Thanks for visiting with me this Sunday in the Park.  With Christmas two days away, as we sit here together, I can't help but be appreciative that my mom and dad made certain that as a family our religious beliefs and our church were stable parts of our life together.You know, for Christians, Christmastime is primarily one-half of a story of thanksgiving, with the other half coming about four months later at Easter.  And I've found that with each year that passes, this thanksgiving becomes more and more profound to me.My thanksgivings - as I think about them one by one - always find their way to a certain group of friends.  These are friends I have had for my entire life.  And we remain a close-knit support group.First and foremost, there's Butch (Walter A., III) Kelso.  Fate made us bo... 12/23/2007

BILLS CHERRY'S CHERRY CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS SURPRISE CAKEDallas Realtor Bill Cherry  1/2 c. butter1 c. sugar2 eggs1 (10 oz.) jar maraschino cherries2 c. flour1 tsp. soda1/2 c. brown sugar Cream butter and sugar; add eggs, one at a time, beat well. Add cut up cherries. Add flour and soda; mix well. Pour batter into greased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees. TOPPING: 1 stick of butter1 c. white sugar1 sm. can milk1 can coconut1 pkg. pecans1 tsp. vanilla (add last) Combine all ingredients; cook for 2 minutes. After hard boil starts remove from heat, add vanilla spread over cake.  12/18/2007

Bluetooth.  For years and years, in fact maybe centuries, men have had a far more chance of developing hearing loss than women.  And for every single one of those years, men have been trying to hide that it has happened to them.  The only hearing aid that will ever be fully acceptable is one that can be stuffed so far down in the ear canal that only the guy and his doc know he has one.Isn't it a paradox that it is fashionable to have one of those enormous Bluetooth phone contraptions hanging off of the same guy's ear who needs a hearing aid?  From the Internet.   "Readers may be interested to know that these wreaths at the Washington National Cemetary -- some 5,000 - are donated by the Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine. The owner, Merrill Worcester, not only provides the wreaths... 12/16/2007

I MISS MEL TORME By Dallas Realtor Bill CherryI'm never sure exactly when it's going to happen, but every year at this time I realize how much I miss jazz singer Mel Torme. Torme knew more about the mixing of cord harmonies than anyone did before or has since. He was the one who taught that art to bandleaders Les Baxter and Artie Shaw, and singers Ginny O'Connor (Henry Mancini's wife), the Hi-Los and the Manhattan Transfer. He's the one who wrote the arrangements for Chico Marx's band when he was but a teenager.He's also the one my former business colleague of twenty-plus years, Carol Todreas, and I tromped on many bitter-cold snowy nights from our Central Park South hotel to a small jazz club on Manhattan's east side called Marty's to hear him along with George Shearing. It was always ... 12/08/2007

Walter A. Kelso, Sr. was a Texas Gulf Coast legend, and invitations to his Christmas Eve celebrtions were coveted by the rich and famous.Along with his gracious wife, Elizabeth (Nan-Naw), the parties held in their beautiful mansion were prepared by their cook, Amanda, and the staff.  This is Paw-Paw's famous Egg Nog.  There is none else like it.  (This is the first time it has been revealed to the public.  Paw-Paw has been deceased for more than 35 years.)   12/01/2007

Have you ever noticed that many of the catalogs you get in the mail from, say, Pottery Barn, are the same catalog with a different cover?  I got the same catalog from Williams- Sonoma last week but with different covers.  The insides were exactly the same.And how about products in the super market that have the same formula and manufacturer, but the bottles or boxes say the contents are for different applications?And then there's the toilet bowl cleaner/disinfectant made by Clorox that costs about a buck a bottle, but the exact same formula is packaged by another manufacturer as a mold cleaner.  His product sells for three bucks.  Same stuff inside, same quantity.So I started thinking today, what lesson can Realtors and home sellers learn from this?  There is a very valuable message her... 11/27/2007

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH BILL CHERRY7th Edition  LANDS' END & POTTERY BARN.  For years and years I've bought a great deal of merchandise by mail order.  The two companies that are the most efficient, the most gracious and the most competent are Lands' End and Pottery Barn.And by the way, the children's clothes at Lands' End are very stylish, well-made and priced just right.BRENDAN GILL.  He was the New Yorker Magazine's most elegant biography-in-a-short-story-writer for about fifty years.  His 1990 book A New York Life: Of Friends & Others provides fascinating tales of people you've heard about (Dorothy Parker, Eleanor Roosevelt, etc.) and people you've probably never heard of (Henry-Russell Hitchcock, Simon Verity, etc.).  I reread it about every two years.BRENDAN GILL'S SON.  His name ... 11/23/2007

This piece is in the latest issue of The Angelus, a monthly newsletter of The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation in Dallas. It is written byThe Reverend Thomas Blackmon, one of the church's curates.  I think you will enjoy reading it. 11/22/2007

GODIVA.  If you're like me, you're always on the lookout for a classy gift that's not expensive.  This year Godiva has three that I'm going to buy for clients at our NorthPark Godiva store:  Signature Biscuits (12 pieces) $8.50; Hot Cocoa Canister $10.00; Crème Brulee Coffee (10 oz). $12.50.  Godiva. Put your "teeny" business card/label on each.  You can get them from Color of Real Estate.  1,200 for 39 bucks. POWERS OF ATTORNEY.  Many people have their attorney draw up a power of attorney so that their personal business can be handled by a trusted-one should they become unable to do it themselves.  One problem with many powers of attorney is that there will be no one overseeing or monitoring the decisions that are made.One helpful suggestion is to have the power of attorney document sp... 11/03/2007

This morning before the sun came up, I drove across Dallas to the post office to mail the Just Sold cards I prepared last evening.The Dallas streets were quiet.  Local Big-Band radio station KAAM-AM had the Doris Day-Harry James performance of "With a Song in My Heart" in its rotation, and the tune began to play.  (KAAM streams on www.kaamradio.com)I had forgotten how pure her voice was; how on-pitch it was and how sweet her vibrato was.  And James' trumpet solo was good as you'd expect. But what was even better was the meter he advanced and kept in tact throughout the whole song.And remember, this was in the days when you stood at the mike and recorded without any assistance of out-takes and substitutions and equipment that could correct off-pitch notes, etc.Who are your favorite singe... 11/03/2007

Bill's published liner notes about Kathryn, "Kathryn has a perfect jazz vibrato, and that's unusual.  Her pitch is true, and her interpretations of both melody and lyrics are from the gut of this lovely creature who's in touch with life.  Her current CD is an amazing selection of songs, and frankly, it belongs in every music lover's collection.  Easily available through music stores and her web site"By the way, in addition to her professional singing career, Kathryn is an endurance swimmer, and has raised many dollars for charity swimming events."Kathryn recently wrote about Bill, "Bill, a published author, radio and tv personality, Realtor-businessman and musician, was my mentor at the beginning, helping secure my first professional gig in 1966 at the Lookout Room in Galveston's exoti... 11/01/2007

Fine Arts Chamber Players.  There is nothing we have enjoyed more than the Bancroft Family Concerts that the Fine Arts Chamber Players oversees every year.  This year's season opened yesterday in Horchow Auditorium at the Dallas Museum of Art.   All of their programs are totally without charge to the public, and are held where there's no chance of getting anything other than the best seat in the house.  Here's where you can find out the details. CLICK or 214.520.2219.  Ask for Rogine Russell.Patty and I will see you there.Splitting the Difference.  Cloaked in the shrouds of fair play, it rarely if ever is.  The one who suggests splitting the difference is always the winner.Classical Music and Hip Hop.  Interestingly those who study the Internet and its affect on social change have disco... 10/27/2007

Beginning in about 1959, Leon Breeden, arguably the most famous professor of jazz music in the world, took over and made famous the jazz music program at what was then called North Texas State College.  It's in Denton, about 35 miles north of Dallas.His musicians and his bands - called Lab Bands - produced so many outstanding musicians that Stan Kenton began recruiting new band members from his bands.  Time past, and in honor of the success of Mr. Breeden and his students, Mr. Kenton donated his entire music library to what by then had become known as the University of North Texas.  The collection is worth more than a million dollars.Now let me tell you about Galen Jeter.  He was actually a biology major, but had such fine talent as a trumpeter that he was chosen by Mr. Breeden to play ... 10/26/2007

Do you see that guy at the left?  Yeah, the one with the bags of money in his hands.  Well, he's just renewed a scam that had gone underground for a handful of years.Here's what he did.  He drove through neighborhoods of Highland Park homes and found a few with sold riders on the Realtor's sign.  He then called each of the agents and asked them when they expected the home to close and at what title company.While all didn't tell him, he kept trying until he found one or two who spilled the beans.  Next he went to the office supply store and bought a hand full of M&M Lien forms, and with the public information that's available to any and everyone, prepared an M&M lien for each of those properties, with himself as the lien-holder.By making discreet calls, he was able to learn when each of ... 10/24/2007

Real estate tends to attract people who believe there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow waiting for them; and a big majority of those people think the rest of the world doesn't know about it.  The latest myths center around buying foreclosed properties and "flipping" them.  Both very dangerous uses of your credit.You see, it has been said so many times that everyone apparently believes it.  Here it is: "Banks don't want to get stuck with foreclosed property so they'll sell it at a big discount."In my experience the standard comment that banks don't want to take back collateral is true, but it infers the wrong conclusion.  Early in my career, I worked for a bank in St. Louis.  One morning we came to work and the bank's huge parking lot was packed with repossessed school buses.  ... 10/23/2007

           A few weeks ago, the mother of three of my very favorite ladies passed away.  She died the day before her 94th birthday.  Her name was Dorothy McDonald.            Her middle daughter, Mary, and I went through school together.  Her youngest daughter, Kathryn (Taubert), found her life as a jazz singer, and I helped her a bit at the beginning of her career.  And her oldest daughter, Dorothy, was an airline hostess who flew internationally back in the days when that was a very romantic job for a young woman to have.            I especially loved Mrs. McDonald's husband.  I called him Mr. Mac.  He drove a Jeep, liked to fish, messed with ham radios, was the father of three knock-outs, and liked kids - all of the things that especially appealed to me.  And he was never too busy to... 10/20/2007

            In Wednesday's blog, I recounted how I sold a radio station owner into hiring me as an announcer and personality on his station when I was fourteen.            There was another chapter of that first radio job that ended up with an interesting twist.               I quickly learned that the money in radio wasn't in the salary, it was in the talent fees.  Talent fees are a percentage of the total price of the commercials.  It's what the talent -- the announcer or DJ -- is paid to represent a company and deliver its spots.  And sometimes it's big money!            How was I going to get merchants to buy time on my program?  Good grief, even though I was doing an adult's job, I was still a kid.  I knew I had to get past that.            I came up with this idea.  I'd see if I c... 10/19/2007

            I call it the Corporate Growth by Chain Letter.            Have you ever noticed how a company, say a restaurant company, will spring up over night and before you know it, they're building outlets everywhere?  And then they become the darlings of Wall Street so an Initial Public Offering follows, and the original private stockholders pocket a big profit.            And then you'll drive by the new outlet that they built  near your house, and for awhile it will be packed with customers every time you do.  Then before long you'll be commenting to others that you don't see how the place stays in business.  There are rarely more than a few cars in the parking lot.            Interestingly, that same scenario is happening almost everywhere in the U.S where that company is buildin... 10/10/2007

 SUB-PRIME LOANS.  One study shows that a serious number of these loans were made to people who could have qualified for standard underwriting and products.  So what was leading this parade, higher commissions for the loan officers and mortgage brokers?TOILETS.  OK, I know it's not a particularly pleasant subject, but there's one thing that homeowners and plumbers frequently overlook when there are frequent stoppages, especially in older homes.  Over time, calcification from the water builds up within the toilet's horn, and before long, the circumference has diminished and the sides are rough.  Replace the toilet, and the brand that has, by far, the best record against malfunction is Toto.OVER-PRICING.  I'm convinced that demonstrative over-pricing of real estate has and continues to do... 10/07/2007

There are some especially interesting books that have just made their ways to the bookstores.  I often give books to my special client-friends as a Brian Buffini-style "Pop By" rather than two lollipops with a cute card attached, or an American flag on a stick that was made in China, or whatever.Here are some books worthy of your consideration along with some comments from me:TONY BENNETT IN THE STUDIO - A Life of Art and Music.                                                          As his new manager, Tony Bennett's son repackaged his dad a few years back and, by golly, he made him into a new singing sensation.  This guy's over 80, for goodness sakes.  Nevertheless, his concerts are sold out wherever he goes, and he's on the road most of the year.Although I am a fan of his music, Mr.... 10/03/2007