2019 September Oak Cliff

UP FRONT

6 Big Velvet Paul Cauthen brings the Belmont Blues.

12 Animal house Lee Jamison says “yes” to all the kittens.

14 Korean to the masses Why BBBop is intentionally nontraditional.

FEATURES

18 Pets! These stories of pet perseverance will make your day.

31 Oak Cliff T-Bone

The man who made guitars rock ‘n’ roll.

TABLE

PHOTO BY DANNY FULGENCIO

UP FRONT

THE BELMONT BLUES

How Oak Cliff inspired Paul Cauthen’s new album

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Interview by RACHEL STONE | Photography by ANNA WEBBER

Paul Cauthen lived at the Belmont Hotel for two years following the release of his first solo album, “My Gospel.” During that time, he wrote and recorded songs for his new album, “Room 41,” named for the room where he stayed. The 33-year-old country music singer/songwriter plays an album-release show at the Kessler Sept. 6. After that, he’s off on tour to Germany and the West Coast.

Congratulations on the new album. Thank you. It’s been a long, steady grind. One of these songs I’ve had for about 10 years, “Lay Me Down,” so I finally got that on the record. I’ve been working nonstop ever since we released “My Gospel.”

You named your album for the Belmont Hotel? I lived at the Belmont for two years after a breakup. I’m glad I made it through. There were some wild, long nights. Let’s put it like that.

Tell us more about the Belmont.

It’s a creative hub in the Dallas area. You don’t know who you’re going to run into at the bar or on the patio. It’s just open to visual artists, musicians, anyone creative. Jordan Ford, who’s the owner, has always enabled the artists and given them a place to stay when they could barely afford a hamburger.

You started your album at Modern Electric in Dallas and finished it at Niles City Sound in Fort Worth. How did that happen?

I wanted to work with [Niles City producer] Austin Jenkins. I met with him over at Metro Diner. We had some breakfast, and we talked over some eggs. I never put any one person in the producer chair and said, “You’re going to produce this whole album.” I put the songs in the laps of the right producers. Nobody got an ego over it.

Who else is on the album?

Jordache Grant did all the keys. He really made the record his own as well. He’s amazing with his R&B background and his skill set. He’s the MVP of the album.

Who’s in your touring band?

Matt Pence, he’s a drummer and owns [Denton recording studio] Echo Lab. We have Ben Barajas on bass. Charley Wiles on guitar. He also plays a lot of songs on the album. Parker Twomey plays organ. Jordache is the musical director for the Addison school district, and he has to go back to school, so he doesn’t come on the road.

You don’t still live in a hotel.

No, I’ve got a condo Downtown now.

And a nice lady [stylist Elizabeth Nesmith]: Yep. I ran into this brunette, and that’s all she wrote.

Your publicity bio says you were in the Smith County jail one time. What were you in jail for?

I’m in a public place, and you’re on speakerphone. Now everyone’s looking at me. Thanks a lot, Rachel.

Well, it’s in your bio. Is that a true story?

I was running around with some guys in a pickup, a Chevy Silverado Z71. We were smoking a blunt, and the cops found the crumbles. I got possession of marijuana. That took away two D1 scholarships. I was going to go to Texas Tech or another state school. We had just won state in football.

What high school did you go to?

Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler, Texas.

Things have gone pretty well for you without college. Yeah, in 2007 I decided to get in a brown van and go to Colorado. I met David Beck in 2009 and started Sons of Fathers, put out an album. In 2014, the band broke up, and in 2016, I released “My Gospel.” And it keeps on rolling.

Why do you live in Dallas and not Nashville or Los Angeles?

It’s easy to get in and out of. I’m an hour from my grandmother, an hour and a half from my dad, 30 minutes to my mom’s, 20 minutes to my sister’s. I can go down to San Antonio and see my other sister. I’m going to get a ranch down south of San Antone. That’s what I’m going for. Get a ranch in San Antonio and raise my family there one day.

You played the Grand Ole Opry earlier this year. How was that?

Yeah, and I’m playing it again Sept. 14. They like me. They keep asking me back, so that’s an honor.

Who would you like to play with that you haven’t?

I’d love to play with Dolly Parton or Loretta Lynn. George Strait. That’d be the shit. I’ve played with a lot of my heroes. Kristofferson. That’s my lifetime achievement award. I’d love to work with Dan Auerbach or Jack White or that crew. They

“Oak Cliff is a thriving Mecca for the arts, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

put out bitchin’ rock ‘n’ roll albums … I like nasty guitars. Rick Ruben, T-Bone Burnett. That’s like everybody’s dream. If I could work with Dr. Dre, that’d be the coolest thing in the world.

What are some of your memorable achievements?

Playing the Opry. Playing Red Rocks. Playing the Beacon Theater. It’s been cool playing with Dwight Yoakam. Learning how to dance from Dwight Yoakam.

Really? He taught you to dance?

He taught me how to do that side step, and now I do it all the time. I ripped it from him. He texts me every once in awhile. I really like him. Some people say he’s an asshole, but he’s always been cool to me.

That’s neat.

John Daly called me the other day.

John Daly the golfer?

He’s friends with those guys at Winners and Losers [a bar in Nashville]. I told him he’s just a badass and that we should play golf sometime. He said we should pick guitars sometime. I said I’d love that.

Is there anything you want Oak Cliff to know?

Oak Cliff is a thriving Mecca for the arts, and I’m proud to be a part of it to write this record, and I couldn’t have done it without that part of Dallas.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

SEPT. 19

RARE SCREENING

A newly edited version of the Vaughan brothers documentary, “From Nowhere,” hits the Texas Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Former Oak Cliff resident and independent filmmaker Kirby Warnock screened an earlier version of the film in August 2018 and spent the past year editing it down by 15 minutes. Warnock says he has no plans to show the film again, “until we get nationwide distribution,” so this is your last chance to see it for a while. This event coincides with North Texas Giving Day, and the theater will be accepting donations for the Stevie Ray Vaughan scholarship fund at Greiner. $12 Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd. thetexastheatre.com

5 things to do in Oak Cliff this September

SEPT. 1

Sonic electronic

Oak Cliff’s own Black Taffy returns from tour with his newest album, “Elder Mantis,” which Pitchfork said “knocks like hip-hop, wobbles like IDM, and hovers like ambient.” The show starts at 8 p.m. $10

Where: The Wild Detectives, 314 W. Eighth St. More info: thewilddetectives.com

SEPT. 13

Drinking safari

Sample beer and cider from more than 30 breweries at Brew at the Zoo and experience the Dallas Zoo at nighttime. The event, from 7-10 p.m., is in the zoo’s Wilds of Africa exhibit. $55-$80

Where: The Dallas Zoo, South Marsalis at Interstate 35 More info: dallaszoo.com

SEPT. 22

Veg out fest

Learn about nutrition, health and wellness at the Dallas VegVest and bring home some swag from vendors. The event, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., includes cooking and exercise classes, expert speakers, food trucks and more.

Where: Kiest Park Recreation Center, 3080 S. Hampton Road

More info: feedoakcliff.com

SEPT. 25

Downey to Lubbock

California rockabilly meets flatland Texas country music with Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, whose 2018 album “Downey to Lubbock” will make your hips shake. $28-$44

Where: The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis St. More info: thekessler.org

Photo by Danny Fulgencio

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CAPTAIN SAVE A KITTY

HOW LEE JAMISON BECAME THE POINT PERSON FOR ABANDONED BABY ANIMALS

Interview by RACHEL STONE / Photography by DANNY FULGENCIO

IF YOU SEE OAK CLIFF NATIVE Lee Jamison at a neighborhood bar, there might be a kitten in her bra.

Or maybe a baby possum.

“When I get a baby anything, I typically put it in my bra first thing because they can’t regulate their own body temperature,” she says.

Animals that small need to be fed every hour or two, which is why she carries them around with her sometimes.

Jamison is a corporate recruiter and actress/singer with a degree in musical theater from the University of Oklahoma. She also runs an organizing business on the side.

She started an animal rescue nonprofit, Awwdoptable, in 2017.

How did you get involved with animal rescue?

It became apparent that there was a cat-breeding issue in Oak Cliff. There were a lot of resources dedicated to dogs, but not as many to cats. I had already been doing it my whole life. I rescued my first cat when I was 6.

You have a reputation as someone who can help with found animals, including wildlife such as baby birds, possums and raccoons. I probably get 100 tags on Facebook a day asking me to help with some situation. I’m not exaggerating. And that doesn’t include the people who know me and have given my phone number to people who call or text me.

Why did you start a nonprofit?

People started donating, so it occurred to me that if I created a nonprofit, I could be a better steward of the money. A lot of veterinarians and the SPCA will give discounts to nonprofits, and we could apply for grants. We just got a $2,000 grant from PetSmart.

What’s the hardest part?

Kitten season is from about March to September. The time that we’re in right now [late summer] is the worst. Mama cats have had two or three litters of kittens already. They’re weak. They’re so hot. There aren’t enough resources for them. The milk they’re producing is probably weak, and the mama cats abandon their kittens. The cats I get this time of year are in horrible shape. A big part of my mission is to try to remain available for kitten rescue because the shelters and fosters are full. It’s very important to me to be able to say “yes.”

BETTER KNOW A NEIGHBOR

What do you want people to know about what you do?

I’m always hearing “someone should do something” about animals they see in the neighborhood that they think are being mistreated. I want people to know that they are “someone.” Go to the owner first. Don’t make your first call a 311 call because that’s not neighborly or kind. Just ask, “Do you need help getting flea medicine?” Or “Are you aware there’s flea medicine?” Calling 311 and assuming people are doing it intentionally or don’t care about their animals isn’t the compassionate thing.

What are you thankful for?

I care for a lot of sick kittens. I’ve been given this amazing gift and ability because of our donors. We had a kitten whose leg kept coming out of the socket. We were able to get the kitten the amputation it needed, and now she’s going to be great for the rest of her life. Those are the times that you’re like, “Oh, I did a thing today.”

How can people help?

Open your home. If you can’t foster, and you want to give money, that’s great. People send us stuff from Amazon. If you can’t be the one out there trapping and feeding, or if you can’t be the one fostering, then we always need help with transportation because our vet is in Allen.

You grew up in Oak Cliff?

Yes. My grandpa worked at Methodist, Dr. Harwin Jamison Sr. He was one of the pioneers of tubal ligation reconstruction. Over a 15-year period, he delivered half the babies in Dallas because he worked at Parkland and Methodist. My dad was director of ornithology at the Dallas Zoo. And my mom worked as the senior vice president of development for the SPCA, so their building off I-30 was her project.

“Don’t make your first call a 311 call because that’s not neighborly or kind.”

Above: Lee Jamison at home with a few of her many cats and dogs. Some are hers, but most are fosters.

NOT YOUR MAMA’S BI BIM BOP

BBBOP SERVES UP KOREAN FUSION FOR TEXAS APPETITES

WHEN SANDRA AND GREG BUSSEY opened their first Korean restaurant, customers weren’t receptive to traditional Korean food. Now, the traditional bi bim bop, the “For Realz” bop as they call it, is one of their best-sellers. Dallas wasn’t accustomed to Korean food 11 years ago and so the mixture of hot rice and meat with cold, blanched veggies turned off some people. The Busseys, who live in Oak Cliff, experimented with fusion-style dishes that incorporated Chinese and Thai influences with “Korean DNA,” then began adding things like chicken wings and tacos. They followed their customers’ taste buds until it came full circle and customers began asking for more traditional dishes. Now the menu is an eclectic mix of traditional Korean flavors, fusion dishes and unique creations inspired by customer requests.

BBBop Seoul Kitchen 828 W. Davis St.

Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. MondayThursday, 11 a.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday Bbbop.com

“Our goal with BBBop has always been to introduce Korean to the masses,” Sandra Bussey says. “We never wanted to be that true traditional Korean place. When we get Koreans in, they say, ‘This isn’t real Korean food.’ We blatantly say, ‘You’re absolutely right.’”

BBBop was never supposed to be about tradition. It was created to give Dallas an introduction to Korean at a time when we didn’t have a lot of quick, healthy options. When BBBop first opened, they didn’t even want to have fryers, microwaves or a fridge. As time went on, customers craved dishes like wings, so the Busseys caved and bought fryers. The menu morphed into a reflection of the Busseys’ culinary background, their culture and their customers.

“The reason we have orange chicken on the menu, the orange bop, is because we had so

Story by CHRISTIAN WELCH | Photography by KATHY TRAN

Above: For Realz Bop with bulgogi beef in a hot stone bowl. Opposite page: Mint salad and “Get In My Belly” pork belly.

many customers coming saying, ‘I want orange chicken. Where’s your orange chicken?’ ” she says. “We didn’t have fryers, so we made an orange flavored bowl.”

While the Busseys’ menu is a creative, collaborative effort with their customers, the techniques are a pure reflection of

DINING SPOTLIGHT

their fine dining backgrounds. The two are meticulous about making every sauce and brine for their restaurants. They even cook their pork belly sous vide. But they make sure to keep prices down so BBBop remains an affordable, healthy option for families and young professionals.

The inspiration for one of the fan favorites, fried chicken, was driven by a family trip to Seoul. They ordered a lot of late night delivery while there. The Kyochon fried chicken was so addictive, they began waiting to eat until late in the evening so they could order it. When they returned to the U.S., they created their own version, and it became a best-seller.

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“Our goal with BBBop has always been to introduce Korean to the masses.”

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STORIES OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD

PRESERVATION POWERHOUSE

THE FRIENDS OF OAK CLIFF PARKS KEEP IT BEAUTIFUL

DAVID KLEMPIN AND NOLA RAE SMITH started the Friends of Oak Cliff Parks in 2002 because City of Dallas budget cuts had left many neighborhood parks in disrepair, particularly in the southern sector, for years.

The gardening buddies started out planting rose bushes and wound up kicking off a movement that would transform and preserve our neighborhood’s historic parks.

Since then, the group has won numerous awards from the National Garden Clubs, and they’ve taken on restoration projects that will resonate for decades to come.

The group donates plants and other materials to the parks and provides about 4,000 hours of volunteer work per year as part of its mission to maintain Oak Cliff’s historic parks — Kiest, Founders, Lake Cliff and Kidd Springs.

And it’s not always just gardening.

Member Cynthia Mulcahy brought Kidd Springs Park’s Japanese garden to light in 2015.

She found that the family of Ethel Buell of Tulsa, Oklahoma, sold underpriced Japanese antiquities to the City of Dallas in the 1960s. The pieces were placed in Kidd Springs Park in 1971 and forgotten for decades. Some of the treasures, like a 12-foot Torii gate that was placed in the water, are gone now.

But a 17th century Buddhist carved stone is among the works still there, and Mulcahy recently discovered that it’s the oldest piece of art the city owns. An expert recently dated it to 1682.

The Friends of Oak Cliff Parks is planting a Japanese maple demonstration garden there as well as nectar plants to draw pollinators.

The group also spent about 10 years raising money and eventually pushing for city bond funds to pay for restoration of the Works Progress Administration-era pergola and water rill at Kiest Park.

The group recently created a picnic area and outdoor classroom, along with a parking area and 1-mile soft walking trail at the Kiest Park Conservation Area, just south of the park. This “unspoiled wood” also had been forgotten and neglected for decades.

A mite-borne virus, rose rosette, killed all of the rose bushes at Lake Cliff Park in 2017. So the Friends of Oak Cliff parks replaced them with a crepe myrtle demonstration garden, which showcases 26 varieties of the flowering tree. They also added signs to identify plants in the park.

Rose plants at Kiest Park also fell victim to rose rosette. The group currently is working to replace them, and

Volunteers are crucial to the Friends of Oak Cliff Parks, which has workdays almost every Saturday. Above: Brianna Hall. Opposite page, top: Mike Sannie. Opposite page bottom: Rachel Hecht.

Story by RACHEL STONE | Photography by DANNY FULGENCIO

it’s quite a job. There are 16 beds comprising about 600 square feet each.

Volunteers are crucial to the group’s mission, and many of them come via the city’s volunteer coordinator.

Companies including Southwest Airlines, BB&T and Frost banks and KPMG Accounting do corporate volunteer days with the group. Schools and churches also offer service hours.

“I tell you, that helps so much,” says the group’s president Jon Papp. “When you have those young people out there, you can get so much more done than us old people.”

The group has workdays from 8:30-10:30 a.m. almost every Saturday, and volunteers are welcome. Check the calendar on their website, friendsofoakcliffparks.org, to see where they’ll be. Bring gloves and hand tools if you have them.

Join the Friends of Oak Cliff Parks for $20 per year for individuals or $35 for a household. Adults 62 and older can join for $10 per person and $15 per household. Pay dues online or by mail: Friends of Oak Cliff Parks Membership, P.O. Box 210124, Dallas, Texas 75211.

“When you have those young people out there, you can get so much more done.”

SHANAHAN TEAM

MEOW,

THESE OAK CLIFF RESCUE PETS GIVE ENDLESS LOVE AND JOY

Stories by RACHEL STONE | Portraits by DANNY FULGENCIO

Bullet to the knee

ZIGGY CAME INTO HER LIFE, SEVERELY INJURED, THROUGH VOLUNTEER WORK

dog attack in Rosemary Monterrosa’s West Oak Cliff neighborhood inspired her to get involved with Dallas’ pet problem.

She and other family members had called 311 several times to report a neighbor’s unneutered shepherd mix that regularly escaped a fenced yard. The dog had threatened Monterrosa’s mom and frightened neighbors.

“Nothing was really done,” Monterrosa says.

Then one day in 2016, the aggressive dog got hold of her Chihuahua, Link. The little dog’s injuries were so severe that he had to be put down.

Monterrosa felt called after that to help solve the problem of aggressive dogs in Dallas.

Rosemary Monterrosa found her dog Ziggy while block-walking for Dallas Animal Services. He had been shot through the knee.

WOOF!

She started out as a volunteer, block-walking for Dallas Animal Services and the SPCA. Now she’s an outreach coordinator for SPCA of Texas, focused on education in southern Dallas.

Part of her work is the Chains Unbroken program, which builds dog runs for homeowners who otherwise keep their dogs on chains. They inform dog owners that it’s illegal to do that, and they build runs that are at least 200 square feet per dog. The program, which is privately funded, also provides shade covering, water pails, flea treatments and anything else dogs might need to live outdoors. So far they’ve built about 35.

“I try really hard to go back at least once a month to every dog run that we build and see if they need anything,” she says. “That’s not really part of my job, but I get so attached to these dogs.”

One of the owners, an elderly man, had trouble bending over to pick up droppings, so Monterrosa bought him a pooper-scooper, a simple thing that could improve a dog’s life immensely.

The bulk of her work is education and outreach, letting people know about free spay and neuter services and mobile

units that provide free pet vaccinations. That’s how she found her dog, Ziggy. It was Christmas Eve 2017, and she was going door-to-door for DAS in Pleasant Grove.

“We saw this little dog dragging his leg,” she says. “He looked horrible. He was really thin. He ran from us and hid under a trailer.”

The dog was taken to DAS, and it turned out that he had been shot several times. They found a bullet in his knee and metallic fragments throughout his body. Vets tried to save the leg but eventually amputated it.

Monterrosa had just lost her 17-year-old lab a month before, and she swore she’d never get another dog because the heartache was unbearable.

“I wasn’t planning on adopting him. I was still heartbroken,” she says. “But then when I went to the shelter to go visit him, he jumped right into my arms, and I said, ‘Crap. I have a dog now.’”

Ziggy also had to have surgery in both eyes for “cherry eye,” prolapse of the third eyelid. He went from about 9 pounds in the shelter to about 17 pounds today. And he gets along great with Monterrosa’s four cats. In fact, he loves cats and will try to play with any he sees. He likes bigger dogs but not “other little yappy dogs.” He’s wary of men and is “very treat motivated,” Monterrosa says.

“I cried the first time he sat on command,” she says. “It was a huge step for him.”

Lucky cat

HE WAS RUN OVER BY A CAR, BUT LINK HOLDS HIS OWN

anielle Chambless Jarrard’s pet-sitter, Oak Cliff animal rescuer extraordinaire Kathy Kibbel, called her one day on the way to check on her dogs.

Kibbel had been driving down Edgefield Avenue when the car in front of her hit something that looked like a plastic bag, but she quickly realized it was a kitten.

Kibbel was calling to let Jarrard know she was taking this kitten to Metro Paws before she checked on her pack.

The kitten had to have his right front leg amputated immediately.

“When she called me back to update me, I knew he was going to be mine,” Jarrard says.

After all, the day he was found, June 7, is Jarrard’s birthday, and Kibbel had been on the way to check on Jarrard’s dogs.

She named him Link, and for a while, he was known

he escaped and was gone for five days before returning home.

That’s when Jarrard found a couple more cats.

One followed her two blocks to her house in Elmwood while she was out looking for Link.

“Then a week later, the second one came to my door and was like, ‘Hey, I’m a cat. I see you have cats. Can I come in?’” she says. “Once you take one in from your neighborhood there’s like, a scent or a red flashing light that only cats can see that leads them to your house.”

She’s since changed Link’s formal moniker to Link Loves All Cats because he is such a good sibling to other foster cats (Jarrard’s two neighborhood cats are available for

Link also loves dogs. His best friend is Max, a 51-pound Oak Cliff street mutt.

Their favorite game strikes terror in the hearts of unsuspecting guests. It goes like this: Max puts Link’s entire head in her mouth and pulls him across the floor. They do this over and over again, and Link has taught all the cats this trick as well.

“It’s a very common occurrence in my house,” Jarrard says. “When people come over, I have to explain that this is like, fun for them.”

She also has a 15-year-old Pomeranian, a bulldog, Louie, and Nova, a 6-year-old possible shih tzu mix — plus an older cat named Skittles.

“I’m not like a pit bull person or a lab person,” she says. “I just have all the dogs.”

Watch video of Link and Max playing their weird game at oakcliff.advocatemag.com

Link’s front right leg had to be amputated when he was a kitten.

Angus the unbelievable

HE LOOKED LIKE TRASH, BUT HE WAS SAVED

Karen Pigg Simmons walked out of her Sunset Hill house one 100-degree day in July 2018 and saw something moving in her neighbor’s bulky trash pile.

The moving thing blended in with the trash, but she realized it was a dog. With 20 years of rescuing animals under her belt, Simmons looped him with a leash and picked him up.

The dog’s hair was matted filthy. He was covered in fleas and what she thought at the time were chemical burns, so she put him in the bath. After about five washes, the dog still looked terrible. Simmons says her bathtub has never been the same.

She put the call out for help on Facebook, and a friend who works at the SPCA, David Maldonado, answered.

Maldonado contacted Dallas Street Dog Advocates. Their medical coordinator, Relle Austin, came and picked up the dog right away and rushed him to the emergency vet.

It turns out that the dog’s fur was coated in motor oil, which had spilled under the bushes where he was hiding. The dog was severely anemic and malnourished.

“They sheared him like a sheep. His coat came off all in one piece. That’s how skeevy he was,” Simmons says. “At that point you could see how bad off he was. He was skin and bones and completely white. There was no color in his nose even.”

The dog, later named Angus, went to live in a foster home for a couple of months, “so he could decompress and learn how to be a dog,” Simmons says.

The transformation is amazing.

“You wouldn’t know this was the same dog,” Simmons says.

A couple in Lakewood, Robbie and Caroline Edmonstone, adopted him after watching his story on the Dallas Street Dog Advocates’ Instagram account.

The Edmonstones threw him a party with proseco, cupcakes and cupcakes for dogs after his arrival.

“He’s a little survivor,” Caroline Edmonstone says.

Angus and their maltipoo, Wallace, became fast friends.

He is still skittish around new people and has a particular fear of men. But he’s a “love bug” who purrs like a cat when he’s happy.

Angus recently graduated from beginner behavior training at PetSmart and entered the intermediate class.

“He’s still adjusting to life and can’t quite believe he has a good one,” Caroline Edmonstone says. “He just loves the attention.”

Follow Angus on Instagram, @wallaceandangus.

See video of Angus after Simmons found him and more photos of his transformation at oakcliff. advocatemag.com

Above: Angus in his “Miami Vice” shirt. Below: Angus on the day he was rescued.

Senior moment

A NORTH CLIFF HOUSEHOLD FULL OF GERIATRIC DOGS

ennifer Svelan’s three dogs are all bark and no bite, literally.

The North Cliff resident has a thing for senior dogs, and none of hers have teeth.

First she found 16-yearold Ellie from a Facebook post and went to pick her up in Fort Worth.

The dog had yeast and fungal infections all over her body.

“She stank so bad that I had to roll down all the windows and open the sunroof just to take her to the vet,” Svelan says. “Fleas were jumping all over her. The vet thought her legs were broken, but it was just that all that gunk was caked.”

The 16-year-old still battles skin problems constantly. But she is the boss of the house, and the other two dogs follow her around and defer to her power.

Then came Otis, who is 10 or 11.

Svelan also saw him on a Facebook post, and she also drove to Fort Worth to get him.

He was heartworm positive, had intestinal worms and a tumor growth on his leg.

His teeth were rotted, and he wasn’t neutered.

“I might’ve had one or two glasses of wine,” Svelan says. “I said ‘I’ll take him,’ and I picked him up the next morning.”

She spent over $400 at his first vet appointment, but Wine to the Rescue has helped with all of Svelan’s dogs and one of her three cats. That nonprofit’s mission is to help the most urgent rescues, and

they raise money through wine-tasting events.

Skywalker is the most recent addition to the family. Svelan saw him in a post from Dallas Animal Services this past April, in a pic with his tongue hanging out.

“Clearly I have a type now,” she says.

He was available to rescue groups only, so Wine to the Rescue told Svelan they would sponsor him if she would foster.

“I don’t do so well with fostering. I’ve already failed twice,” she says. “I don’t need another dog.”

She went to pick him up on a Sunday, and when they opened the crate, he jumped into her arms.

She was hardly out the door before she knew she was keeping him.

Skywalker, estimated to be about 10, had his jaw broken in two places. Abscesses in his mouth grew so large that they broke his jaw.

“He must’ve been in so much pain for so many years,” she says.

Vets had to perform two mouth surgeries, one to remove part of his jaw and one to pull the rest of his teeth. Now he drools constantly and gets food everywhere, but he loves life.

Opposite page: Skywalker was found with his jaw broken in two places because of abscesses in his mouth. Top: Otis was heartworm positive and had a host of other medical problems. Right: Ellie is the ruler of the house, but she battles constant skin problems.

BACK TO THE FUTURE

A “DEMOLITION PARTY” sent the Atomic-Age Joyce Florist building on South Hampton Road to wherever good mid-century roadside architecture goes. A landfill, most likely.

The owners of the flower shop, which opened sometime in the 1950s, say the old building is difficult to maintain, and they want more space to expand their business. They planned for years to tear it down and replace it with a building that fits their needs.

The new building is expected to take about a year to construct: “A 6,000-square-foot, glass-enclosed pavilion flooded in natural light, equipped with a state-of-the-art conference center for the needs of Oak Cliff professionals, commercial clients and special events.”

A former employee of the business, Gloria Garcia, bought the shop in 1998 with her daughter Lisa Alvarez-Acevedo. Alvarez-Acevedo now operates the business with her daughter Alyssa Gray.

Joyce Florist first opened in Elmwood as the Cart Shop sometime in the 1950s and changed names after Bob Joyce bought it in the ’60s. The shop moved to its current location, a former Dairy Mart, in 1971.

While the new building is under construction, Joyce Florist will operate out of 2727 S. Hampton.

Story by RACHEL STONE | Photography by DANNY FULGENCIO

Joyce Florist plans a modern new building 

Above: The new design for Joyce Florist.

WORSHIP

By SCOTT SHIRLEY

Call to action

Prayer isn’t the only answer

Thoughts and prayers. These simple words are meant to encourage. But it seems they have been corrupted by misuse. They are no longer trusted and no longer appreciated.

It used to be that, when someone said they had you in their thoughts and prayers, it meant that they were thinking about you, that they held you close to their heart. Even more, prayer suggests that they are holding you up to their own deepest sense of comfort and support, the Divine. Whatever they understand the greatest and most powerful force in the world to be, that’s where they want to place you. But now the phrase has been cheapened.

To be fair, people say “thoughts and prayers” when they don’t know what else to say. It is a part of the fragile character of existence that there are often circumstances for which there are no words and no actions that can make things better. In the current cultural moment, these unspeakable events happen so regularly that, well, there’s nothing left to say.

In the Church, we have done a poor job of teaching people about prayer. Though we caution against it, we tend to think of prayer as God’s request line. It’s not a very good one; we rarely get what we want. However, prayer certainly stands as the articulation of our hopes. But, in the words of Christian theologian Miroslav Volf, “There is something deeply hypocritical about praying for a problem you are unwilling to resolve.”

My niece is a target shooter. She’s very good. Like, serious talk of Olympics good. There is no doubt that she has talent, but she also gets to school early every day to get in an hour of practice and stays late for another hour. She has been known to set up an air rifle target in a long hallway in her house when she can’t get to the range. She knows how good she wants to be and could be, but she doesn’t just offer thoughts and prayers and hope for the best. She shows up and does the work to bridge the

gap between what is and what might be.

Prayer is the same way. Yes, it is the articulation of our hopes, but it is also a practice that forms us into the sort of people who will make those hopes real. In prayer, we train ourselves to see the world differently. The thing we wish for is foremost in our hearts and minds so that we never miss an opportunity to step closer to that new reality.

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

GRACE TEMPLE BAPTIST Come to a Place of Grace!

Sunday Worship: English Service 9:30am / Spanish Service 11:00am

831 W. Tenth St. / 214.948.7587 / gracetempledallas.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

EPISCOPAL

CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH / ChristChurchDallas.org

Sunday School: 11:15am /Mass: 9am & 10am English, 12:30pm Español

Wednesday Mass: 6pm English, 8pm Español / 534 W. Tenth Street

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

TRINITY CHURCH OAK CLIFF / Love God. Love Others. Make Disciples.

Sundays 10:00 am / Worship & children’s Sunday School

1139 Turner Ave. / trinitychurchoakcliff.org

But when it comes to the seemingly intractable problems of our day – increasingly intense natural disasters caused by climate change; the crushing causes and effects of income inequality; and the perpetually current problem of gun violence – thoughts and prayers are offered as a substitute for action. As the governor of Ohio recently discovered, we see you.

So keep praying. And keep thinking. Think about whom your prayers are forming you into and what actions follow from that. If arming yourself or others is your response to gun violence, then your prayer is for violence and death. That is what you are practicing. That is what you become. Or, if you call yourself a Christian, you can do as Jesus calls us to do and take up your cross daily and die for the sake of the Gospel. While you discern your path, I’ll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Scott Shirley is the pastor of Church in the Cliff. The Worship section is underwritten by Advocate Publishing and the neighborhood businesses and churches listed here. For information about helping support the Worship section, call 214.560.4202.

“In the Church, we have done a poor job of teaching people about prayer.”

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ADVOCATE PUBLISHING does not pre-screen, recommend or investigate the advertisements and/or Advertisers published in our magazines.

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LISA PETERS

Reliable home loan lenders are no dime a dozen.

East Kessler neighbor Lisa Peters is a consistent top performer nationwide. In 1983, Lisa saw Oak Cliff’s beauty, potential and downtown proximity.

“I was a lender here before anyone would cross the river, and I love it here,” she says.

By RACHEL STONE

Call it Stormy Monday

(But Tuesday is just as bad)

Aaron Thibeaux Walker made his recording debut on Columbia Records in 1929 as Oak Cliff T-Bone.

Picking his guitar and with piano accompaniment, Walker recorded “Wichita Falls Blues” and “Trinity River Blues” as the B-side.

“That dirty Trinity River sure have done me wrong,” the song goes. “It came in my windows and doors, now all my things are gone.”

T-Bone Walker grew up in Oak Cliff’s Tenth Street neighborhood, now an endangered historic district that is one of the only remaining freedmen’s towns in the United States, at a time when the levees weren’t as reliable as they are now.

Walker was born in the East Texas town of Linden in 1910. His mother left her husband and headed for Dallas to find a better life when Walker was a child. He attended N.W. Harllee school until about seventh grade. The school still stands on East Eighth Street, near Townview, and is now an early childhood education center.

Both of Walker’s parents were musicians. And his stepfather, Marco Washington, was a member of the Dallas String Band, a “pre-blues” or “country blues” band consisting of black musicians, which recorded 10 songs in the early 1900s, including “Chasing Rainbows,” “Dallas Rag” and “So Tired.” Washington taught Walker to play guitar, ukulele, banjo, violin, mandolin and piano, according to the Texas State Historical Society.

Blind Lemon Jefferson was a family friend and Walker’s mentor, and Walker often guided Jefferson to his gigs.

Walker began performing in clubs and on street corners as a teenager, and in the mid-1920s, he toured the South with Ida Cox. Later, he toured with Cab Calloway, and he played with Ma Rainey.

In 1935, Walker moved to Los Angeles. That same year, T-Bone went electric, becoming the first blues guitarist to play

the electric guitar. He was a big draw in L.A. nightclubs such as Café Trocadero on the Sunset Strip, where he performed for racially integrated audiences beginning in the mid-1930s. Walker was a great dancer and captivating performer. T-Bone Walker was doing the splits on stage when rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Chuck Berry was still in grade school. Jimi Hendrix learned to play guitar behind his head and with his teeth after seeing Walker do it.

By the mid-1940s, Walker was a bandleader, landing gigs in big cities all over the United States. And that’s when he wrote “Stormy Monday.”

“They call it stormy Monday, but Tuesday’s just as bad.”

“Yes, Lord!” B.B. King said in a 2005 interview. “The first line, the first thrilling notes, the first sound of his guitar, and the attitude in his voice was riveting. I especially loved ‘Stormy Monday,’ and I still sing it today.”

Walker’s daughter, Bernita Walker, told NPR’s All Things Considered in 2008 that the song speaks to everyone.

“You know, Monday morning most people don’t want to get up to go to work ’cause they’ve had a great time over the

weekend, and now they’ve got to hit that 9 to 5. Tuesday is just as bad. Wednesday’s worse ’cause that’s the hump day, and Thursday’s also sad.”

Walker first recorded the song in 1947, and it’s been covered by Bobby “Blue” Bland, B.B. King, Albert King, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and Eva Cassidy, to name a few. It also inspired many blues guitarists to plug in.

The song is in the Blues Hall of Fame and the Grammy Hall of Fame. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame named it among the “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.” And it’s in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry of “sound recordings that are culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”

Walker was a pop star in the 1950s with many of his recordings making the top 10 on “Your Hit Parade.”

He joined the Count Basie Orchestra in the 1960s and toured all over Europe and the United States. At the end of his career, he became a living legend and a music festival draw.

Walker died of a stroke in 1975. He was inducted posthumously into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Photo courtesy of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.