MARY ELIZABETH GOLDMAN

Anne Williams, former curator with the National Office of Antiquities in Washington, D.C., and Taylor Matthews, ex-wife of criminal attorney David Matthews the father of Anne’s illegitimate daughter, are, oddly enough, friends – best friends, and co-owners of a high dollar antique store known locally as The Fly located in the Lakewood Plaza.

One of the city’s most beautiful places to live, the expensive Lakewood neighborhood in East Dallas borders White Rock Lake on the west. Lined with century old live oaks, the Lakewood Plaza is a quaint and trendy shopping district where shops with clever names like Gem Dandy, Cat Ballou, Precious Little, and Shoe Fly sell the latest haute couture and fashion accouterments behind old storefronts with lace peek-a-boo curtains in the windows and cater to women with big hair, women adorned with real-deal bling-bling, women who speak with an exaggerated drawl, and women who consider shopping a recreational and competitive sport.

The Hornet’s Nest, owned by the personable and preppy Nathan Sloan, across from the landmark beacon of the Lakewood Theater, is the neighborhood tavern where many of the eclectic proprietors and their clients gather week-days after closing for happy hour and “information exchange.”

- Researching the Dallas Scene

Dallas, a sophisticated city with a small town friendliness, has forever been a sense of place for those who will not be denied, for both the colorful and charming individual, and for outrageous personalities as indigenous to the Lone Star State as the Longhorn or the West Texas derrick; Big D is place that embraces those who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves, get their hands dirty, or dig in their heels to make their fortunes and their presence known; where legends and lore become the realities.

The spirit of early “can-do” pioneers put Dallas on the maps but it was the wildcatters in the oil fields that made it the world-class “city with an attitude.”