2 • Thursday, March 5, 2020
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
OPINION/CONTENTS
Inside
Murphy’s Law
I STEPING DOWN Homewood Superintendent to Retire After 29 Years in Education PAGE 6
ON THE RUN Hoover Teacher to Run London Marathon 2020, Raise Funds for Autism Research PAGE 8
SPRING FASHION Local shop owners discuss trends and what’s in store for spring PAGE 20
FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD Local 39 Offers Favorite Foods, Cocktails at New Restaurant on Oxmoor Road PAGE 22
ABOUT TOWN 4 NEWS 6 LIFE 8 SOCIAL 12 WEDDINGS 19
FASHION 20 FOOD 22 HOME 24 SCHOOL 29 SPORTS 32
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OVER THE MOUNTAIN
March 5, 2020 JOU RNAL Publisher & Editor: Maury Wald Copy Editor: Virginia Martin Features Writer: Donna Cornelius Staff Writers: Emily Williams, Sam Prickett Photographer: Jordan Wald Editorial Assistant: Stacie Galbraith Sports: Rubin E. Grant Contributors: Susan Murphy, June Mathews, Emil Wald, Marvin Gentry, Lee Walls, Bryan Bunch Advertising Sales: Julie Trammell Edwards, Tommy Wald, Gail Kidd Vol. 29, No. 14
Over The Mountain Journal is a suburban bi-weekly newspaper delivered to Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover and North Shelby County areas. Subscriptions for The Journal are available for $24 yearly. Mail to: Over the Mountain Journal, P.O. Box 660502, Vestavia Hills, AL 35216. Phone: (205) 823-9646. E-mail the editorial department at editorial@otmj.com. E-mail our advertising department at mwald@otmj.com. Find us on the Web at otmj.com. Copyright 2019 Over The Mountain Journal, Inc. All rights reserved. The Journal is not responsible for return of photos, copy and other unsolicited materials submitted. To have materials returned, please specify when submitting and provide a stamped, self-addressed envelope. All materials submitted are subject to editorial review and may be edited or declined without notification.
Color Me Chronic
tried to let it go. Really, I did. of order. I had spent the better part of You’d think it would be a simple January going through closets and task, but we ran into a host of obstacles. drawers, getting rid of things I didn’t First of all, there were only five cardneed and organizing those I did. There’s board sleeves, when even the most basic just something about opening up a door box of crayons comes with eight disand seeing everything laid out in order tinct colors. Not only that, but one of that makes my shoulders relax. the sleeves was larger than the other And then, it was time to fly out to four. Was the company trying to send me over the edge? California to visit my grandchildren. Then, we had a host of placement Being the grandmother that I am, I, of issues. Cadet blue was really more of a course, had to arrive bearing gifts — gray. Brick red seemed more at home for my grandson, an X-wing fighter Sue Murphy with the browns. Both apricot and peach Lego kit, and for my granddaughter, the were a toss up for yellow and brown biggest box of crayons I had ever seen. and orange. A half hour later (we I was excited about the X-wing fightwere very thorough) my daughter er because I love Legos and Star and I finally finished, satisfied except Wars, but I was even more excited for the black, white, and metallic about the crayons. There were 120 in Now, while we gold that had to bunk with the purall and the box was ringed with a were doing our ples because that was the only space row of vertical crayon drawings, each color giving way to a slightly obsessive sorting, my left. Now, while we were doing our different shade. They even threw in a granddaughter had obsessive sorting, my granddaughter sharpener. It was an organized person’s dream. been busily creating. had been busily creating. As I reluctantly closed my crayon box lid, she It was such a good gift, however, presented me with a multimedia masthat my granddaughter already had terpiece, glue still wet, that included one, but it was as yet unopened, so crayon shavings she had fashioned we sat down to open the boxes with her new sharpener. I was appropriately oohing and together. When I lifted the lid, I was shocked to see that aahing until I realized that she had taken her new box of the crayons were not standing at beautiful rainbow attention but lying flat in plain cardboard sleeves, and the col- 120 crayons, peeled off a number of wrappers, and put them through the shredder. ors were all mixed up. I sat there staring at the chaotic I was proud and aghast at the same time, aghast at the mishmash of color, thinking, “Why?” When they had the violation of the brand new crayons, but proud that she opportunity for rainbow perfection, why? was able to see the crayons for what they truly were: It was a struggle for me, but I was determined not to simply the means to put your ideas on paper. say anything about the blatant disregard for all things I’m still working on that. When I got home, I bought perfect, until my daughter walked by and said, “Ooh, that’s not right.” (Apparently, the OCD genes run deep in myself a 120 pack and organized them until my shoulders relaxed once again. Letting go? Successive approxiour family.) And so, that is how my daughter and I came to set about organizing 120 crayons into some semblance mations, my friend, successive approximations.
Over the Mountain Views
OTM Moms Favorite Parade Moms Club of Birmingham’s Over the Mountain chapter president Rachel Phillips, with daughter Hannah, celebrated Fat Tuesday at the club’s ninth annual Kid’s Mardi Gras Parade, held Feb. 25 in Homewood’s Central Park. Journal photo by Jordan Wald.