The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 67, No. 112, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 7, 1984 Page: 2 of 8
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Editorials
menrary
The North Texas Daily
Page 2
Thursday, June 7, 1984
The whims of adults
As with most problems, education of large numbers of
people is the key.
A problem that has received increased media attention
and growing awareness, sexual abuse of children has come
out of the closet as a national tragedy and a problem that
must be faced with greater awareness and increased
education, among parents and among those who enforce
the laws.
Health and Human Services Secretary Margaret Heck-
ler said Sunday that the growing national problem of sex-
ual abuse of children should be attacked, not through
increased spending, but through education. Her view is
correct.
Sen. Paula Hawkins, R-Fla., who was sexually abused
as a child, has criticized budget cuts by the Reagan admin-
istration and called for a $10 million addition to the federal
program dealing with abused children.
Hawkins said that after being abused by a neighbor as
a young girl, she experienced a judicial system where her
testimony was disbelieved.
Increased spending, correctly directed in the area of
education and understanding of the problem, may help
alleviate this travesty, but money alone cannot save chil-
dren from the horror of sexual abuse.
In the end, the responsibility for protecting children
from sexual abuse falls on the shoulders of parents. A
more involved parental interaction with children that trains
children and works with them about improper sexual advanc-
es by adults will decrease the frequency of occurences
and establish channels for handling sexual assaults.
If the judicial system is cold and unresponsive about
sexual abuse of children, education of our lawyers and
judges will perhaps soften those who are going to deter-
mine how to deal with molesters and victims.
Children, totally vulnerable to the whims of adults, must
be protected from the tragedy of sexual abuse. The educa-
tion of parents about sexual abuse, as the first step toward
revamping American attitudes about the problem and dis-
covering long-term solutions, can prov ide a measure of
hope for victims and a measure of saiety for all children.
In the end, an ounce of education is worth a pound of
carelessly spent money.
Lawn order
A dangerous evolutionary process is taking its toll on
NT's beautifully landscaped campus.
Green lawns are being evolved out and sidewalks, more
durable and fit for survival, are taking over.
The grass isn't destroying itself, and sidewalks aren't
pouring themselves out in a
frenzy of conquest.
What's happening is
that a lot of people have
been taking shortcuts
across the campus lawns,
trampling the grass and
leaving behind . ugly
brown scars.
As more and more
people walk across the lawns, hurrying to their classes 01
cars, the scars widen and more grass dies.
The folks in charge notice these aberrations and realize
that planting new grass in the worn path won't work.
^1
They conclude that the only solution is to chop oi l part of
the lawn by laying down a concrete sidewalk.
And why not? It fulfills everyone's need for conve-
nience and expedience.
Certainly, the lawns are here to be used. They provide
a place to sit and talk,
throw Frisbee or football
or study. And they beau-
tify the campus.
The lawns should be
used for these purposes.
But they should not be
ruined because people are
too lazy to walk around
or to care.
Plenty of sidewalks already exist, and there is enough
room for everyone to walk on them.
Keep the sidewalks at a minimum and keep off the
grass.
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TV election coverage goes awry
with boring, clown-like commentators
Phone discounts
The court-ordered breakup of AT&T Communications
Inc. in 1982 was a wise decision, as consumers are already
beginning to see.
The judgment requires the divested Bell System tele-
phone companies to provide the same quality of service—
equal access—to all long-distance carriers.
Target date for equal access was set at Sept. 15, but
some cities in West Virginia will be connected sooner. It
is estimated that 30 percent of Dallas could be offered a
choice under equal access by the end of 1985.
AT&T announced a program last week that permits resi-
dential long-distance callers to get credits redeemable for
goods and services from 28 companies. This move is seen
by industry analysts and competitions as an effort by AT&T
to preserve its share of the market since the breakup of
the telecommunications giant.
AT&T understands the need of competing with other
companies that have sprung up to try and take some of
the giant's share of the communications pie. Competition
requires that telephone companies must provide adequate
and fair service for the customers.
MCI Communication Corp.,GTE Sprint and other long-
distance discount telephone companies have begun bat-
tling for customers in anticipation of the equal-access
provisions that begin this summer.
Under AT&T's program, called AT&T Opportunity
Calling, customers making long-distance calls using AT&T
will receive credits toward the purchase of clothing, home
appliances, carpeting, sports equipment, moving services,
tools, furniture, home computers, trucks, railroad and air-
line tickets and hotel rooms.
Customers who make $15 to $300 in AT&T long-distance
calls each month will earn one dollar of credit for each
dollar of long-distance charges on calls within the United
States or to Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Since the start of the year, AT&T's competitors have
also made marketing moves. In January GTE Sprint
announced 2 percent to 12 percent volume discounts to
customers who make more than $25 a month in calls
through GTE Sprint.
MCI plans to lower monthly service fees lor its long-
distance network beginning July 15.
The consent decree signed by AT&T in 1982 10 settle
an anti-trust suit filed by the U.S. Justice Department
requires the divested Bell System companies to provide
the same quality of service—equal access - to all long-
distance carriers.
The consent decree provides something else-—more com-
petition among the long-distance carriers, which in turn
provides better bargains for the customers.
Television loves to cover elections.
You can always tell election day by
the election results that flash across the
bottom of (he screen or by the hours of
TV shows that arc pre-empted to make room
for results.
Hours upon hours of election returns arc
thrown at us to give us up-to-the-minute
results. Certainly some of the races are
dramatic, but we don't need a vote-by-vote
countdown.
Not only are some of the intermediate
results insignificant and misleading, but they
are also boring. I'd rather watch a docu-
mentary on "Hemorrhoids: Cause of the
French Revolution or What?" But television
always finds something to cover. So here's
a look at TV coverage of an election night.
"GOOD EVENING and welcome to
Election Coverage Central Control Head-
quarters. T his is Kuri Browbeat and we'll
be bringing you up-to-the-minute returns
on this exciting election night. Our computer
is the latest in technology, software and
components and will bring us results by
the second. Its countless transistors, trans-
ducers. resistors, capacitors, memory
stoiage, microchips and interfaces arc the
ultimate in computer technology. Wait, I've
just been informed that the computer has
already broken down and the votes will have
to be counted by our volunteers from the
Arthur Murray Dance Studio and Cub Scout
Pack 432. I can truthfully say that I hope
the computer can be fixed so that we can
bring you last, accurate results and so I
can play l ank Command during the com-
mercials. "
"Sorry to interrupt you. Kurt, but this
is Harvey Bagel in the Winners Booth
informing you that the computer is back
up and has determined the winners in to-
night's elections."
"THAT'S INCREDIBLE, Harvey.
considering that the .polls don't open for
another 30 minutes."
"Well, we'll wait a little while before
announcing the winners so that the voters
will think they are playing some part in
the choosing of their leaders," Bagel said.
"But now let's cut to Brad Lemon.'
"This is Brad Lemon at the Decision
Desk. I think we do have a decision here.
I would like to get a confirmation on this
decision...OK, we do have a confirmation.
We have decided to get 16 chicken salad
sandwiches on wheat toast, 14 corned beef
on rye with mayo, four tuna melts with
extra cheese and 27 coffees, no cream,
double sugar. And now back to Kurt with
some initial figures."
jM Russell
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"That's right, Brad, the figures are now
coming up on the board. They arc 356,
231 and 320. Wow! What a surprise. Oh,
and there's the bell which means the red
light isn't working which tells us to switch
to Election Central North where we have a
winner in another race."
"THIS IS HANS Again at Flection
Central North, where we have a winner in
the State Laundry Commissioner position.
Korem Meier is declared the winner by our
computer, just as it predicted earlier.
However, Meier did not receive a majority
of the votes. So we have our volunteers
from Mothers Against Break Dancing cor-
recting the ballots to agree with the pre-
diction of the computer. They are getting
closer all the time. I think they only need
to change 1,000 more ballots. Now back
to you, Kurt, at Election Coverage Central
Control Headquarters."
"Thank you, Hans. I've just been in-
formed that the computer has gone down
again. So let's check in with Harold Fat at
the Election Central Weather Station."
"This is Harold Fat. We had terrific
voting weather today. As we take a look
at the state weather map, we can sec that
the northern part of the state was green,
the middle part of the state was red and
the southern part of the state was this kind
of rust color, with a big H in it. By tomor-
row, the green should turn to blue, the red
should be moving on east, and the rust will
stay but will have one of those wavy lines
with the triangles 011 one side. Now, we'll
go back to you, Kurt."
"THANK YOU, Harold. We do have
some more figures for you. They are 489,
150 and 32. Now let's go to Harvey Bagel
in the Winners Booth where we think he
has some results."
"Kurt, we do have a winner. Sally
Emerson has just outmuscled Edith Marsh
in the refrigerator carry to win the State
Stenographer Strongman Contest. She did
not win the election, but will be able to
beat up whoever did. Now let's go to Hans
Again again at Election Central North with
another winner."
"This is Hans Again again with some
sad news. George Clifton, who had won
the race for a spot 011 the state food com-
mission, was trampled to death by journalists
after he brought out free food and drink to
celebrate the victory. However, I am happy
to report that there was plenty of food to
go around and that the potato salad was
delicious. The journalists and onlookers
honored Clifton by modeling a life-sized
replica of the deceased in luncheon meat.
Now back to you, Kurt ..."
'In all his glory7: odd storyteller befriends family
I don't remember how we met James or
how he stumbled upon us, but there
he was, for a while, in all his gawky, misfit
glory.
Albuquerque, N.M., 1970. The time of
the Vietnam War, the hippie and psyche-
delia.
James seemed out of place in such a
setting. He was nothing like the men I'd
see in town sitting on the sidewalks, hair
trailing down their backs, wearing white,
Indian cottons and jewelry and preaching
about war and peace and love.
He had a burr haircut and thick horn-
rimmed glasses. He was skinny, and his
conservative secondhand clothes fit loosely
on his tall, bony frame. He looked bookish,
like a recluse who shunned sex and frivolity
for the pursuit of greater ideals. But James
probably hadn't read even two books in
his entire life.
His age was indeterminate. Maybe 25,
maybe 40. It was hard to tell with James.
He had a timeless, ageless manner, like
childhood memories, that made him seem
larger than life.
Although he never talked about it, some-
where, way back in his odd, mysterious
life, he must of had a friend or a parent
who talked to him, told him stories and
nurtured, if not his mind, his heart.
Because, somehow, through an errant
stroke of grace, he learned how to enchant
others with a story. That was all he had.
EVENING. Any month.
Inside a pink adobe duplex on the comer
of Thaxton and Carlisle streets, a mom.
dad, two children, a girl and boy, lounged
in their after-dinner complacency. The
doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," the girl yelled.
"No, I will," her brother said and raced
past her, knocking her off balance.
"You little creep!" she screamed.
"Cut that crap out, you two," Mom
warned.
THE BOY opened the door and both
children bent their heads way back to look
their visitor in the face.
"Hi, James." Brother and sister giggled.
James was the most unusual person they'd
ever known.
"Well, how are you two?" James said
in a drawl that must've come from Georgia.
"I swear you've both grown a foot since I
saw you last." At that, both children ran
off to the back of the house, laughing and
embarrassed.
"Lissen to this," the boy said to his
sister. He imitated the accent and both buried
their heads into pillows trying to muffle
their laughter.
Their dad came to the door and asked
the tall, thin man in.
"HI'YA FRANK," James said to Dad
and shook his hand.
"Hi, there, Lala. How're you doin'
today?" he said to Mom.
"Have a seat, James," Mom said,
motioning to a chair at the kitchen table.
"Don't tell me you walked all the way over
here again?"
"Yes, ma'am, sure did," James said.
"Walk everywhere I go. Always have,"
he said proudly.
The children came back into the room,
grinning sheepishly and shyly. Most of the
time, they couldn't have cared less what
their parents and other grown-ups talked
about. But James was different.
It was probably Dad who first brought
James to the house, though how they met
is a mystery. But there's no telling, with
Dad, the way he can talk and talk and talk
to people he doesn't even know.
"Well, I saw an old friend 1 haven't seen
in a real long time," he said with a big
grin.
I hey laughed, 'fhey knew what was next.
James scooted his chair away from the
table to make room for his hands—large,
clean, finely-manicured hands that would
soon dance to the slow, bouncy cadence
of his story.
"1 saw ol' Brer Rabbit. Came up right
Luann Dunlap
"Had a pretty rough day at the stoic.
Frank," Jaincs said. Every time he visited,
he talked about his day at the grocery store
where he worked as a sack boy.
Every time he visited, James talked about
his job and the people he had met; he always
drank just one beer and he always told a
story. Every time. Maybe that's why Mom
and Dad say he's "not all there."
The talk continued for a while, Dad about
his job and Mom about hers and James smil-
ing and telling funny anecdotes about
people, real and imaginary, he'd met that
day.
"DID I TELL you who I met comin'
over here this cvcnin'7" he asked (lie
children, addressing them for the first time.
"No. James," they said.
behind me and tapped me on the shoulder,
and we got to talkin'," he said matter-of-
faetly.
"And do you know what he told me?
Well, that nasty ol' sly ol' Brer Fox did
poor Brer Tarrypin wrong," he said, look-
ing from one to the other of them making
sure he had a captive audience.
"What's a tarrypin, James?" th'c boy
asked.
"Why. it's a turtle, Andy," James ex-
plained "Did I ever tell ya how this all
came about?" he asked, frowning seriously.
"Not this one. James," the girl said.
But they had heard at least 30 other Uncle
Renins stories since James started visiting
them regularly He knew them all by heart.
"Wellll," he began "It wasn't a good
day for poor ol' Brer Tarrypin. That ol'
Fox give him more trouble than . . .than I
don't know who." He threw his hands up
in a gesture of disbelief.
"One day, Brer Tarrypin sees Brer Fox
comin' down the road. Now ya see, Brer
Tarrypin don't trust the ol' Fox much, so
he kinda lowered himself down as much
as possible, hopin' Brer Fox would pass
him up.
"NOW BRER FOX loves to be cruel
and mean to poor ol' Tarrypin, but he
always acts like he's his best friend," James
continued. His bright blue eyes, magnified
behind the thick glasses, grew even larger.
"So, he says to the turtle, 'Lo Brer
Tarrypin, what you doin'? " James says.
"And Brer Tarrypin says, 'Just loungin'
around and sufferin', Brer Fox.'
"Brer Fox says, 'What's ailin' you, Brer
Tarrypin? You kx>k mighty red,' James said
The turtle tells Brer Fox that a farmer
set a field he was in on fire.
"Brer Fox says, 'How you get outta the
fire. Brer Tarrypin?'
'I just set there and took it, Brer Fox.
Just set there and took it,' Brer Tarrypin
says,' James said, looking out across the
room as if he were watching the turtle and
fox talking in front of him.
AS THE STORY goes. Brer Fox says he
believes the fire got the turtle's tail, but
Brer Tarrypin denies it and sticks his tail
out from under his shell to prove it.
Brer Fox grabs the tail and takes the tur-
tle to the pond where he threatens to drown
him.
James says, "Well, ya see, Brer Fox for-
got that turtles can swim. But he's so caught
up in gettin' revenge, he isn't thinkin' right
"Brer Tarrypin goes along with it 'cause
he don't want the fox to do somethin' even
worse to him," said James.
"BRER TARRYPIN begged and begged
Brer Fox not to drown him. He cried, 'Ketch
holt me. Brer Fox! Help me, I'm a-
drownin'!'
"But Brer Fox just turned loose of the
turtle's tail and down he went to the bottom,
ker blunkity blink!" James laughed and
clapped his hands.
"The ol' fox went on happy as he could
be, thinkin' he got rid of Brer Tarrypin,
but that ol' fox was just a fool. 'Cause
Brer Tarrypin was under water laughin' as
hard as he could."
James wasn't as lucky as the old turtle,
though. Apparently, he didn't have it in
him to outsmart some weasel out there who
wanted what little he had.
A month passed without a visit from
James, who had been visiting regularly twice
a month for almost a year.
My parents checked around and found
out that someone had killed him for his
wallet.
After my parents told me about James, I
went to the library down the street and
checked out a Brer Rabbit story and sat
there and laughed and laughed. I got in
trouble for being loud in the library, but I
didn't care. I wanted to hold on to the
strange magic given me by a man whose
spirit I d never meet in anyone else again.
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Chandler, Cara. The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 67, No. 112, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 7, 1984, newspaper, June 7, 1984; Denton, TX. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth332663/m1/2/: accessed July 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.