ustxtxb_obs_1993_01_15_50_00016-00000_000.pdf

program on free trade. He is greeted by polite silence and a quick change of subject. He does not seem to comprehend that his offer is seen as crass, as an insult to the objectivity of the media. Perhaps that is because this man understands more about the local border culture than do people from interior Region-Five places like Dallas. It is no secret, for instance,that Suzanne Michaels, El Paso’s best-looking and highestrated news anchorwoman, has been working a second job at a trade publication financed, published and edited by maquila developers, that comes out monthly on cassette tape \(perfect listening, the promotional literature says, for twin-plant executives “waiting in line to Suzanne Michaels’ crisp voice is promoted in this talking magazine as that of “news anchor for the ABC-TV affiliate station in El Paso.” On the cassettes, she cheerily recites such events as “the recent visit of Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari and U.S. President George Bush!” and “the just-concluded Border Trade’ Alliance Conference, held in Washington, D.C.!” It is not clear who writes the news scripts for this publication. Suzanne’s own writing, however in the magazine’s “Bienvenidos” section ,-describes her view of the border. It is, she says, “an entity all its own, a curious combination simmering ethnicity, languages and customs into a blend as spicy as a bowl of chile.” Suzanne invites her audience to read the mag azine and listen to the tapes, since “There’s nothing like a good bowl of chile.” *** The Pan American Health Organization, which has assisted in the cholera conference at UTEP, distributes to journalists a xeroxed publication from its parent World Health Organization, titled The Diarrhoeal Diseases Control Programme. The programme, which has been designed for places like Bangladesh, advises the sanitation authorities of affected countries that “Funerals for those who die of cholera should be held quickly, near the place of death. Efforts should be made, through intensive health education or by legislation, to limit funeral gatherings, ritual washing of the dead, or feasting.” At the conference of reporters, I ponder this advice, thinking about our own gatherings, our feastings and washings. I thumb through the other programme, of the Hispanic journalists, and see that at the bottom some wag no doubt from the El Paso Times or the Herald-Post has inserted this bowdlerized quote from Graham Greene: “How can life on the border be other than reckless. You are pulled by different ties of love and hate.” I go home, wondering if my husband is awake yet. Before I get a chance to find out, Perla is at the door. Mira, she says happily, pointing to her bag of limes. Inexplicably, the Department of Agriculture has just legalized their importation. They’re a popular item in my neighborhood, and now Perla won’t have to worry about having her wares seized at the river or about ringing that man’s bell. Now she’s free to trade. As for Chuyito, unfortunately he still has diarrhea. But she has taken him to a doctor, and she is hopeful. As for me, I plan to take Perla’s limes and bake a pie from a recipe I clipped out of a newspaper section that used to be called Women, but which now is headlined Style. My children tonight are invited to sleepovers at friends’, so it’ll be just us, my husband and I. I plan to use the limes. I plan to be with him. I’ll wash everything first. Everything. ANDERSON & COMPANY COFFEE TEA SPICES TWO JEFFERSON SQUARE AUSTIN, TEXAS 78731 4512 4!13-1533 Send me your list. Name Street City Zip CLASSIFIEDS ORGANIZATIONS in safety and training, also legal. Alan Foster EMPLOYMENT CLASSIFIED RATES: Minimum ten words. One time, 50 cents per word; three times, 45 cents per word; six times, 40 cents per word; 12 times, 35 cents per word; 25 times, 30 cents per word. Telephone and box numbers count as two words, abbreviations and zip codes as one. Payment must accompany order for all classified ads. Deadline is three weeks before cover date. Address orders and inquiries to Advertising Director, The Texas Observer, 307 West TEXAS AIDS NETWORK dedicated to improving HIV/AIDS policy and funding in Texas. Individdal membership $25, P.O. Box LESBIAN/GAY DEMOCRATS of Texas Our Voice in the Party. Membership $15, P.O. Box 190933, Dallas, 75219. SICK OF KILLING? Join the Amnesty International Campaign Against the Death Penalty. 3925. WORK FOR OPEN, responsible government in Texas. Join Common Cause/Texas, 316 474-2374. TEXAS TENANTS’ UNION. Membership $18/year, $10/six months, $30 or more/sponsor. Receive handbook on tenants’ rights, newsletter, and more. 5405 East Grand, Dallas, TX 75223. CENTRAL TEXAS CHAPTER of the ACLU invites you to our noon Forum, the last Friday of every month, at Wyatt’s, Hancock Center, LIBERTARIAN PARTY Liberal on personal freedoms, but conservative in economics? 4141. NATIONAL WRITERS UNION. We give working writers a fighting chance. Collective bargaining. Grievance procedures. Health insurance. Journalists, authors, poets, commercial writers. Forming Austin local. Noelle McAfee, 450-0705; Bill Adler, 443-8961. PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS. Join The Texas Civil Rights Project, 227 Congress #340, Austin, Texas 78701. $20/year. Volunteers also needed. Contact Jim Harrington or Fara BOOKLETS PROOF JESUS FICTIONAL! $5 Abelard, SERVICES LOW-COST MICROCOMPUTER ASSISTANCE. Tape to diskette conversion, statisti cal analysis, help with setting up special pro jects, custom programming, needs assessWest 6th, Austin, Texas 78703. PHOTOGRAPHY Reality is us. 20 years for the Texas Observer and he will take a few for you. Alan Pogue, 1701 Guadalupe, MARY NELL MATHIS, CPA, 18 years experience in tax, litigation support, and other analyses. 400 West 15th, #304, Austin, YELLOW DREAM MACHINE, computer bul3222. Disability-based subject matter. ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING. Design, expert witness, forensic investigation, product liability, electrical injury, electrical fires. W.T. Cronenwett, Ph.D, 2566 Cypress Avenue, 0095. VIDEO PRODUCTION Services. Specializing PROYECTO ADELANTE, a legal and social services organization serving Central American refugees, seeks EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. REQUIREMENTS: fundraising and supervisory experience, knowledge of Central American issues and events. Computer literacy helpful. Law degree desirable, not required. Annual salary: $18,000$20,000 DOE. Send resume to: P.O. Box 223641, Dallas, TX 75222. MARKETER/PLANNER, Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas: Organic cooperative needs marketer with strong interest and experience in small scale organic agriculture. Responsible for maximizing sales and coordinating production with the organic produce market. Spanish speaking is preferred. Salary dependent upon experience. Send resume and cover letter to Centro 16 de Septiembre, PO Box 27, San Juan, Texas 78589. REAL ESTATE BEAUTIFUL 2 ACRE LOT in unique environmental development on Pedernales River across from West Cove Reserve. 30% of development is commonly owned, including riverfront. Best remaining lot. Contract 16 JANUARY 15, 1993