Gone at last

We're not sure precisely what prompted former DISD trustee Don Venable to send Dallas Observer Editor Julie Lyons this strange e-mail message at the end of December. Maybe it was his way of explaining why he reappeared on the school board this month after resigning in October ("Now you see him," January 14). In any event, his return was brief--he stormed out of a board meeting for good last week and was replaced in a special election Saturday by former Seagoville City Council member George Williams.

So Venable, the man who turned in his bullet more often than Barney Fife, rides off into DISD's sunset. But before he goes, we at the Observer thought we would share with you his thoughts on his fellow former board members. (Venable confirms he sent the e-mail.) So here it is, Venable's versions of a joke that has circulated around the Internet--"answers" from famous people to the question "Why did the chicken cross the road?" Remember, these are Venable's comments, not ours.