| Steve Blow: Old minivan has new life as bid bait 12/29/2000 By / The Dallas Morning News Say, are you looking for a good, used minivan?
Sorry, I can't help you. But I can tell you how to buy my old minivan!
And I really would like to see it go to a good home.
Last week I wrote a farewell column to our family's well-used '91 Astro minivan (216,000 miles, 2 million Happy Meals).
I mentioned that I had donated it to Dallas Can! Academy. Well, the good folks there saw the column and let me know that the van will be included in Saturday's auction.
They even got me to sign a copy of that column to go along with it. And that should increase the bidding by hundreds and hundreds of pennies.
It dawned on me that we hear a lot about donating cars, but not much about the selling end of things. And that's where the money is made for Dallas Can!'s good programs.
Sometime next month, Dallas Can! will serve its 15,000th student since it began as a small dropout recovery program in 1985.
Now it operates high schools in Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston, serving kids who have struggled in other school settings.
So stop by the auction on Saturday if that's a cause you'd like to support – or if you're just in the market for a freckled minivan.
They hold an auction every Saturday at 9426 Lakefield Blvd., near Bachman Lake in Dallas. Gates open at 8 a.m. for bidder registration and vehicle inspections. The auction is at 9.
Stan Altschuler, chief operating officer for Dallas Can!, said they auction 120 cars every week. Those are the best of the donations. The real junkers are sold directly for salvage.
I'm so proud of the minivan for making the auction!
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Word comes from Maple, Texas, that they were really impressed with you Dallas folks!
Back in October I told you about the little West Texas town and its country school. Without more students, the school was going to lose state funding and would have to close.
So with some trepidation, school officials there put out the word: They would provide a house and a job to families with school-age kids willing to move there.
They were scared to death that only Dallas' sorriest folks would show up. But school Superintendent Bill Hood reports that he's been "very impressed with the caliber" of the 50 families that applied.
Offers have been made to three families, and one is already headed that way.
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Hey, don't say I never did you any favors: I've got a baby sitter lined up for you for New Year's Eve. Really!
Senior Girl Scouts from the Tejas Council of Northwest Dallas will raise funds for service projects by baby-sitting Sunday night at the Walnut Hill Recreation Center.
Isn't that a great money-making idea? (Take note, other youth groups!)
The cost is $35 per child, and it's for kids 1 to 10 years old. They can be dropped off at 8 p.m. and can stay until 8 a.m.
You must register and pay in advance. Call Lynn Wilbur at 972-247-0951 to arrange that. Space is limited, so don't delay.
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I got a wonderful letter from Jill Logue a few days ago, and I want to pass it along because I think it will be good medicine for a lot of parents.
This line seems to sum up her letter: "I'm so happy it's sickening."
I told you about Jill and her husband, Bob, and their son, Nathan, in a column last year. The gist of it was that you can make peace with your kids.
Nathan's teen years were a nightmare for the Garland family. A support group called Because I Love You (972-647-9573) helped them forge a truce.
Now Jill writes to say that they have gone past the truce stage into true joy.
"Nathan is doing great. He is a responsible adult and a complete joy to be around," she said. "He works and studies so hard, and we're so proud of him."
On top of that, Jill writes, "I'M A GRANNY!!" Their daughter gave birth to a boy, Kameron, in August.
So hang in there, struggling parents. Don't be afraid to ask for help. And one day the giddy granny stage will arrive for you, too.
Steve Blow can be reached at 214-977-8374 and at .
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