Miss McKay, You are Brave and We Love You!

Tonight will mark one week since the sweet, adorable, hysterically funny (and single) University Park Elementary librarian Lauri McKay hosted an all night lock-in at the school for 8 fourth grade girls. The13 hour party was McKay’s auction donation.

She set up the library as movie and sleeping quarters. She had an area for crafts and manicures too. The girls played “Mother May I” in the hallways and had ice cream sundaes in the cafeteria with full access to the microphone used by teachers to quiet students by day.  

So why did I wait a week to point out her fabulous saint-ness? I was waiting to make sure no scandals unfolded. You know, what if I found out 3 days after I posted it that my daughter painted graffiti on the principal’s office wall or something?

Miss McKay, you rock. I could never have done it..

Upscale but Tacky

I just got back to the office after a quick errand to NorthPark’s Neimans. Within my 10 minutes in the store, I overheard/watched adult women do the following: (more…)

OK, I Get it. Your Dog is REEEEEEEALY Smart!

While running an errand earlier I passed a man on the sidewalk giving orders to his unleashed dog. He was saying stuff like, “turn left” and “move right.” I don’t know, that was kind of show-off-ish. Just put him on a leash and tug him like everyone else.

Re: Not Everyone in the Park Cities is Republican

Merritt writes in via Blackberry:

There’s a Hillary sign in a yard on the 3200 block of Stanford. That’s risky.

Sip & Shop at “Freedom Friday”

Looking for something to do in honor of this special Friday in February? (Note: It’s Leap Year, so it’s a perfect reason to go shopping.  We have to wait 4 more years for a day like today.)

Abi Ferrin launches her monthly Freedom Fridays today. On the Final Friday of every month, you may celebrate your “Freedom to Be Fabulous” by sipping cocktails while seeking the latest and greatest Abi Ferrin find.  10% of sales will be donated to The Nepal Project.  The fun (translation: cocktails) starts at 4:00 pm. 

Not Everyone in the Park Cities is Republican

Spotted: an Obama yard sign on Versailles.

Of course, after what the owners of the home wrote last week, I’m not surprised.

I should note, of course, that (despite my misleading headline) they are Republicans.

Not Everyone in Hollywood is a Democrat

One of HP’s own is voting McCain.

Starbucks on Hillcrest = Drastic Changes

About a year ago at the Starbucks on Hillcrest in Snider Plaza my four year old started standing on a chair near the production line so he could see how each drink was made. He started guessing what kind of drink it was before the order was yelled out for pick up. Early on he could only guess mochas and lattes. Once the employees became accustomed to the game, now called “Mocha or Latte”, they started teaching him hints to guess other drinks. For example, half foam is cappuccino and the drizzle on top of a certain colored concoction is likely a macchiato.

Well, I ran into the same Starbucks this morning and discovered that they had installed a plastic, opaque half wall blocking all sight of drink preparation. No more “Mocha or Latte.” I don’t know how I’ll break this news to my son. And for the record, this drastic change has impacted the staff too. They report significant anxiety and feelings of being confined and boxed in. Our morning beverages are sure to suffer.

Re: Bussing (or is it Busing?) in the Park Cities

I knew nothing about this absurd new law until my daughter got in the car today. It’s not just grown ups that think it’s insane. My six year old was terrified but took breaks in the telling of the nightmarish bus explosion possibility to say things like, “Why would they teach us that?”

We saw a school bus on the way home, which is odd, and my daughter flipped out. She was asking about fires on busses and in cars and asking if we’d die. Thanks, crazy lawmakers.

I Laughed Out Loud at Merritt’s Column

I just had a chance to read Merritt’s column for this week. (Again, our paper isn’t posted online for this weeks yet.) I literally laughed out loud at this one. Here’s my favorite part, as a tease:

I asked one of my daughters what she thought about the cell phone ban. She said, “the president and City Hall know what’s right for us. This is a free country, but we have to be safe.”

Bussing (or is it Busing?) in the Park Cities

Merritt just sent me the following e-mail:

My first grader got in the car today and was freaking out  saying, “We had to learn today in P.E. about getting off a bus when it blows up. We have to practice on a real bus in a few weeks.”

Anyone who cares to know what her child was talking about needs to read our story on the front page of this week’s Park Cities People (not yet online, but hitting subscribers’ lawns soon), as well as our editorial board’s take on the matter. Good stuff.

A New Ronald McDonald House

And it’s going to be a doozy. The new Ronald McDonald House of Dallas will be 60,000 square feet and is located within a mile-and-a-half of Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and Children’s Medical Center. The groundbreaking will be March 7; so far the campaign for the new house has raised $18.7 million of the $21.5 million goal.

First Grade Profanity in HPISD

You thought this was bad? My six year old came home with huge scoop yesterday: “Two boys got in a big argument at school and one of them said the ’s’ word and I don’t mean stupid.”

Then she came closer to whisper the word, “stinky.”

Bassmaster Classic Stud is a Scot?

A Highland Park High School Grad is the 2008 Bassmaster Classic champ. And you thought we only bred millionaires and pro golfers.

Not in the PC, but it’s Worth the Trip

Kitchen 1924 is a cool neighborhood spot in Lakewood that we’ve loved for a while, and now it’s introducing (or bringing back) Hangover Brunch, a $10 all-you-can-eat buffet on Sundays.

From high noon until 3 p.m. every Sunday, Kitchen 1924 invites diners to come comfy and come hungry to their Hangover Brunch. Owner Shawn Horne wants to help Dallas-ites nurse their hangovers with the restaurant’s famed Bloody Mary bar and $10 all you can eat buffet, unless, as Shawn says, “you eat like a killer whale…then no buffet for you!” Guests will receive a free pair of sunglasses to provide shade from the glaring daylight and table centerpieces made with Excedrin, Tums, and Pepto Bismol.

I’ll be there beating down the door this Sunday. Jump for a sampling of buffet items.

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Big Game for Scots Hockey on Thursday

The Highland Park hockey team will battle first-place Jesuit at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Duncanville StarCenter. 

The Scots (15-5-2) are just two points behind the Rangers (16-4-2) in the Gold Division standings. Making the game even bigger is the fact that it’s the next-to-last game of the regular season for both teams.

HP will wrap up the regular season against Keller, while Jesuit will face Flower Mound on March 6.

Michael Crow leads the Scots in points (38), goals (19) and assists (19).

Re: History in the Making

Check the jump for an account from the 11-year-old boy who has attended some of the rallies. It’s important to note that his mom has not told him whom she’s voting for. (more…)

Which Team Will Make it 14 Straight?

Highland Park’s boys basketball team earned its second consecutive trip to the Class 4A Region I semifinals on Tuesday night by hammering Mount Pleasant, 61-38, in Royse City.

The victory was the 13th straight for the Scots (30-4). HP will face Dallas Lincoln, which rallied from 17 points down to stun Kimball, 58-54, for its 13th consecutive victory. The Tigers (22-8) and Scots will meet at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Garland Special Events Center.

The first regional semifinal will feature Whitehouse (29-1) against South Oak Cliff (21-8) at 6 p.m. The semifinal winners will meet at 3 p.m. Saturday with a trip to Austin on the line.�

Secrets Can Be Fun

Although I can’t reveal the performer for Cattle Baron’s Trailblazer party (nope, my lips are sealed), I will say that the entertainment is worth being an underwriter for the 2008 ball.

UPDATE: I will reveal the performer in my March 7 column- Isn’t the anticipation thrilling?

Fearing’s Makes NYT Top 10 List

In a coast-to-coast New York Times review of the nation’s most exciting new restaurants, Fearing’s made the list.  All we know is that it made the top eight; the author of the article will reveal the restaurants’ rankings in a series to publish every Wednesday. The author said:

Fearing’s has three different indoor dining rooms with different looks and different sound levels for different moods, though the menu is the same in each.

Congrats Fearing’s. I can’t wait so see where the restaurant ranks and read the full review.

History in the Making

As presidential candidates come to Texas, we’ve heard of parents taking their kids to hear the speeches. I got this e-mail from one parent yesterday:

I took [my son] to the Obama Rally last week. Today we shook hands with Bill Clinton. It is simply amazing what is going on in this town. I told [my son] that his kids would be studying this period of history and it really brought home to him how lucky we are to be able to experience this first hand.

I couldn’t agree more. I hope others are taking advantage of the opportunities like this Overheardian is.

Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Beautiful

On Valentine’s Day, two 20-something girls were escorted off of a Southwest Airlines flight for “being too pretty,” as they put it. Southwest says it was the profanity and abusive language that got them kicked off — not their looks. This is the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time. One of the girls said:

“I think they were just discriminating against us because we were young, decent-looking girls. I mean, nobody else really on the plane looked like us except us.”

PC tie, you ask: I worry that children with these kinds of perks will turn into self-absorbed brats like the girls on this flight.

Blogging From the Rez

Since my son woke up at 2:30 in the morning with the latest Parkie illness, a high fever and chills, and the guilt of leaving him with the nanny would be too intense, I’m blogging straight from the sick zone today. I’ve heard this is going around. Anyone? How long does it last? Will he bust out vomiting any second? Will everyone in my house have it by Friday? What am I up against here? Preparation is key.

Chief Gary Adams Trivia

I had coffee with the Parklebrity top-cop today. I bet you didn’t even know he owns a Harley. Yep, you heard it here first.

Got Lice?

I’ve received a few e-mails this week from moms saying that their child has brought home the “someone in your child’s class has lice” memo- again. One mom mentioned that her child said a friend didn’t get sent home because she just had lice eggs, not lice. I’m not a lice expert, but isn’t that kind of risky? And, well, wrong.

We need a no nit policy. Comments are on.