The Message Forum is an ongoing dialogue among classmates. The goal is to encourage friendly interaction, including interaction among classmates who really didn't know each other. Experience on the site has revealed that certain topics tend to cause friction and hard feelings, especially politics and religion. 

Although politics and religion are not completely off-limits, classmates are asked to be positive in their posts and not to be too repetitive or allow a dialog to degenerate into an argument. 

Forums work when people participate - so don't be bashful! Click the "Post Response" button to add your entry to the forum.

David Cordell

Sandra, I have always been impressed by your comments about Cathy Burrows and your friendship with her.

Steve, I'm trying to figure out which of your running buddies could be worse!!

Hollis, I'll get back to you about Transfiguration details.

Bob, here's an unfortunately undated photo that I suspect my mother took. It is at a Richardson Symphony event, and all four ladies were from Transfiguration. You probably recognize Mildred Shea, Doug's  mother. June Jones had two sons who were older than us (Jack and Ronnie), and a daughter (Susan) who was three or four years younger. Mrs. Fekety, who looks like she was just goosed, was the mother of Peter Fekety, who was a year behind us. Her husband Art drove a red Austin-Healy 3000 and was a buyer for Nieman-Marcus. The fourth lady is Father Ketchum's wife, whom I don't actually remember. I am trying to find out how long Father Ketchum was at Transfiguration.

Wayne Gary

David,

Boy is that picture dated and a sign of the times.  All of the women are Mrs. (Husbands name).  Does not give the woman's name.

Steve Keene

David,

Sorry it took so long to answer your earlier question about me telling true stories.   I have found that when I write non-fiction on the forum, I alienate half the class.  Therefore, I write fiction inspired by true events and it seems to keep the criticism down to an acceptable level.  Currently in my spare time, I am writing an Independent's history of the oil business in Texas a la Larry McMurtry.  Maybe I am inspired by my new operations in Archer City, Texas as I sit on a wellsite and contemplate Cybil Shepherd in the Last Picture Show, realizing I am Ben Johnson.  I still have fond dreams of Joey Heatherington in the mattress commercials, too.

It is funny how Archer City had a resurgence with oil prices and Texas notoriety tourism.  It has since dried up and blown away again as the older fields were abandoned.  I am slipping in like the third wave as oil and gas prices spike due to government interference.

Steve Keene

Hollis,

Brilliant Mr. Tesla Thomas and his family are gung ho on the electric Tesla EVs.  I have a question.  What is a Tesla going to look like when you remove the carpet, the headliner, the plastic dash, the safety glass, the door seals. the brake pads, the hoses, the air conditioning, the speakers, the stereo and the bumpers?  All those things have components made from oil.  In fact, you cannot even put in a lithium battery without a plastic housing made of oil byproducts.

I am surprised that Tommy has worked so hard to get a copy of the Best of Punography film.  That film is made of oil, you know.

Sandra Spieker (Ringo)

Steve,

I will jump in here and answer the oil/plastics question you posed for Hollis.  There is enough plastic to recycle and produce most anything for the next hundred or possibly two hundred years.  We just have to gather the stuff up (there is a pile the size of Texas in the Pacific) and recycle it.  Mine plastic trash, a new industry!

Jim Bedwell

DEFUND THE POLITICIANS

Why? Jesus wept.

Jim Bedwell

Sandra,

I've recycled since the 70's. It just makes sense to me. I've heard arguments against doing any of it, but I guess that's one of my few remaining liberal viewpoints. Especially with metals and other non-renewables, why wouldn't we? I just hate to see things go to waste, like our former constitutional republic. Although I actually didn't mind Dillard's chemistry class going to waste...

Wayne Gary

Lance,

If you are still planning on taking a cruise in December you will need to get your Covid vaccine.

 This is for US departures.  Europe has different protacalls.

Updated September 3, 2021

Your health and safety are our highest priorities.
Our 2021 cruises are available for guests who have ALL of the following:

• Received their final dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the cruise
• Proof of vaccination
• Proof of a negative, medically observed, viral COVID-19 test (PCR or antigen).
Cruises departing through September 12, 2021, ALL guests will be required to produce a negative test result taken within 3 days of their embarkation.
Cruises departing September 13 through December 31, 2021, in accordance with CDC directives, ALL guests will be required to produce a negative test result taken within 2 days of their embarkation. 

Jim Bedwell

Chief Toenails,

I was FLABBERGASTED that ANYBODY had ANYTHING positive to say at that funeral!!! Obviously a dream as you related and not reality. I'm going to have to take a break here for a bit to recover my senses after THAT mother of all cognitive dissonances however!!! WHOA, NELLY!!

OK, I'm back and that only took about 30 minutes. WHEW!

On a lark I drove to Archer City over 10 years ago when I was last in DFW. The place looked almost the same except for all the cars in the "downtown" area plus I saw no wind machines which additionally made the deserted place look even more desolate in the movie (locals told me about the wind machines - as if they needed them there!!). Where the cafe was in "The Last Picture Show" had been turned into 1 of FOUR bookstores then owned by the late Larry McMurtry in downtown Archer City. WEIRD!!! I read that he sold off all the books in 3 of those 4 stores not too long after that, but maybe 1 still exists, or did until he died? Dunno.

Also, next to where the pool hall was in the movie, was where THE downtown cafe was 10+ years ago. The strange thing about that was that one of the waitresses, I SWEAR, was the spitting image of the working-class Eileen Brennan waitress-character in the movie!!!! The only difference was that she had BEAUTIFUL light brown eyes as opposed to the late Eileen's BEAUTIFUL blue ones (can you tell I'm hetero?). If you saw the Eileen character in wardrobe and this young woman waitress next to each other, you would have no problem believing they were in the same nuclear family, or even fraternal twins - eye color would rule out identical ones, right?

I had Jeff Bridges autograph a VHS copy of "The Last Picture Show" behind the BEST Portland venue for autographs, the Aladdin Theater, as he was doing a music show after his Oscar-winning movie performance. Jeff laughed when he saw what I wanted him to sign, but he did listen to the new-waitress-in-Archer-City story with no comment. And what a SWEETHEART of a guy he was!!! I can see how he's been married in awful Hollywood to the same woman for all these years, his only wife. I had heard he was back in Archer City for some reason after I met him so I wondered then if he went by the cafe to see if any waitress there matched my description.

Also my brother knew somebody at Tech from Archer City (I'm not sure I approve of home/education location decisions in that nuclear family!! hahahahaha!!!). I'll have to get more info from him about that unfortunate person.

Oh, and Chief, don't worry about it but rather go ahead with the non-fiction - so many have told me this privately that I can with full confidence relate to you the unanimous opinion of our class - nobody likes you anyway so you're really not risking any further alienation. Always trying to help am I !!!!!

Chief Bedpost, cognizant of Half Way Hill plus GREAT cemetery in Archer City (and they say there's nothing to do there! hah!)

Wayne Gary

Sandra,

Not all plastic can be recycled and there are products that has to be made from virgin plastic.  Also the pharmaceutical industry requires petroleum.

When we go all electric cars, who will pay for the homes to have the charging equipment. What about people who live in apartments and do not have assigned parking spaces how will they charge their cars. What about people who have to park on the street, How will they charge their cars?

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

David,

I remember Father Niles from your church because I visited there with Sally Sheets several times.  I also went there with Judy Soelter one Saturday morning, along with Virginia Hooter and Cindy Turner.  Judy had to be there for, I guess, a confirmation class or something similar, so we all just went along with her as friends, having spent the night at her house on Sherwood Dr.  We had stayed awake most of the night, so we were kinda fuzzy as to what was going on in the class.  The three of us were very impressed, I remember, with the kneelers you Episcopalians enjoy!   We three didn't have those in our Methodist Church but thought we should suggest them to our minister, Rev. Middlebrooks.  We noticed that your church has quite a few of the same hymns we sing at our church, and I remember my mother telling me that there are a number of similarities in the Methodist Church that are like the Episcopalian Church.  Some of our tenets are the same too.

To me, Father Niles seemed like a Catholic priest.  I guess it was the way he spoke, his mannerisms, and his robes, but I can't say that I was really that familiar with Catholic priests on balance, so what did I know really?  Not too much!

Also, abortion is not healthcare.  Abortion is murder.  Semantics used on this issue make American women appear to be ignorant.

Each child murdered after the spark of life begins at conception, has a beautiful soul in its core, and when that soul is murdered, it goes to Heaven, where it is cherished, nurtured, and loved forever.

Sandra Spieker (Ringo)

Wayne,

No one expects these changes overnight.  It took many years for us to transition from horse and buggy to gasoline transporation methods.  I realize not all plastics can be recycled.  We will find alternate methods of packaging, parts etc.  It will take time.  Who will pay? Right now who is paying to rebuild all of the homes, and businesses destroyed by the wildfires?  Who is paying for all the hospital costs for those who chose to forgo the vaccine?  Who is paying for the cleanup in Lousiana and the Eastern states after yet another hurrincane and flooding event?  Who will pay for crop failure due to excessive heat or drought?  Who will pay to re-engineer filling stations to plug in stations?  Who will benefit from the new technology?  Who will profit from recycled materials or pay for the engineering required to come up with alternative materials for the future?  Lots of questions with no easy answers.  What is clear is that we have to start somewhere, because to stagnate where we are now will cost us billions.

Jim Bedwell

Didn't know this. Is an avocado a vegetable or a fruit? It's a fruit, a kind of berry. Just learned that on FNC (where else?).

Also just learned there, if you're ever attacked by a clown? Go for the juggggular!

Jim Bedwell

Janalu,

I like what Jack Nicholson said. He was born to his unmarried "sister", who he later in the 1970's learned was his mother after both she and his grandmother had died.

He said words to the effect that if abortion had been legal when he was born, 1937, he likely never would have been born and he's enjoyed his life so much that he's pro-life. It's not a choice, it's a person, as you well know.

And yes, ALL murdered fetuses and babies, along with all other children who die for whatever reason before they have the opportunity to choose the Savior, end up in total bliss with Jesus -  I don't like initially the evil obviously involved in those aborted humans, but that's the KIND OF DIVERSITY I DO LOVE (innocent victims of blatant sin) in the TOTALLY RIGHTEOUS end result spiritually.

David Cordell

Steve,

We stopped in Archer City/Anarene15+ years ago on the way back to Lubbock. I wandered through McMurtry's book "stores" while the rest of my family fumed in the car, and while the car fumed since the air conditioner ran full-blast in the heat.

I did tell you that I had a solo (duo?) dinner with Larry McMurty in Austin, right? I chaired the Ideas and Issues Committee and we brought him to campus to give  speech. Believe it or not, I took him to a restaurant at Dobie Center. Not sure what I was thinking. He was probably insulted that we didn't go to someplace fancy, like in Archer City.

David Cordell

Hollis,

This is way more than you asked for. Sorry.

There was a church on west side of Greenville Avenue just north of the RISD administration building, across from what later became First Baptist of Richardson. Really, it was a converted garage of a frame house. That was St. Margaret's. St. Margaret's bought the property at Custer and Greenleaf in the late fifties. The Bishop encouraged a merger of St. Margaret's with another small church -- St. Mark's -- that was completed in 1971. They were eventually renamed Church of the Epiphany, and it is now on Custer between Greenleaf and Ridgedale. (Didn't you live near there?)

I think we started at St. Margaret's in 1955 when we moved to Richardson from Abilene. My sister was baptized Roman Catholic shortly before the move. I think the move was also a move from Catholic to Episcopalian. Clearly, my mother decided that birth control was a good idea after she finally had a girl. (I'm pretty sure they were hoping that I would be a girl!) The priest at St. Margaret's was Father Vega, a Mexican who had been a Roman Catholic. (Before anyone chastises me for "Mexican", he was born in Guanajuato and wasn't a U.S. citizen until after we left.)

I assume that my parents didn't deem St. Margaret's to provide sufficient edification because in late 1957 they began attending the mission which became the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration, transferring in February 1958.

I was an acolyte, trained by Bill Hensel, father of my classmate Marsha, on whom I had a bit of a crush. Later on I became lay reader, which was a bigger deal back then. I seriously considered the priesthood. I could have handled the preaching and the comforting, but I think I would have killed someone over parish politics. 

I think Transfiguration became an official parish with the completion of the Article of Conformity on January 11, 1959. At that time, Transfiguration's sanctuary was in a converted garage of a ranch-style house on the south side of Spring Valley, near the (former) dead end, a few hundred yards west of Hillcrest. An A-frame sanctuary was built in about 1961. After the sanctuary flooded  -- over the doorway -- the church was given the current property at the corner of Hillcrest and Spring Valley by Lindsay Embrey, after whom the engineering building at SMU is named. A  temporary sanctuary was built and was succeeded by the current edifice in 1970.

Yes, I knew Father Niles and his wife Elizabeth. He was a New Englander and a good man. After the flood, there was a big article in one of the Dallas papers that showed him in front of the church, helping to clean everything. He was a man of good humor, but he was not known for the quality of his sermons. I liked him, but he did one thing in the liturgy that bothered me every week -- he pronounced the "g" in the phrase "unfeignedly thankful". Apparently, he was pushed out sometime around 1980, landing in Dalhart -- not an upgrade for him. I was disappointed. The last time I saw him was at the 25th anniversary of Transfiguration when he was brought back for the celebration.

Father Niles was succeeded by an Englishman, Terrence Roper. Father Roper eventually moved up  to Philadelphia to become rector of the very upscale Church of the Holy Trinity on Rittenhouse Square. Martha and I were living near Philly and attended his installation. After he retired, he moved back to Dallas, and he sits next to the center aisle on the same pew at Transfiguration every Sunday. Every once in a while, he substitutes and gives a sermon, and I always enjoy them.

Below: The Article of Conformity. It is a terrible photo, but Father Niles's signature is on the top line, along with Mrs. (Elizabeth) Niles. The close-up shows my father's name in the left column with Melinda Nelson's father immediately below. To address Wayne's comment, note that Melinda's mother and my mother signed to the right of their respective husbands, using "Mrs." followed by their respective husband's name. (Sometime after my father died I listed my mother on something as Mrs. Fran Cordell, and she bristled at the notion.) I think classmate Kathy Houzvicka's mother is also shown. Doug Shea's parents were also signatories, along with Marsha Hensel's parents and others. I'm going to make a better photo for family records. 

Jim Bedwell

Chief Toenails,

I don't know what you're talking about with David C about telling true stories & I'm too lazy to check it out, but I don't care if you're lying or telling the truth, just keep posting. And you CAN TOTALLY TRUST ME on that other item - you can resume your non-fiction at your pleasure - you can't alienate people who hate you. You must know I could never lie to you about that.

Chief Bedpost

Jim Bedwell

What's the only food that doesn't spoil? honey

Which species NEVER cares for its young? snake

I miss L.M. Boyd

reminds me of the Twain quote:

"I believe I have no prejudices whatsover. All I need to know is that a man is a member of the human race, and then I know he couldn't be worse".

Wayne Gary

Tommy,

I am not against solor power or electric cars.  Just when a politician talks about it they do not think about all of the ramifications and forseable problems.

Hollis Carolyn Heyn

David: 

Yes, of course, St. Margaret's to Epiphany!!  I remember my mom being drawn to St. Margaret's at that late March baptism with the afternoo light streaming in. Small and lovely.  The Episcopal liturgy stays with us forever no matter how long we've been away.  By that time she'd been a Unitarian church member for perhaps ten years after having spent her middle childhood through her twenties as an Episcolpalian.

Maybe a handful of times my mom and I would walk over to Epiphany for Christmas Eve service.  And I attended by myself during my summer visits home.  Nicely organized and at that time from the 80's to the early 2000's it wasn't an overwhelmingly large parish. 

Thanks for all the info on Transfig. I see Mrs. Dempsey's name on the section you've enlarged.  She was a sweet lady.  My mom worked with her at Heights PTA.  Wish I could read the portion with all the names. 

 My aunt, a cradle Episcopalian and from Wisconsin, moved to Dallas to become a Braniff stewardess in the late 50's and attended Incarnation (my parents were married there in 1947 but left when I was several months old) and then when she and my uncle moved to Preston Hollow, she transferred to St. Luke's just off Preston (my mom was Father McLyea's wife Mary Lou's maid of honor and Mary Lou was my mom's matron of honor.  Father Mac or GC - Grover Clevland McLyea as my parents knew him before his ordination- was the priest at St. Luke's for probaby at least 15 or 20 years).  My aunt transferred to Transfiguration when they moved nearby on Gateridge in the late 60's - she remained there until maybe three years ago when she transferred back to St. Luke's because it's smaller and she felt she was really needed there.  

Hollis Carolyn Heyn

Sandra:

Where on Hughes Lane did Cathy live?  I have visited 13958 Hughes twice now as the current owner Pete Peabody contacted me wanting more information about my dad's work.  Around 1967 the house was designed by architect Neal Lacey with my father as the landscape architect.  Pete took me on a house tour, and thankfully even though Pete is the third owner of the home, the integrity of Lacey's design (and my father's also) is intact.  Pete visited UT's architecture library where all my father's plans and papers are archived.  I haven't even been there yet for pity's sake.  What a beautiful area.  I will admit that the original owners insisted my dad include a front of the property circular drive that had to be on a slope.  It is dangerous to navigate.  If that was the same block as Cathy's, you two would have seen the house being built as you drove or walked by.  

Guess I'm on a bit of a tear here with details that are probably tedious/boring.  But not to me.  Wish I had listened to my parents more about what downtown Big D looked like.  My dad grieved over the Big D tendency of destroying rather than renovating old buildings downtown.  I remember him describing in detail what Commerce and Main looked like back in the 30's and 40's but, of course, didn't listen closely enough to now remember.  

Jim Bedwell

Tommy,

So you know that God couldn't have made that "mistake" to create imperfectly behaving humans in need of correction & forgiveness, huh? Are you sure about that? And your proof is "basic common sense"? WOW, you really ARE smart - that kind of eternal perspicacity, where you know as much or more than God about God and everything, I think would be very UNCOMMON! Still, I'm unsure whom I'm going to trust on this fallen-nature business...

So if all of us aren't flawed at least a little, then sooner or later I guess somebody is going to notice the perfection, albeit infrequently, of the perfect behavers. I bet documentation of that would be better proof than your basic common sense - see, here's a perfect human with provably no behavior flaws - therefore, God doesn't necessarily ALWAYS create flawed man. A la Lance, I will now direct you to get back to me on that after you've researched all that thoroughly for the rest of us. I may be able to save you some time, however, since somebody told me that there was only one perfect man who's ever lived. Plus they wrote a book about him; my advice to you would be to START ("fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom") your spiritual journey of understanding with that book, called the Bible - you should start with the New Testament, optimally the Gospel of Matthew, like my Alaska lawyer did - that would be ideal really. Plus if you have any close friends that are born again, like Steve or Janalu, they would be an excellent resource as well; I can vouch for them. They really know what they're talking about, even though, yes, it's SO hard to reasonably expect much help from Steve. And prayer is always central to all beneficial spiritual life. I can quote tons of Scripture to aid you, but that's never helped with you in the past, so what's the point? Probably better if you just go read it for yourself with an open spiritual mind.

Sandra Spieker (Ringo)

Hollis,

Cathy lived on the other side of Hughes Lane very close to LBJ Freeway.  Her house was the last home that backed up to the golf course.  I don't remember the address number, unfortunately, however I looked up the address you supplied on Realtor.com and saw photos of that home!  Wow what a beauty it is!  If you want to see the inside of it, just put the address into that website and take a look!  Cathy's house was directly across the street from Hughes Circle.  There is a pool and cabana house in the back.  What sweet parties we had there!  Her mother decorated that home in a style she called "Chinese Modern".  I remember Cathy hated the Christmas tree her mother picked out.  It was one of those aluminum ones that turned with the changing lights.  We did have spectacular trick or treat times there.  Those neighbors on Hughes and surrounding streets had some very nice treats!

Lowell Tuttle

Tommy, also on the forefront of solar energy are Exxon and BP.

Jim, the Aztec's named the Avacado from their word for "testicle."

David, I always remembered that was a Methodist Church, but you must know better.   The grounds of the church there were the site of Richardson YMCA's first two summer Day Camps.   It was my first payroll job as a 7th grade Jr. Counselor along with Roberto Fleming.   During two week session there was the shootings from The Tower of Texas.

The problem with plastics is not the dump the size of Texas in the Pacific, or re cycling, or un checked use of disposable plastics.   It is the microscopic breakdown whicih gets through even cheese cloth and clogs up everything in nature.   We need it, but it needs to be properly resourced and engineered.   I actually golfed with a BP plastics engineer the other day.   He is a plus .5 GHIN handicap.

Steve Keene

David and Sandra,

Just so you know that I am not totally opposed to recycling and reclaiming waste products and energy, I have a new project that I am trying to get some traction on.  It involves taking waste poisonous flare gas from atop refinery flume stacks and harnessing the energy in a trailer sized module to create energy to power bitcoin, etherium and defi mining on a bank of computers using the flare gas for energy rather than electricity.  Electricity is the largest cost factor of any crypto mining operation. I have a basic module design and am working on a sharing agreement with a large Panhandle midstream/downstream operator.