Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 38, Ed. 1 Friday, January 19, 2001 Page: 1 of 56
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The Community Newspaper For Gay Lesbian Dallas
Mystery shrouds gay pastor
Predominately gay East Dallas congregation says it's
standing by preacher who says amnesia blots out his
former life as Church of Christ minister, husband, father
By Tammye Nash
In Dallas
and Ed J. Walsh
In San Francisco
Parishioners at White Rock Community
Church appear eager to welcome their new
pastor this weekend despite controversy sur-
rounding the man who says he has amnesia
and cannot recall anything of the life he had
before 1984 as a husband, father and Church of
Christ minister.
James Simmons, whose real name is Wesley
Barrett "Barre" Cox, was on his way to Dallas
this week from his former home in California.
He is slated to speak at a press conference at 2
p.m. Saturday at his new church. He is sched-
uled to preach his first sermon as the church's
pastor at the 10:45 a.m.
worship service on
Sunday. Cox
The minister first
spoke at White Rock Community Church on
Dec. 10, in effect auditioning for the position of
pastor for the predominately gay and lesbian
congregation.
He told church members then that he had
amnesia and that he had no memory of his life
before he woke up from a coma in a hospital in
Memphis, Tenn., in July, 1984. He said he had
been found severely beaten in the trunk of a
car at a wrecking yard, and that the people
who found him took him to the hospital.
During that service, however, one of the
White Rock parishioners recognized Simmons
as a Church of Christ minister who had disap-
peared in July, 1984 while driving from
Lubbock to his home in San Antonio. Cox was
31 years old and had a wife and infant daugh-
ter at the time of his disappearance.
Cox's wife and daughter, Beth and Talitha
Cox, who now livtfin Nashville, and his broth-
er, George Cox of Frankston, Tex., say they
believe he does suffer from amnesia. But ques-
tions about the validity of his story persist.
Police in Memphis say they have found no
record of Cox being found and hospitalized
there in 1984. And doctors have said that the
form of amnesia Cox claims to suffer from is
rare and would have other symptoms that Cox
does not exhibit.
Others who knew Cox before his disap-
pearance have said they believed all along that
Cox was a closeted gay man, and that he man-
ufactured his disappearance to escape the
pressures of his life.
David Hance, a gay man who met Cox at a
Church of Christ student retreat in Wichita
Falls shortly before he disappeared, told the
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal he did not believe
See MINISTER on PAGE 10
Bush prepares to take oath
as nation's 43rd president
Washington festooned for ceremony marking shift in power; aides say
new chief executive's goal is bipartisanship amid political uncertainties
During an inaugural rehearsal at the
Capitol in Washington last Sunday, Staff
Sgt. Michael Long, second from left, and
Staff Sgt. Charles Decker, second from
right, stand in for President-elect George
W. Bush and Vice President-elect Dick
Cheney as they review the troops.
By Gary Barlow
" Staff Reporter
al
| Former Texas Governor George W. Bush
o will become the nation's 43rd president tomor-
< row in an atmosphere clouded with uncertain-
| ty about his mandate, his prospects in
a, Congress and a political future tied to an econ-
□ omy that appears to be faltering.
Bush confidants said last weekend that he
will seek to counter those uncertainties in an
inauguration speech emphasizing bipartisan
unity.
When Bush takes the oath of office, he will
be greeted by the largest number of protesters
at a presidential inauguration since Richard
Nixon began his second term in 1972 with
thousands voicing opposition to his Vietnam
War policies. District of Columbia police offi-
cials said last week that they expect "tens of
thousands" to protest, energized largely by
their belief that Bush's victory was the result of
election irregularities in Florida and a U.S.
Supreme Court majority bent on installing him
as president for ideological reasons.
The first president to take office despite los-
ing the popular vote in over 100 years, Bush
faces a daunting task in marshalling political
support for his programs. While incoming
presidents traditionally enjoy a 'honeymoon'
that gives them the opportunity to pass critical
portions of their agenda in Congress, there are
signs that Bush's honeymoon may already be
over.
Although his cabinet picks are the most
See INAUGURATION on PAGE 18
January 19, 2001
Vol 1 7 No 38
INTERVIEW
Before leaving for
North Corolino, Preston
Lane bids farewell to
the Dallas Theater
Center by staging
Tennessee Williams' The
Nighl of the Iguana
Palm Springs resorts a
offer queer travelers I
plush antenities and *■■■*.
clothing-optional poli-
cies, making it the most *.
hormonally-charged '
scene on the planet.
STAGE
Queer performer and
native Texan Patrick
Kyle returns to the Lone
Star State to play the
beloved hayseed
Willard Hewitt in
TELEVISION j
In Showtime's new ■
miniseries A Girl Thing,
Elle Mncpherson and
Kate Capshaw go on a
double date, abandon
the men and hook up
for steamy lesbian sex.
ALSO
Scoop, Screen, Community Events, Broadcast
Listings, Artsnotes, Cartoons, Q Puzzle,
Starvoice, Scene.
asvoice.com
WWW
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Vercher, Dennis. Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 38, Ed. 1 Friday, January 19, 2001, newspaper, January 19, 2001; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth615493/m1/1/: accessed July 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.