[comp.text.tex] Small Plain TeX question: Need better code

xiaofei@EINSTEIN.PHYSICS.BUFFALO.EDU (Xiaofei Wang) (05/16/91)

I posted this to tex-info [or info-tex] but it did not get posted.
I guess that server is clever enough to reject simple request
like this. Any way the request goes:

TeX doesn't do what I want:

\font\cs=cmr12 \cs

a paragraph % I want a regular parskip

\parindent=8 mm \parskip= 0 mm 
% I don't want a regular parskip
\item{[1]} a
\item{[2]} short 
\item{[3]} list
% I want go back to regular parskip
\parindent=0mm \parskip=3pt plus1pt minus .5pt

another paragraph
\end

I have to do:

\font\cs=cmr12 \cs

a paragraph % I want a regular parskip

\parindent=8 mm 
% I don't want a regular parskip
\item{[1]} a      \parskip= 0 mm % I have to put \parskip=0mm here :-(
\item{[2]} short 
\item{[3]} list
% I want go back to regular parskip
\parindent=0mm \parskip=3pt plus1pt minus .5pt

another paragraph
\end

Above code works but looks ugly. Can someone suggest me a better code?
Thanks.