George Harrison, Dedicated Dallas Fan

• You don't say

• Which reminds me of my favorite JR quote, on the priorities of a life in politics: "Rule number one: Never git caught in bed with a dead woman or a live man." And, about three years ago I was on a flight from DFW to LaGuardia, sitting next to an afflluent Brit couple heading for a couple of days in NYC before going home. The woman said they were huge fans of "Dallas" and were thrilled to learn they were being sent there by "the firm" for business purposes. They'd been in Texas for a couple of weeks, and the man -- who looked and spoke like he norally wore a bowler to work -- was now wearing snakeskin boots, a suede gunslinger's vest, new and carefully pressed Levi's, and a western shirt that looked like it came from the eccentric end of the men's shop at Nieman's. The woman had a full-length denim skirt with silver applique's, and fringed buckskin jacket, and tons of silver and turquoise jewelry adorning her wrists and ears, etc., etc. I'm sure there were cowboy hats in the overhead compartment. When the man went to the loo, his wife confided that he became obsessed with buying and smuggling back a real shootin' iron until she finally convinced him there was no way without risking jail. In that short time two stiff Brits had bought into the whole ludicrous myth, lock, stock and two smoking barrels, and turned themselves into cartoon characters. I would have loved to have seen how Her Majesty's Customs officers viewed them as they went through the line at Heathrow. After learning I was going home to NYC where I lived as a Texas expat, they were scandalized that I would leave such a fascinating place for dreary New York. Sometimes, that part doesn't seem so absurd as it did when she said it.

• Uh, J.R. was a fictional character.

• The show was very popular in England. I think for the same reason they like to follow the Royal family.

• 1980 was not a good year for Mr. Harrison. Both J.R. and John Lennon shot within months of each other. Sad.

• This doesn't surprise me. When my wife and I visited England 10 years ago and would say we were from Texas, we were pretty surprised to find out how big the show's popularity there was still years after it went off the air. We saw "Dallas"-themed goods in stores. They also loved "Starsky and Hutch" for some reason....

• My guitar is gently weeping.

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