Alan Peppard

Dallas photographer Amy Alford, daughter of billionaires Harold and Annette Simmons, may have lost a kidney this year, but she's gained a new friend at the White House.

When Mr. Simmons desperately needed a kidney for his recent transplant, the closest available match was Amy. But the crazy part was that they are not blood relatives. She is Annette Simmons' daughter by a previous marriage.

Nonetheless, she proved to be the closest match and gave a kidney to save her stepfather's life. "I guess that they're blood relatives now that Harold has her kidney inside of him," says Mrs. Simmons.

An acquaintance at the White House invited Amy to Washington to tell her kidney tale to some of the younger members of the White House staff. So last week, she boarded the Simmonses' large private jet and flew up to the White House.

When one of the senior staffers learned she was headed back to Texas, he told Amy the president was also going to Texas that day. "I know," said Amy.

"How do you know?" said the staffer, worried about a security breach, and not connecting Amy with her billionaire relatives.

"Because my parents are having lunch with him in Crawford this weekend," she answered.

Once Amy finished her presentation, the same staffer returned and ominously said, "Follow me."

She was promptly ushered in to a private meeting with President George W. Bush, who had been keeping track of Mr. Simmons' condition and even called him at the hospital before the surgery.

Last year, actress Janine Turner (Northern Exposure, Strong Medicine) relocated from North Texas to New York City. But she was back in Dallas last week to headline the Authors at the Adolphus series with her new book, Holding Her Head High: 12 Single Mothers Who Championed Their Children and Changed History.

More than 100 people turned out to hear her speak in the French Room at the historic downtown hotel. Afterward, she stayed for two hours autographing books.

In other Janine news, she will soon reunite with her Leave it to Beaver co-star, Christopher McDonald. In the 1997 film version of Beaver, Janine played June to Christopher's Ward Cleaver. The two will soon be on their way to Palm Desert to begin filming a movie of the week called Black Widow that also stars Rachel Hunter.