The chickens shall roost: I read this article with rapt attention mainly because of its attention to Sandra Bridewell's "change" and her ministry of late ("Return of the Black Widow," by Glenna Whitley, January 22). It is with great disdain that people use the word of God and his people to make or otherwise swindle money out of his followers. People like Sandra will get their just reward some day. We may never see it, and we may never read about it in the media...but it will surely come. These kinds of people prey on the good nature of others, and it makes it really hard to weed out the good from the bad. Some people simply give up and totally quit helping anyone because of these incidents. I appreciated your frankness in the article and uncovering the facts as you know them.
Joy Skison
Via e-mail
Weirdo: Fantastic article! One of the best I've read in years. Please follow up and let us know what's next with this weirdo. She is more interesting than Catherine Shelton.
Tony
Via e-mail
The green suitcase: This story is insane--unbelievably full of drama, but intriguing! I hope you continue to investigate Sandra/Camille and follow up on leads. I'd like to know who she's scamming at the present.
I am curious. Why haven't the big networks done a recent investigation on this woman? Why is she not on America's Most Wanted list? It seems like there is enough evidence to subpoena her for the three suicides/murders. Can't investigators get a warrant to search the mysterious green suitcase? Is the main problem locating her? Would the police question her if they knew her whereabouts? Or are the suicides/murders closed cases? Could they be reopened if so?
Sarah Harris
McKinney
Sexy Sandra: Your magazine cheerfully and freely admits that its financial foundations rest upon ads from women engaged in what is often termed "the sex industry." These women are, at least in fantasy, uninhibited and sexually insatiable. Imagine, then, my surprise upon seeing that you chose to highlight Ms. Bridewell's alleged sexual insatiability in one of the two pullquotes in the story. From the story, I gathered that Ms. Bridewell's alleged crimes are murder and fraud (and in fairness, the story focused upon those issues). Why, then, choose to highlight her sexual traits? To catch the reader's eye? I suppose that fraud and murder just don't do it nowadays, do they?
May this usually fervent fan remind you that a woman being sexually frank and/or desiring sex is not a crime? Please don't continue to perpetuate the old repressive association between women being sexual and criminal behavior/pathology/etc.
Lesley Witherspoon
Dallas
Crazy woman: I've just finished reading your article "Return of the Black Widow." I am a true-crime buff and would love to hear anything else that you may have on this crazy woman. Thanks, and great job on this article.
Tammie Burkhalter
Via e-mail
Most intriguing: I read the D magazine article back in 1987 when I lived in Dallas. I always wondered what happened to her. Congratulations on a great story!
Kathy Hughes
Centerville, Ohio
Mavs in Sync
Trust me: I know this is the age of instant gratification...not "what have you done for me lately" but "what are you doing for me right this instant" ("Ring Them Up," by John Gonzalez, January 22). John, take a deep breath. Now take another. Now say to yourself three times, "Things are coming together." Because they are.
They use the term chemistry, but they ought to use kitchen analogies instead. Chemistry says you mix the ingredients and boom--it explodes on the first try. In the kitchen you mix the ingredients and let them set. You wait for the dough to rise and the roast to cool.
Try a little patience. It will be better for you, for your readers and for the Mavs. Good things are happening. Trust.
Pete Mason
Allen
Butt Ugly Town
Dallas, get a clue: I've been reading Jim Schutze's articles about the Trinity River project. The people who lead this city are cheating its residents out of a possible boon to Dallas. A park is a far better choice to bring people downtown, not a highway.
I had the privilege of growing up in one of the most beautiful and vibrant cities in the country. I know a thing or two about why people like to be downtown. Parks. Shops. Interesting Neighborhoods. Things to do. Not highways. My city (Boston) is notorious for its clogged and confusing roadways, but people come here anyway, because it is fun and pretty.
Dallas is not fun or pretty. West End is a nice manicured place for families and tourists. So is Dealey Plaza. But that's not enough. The only possibly vibrant real neighborhood, Deep Ellum, is dying. The rest of the downtown area is devoid of people. It's a ghost town. Storefronts are closed and empty. Why live here? Why come here? There is nothing to do or see. Nightlife? Sure. But what about daylife? What do people do in Dallas, go to a mall?
Laura Miller wants to blame the homeless, crime or city transit. Please. This city needs to get a clue. Look at some of the brighter spots, like Lower Greenville. Revive Deep Ellum, let it keep its funkiness. Build a park on the Trinity, make it a gorgeous green spot for people to run, walk their dogs, get on the river, take their families out. Where people go, shops come. Neighborhoods come after that. Diversity comes. Then, if you're lucky enough to need it, invest in your transportation.
Thank you, Jim Schutze and the Dallas Observer, for being a real voice for people here in Dallas. To others here who do add vibrancy to the city, from Deep Ellum to the wonderful Arts District, keep up the fight. For those who say, "Yankee, go home," well, I am. Along with the rest who leave this place.
Name withheld
Boston
