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the story of Farenthold and the Ramada Inn sign back in the ’70s, they might well have refrained from the blatant crookedness that comprised the Sharpstown scandal. Those boys had no idea whom Farenthold leans back, grins, and grips her chest with her fingertips. “Well,” she says, “there’s always been something inside meso that I just can’t help myself.” Then she tells a story of having been offered a lift to Houston from Washington by then-Vice President George H. W. Bush, a journey intended to conclude in the customary fashion for those guests aboard Air Force Two with a brief photo op consisting of a handshake and a thank youprecisely the type of facile formality Farenthold has spent her life resisting. “And all the way up through that reception line, I was telling myself, Don’t ask about first nuclear strike, don’t ask about first nuclear strike, and then, what’d I do? I could not help myself. “I remember my aunt, years ago, sent me a book. With a zebra-print cover. I Married Adventure. Oh, I liked the sound of that,” she says, gazing somewhere beyond me. “And now,” she says with a stretch, tossing down her napkin, “I have to go home and figure out what I have to say about Palestinian film.” Robert Leleux’s first book, The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy, will be published this January by St. Martin’s Press. He lives in New York City, and misses Houston. The Rothko Chapel Dialogues on Justice: Migrants and Detainees TheTexas Observer would like to remind you that: DISSENT IS EDUCATIONAL. SUPPORT PUBLiC LIBRAMES and the Observer by donating a tax-deductible Observer subscription to the Texas public library of your choice. Visit our website www.texasobserver.org , or Texas public libraries and to order a subscription. Frances “Sissy” T. Farenthold, former Texas Legislator, past President of the Rothko Chapel, and dedicated human rights activist, will be joined by distinguished guests in a series of informal dialogues focused on critical current issues. “Dialogue on Current Immigration Laws: Families Torn Apart” W I September 26, 2007 I 7:30 pm “Dialogue on The Military Commissions Act: 5:30 reception 6:00 program Mark your calendars Watch for details in the next issue! .49$2,6WRWASP,…,Akek.:,WAVGVAIWadX,CAMSIWAI Events are free of charge. To RSVP, visit www .ro dam chapel. org , or call 713-524-9839 The Rothko Chapel 1409 Sul Ross Street, Houston, TX 77006 SEPTEMBER 21, 2007 THE TEXAS OBSERVER 31