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Mayday:
The green is gorgeous, that’s for sure, but Central Texas’ warm winter and wet spring has something else growing strong besides the itch to get outside: poison ivy. 'Tis the scratching season, and unusual concentrations of the pernicious plant -- recognizable by its three-leaf groupings of reddish-green shiny foliage -- are thriving along creek beds, around lakes and gullies, and even in public parks. Most folks will be able to battle the itchy splotches of a poison ivy outbreak with a no-scratch rule and some calamine lotion, but if the noxious plant comes in contact with eyes or throat, or if its victim is particularly allergic to it, medical attention may be required. In the meantime, know what poison ivy looks like and avoid crossing its path. Homeowners can combat poison ivy with the herbicide Roundup, but shouldn’t attempt to physically remove the plant. Anyone who spots poison ivy in a public park should inform the local Parks and Rec department, who will send a professional out to remove it.
 Too crass for class: Real life is stranger than South Park. Remember the episode when South Park parents campaign to get their kids' favorite TV show, "Terrence and Philip," banned from the network because of its violence and excessive bathroom humor? Well, in an episode of real life, the principal of Thomas Elementary School in Plano issued a ban on all South Park clothing and products featuring the likes of Cartman, Kenny, and their foul-mouthed pals, maintaining that the school’s dress code prohibits anything "provocative, offensive, violent or drug-related" from being worn. Students were wearing South Park t-shirts and drawing the characters in class, so a memo was sent out warning parents that the animated show’s content wasn’t appropriate for elementary-age kids. A spokesperson for Comedy Central, the cable network that airs the show, said South Park has always been intended for adults, but raised the point that banning South Park merchandise might draw even more attention to the show. ’54 Chevy!: Soon to take its place among wax figures of JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald, the toe tag from Oswald's corpse, and other ephemera deemed exhibitable by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum in Grand Prairie, is the black 1954 Chevy Sedan that allegedly carried Oswald and his Mannlicher-Carcano to the school book depository in Dealy Plaza. Edward Meyer, Ripley’s president, purchased the engineless automobile for $7500 at an auction of items from the Tragedy in U.S. Museum. The St. Augustine, Florida museum previously housed the Buick Electra in which actress Jane Mansfield died, and the ambulance that carried Oswald to the hospital after he was shot by Jack Ruby -- memorabilia Meyer also would have liked to nab, but he lost the bid. He’s got the Hank of it: The Dallas Morning News search for a real life Hank Hill, the animated Texas suburbanite star of King of the Hill, turned up 52-year-old Charlie Smith from Carrollton, who was pictured on the cover of the April 19 Lifestyle section wearing a Texas-shaped belt buckle and leaning against his red 1966 Ford pick-up. "All I ever wanted was a truck, a TV set, and a wife," reads the first sentence of his winning entry, which was written and submitted by Smith’s wife Cindy. Smith was chosen by the show’s executive producers, Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, out of five hard-working, big-hearted, family men finalists. All were drawn to hunting, fishing, yard work and beer, but maybe the anecdote where Charlie, his wife and their eight-year old son were eating barbecue when the boy started choking and Charlie says "stand up son, so I can punch you in the stomach," had something to do with his selection. What else helped make the Carrollton used truck salesman a winner? Perhaps it was his position on heavy metal music, yard work, the Internet, and Leonardo Di Caprio. (5/1/98) |
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