June - July 2016
FEATURE ARTICLE
Millennials HONORING OUR OWN
2016 Qmunity Awards
Celebrating the life of Richard Sifton
Co-Founder of the Roanoke Diversity Center
Informative Q Media Dewey W. Goodwin Jr. - Publisher Susana MĂźller - IT Director Informative Q Staff Nerio Gonzalez - Editor-in-Chief Jason Layman - Managing Director Wayne Arrington - Administration ShanShan Cooney - Columnist Foodie Diva - Food Rev. Joe Cobb - Spiritual IQ&A Rodger Saunders - RDC Chairman Therry Neilsen-Steinhardt - Fashion Camille Snow - Stories Elvera Gurevich - Opinion Marsha Line - Feature Article Informative Q Magazine is a registered trademark of Informative Q Media and is fiscally sponsored by Roanoke Diversity Center. Informative Q magazine is printed by The Drop-In Center. Founded by Dewey Goodwin, Susana MĂźller and Nerio Gonzalez June 2014. Copyright 2016 Subscriber services For new subscriptions, renewals, bill payments and address change, email us to subscriptions@iqmagazine.com Model Rebecca Levy Cover by Nerio Gonzalez. Some artworks or ideas in this magazine are designed by Freepik.
The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Informative Q Magazine and their staff, and/or any/all contributors to this magazine.
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i informativeQ #LIVEDIVERSE informativeQ
INSIDE THIS EDITION
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June - July 2016
Downtown Roanoke VA from the Mill Mountain Star - Photography by Nerio Gonzalez
FEATURE ARTICLES
COLUMNS Spiritual IQ&A Adventures with ShanShan Foodie Diva Fashion Show at Miami Nights Party Summer Looks Rodger’s Netflix Round up
6 10 18 38 40 42
Millennials & Education The Gun Debate, a millenial perspective Ups and Downs of a visit to the Circus Remembering Richard Sifton 2016 Qmunity Awards
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Spiritual IQ&A
Why #Blacklivesmatter is important to me
(as everyone else’s lives does too) by Rev. Joe Cobb
Several years ago, I offered to take one of our church choir singers home after a rehearsal. After I dropped her off at her apartment, I drove down the dimly lit street, around the corner, and back on to a main street headed toward home. I was tired and eager to get home and get some rest. When the light changed from red to green, I slowly made my way forward toward the bridge when I saw red lights flashing behind me. No siren, just red lights. A flash of headlights signaled that I should pull over. My body sank. What is going on? I wondered. I went through my mental checklist of how to respond when stopped by an officer, which was heightened because it was night. As I recall there were two officers (which I thought a bit unusual). I rolled down my window as one officer approached and asked me to step out of the car. That freaked me out. But, I stayed calm and carefully stepped out of the car. “Please step to the rear of the car.” Again, I felt my adrenalin rushing, and my mind racing. “May I see your license, please?” “Sir, are you aware that you have a headlight out?”
The officer at the car informed me that there had been a rash of recent crimes involving unlicensed guns and other weapons found in vehicles, and because my jeep’s headlight was out, and my windows had a darker tint on them, they found it suspicious and stopped me. After searching the rear of the vehicle and underneath the seats in the front, the officer cleared the vehicle. The other officer returned my license, gave me a warning to get the headlight fixed and released me. I was shaken. Fast forward. Trayvon Martin. Michael Brown. Kionte Spencer. Alton Sterling. Philando Castile. I did not grow up being instructed by my parents on how to respond to police when stopped.
“Will you please open the back of your vehicle?”
Other than general rules of being polite and respectful to people in authority, I wasn’t instructed on how these encounters were anticipated or expected as part of my reality. I wasn’t taught about the deep impact of these encounters on my mind or my body.
“Certainly,” I answered. “May I ask why?” (At this point, I was concerned about asking anything, as I was feeling on edge and uncertain about why the officers were wanting to search my car.)
I also wasn’t instructed on how what I may experience was very different from how my black neighbors would experience the same encounters. I wasn’t taught that my every move might be suspect because of the color
“Yes,” I answered.
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The officer then directed me to stand in front of the police car with the other officer while the search commenced.
of my skin. This is my white privilege and it sickens me. It sickens me because I have privilege and because it creates a chasm between me and my black neighbors that I must work to change. It is my responsibility to take ownership of my privilege and the problems it raises in regard to authentic relationship with all of my neighbors. It is my responsibility to address the white privilege in our country and its roots before and during the founding of our nation. It is my responsibility to educate myself and my children as to the problems of privilege and why white bodies and black bodies are treated differently in our world. It is my responsibility to form relationships with my black sisters and brothers, without the expectation for them to educate me. I hope for these relationships to be a source of love and grace and blessing, in which I can hear and see the depth of pain and struggle and the beauty of liberation and justice. I’m often asked: Don’t all lives matter? Yes. However, as is clearly evident historically and recently, this is not true in the United States and many other countries in the world. Until all lives truly matter, we must raise up and stand with our sisters and brothers whose lives are in the balance and are treated unjustly and violently. And, we must educate ourselves as to our privilege and how it contributes to injustice and violence. This is the most important work of my life.
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Summer Adventures
A few things that came to my mind, including a poem! by ShanShan Cooney
Type, tipy, tappy, tip. Click, clack, clunk, delete, delete, ah red line of doom! Enter, enter, enter, delete, delete, delete. Summer time is best described as photos of people’s feet. Pictures were not always of feet, they used to have people in the them. Slowly over the years, with the help of the smart phones, camera phones, and the ability to upload everything to some type of on-line platform, pictures of people turned to toes. I guess that is kind of good thing. It saves time from getting stuck in Pinterest-land trying to figure out what to do with the 20 digits I own. Ha, you caught me, not much of a nail person. I did just put a layer on for a wedding last weekend. Does that count? Type, type, delete, delete, delete, back space, enter. There are road trips, barbecues, wedding, and vacation that create hours of time to sit and think. A lot of this time to think is actually avoided with videos, music, books, apps and games on the phone, texting and occasionally and actual phone call. On one such road trip, driving in the car I started to ponder relationships. No, love, or lost or family or friends or anything serious like that, just how to possibly rekindle them. Or poke them one more time with a stick or fork to see if they are done or done, done? How much fear does it provoke to think about finding a number and calling someone that has lost touch. What to talk about? The
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heat of the summer? Hey, I know I haven’t heard your voice in 10 years but it sure is hot out?
My pet, my kid
Lame? Totally. After talking with friends I have decided to tip toe into this new adventure by writing letters. For those that are younger, think of it as an e-mail, but requires an actual envelope, stamp, and a few days for the message to arrive. Take this letter and talk all about the things that have happened in the last six months or so, high level stuff, and then leave contact information and hope for a letter back. Once the letters have been exchanged once or twice then topics for conversation have been created. I find it much easier to call a friend I talked to yesterday for 5 hours then to pick up a phone an talk to someone for whatever reason has gone MIA in my life. The best part about writing letters, with actual paper, no printers are required! And the toe pictures can be taken from the same location. How cleaver? The summer heat can be overwhelming. Pondering about how someone might be doing can be even more so. This summer I’m taking the first step to reach out to others in my current and past life to say hi. How about you?
Teach is my pet dog. I compare him to your kid. They will both eat dirt.
Tiny little paw. Squinty eyes and button nose. Cutest when asleep.
Left foot, right foot, left. Rhythmically moving forward. Onward until the end.
Pets are people too. Lies, we cannot lick out own butt. Glad for this fact too.
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FEATURE ARTICLE
Millennials by Marsha Line
What is the deal with millennials? When watching the news and scrolling through social media, it seems impossible to escape the controversy of the so called “millennial generation�. Between the problems that this specific group have to face in comparison to past generations to the controversy over the new social norms and characteristics of the these young people, they seems to merit a lot of attention. First, however, it is important to have a common understanding of exactly who is a millennial. A millennial is not simply any young person; they are those born between 1980-2000. While the controversy about the problems that millennials are facing, and will face in the immediate future, are incredibly interesting such as college loan debt, just to mention one of them. Our focus will be on the characteristics of the this generation and the new social norms that they have created. So what exactly is the issue with this generation? Most converge upon narcissistic, coddled, lazy, and self entitled. Unfortunately, it seems that millennials are disinterested in politics and their communities in general. Most of them appear to be wrapped up in social media and selfies instead.
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In a study by Stewart and Bernhardt comparing undergraduates from 2004-2008 at their university to undergraduates before 1987, they found a significant difference in measures between these two groups. The five measures aspects were: Ascendant and selfassured, impulse control, Achievement assets, healthy and fulfilled, narcissism, estimates, (Stewart 591). The 2004-2008 undergraduates showed lower scores for healthy and narcissism and impulse control measures and also showed higher scores in narcissism (Stewart 595). Why are millennials showing such alarming trends in characteristics and behaviors? Many choose to point their finger at their parents. Of course the way the child is raised has a huge impact on these qualities. Parents choose how to discipline the child and what merits the discipline. A few years back, spanking was a hot topic. The debate was between whether parents should spank their children to discipline them or is spanking child abuse? In the past few years, it appears that more and more parents coddle their children. With being coddled comes a sense of self-entitlement.
Recently there was a huge controversy over the Stanford rapist’s sentence. Compared to many rape cases, this boy got off pretty easily. Just to be clear, the boy was found guilty; he was in the wrong. However, in the eyes of the parent, their son, now known as the Stanford rapist, is a victim. Both his mother and his father wrote letters defending their son, who in their eyes was the victim in this case despite the fact that his sentence was much less compared to the average rapist. A few years prior, there was also a case where an affluent High School boy was drinking and driving and was in a car accident. The boy ended up killing the passengers. Instead of his mother teaching her teen to be responsible and own up to his mistakes, she took him to Mexico in attempt to escape the charges that the boy was facing. These are two extreme cases, but nevertheless, are real cases. Another scapegoat for the issues with millennials is social media. Social media can be to blame for the rise in narcissism, lazy and lack of involvement and interest in the community and politics. Social Media has created a bubble that captures these young people and let very few out. It has created a world for the millennials where they have to keep up appearances for their “friends” and constantly know what each other is doing.
The result? Complete self absorption and absorption in their own lives via social media.
preparing us for the AP exams, he prepared us to flunk out of college.
But it is hard to place all the blame on social media for these problems. While it is a factor, I believe there is also a lack of thirst for knowledge and hard work. I personally believe that their needs to be more blame on education. The education system is nothing shy of mediocre.
Also, there is a problem with us accepting mediocrity as the norm. No child left behind is a prime example of this issue. If it seems that children cannot keep up with the already lower standards of learning, no child left behind makes sure that those struggling children catch up with the rest of the class. However, the way that these children catch up is not through hard work and long hours. Catching up is simply lowering standards in this scenario. Besides no child left behind, It seems that the emphasis of school is no longer learning and being a well-educated individual. The emphasis now is to be well rounded, thus spreading students out thin. When these students are spread out so thin attempting to be well rounded, we have an army of students who are mediocre in every thing that they do, including school. Most do not even continue to play or coach the sports that they devoted so much time to. And now, we accept this mediocrity. Teachers gladly lessen homework and move tests to accommodate these poor stressed out and well rounded students. The students become satisfied with the lowing hanging fruit and fail to learn to work hard and striving for excellence. Of course it doesn’t help when, on occasion, parents come to the school with pitch forks in hand ready to complain about too much homework or pressure on their child or that their children’s grades not being high enough and that the teacher has it out for their child.
While in High School, I was on the advanced track. However, some of the teachers who were also millennials, took their jobs less than seriously. The lack of drive from teachers influences the lack of drive in students. One history teacher decided to focus her time and effort in creating test answer keys that she called study guides than teaching us history. The little she did teach us were facts that students needed to know in order to just pass the Virginia Standards of Learning test required of all students in public schools. Another teacher decided to teach us physics for most of the year. Of course, a good fraction of the time he didn’t have the answer of know how to do the physics problem. As AP exams were growing closer, he decided to take a break from physics. He brought in an XBOX 360 to hook up to the Promethean Board and teach the boys beer pong with water. Instead of
In my opinion, parents and the education system are to blame for our problems with the millennial generation. I think the problem is the foundation of these children and how they are raised. Fixing parenting is a change that must come from the individual. However, fixing the education system is a change that could help more children and is an institutional change. Fixing the education system could educate the youth and help foster a love for learning again. Maybe through education, the future generations will be more inclined to participate in society and politics. The possibilities with a welleducated society and not a mediocre society are endless. Works Cited Stewart, Kenneth D., and Paul C. Bernhardt. Comparing Millennials to Pre-1987 Students and with One Another. Comparing Millennials to Pre-1987 Students and with One Another (2010): 579-602. Reserchgate. Web. 27 June 2016.
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OPINION
The Gun Debate: A millennial’s perspective by Elvera Gurevich
My generation has lived in a time of constant fear. We’re not talking about fear in a psychological sense, though. We’re talking about fear in a much more real way. Terrorism and guns are two words that have been etched into the forefront of our brains, and rest as a constant reminder that we will never be safe again. As a first grader, I was taught that. As a middle school student, I was reminded of it. And as a college student, I have had enough of it. September 11, 2001. At 6 years old, I was taught who to fear and I was taught always to fear. In my classroom, I remember crying parents coming to pick up their children from school early, but none of us knew what was going on. We were taught over the years how we should have felt on that day, and most of us have adapted that feeling. As I grew older, I tried to push that reminder further to the back of my brain, but then April 16, 2007 came. This was fear on a whole new level. This event didn’t look like the one I remembered from first grade. These were students, older siblings of my friends, just going to class. When I began attending a public university in Virginia in 2013, you better believe there were times I hesitated to go to class, because the news coverage replayed in my head. Again it happened in Newtown in 2012, at a movie theatre in Aurora in 2012, at my local new station in 2015, and recently in Orlando. We all know there is a problem, so why is it that our government cannot come to a conclusion on how to resolve it? Let’s start by covering what we call the socalled “gun debate.” Although the gun debate cannot be split equally into two schools of
thought, I am addressing the big picture ideas here. If we zoom out to the most macroscopic level of the debate, we have one side that is for guns and one side who is against guns. The side for guns is often identified by Conservatives and the NRA (National Rifle Association). This side, again macroscopically, argues that gun ownership is part of their Constitutional rights as an American (which it is). Often they argue that everyone should have guns, as a matter of personal safety. On the other end, we have citizens who believe that nobody should have guns. Not for hunting, not for protection; basically, we would be safer in a “world without guns mentality.” Democrats often identify with this thought, but as I mentioned already, there is no cookie-cutter description for anyone’s thoughts about guns. For many years, I identified with the side that argued we should do away with all guns. If nobody had them, we wouldn’t be able to harm each other with them. Of course, the people who wanted to harm would find another way to do it, but maybe this would make it harder for them. It wasn’t until recently that my thoughts have jumped from one side to another to in-between. After the recent tragedy in Orlando, I jumped to the must-have-guns side. Maybe if 20 people in that club, would have also had a gun, then maybe 49 people would not have died. At the same time, we can’t assume that guns and alcohol could have been a better mix. What angers me the most, as most Americans can agree with, is that the shooter in the recent tragedy was on the FBI’s terror list at more than one point in the past. He should not have been able to easily and legally have
semi-automatic weapons. Which brings us to this past weeks in Washington, where Democrats are staging sit-ins on the floor of the House to get people to think a little more clearly about this whole gun situation. The House was voting on bills that would expand background checks for guns and prevent suspected terrorist (at any point in time) to buy guns. This legislation seems like a nobrainer for me. Why wouldn’t we want safer gun owners? It all comes back to money. As much as we want to believe that Democracy is alive and well here in America, we’ve seen the impact of money on all things political. Gun legislation. Elected Officials. Health care. This country lives off of selfishness and greed and we can’t stand to take care of others without is having a direct beneficial impact for us. That’s why we’re witnessing shooting every other day and why Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are running for president. Without going too far off on a socialist tangent, I think it is time that this country rethink the values we want to base our lives and citizenship off of. It comes down to choosing what is more important: “freedom,” this magical word we’ve learned to worship, or protecting the lives of our fellow citizens. The answer is not clear. It will take years of debate and, sadly, more tragic events for this country to reevaluate its values and formulate a plan to execute those values to our public. Only then, we will be able to get down to the root of the gun control debate. You can’t transform the thoughts and ideas of members of society who believe those things to be true, but you can indeed teach future generations about values and stress the importance of lives over metal objects and magic words.
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Summer is such a good fare Someone said Fair? by Foodie Diva
Hello my dear readers! We are just in time for some of the deliciousness of the Summer Season. I am talking about school being out, there’s more leisurely days, and more time to spend experimenting on recipes! (Oh yum!) In honor of school teachers everywhere, I submit a recipe from my 7th grade home economics class that reminds me of Summer. It is called Tropical Dream Cake. It has crushed Pineapples, Bananas, Cinnamon and actually uses whole wheat flour which wasn’t used as much at my Grandma’s house back in the day. Its glaze involves orange juice and this makes a great snack for breakfast (If it lasts that long!). Next, in honor of the Summer Celebrations, including 4th of July, I have a family recipe from my cousin Wanda, she calls them Yankee Noodle Dandies Candy. It usually involves Semi-Sweet Chocolate and Butterscotch pieces, but, if you want to use it in holidays such as 4th of July, I am using white chocolate and dying it red and blue, leaving some of it white. It also uses Chow Mein noodles, hence the name of the candy. I like it because you can use either peanuts, or cashews in it, and I am going to use some of both, I think it makes an interesting taste combination.
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This is the time of year for carnivals, and fairs and they have lots of wonderful “fare” food. I, of course, love the Cotton Candy, and some people love the Candy Apples, both the kind with and without nuts, and some even love the caramel apples. Many love the Polish Sausages and Green Peppers/Sauteed Onions that they serve. Others love the hot dogs, and some swear that the hot dogs served at the baseball stadiums are the best. I am not sure of that, as I love hot dogs, and I really miss the old Valleydale Honee Weenee that is no longer available in the grocery stores. Summer is also a time for County fairs, where they judge a variety of things. Calfs, horses, pigs, and homemade canned goods from area cooks. Many times it is a family recipe that has been handed down for generations. It is always fun to see what will take the blue ribbon. It is a source of pride for so many area cooks to collect and display their blue ribbons. So, for my last recipe for the article, I am giving you my Grandma’s Chile Sauce recipe. It is one that you can, and I recommend, glass jars, how much it yields depends on the size of the jar. It goes perfect on hotdogs! And Grandma sometimes used it in her meatloaf, and to top burgers. It
involves no meat, so it is perfect for those who don’t want meat in the Chile sauce. TROPICAL DREAM CAKE PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES F 2 CUP WHITE SUGAR 1 CUP COOKING OIL 1 TEASPOON SALT 3 EGGS 1 1/2 TEASPOON REAL VANILLA 1 TEASPOON BAKING SODA 1(8OZ) CAN OF CRUSHED PINEAPPLE, DRAINED 1 CUP. WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR 2 CUP PLAIN FLOUR 1 TEASPOON BAKING POWDER 1 TEASPOON CINNAMON 2 CUP. FINELY DICED BANANAS (I USE ABOUT 3 BANANAS) FOR THE GLAZE 1 3/4 CUP OF CONFECTIONER’S SUGAR 2 TO 3 TABLESPOONS OF ORANGE JUICE In a large bowl, beat sugar and oil, until creamy, add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Next, blend in the pineapple and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, stir together both flours (plain and whole wheat), salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon, mixing all well. Then blend it in a little at a time into the wet mixture, making sure it is well stirred, after that, start folding in the bananas. Bake in a 350 degree F oven in a greased 10 inch tube cake pan for 60-70 minutes. Test the cake and wait until is “clean test”. Turn out of pan, and while it is cooling, make the glaze. Place cooled cake on serving dish, and proceed to glaze the cake, pour all over the cake. COUSIN WANDA’S YANKEE NOODLE DANDIES CANDY 1 (6OZ) PACKAGE OF SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE PIECES 1 (6OZ) PACKAGE OF BUTTERSCOTCH PIECES 2 CANS (3OZ EACH) OF CHOW MEIN (A COMMON ONE IS LA CHOY, ALSO I USED ONE 5 OZ CAN) 1/2 CUP OF PEANUTS OR CASHEWS (I USED 1/4 CUP OF EACH KIND OF NUTS TO MAKE IT INTERESTING.) Place the chocolate and butterscotch pieces in a top of a double boiler over hot water (or a bowl placed over a pot of boiling water, being sure not to let bowl touch water) Stir until melted. Once melted quickly stir in the chow mein noodles and the nuts until they are evenly coated. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper, store in refrigerator until they
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are ready to use. Also you can melt some white chocolate and pour on top of the candies (any holiday version). GRANDMA’S CHILI SAUCE To begin, you will need to place the clean glass jars, about 5-7 pints placed in a warm oven to stay warm until needed (this will prevent them from breaking/exploding when you put the boiling sauce in them). Rings and lids to match size of jars (wide mouth or regular mouth) Place in a pan of hot barely simmering water. 12 LARGE RIPE TOMATOES 1/2 CUP SUGAR 2 LARGE ONIONS 1 TEASPOON GROUND CINNAMON 4 LARGE GREEN PEPPERS 1 TEASPOON CLOVES, (CAN USE GROUND OR WHOLE, GRANDMA SAYS.) 2 TABLESPOON OF SALT 2 1/2 CUP OF VINEGAR (WHITE DISTILLED) Pare the tomatoes (removing seeds), and onion. Fine chop the green peppers, (removing seeds and ribs). Stir all together. Then add salt, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. Cook on stovetop over low medium to medium heat until it is cooked up thick. Then use a funnel to pour into your prepped and waiting warm glass jars. (we usually set the glass jars on a slightly hot damp dish towel to pour the mixture in.) After you have poured mixture into the jar, leaving about an 1/8th of inch from top, wipe off top of jar, dry your rings and lids, and place lid first, then the ring and tighten really well, so the heat will make it airtight. Leave them in a non drafty place and wait for them to seal, you will know they have sealed when you hear them pop, or you see that the top has indented. If for some reason you have any jars that didn’t seal, lets get creative and fix up a mess of dogs or burgers on the grill... And enjoy. Remember to refrigerate any jars that didn’t seal. HAPPY SUMMER Y’ALL!!!
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STORIES
The Ups and Downs of a visit to the Circus, and more... by Camilla Snow Hi readers of all ages and sizes, come one and all, and listen to this adventure so tall!! It seems that at some point I must have mentioned to my “yes and no partner”, that I wanted to see the Barnum and Bailey Circus one last time before they retired the Elephants, matter that happened last year. I don’t remember this, but my partner does, and has decided as a Valentine’s Day surprise to take me to see them, they happened to be visiting out neighbor city of Greensboro, NC. So lets travel that way! The Barnum and Bailey Circus was appearing there, and it was the last time for the elephants as an act, it was their “farewell tour” so to speak, cause they had decided that after this tour, they no longer will be using elephants as any acts in the show. It was a little cold and there was quite a crowd to see their presentation. Needless to say I was indeed surprised to find out we were actually going to the Circus. So I decided to enjoy it anyway, even if I was no longer 5! After all, there are clowns, and acrobats, and tigers, and one very confused pig, (but more on him later). We drive down from Roanoke,
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myself wondering what was up, when my friend called me to answer a tech question about my partner’s computer, and she “let the cat out of the bag” and said please don’t tell him I told you, it is supposed to be a surprise. I told her I was surprised alright. Not quite what I had expected for a Valentine’s Day excursion. We get to the Coliseum and pick up our tickets, then we head over to get a bite to eat. We had asked several of the Security Guards for where they’d go if they were hungry, and they picked Stamey’s BBQ, which is located on 2206 W. Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC, 27403. They are right across from the Coliseum. They have pitmasters on site, and smoke their own meats. They use a machine to chop it though, and will also serve the ‘cue sliced. It is mostly Lexington style BBQ. They have Red Slaw made with apple cider vinegar, ketchup, salt, pepper, and their spices. They were founded in 1930. They cater as well. Their prices are reasonable, and they can be found at www. Stameys.com We got there just before the crowd, and decided to sit at the bar since it was just the
two of us. He got the BBQ Chicken, and I saw that they had Brunswick Stew on the menu so I opt for that... Yummy to have on cold day! The portion sizes are very ample. Special One kept eyeballing my stew so I finally relented and let him have a spoonful. He was hooked! He had to get some for himself. I tried a bite of his chicken, and it had a nice crust to it, and juicy inside. He tried to get me to eat their hush puppies, however I refused. I don’t really like cornmeal products. The slaw was interesting, I had never had it made with ketchup before, and thought it was a little spicy for me. They offer Cheerwine ice cream float, made just the way the old drugstore soda fountains used to make. You can also get a rich thick yummy milkshake and at the Gate City location you can even get a cobbler shake! Flavors change often so call ahead to check on offerings. We were leaving as the crowd started pouring in, and glad to have beaten the crowd. In general it was a good meal so I will definitely go back!
We head back to the Coliseum, too late now to visit and pet the animals before the show. There were the Clowns parading around and of course they had the ever present gift stands where they sold all kind of Circus products: toys of elephants, lions and tigers, as well as programs, and various coloring books, even a replica of the Cycle used in the Sphere Cycle riders act! I get a program and we agree to get Cotton Candy later (that happens to be one of my favorite addictions, ever!) He is bragging about the seats saying we are right in the middle. He wasn’t lying, we were in the middle, OF THE NOSEBLEED SEATS! The Coliseum wasn’t even full/sold out! I could see some of the acts, but we missed out on the high wire acts because we were blocked by the scaffolding for the speakers/ scoreboard. We should have been sitting on the other side! We did get to see the clowns, some trapeze artists, (they were braver than I. I could never do that.) Then, we get to the animal acts. The master of ceremony made an appearance 1st, introducing the elephants, and he gave facts about them, had them painting, doing an elephant conga line, head stands, among other acts. Next we had the lions and tigers performing and one specific tiger was feeling a little feisty, making the trainer to snap the whip a little more than what is considered normal. You could tell it was making the others nervous. Even at one point of the show the tiger reached out a paw to smack the trainer. He wisely decided it was time to put them back in the cages. Afterwards we then had the dogs up for performance. This is where the poor confused pig came in. The dogs were a mix of Poodles, Jack Russell Terriers, and one chihuahua. They made the pig run up and down a ramp, and then they had the chihuahua and a couple of the Jack Russell, jumping back and forth over the pig as he just stood there, looking like he had no clue why he was in an arena with dogs. He then moved up a little bit and the dogs moved with him, jumping back and forth over him the whole time. That little piglet had the expression of “Why are these dogs jumping over me?, What did I do to deserve this?” I am sure he was thinking that he hadn’t signed up for this! I must say it was an interesting Circus and I enjoyed it in spite of myself. The next day found us searching for a Mailbox drop off all over Greensboro. Why, you are probably asking... I had planned on mailing the Valentine’s Day cards out of
Roanoke for my Nieces and Nephews, but my partner said that since nowadays they take Roanoke’s mail to Greensboro and it’s going to SC. just mail it from there. I agreed and so Sunday found us riding around with him, now getting grumpier and grumpier that we have not found one yet. Even near the college campus which you would think be loaded with them. I asked him if he had plans for the day and he had assured me that he didn’t. He actually lied, it turns out he wanted to go to Raleigh, to an Airplane Museum. We obviously didn’t make it, because after breakfast we had spent almost 2-3 hours looking for a mail drop box. We asked a student at the University but they were on my partner’s side of the car and I couldn’t hear them very well. The guy had an accent so we misunderstood where he said to go. We finally found a mail drop and let the letters go. Update on that, my nieces and nephew got their cards, not same luck with my Great niece’s card, still hasn’t shown up! He was in a fine stew at this time, and decided that we were going to eat where he wanted to eat, doesn’t really matter to much to me, I like food, I’ll find something! He chose Hams right down the road from the hotel. It’s was located on 3017 W. Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC. 27403. They have been around since 1935. They have a nice variety of craft beers, a pool table that is pay to play, and gluten free buns. They and have BBQ items and also cater as well, Fridays finds them having live music. My partner decided we would go play pool so I went and got us change while we waited for our food. My selection of food was Teriyaki chicken and he ordered BBQ Ribs, his favorite. Now mind you it was early in the evening
and had started to snow, icy rain, making everything slushy. And we thought that was making the restaurant to get crowded. As we were playing pool the waitress comes to give him the bad news that they were sold out of ribs, and out of BBQ platter too. Now, and I’m taking my partners side, I’ll ask: It is the weekend, surely you know the events taking place in the area and would adjust accordingly... How do you run out of food? He was seriously in a foul mood after that. He ordered a beer and then it turned out that it was a craft beer that didn’t taste as he was expecting!. Meanwhile, my food was very tasty! We left without having desserts, deciding to eat some somewhere else, later. Who knows, they might be out of those too. Now the man was seriously crabby. We get back to hotel and after hanging out for a bit, decide to go for desserts as we had planned, and we were only going across the street, so we went by foot, plus it has started to snow. I told him I didn’t want to go to Olive Garden since they are full of Garlic and I’m allergic to it. He finds their website and scours the desserts, finding a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and chocolate icing, that actually looked extremely delicious! (He knows I can’t resist chocolate!) I agree to go, and we bundle back up and are off to Olive Garden. When we get there, the restaurant happened to be crowded so we decide to sit at the bar. We ordered the cake, only to be told that they don’t serve it this location (Really, come on, is on your website!) We ask to see a dessert menu, and he decides he wants a Tiramisu cake. I told him I would just get
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something else. I chose the little powdered sugar fried doughnut things that came with a raspberry sauce (they reminded me of the fried doughnuts at the Chinese restaurants). I figured that I’ll take them back to room and eat them the next morning for breakfast, since he wasn’t probably going to want to go eat breakfast somewhere, especially since we had reservations at the Ruth Chris’s Steak House the next day. When the next day comes, we find that it hasn’t snowed as much as we thought it would and that it is rapidly melting. We go out and he is trying to find a gas station that is open, and does the Discount Supermarket (Kroger) points. Needless to say, we spent about an hour driving around, wasting gas, looking for the Fuel Station to get gas! We finally got gas, hit a couple of stores, (I can’t resist office supply stores), and I got some pantyhose that I forgot to pack for dinner for that evening. We have early reservations because we were going to head back to Roanoke after our meal. We rush back to the hotel room and change so as to be on time for reservations. He was rushing me, so I make a supreme effort and I was ready before he even is. I tell him I am going down to the lobby to wait. He seems to be taking forever after rushing me! Finally he comes down and doesn’t look much different than when I left him. I asked about it, and he stated that he had forgotten to pack some of his items. We head off to Ruth Chris’s Steakhouse
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which is on 800 Green Valley Road, Suite 10, Greensboro, NC. It happens to be in a Business complex. Reservations are a must. They fix excellent steaks, and sides are a la carte unless you have a coupon for a fixed price meal. Then they usually give you a side and a salad. It is one of his favorite places to go. He loves their steaks. They keep the plates in a 500 Degree oven so that your steak will stay hot from first bite to last! It actually sometimes scorches the tablecloths! Their Crème brûlée is amazing (Did I mention I am a dessert junkie?) We enjoy a fine meal, and he gets wine with it, I was surprised because he had planned on driving back home after dinner. That’s when he informs me that we are spending one more night in Greensboro so that he won’t get sleepy driving back. OK, then! After a delicious meal, we went back to room, where of course he crashed, sleeping and snoring loud enough to wake the dead!. The next morning was bright and sunny and we head off to Roanoke, deciding not to stop for breakfast since we could possibly find something on the way back home. Well, we just didn’t find anything he deemed suitable, and we wound up eating in a ChickFil-A, back in Roanoke! I thanked him for an interesting surprise, and the Cotton Candy, and the dinners/breakfasts and sent him on his merry way back to Blacksburg where he lives, complete with memories of the Elephant’s last stand!
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SOCIAL EVENTS
2016 Qmunity Awards at the Miami Nights Celebration Photography by Ric Wade
The Qmmunity Awards is a prestigious accolade given by the parent organization of our IQ magazine, Informative Q Media, with the intention of dignify and recognize these people and institutions that have provided the highest level of quality in their work, inspiring others to be leaders as well, and they have help to create a better and stronger LGBTQ+ community of the Southwestern Virginia and vicinities. These awards were presented on the evening of June 17th, 2016, at The Park Nightclub, under the theme of Miami Nights, who gladly welcomed all of us to celebrate this important group of people, as well as the date that commemorate the 2nd anniversary of our beloved magazine Informative Q. During this celebration we enjoyed Fashionista Roanoke’s Fashion Show, Performances by Allan Garret and his band, Congratulations to our honorees, hoping this awards will inspire others to be the best they can be for themselves and to our community.
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FAREWELL
Richard Sifton
A pictorial remembrance of a man who loved our community, he was Co-Founder of the Roanoke Diversity Center by Nerio Gonzalez We say goodbye to an incredible man, close to our family in Informative Q, as one of his last achievements was the foundation of the Roanoke Diversity Center, a dream of many and achieved by the incredible efforts of Richard, Frank House, and many other. We present some photos of the last years of Richard, and with a humble heart we say, Thank you Richard!
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2016 Qmunity Aw
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wards Honorees Legacy Honorees
Richard P. Sifton and Frank House Dick Sifton grew up in New York City, learning to drive a big car in city traffic. From there he entered the military. Like many, he settled down with a wife and had kids in Suburbia and lived the American dream. When his military career came to an end, he became a truck driver, traveling across the United States and has quite a few stories to tell! One of his stories was about the time a woman got her car under his big rig just like in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Richard was an avid story teller, setting the scene and casting the listener as if you were right there in the midst of the action. It wasn’t until later when he came to grips with his sexual identity. His health had taken a turn and he ended up getting a lung transplant. It was then that he made the decision to change his ways and do some good on this planet with the time he had left. Parting ways with his wife, he ended up helping folks in the LGBT Center in Phoenix, AZ, where he met Frank. Frank, As a young adult, earned his undergraduate degree in Environmental Health at Cal State Los Angeles. Like his partner Richard, he was raised up north, in New England, got married, had a family, and developed some health issues as well. He and his wife separated once his sexual identity came to light. His passion for activism ignited, for both equality and the LGBT community, and he hasn’t looked back since. Both Frank and Richard have volunteered and visited many LGBT community centers along their travels.
They quickly made friends, took part in many LGBT events, and grew a network. An LGBT Film Festival came to fruition. The quiet one, Richard, meticulous with bookkeeping and details, striving to keep things moving forward. Then Frank woke up at 3 AM one night with the idea to start an LGBT Center in Roanoke and that is when the Roanoke Diversity Center became a twinkle in their eyes. Richard, ever the staunch supporter of many of Frank’s ideas, was right there doing anything and everything he could, ever the voice of reason, lending support, both physical and mental. Richard was an excellent leader, highly respected by the members of the board of directors and leaders all throughout the Valley. This has been achieved by supporting the Roanoke Diversity Center while assisting other community initiatives. Richard always made time for events and people, his knowledge and experience, energy and support, crucial to the
Center’s growth and success. This is all the more impressive given that the Center was nonexistent, built from the ground up. The LGBT people in Roanoke have benefited greatly from having such a tireless, trusted leader. Frank is driven. His passion for his causes generate a fire within which propels him to get things done. Taking the idea of an LGBT center, adding in key people to help make it happen, the Roanoke Diversity Center was up and running in 18 months. His energies extend beyond the Center to various groups and organizations within our community. The desire to learn never wavered as he exhausted as many resources as he could while the Chair of the RDC to unite the LGBT community. Making friends and being a resource, Frank truly has advocated for equality and the LGBT Community.
While on vacation, touring various cities in the southeast during Pride festivals, they stumbled upon Roanoke. After researching the area, they decided to pack up and move here.
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2016 Qmunity Aw LGBT+ Institution of the year
Roanoke Pride
Since its inception, the organization of Roanoke Pride has kept a light on in the southwestern Virginia as beacon defending LGBTQ+ rights, and supporter of human rights as well. Counting only with donations and volunteers, Roanoke Pride holds the festival Pride in the Park for over 27 years (free of charge to their visitors), reuniting over 5000 people every year, with the intention of celebrate diversity, empowering all groups that are considered under the spectrum of LGBTQ+.
Emily King Holly Community Service for Institution Honoree
Drop-In Center The Drop-In Center is the result of a grant of the CDC, that its goal is to educate, promote and test for HIV and Hepatitis, also offers assistance and individual counsel services. The center has different programs as well, such as the Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Resouces and Linkage for Inmates, for those individuals recently released from prison and living with HIV/AIDS. Also manages a small food pantry, that is 100% funded by donations from singulars and organizations. The Drop-In Centers covers not only the city of Roanoke, but across Southwestern Virginia, though their satellite offices at both Virginia Tech and Radford Universities.
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wards Honorees Heroes Honoree
Pam Meador Pam is the Director of The Drop-In Center, which she has built from zero to an amazing organization of the Southwestern Roanoke, her leadership has made this institution a pillar in education and control of diseases as HIV and Hepatitis. Commonly known as the condom lady, she is a true leader and an individual who worries not only her surrounding but all in general, creating a better environment for all the Roanoke community and adjacent neighborhoods.
Heroes Honoree
Timothy Dean Tim is no stranger to anyone in the Roanoke valley LGBTQ+ community. He has worked tirelessly for several community organizations both in his professional career and also in his personal life. This person has championed numerous causes and assisted in producing multiple events locally and across the state. He has helped me to create Roanoke’s Sunday drag brunch 3 years ago and will be celebrating it’s 1 year anniversary next month at its new home, The Park. This person is also responsible for creating the original group “unity across the community” and has since joined the board of directors for Roanoke Pride as well as being actively involved in the managing operations of The Park. In his professional career, the recipient of this award is the director of sales for a major hotel company in the Roanoke valley, in his spare time, he creates the illusion of Alexis Kennedy Salad, but most importantly, he plays the role of my best friend, congratulations to Timothy Dean on all you’ve accomplished. Joseph A. Sachenbacher
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2016 Qmunity Aw Emerging Leadership Honoree
Joshua Lee Olinger Joshua Olinger is a representation of what everyone should have in the LGBTQ+ community... Kindness.
community, both young and old, to allow themselves to be accepted when they feel alone.
Joshua not only listens to those who have problems, but tries to fix them to the best of his abilities. He works almost daily at the Roanoke Diversity Center along with Rodger Saunders, to make sure the center runs smoothly for not only for his fellow board members, but for the community as well.
With the added responsibility of being the Diversity Camp director, he oversees that all participants feel secure and included in all activities that are happening during this wonderful, empowering event!
He also spends a lot of time and effort on making sure Diversity Camp becomes a safe and memorable place for those in the
He is one of the best guys you’ll ever meet and has a special place in his heart for everyone in the Roanoke VA LGBTQ+ community and beyond!
Model of the year Honoree
Chwanda Burch Chwanda is a very tenacious girl, incredibly professional that has model for Informative Q since its first issue, and has always been ready to do so. She is a charming lady that represents the fashion world completely, she can be trendy, classic and definitely chic. She is always there to help who is in need, and she does it without expectations of any matter, just for the sake of helping others!
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wards Honorees
Artist Honoree
Jacob Cooper Incredible vision and artist are 2 adjectives that are synonymous of Jacob. Nowadays he is studying Communication Design at Virginia Western Community College. He already has shown amazing skills as a drawing artist, winning an award for his work during his first semester in his class. He is pursuing a degree in photography. Our Magazine, Informative Q has the honor of having him is as part of their staff since April 2016, and his work has been published on numerous occasions. He enjoys taking pictures of nature, a well as editing pictures and painting. The inset photo also won an award for his achievements in photography.
IQ Volunteer Honoree
Nerio Gonzalez Our Editor in Chief has been awarded this honor for his work in the LGBTQ+ community of Roanoke since 2006. He worked for Roanoke Pride being responsible for the imagery and advertising from 2006 until 2013, transforming the way the community, and the region itself, had seen the identity of Roanoke Pride. He also won the annual logos of Pride in the Park in 3 occasions.
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FASHION
Miami Nights Fashion Show Photos by Ric Wade
Part of the celebrations of the Qmunity Awards 2016 was the presntation of the Miami Nights Fashion Show, sponsored by Fashionista Roanoke and the 2016 Roanoke Fashion Show.
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FASHION
Summer Looks by Therry Neilsen-Steinhardt from Fashionista Roanoke Photos by Steve Curtiss
The Fashionista is on quite the mission today, dears! As always, he bears his fashion flag flying high: Know Who you are, know what looks good on you, know what you like! He brought his models to Plato’s Closet on Electric Road in Roanoke, and let them loose in Plato’s eclectic collection of “good as n ew” recycled clothing and watched them choose some kickin’ ensembles, as you’ll see. We gathered at the tail end of Elmwood Park next to the Roanoke Public library with Steven Curtiss of SC Photography and amid cries of “Let me see that smile!”. We collected the looks for you this summer: Angela P. Lewis chose the longest, leggiest look Plato’s Closet had to offer: The faded denim jumpsuit makes Angela look even taller, accented with some gorgeous salmon accessories, a major salmon satchel matched up with serious salmon suede platforms. She’s wearing her own stacking bangles. Llewellyn Landry shows off her thousand watt Texas smile with a look that’s everywhere right now, in a color that makes it Llewellyn’s own: a fit and flare lace dress in deepest emerald, touched off by a slim floral belt in leather with metal accents. She layered two of Plato’s necklaces and she sports fringed platform leather booties. Not even that deep brimmed hat can hide her gorgeous blonde Texas hair! Scarlett Martinez is wearing hair and makeup courtesy of Marcos Vasquez of Salon 110 and makes a definite statement in her outfit! She’s showing off her trim midriff in a cropped top in a stylized floral print of pink and white and black and a faux wrap skirt with vertiginous platform stilettos. Her jewelry is from Plato’s huge collection of recycled necklaces bracelets and earrings, presenting a uniquely tied together look for the summer of 2016.
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The second, reflects an established couple facing routine problems and more, which defy the relationship. A third story, is about an 11 year-old kid, and others, working through and coming to terms with the fact that he’s gay. The fourth and final story concerns a married elderly man, who just happens to be in the closet. After a life of fame and success, and now a terminal illness, he seeks comfort from an unlikely source: a bath house hustler. He’s trying to get satisfaction in an unusual place, and considering the rest of his life, also from an unusual source.
ENTERTAINMENT
Cuatro Lunas by Rodger Saunders
“Cuatro Lunas” or “4 Moons”, contains four stories of love, as well as disgust between men of different generations all coming face to face with their conflicts and fears. The characters are so rich and the story so well written that in under 2 hours the film is able to grasp every detail of their situations which gives viewers complete satisfaction in how
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all of their stories develop. Some ending very nice. Others, not so much. The movie tells of 4 main stories, not just couples. One of them, actually IS about a couple who just got together and are trying to make it happen, thus strengthening their coming out journey.
Director Sergio Tovar, who co-wrote the screenplay with Anibal Astorga. gives us a glimpse of the gay Mexican scene. A world somewhat similar to what we could find here in America. Gladly, and maybe with a little too much fantasy, the stories develop into a conclusion that will satisfy it’s audience. In the end is it a fictional story, or....? This movie, which is definitely a must for anyone who wants to forget about their problems for a bit and enjoy a good film, has a beautiful cast, compelling screenplay, brilliant photography, a brief glimpse of nudity--without being tacky, and excellent storytelling. “Cuatro Lunas” will make you, not only fall in love with the characters, but allow you to feel both sides of every situation. I give it: **** Star City stars!
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