No more slime in the ice machine.

Marvin Zindler has died. For those of you who aren't from Houston, this probably means nothing. But to us Houstonians (I've been an Austinite for 13 years, but I'll always be a Houstonian at heart), it's a loss of one of our icons - one more piece of my childhood disappearing into the mist.

A few of the national sites who covered Zindler's death referred to him as the guy who campaigned against the chicken ranch that spawned "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." Yeah, he was that guy, but he was so much more. Zindler was first and foremost an investigative reporter. It was in this role that he broke the famous chicken ranch story, but Zindler's real contribution was in his tireless campaign to help the poor, elderly and just plain screwed.

Now, anyone who knows me knows I'm not a bleeding heart. But I do believe in fairness and in justice, insofar as people should do what's right and shouldn't screw over other people. It's that simple. Do what's right. Well, alot of people don't do what's right, and those people especially like to pick on powerless people. That's where Zindler came in. Zindler worked on pretty much of a daily basis to help right wrongs that had been done to people who couldn't do much to fight back. He was one of the good guys.

He also did the work of the angels in arranging countless operations for disfigured and deformed children. When Zindler came calling with a cause, people lined up to help out. People who had the means to help knew that what they were doing was for a good cause and that there was nothing more at work than a desire to do good - not line someone's pockets or grandstand for cameras. Yes, Zindler made his living on camera, but the good he did wasn't to promote himself - it was a matter of him using his platform to help people.

Of course, what most Houstonians will really remember, aside from his snow white toupee, giant blue glasses, frequent plastic surgeries and dapper suits (the man could actually carry off a cravat), is Zindler's Rat and Roach Report. Zindler used to broadcast the Houston restaurant inspection report results on the news, telling Houstonians which restaurants were winners and which were losers. Frequently, the losers had a problem with their ice machines. In Zindler's words, they were cited for "Sliiiiiime in the ICE machine!!" Ewwww. Think about that next time your sucking up a nice, iced-cola from a straw at your favorite eating establishment. Oh, and he kinda yelled his way through his reports and his sign-offs ("Marvin Zindler...EYEwitness News!"). I would imagine you always knew when Zindler was in the room.

So, Houston is a little quieter today. And a little sadder. And a little less noble. I hope someone will take up the work Zindler did. No one will be able to do it exactly like he did, though. He was an original.