Washington City Paper: Contents for Apr. 7

Nobody's Patsy
Winchester rejected her, and Patsy Cline remains a homeless celebrity ghost in her own hometown.

Cover Story

In Winchester, Va., as in many a small Southern town, the rich dine at the country club and the poor drink at the dives.

I have come to Winchester, an hour's drive west of Washington, to look for the celebrity ghost of Patsy Cline, so I stop at the first beer joint that catches my eye. The Stonewall Grill sits on the railroad tracks across from an abandoned depot and in the shadow of a Confederate cemetery. Its name pays homage both to its rock-and-mortar exterior and to the Rebel leader who headquartered in Winchester during the Civil War.

Inside, a jukebox blares country music for customers relaxing after the day shift. Some are busy playing shuffleboard on a long table that dominates the small, dark place. They share an intense concentration; there is no shouting or cheerleading, only grunted nods of “Good shot.” Indeed, it is soothing—almost hypnotizing—to watch the pucks silently pierce the settling cigarette smoke and glide ever so smoothly down the table's powdered wood surface.

In a nearby booth, an elderly woman clutches a can of Milwaukee's Best, rubbing her eyes and squinting at the shuffleboard activity a few feet away. She wears a bewildered, drowsy gaze, as if she has just awakened from a Rip Van Winkle slumber and now sees a vision of Ronnie Van Zandt longhairs bowling tenpins. The music stops; somebody needs to go feed the jukebox. But the game has everyone's attention.

“Where's my Patsy Cline song?” sputters the old woman in slurred outrage. “I put in money to hear Patsy—where in the hell is she?”... Continued

Issue of Apr. 7 - 13, 1995

News and Features

Nobody's Patsy
Winchester rejected her, and Patsy Cline remains a homeless celebrity ghost in her own hometown.
Cover Story By Eddie Dean
Little Green Questions
In 1947, something crashed in the New Mexico desert. Nearly half a century later, UFO groups and the U.S. government are still arguing over what it was.
The City By Greg Kitsock
Cold Glocked
The City By Clara Jeffery
Pot Roast
Hitting the High Notes at the Hemp Harangue
The City By Matt Labash
Jailhouse Crock
The Mail By Daniel A. Katz
Fuller Disclosure
The Mail By Steve Palmer
Veg Out
The Mail By A.R. Hogan
Not!
The Mail By Theodore J. Jacobs
Steamed Greens
The Mail By Judy Tiger
Real Men Don't Eat Granola
The Mail By Martin Morse Wooster
Pigskin
The Mail By Michael F. Tommey
Love Thy Carnivorous Neighbor
The Mail By Bernard J. O'Heir
Giants and Clients
The Mail By Richard Hébert
Balanced Diet
The Mail By Miles D. Moore
Confessions of an Animal Eater
The Mail By Kevin Williams

Columns

FRAUD: A SUCCESS STORY
Loose Lips By Ken Cummins
Bumping the Bump
City Desk
Coldhearted Criminal
City Desk
Naked Crawling Women OK
City Desk

Eats

Movies

Tits a Living
Russ Meyer, the King of the Nudies, is horny. Make thathomesick and horny.
Talking Pictures By Eddie Dean
They're No Angels
Film Review By Mark Jenkins
Outsiders
Film Review By Joel E. Siegel

Music

Theater

Slap Happy
Theater Review By Bob Mondello

Arts and Events

Suburban Blight
Art Review By Martha McWilliams
Crafty
How the Sugarloaf Crafts Festival Became a Big Wheel on the Pottery Circuit
Arts By Alan Green
Unisex Check
Books By Hans Johnson
Fear of Talking
Books By David Plotz
Songs in the Key of C-Minus
Artifacts By Dave McKenna