudio. My wife thought I was crazy, but I was so captivated by the show’s concept that I bought a ticket for the next week and caught an early morning flight.

The performance centered on the idea of identity. How do you see yourself? How do others perceive you?

I entered the theater lobby to see a large board with hundreds of pegs that each held a card that said “I AM” with a distinct phrase below. Each audience member was asked to choose one, but how? The cards stated things like “I AM a leader,” “I AM a freak,” “I AM a heartthrob,” “I AM a dream” and so on. It wasn’t easy to pick just one. My identity, and yours, is so much more than one thing, or what people see. I finally picked a card and took my seat.

The show was fascinating, but it was the finale that I’ll never forget. Delgaudio said something like, “Each of you chose a card that represents something about who you are. For some of you, it was kind of fun and your choice didn’t mean much. But for

others, the choice was really meaningful. If that describes you, stand up right now.” About 100 stood up out of 150. One by one, Delgaudio looked people in the eye and stated what they had chosen. “You are a maverick.” “You are an intellectual.” “You are an artist.” I have no idea how he did it. If he was correct, the audience member nodded and sat down. For all 100 people, he named exactly how they saw themselves. Some people were crying. All of us were amazed.

WORSHIP

BAPTIST

CLIFF TEMPLE BAPTIST CHURCH / 125 Sunset Ave. / 214.942.8601

Serving Oak Cliff since 1898 / CliffTemple.org / English and Spanish

9 am Contemporary Worship / 10 am Sunday School / 11 am Traditional

ROYAL LANE BAPTIST CHURCH / 6707 Royal Lane / 214.361.2809

Christian Education 9:45 a.m. / Worship Service 10:55 a.m.

Pastor - Rev. Dr. Michael L. Gregg / www.royallane.org

DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

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

Sunday School 9:30 am / Worship 8:30 am - Chapel

10:50 am - Sanctuary / Rev. Deborah Morgan-Stokes / edcc.org

METHODIST

GRACE UMC / Diverse, Inclusive, Missional

Sunday School for all ages, 9:30 am / Worship, 10:50 am 4105 Junius St. / 214.824.2533 / graceumcdallas.org

NON-DENOMINATIONAL

KESSLER COMMUNITY CHURCH / 2100 Leander Dr. at Hampton Rd.

“Your Hometown Church Near the Heart of the City.”

10:30 am Contemporary Service / kesslercommunitychurch.com

For a long time, he stood before one woman before saying in choked words, “You are a nobody.” That was the card she had chosen, how she saw herself.

No matter which one word you might choose, know this: No one sees the fullness of you. You’re not God, but you are more than anyone knows. You are a mystery. You are a gift. You are somebody.

Psalm 139:13 says, “God, you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Brent McDougal is pastor of Cliff Temple 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.

“You are a mystery. You are a gift. You are somebody.”

Air Conditioning

Foam Encapsulation • Insulation

Smart Home Solutions Service & Sales

EXTERIOR CLEANING

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

FENCING & DECKS

4 QUALITY FENCING • 214-507-9322

Specializing in Wood, New or Repair.

AMBASSADOR FENCE INC. EST.96 Automatic Gates, Fences/Decks

Ambassadorfenceco.com 214-621-3217

GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS

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

HANDYMAN SERVICES

HANDY DAN The Handyman. ToDo’s Done Right. handy-dan.com 214-252-1628

HANDYMAN SPECIALIST Residential/ Commercial. Large, small jobs, repair list, renovations. Refs. 214-489-0635

KITCHEN/BATH/TILE/GROUT

STONE AGE COUNTER TOPS

Granite, Quartz, Marble For Kitchen/Bath-Free Est. stoneage.brandee@gmail.com 940-465-6980

TK REMODELING 972-533-2872

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

Family Owned & Operated 214- 330 - 5500

integrity • innovative • impactful

TACLB29169E

APPLIANCE REPAIR

JESSE’S A/C & APPLIANCE SERVICE

TACLB13304C All Makes/Models. 214-660-8898

BUY/SELL/TRADE

CARS/TRUCKS WANTED!!! All Makes/Models. 2000-2016. Any Condition. Running Or Not. Top $$$ Paid. Free Towing. We’re Nationwide. Call Now 1-888-985-1806

CABINETRY & FURNITURE

JD’S TREE SERVICE Mantels, Headboards, Kitchen Islands, Dining tables. Made from Local Trees. www.jdtreeservice.com 214-946-7138

CLEANING SERVICES

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

TWO SISTERS & A MOP MAID SERVICE

Reliable Quality Work.Best Rates. 23 Yrs. Exp. 214-283-9732

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM

Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

CONCRETE/MASONRY/PAVING

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

BRICK, STONEWORK, FLAGSTONE PATIOS Mortar Repair. Straighten Brick Mailboxes & Columns. Call Cirilo 214-298-7174

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

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

ANNA’S ELECTRIC Your Oak Cliff Electrician Since 1978. tecl25513. 214-943-4890

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC

Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com

50 Yrs. Electrical Exp. Insd. 214-328-1333

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

EMPLOYMENT

AIRLINE MECHANIC TRAINING Get FAA certified. Approved for military benefits. Financial aid if qualified. Job placement assistance. Aviation Institute of Maintenance 866-453-6204

AVON AGENTS WANTED StartAvon.com.

Reference Code; CHASKIN

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Support your neighborhood by contacting these local companies, who are ready to help you with home and professional services, tutoring, lessons and more.

Pull up our oakcliff.advocatemag.com, then click on the Marketplace tab. Search the category that you want, then start contacting local services. Thanks for supporting our classified section.

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FENCING & DECKS

FENCING & WOODWORK oldgatefence.com . 214-766-6422

HANNAWOODWORKS.COM

Decks, Pergolas, Patio Covers. 214-435-9574

Northlake Fence and Deck

Locally owned and operated by the Mccaffrey family since1980

214-349-9132

www northlakefence.com

FLOORING & CARPETING

CALL EMPIRE TODAY To Schedule A Free In -Home Estimate On Carpeting & Flooring. 1-800-508-2824

FENN CONSTRUCTION Manufactored hardwoods. Stone and Tile. Back-splash Specials. 214-343-4645

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

GARAGE SERVICES

IDEAL GARAGE DOORS • 972-757-5016

Install & Repair. 10% off to military/1st responders.

UNITED GARAGE DOORS AND GATES Res/Com. Locally Owned. 214-251-5428

GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS

PRO WINDOW CLEANING prompt, dependable. Matt 214-766-2183

HANDYMAN SERVICES

HOME REPAIR HANDYMAN Small/Big Jobs + Construction. 30 Yrs. Exp. Steve. 214-875-1127

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

ONE CALL WEEKEND SERVICES

Contractor & Handyman. Remodels, Renovations . Paint, Plumbing, Drywall, Electrical.469-658-9163

HOME SECURITY

SAFES For Guns, Home or Business. We Offer a Large Selection Plus Consultation & In-Home Delivery. Visit Our Showroom. 972-272-9788 thesafecompany.com

HOUSE PAINTING

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

JUNK REMOVAL

JUNK LEADERS Complete Junk/Trash Removal Service. junkleaders.com 903-742-5865

KITCHEN/BATH/TILE/GROUT

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS LLC

Complete Kitchen And Bath Remodels. Tile, Granite, Marble, Travertine, Slate. Insured. 214-563-5035 www.blake-construction.com

FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. dallastileman.com 214-343-4645

WE REFINISH!

• Tubs, Tiles or Sinks

• Cultured Marble

• Kitchen Countertops

214-631-8719

www.allsurfacerefinishing.com

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

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

DALLAS GROUNDSKEEPER Organic Lawn Maintenance designed to meet your needs. 214-471-5723 dallasgroundskeeper.com

HOLMAN IRRIGATION

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

MAYA TREE SERVICE Tree Trim/Remove. Lawn Maintenance. Resd/ Commcl.Insd. CC’s Accptd. mayatreeservice.com

214-924-7058 214-770-2435

U R LAWN CARE Maintenance. Landscaping. Oak Cliff resident for over 15 years. uwereisch@yahoo.com 214-886-9202

LEGAL SERVICES

A WILL? THERE IS A WAY! Estate/Probate matters.maryglennattorney.com 214-802-6768

MOVING

AM MOVING COMPANY Specialty Moving & Delivery. 469-278-2304 ammovingcompany.com

PEST CONTROL

A BETTER EARTH PEST CONTROL

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

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

PET SERVICES

THE PET DIVAS Pet Sitting, Daily Dog Walks, In Home/Overnight Stays.Basic Obedience Training. thepetdivas.com 817-793-2885. Insured

PLUMBING

AC PLUMBING Repairs, Fixtures, Senior Discounts. Gary Campbell. 214-321-5943

NTX PLUMBING SPEC. LLLP 214-226-0913

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

POOLS

CERULEAN POOL SERVICES Family Owned/ Operated. Weekly maintenance, Chemicals, parts & repairs. CeruleanPro.com 214-557-6996

LEAFCHASERS POOL SERVICE Parts/Service. Chemicals/Repairs. Jonathan. 214-729-3311

REMODELING

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS, LLC

Complete Remodeling, Kitchens, Baths, Additions. Hardie Siding & Replacement Windows. Build On Your Own Lot. Insured. www.blake-construction.com 214-563-5035

GREEN LOVE HOMES Turnkey

Renovations,Kitchens, Baths, Floors, Windows. Free Estimates. greenlovehomes.com 214-864-2444

INTEX CONSTRUCTION Specializing in int/ext. Remodel. 30 Yrs Exp. Steve Graves 214-875-1127

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

RENOVATE DALLAS 214-341-1155 bobmcdonaldco.net

Bob McDonald Company, Inc. BUILDERS/REMODELERS

30+ Yrs. in Business • Major Additions Complete Renovations • Kitchens/Baths

ROOFING & GUTTERS

BERT ROOFING INC.

Family owned and operated for over 40 years

• Residential/Commercial • Over 30,000 roofs completed • Seven NTRCA “Golden Hammer” Awards • Free Estimates www.bertroofing.com 214.321.9341

SERVICES FOR YOU

25 DRIVER TRAINEES NEEDED NOW Earn $1000 per week. Paid CDL Training Stevens Transport Covers All Costs. 1-877-209-1309 drive4stevens.com

A PLACE FOR MOM The Nation’s Largest Senior Living Referral Service. Contact Our Trusted Local Experts Today. Our Service is Free/No Obligation. 1-844-722-7993

CARS/TRUCKS WANTED. 2002 And Newer. Any Condition. Running Or Not. Competitive Offer. Free Towing. We’re Nationwide. 1-888-416-2330

DISH NETWORK. $59.99 For 190 Channels. $14.95 High Speed Internet. Free Installation. Smart HD DVR Included. Free Voice Remote. Some Restrictions Apply. 1-855-837-9146

DONATE YOUR CAR TO VETERANS Help And Support Our Veterans. Fast-Free Pick Up. 100% Tax Deductible. 1800-245-0398

EARTHLINK HIGHSPEED INTERNET As Low As $14.95/month.(first 3 months) Reliable High Speed Fiber Optic Technology Stream Videos, Music & More. 1-855-520-7938

GLORIA’S FLOWERS We Deliver The Finest Flowers for Any Occasion. 3101 Davis St. 214-339-9273 gloriasflowersdallas.com

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.

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SKYLIGHTS

SHOWCASE YOUR SPACE 972-985-1700 2830 W. 15th St. Plano, TX 75075