Whose fault is it?

Because

If you read this column and don’t like it, which one of us is at fault: Me or You?

It could be me, since I came up with the idea, committed my thoughts to written form and then helped put this magazine in front of you.

But it could be you, because you decided to invest your time reading it — I didn’t force it upon you.

Or maybe the fault lies with the editor here at the Advocate who read the column after I turned it in; she must have thought it was OK, because if it wasn’t, she would have prevented it from being published. That way you wouldn’t have had to waste your time reading it.

I received my degree in journalism from Northwestern University; maybe it’s the fault of someone at the school. I took out a student loan to take the writing classes, but if I didn’t learn enough, it’s probably the professors’ fault rather than mine, because I worked pretty hard when I was there. If the professors weren’t good teachers, how could I be expected to learn?

Of course, taking out that loan put a lot of pressure on me; it was hard to concentrate sometimes. Maybe the government and politicians should have made it easier to afford college; it’s not my fault I didn’t have a lot of money.

Speaking of money, my mom and dad could have something to do with this problem, too. When I was growing up, they didn’t encourage me to become a journalist, probably because they didn’t know anyone who made a living writing.

And since they didn’t enthusiastically encourage me to follow my dream, my feelings were hurt, and that put a damper on my motivation to work hard to be a writer, and if I’m not motivated to do something, it’s hard to do it right.

I mean, I don’t see too many people taking responsibility for their actions anywhere — corporate, government or private individuals. All I see in the media is fingerpointing and shoulder-shrugging and excuse-making, and if everyone else can do things that way, I should be able to do the same thing, too.

But you’re diverting my attention here. Let’s reconsider your involvement again: I worked hard on this column, and although I admit this is a departure from what I usually write, shouldn’t I be allowed to try something new from time to time? And shouldn’t you encourage me to do that by giving me positive feedback, even if you don’t really like what I’ve done?

All i see in the media is finger-pointing and shoulder-shrugging and excuse-making, and if everyone else can do things that way, i should be able to do the same thing, too.

So if it’s not my fault that you don’t like this column, whose responsibility is it to make it better next month?

It could be mine, since I’m the writer, and it’s my job to come up with ideas, but it could be your responsibility to give me another chance even if this column wasn’t what you thought it would be.

Look, all of this has to be someone else’s fault or responsibility, so maybe you should take a good look in the mirror because I can tell you right now, after talking my way through this, I really don’t think any of this is my fault, or my responsibility, and I resent the fact that you’re blaming me

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Two years ago, the Dallas Housing Authority opened 100 apartments at Cliff Manor on Fort Worth Avenue to house the longtime homeless. A few months later, the community pitched in to plant the first gardens there.

“Countless seeds and plants were donated from all sorts of people,” says Mildred Lane, a Cliff Manor resident and the former garden manager.

L.P., a Cliff Manor resident and the current garden manager, coordinates workdays, harvest days and food-distribution days. L.P. and two other residents work in the gardens daily. Of 180 residents, about 40 receive produce from the garden.

“It gives me something to do besides sitting around all day,” L.P. says of his gardening duties. “It also cuts down on meal costs.”

Cliff Manor residents also distribute produce from the garden to their neighbors.

“At first homeowners had issues with Cliff Manor, but the garden has brought them together,” Lane says. “They discovered it wasn’t that bad after all.”

What’s next for the Cliff Manor gardens? If Lane has her way, a vegetable stand selling fresh organic produce.

This is an excerpt from Andrea Bithell’s oakcliff.advocatemag.com post, “Gardens make Cliff Manor home for some residents.”

“Yes, Crown Buffet lacks mixologists, re-purposed wooden pallets or ‘local’ anything, and its posted prices are shown as ‘$8.49’ instead of a simple ‘9,’ and, on our visit, Nancy Grace was yelling from wall-mounted flatscreens; but the variety of flavorful offerings makes up for a lack of cool, and this could be the go-to place for hipsters with hangovers or when your Aunt Marge visits from Mesquite. We enjoyed it, and while we would have rather seen an Eatzi’s, say, in the space, it’s better than an empty Luby’s. Oh, and there is plenty of bicycle parking.”

Eighty-nine-year-old Harvey Herbst of Austin, who grew up at 301 S. Rosemont, shared his memories of Kidd Springs Park in the ‘30s with Advocate editor Rachel Stone. Read the full post at oakcliff.advocatemag.com.

—J Stolly, commenting on Scott Chase’s oakcliff.advocatemag.com post, “Crown Buffet: New kid (restaurant) on the block” Talk

“The sky slide was tall and scary! One climbed up and up and then squatted on a wooden sled-like vehicle and then sped down the slide like a roller coaster ride — very thrilling! There were concession stands of various types. My uncle had a shooting gallery as an after-work project. A carousel, all kinds of eating places, cotton candy, popcorn and peanuts. My favorite was the ‘dodge‘ems’ rubber bumper cars, which one ran head on into the others. What fun!”

—Harvey Herbst

EMAIL rstone@advocatemag.com