The West University Buzz - July 2020

2020 Buzz Photo Contest Winners

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Ride As Far into the Sun by Alexandra Schoener Second Place, Action

JEFFREY RILEY AND JAMES WATERS

PUBLISHER’S NOTE It was another big year for the Buzz Photo Contest. More than 1,300 photos were submitted to our 15th annual contest, and our judges reviewed them all last month. Instead of judging in our conference room as we normally do, we reserved a private room at a local restaurant, with each of our four judges sitting at their own table. The decisions were tough to make, as usual. This year’s winners range from age 15 to 72. Some are serious amateurs who waited patiently for hours, hoping to capture the perfect shot. Others happened to be in the right place at the right time, some with just a cell phone, but also the creative instinct to see the shot. I hope you enjoy the winning images and will be inspired to enter your own photos in next year’s contest. We’d love to see what you can capture. If the year so far is any indication, you’ll have a lot of material to work with. michael@thebuzzmagazines.com

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Joni Hoffman Michael Hoffman Cheryl Laird Jordan Magaziner Steinfeld Pooja Salhotra John Duboise Tracy L. Barnett Deborah Lynn Blumberg Sharon Albert Brier Cindy Burnett Andria Frankfort Angie Frederickson Todd Freed Cindy Gabriel Cathy Gordon Michelle Groogan Dai Huynh Annie Blaylock McQueen Jennifer Oakley Cheryl Ursin Russell Weil Laura Isensee O’Neil Andrea Blitzer, Leslie Little Jo Rogers

On our cover: Alexandra Schoener took this photo of herself at Sam Rayburn lake. Cover photo by Alexandra Schoener The Buzz Magazines has made all reasonable attempts to verify the accuracy of all information contained within. Advertising claims are solely the responsibility of the advertiser. Copyright © 2020 Hoffman Marketing & Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this magazine by any means without written permission is strictly prohibited. Printed on recycled paper. Please remember to recycle.

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Your letters, thoughts, opinions Sweet send-off Beamon and I absolutely loved working with Jennifer Oakley on the 2020 Seniors article [Senior Send-off: Saying goodbye from afar, June 2020]. It has been such a difficult and strange senior year for all. I was happy to see you guys acknowledge their disappointments along with their triumphs. I think it gives us all some hope because, after all, these are our future leaders! Thank you again; you have lovely people who work for your magazine! Susan Welch

Honoring the graduates I just wanted to let you know how much the story that Jennifer Oakley wrote about high school seniors brightened our day. We were flabbergasted when the issue arrived and Eliza was on the cover [Tanglewood/River Oaks Buzz, June 2020]! Your photographer [Nikky LaWell] did such a lovely job, as did Jennifer. This has been a tough time for Eliza and our family, and the article gave us a feeling of formality and finality about her senior year and helped to honor it during a difficult time. Thank you so much! Really, it meant the world to us. Blakely Griggs

Loving shades of gray I love this story [The Silver Sisterhood: Women rocking their gray hair, by Cheryl Ursin, May 2020]! I, too, get compliments on my gray – almost always from people who color their hair – and after I thank them, I encourage them to follow suit! I come from a long line of gray-haired ladies and decided from the get-go to embrace my gray for two reasons: 1: It’s low maintenance and 2: I earned every last one of these babies! Embrace the gray, people – think of it as a badge of honor! Barbara Gurwitz Raynor

Bud Bigelow and Madeline Russell, I chanced upon your fond memory of dining at Bud Bigelow's Charcoal House [Restaurant Memories: A look back at Houston’s dining past, by Russell Weil, November 2014]. You put a big smile on my face. Bud Bigelow and his wife Madeline, my grandmother, started the restaurant about 1958ish. Westheimer was a two-lane road with only a sparse population adjacent to the location, but they knew Houston would be growing in that direction. They opened the doors, seating only 50 patrons, but in a few short weeks hired a bus to accommodate those waiting to be seated. Free beer was offered too while waiting. Madeline had already operated two successful restaurants. Mad-Toni's was her first, but she and her business partner soon parted ways. She converted an old mansion on Montrose to become Madeline's. She developed a menu of fancy French cuisine and prices to match. Soon all the bigwigs and captains of industry were frequenting Madeline's. I have a great story when Howard Hughes showed up without a coat and tie, which was WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 6

mandatory in order to dine. Madeline was single at that time, as was my mother. We lived in a garage apartment, which was located on the property. By the way, if you had the Chocolate Fudge Pie for dessert at Bud's, my mother developed the recipe. Madeline met Bud Bigelow while he worked for The Houston Chronicle as a photographer. Bud was assigned to cover a meeting of some aforementioned bigwigs who were having a Sunday brunch gathering. It was love at first sight, and they soon married. Madeline sold the restaurant at its peak. Bud had told Madeline on a couple of occasions, Houston needed a real steak restaurant, and she agreed. She told Bud he could open his steak house under two conditions. The location was to be way out on Westheimer, and she would run the kitchen; Bud would oversee the business and run the front. This was a good combination indeed. They sold Bud Bigelow's in 1966 and moved to Mexico to retire. Frank D. Kelley Editor’s note: This 2014 article by Russell Weil, at thebuzzmagazines.com, is still one of our most popular stories to date. If you have restaurant memories, share them with us at info@thebuzzmagazines.com. Send letters to info@thebuzzmagazines.com. Please include your name, address, phone number and email address for verification purposes. Letters are subject to editing for clarity and space. Views expressed in letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Buzz Magazines, and The Buzz takes no responsibility for the content and opinions expressed in them.

What’s your story? We are looking for residents for upcoming articles who: • Have an uplifting story about friendship. • Know a Buzzworthy neighbor to profile. • Have an interesting hobby. • Have funny or unique parenting stories. • Play a musical instrument and would like to be part of our “Name That Tune” video series on Facebook. If this sounds like you or someone you know, please contact us at info@thebuzzmagazines.com or 713.668.4157, ext 12.

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Pooja Salhotra

NEIGHBORS by Cheryl Ursin, staff writer

Because Kindness Rocks Painting and placing rocks to share smiles

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The idea is simple: Paint something happy on a small rock and leave it for someone else to find. Some are meant for specific people; others are left in public. Some are meant to be left for all to see; others are meant to be picked up. Some painters remain anonymous. Others paint hashtags or instructions on the back, asking the finder to snap a picture and post it to one of the social-media pages so the painter can see the rock has been found. July A HAPPY FIND Carole and Edward Vesely were charmed to find a painted rock on 3rd is International their doorstep on their 40th wedding anniversary. Drop a Rock Day. and running by can see,” says Jessica. The goal: For 2020, the theme, to be painted on the rocks, “inspiration and smiles.” is “You Matter.” When Marla Goodman and Trevor While some groups have suspended placing Ernsbarger, creators of Space City Rocks, a new their rocks in public out of concern about Facebook group with 195 members, painted spreading the coronavirus, there has also been their first rocks in January, they hid them at a an uptick of activity during the pandemic as playground in a park and sat nearby to watch people take more walks and look for things to children find them. Most of the time, though, do and ways to connect. In keeping with the rock painters, even with their hashtags, don’t advice of the Centers for Disease Control, peoknow what happens to their creations. ple picking up rocks should wash their hands “That’s something I had to change my attiafterwards and, if keeping the rock, wipe it down tude over,” says Lisa Dunn, creator of Houston, with disinfectant. TX Rocks #HoustonTXRocks, a Facebook One place to see some is along the Bellaire group with 1,346 members. “After more considNature Discovery Center’s fence on Newcastle. eration, I realized the person getting the most Jessica Laviage, a former third-grade teacher, has joy from them was myself. I decided to continue been coming up with weekly socially distanced painting and hiding them, no matter the activities for children in her neighborhood. She response. Even though they don’t share it, I sent out an email and posted on a neighborhood know I’ve made someone smile, and that’s good Facebook page. There are now about 100 rocks (continued on page 10) enough for me.” at the fence “that all the people walking, biking Pooja Salhotra

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n April 5th, their 40th wedding anniversary, Carole and Edward Vesely were feeling a little sad. “Of course, we were sequestered along with everyone else and feeling a bit down at not having a proper celebration as previously planned,” Carole wrote in a social-media post. But then, they found a rock that had been placed on their West University doorstep. It had been painted with a flower and the words, “Be Happy. Stay Safe.” “It was like a little treasure, and the timing was incredible,” says Carole. “It was so unexpected and so sweet.” In her post, written in the hopes of reaching the painter of the rock, she wrote, “This kind gesture made us realize how lucky we are to actually be happy and safe…. It totally made our day…. We haven’t stopped smiling.” In Bellaire, Michael Fife and her husband, Creighton Edwards, live next to Newcastle Trail across from Evelyn’s Park. They had planted amaryllis plants along the trail. The amaryllises had put on a particularly “spectacular display this spring,” explains Michael, and she came out one day to find a rock beneath the most spectacularly blooming one. Painted with a picture of the red flower under which it was nestled, the rock was emblazoned with, “Thank you for sharing your amaryllis, Neighbor.” Now that the blooms have faded, Michael keeps the rock on her kitchen windowsill. Humans have been painting on rocks since the dawn of time. Really. The oldest known examples are, scientists believe, at least 44,000 years old. But “Kindness Rocks” became a trend in 2015 when Megan Murphy, a woman living on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, wrote an inspirational quote on a rock and left it at the beach, only to have a friend text her a picture of it, saying, look, she had found this rock and it had made her day. Five years later, Facebook and Instagram teem with pages and groups from the very local, like West U Rocks! on Facebook with 168 members, to the global. The Facebook page for The Kindness Rocks Project itself has more than 100,000 followers, while the Painted Rocks!!! Facebook group has almost 45,000 members.

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Michael Fife Paperhearts Photography

Cheryl Ursin

Pooja Salhotra

KINDNESS WORKS Upper left: Creighton Edwards (left) and Michael Fife were kind enough to plant flowers along the Newcastle Trail. Upper right: Someone else was kind enough to thank them for it. Lower right: Jessica Laviage's daughter, Charlotte, 5, painted one of the rocks placed along the Bellaire Nature Discovery Center's fence on Newcastle. Lower left: Another rock left at the center thanks doctors for their bravery and care during the pandemic.

Looking through Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, you’ll see a variety of styles and levels of talent. Some are amazingly detailed and realistic. Others are funny cartoons. Many are painted by children. An oddly shaped rock becomes a fish. A broken rock becomes an M&M character from the TV commercials, with a bite taken out of him. Several small rocks, piled together, become a bunch of strawberries. There are landscapes and still lifes and mandalas, swirling circular patterns. Many have inspirational quotations and phrases, such as “Play nice,” “Be the light,” and “Throw kindness around like glitter.” “I personally cannot draw a stick figure to save my life,” says Lisa, “but that doesn’t matter…. The content doesn’t matter as much as the thought behind it.” I decided to try it. The first thing I realized, though, is that the rocks native to Houston are jagged, irregular and hard to paint. Many rock painters buy their rocks, particularly river rocks, which are rounded and smooth, from garden centers. During the stay-at-home order, I bought mine from Amazon, puzzling my husband (“You bought a box of rocks?”) and probably earning

(continued from page 8)

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the ire of the delivery person, since the small box weighed 25 pounds. I raided my art-school daughter’s supplies and found that acrylic paints, including inexpensive children’s paints, work well. Paint pens are especially easy to work with for the less deft among us. Because the rocks will be outside, painters usually apply a sealer. I haven’t yet heard back about any of the six to eight rocks that I’ve hidden, although I do get a little thrill when I see that one is gone from where I left it. My designer daughter, though, who paints whimsical pictures of polar bears driving cars and the like, has received two photos of adorable neighborhood children holding up her rocks and smiling. “Hide” is a relative term. Painters leave their rocks where people will see them: along sidewalks, on park benches, on the outside window ledges of retail shops. Shunney Nair of Bellaire found one balanced on top of a fire hydrant. State and national parks sometimes have rules against leaving behind painted rocks, as part of their “leave no trace” policies. And of course, you could just give them to someone. The medical staff of one hospital in

Orlando, Fla., painted matching sets of heart rocks, giving one to the patient and the other to the patient’s family, when patients couldn’t have visitors. To mark the first anniversary of the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, where 58 people died, Lisa’s sister, a survivor of that shooting, asked her to paint 58 rocks with the phrase #LoveWins, which were given away in “blessing bags.” Two years ago, a woman from Alabama sent Lisa painted rocks and asked her to place them around the city after Hurricane Harvey. “She wanted us to know that she was praying for us and that the world had not forgotten about us,” remembers Lisa, who says she was deeply moved. These rocks, meant to be a simple moment of connection, are, perhaps, even more impactful now, when we’re avoiding going out, getting together and touching. Of the rock she and her husband were given, Carole says, “We shall keep it permanently on our bookshelf to remind us always that there is good in the world.”

MORE ONLINE For links to Facebook pages and other sites, see this story at thebuzzmagazines.com.

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lawellphoto.com

NEIGHBORS by Pooja Salhotra, staff writer

Ramon the Rooster The rusty Pied Piper of quarantine

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t all started with an old, rusty rooster named Ramon.The five-and-a-half-foot tall metal fixture was an impulse buy at H-E-B over a decade ago. When she bought it, Amy Barnes had no idea Ramon would earn celebrity status and become the thing that brought her Sunset Terrace neighborhood relief during a global pandemic. In fact, after spending years standing tall in Amy’s backyard garden, Ramon was headed for the dumpster. His once-bright yellow and orange facade had faded, and seasons of moist Houston summers had corroded parts of his body to rust. He no longer stood stable on his feet; instead, he creaked and was in danger of falling over. Worried he might tip over and injure someone, Amy leaned the rooster against the fence on the side of her corner home. “He was sad and rusty,” says Amy, co-founder of the nonprofit Books Between Kids. “I was honestly thinking he was going to be trashed.” Amy’s neighbor, Steffy Clingan, was walking her two dogs when she turned the corner and saw Ramon propped up against Amy’s fence. The forlorn rooster reminded her of Chicken Little, known for sending his town into a frenzy by claiming, “The sky is falling!” “It just made me think, there is so much fear and trepidation around Covid-19,” says Steffy, an interior designer who has lived in Sunset Terrace, an enclave within West University, for over 30 years. “I just thought we needed to do something fun that gave parents a distraction for their kids and for themselves.” Steffy, who turns 60 this year, says she noticed that parents with young children seemed like “deer in the headlights” as they navigated working from home and homeschooling their children. Steffy’s idea was to create a daily scavenger hunt for kids and their parents that would be centered around Ramon. With Amy’s permission, Steffy and her husband, Scott, loaded Ramon in the back of their car the next day. It so happened that a plumber was installing an HVAC system at the church the Clingans attend (Bethany Christian Church), and the plumber happily agreed to mend Ramon using the bright red brackets he had on hand. “I’m telling you, God just put all of this WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 12

ALL SPRUCED UP Longtime Sunset Terrace resident Steffy Clingan was the brains behind a daily neighborhood scavenger hunt centered around Ramon, an old metal rooster Steffy recovered from Amy Barnes.

together seamlessly,” Steffy says. “The brackets were the perfect size. They were just the width between the bird’s legs and the right angle to weld it into the un-rusted part. Now, Ramon was standing just beautifully, and I thought, well, this is great.” Within the next 48 hours, Steffy’s idea to create a daily scavenger hunt came to fruition. Each day for the next six weeks, Steffy came up with a list of items around the neighborhood for people to find. She stationed Ramon in her front yard and, each day, hung a sign on his neck indicating which street they could find Chicken Little on. Because Ramon was too cumbersome to move around the neighborhood, Steffy sewed a Chicken Little stuffed animal and decorated it with ribbons. She placed it in a tomato cage, which functioned as the chicken coop. Each night she moved Chicken Little to a different household in Sunset Terrace, which encompasses a little over 200 households bounded north and south by Westpark and Bissonnet and east

and west by Edloe and Weslayan. Attached to Chicken Little’s coop each day – in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag to avoid getting wet – was a piece of paper with the daily scavenger hunt. Kids, and even some adults, would take a photo of the list and then off they went, hunting for the items, from items in nature like butterflies and hibiscus plants to stuffed animals planted in windows or in the front yards of specific households. For families with young children, the scavenger hunts became a fixture of quarantine life. “It was one of our daily highlights,” says Patrick Yip, a Sunset Terrace resident who works in private equity. “We really enjoyed having that adventure every day.” Patrick had been working from home while his three kids, Jesse, 5, Kelsey, 8, and Toby, 10, were home from school. Balancing homeschooling with their own work was challenging, says Patrick and his wife, Vicky Yip. The scavenger hunt was something (continued on page 14)

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lawellphoto.com

QUARANTINE FUN At left: Sunset Terrace resident Lucy Keeper loaned her metal rooster, Rocky, to join the neighborhood adventure. At right: Siblings Kelsey, Toby and Jesse Yip rode their bikes around the neighborhood each day in order to find Chicken Little, who held the scavenger hunt list. (continued from page 12) the kids looked forward to

each day. Around lunchtime, the kids would hop on their bikes, with Dad jogging behind them, and ride towards Steffy’s house. There, they’d see Ramon and find out what street Chicken Little was on. They’d race to that street, and over the next 15-30 minutes, the siblings would ride their bikes up and down streets searching for the items on the list. After six weeks, the weather was beginning to warm and Gov. Greg Abbott announced plans for reopening the state. Steffy was tired and decided it was time to end Ramon’s chapter. “Everything has to come to an end,” she says. She explained to her neighbors that Ramon had to go back home to his mom, Amy Barnes, for Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 10. She hadn’t realized just how attached some kids had grown to Ramon – until the day after Mother’s Day, when Ramon no longer stood in her front yard. “By noon on Monday, I had four different families out front with crying children on the sidewalk,” said Steffy. “One little girl was just screaming ‘Oh my gosh, where’s Ramon?’” “I wondered why it was so upsetting,” says mom Vicky, whose daughter Kelsey was one of the sad kids. “But I think it meant a lot to them because it gave them some sense of routine. It’s the loss of something that took an important place in their lives when all this first started. We’re really grateful the organizers did it for this long.” To say the activity took creativity and time is an understatement. In addition to coming up WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 14

with the scavenger hunt every day for six weeks – that’s 42 unique scavenger hunts – Steffy also came up with a “craft of the day,” along with a game or exercise that she posted on the neighborhood’s social media pages. All the while, neighbors were becoming increasingly involved. One neighbor, artist Joe Culotta, volunteered to give Ramon a muchneeded paint job. Others judged an art contest that Steffy created, where kids submitted art about Ramon. Other neighbors scoured their closets and garages for items that could work for the scavenger hunt, which often was centered around a theme, like rodeo or space. “We all spent time digging through our closets and finding things we hadn’t seen in years to help support the scavenger hunt,” said Cristal Roth, a Sunset Terrace resident who has three adult sons. “We found a stuffed Pikachu to put in the window, plus a giant Herbie Love Bug. My boys had soccer jerseys from Germany and Spain, so we put those out for international day.” Steffy also initiated a weekly vigil called “Shine the Light” on Tuesday evenings. At 8 p.m., everyone in the neighborhood was invited to stand on their curb with flashlights or other lights to honor those helping out during the coronavirus pandemic. The first vigil was to honor neighbors who are medical staff. Ramon was front and center, dressed in scrubs and a bandana as a mask. Another week was for high school seniors, and Ramon was dressed in a cap and gown. Although the scavenger hunts are over and

the final Shine the Light night is in the books, Ramon’s journey continues. In early May, Steffy went over to neighbor Lucy Keeper’s backyard to pick up an item for a scavenger hunt. In Lucy’s backyard, Steffy discovered a metal rooster that looked strikingly similar to Ramon, just smaller. He was rusty and faded. His feet were bent, and he was missing a tail. “Let’s make him Ramon’s younger brother,” said Steffy. Steffy created Rocky. According to her tale, Rocky ran away from home and went all the way to New York City, where he got into trouble; meanwhile, Ramon had been writing him letters to come back to the neighborhood. Lucy, 75, loved the idea and loaned Steffy her rooster. Now, residents of Sunset Terrace can volunteer to “host” Rocky in their front yard for a week at a time. While they host him, they can write the next chapter of his story, or add a piece of clothing onto him – anything to keep the neighborhood adventure going. Ramon meanwhile, is happily restored and back home. Amy, who at one point was ready to discard her old giant metal rooster, now feels a new sense of responsibility as Ramon’s owner. She’s still trying to find a “sacred” place to keep him. The other day, a child was peeking through Amy’s fence and was dumbfounded. “Do you know you have Ramon in your backyard?” the child asked Amy’s husband, Alistair. “He’s like a celebrity now,” said Amy. “That’s the magic Steffy created.”

Photo courtesy of the Champagne family

NEIGHBORS by Cindy Gabriel, staff writer

An American Story Red, white and blue isn’t black and white

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ou are what I like about America. No matter who you are, no matter how fair or unfair America has been to you, you are part of its magic mix. You are America. The people you vote for work for you. They are not the powerful ones. You are – at least that’s the idea. Right now, I’m avoiding the gym, but I can still exercise my freedom of speech. I’m so grateful to have learned this appreciation of sensing and acting on freedom from my parents. Once in my early 20s, I mentioned to my mom that I might not vote in some seemingly minor election. She grabbed me by the shoulders, looked me in the eye and said, “People are dying in other countries for the right to vote.” Her hands and eyes convicted me. I voted. When she was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of 52, we held our tears for the doctor’s office parking lot. Mom told my dad and me that hers weren’t really sad tears; hers were more like the tears when an American flag goes by. Who takes a moment like that to get in a commercial for America? Stories about Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln were mixed into our dinner conversations. “Washington could have been a king, but he chose to limit his power,” my dad would say, as if he and George had hashed it out. My mother traipsed through cemeteries and courthouses to get the real-people side of the story way before the internet. We saw pictures of skinny people with leathered faces and sunken eyes who looked like they barely had the strength to pose for the picture. I also saw wills by which slaves were passed from one generation to the next. I have always felt Mom’s empathy for the struggle for freedom. Mother would have loved the story of the handsome World War II soldier pictured here. Ovey Champagne spoke fluent French. As a devout Catholic, the highlight of his WWII experience (besides not dying) was meeting the Pope while serving in Italy. But he was probably most valued in France where he was used as a translator. Ovey was born in 1915 in St. Martinville, Louisiana, to a single Creole domestic, WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 16

Adrienne Labbe. She worked for a white French family, the Champagnes. As his son Marvin put it, “Dad’s father apparently got with the help.” Ovey was younger than 4 when his mother died. While his father’s wife and A 4TH OF JULY TRIBUTE After meeting his daughter, Cindy Gabriel learned the other children story of WWII veteran Ovey Champagne. seemed unaware of black children of Rayne. Following the death of him, other Champagnes saw this as an opportuhis first wife, he was married to his beloved Gracie nity to raise Ovey. Sensing a possible kidnapfor 59 years, fathering a total of 11 children. ping, an aunt and uncle on Ovey’s mother’s side I passed one of them in the hall of an office took him and moved to Rayne, Louisiana. near NRG Stadium one day about 10 years ago. This move meant that Ovey would be offiI knew instantly I liked Lisa Champagne, with cially raised as “Negro.” He was schooled her engaging smile and Cajun accent. We were through the sixth grade, though his intelligence destined to be friends at our Harris County govand curiosity took him much further. ernment jobs. If Lisa had not told me she was He was honorably discharged in 1945, earnAfrican-American, which she proudly does, I ing three medals. The papers also indicated would not have known. that he participated in the North Apennines Lisa also grew up in Rayne, one of the towns battle in Italy, though his official title was Mess known for housing German POWs. After the Hall Sergeant. war, prison doors flung open and let out these While black soldiers got fewer combat assignformer enemies. Many chose to stay. Black vetments, Ovey was assigned to white regiments as erans had to watch while German soldiers they needed. His son Marvin, a Vietnam veteran, conhad fought were allowed into establishments jectured that he would have lasted in the white where they were forbidden. barracks long enough for someone to remember Lisa mentioned that as late as the early ’70s him from the black barracks. In the black barthere was at least one local bar with the “Brown racks, he would have been suspected as a spy. Paper Bag Rule.” If you were darker than a groHis opportunity to get out of this limbo came cery bag, you weren’t welcome. Lisa was never down to a typed X on his discharge papers at the subjected to this humiliation, and would often end of the war. “You can be white for the rest of identify herself as African-American when she your life if you just say it now,” came the offer from thought something racially insensitive was the personnel officer handling his paperwork. about to be said in her presence. “I just can’t do that to my family.” His final All 11 of Ovey’s children have found their exit papers, stamped Oct. 15, 1945, kept that X pockets of freedom. They work in industry, eduunder “Negro.” cation, and government. The three youngest, Ovey wanted to go back to his people and the including Lisa, all have master’s degrees. life he knew in Rayne, Louisiana, where he Happy birthday, America! So grateful to became a paint contractor and community pillar, exercise my freedom to tell this story. including his annual service as Santa Claus for the

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NEIGHBORS by Deborah Lynn Blumberg, staff writer

The Med Center Orchestra Anvar Khodzhaev, SVETAN Photography

‘Physicians by day, musicians by night’

MEDICINE WITH A MELODY Bellaire resident Libi Lebel founded the Texas Medical Center Orchestra 20 years ago.

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icrobiologist Lynn Zehedrich took the stage at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2012 with dozens of other Houstonarea medical professionals. Toward the end of the evening, she looked out at the audience, then lifted her flute to her lips to perform a solo. “There were just tears of joy pouring down my face as I played those notes,” says Zehedrich, a Buzz resident and a professor at Baylor College of Medicine, “and then the crowd jumps to their feet and erupts in applause.” Zehedrich is one of 80 members of the Texas Medical Center Orchestra, a group of doctors, nurses, medical students, scientists, dentists, therapists and researchers who’ve banded together to pursue their love of music and share it. They often arrive at weekly practices dressed in scrubs, and WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 18

their orchestra is a much-needed creative outlet. It’s also one of only a few U.S. community orchestras based in the medical community. For the last 20 years, the TMC orchestra has performed for patients and visitors in locations across the Texas Medical Center. Each year it gives four or five performances at prestigious concert halls. In 2017 and 2018, it won the American Prize for best community orchestra. “I love these people – they’re like a family,” says Zehedrich. Zehedrich began playing the flute as a child. She started in middle school, and won awards including All-State and All-American. Her dream was to play in an orchestra, but she also fell in love with science. During post-doc work, flute playing fell to the wayside, and after she

moved to Houston in the late 1990s, she wasn’t even sure where her flute was. But in 2000, while giving a lecture at TMC, she saw a poster advertising a doctors orchestra. She auditioned and was accepted into the fledgling group. “I was so excited to go to the first rehearsal,” Zehedrich says. She rode the elevator to practice with West University resident Daniel Musher, an infectious-disease specialist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, professor at Baylor College of Medicine and an accomplished violinist. “The doors opened up, and Dan said, ‘It sounds beautiful, I’m excited,’” says Zehedrich. “I said, ‘Me too.’ It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” The orchestra’s last, (continued on page 20)

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Anvar Khodzhaev, SVETAN Photography

Anvar Khodzhaev, SVETAN Photography Anvar Khodzhaev, SVETAN Photography

FROM HOSPITAL TO CONCERT HALL Top: The award-winning orchestra is made up of doctors, nurses, medical students, scientists, dentists, therapists and researchers. Bottom left: Infectious disease specialist Daniel Musher (front right) and fellow violinists often wear scrubs to practice. Bottom right: Microbiologist Lynn Zehedrich learned to play the flute as a child. (continued from page 18) packed concert in early

March at The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts celebrated International Women’s Day with pieces by women composers. Today, with social distancing and many orchestra members treating patients on the front lines of the coronavirus, practices and concerts are on hold. But orchestra members are still finding ways to create music. Before Houston’s stay-at-home order, Zehedrich rehearsed at her church – St. Andrews Presbyterian – alongside the church organist. Each entered the building through different doors, and they stayed six feet apart. They relished each other’s music. “I’m also eagerly rehearsing at home during breaks from work,” she says. Musher, who grew up in Manhattan, started playing violin at age 8. “I always loved music,” he says. “I have music in my head all the time.” He played in college at Harvard and in medical school at Columbia, and he was concertmaster of the Boston Doctors Orchestra. For 14 years, he was the TMC orchestra’s concertmaster. “The friendships in the orchestra, the energy of the young people, it’s all very exciting,” he says. “It’s a reasonably tough life in medicine. We’re under a lot of pressure. It’s therapeutic WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 20

to pick up the instrument and play. This helps prevent burnout.” With the orchestra on pause, Musher played in a string quartet that met weekly in his living room, keeping his distance from the other players. One was Musher’s son, Benjamin, who lives in the Meyerland area. Bellaire resident Libi Lebel founded the orchestra when she moved from Manhattan to Houston with an ex who worked in medicine. Lebel has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Julliard and studied piano performance and conducting at Westminster Choir College. Up east, she had seen the Philadelphia Doctors Chamber Orchestra perform at Princeton, and she loved the concept. “Music is my passion,” Lebel says. “It’s what I do and who I am.” After arriving in Houston, Lebel spoke to the dean of the McGovern Medical School at UTHealth and told him she wanted to start an orchestra. “Before I knew it, I had all these doctors emailing me who wanted to audition,” she says. “They’re physicians by day, musicians by night.” Getting into the orchestra, which has high standards, is difficult. The audition for the woodwind and brass sections – which accommodate only one musician per part – entails two

auditions followed by a trial run during a TMC Orchestra concert. “The personality fit is a very important aspect of our orchestra audition process,” Lebel says. The orchestra also started and holds its own annual charity bike ride that typically falls in the spring just before Texas’ MS 150 bike ride—the Gran Fondo Texas charity bike ride. The ride offers varying lengths and takes cyclists through the Sam Houston National Forest. Proceeds go toward the orchestra, which is a non-profit, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and other charities members select. Small groups of orchestra members play at rest stops during the ride, and the entire group performs at the end. Lebel hopes to reschedule this year’s event for a later date. Most recently, the orchestra participated in a collaborative video as part of the #ImStandingWithYou project, which featured performances by 170 musicians from across the world, and raised more than $5 million for coronavirus relief efforts. “The orchestra is so unique,” Lebel says. “For a lot of our members, it’s a relief to come to rehearsal. Music is known to be a strong healing element. It’s been an amazing journey.”

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NEIGHBORS

The Buzz Magazines 2020 Photo Contest

sponsored by

Rainy Night, Grand Prize Winner Luke Chapman, 18, took this photo of his friend Hannah at CityCentre, next to the neon sign for the burger joint Hopdoddy. Luke, who graduated from Memorial High School this year, was enrolled in a photography course and took this photo as part of his investigation of urban night photography. “I get a lot of inspiration from Brandon Woelfel, so I knew I wanted to get a portrait using a neon sign to light the subject’s face,” said Luke. “I also used a halfshattered prism to reflect water droplets and play with light reflections on the subject’s face.” This candid portrait touched all of the judges for its honest and unpretentious rendering of the subject. The pleasing composition, with the subject positioned left of center, coupled with the mixed natural light sources and unique perspective made this photograph a winner.

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A

fter reviewing more than 1,300 submitted images, we are pleased to present the winners of The Buzz Magazines’ 15th annual photo contest. Congratulations to all and especially to our Grand Prize winner, 18-year old Luke Chapman. Luke will receive a trip to Telluride, Colo., with lodging at The Peaks Resort & Spa and skiing or golf at the Telluride Ski & Golf Resort. With any contest like this, the process is subjective. However, there are basic principles of photography that must be met, such as lighting, focus, exposure and composition. And there are personal elements to consider: subject, emotion and storytelling. Judging is blind, as the judges do not see names or any information about the photographers. We also let our readers vote. We posted the 45 finalists on our Facebook page, and the photos that received the most “Likes” became our Readers’ Choice winners. The Buzz Magazines’ annual photo contest is open to all amateur photographers, so keep that in mind as you are shooting pictures in the upcoming year. Watch for next year’s call for entries on our website, social media and in the March 2021 print issue. Thanks to everyone who entered, our judges, our readers who voted online, and our contest sponsor, Telluride Ski & Golf Resort.

Ride As Far into the Sun, Second Place/Action Alexandra Schoener, 15, took this photo of herself while she was “attempting to stand on the water” at Sam Rayburn lake. She set up her phone on the beach, set it on self-timer mode and started taking photos. She was eager to get a shot with the sunset in the background. “After many failed attempts and me soaking wet, I captured the perfect shot,” she says. This photo also received third place in our Readers’ Choice Contest.

Beauty at the Boutique, First Place/People Alexandra Schoener took this photo at Drybar in the Rice Village on the day of her graduation from St. Thomas More Parish School. “The boutique chair and the curled hair just set up for the perfect vintage look. All the photo needed was a finishing black and white filter,” she said. WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 23

In the Darkness, Light Third Place/Nature Jan Buchholtz, 63, took this photo after a surprising fall freeze at Brazos Bend State Park. She noticed a great egret across the pond, standing in the dark thicket of vertical branches and a large fallen tree. “This beacon in the shadows inspired me to memorialize the scene,” she says.

Teton Sunrise, Second Place/Landscapes Mitch Boeck, 32, took this photo of the Grand Teton mountain range during a sunrise last June. “My dad and I had to get up around 4 a.m. that morning to make it here in time for sunrise,” says Mitch. “It was cloudy when we arrived, but the clouds cleared just enough for the light to hit the mountains early and cast that red/orange color on the peaks … I was able to take several images as the light changed, which made them all very different, but this ended up being my favorite. It was an amazing morning with my dad that I won’t forget!” This photo also received fourth place in our Readers’ Choice Contest.

Underwater Fun, Fourth Place/Action Mauricio Recinos, 49, took this photo last year on a hot day with his daughters at the pool. “Isabella saw me and began to swim towards me,” Mauricio recalls. “I am sure she wanted to splash me. I had my camera with me and was able to take a photo just as she was about to reach me. She was smiling, maybe because, as I suspected, she splashed me with water.” WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 24

Soft Kitty, Second Place/Animals Zeah Crabtrey, 17, took this photo of her rescue cat, Junior, as he was lying on large dog bed in front of a window at Zeah’s home. “The sun was hitting just right and warming his soft fur,” says Zeah. “I wanted to capture a moment of innocence and serenity for him.” Junior has cerebellar hypoplasia, so he lacks fine motor skills, balance and coordination. Zeah says he brings laughter and joy to her family, and he thinks he’s as big as his canine companions. “Sometimes I’m not even sure he knows he’s a cat!”

Lower Half Dome in Mirror Lake First Place/Landscapes Luke Chapman took this photo while with his family in Yosemite National Park. Here, he captured Half Dome, a granite dome at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley, reflected in Mirror Lake. “The name of the lake obviously hints at having good reflections, so I decided to give it a go,” says Luke, who was interested in reflection photography at the time. “The lake wasn’t very full of water and there was intermittent rainfall that would disturb the lake’s surface, so a lot of bushwhacking and patience went into finding the right spot for this shot.”

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Study Spot, Third Place/People John Sanson, 35, took this photo at Pearland Coffee Roasters, where he used to be a manager. “This was a regular customer,” said John of the photo’s subject. “He came in often while in nursing school.” John was captivated by the customer’s determination and endurance through his nursing program, and he sought to capture that through this visual.

Flock, Third Place/Animals Mauricio Recinos took this photo when he was in Galveston with his family last year just before the start of the 2019-20 school-year. “The weather was nice, not too hot and a little windy,” Mauricio recalls. “We were on the beach, and I saw a flock of seagulls approaching. They were taking advantage of the wind and were just gliding above us … I grabbed my camera and took some pictures.”

Contender, Third Place/Action Matt Muliadi, 25, took this photo of Thomas Edwards, a 2018 graduate of Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, during Notre Dame University’s 90th annual Bengal Bouts boxing tournament. The annual tournament is a fundraiser supporting the Holy Cross Missions in Bangladesh, and Matt calls it one of the most rewarding experiences while at Notre Dame. “I definitely felt that I had a unique opportunity to use the skills that I have developed in this style of photography to create pictures that I personally felt very close to,” he said. “I feel very fortunate to have been able to capture moments from the tournament that depicts the emotion and energy that you can feel in the room.” WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 26

Texas Sunflowers First Place/Nature Macala Elliott, 23, captured this image in a field of Texas sunflowers at her family ranch in Beeville. She was wandering through the neverending sunflower field on what happened to be her 23rd birthday last summer, trying to photograph the flowers with the sun. “I wandered through the field until I was drawn to this particular confident sunflower,” she says. “The way the sun shone through the yellow petals really completed the shot for me. Out of hundreds of photos of this field, I feel that this image best captured the hope and magic of the moment.”

Cline River Winter, Third Place/Landscapes Whitni Parker, 41, took this aerial photo of the Cline River and tall pine trees covered in winter snow when she was visiting the Canadian Rockies in December. She captured this image after take-off in a helicopter, en route for a snowshoe hike. “I thought it was such a beautiful vantage point seeing the pine trees and the blue of the glacier river water with ice scattered along the banks from above.”

Kids Being Kids, Second Place/People Edna Senel, 34, captured this shot of her three daughters enjoying time outdoors during Easter weekend this year. She said she loved the way the light came through the tree while her children were playing outdoors, in their own world, during the coronavirus pandemic. “I love spontaneous moments of my children, and a beautiful scenery around them made a perfect moment.” WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 27

Annie, First Place/Readers’ Choice Dana Katz, 43, took this photo of her youngest child, Annie, 11, during the quarantine period this year. “Annie peeked her head out of the window of our parked minivan, and I snapped the picture from the driver’s seat when I was testing out my new lens,” said Dana.

A Ray of Hope, Second Place/Nature Jan Buchholtz took this photo of a leaf of a Louisiana iris in March 2020. She was walking around Hermann Park, practicing social distancing while getting some morning exercise in. “Spring blossoms garnered everyone’s attention, but I was drawn to the leaves of this Louisiana iris,” she says. “Everything was wrapped in dew. One leaf, so heavy with droplets, bowed downward and reflected the light. This optimistic-seeming bright ray in the shade became my photo subject, not the flower.” WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 28

Hello There First Place/Animals Tori Hill, 28, took this photo of a chicken last November when she was visiting Fredericksburg. “I was exploring the area where our Airbnb was, and I just loved how curious the animals were being,” she said. “It was golden hour so you can see, on the left side of the chicken, he is glowing because of the sun setting.”

Friends Forever, Fourth Place/People Mauricio Recinos took this photo of his daughter Isabella and the Recinos’ dog Chica while at home this February. Isabella and Chica spend a lot of time together, and one day, Isabella asked her dad if he could take a photo of them. Mauricio says it took only a couple of shots to get this photo. “Both of them did a great job,” he says. “This photo shows how good they look together. It shows that no matter what, they always will be BFFs.”

Calla Lily, Fourth Place/Nature Mauricio Recinos took this photo of a calla lily he noticed when he was visiting his parents’ house last year. “The beauty of this particular flower lies in its simplicity,” he says. “Just two parts, the spathe and the spadix, and this one had just two colors, white and yellow. It was facing the sun, and its cone-like shape made it look very beautiful. Also, I like how this photo looks in black and white; just different shades of two colors, simple, yet beautiful.” WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 29

Diving, First Place/Action Mauricio Recinos took this photo of his daughter Isabella while on vacation in the Cayman Islands. The water was clear and calm, and Mauricio grabbed his sports camera just in time to go under water and take a few shots. He says Isabella was just about to reach the bottom when he took this photograph. “I was lucky to be there at the right moment,” he says, “and being black and white makes it more interesting and dramatic.”

Early Morning Breakfast! Fourth Place/Animals Loyd Dalton, 72, took this photo of an osprey with a large mullet in its talons. “I had traveled to the beach on Feb. 6 of this year to take images of the sunrise and was on my way back to Houston when I spotted the raptor flying with the fish in its talons,” says Loyd. “He landed on the log, and when I started taking the images, a flock of grackles flew in and around the osprey, and I was able to capture both the osprey and the grackles in one image.”

Matterhorn Milky Way, Fourth Place/Landscapes Darren Inoff, 51, took this photo of The Milky Way from the observation deck at 23100 Kulmhotel Gornegrat, the highest hotel in the Swiss Alps. “I had always wanted to take a picture of The Milky Way but had never had the opportunity. Being at such an iconic location as The Matterhorn provided the ideal circumstances. l had one chance to capture this image, and all the conditions lined up perfectly to make this happen.” WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 30

Leopard Spotting Antelope Second Place/Readers’ Choice Joe Schmitt, 72, took this photo last summer in Chief’s Camp, a private reserve in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. “Our guide spotted the male leopard in the bush during a morning game drive and tracked him for nearly an hour,” Joe recalls. “After watching him stalking antelope and taking multiple shots, we left him to continue his hunt.”

Judges Michael Hart has provided photo images to corporations and design firms for almost 40 years. His work is consistently represented in the international Black & White Spider Awards, and an image appears in its book, The World’s Greatest Black and White Photography. Nikky LaWell, certified professional photographer and master craftsman photographer from the Professional Photographers of America, holds a BFA in photography from the University of Houston and specializes in family portraits with a personal perspective.

Michael Hart

Nikky LaWell

Carol Andrews

Terry Vine

Master craftsman photographer Carol Andrews loves to create the magic of a photograph. She teaches and judges photography and art internationally, and her fine art photography has been exhibited in many museums and shows. Recently named one of the 200 Best Ad Photographers Worldwide by Lürzer's Archive, Terry Vine is an advertising and lifestyle photographer who specializes in creating custom images for the healthcare, hospitality and corporate industries. His fine art images are in many museum and private collections.

MORE ONLINE See this story at thebuzzmagazines.com for more on the judges and to read their comments about the Grand Prize Winner, plus a link to all photos included in our Facebook Readers’ Choice voting.

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Erin Nickolas Photography

KIDS

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by Annie Blaylock McQueen, staff writer

Buzz Baby

Front-yard fun

Buzz Baby is a column about life with babies. Writer Annie McQueen is a mother of four children under the age of 5.

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ow do you keep young kids cool outside in the summer while getting their wiggles out? Buzz parents shared their strategies on kid-friendly ideas in the comfort of their own yard. Jennifer Beitler, a teacher at The Kinkaid School and mom of two boys, Easton, 3, and Everett, 5, has been adding to her list of lawn ideas for the past few summers. If you pass by the Beitlers’ west Memorial home, chances are you will see Jennifer, with her dirty blonde hair and Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses, sitting in her bright red Adirondack chair. She and her husband, Jeff, a global sourcing manager, found an old-school slip-and-slide on Amazon for their boys. It has been a huge hit. The slide is nothing fancy – around $30 – by a brand called Banzai, and it hooks up to their sprinkler. The boys race through the grass, jumping onto the slide for hours. “They even send their toy cars up and down the slide,” said Jennifer. “They especially love having popsicles in it before we get out for the day. I also try to keep some water balloons on hand for a special treat.” Jennifer bought a “Bunch O Balloons Water Slide Wipeout” device, which fills 30 water balloons simultaneously. The goal is to slide fast into the water balloons for an extra thrill. Other front-yard supplies Jennifer buys are sidewalk chalk, bubbles and water guns. The boys’ favorite activity is a toy car wash. Jennifer sets out buckets of water and soap for the boys

to wash their toy cars and bikes. “We've set up multiple car wash stations to clean our toys and cars after running them through the dirt and mud,” said Jennifer. When the lawn gets old, there is OUT FRONT Parker Nickolas, 3, gets to spend hot summer days splashing in her the driveway. The front yard with her little sister. boys race up and For Fourth of July, the Beitlers plan to spend down on their Big Wheels. Jennifer and Jeff the day outside. In the past, they have always make a race track by drawing a starting line and attended their neighborhood parade. Jennifer finish line with chalk, and Jennifer holds up a and Jeff will help Easton and Everett decorate flag to start the race. their bikes with flags and streamers to ride “Everett has developed a move,” said Jennifer. around the neighborhood. They make Jennifer’s “He races down, stops pedaling, swings the back Aunt Martha’s famous peach cobbler with end of the bike around and lifts his legs up and homemade strawberry or vanilla ice cream to he comes to a smooth yet terrifying stop. Thank put on top. goodness for helmets.” The fun ramps up when neighbors combine Recently, a friend told Jennifer about a genius forces in the yard. summertime hack: freezing washable paint in ice The Nickolas family – mom Erin, a lifestyle cube trays with popsicle sticks. You fill an ice photographer, and her husband Matt, a dentist, cube tray halfway with washable paint, and then and their two daughters, Parker, 3, and Ella, 1 – top it off with some water in each compartment. often join the Beitlers for front-yard playtime. “I cover it with foil and stick popsicle sticks into Erin has a water table set up in their yard for each compartment and freeze overnight,” said the girls—and she often turns on their sprinkler Jennifer. Jennifer says they pop right out, and too. Parker and Ella like to wander around the the boys can hold the frozen cubes with their yard to pick flowers and make “flower soup” by popsicle sticks as a paint brush. You can bring mixing them with water. out poster boards or paper, or even set up an As a treat, Erin makes homemade popsicles easel. As the paint melts, they can start to move in her blender and freezes them to pull out later, it around with their hands, cooling off with a for an ice-cold summer snack. sensory activity.

Outdoor fun with littles Go green: Grow a vegetable garden. Have your kids help select the plants to grow and maintain and water it on a daily basis. Get musical: Create a “musical wall” by attaching pots and pans, wind chimes or other household items to a fence or piece of wood. Go camping: Set up a tent in the backyard for campouts. Bring a flashlight and books into the tent at dusk and read bedtime stories. Splish and splash: Create a DIY mini waterpark by setting up a large tarp from a home-improvement store and put a few baby pools and sprinklers on top of it. Wash the dog: Have your kids help wash the dog with dog-friendly shampoo and a hose.

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NEIGHBORS

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by Cindy Burnett, staff writer

Buzz Reads

Five picks for July

Buzz Reads is a column about books by reviewer Cindy Burnett. This month, Cindy recommends five recently released titles.

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ecoming Duchess Goldblatt by Anonymous: Duchess Goldblatt is a Twitter phenomenon who brings humor and joy to those who follow her. Becoming Duchess Goldblatt describes the creation of the fictional Duchess Goldblatt and the real-life story behind her: a lonely woman crippled by grief who begets a fictional internet persona to bring laughter and, inadvertently, a sense of community to an often-negative platform. She sprinkles her tweets throughout the book – and the responses these tweets received. Along the way, she befriends Lyle Lovett and others, including numerous authors, inspires groups to come together in her name, and is there for those who need a helping hand. Alternating between heartbreaking, heartwarming and hilarious, this book is the antidote for 2020. Home Before Dark by Riley Sager: Baneberry Hall, a Victorian mansion in a remote area of Vermont, is the setting of Riley Sager’s latest thriller. Twenty-five years ago, Maggie and parents Ewan and Jess lived in the house for three weeks before fleeing in the night, never to return. Following their dramatic escape, Ewan wrote a non-fiction account, entitled House of Horrors, recounting the terrors and evil hauntings they experienced at Baneberry. Following Ewan’s death and with no memory of the events in House of Horrors, Maggie returns to the house determined to put the past behind her and prove that the property is not haunted. Alternating between the chapters of House of Horrors and Maggie’s present-day stay in Baneberry Hall, the story unfolds as Maggie begins to experience events that happened in her father’s book. The story starts slowly but picks up momentum as the creepiness factor ratchets up, and I enjoyed the clever and unexpected ending. Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees: Set in Germany following World War II, this historical-fiction tale follows Brit Edith Graham as she joins the Control Commission, an entity that hires civilians to rebuild war-torn WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 34

WHAT TO READ This month's picks include a memoir by a Twitter sensation, two historical fiction books set in post-World War II Germany and the 1939 New York World's Fair, a creepy thriller, and a Sesame Street retrospective.

Germany. Edith is tasked with setting up schools in ravaged towns. Before she leaves London, she is recruited by the OSS to spy while in Germany and send back intelligence through recipes she gathers as she travels. However, when Edith arrives, she realizes that many of the people in occupied Germany are not what they seem. Rees brings the post-war country to life – the devastation, rush to find war criminals, lack of food and shelter, underground Nazi movement that hopes to re-emerge, and slow uncovering of vicious Nazi experiments on humans. Masterfully detailed, this atmospheric book transported me to post-war Germany, with an intriguing cast of characters. Sunny Days: The Children’s Television Revolution That Changed America by David Kamp: In this non-fiction retrospective, Kamp chronicles the forces that brought Sesame Street, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, The Electric Company and Schoolhouse Rock! to television screens in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The shows transformed children’s television and set a higher standard for programming. A current cultural icon, the musician and music journalist Questlove (front man of the band The Roots, on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon), provides the introduction and reminisces about what Sesame Street meant to him growing up.

Sunny Days describes the impact the TV shows had on generations of children of all colors and cultures who recognized themselves in the characters they saw. We Came Here to Shine by Susie Orman Schnall: Against the backdrop of the 1939 New York World’s Fair, two women forge a friendship and summon up the courage to pursue their dreams. Vivi Holden wants to be a famous actress and first must perform well as the headliner for the Aquacade, the synchronized swimming extravaganza at the World’s Fair. Max aspires to be a journalist and must prove her worth covering the fair for its pop-up publication. Schnall deftly weaves in details from the actual World’s Fair and includes a beautiful (and helpful) map. Historical fiction steeped in spectacle, We Came Here to Shine is a story about courage, friendship and having the determination to achieve goals. I could not put it down. Editor’s note: Southside Place resident Cindy Burnett also writes our weekly Page Turners column at thebuzzmagazines.com. She is co-creator of the Houston literary event series Conversations from the Page, runs the Instagram account Thoughts from a Page, contributes to bookreporter.com and shereads.com, and regularly speaks to groups about books.

TRAVEL

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by Tracy L. Barnett, staff writer

Travel Buzz

Road trip: Texas state parks

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Jack Reichert

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reaking out of isolation is sweet, especially when you’re with your best buddies and headed for the great beyond. Luke Cantrell, Jake Sylvester and Jack Reichert had been friends since they went to school together at Horn Elementary. After high school, Luke and Jake went off to Texas A&M, and Jack went to Georgetown University, and when they’d come home from vacation they’d look each other up. Now newly graduated, they were ready to celebrate. And it turns out one of the best ways to celebrate in a pandemic is to head for the wilderness. When the friends heard the news that Texas was reopening most of its state parks, that was all they needed. “Once we got the go-ahead, we were so antsy. We were ready to get out and do stuff,” said Jack. “We talk about going on road trips all the time and doing things together,” said Luke. “At this point in time I think it actually happened because we really truly weren’t doing anything, and we knew it’s an easy road trip down I-10 to get to Big Bend.” Big Bend National Park was still closed at the time due to the pandemic – it has since opened for day use only (as of press time) – but Big Bend Ranch State Park was open for day use. The friends packed up their gear and headed down I-10 for an invigorating five days in the wilds of Big Bend Country. Most state parks reopened in late April under certain precautions. Advance day passes were required, and walk-ins were not allowed; day passes and overnight reservations could be made online through the parks reservation system or over the phone by calling the customer service center at 512-389-8900. “Existing social distancing standards and public health recommendations remain in effect, including the recommendation to wear face coverings and bring one’s own supply of hand sanitizer,” said Stephanie Salinas Garcia, press officer for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. State parks also required a six-foot distance from individuals outside of their party and prohibited the gathering of groups larger than five that were not part of the same family or household. As of press time, operational changes still in

HAPPY CAMPERS Jake Sylvester, Luke Cantrell and Jack Reichert (from left) ended their quarantine with a road trip to Big Bend Ranch State Park, where social isolation is the name of the game.

effect at parks included the suspension of all transactions, equipment rentals and in-person interpretive programs. All headquarters, visitor centers and nature centers were closed. Some parks were open for camping; at the time of the friends’ visit, Big Bend Ranch was not, so they camped at a nearby private campground. Taking a road trip during a pandemic is an adventure in itself. When they would stop along the way for gas and supplies, they observed a wide range of responses. “In some places people seemed really concerned about it; in others, we got funny looks for wearing masks and social distancing,” said Luke.

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or all three of them, it was their first time in Big Bend Country, and they weren’t sure what to expect. “I was surprised how big the mountains were,” said Jake. “I’ve spent a lot of time in Colorado, and I always thought the mountains in West Texas were baby mountains – but they were actually reasonably large, with some peaks nearly 8,000 feet.” Luke also expected a somewhat different terrain. “I was surprised it was as deserty as it was,”

he said. “I sort of knew New Mexico and the West Texas area, but I figured Big Bend would have more greenery because of the river that goes through there.” They did find splashes of green here and there, however, in the deep canyons where they hiked and along the Rio Grande, which they saw a lot of since the only way to reach the interior of the park is via an hour and a half drive from the east entrance along the scenic FM 170, otherwise known as River Road. The first part of their trip was marked by exceedingly high temperatures, but they decided to hike anyway – the first day it topped 103, and though the lack of humidity kept it from being too oppressive, they started running out of water after 45 minutes and had to turn back. “We drank a lot of water – we went through six packs of water bottles,” said Jake. They will never forget that first night. It was the night of the Super Full Moon, and they could barely sleep. The sound of the yipping coyotes all night long, sounding like they were just at the bottom of a nearby arroyo, combined with a moon so bright they didn’t (continued on page 38)

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Jake Sylvester

Jake Sylvester

Jake Sylvester

CANYON BOUND Left photo: Jake, Luke and Jack (from left) at the trailhead of Closed Canyon Trail, their favorite route in the park. Middle: One of the many put-ins to the Rio Grande. Right: A view of the Rio Grande while driving on FM 170 (also called River Road). (continued from page 36) need

flashlights, kept them on edge. They were also surprised to see the lights of Ojinaga, a city of more than 30,000, just beyond the Rio Grande – a stark contrast with the tiny town of Presidio and the vastness of the empty desert on the U.S. side. Fortunately, it clouded over a couple days in, and the temperatures dropped dramatically, into the upper 70s. That’s when they did an 11-mile hike along the Dome Trail, passing the old cinnabar mines and Contrabando Mountain, named for the illicit cargo of the banditos who once traversed them. “There were stops along the way where you see places where they used to mine – a couple of abandoned areas where they had been mining for quicksilver,” said Luke. “They had old buildings that had fallen down, old abandoned outposts from the 1800s.” Jake was taken aback by the sight of rubbish scattered about – old bottles and cans and other random items. “I was surprised the park was so poorly

maintained,” he said. “Then we saw this sign that explained that this was not trash — these are artifacts.” People were scarce – one time they went the whole day without seeing anyone at all – but they were far from alone. Wildlife was everywhere, from the roadrunners to the millipedes; there were deer, fish, birds of all kinds and jackrabbits, and Jack saw a bighorn sheep. “A lot of the park was closed; you’d see a cone at the trailhead, and I guess it meant that trail was closed,” said Luke. “A lot of the park staff is furloughed, so it was weird to not see any park rangers anywhere. We stopped by park headquarters, and it was all closed up, with the maps laid outside.” They didn’t mind at all. “It was kind of cool; we got to do our own thing without having to interact with people,” said Jack. “The trails were empty. It was kind of nice, actually, but it was a little weird.” They camped outside the park at a Hipcamp private camping facility, so they were able to avoid the long drive out each night. And they

were able to stock up on spicy Mexican chorizo and corn dogs at the little border town of Presidio. All too soon, the time came to break camp and head home. The trio had one more adventure left in them, however. The Monahans Sand Dunes was an hour-and-a-half detour that Jake called “totally worth it... it was awesome. You’re in a parking lot, and then it’s like you’re on the set of Star Wars.” Asked what advice they might have for those who might be contemplating a road trip to a state park these days, particularly one as remote as Big Bend Ranch, the trio had a two-word bit of advice: Just go. “I think everyone’s going crazy being cooped up inside,” said Jake. “Just to have the opportunity to go do an activity that’s, by definition, socially distant – yet still fun, like it’s supposed to be socially distant – it was a surprisingly nice bit of normalcy, like the way things used to be.” Editor’s note: Buzz travel columnist Tracy L. Barnett is a Lowell Thomas travel journalism award winner and longtime travel and environmental writer.

Hidden Gems: State parks ideal for social distancing Asked to choose some of the least-visited state parks for people who might like to do some exploring while minimizing exposure risks, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s Stephanie Salinas Garcia pulled together a list of “hidden gems.” The Buzz calculated travel times to give you a head start. Because of quarantine restrictions, remember to make reservations, even for day passes, ahead of time. Call 512-389-8900 or reserve online at tpwd.texas.gov. Franklin Mountains State Park, El Paso (11 hours west via I-10) Kickapoo Cavern State Park, Brackettville (4 hours west to Brackettville via I-10/U.S. 90, then 20 minutes north) Lake Somerville State Park and Trailway (Under 2 hours northwest of Houston via U.S. 290 W.) Lockhart State Park (2 hours west on 1-10 to Luling, then half an hour north) Meridian State Park (under 4 hours northwest on U.S. 290) Mission Tejas State Park and Historic Site (2 hours, 15 minutes north via I-45 and TX-19) Possum Kingdom State Park (5.5 hours north via I-45) San Angelo State Park (6 hours northwest via TX-71)

WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 38

WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 39

DINING

Chef’s Corner

Felix Sanchez

by Dai Huynh, staff writer

Dry-aged steaks at home

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he past few months have introduced many changes into Americans’ lives, including stay-at-home orders, restaurant closures, social distancing and trips to stock up on groceries. It also meant that some restaurants, understanding that grocery stores were overcrowded, started selling goods to diversify and help them get through the coronavirus crisis. These included steakhouses such as Morton’s, which launched “Butcher Block” To-Go, and Texas Roadhouse, which offered hand-cut, raw steaks. Even the Saltgrass Steak House chain (like Morton’s, owned by Landry’s Inc.) and Ritual on Studewood sold raw meats for a short time. Things come in full circle. Doris Metropolitan’s four founders started out in the butcher-shop business in Israel before opening steakhouses in Costa Rica, New Orleans and Houston (2815 S. Shepherd Dr.). Doris Metropolitan introduced its butcher-shop menu when restaurants were forced to go curbside only. Today, diners can still grab-and-go a 34ounce porterhouse for $65 and an 8-ounce tenderloin or 18-ounce boneless ribeye for $35. Typically, Doris has five cuts daily. “Our butcher shop is now part of Doris Metropolitan,” says general manager Lauren Hernandez. James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Shepherd’s Georgia James (1100 Westheimer Road) has had so much success, the Montrose steakhouse also plans to continue selling its beef. “When we had to go curbside to-go, selling raw cuts was a no-brainer,” Georgia James chef de cuisine Greg Peters says. “But the other night, even though the dining room has reopened, we had a gentleman who had dinner and then bought a raw bone-in steak to take home.” Diners can see the daily selections of raw cuts – dry-aged, 30-ounce ribeyes, bacon-wrapped tenderloins, porterhouses – as soon as they walk through Georgia James’ door. What makes this a real treat is that meats from Georgia James’ supplier, 44 Farms, typically are not available at popular grocery stores. Then there is the added benefit of Georgia James’ aging process. Each steakhouse ages beef a little differently. “It’s what makes each one a little different,” WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 40

Peters says. “Along with the dry-aged time, the cultures and bacteria in the room are another factor.” Georgia James keeps its aging room at 36 degrees, with about 80 percent humidity. Steaks typically are aged for 45 days. Across town, at B&B Butchers FORTY OUNCES The Butcher Shop at B&B was one of the first steakhouses Houston to offer raw, aged steaks for sale. Here is the restaurant’s signature seared & Restaurant (1814 40-ounce porterhouse for two people. Washington Ave.), Like Peters, seconds before cooking, executive chef Tommy Elbashary considers 70 Elbashary seasons the steak with freshly cracked percent humidity and 39 degrees the perfect cliblack pepper and kosher salt, about ¼ teaspoon mate for aging. His steaks are aged 28-55 days, of each on both sides. The Egypt-born chef says depending on the cut. seasoning too far ahead causes the steak to However, both chefs agree on the best way to “sweat” its juices, preventing proper browning. cook prime beef is to sear steaks indoors, with a Elbashary prefers Diamond Crystal kosher salt, heavy, cast-iron skillet, like a Lodge. Peters’ whereas Peters uses Morton. trick is to ensure that the pan is nice and hot Both advise letting the beef reach room tembefore searing, or you will fall short of creating perature prior to cooking. Also, allow it to rest that nice, slightly crisp, browned exterior. for 10 minutes before slicing; otherwise, the steak Why is this so important? There is a lengthy will lose 40 percent of its juices and turn gray. chemistry lesson here, but, basically, when meat At B&B Butchers & Restaurant, Elbashary browns, compounds break down and form new, sears steak in a cast-iron pan for one to two mincomplex flavors. To encourage browning, Peters utes, then pops it into a 350-degree oven for 10 preheats the pan over low heat for 15 minutes. or 11 minutes to finish cooking. Like Peters, he When he is ready to cook, he cranks up to high throws in butter, garlic and fresh thyme before and gets the pan super-hot. He then coats the putting the steak in the oven. pan with a little oil before searing the steak. B&B has been selling raw steaks since 2015. Doing it this way, he says, circumvents the Owner Benjamin Berg dreamed of owning a dreaded issue of beef “sticking” to the pan. butcher shop as a boy. He divided B&B into a He sears the steak for 1½ to 2 minutes on steakhouse and a butcher shop for diners to take each side, then reduces the heat to mediumhome wet and dry aged steaks, pork chops, high. Typically, he says, it takes about 3 minutes bacon and even Japanese Wagyu beef. on each side for a medium-rare steak. At Georgia James, two minutes before a 16Editor’s note: Buzz dining columnist Dai Huynh ounce ribeye finishes cooking, Peters adds cold is a James Beard food-journalism award winner and slabs of butter with garlic cloves and fresh longtime Houston-based restaurant writer. thyme. He uses this “natural” sauce to infuse richness and juiciness into the steak. He recommends six garlic cloves, eight sprigs of fresh We asked the chefs for a fast, easy side dish, along thyme, and a half-cup of butter. Yep, you read with a rich red wine sauce for our steaks. To see their that right. “We don’t shy away from butter,” recipes, plus an explanation about the various grades Peters says, adding that if watching your butter of beef, see this story at thebuzzmagazines.com intake, scale it back to four tablespoons.

MORE ONLINE

WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 41

SPORTS

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by Todd Freed, staff writer

Elaine Matte Mut

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sense of normalcy returned to football fields at local high schools when summer-conditioning drills were allowed. It marked the first on-campus workouts since the suspension of all school activities in midMarch because of the coronavirus pandemic. “We literally didn’t have any face-to-face communication with the kids for three months,” said Episcopal football coach Steve Leisz. “You lose that team camaraderie and family environment, which is a big part of what we are in our program. The kids want to be together, as do our coaches.” “To this point, our guys had been responsible for their own personal workouts, which is pretty difficult. I’d say about 75 percent of them are self-starting motivators, but another 25 percent or so need their coaches and teammates to push them through their workouts. We also lost spring football, so there’s a lot of ground to be made up in a short time.” While many signs seem to point to an ontime start to the local football season, the Knights’ scheduled early-season opener on Aug. 22 at Westlake High School in Los Angeles has been cancelled. In addition, a scheduled home game against another California school (Warren High School) will not be played. “It’s disappointing to lose those games against the California schools, especially the road trip to Los Angeles, but aside from that, we’re confident that the rest of our games will go off as scheduled,” said Leisz. At Lamar High School, head football coach Mike Lindsay also welcomed the return of summer conditioning, albeit under strict guidelines. “We’ve been keeping in touch with our student athletes via Zoom and other online platforms, but there’s nothing like working out in person. Anything we can get done in a group setting at this time has to be considered a blessing. It’s exciting to see them in-person.” While the UIL (University Interscholastic League) has set forth guidelines for summer conditioning, HISD will adhere to the even stricter measures set forth by the TEA (Texas Education Agency). “The guidelines have our full attention, and it’s important for our kids, coaches, parents and society, for that matter, that we

WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 42

TOUCHDOWN TEXANS Lamar Texans running back Kaleb Randle scores a touchdown in last season’s win over district rival Bellaire. With the start of summer conditioning drills, signs were pointing to an on-time start to the high school football season.

make following those guidelines a top priority,” said Lindsay. For the summer conditioning program, all workouts will have to be outdoors, including weightlifting, and sanitizing measures will be taken throughout the day on all equipment. In addition to social distancing, there will be coronavirus screening forms filled out before all workouts, along with other rules. As it stands now, Lamar is scheduled to open the football season on the last Friday in August against George Ranch High School. “We’re hopeful and certainly will be ready and prepared for the upcoming season,” said Lindsay. “We’re also quite aware that nothing is for certain, which is what this past spring taught us.” In TAPPS (Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools) football, the St. Thomas Eagles were allowed to begin summer conditioning workouts on June 8 of up to 15 hours a week, while following guidelines set forth by both the UIL and TEA. “Like everyone else, we hadn’t even seen our kids in three months, so the first challenge was getting them back on campus and putting in place all the social distancing measures and guidelines,” said Eagles head coach Rich McGuire. Regarding the actual workouts, he said one of

the top priorities would be regaining strength. “We missed three months of lifting, which is critical. We gave the kids virtual workouts, but that’s just not the same. Normally, we would have been in the weight room in March, April and May.” Another big challenge facing the Eagles is overcoming the loss of spring football. “The thing about spring football is that we get to look at younger kids to see if freshman and sophomore players are ready. For the older players, it’s a tough blow regarding the recruiting aspect. College scouts couldn’t come check out the kids, and they typically do not recruit players they haven’t seen in-person.” On the flipside, the Eagles still boast a trio of heavily recruited players in quarterback Maddox Kopp, receiver Cameron Bonner and Colorado State commit Drake Martinez. As for the season ahead, McGuire believes the Eagles will be on the gridiron for the scheduled season opener Aug. 28 versus Needville. “It depends on things that are out of our control, but I’m confident we’ll start the season on time.” Editor’s note: To submit high school sports news for possible inclusion in SportzBuzz, please email todd@thebuzzmagazines.com.

WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 43

SPORTS

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by Angie Frederickson, staff writer

SportzBuzz Jr. W

elcome to SportzBuzz Jr., a column spotlighting neighborhood athletes in elementary and middle school.

Softball over Zoom The West University Softball Association (WUSA) Tigers didn’t let the canceled season keep them from grabbing their bats and gloves to play. Coach Jake Sabat held weekly practices via Zoom, and added players from other teams to form a large online group. The newly formed “team” named themselves the Duck Billed Platypuses (top photo) and committed to working on their skills while stuck at home. Along with coach Danny Hughes, Sabat facilitated practices that included fitness exercises, throwing and fielding drills, and a fielding game. The Duck Billed Platypuses are (top row, from left) Claire Bonura, Maddie Sabat, Kaylee Chung, Faith and Eve Puzon; (second row, from left) Caroline Van Buren, CC Jorgensen, Ashna Bhagia, Eloise Carey; (third row, from left) Mia Pliskin, Charlotte Dillon, Vivian Foreman, Philippa McCord; (bottom row, from left) Lily and Emma Hughes and Ana Choi.

Pershing champs Before the pandemic hit, the Pershing Middle School eighth-grade boys’ basketball team (middle photo) won the HISD district championship. The Pandas had an undefeated season against some strong teams from The Rice School, Pin Oak Middle School, Lawson Middle School, Welch Middle School, Meyerland Middle School, Lanier Middle School and West Briar Middle School. They also placed first in a district tournament held at West Briar. This fall, the players will head to high school, and many of them hope to continue playing basketball. The graduating players are (back row, from left) Pierre Kemp, Justin Howard, Robert Jones, Collin Irving, Blaze Covington, Noah Barcot and Michael Olaly (and coach Eddie Breaux); (front row) Kamorian Cole, Dayvyon Gipson, JT Baber, Zach Gosda, Joseph O’Garro and Jack Lamkin.

Front-yard volleyball Even without a net, sisters Alex and Ellen Moore (bottom photo) managed to practice volleyball in their front yard. Ellen, 12, has played volleyball for four years and currently plays setter for Veritas Christian Academy. Last season the Veritas junior varsity team had a solid record, and Ellen is looking forward to starting back with her team again next season. Older sister Alex has played for seven years as an outside hitter and middle blocker. Both girls play for Houston Volleyball Academy club teams. During their time at home, the girls’ teams expect them to practice serving, and they have Zoom conditioning sessions each week. If all goes as planned, they will be back on the court in August. Editor’s note: Send your best high-resolution photos and behind-the-scenes stories about young local athletes, in both team and individual sports, to SportzBuzz, Jr. at info@thebuzzmagazines.com. Include all contact info, names, ages, grades and schools. Featured athletes must live in Buzz-circulation neighborhoods. Items will be published on a space-available basis. WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 44

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The Alzheimer’s Action Plan In 2001, Psychiatric News reported that few Alzheimer’s patients received state-of-the-art care. Half of mild- and moderate-stage Alzheimer’s patients were not taking any FDA-approved medications, even though medication helps patients function better and for longer, which makes caregiving easier. When Dr. Murali Doraiswamy asked 100 physicians, all Alzheimer’s experts, they admitted that they order better, more sophisticated tests and treatments for family and close friends than they do for their average patient. To redress that, the good doctor, together with social worker Lisa Gwyther and health and science writer Tina Adler, wrote The Alzheimer’s Action Plan, sharing the experts’ knowledge so that patients and family can understand Alzheimer’s and take specific steps to get the most from their medical community and social supports. Alzheimer’s was once diagnosed only in mild or moderate cases. Now, people with mild cognitive impairment or even probable Alzheimer’s are driving themselves in for screening tests. Early detection allows for early medication, which can add months and sometimes years of higher quality time. Screening often reveals copycat conditions, not Alzheimer’s, that are reversible. If nothing else, early detection can minimize personal embarrassment, financial woes, and accidents invited by unrecognized, untreated Alzheimer’s. Chapter Four suggests starting with a superspecialist, e.g., a geriatric psychiatrist, a geriatrician with a special interest in dementia, or a behavioral neurologist. If insurance allows only a primary-care doctor, page 98 includes a checklist of tests to take to the appointment. Chapter Five explains how to prepare for the initial appointment, what to expect, and what to ask.

Superspecialists may diagnose but not treat Alzheimer’s, leaving patients and family with uncertain expectations regarding followup care. Chapter Seven explains how to recognize a good doctor, items each appointment should address, questions to ask each step of the way, and why staging (again, and again) matters. Drugs take eight to 20 years to reach the market. On average, Alzheimer’s patients die within eight years of diagnosis. A clinical trial may be the only way to get tomorrow’s treatments today. Chapter Nine explains the process. Part Three addresses life after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Chapter Eleven is for the patient; Chapter Twelve for the family. Someone in every Alzheimer’s family should be tasked with dissecting both chapters and making assignments. Published in 2008, The Alzheimer’s Action Plan is overdue for an update, but is well organized, thorough, and practical. At $20 from Amazon, it’s a great value as a reference and a roadmap. We write wills and go to probate court. We offer no-obligation initial interviews for estate planning and administration, so it costs nothing to hear specific recommendations that suit your needs. Foreign nationals and international families welcome. Russell W. Hall, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), Board Certified – Estate Planning and Probate Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 6750 West Loop South, Suite 920, Bellaire, Texas 77401, 713.662.3853, bellaireprobate.com/blog

WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 45

PROTECTING PORPOISES When Olivia Hess, an incoming freshman at Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart and recent graduate of The Post Oak School, discovered the vaquita porpoise is the most endangered marine mammal in the world, she began raising funds and awareness for vaquitas.

KIDS by Olivia Hess, age 14

Buzz Kidz

Viva la vaquita

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was about 11 years old when I first heard anything about vaquita porpoises. I was reading a book for a research project about marine mammals when I stumbled upon something, just a short bullet point in the back of the book. The vaquita porpoise from Baja California, Mexico, is the most endangered marine mammal in the world, it said. There were fewer than 200 left in the wild. I was shocked. Upon doing more research, I found out that as of 2017, the amount of vaquitas in the world had been reduced to a mere 60. I had so many questions. How could we have let an innocent, adorable creature’s population decline so quickly? Why had I never heard about this before? And most importantly, what could I do to help? Right away, I began to raise money for the

vaquitas. I convinced my teacher to let our class do a bake sale, and we raised nearly $1,000. My next move was to gather a group of my friends over the summer, and we went to my local park to sell cookies and lemonade. There, we made about $200. All of this money was donated to VIVA Vaquita, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the remaining vaquita population. The vaquitas are critically endangered due to illegal use of gill nets, which are used to catch the equally endangered totoaba fish. Because of their small size, vaquitas can easily become entangled in these nets and drown. The totoaba trade is a multinational, highly illegal, and incredibly well-paying business, so despite the Mexican government's ban on gillnet fishing, vaquitas continue to die. As of 2020, it is estimated that there are fewer

than 15 vaquitas left in the wild. So I urge you, do something. Don’t think about how tragic of a situation this is because we already know. Research the vaquitas, raise money, or even work with a conservation team yourself. Their survival depends on the willingness of all of us to work together. If we don’t, yet another precious species will become extinct. Want to be a Buzz Kid? Email approximately 350 words, a high-resolution photo and caption to info@thebuzzmagazines.com. Or mail it to The Buzz Magazines, 5001 Bissonnet, Suite 100, Bellaire, Texas 77401.

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Five-syllable words Doctors often seem to have their own language, speaking in scientific medical terms that often confuse those trying to understand them. Even when a doctor says, “I don’t know,” it can come out as, “The precise mechanism has yet to be fully elucidated.” Seriously, I heard a speaker use those very words at a Q&A session at a recent medical conference. Inside the hospital, it’s especially bad. Did you get sicker after you were admitted to the hospital? Perhaps a nosocomial, iatrogenic case of pneumonia? That probably means someone didn’t wash their hands and infected you. In the field of allergy, we describe hives as “urticaria” and swelling as “angioedema.” It’s bad enough that you can’t stop itching, but it adds insult to injury when the doctor’s explanation involves terms such as “eosinophil,” “immunologic” or “idiopathic.” In fact, attempting to use the internet to translate some of these terms can lead an unsuspecting individual into a deeper maze of medical jargon with even more five-syllable words! Our doctors certainly know all the five-syllable words, but we focus on making ourselves understood, so we reserve those fancy words for the times we’re speaking with medical professionals. Even if there comes a time when patients can use Google Translate or myLINGO in their doctors' office, we will continue to emphasize patient education because we realize there is a lot of confusion about allergies and how they can be treated. Instead of treating you with “corticosteroids” or “bronchodilators,” we will treat you with medications that decrease inflammation and open up the airway. Speaking of treatments, another common place to find more five-syllable words is in the package insert that comes with all medications. Patients with

an inhaler often try to read the package insert for guidance on how to use their inhaler. This insert usually has barely legible microscopic fine print with several pages’ worth of instructions and directions. There is no substitution that can replace one-onone, hands-on training with an inhaler. As boardcertified specialists in adult and pediatric allergy, asthma and immunology, we will also sit down with you and explain how these medications are to be taken and how to operate any medication device, such as an inhaler. We are armed with the latest advances in the diagnosis and treatment of allergies and asthma, balanced with the common sense that comes from decades of experience. Coming up in next month’s Buzz: Alpha Gal. Alpha Gal sounds like a strong female leader, but it’s a short way of referring to galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose (and you thought five-syllable medical words were bad). No one nose allergies like we do.™ Note: Information contained in this article should not be considered a substitute for consultation with a board-certified allergist to address individual medical needs. David B. Engler, M.D., The Allergy Clinic, 7707 Fannin, Suite 100, Houston, Texas 77054, 713.797.0993, *1200 Binz, Suite 180, Houston, Texas 77004, 713.522.9911, www.allergyclinic.com, *Operating as Houston Allergy and Asthma Clinic

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PETS

Neighborhood Tails Pepper, age 7, Siamese, Montrose Blvd. My lady rescued me from BARC six years ago, just after my first birthday. Since we live in a high-rise, I’m definitely an indoor kitty. My favorite pastimes are taking leisurely catnaps in sunny spots and sitting on the windowsill scouting out all of the fabulous big birds that fly around here (including Southwest airplanes approaching Hobby). I’m very well-behaved. I have no bad habits, but I do like to gently tap my lady’s nose just before the alarm goes off in the morning. I really don’t like that alarm. The only other thing I don’t like is that vacuum cleaner! Being mostly Siamese, I talk a lot. This is a common trait of our breed. I greet our guests, remind my lady when it’s time to eat and scold her if she’s stayed away too long. I encourage you to look at the BARC website and view the adoptable pets who are waiting for their forever home. Got a cute critter? Email a picture of your pet with approximately 150 words to info@thebuzzmagazines.com or mail it to The Buzz Magazines, 5001 Bissonnet, Suite 100, Bellaire, Texas 77401.

WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 48

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Stepparent adoptions

Dental care in a pandemic

In my practice I often represent stepparents who want to adopt stepchildren with whom they have a parental bond. Stepparents are often surprised at the many legal requirements in an adoption lawsuit, even when all the parties agree to the adoption. If the child’s biological parent is deceased or their rights have already been terminated, then it is only necessary to file a petition to adopt. But if the biological parent is alive with parental rights, their rights must be terminated for the stepparent to adopt the child. Texas law requires and rigorously enforces other critical steps in an adoption lawsuit, including all parties submitting to background checks, being interviewed by one or more social workers, and being interviewed by an amicus attorney appointed by the court. It is crucial to retain a family law attorney experienced in adoption lawsuits to ensure that the adoption of the child is final. Additionally, a mishandled case can result in long delays and unnecessary legal fees. If you are interested in an adoption lawsuit or other family law matter, call my offices for a consultation. Elizabeth H. Edwards is an associate attorney at Tindall England PC, a family-law firm specializing in divorce, child-custody modifications, grandparent access, paternity, adoption, and premarital and postmarital agreements. Tindall England PC, 515 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 500, Houston, Texas 77027, 713.622.8733, www.tindallengland.com

Things will undoubtedly be different: answering screening questions, having your temperature taken, using (more?) hand sanitizer, completing forms digitally on your mobile device. Where are the magazines and toys? Now you’re wearing a mask, too! These are but a few of the differences you’ll experience at your child’s next visit to our office. Dental practices have always been at the forefront of infection-control procedures. Now we’re all doing much more of it. New protocols, new personal protective equipment and spaced out appointments are allowing us to operate more safely and assure the safety of you and your family as well. The Bellaire Pediatric Dentistry team may appear different in our PPE the next time you see us, but underneath the garb, we’re still the same people. Both your and our day-to-day routines have changed and will be much different for the immediate future. What hasn’t changed is the pride we take in helping you and your child care for their oral health. We’re all planning for school to start and yearning for our “normal” routines. Prepare for the new school year with a commitment to regular oralhygiene routines. Maintain the basics of regular brushing and flossing to help stay grounded in normal routines and build a strong foundation for a lifetime of good oral health. Bellaire Pediatric Dentistry, Dr. Joel J. Vela, 6750 West Loop South, Suite 795, Bellaire, Texas 77401, 713.661.1100, www.bellairesmiles.com

WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 49

NEIGHBORS

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by Jordan Magaziner Steinfeld, staff writer

Buzz About Town together included West U city manager Dave Beach, Captain Damien Niko and the West U Police, the West U Fire Department, Cecile Schutter and the Rotary Club of West U, plus Ann Malcolm, Carolyn Betti and Sarah Cunningham. Parade participants donated funds to the Rotary Club of West U to support their scholarship program. Pictured is St. Agnes Donna Donnell

Anniversary celebration

Christi and Dean Quinn had planned a big celebration for their 30th anniversary at Brennan’s – where their wedding reception had taken place in 1990 – but since the restaurant was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, they figured out a new plan. They ordered takeout from Prego in Rice Village, which is where their first date took place and is also where they celebrated the night they got engaged. The Quinns enjoyed a special dinner at home, looked back through their wedding album and reminisced over the last 30 years.

Way to go, West U grads More than 70 proud families participated in the West University 2020 High School Seniors Parade, organized by Lori Gobillot and Kathleen Holt. Both have daughters who recently graduated from St. John’s School and thought the parade would be a fun way to celebrate all the 77005 graduates. The parade route was lined with neighbors, cyclists and walkers cheering on the grads as they rolled along University Boulevard through the heart of West U. A West U fire truck led the way, followed by seniors waving from windows and sunroofs. Individuals who helped the project come WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 50

grad Kaitlynn Caroll, who’s off to Texas A&M University. For more, search “West U Class of 2020 Seniors 'Float' on Air in Parade” by Karen Vine Fuller at thebuzzmagazines.com.

WUES fifth graders The West University Elementary School community honored their graduating fifth graders with a drive-by parade. Families decorated their cars as teachers lined up in front of the school, waving pom poms and blowing horns to congratulate the graduates. Students waved from sunroofs and windows while Pharrell Williams’ song “Happy” played from a speaker. Pictured is Alyssa Al-Uqdah, who’s off to St. John’s School next year, with her mom J.C. in the driver’s seat. See “A Special Parade:

Congratulations, West U Fifth Graders" by Andria Frankfort at thebuzzmagazines.com for more parade photos.

The fairy grad-mothers

Typically, West University Methodist Church holds an annual Senior Sunday to honor the graduating seniors. This year, due to the pandemic, the service took place virtually, but some members of the church went the extra mile to celebrate the Class of 2020. These “Fairy GradMothers” – most of whom didn’t know the seniors beforehand – created individualized gift baskets filled with the seniors’ favorite goodies. Fairy Grad-Mothers who waved their magic wand for seniors included Josie Brown, Michele Carlin, Staci DeGregori, Tracy Everist, Sue Jensen, Dianne Lawter, Janet Lindley, Lynn McCarley, Lisa Smolen, Dolly Dawson Thomas, Dale Waller and Kim Weill. Honored seniors included Bayliss Baker, Ethan Dearborn, Grace and Davis Evans, Hayden Eversole, Thomas Fuller, Wilson Grant, Audrey Leonard, (continued on page 52)

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(continued from page 50) Cameron Moore, George

Morstead, David Nunez, Abigail Shelby, Julia Toups and Drew Woodcox. Pictured is Thomas Donnell, a Strake Jesuit grad who’s off to Purdue University. He was thrilled to find a care package on his front porch courtesy of his Fairy GradMother Holli Clayton. For more, search “The Fairy Grad-Mothers: Sprinkling a Dose of Magic on the Class of 2020” by Karen Vine Fuller at thebuzzmagazines.com.

Service projects at home

Typically, summer is an ideal time for teens to participate in community service at local nonprofits. That has been more challenging this summer due to the pandemic. However, there are still ways to help out safely – from home. Bethany Bradley (pictured), a rising senior at

St. Agnes Academy, has created sack lunches for Kids’ Meals, collected and unfolded newspapers for Citizens for Animal Protection (which are used in pets’ kennels), and made bracelets out of rope for Interfaith Ministries, which are sent to veterans as part of care packages. Prior to the pandemic, Bethany regularly volunteered at the Houston Food Bank and Emergency Aid Coalition. For details on at-home service projects, search “Service Projects Teens can Complete at Home” at thebuzzmagazines.com by Buzz intern Emily Burnett.

Next-door graduation Judy Simon was mulling over how to create a memorable celebration for daughter Mia, who recently graduated from American University in

Washington, D.C., when it hit her – the empty lot next door to their home would be the perfect location for a socially distanced family ceremony. Judy invited nephew Tyler Fernbach, a recent graduate of St. Thomas High School, plus family friend Mary Shannon McConaty, a recent graduate of Xavier Academy. Family dogs wore special mortarboard hats. Mia and Tyler’s cousin, Camille Boudreaux, created a chalk masterpiece for the grads in the Simons’ driveway, and guests received commemorative face masks to wear. Mia’s brother, Chris, broadcast the ceremony via Zoom. The commencement speaker was Mia’s mentor, Sima Ladjevardian. Mary Shannon, a singer and songwriter, concluded the touching ceremony with a performance of “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran, and Mia’s dad, Chris, accompanied her on the drums. Pictured (from left) are Mary, who will study at Berklee College of Music; Tyler, who’s off to Texas Tech University; and Mia, who will work as an events coordinator in Houston. For more, search “Celebrating Graduation Next Door” by Karen Vine Fuller.

Celebrating seniors The Lamar High School community celebrated its graduating seniors with a virtual graduation ceremony. Principal Rita Graves (pictured, top photo, on left) and dean of students Johnnie Jackson (on right) made home visits to salute the valedictorian, Hayley Mangum (in middle) as well as co-salutatorians Andrew Brooks and Alaric Hunziker. Hayley, Andrew and Alaric gave speeches during the virtual graduation ceremony. Hayley will attend Brigham Young University in the fall. Be seen in Buzz About Town. Send your high-res photos and community news to info@thebuzzmagazines.com. Items are published on a space-available basis. Also share your upcoming-event listings on thebuzzmagazines.com.

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WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 53

NEIGHBORS

by Andria Frankfort, staff writer

Back Porch

Summer reading: 2020

E

ven as the summer of 2020 looks different from summers past, one thing remains constant: We are hungry to find books that will inspire, educate and entertain us through the long, hot days. Stefanie Trachtenberg and her son Jacob, a recent St. John’s School graduate headed to Bowdoin College, are both avid readers whose top reading-list suggestions are books that opened their minds and expanded their perspectives. “My first pick is a book I think should be required reading for all high school students,” Stefanie says. “It is a standout in understanding the African-American experience in America.” That book is Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, a debut novel and winner of numerous accolades and awards. The story follows eight generations of a family, beginning with two half-sisters born in Ghana in the 18th century. One marries an Englishman and remains in Africa, living a comfortable life. The other is captured, sold into slavery and sent to America. Each chapter focuses on a descendant of one of the sisters, each from a different generation. In 2017, the year Homegoing was published, an Amazon reviewer wrote, “I…consider myself a[n]…open minded person, but this book opened my eyes to just how ignorant I still am.” “If you have one book you’re going to read this summer, this is it,” Stefanie says. Jacob’s No. 1 recommendation comes from his senior honors English class. Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and tops many current “must-read” lists (at the time of this writing, it is sold out on Amazon). “I think it’s really important to understand what life is like for people who don’t have the same background as you,” Jacob says. Between the World and Me is an intimate series of letters from Coates to his teenage son on what it is to be black in America, offering both insight into where we stand today and reflection on how to move forward. Jacob says, “This book did a great job of showing what it is like to be black in this country. It’s a history of structural racism. You can’t be ignorant to history, or else you’re part of the problem.” WEST UNIVERSITY BUZZ JULY 2020 54

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To her list, Stefanie adds Home Fire: A Novel by Kamila Shamsie. Another book about background and perspective, Home Fire is a love story that explores jihad and ISIS as a framework for family connection, and also for strife. “This book actually allows you to see why somebody might join ISIS, and the larger ramifications on their family and others who don’t support it. I could really feel how the characters felt. It’s fascinating. I don’t agree with their choices, but I can BOOK LIST Our annual summer-reading suggestions come just in time for pool weather. understand them.” Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, which was also Some have likened Home Fire to a modern vera summer-reading pick of President Barack Obama, sion of Sophocles’ Antigone. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. “This is a new way “I also absolutely loved We Were the Lucky of looking at history,” Jacob says. “It’s a different Ones by Georgia Hunter,” Stefanie says. “It’s a way of looking at the world that everyone should true story about a Jewish family during World check out, because we’re getting one narrative that War II, but it’s not about the Holocaust. It’s a everything is getting better. Well, maybe it is in story of how people can face adversity and trisome ways, and maybe it isn’t in others.” umph. If you didn’t know it, you would never And he adds another book introduced to him believe this was a true story.” in class, Exit West: A Novel, by Mohsin Hamid. Stefanie adds a few more favorites to her list: “It’s a fresh take on the refugee crisis and the Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, The world’s borders, and it adds some magical realStationery Shop by Marjan Kamali, The Dutch ism,” Jacob says. “It’s very relevant. The author House by Ann Patchett, and The Paris Architect is brilliant and has a unique style of long senby Charles Belfoure. And, “for anyone who’s tences that go on for two pages.” had family drama,” she says, “The Floating Jacob, we will be in touch after you leave for Feldmans [by Elyssa Friedland], which is quite a new adventures in Maine this fall. We’re pretty funny story about a family forced to go on a sure college will give you more books to add to cruise for the mom’s 70th birthday.” this list, and we need to know about them. Jacob adds to his list: Sapiens: A Brief History of