Bobby Vicious
Crude, yes, but also clever: Wilonsky needs to get his facts straight. Bobby Soxx ("Grave City," November 2) wasn't all rage and violent temper. Some of the people who knew him best saw that side, but they also saw one of the funniest, cleverest human beings ever to live. Bobby had an intelligence that he often covered with screams of rage because he felt most people were "too fucking stupid to get it." As the original Teenage Queers bassist (no, the Dirkx brothers were not Bobby's first band, just the drummer), I saw him on a daily basis for many years, and I don't get how Wilonsky can spew three pages of such viciousness toward the man. Yes, he was crude, and yes, he was prone to mayhem; but good God, the man is dead. Can't you print some of the good things about him? Bobby would have done anything for his friends. If your car broke down and you called at 3 a.m., Bobby was there to pick you up. He'd steal cat food from the grocery store rather than let an animal starve. Bobby was never anything but a gentle soul to me, and I'm a woman. He never verbally abused me or hit me or even made untoward advances. Yes, he was jailed for an abusive relationship in 1990, and rightly so, but that wasn't his daily behavior, and your graphic characterization of him as sadistic does nothing for anyone. The people who really knew Bobby will remember him as one of the most entertaining people they ever met and not the vicious asshole that Wilonsky makes him out to be. And yes, we do care that he's dead...
Valerie Bowles
Austin
Starving Critters
Samuell Farm's neglected animals: How smart do you have to be firing off cannons and guns around neglected, starving farm animals ("Animal-free Farm," November 16)? Carolyn Bray would only respond to written questions? Why? What's she afraid of?
I sure hope the Dallas Observer does a follow-up on the 20 animals over the winter. Why don't we put this Pat Melton person in charge, and have Doug Melton report to her? She appears to be the only one who will talk straight and is not afraid to answer questions. And she just volunteers her time? Maybe our city officials could learn something from her attitude.
Steve Stephenson
Plano
A bang-up job: Thank you for following up on Samuell Farm and all its many issues, mainly the way the animals have been treated there. Pat Melton did a bang-up job in getting the city to pay attention and take action. She is to be acknowledged for her commitment, passion, and compassion. We could all take a lesson from her.
Enid Breakstone
Dallas
Not a money problem: If Mr. Samuell set up a trust fund to take care of this property, why isn't that money being used in conjunction with tax dollars to help take care of the property? It seems to me that with the revenue it had been bringing in, as well as the $300,000 from an interest-bearing trust fund, the city should have had no problem taking care of it.
Carson Bell
Plano
Humbug
Vastly exaggerated criticisms: I'm curious as to whether Baja California Grill ("Baja Humbug," November 9) got a fair shake. I've been in there with clients who happen to be food vendors, and they were pleasantly surprised. It's unfortunate that your review has various slams against the food, which I believe to be vastly exaggerated. Here's my take on your review of the Baja: You cozy up to the bar, look at the menu, don't eat anything, drink a beer, and go home to your small one-bedroom apartment, and like a hurried high school student trying to copy algebra homework right before the bell rings, you hastily write a review and focus specifically on the name of the restaurant. That must have took all of two minutes to piece together.
Please stay out of North Dallas, as this was obviously way out of your league.
Shane Wilhite
Dallas
Ice Cream Man
More than second-class: While your article "Fat City" (November 16) disparaging low-fat ice cream may generally be true, I have found two Blue Bell varieties that transcend the low-fat, health-food stigma: Blue Bell Light Homemade vanilla (which your article seems to grudgingly compliment) is quite good, and their occasionally available chocolate low-fat ice cream I found transcendental, delicious! Ice cream exists on a continuum that also includes gelato and lower-fat sorbets. Perhaps they compensate for the lower fat with more sugar or other flavor ingredients, but some of these low-fat alternatives can easily be more than second-class ice creams. If you like plain vanilla or chocolate ice cream, try 'em, you might like 'em.
Andrew Astmann
Dallas