Archive for the ‘Commentary’ Category

Well colour us surprised. We keep hearing about this recession that’s been plaguing the U.S. We watch the beautiful people as they fill the patios along McKinney Avenue and West Village to overflowing; we see the many luxury cars, the beauty salons filled with clients, etc. and we try to envision this “recession” thing the media keeps hyping.

Did a recession hit Dallas? No. There were some job losses due to the expected ocassional wave (toss a stone in a still pond theory) but as for the chaos that we keep hearing about, we’ve yet to see any evidence of it.

So on that note, the erstwhile Forbes has proclaimed Dallas as one of the Top 10 cities to be in for the recession recovery. Well, duh. That’s kind of like looking at someone playing in a lake and proclaiming that they are in an excellent position to be wet — doofus, they are ALREADY wet! How can Dallas possibly recover from something it never experienced?

Caution readers: The editor is about to get onto the soapbox for a commentary.

I freely admit that I am one of those individuals that learns something new every day. I also admit that I don’t have advanced college degrees on finance. But what I do know is that the US of A is coming up with a whole lot of money to bail out banks and these banks have people in upper management that supposedly attended some of the loftiest universities this country has to offer.

We’ve got the government bailing out people who bought more home than they could afford. And I’m wondering if these “homeowners” ever gave consideration to what was going to happen when their mortgage payments increased to the point they couldn’t afford them.

The government bailing out everyone and their dog does not make for a healthy, capitalistic society. Small business owners are what powers the US economy — not government bailouts.

And all this bailout money is coming from where exactly? Sure, the printing presses can be run 24/7 but if there’s no gold sitting in Ft. Knox to back it up it’s all rather pointless. It’s all rather like you and I just running out and writing checks wildly for anything we want regardless of price — as long as we have blank checks, we’ll keep buying because, after all, Uncle Sam will bail us out.

Just today I was listening to some people I know that are professional event organizers. It seems that Wells Fargo “sponsored” an upcoming event to the tune of $20,000. Wells Fargo called in today to say, “Keep the money, just get our name and logo off of everything ASAP because we took bailout money.”

Admittedly, I have mixed emotions about that. First, what were those wankers thinking to be sponsoring a community event to the tune of $20k and if it’s happening here, how many other cities is it happening in? Second, I’m glad it happened here because that’s an influx of $20k to a local organization that benefits those of us here.

But if you’ll bare with me on my rambling vent, there’s one particular issue that fired me up over all of this and that would be the photos of a large truck, woefully under filled with drinks and bed linens that are headed to our returning troops.

Yes, boys and girls, we have US Armed Forces returning from active duty in an arid wasteland to find themselves without something as simple as BED SHEETS due to “budget constraints”.

I cannot be the only one saying “WTF!” to this image. Our troops, defending our freedoms, don’t have something as basic as sheets yet the government is bending over backwards to appease fat cats that shouldn’t be allowed to balance their own checkbook let alone run a multi-billion $ corporation.

In closing, if you’d like to assist our troops, please visit Operation Once In A Lifetime’s website to see how you can donate SHEETS to our troops.

Bed linens to our returning troops

Editor’s Note: There have been many comments left on the closing of the Larry Morgan Music store. Today, however, Janie Arnold-Autry commented on the post and her info is so rich in historical details, that it warrants its own posting.

I would like to add my memories of my dad’s store, which became Arnold & Morgan. It started out in the small building across the street from GHS. Clyde & Betty Box had a record store in half of the building and my dad, Jim Arnold, had the other side—it was full of pianos and a few organs. (James M. Arnold - died 1971 when his airplane crashed). It was just Arnold Piano Co. at that time. I remember it well because I had to walk there everyday after school and answer the phones and of course do my homework. I loved the record store and listening and dancing to the music.

Mr. Morgan and my dad traveled together in ministry BEFORE the music store was birthed. Mr. Morgan was the praise leader and my dad played the Hammond organ for an evangelist named Jack Coe. When Rev. Coe died, my dad had the piano business to fall back on because his dad E.S. Arnold had a small piano store in Kaufman, TX. My grandfather could take a piano apart and put it back together and make it like new. He taught my dad the same trade.

My dad asked V.E. Morgan to come to Texas and partner up with him in the music business. Mr. Morgan and his family lived in Springfield, MO at that time. Mr. Morgan came to Texas for a number of months (lived with us in our house in Garland) before bringing his entire family to join him. He was a wonderful man…like a second dad to me. It was like the Lord had the plan and dad & Morgan followed the map and made the jouney. At one time, our entire family worked at the store.

After Mr. Morgan and dad split the business, my dad opened The Music Mart in Haltom City,TX (Ft. Worth). I worked in the Ft. Worth store as did my brother, Jimmy. When dad was killed in the airplane crash, my mother gave the store to my brother. The McBrayer brothers bought out the piano & organ side and Jimmy had the guitar side of the building.

(Does anyone remember when the flood came?) Duck Creek flooded…it was awful. But the store survived after many hours of sweeping mud and water out of the building.

I had the honor (just kidding) of dusting pianos and sweeping the floors…after school each day. I just happened to like being there to check out all the good looking guys too…I had a crush on several.

I am still very close friends with Mrs. Morgan, Kaye Morgan-McCurdy and Gary Morgan. I was called “little sis” in the Morgan household when we were kids. Kaye is my dearest friend to this day.

Larry will be missed by many of us. May he rest in peace.
God Bless You All, Thanks for reading my thoughts, Janie Arnold-Autry

If you are thinking about moving to a new area of Dallas, you might want to make sure your chosen destination is not on the list of 26 most crime ridden areas.

On a personal note, considering how much media propaganda there is about Deep Ellum being dangerous, it’s interesting to note that the DE area isn’t on this list.

1. Five Points: 357 violent crimes
2. Forest at Audelia: 305 violent crimes
3. Northwest Highway at Harry Hines: 286 violent crimes
4. Hatcher at 2nd: 202 violent crimes
5. Buckner at Peavy: 193 violent crimes
6. Walnut Hill at Harry Hines: 183 violent crimes
7. Skillman at Royal: 179 violent crimes
8. Cedar Springs at Wycliff: 175 violent crimes
9. Jefferson Corridor: 173 violent crimes
10. Fort Worth at Hampton: 172 violent crimes
11. Camp Wisdom at Chaucer: 167 violent crimes
12. Bennett: 159 violent crimes
13. Buckner at Bruton: 155 violent crimes
14. Maham at Spring Valley: 153 violent crimes
15. Overton at Illinois: 140 violent crimes
16. Columbia at Fitzugh: 133 violent crimes
17. Jim Miller at Loop 12: 124 violent crimes
18. MLK at MalcomX: 124 violent crimes
19. Ackard at Main: 118 violent crimes
20. Wickersham at Walnut Hill: 117 violent crimes
21. Ledbetter at Bonnieview: 107 violent crimes
22. Walton at Walker Tech: 101 violent crimes
23. Lamar at Hatcher: 97 violent crimes
24. Woodmeadow at Ferguson: 82 violent crimes
25. Kiest at Park: 80 violent crimes
26. Monfort at Spring Valley: 73 violent crimes

Kudos to D Magazine for this enlightening and realistic article on how Dallas has evolved from “big balls” to “wuss” status.

Check it out by clicking here!

Some people in Dallas are a flutter because it might cost up to $1 million dollars annually to protect former President George Bush. This is a high estimation and it’s due to the increase in police patrols, escorts, etc. as Bush lives his life and conducts business in this city.

While Dallas, and the state of Texas, are fortunately in better financial condition than many other parts of the country, it is still a situation for consideration as budgets are being tightened in case of any future shortfalls.

This is all understandable; however, the long term vision of what Bush brings to Dallas should be considered at this time as well. Not only will Dallas benefit from the property taxes on his home, there will be a large benefit to the tax base upon the opening of his presidential library at SMU.

Thousands of people annually will visit Dallas which is a boon to the hotels, airlines, transportation services and restaurants. This offers the city of Dallas a revenue stream that most cities would dearly give their first born for.

We must all focus on the long term benefits of having Bush in the city of Dallas as it will be a benefit to us all and future generations for decades to come.

Preservation Dallas is asking for all help in contacting the Dallas Mayor and City Council to let them know we oppose the violations sweep that is currently going on in the downtown area.

At issue to those of us that are passionate about music, 508 Park Avenue is a designated historic building yet a demolition permit has been filed with the city. This building is the location where legendary bluesman Robert Johnson recorded what is considered by many to be the first ever Rock n’ Roll record approximately 78 years ago. Eric Clapton has also recorded in the building to try to capture the sound that Johnson did so many decades ago.

We can no longer be silent witnesses to the destruction of our city’s history and your voice is needed urgently needed by: Posting to blogs, writing letters to the local media, and contacting your elected officials.

You can read the Preservation Dallas press release by clicking here.

You can read the Dallas Observer’s article here.

You can contact your elected officials here.