SimplySanAntonio NUMBER 11
FOR RESIDENTS, VISITORS, OR ANYONE PASSING THROUGH
“I Can Think of Worse Things Than Talking to Strangers...”
David Simon
Perhaps the most embarrassing situations some of my family members have experienced is when I stop to talk to, well, strangers. They run as fast as they can… the other way. But for me, talking to strangers is an emotional and enjoyable experience, an attitude I remember picking up when I was a 26-year old living and working in New York City, a place most residents do what I did – and still do. Having lunch one day at the Automat (check with a friend you know who’s from New York City to find out what this unique place, the Automat, was), I surveyed the self-seating place and spied a table for four that had only one person seated at it. I approached that person, asking if he minded my sitting at the table. He said it was fine, so I sat down. I experienced a similar situation about a year after I moved to San Antonio. Working downtown, I went to lunch at my usual joint, a place called Quinney’s, where you could get a full meal for just $3.95 at high noon. Spying a table for four with only one person seated, I went directly for the table and asked the fellow if he minded
In this issue of
Simply SanAntonio
• Spring Gardening is Under Way • What’s in a (Street) Name • QUIZ: Can you name these interior home features?
Coffee Shop Man (jonesie1983 via Tumblr)
my sitting. He said, yes, he minded. I didn’t take offense to his “no” and my practice of talking to strangers didn’t change with that event. I still do it. This morning, while having coffee at Whole Foods, seated at a table for four, a fellow walked toward me, coffee cup in hand. Continued next page
• What Community Amenities do Older Adults Want Close to Home? • What’s Growing at the San Antonio Botanical Garden? • Gaining Confidence through the Theatre Arts
Continued from front cover
I turned the tables, asking if he wanted to sit. He shook his head side-to-side. I went on drinking and he continued on his way to another table. Twenty minutes later, finishing my coffee, I looked behind me and spotting that same fellow, I approached and explained my invitation for him to sit. We got into a conversation; he said he was from the Twin Cities and was in San Antonio visiting his daughter who had just moved here. The conversation ensued for about ten minutes, he asking me about San Antonio and I asking him about the Twin Cities. It ended with a pleasant “good day” after we’d exchanged business cards. The point of my bringing up this impromptu meet-up with this gentleman was to emphasize that even now, years after my New York experience, I enjoy meeting, if not talking to, strangers. While looking out over a plot of land I have listed for sale, some neighbors stopped their car to ask who I was and what I was doing on their street (evidently they were concerned I was trespassing on their subdivision’s property). I explained I was looking at my listing and there, in the distance, was my sign. It must have satisfied the couple for the conver-
sation went on, at some point my suggesting to the fellow that he didn’t sound like he was from Texas. He exclaimed, “No, from Brooklyn, NY” and asked me about myself. “Oh, from the Bronx,” I said. Well… you must know the rest. Two New Yorkers meeting in the out-of-city “foothill country” of San Antonio, the conversation went on from there. I suggested we get together soon to have a bagel and he and his wife agreed, he suggesting “with a bissel lox.” We met up three weeks later, and since then almost every Sunday. I do the grocery shopping for my home and have become friends with many of the employees at the three grocery stores where I shop. Let’s see, there’s Albert, Linda, Rose, Jesse, Mike, Maureen, David… You get the picture. All of which leads me to the point that is often made in this e-publication; that in order for a neighborhood or community to be truly as the name implies, people most assuredly should be neighborly and must extend themselves to neighbors as if they are friends, so that in time they will, hopefully, become friends! Now isn’t that neighborly?
Spring Gardening is Under Way Tom Harris, Ph.D. “The Hill Country Gardener” March is a major gardening month in our area. The weather stabilizes and by the end of the month it is warm enough to consider the warm weather plants. If we’re lucky, you can even put the tomatoes in the ground this month. The last average freeze date occurs during mid-month, but just a couple years ago, the last freeze was on March 30. So don’t rush it. Aren’t you glad you didn’t put those tomatoes in the ground now? Huh? Are ya? Huh? Huh? I think I’m going to put mine in buckets this year just to see how it goes. If you planted any tulips last December, they should be up by now. Don’t worry about keeping them looking all that healthy. After the blooms are gone, just pull them up or cut off the tops. They won’t come back next year.
Fertilizer If you use chemical fertilizer, don’t fertilize the yard yet. If you’re using organic fertilizer, according to Bob Webster, you can fertilize anytime.
All that is growing now are winter weeds so if you fertilize now, you’re primarily feeding the weeds. Now that’s kinda dumb… unless you like the look of the weeds. That’s why they call it Weed and Feed… I think it should be called Feed the Weeds. If the weeds get too tall, just mow them down or the hot weather will take care of them later. Your St. Augustine grass doesn’t start growing until sometime in April. The soil has to be at least 70 degrees before the roots start working. If you have any wildflowers out, they should begin blooming this month. Don’t mow them or cut them back. Let them go to seed so they’ll come back next year.
Don’t Prune Now! DO NOT PRUNE YOUR LIVE OAKS NOW… it’s too late for this spring. The little beetle that spreads the disease is active now through June. If you find that for some reason you must cut a live oak, Shumard
oak, or Texas red oak, be sure to paint the cut with either pruning paint or latex paint in just 2-3 minutes. If you see leaves that have brown veins and yet the other parts of the leaves are still green, you may be a candidate. Don’t call a tree service and don’t try to treat it yourself – call the Texas Forest Service and request that someone come out and verify it before you do anything else.
Aerate the Lawn
Leaves that have brown veins while other parts are still green may be an indication of oak wilt.
Now is the time to aerate and compost the lawn. To aerate means to either punch holes or cut plugs out of the lawn to allow air to penetrate the soil. If you really want to do a great job, after you aerate, add compost and fertilizer to the lawn. Only put about a half-inch of compost on and the proper amount of fertilizer (read the label) and then water it into the holes you punched. This gets it down to the roots where it does the most good.
What’s in a (Street) Name? A Name Can Sometimes Give Pause
by Steven Bragg
Names of trees such as Oak, Elm or Willow – and numbers – make up the greatest number of street names in the United States, the most popular being Second St., or 2nd (because First Street is often replaced with Main Street or something similar). However, if you knew no better than the friend I had riding with me one day, you’d surely wonder, as he did, at the street names in Churchill Estates, a subdivision in north central San Antonio. “These are the strangest names for streets I’ve ever seen,” he exclaimed. And, so they were. But what he didn’t know was that the developer of Churchill Estates, well back in the early 1970s, decided the subdivision name would be drawn from Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Derby and the street names would be the winning horses’ names, thus Citation, Nashua (spelled Nashwa in Churchill Estates) and Reigh Count, for example. Thousands more streets abound throughout San Antonio, and many names are stranger than others. For instance, name signs with Shotgun Way, Dagger Flats, Wild Fig, Woodpecker Run, Wooden Trestle, Danny Kaye, Waddle Farm, Sunny Day and Shallow Creek are firmly attached to poles and planted in the ground. Whether they have relevance to the subdivision, city or area they are in is another story. Where do these names come from? I spoke recently with a staff memJust one of San Antonio’s many curious neighborhood street names. ber at one of the largest subdivision developers in San Antonio, where I found Continued next page
out their process for choosing names. It is different from what I’d have expected – and not very scientific. This person said that “naming committee” members are asked to submit names that strike their fancy and a list is compiled, many it turns out, with no actual relevance to the community they will wind up in. The list, in some cases, numbers well into the thousands. As subdivisions are developed with streets waiting for a name, a memo is sent out to committee members asking for their favorites; the names are then randomly chosen to become names in a
Waddle Farm might sound like the perfect neighborhood for these handsome creatures, but in fact they are residents in the nearby subdivision of Eden.
subdivision. Still other developers are somewhat more scientific, and if nothing else, use the name of the subdivision, in one form or another. For instance Bluffestates in Bluffview and Whisper Dew in Whispering Oaks. Oak Hills Terrace has names of entertainers, i.e. Bogart Dr, Gabor Dr, Cary Grant Dr and Gary Cooper Dr, among others. In all cases, however, the process of naming streets is not complete until the City of San Antonio gives its blessing – which is necessary because in many cases street names are all but exactly the same except for the suffix – Road or Trail or Avenue.
QUIZ:
Can you name these interior home features?
Courtesy: Texas Association of Realtors®
1. What is the term for this paneling on the lower half of the wall?
A. Coping
B. Parapet
C. Molding
D. Wainscot
2. What is the term for horizontal molding at the top of the wall or at the ceiling?
A. Beam
B. Joist
C. Cornice
D. Balustrade
3. What is the term for windows above line of sight to let light in?
A. Casement
B. Clerestory
C. Cathedral
D. Ceiling
4. What is the name for this post at the bottom or top of a staircase?
A. Balustrade
B. Plinth
C. Newel
D. Joist
5. What is this trim piece called?
A. Chair Rail
B. Wainscoting
C. Cornice
D. Crown Molding
Answers on back cover
What Community Amenities Do Older Adults Want Close to Home?
Percentages endorsed within one mile or less. Source: AARP Public Policy Institute Author:
Jennifer Castenson Aging in place gracefully and independently is a huge topic, considering the vast amount of 55-plus individuals who fit into that group on a global level. So huge that Rodney Harrell, PhD, Director of Livability Thought Leadership at AARP and his team developed a Livability Index. That AARP Livability Index helps a new home buyer look at 60 factors that go into determining the long-term livability of a neighborhood. The vast majority of older adults want to stay in their homes and their long-time communities as they age. “Actually, in a recent AARP study, the results showed that 71 percent of 50 to 64 year olds want to stay in their homes and their current communities. But communities as we build them often don’t have the options that people need to age well,” said Harrell. “The idea of a livable community is one that has
housing, transportation and other options that allow people to stay and thrive in their homes.” So, how can a buyer find the right place that will work for the long term? The AARP Livability Index, available at AARP.org/livabilityindex, was developed as the first and only nationwide neighborhood-based livability index. It covers seven different categories of livability to know how a neighborhood scores on a national average, including housing, neighborhood, transportation, environment, health, engagement, and opportunity. “The features that people want the most are bus stops, grocery stores, pharmacies, and parks,” said Harrell. “All of these things have a direct association to what a community can deliver to help independent living. So, all of it comes back to building a community with options that are not limited to your current
status or lifestyle.” Across the seven categories, the Index evaluates current conditions using a set of 40 metric indicators, and 20 policies and programs that can enhance community livability over time. According to that Livability Index, a disparity between what is being built now and what the ideal building is becomes evident. “You may no longer be able to access the second floor and the functionality and usefulness of the house is suddenly gone.” “When we look at places through our livability index, some of the most prized communities are very low on the livability index for three reasons,” Harrell continued. “First, these neighborhoods score low because they are so homogenous. Their lack of variety of housing options limits the type of home owners who can live and continue to live there. Next, they are expensive – if your income changes for any reason, you can’t live there. And the third reason is that there are no alternative transportation options.” The different housing types in a livable community are tailored to different life stages. Harrell avers that communities should offer a two-story house to grow a
family but then also a single story home or condo to transition into later in life. This would allow someone to stay within the community where they have a network of friends and family. He admits that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, but those options need to be available. A perfect metropolitan area provides a variety of options and not cookie-cutter homes that might lead to isolation. Income is a major factor in access to many of these resources. Home buyers who make enough money and decide to do so can find a luxury community that has plenty of amenities. Many of these luxury communities add resources that are not necessarily built into the community. In addition to the fact that most people don’t have those resources, it’s also much more efficient to build communities in a way that allows people to have independence in living, like walking to a grocery store or a pharmacy, or public transportation.
Jennifer Castenson serves as the director of thought leadership content for Hanley Wood.
What’s growing at the San Antonio Botanical Garden?
Candace Andrews
Director, Community Relations and Visitor Services At the 38-acre San Antonio Botanical Garden, historical sites and gardens seamlessly blend with new expansion plans set to open in late spring. The $22 million expansion project (Phase 1), 90% funded by private funds, will both transform the site and aid in future management transition from the public to
the non-profit organization private side. The Garden operates under a long-standing model public/private partnership with the City of San Antonio. Eight additional acres privately acquired over two decades complement the existing garden through a new entrance experience, a culinary garden and Continued next page
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outdoor kitchen for teaching health and wellness, and a family adventure garden promoting nature play. Central to the design is highlighting the iconic Emilio Ambasz-designed glass conservatory at the Garden’s entry point, positioning it at the core of the visitor experience. The Botanical Garden selected Christy Ten Eyck Landscape Architects as the lead for the design team. The sustainably designed project tells the story of water, a critical challenge for the region made more compelling by the existence of the 1870s Brackenridge Waterworks reservoir on site. When ground was broken in 1976 for the Botanical Garden, it was thanks to a George W. Brackenridge gift to the City back in 1899. The Garden’s hilltop amphitheater was the site of a 5,000,000 gallon reservoir for the original Brackenridge Waterworks (1877), when water was pumped uphill through Mahncke Park from the San Antonio River. You can still see this limestone-rimmed historic site at the Garden, now more likely to be the setting for school field trip picnics or an evening wedding. When the Garden opened on May 3, 1980, planners set aside an 11-acre native area in the northeast quadrant of the property to feature Texas ecosystems that converge in San Antonio: the East Texas Pineywoods, South Texas Plains, and the Hill Country. Today this region is called the Texas Native Trail, with three loop trails through extensive native plant collections. Historic cabins and a lake further authenticate each region. The Conservatory was just a dream when the Garden opened in 1980 -- and would not come on board until 1988. When it opened, there was national and international attention to the futuristic glass complex, designed by Emilio Ambasz. The 90,000 square foot complex features five glasshouses, with the soaring 65’ Palm House an icon of the San Antonio skyline. Visitors are always surprised that the 1896 Sullivan Carriage House was re-located to the Garden. Taken apart and numbered stone by stone, the handsome building was re-assembled on site at the Garden in 1988, after moving a distance of about three miles. This Alfred Giles-designed building will have a more gracious role in the Garden’s future expansion, when its re-vamped restaurant space can assume the entire first floor after the gift shop moves to the new Welcome Center. Kumamoto En is an exquisite 80’ x 80’ Japanese Garden, a 1989 gift from San Antonio’s Sister City, Kumamoto, Japan. Considered a national treasure in Japan for his work with Japanese gardens, Kiyoshi Yasui designed the jewel-like space steeped in tradition and symbolism. Future color gardens in the
expansion plan will wrap the perimeter of this sanctified space. In the new plan, all these historically distinctive sites and gardens complement one another. The exciting new expansion includes a new entrance, new gardens, and new programs – an inspired synthesis of new elements with the old that connects visitors to the importance of the plant world. From the new sense of arrival for guests to a conservation-minded design that respects the region’s water shortages, the landscape-led plan celebrates the plant life of South Texas. An appealing one-acre culinary garden with an outdoor teaching kitchen/ pavilion engages guests of all ages in nutrition and healthy living. For the kids, there’s an open invitation to “come mess with Texas” in the 2.5 acre Family Adventure Garden, complete with 15 outdoor Texas galleries that are all about nature play. With today’s children spending an average of only 4-6 minutes per day in outdoor play, the Garden is determined to turn that trend by delighting kids and their families with hands-on nature experiences that will cultivate environmental stewardship. Adding these new gardens plus new classrooms to its already engaging landscape, the 37-yearold Garden delivers a compelling nature experience. Situated along the dynamic Broadway Cultural Corridor, the eight-acre expansion to open in May 2017 is a major evolution of the Botanical Garden – and sets an exciting tone for its future. Visit www.sabot.org for more information.
Plans include a one-acre culinary garden with teaching kitchen
Gaining Confidence Through the
Theatre Arts Maria A. Ibarra
Director of Theatre Arts Edison High School
I have been teaching at Edison High School for the past six years. I firmly believe in the power of the arts, having seen how a theatre class can change a student’s perception of self, gain confidence and discover new talents. When I first started teaching at Edison, we did not have a Drama Club organization. That was one of the first things I proposed to add to the department. I remembered what that particular program had done for me when I was a teenager and I hoped to do the same for students in our school. My cohort, Mrs. Rodriguez, the Technical Theatre Director, and I both graduated from The University of the Incarnate Word and share some of the same values that we incorporate into our program. We like to challenge students to become well-rounded theatre artists who explore both acting and technical theatre. We believe that actors should know and respect the technical theatre aspect and that technicians should know what it feels like to be on stage. This in turn develops a deeper respect for each other’s art. In our classes the Theatre Arts students work on a Technical Theatre project and the Technical Theatre classes incorporate acting projects. Sometimes we find that students are good at both. It is then that we guide them to master one of the crafts so that when it comes time to audition or interview for scholarships they have experience to show on their resume. In our program we incorporate student design. We have had students choreograph numbers in musicals, as well as design lights, sound and costumes. We also train stage managers. Every theatre student who has been in our program and is considering a career in theater presents a senior directed play as part of their final project.
Photo courtesy the Classic Theatre
Students are in charge in selecting their play, auditions, rehearsal, design, and presentation. We would love to be able to grow our program, to teach more focused classes like acting for the camera or costume design. Our goal is to raise funds and attain grant money to make these programs possible. One of our annual fundraisers is the Edison Theatre Haunted House. We find that students enjoy this event. Since it takes place during the first semester, this particular project has helped us gain interest in our program and allowed us to train students on costume and make-up design, light and sound, set design, and acting techniques. The drama club and theatre students are in charge of designing the haunted house layout, theme and costumes. Theatre Arts students and student volunteers become the actors and make-up artists. Technical Theatre students create the special effects and build any settings, design lights, sound effects, make and gather props, and help run the haunted house the day of the event. Although Continued next page
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it is not a play, the production aspect is very similar. Here at Edison High School we treat the students in our theatre productions like young professionals. We expect them to be responsible and we have them sign production contracts. They know they have to follow through on their end of the rehearsal/play process or they might be unable to participate in the afterschool shows. We want students in our plays who can commit, balance around other extra-curricular activities, follow through to work together as an ensemble, and create.
QUIZ: Answers 1. D 2. C 3. B 4. C 5. A
CHUFF CHUFF Brave Little Engine
Remember how children’s books used to be? When grandparents read bedtime stories and showed the pictures as they went along? Revisit those magical days with your grandchildren! Chuff Chuff - Brave Little Engine by San Antonio author J.T. Chapin and illustrated by nationally known cartoonist Clyde Peterson (C.P. Houston).
Wainscoting Cornice Clerestory Newel Chair Rail
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In this fast-changing city and metro area in which we live, it behooves us to stay in touch with the old as well as the new. Change touches all of us. Thus the mission of SimplySanAntonio is to highlight change and how it affects us, as homeowners, so that we can make the most of the present and keep a watchful eye on the future.