The Truth and Nothing but the Truth About Poly People

(Story originally appeared August 2005:)
The Scoop on the Oop

Twins separated at birth?
"There's a man in the funny papers we all know

He lives way back a long time ago

He don't eat nothin' but-a bear-cat stew

Well, this cat's name is-a . . . Bob Allen"


That's right, fellow Flintstones of 1967, our own Bob Allen, who in high school was voted "most likely to become king of the jungle jive," is starring in Hip Pocket Theatre's production of the play Alley Oop.
As you may recall, Bob always was "a mean motah scootah and a bad go-gettah." And now he's been typecast as the time-traveling caveman who rides a dinosaur named "Dinny."
Also appearing in the play is our own Dena Brinkley, who has been prominent in local theatrical productions for years.
Perry Stewart of the Star-Telegram wrote of this "clamorous new comedy": ". . . the comic core is Bob Allen. It's odd to find yourself writing that an actor is the embodiment of a Neanderthal hulk who's more brawny than brainy. But it's true. This guy is Alley Oop. You can almost see the speech balloons with exclamation points rising from his head when he growls in frustrated rage."
The play is being presented every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in August. Because Hip Pocket is an outdoor theater, the play starts late, at 9:00 p.m., and ends at approximately 10-10:30. There will be barbecue and live music at 7 and more live music after the play.
Hip Pocket Theatre is located at 1950 Silver Creek Road in northwest Fort Worth (817 246-9775).
Go out any Friday, Saturday, or Sunday in August to "look at that caveman go!"
BYOB (bring your own brontosaurus)

Jimmy Hosfelt and his wife, Claudia, live in Keller. Jimmy teaches in the Kennedale school district. parrot Jackie Thomason still owns and operates JT's Auto Parts in Lillian, Texas. parrot Diana Mobley Jones has been married for twenty-five years to a 1957 Carter-Riverside graduate. She has two grandsons ages ten and one and has been in printing and printing management in Dallas for twenty-five years. parrot Nicky George and his wife, Susan, live in Fort Worth. They have been married almost twenty years and have two children and three grandchildren. parrot David Welch is an acupuncturist and lives in the hills outside the town of Kamiah in northern Idaho. "I have two children ages twelve and nine, and they are the light of my life," David e-mails. parrot Paul McCullough of Sanger has two children, has been a Denton police officer for seventeen years. parrot Sye Keene has four children, is a systems administrator and MIS manager for a mid-size manufacturing company. parrot Duane Hedberg lives in Lufkin and has two children. parrot Donnie Braziel lives in Burleson, has six children (four still at home), was a surgical assistant in orthopedics, neurosurgery, and vascular surgery for twenty-eight years. He now sells surgical instruments. parrot Nancy Walker Kuhlman lives in Burleson and has worked in a dental office for twenty-seven years. If anyone asks, her cats are named Stormie, Arthur, and Stella. parrot David Long of Arlington has in his possession a parchment of rare antiquity: his panoramic photo of the William James Junior High class of 1964. Keep David in your Parrot prayers: His son Josh, sixteen, has just gotten his driver's license. And we all remember that.

Jerry McCole and the Beast of the East

When you move to Rhode Island, you naturally assume that you're safe from certain things: the Texas heat, Mrs. Rabine's English tests, wild bears.

Not necessarily.

Jerry McCole reports that he saw a six-foot black bear at his home outside Kingston, Rhode Island, on the Fourth of July.

Jerry is executive director of the United States Cerebral Palsy Athletic Association (USCPAA at www.uscpaa.org), which is a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee. "Our organization will have thirty athletes on the U.S. Paralympic Team at the Olympics in Sydney. I did a site visit in March and will be going to Sydney in October for the games. This will be my fifth Paralympic Games participation."

His job has taken him to South Korea, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, and England.

Jerry e-mailed: "My wife Jamy (Richland, class of '68) and I love New England. We live on three acres out in the country and . . . we see deer, rabbits, and all kinds of animals, but on the Fourth of July this year, we had our first bear. It was a six-foot black bear, and it was exciting to say the least! It is very unusual for a bear to be as far east as this since we are only about five miles from the Atlantic. I am sure that Larry Roberts has seen his share of bears in Alaska, but do they bend his bird feeder in half to get to the birdfood?!

"We miss a lot of the folks in Fort Worth and we miss the good Texas food, but we don't miss the heat!

"I remain a good 'ol Poly boy at heart."

In fact, Jerry collects Parrot memorabilia and on his forty-fifth birthday made the ultimate gesture of school spirit: He had an orange and black parrot tattooed on his . . . well, on a parrot's anatomy it would be the tailfeathers.

33 Years in 100 Words or Less

After High School . . .

JOK SIMONS earned a B.A. in psychology and an M.A. in urban affairs at UTA and then worked for Tarrant County Mental Health-Mental Retardation for twelve years. He later worked at the state hospital in Big Spring, then the MHMR in Dallas, then back to the state hospital in Big Spring, where he is director of marketing and operations. That's also where he met his wife, Gail, who runs psychiatric rehabilitation services at the hospital and has a private practice in Big Spring. "She is a whiz and great companion, not to mention a drop-dead gourmet cook," Jok writes.

NORMAN MORROW ". . . went to school for a year in Little Rock, two years in Milwaukee, started a theater in Wisconsin with others, finished school at Austin, moved to New York [where he worked in theater and radio], got married [he met his wife in Central Park while playing softball], got a job flacking for Citibank and bought a house in the suburbs, ended up working for the Democratic party and local county government," moved to New Zealand, came back to Fort Worth two years ago.

Oh, that old routine.

When the Doctor Is In,

the Colonel Is Out

(and Vice Versa)

Suitable for Framing
Happy Birthday, Miss Martel!

Remember Miss Evalyn Martel, our dean of women? She is still going strong at one hundred! Read all about it at the Poly Alumni Association.