Recently, I was shopping with a friend. We were hoping to score those hard-to-find, trendy fanny packs. We were excited to spot the coveted bag – but the only color available was maroon. As a lifelong Longhorn, I refused to buy it. My friend (who isn’t a sports fan) was in disbelief. Is that really a thing? she asked. Absolutely, I said. I know most of our readers would agree that colors like burnt orange or maroon can carry a deeper significance. And for some readers, the pride and passion for their college football team is a family affair. This month, you’ll meet some of these families, diehard fans who pass on a love for their teams through the generations. And while some families focus on football through the fall, others are focused on the turkey. Seema Mir and her family have woven together traditional Turkey Day dishes with Pakistani and Afghan flavors to make a beautiful, delicious meal. This month, whether your mind is on football or feasting, wishing you happy memories with family and friends. (And I can’t help it: Hook ’em.) joni@thebuzzmagazines.com
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Andria Frankfort
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On our cover: The Longhorn love goes back generations for Zach and Jackelyn Silverman and they are continuing that tradition with their children, Gavin and Dylan. Cover photo by Nikky LaWell, lawellphoto.com
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My street is a literally “Buzzing” after your article about my annual Halloween decorations [The Hallo-Queen: Mia Parker loves Halloween by Cheryl Ursin, Oct. 2022]! I attribute the increased traffic flow in my neigh borhood to how much your magazine is read and enjoyed by many. Thank you all so much for spreading the joy of my fun tradition. Also, the title of the article – “Hallo-Queen” – has given me one of my first nicknames.
It is so endearing when someone walks up and asks, “Are you the HalloQueen?” On the lighter side, I also had a dear male friend say, “I saw your centerfold – wow!” Although your unbelievably talented photographer Michael Hart’s photograph of my “killer selfie” scene was a centerfold spread, I think I’ll just stick with the Hallo-Queen compliment!
Mia Parker, Hallo-Queen
In regards to Making the Team: Coming back from surgery in a big way by Andria Frankfort, Oct. 2022: I’ll never forget watching Eden [Epner] playing with a large bunch of boys and girls. They were playing tag-the-kid-with-the-ball. One kid would have the football and all the others would chase him/her. When someone tagged him, he would toss the ball in the air and whoever got it would run around until tagged. The kid with the ball would usually be caught within about 10-20 sec. Eden got the ball at one point and weaved in and out of the group with subtle fakes and turns, faster and more agile than all the others.
After about 25 seconds, I realized they would never catch her, but she suddenly stopped and tossed the ball up in the air so another kid could have the ball. I was so filled with admiration at her athletic skill and unselfishness; I have never forgotten it. I am so glad, but not surprised, that she has gotten to play lacrosse at such a high level!
I just wanted to send in my praise for the article about my son’s wedding [“Joy!” featuring Travis Swanson and Sarah Gubbels’ wedding] written in Rumor Has It by Sharon Brier for the October issue. She always uses such a creative flair in her description of events! I have been reading her column for years in either the Memorial Buzz and Tanglewood/River Oaks Buzz. Being a native Houstonian, growing up in Memorial, I always enjoy catching up on the latest about my neighbors and friends.
Editor’s note: Congratulations on your son’s wedding and thank you for the feedback! Our Rumor Has It column runs in The Memorial Buzz and the Tanglewood/River Oaks Buzz in print. Find all “rumors” plus additional photos online at thebuzzmagazines.com/columns/rumor-has-it.
Thank you for featuring my spring roll and fish recipes in the September 2022
issue [Recipes to Relish: New dishes to try this fall by Andria Frankfort]. I have heard from many friends and neighbors who are eagerly awaiting their invitation to dinner. It was a real pleasure to be interviewed by Andria Frankfort as I always enjoy reading her recipes in The Buzz. I was excited to see my love for cooking highlighted in this article. Thank you for providing me with my minute of fame!
Chris CatechisCheryl, just wanted to drop you a note to let you know how much I enjoyed The Water’s Fine article [by Cheryl Ursin, Aug. 2022] that you wrote about water polo becoming a UIL sport. Our boys have started playing in the past few years and we love the sport. It is action-packed and the outdoor matches have kind of a pool-party vibe to them.
The water polo community is very friendly and welcoming and a lot of the high school boys play club together in the offseason so when they meet in UIL competition it is often against friends that they know well who are club teammates. We are very happy that we found this sport. Thanks for highlighting it in your excellent article.
Jacob JohnsonSend 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.
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by Michelle Groogan, staff writer
Thereare few people who can weather a heart-wrenching ordeal and then trans form it into a mission benefitting an entire community. Liz Selig is among them. The Bellaire mom of 12-year-old Brooke and 10year-old Jack, who has autism, is on a relentless crusade to bring help and financial relief to those who experience challenges from invisible disabilities.
Unlike those who use a wheelchair or cane, individuals who have autism might look typical until they speak or, in many cases, are spoken to. This was a problem a few years ago when Bellaire police first encountered Jack. We shared the story about Liz’s scary-as-hell, heart-pounding nightmare the day her then-7-year-old son walked out of their Bellaire home to the neighborhood pool [in our Aug. 2019 issue]. Everyone involved tried to communicate with Jack, but he couldn’t respond.
That incident led to creating the Home Safe program in Bellaire, a databank for police departments to help identify people with autism and dementia, who are nonverbal and might wander off. That was just the beginning of Liz’s herculean advocacy efforts.
“It is a full-time job just to find the best doctors to treat and care for Jack and then I still take care of my neuro-typical daughter, Brooke. This is a mission which remains at the forefront of my life.
“To say life has become overwhelming for our family is an understatement,” said Liz.
There was another tough day when Jack had a meltdown and would not get in the car. Contending with a screaming, wailing kid who could not calm himself, Liz, in near desperation, played music and almost instantly turned the tide on her son’s emotional well-being. A saving grace that would have restorative power time and time again.
“The first time Jack suffered seizures, he was rushed to Texas Children’s Hospital. I didn’t know if he would survive,” said Liz. “Once he was stable, I crawled into his ER bed, held him, with tears streaming down my face. His eyes were closed, and his body was exhausted. I didn’t know what would come next. I just knew my son was in my arms, and I was doing the only thing I knew to do – love
on him. I turned on his playlist, and I held it near his ear. He physically responded by touching my hand as I held his, and he tried to snuggle closer to me. Music was again his savior.”
It was that moment of soothing relief which proved the catalyst to create Music Knows No Boundaries, a fundraising concert and auction to celebrate the connection between music and autism and to help middle class families pay out-of-pocket medical-related expense.
POWER OF MUSIC Liz Selig with her children, 12-year-old Brooke Stephens and 10-year-old Jack Stephens, at the second annual Music Knows No Boundaries benefit concert, held at White Oak Music Hall. The concert raised money for families challenged by autism spectrum disorders.
The live music event, held at White Oak Music Hall, featured an acoustic song-swap and silent auction benefiting The Jack Stephens Scholarship Fund with Autism Society of Texas. There were live performances by Cory Morrow, Ashley Cooke, Sean McConnell, Owen Temple, Kyle Hutton, and Rodell Duff.
The concert, held last month, raised $50,000 for The Autism Society of America, which will directly use the funds for a scholar ship in Jack’s name.
Jack’s list of diagnoses have grown to include: epilepsy, focal cortical dysplasia, a chromosomal deletion, anxiety, ADHD, disruptive behavior disorder, speech delays, language disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, developmental delays, dysgraphia, acute febrile illness, and an impulsivity disorder. Needless to say, Liz’s focus is always on Jack’s safety and other kids like him.
“Now he knows his name. He knows his address. He knows my name and phone number,” said Liz.
“He knows more and can say more, but I don’t know how that would manifest itself in an emergency situation,” said Liz. “People with autism may not be able to communicate in a typical or traditional way and it becomes even harder if they’re very upset. That’s why it’s so important for emergency folks on the frontline to have specialized training.”
That led to Liz’s current partnership with a nonprofit organization called KultureCity that focuses on the sensory processing needs of individuals. They help create sensory-friendly rooms in stadiums and airports, and also offer a Sensory Inclusive First Responder Certification. Liz went back to the Bellaire Police Department, advocating for her hometown officers and community.
“The ability to really zone in and help these kids out and be able to recognize them and their needs is the most important thing that we can do,” said Officer Chase Liccketto, Community Outreach Officer for support services with Bellaire Police. “When we get the phone call that somebody’s in crisis, it’s just another tool in our belt that we can use to help recognize what that person needs.”
Last month, B.P.D. became the first police department in the state of Texas to be certified with this specific sensory training with 100 percent of the force embracing the knowledge. The program will equip patrol cars with sensory bags, which include noise cancelling headphones and different types of fidget tools.
“They really have stepped up and I’m really happy and proud about that,” said Liz. “It’s just another way to help make this world a safer place for our kids.”
Editor’s note: See mknb.org for more about Music Knows No Boundaries and for a link to donate to the scholarship fund. For the previous story published in The Buzz, see Home Safe: When Jack disappeared, by Michelle Groogan, Aug. 2019.
by Cindy Gabriel, staff writer
Here I was this summer, at a sidewalk cafe in Montreal. What was I doing?
Not writing my memoir. I’ve been not writing a memoir since the end of 2019 when I retired to write a memoir. Then came the Covid lock down, a perfect time to write a memoir. Didn’t happen. Do I have to stop living in order to write about living? I don’t even like the word memoir anyway. It sounds too self-important. So let’s not call it a memoir.
Let’s just start here. Let’s call this a series of columns in The Buzz Magazines as always, just more memoir-ish starting with my youngest conscious years, in the late 1950s. It helps that my family published a newspaper at the time, The Fort Bend Reporter, which I recently found archived on the University of Texas campus at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. After two days of pouring through pages published between 1956-1960, I now have times and dates that coincide with my memory.
A main advertiser for the paper was the icon ic Art Deco styled Cole Theatre, a major com munity hub in downtown Rosenberg. TV was just catching on. My great-grandmother planned her day around As the World Turns, a soap opera that debuted in 1956.
This made the movie industry nervous. So much so that big-time stars like John Wayne, Shirley Temple, and Roy Rogers popped in to promote their movies. Yep, Rosenberg was that big of a deal.
One example from the paper: On June 13, 1957, actress Ava Gardner appeared in person to promote her movie The Little Hut, including the chance to win a trip to the Fiji Islands, along with free Samsonite luggage. Movies shown at the Cole Theatre would change every two days or so. Other movies showing that week included James Dean’s East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause.
The Cole Theatre was also the town’s Saturday matinee babysitter. Kids of all ages poured in without parents, for a day-long double feature. I vividly recall my first time unsuper vised. I was no more than 6; it was around 1960. As my nervous mom dropped me off, she looked me in the eye and said “Cindy, listen to your
conscience.” She didn’t want me to be tempted to leave the theater to get a coke float at Gordon’s Pharmacy.
I was to go inside the lobby and wait for my more sophisticated friend, Ginger (who would unsuccessfully tempt me to go to Gordon’s Pharmacy). The theater was more exciting anyway, watching kids, some I knew, plopping down their quarters for a ticket into the tall, majestic lobby, then picking out a 5-10 cent item from the snack bar.
While picking out my own candy, through a window beyond the snack bar, my eye caught a line of “col ored” children also get ting tickets. They were ushered into a side entrance straight up to the balcony, bypassing the fancy lobby. I was stunned. The conscience my mother told me to listen to was working overtime. It was the first time I felt uncomfortably white.
Now I realize my father, Clymer Wright, did not shy away from the “prejudice issue” in newspaper editorials. A 1957 editorial headline in The Fort Bend Reporter said: “We Should Build a Pool for Negros.” This followed: “Under the system of segregation as practiced in the South, Negros cannot swim in the public pool. And they have no pool of their own. In addition Latin Americans shy away from the pool because of the great amount of prejudice from the whites.” My father attempted to point out the cruelty of leaving a sizable population of Rosenberg residents without a summer swim ming pool because of our own white prejudice.
It was a bold statement for the times. When that editorial was written in 1957, African Americans had only been allowed to vote in Ft. Bend County for four years, a right they won in 1953.
Wait. This is supposed to be my story. I learned to swim in the Rosenberg public pool. I didn’t even notice that it was all white. What does any of this have to do with me? That conscience my mother told me to listen to is working again. There is no such thing as Black history without white history.
Now, I’m looking back at the balcony of the Cole Theatre. I wonder how many of those kids are still around. I wonder how their lives turned out. I wonder if any of them have ever spent a summer evening at a sidewalk cafe in Montreal.
Next month: “Forks on the Left. Knives on the Right.”
by Karen Vine Fuller, contributing writer
Theexterior of the weathered black trunk, erratically battle-scarred with shipping labels to exotic (and not-so-exotic) loca tions creates an intriguing scavenger hunt to my father’s 30-year Navy career journey. The trunk currently sits unassumingly in the corner of our family’s den, camouflaged into a shabby chic table that holds shiny, framed photos of smiling people much younger than the trunk – photos of the offspring of the trunk’s owner.
But like any good box, the real story lies inside. The scratchy, gold, tarnished latches have clung together over 70 years, guarding the intimate love stories and secrets of my parents. It’s quite a treasure since the trunk has outlived them both.
My mother, Teddi, passed away in 1978 and my father, Vic, died in 2004. I never knew the trunk existed until a few years after my father’s death. Thankfully, my dad’s second wife, Cleary, who has been a second mom to me, told me it
had been in their attic for years and she thought I should have it.
My parents’ handwritten letters are dated from November 1951, when they first met, until the 1970s. My dad was a midshipman at the Naval Academy and my mom lived in Philadelphia when they met. My dad retired from the Navy in 1976, when I was in fourth grade. Looking through the trunk as an adult, it was cathartic to discover some of the stories our parents are unable to share today.
I’m the youngest of three so I didn’t move quite as much as my older brother and sister, Vic and Kathy. But even just in my first eight years of life, we lived in Charlottesville, Va., Coronado, Calif., Okinawa, Japan, Pensacola, Fla., and Corpus Christi, Texas. As the youngest, I probably remember the least about our family’s history. I know my dad played football at the Naval Academy and he would talk about that,
but he didn’t detail much about being a pilot in the Navy or his military career overall.
And when you’re a kid, your parents are just your parents, right? It doesn’t seem to really matter what their job is. But the more I learn about veterans and the people who served our country during the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s – or any era, for that matter – I have begun to truly appreciate all that my father did and empathize with how challenging it must have been on my mom. Now that I am also a mom, it’s hard to imagine dealing with your spouse being away a lot of the time – often to places that can’t be disclosed –and having to move every few years.
I haven’t made it through the hundreds of letters in that trunk yet but so many of them hold clues as to what it was like in the military. They also hold a reminder of what life was like before modern luxuries like computers and cell phones.
The letters include (continued on page 14)
By the time you get this letter, we will have had our phone conversation tomorrow night and already I’ll be looking forward to next Sunday night so I can tell you that I love you again. Teddi I was so happy today. I got all three of your letters at one time. Vic
I hope your flying is coming along good, Darling, and your studies aren’t too hard. You’re darned right I want you to be a good pilot and I know you will be. I have lots of faith in you. I know that flying is what you want to do and I want to do everything I can to help you because I know it will make you happy.
Teddi
Hello, Angel. Your letters lifted me from the
depths of despondency to the heights of happiness. You do write wonderful letters, darling. Vic
I’m so sorry that you won’t be home for Thanksgiving like we planned. Hopefully they won’t move back your return date another two weeks. Teddi
The kids were so happy to get your beautiful birthday cards you sent them. Teddi
I miss you so much I can’t stand it. Vic
If you only knew how much those wonderful let ters of yours mean to me ... I hope you can keep them coming even if they have to be short ones. Teddi
I’m here in Florida, and yet I’m with you in Philadelphia. I’m flying in an airplane and yet I’m wondering what you are doing at your job. Vic
Every so often I read a few of the letters, get a
bit overwhelmed, and then close the lid to the trunk and slide it back into its life of a nice conversational piece in our den. The smiling family members in those framed photos that sit on top of the trunk have no idea of the stories of their grandparents and great-grandparents that lurk beneath them. It is a blessing to be able to share stories and glimpses into military work and fam ily life from the letters with our son, nieces, nephews, and their children.
Thank you to my parents and all the veterans and their families that have sacrificed and con tinue to do so by serving their country. I look forward to discovering more about my parents’ military and personal journey – letter by letter.
The old friends were floating down Buffalo Bayou in a tour boat, trying to enjoy the rare view of downtown Houston. But what made the biggest impression those five years ago, was the plastic garbage bobbing in the water.
That dismal sight, as Pamela Dwyer remem bers it, inspired her and Angie Sassard to join the ranks of “ploggers,” an international com munity of environmentalists who combine reg ular exercise – walking or jogging – with trash gathering and recycling.
At least that’s one version of the intrepid ploggers’ story.
Sassard thinks they added garbage collecting to their daily exercise routine after they read a story about the trend.
Both women shrug good-naturedly. They’ve been West University neighbors, walking buddies, and confidantes for 18 years.
“We started plogging because Pam got so tired of my stories that we had to do something else,” Sassard jokes. “I say, ‘You know what?’ and Pam says, ‘Yes, I already know that story.’ So now we talk trash.”
Dwyer is 72. Sassard is 81. They look like action figures when they charge out of their respective houses at 7 a.m., Monday through Friday, rain or shine. This random Tuesday they’re still in their workout clothes – they’ve already been to their respective gyms. Dwyer waves her grabbing tool. Sassard totes recycled trash sacks.
Suddenly Sassard dashes down the street –the octogenarian seems to be chasing a car. When the gentleman behind the wheel eases to a stop, she leans in and gives him a smooch. She and Randy Sassard have been married 57 years.
He is a physician; she is a retired middle school science teacher.
Dwyer is a retired nurse who has fond memories of emergency medicine. For now, she is using her experience to help her significant other recover from shoulder surgery.
“We’re not married,” she says.
Sassard dismisses the not-married thing. What’s important, she says, is her friends have 20 years together and they help each other.
Dwyer and Sassard vary their route from day
to day but now they’re striding purposefully down Wroxton, picking up beer cans, discarded lunch wrappers, plastic bags, even Q-tips. Once when they were plog ging around Rice University, they discov ered a wad of cash and turned it in. They’ve also found clothing, including underwear, and pounds of bottles and plastic, which they recycle.
On Buffalo Speedway Dwyer and Sassed slow down to greet the construction workers finishing the massive street rebuild. They also pause for friendly neighbors and their dogs. But Sassard is particularly looking for Sadie, the tripod or three-legged pooch, who lives on Albans Road.
“She and I shared a similar experience,” Sassard says. “She had cancer and had a back leg, well, maybe it was a front leg, amputated, and I had breast cancer and lost one, so we immediately bonded.”
Sassard carries expensive venison treats that she will share with a few other dogs, but mostly, they’re for Sadie.
West University is a city within a city, and it is known for its trees, its security, and its cleanliness. But Dwyer and Sassard just scoff when asked if there is really enough trash to pick up every day. They know all the trash bins, all the public garbage cans on every one of their routes, and they do their part to help fill those receptacles every day. At the halfway point this day, they have filled four sacks of garbage and disposed of them respon sibly. While they scan the streets for more trash, they talk.
“Sometimes we vent,” Dwyer says.
For example, she vents about significant others who could seem a tad more appreciative for the excellent nursing care they receive.
Sassard vents about impatient drivers and the very occasional neighbor who might question their intentions.
Also, Sassard and her husband enjoy dining out, but Dwyer makes that a smidge complicated because she is a pescatarian. The only thing she will eat that even resembles meat is fish.
“I don’t make a big deal about it,” Dwyer says. “I don’t care if all there is for me to eat is cheese and a salad for dinner. But Angie thinks it’s a pain in the ass.”
Sassard is quiet on that one topic but offers, instead, a precise analysis of her favorite team, the Houston Astros.
“I do think Carlos Correa (the former Astros shortstop who left in search of a fatter contract) was an idiot,” she says. “So now we have this young man named (Jeremy) Peña. He’s already got a good attitude, but he
needs to work a little bit on some parts of his hitting.” (Editor’s note: After this September interview, Peña clearly took Sassard’s advice.)
Also, she is excited that the new kid, pitcher Hunter Brown, gets to play on the same team as his hero, veteran and class act Justin Verlander. And she’s happy that third baseman Alex Bregman has settled into his role of husband and father and is, coincidentally, hitting sensationally.
But of all the players on the roster, her very favorite is Jose Altuve.
Such a nice man, she says, and “short like me.”
The hardest part of the route, and also the end, is a strip of businesses on Kirby. By now the rush hour traffic is fierce, and Sassard and Dwyer have to be careful not to get run over. There, in addition to the usual trash, they recover car parts that have been smashed into tiny pieces.
Sometimes, the women say, someone will come out of one of the businesses and offer them water bottles, cups of coffee, or most recently, smoothies.
One man rolled down his window and said
the sight of Sassard and Dwyer picking up trash was the sweetest thing he’d ever seen.
“We get a lot of thank yous,” Sassard says, and when one or two people are rude, Dwyer will take care of them.
There was the time, at Sunset and Kirby, that one woman thought they were in her way. “She almost ran us over, and when we asked her to stop, she called us every name in the book,” Sassard says, adding, “When Pam gets mad, her voice goes up about five octaves.”
That time, clearly, Dwyer got mad.
“Most people are nice but some are so rude,” Sassard says.
“I guess that’s life.”
It’s 8:30 a.m. and the job is done, but the two women linger for just a moment.
Sassard does seem a little tired; she’s been up since 4 a.m. In addition to all of her other morning tasks, she’s been cleaning the storm drains to help the neighbors on her block avoid flooding.
“Pam says I have a leaf fetish,” she quips.
She also tells about her cat. She was taking care of the creature for her out-of-town neigh-
bors. Except they never came back.
It’s sort of OK, Sassard says, because her husband really loves the cat.
West University’s city manager and public works director say they aren’t acquainted with Dwyer or Sassard.
“It’s work they do quietly,” says neighbor and career coach Tracie Mazzu. “They don’t adver tise it. Nevertheless, they have a presence. People notice them. They spread joy in this neighborhood, and they don’t even know it.”
Probably the most famous plogger in the world is author and humorist David Sedaris. He has a garbage truck named after him.
Sassard laughs appreciatively but says she and Dwyer are not looking for their names on the side of a truck.
“We’re already trashy enough.”
Editor’s note: For more on the plogging movement, read Going Green: Plogging hits Houston by Tracy L. Barnett, which was published in our October 2018 issue. See this story at thebuzzmagazines.com for a link.
by Andria Frankfort, staff writer
and Mohsin Mir were both born and raised in West Virginia. Their parents are first-generation Americans, the people who make up our melting pot, hers having immi grated from Afghanistan, and his from Pakistan.
“My parents and [Mohsin’s] parents immigrat ed in the ’70s and very much embraced American culture and traditions,” Seema, a labor and employment attorney, says. “It was all new to them, but one thing my parents would always say is, ‘Just as we want others to understand and appreciate our culture, we need to understand and appreciate the culture of America.’”
Mohsin’s mother says she tried to do just that. “I tried to merge my traditions I grew up with with traditions from my adopted country,” says Samina Mir, who now lives with her husband of 52 years in Orlando. “We are a very traditional family. We grew up with traditions in Pakistan, and we have had Thanksgiving since my [three] boys were small.”
When asked what she thought of traditional Thanksgiving fare – turkey, potatoes, apple pie –when first encountering it, Samina says, “Originally, I didn’t care for it. But my husband always used to play this song in the car - ‘by an American pie, took my Chevy to the levee,’ – you know that song? That is the first mention I heard of apple pie. You live, you learn, you eat.”
Because they lived in a small, diverse commu nity, Seema’s and Mohsin’s families were friendly with each other. “We didn’t really grow up together,” Seema says of herself and her nowhusband, a dermatological surgeon, “but our families were very connected. Once we were in college [at West Virginia University], we started getting closer.”
Today, the couple are parents to two boys, Dean, 11, and Zane, 8, and their Thanksgiving traditions blend roast turkey with Afghan and Pakistani cuisine. It’s a celebration unique to the Mirs: “Our interpretation of the holiday is not only different because our families come from other countries, but we are also a blended family of cultures, Pakistani and Afghan.
“There are times when I have visited friends on Thanksgiving,” Seema continues, “and every family is different in how they celebrate. That’s
the beauty of Thanksgiving in America.”
Typically, Seema, Mohsin, and their boys celebrate Thanksgiving with his side of the family in Florida. Like so many families around the country, they start the meal with a prayer, then the children go around the table and, with encouragement from Samina, say what they’re thankful for.
TRADITIONS Seema Mir celebrates a traditional American Thanksgiving with influences from her family’s Pakistani and Afghan roots. Pictured, clockwise: Butternut squash kadu; mashed potatoes; brownies; Afghan tea biscuits, or Roat; rice; dressing; macaroni and cheese; spinach and beef sabzi; and Persian noo dle soup, or Aush.
There will be turkey and mac-and-cheese and mashed potatoes. And there will be dressing. “We interpreted it in a way that had an ethnic spin on it,” Seema says. “This is stuffing, but if you taste it, it doesn’t taste like your stuffing. It’s inspired by our spices.
“We’ll have mashed potatoes next to biryani [a traditional Indian rice dish]. We’ll have corn, gravy, of course a turkey. But then we will add a rice dish, because there’s no meal in our cultures that doesn’t include a rice dish.”
In the beginning, the mashed potatoes took a little ingenuity on Samina’s part.
“There is one very quirky tradition I have,” Samina says, explaining that, while she could cook any number of complicated Pakistani dishes, she didn’t know how to make mashed potatoes when she first came to this country. “It was always very convenient for me to pick up the mashed potatoes and biscuits at KFC. To this day, the night before, one of us picks it up. Everybody expects it.”
The Mirs’ celebrations are big gatherings of 20 or so family members. “It’s a full house,” Seema says. Mohsin is the youngest of three boys who “will spend the day watching football. There are lots of universal commonalities with one major difference being the food.”
The food includes a spinach dish called sabzi that is made with ground beef (marinated in gar lic and onions), cilantro, and green onions. “It’s made with our kinds of spices; the primary flavor
is fenugreek, which we call methi,” Seema says. “It has a distinct aroma, almost like an Indian saag paneer, but with a bolder taste, and instead of cheese, it’s beef.”
A sweet and savory butternut squash kadu stands in for marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes. “Translated in Persian, ‘kadu’ means ‘pumpkin,’” Seema explains. The squash is cooked with turmeric, red pepper, and brown sugar, and it is topped with yogurt and garlic.
Aush is a traditional Persian noodle soup that Seema says she craves. “It’s my favorite thing that we eat,” she says. “It has Persian dough noo dles and is basically a yogurt-based soup with kidney and garbanzo beans. The flavors are red pepper, turmeric, and it’s topped with dried mint. I tell my friends it doesn’t sound great –I’m not really selling it well – but I love it so much I’ll make it even in summer in Houston. We eat this every Thanksgiving, generally start ing off with it and moving on to the turkey.”
Guided by American tradition, not much salad makes its way to the Thanksgiving table.
“Afghans eat a lot of salads,” Seema says, “but nobody ever eats a salad on Thanksgiving.”
The KFC biscuits are offered in a bread tray next to garlic naan. Dessert is American brownies next to roat, cardamom tea cookies, topped off with vanilla ice cream and rose water.
Samina likes the apple and pecan pies from Sam’s Club and says her husband and sons will finish them off.
Finding traditional spices can be a bit of a chal lenge: “Growing up in West Virginia they
were hard to find,” Seema says. “But we had a lot of family in New York and DC, and we would stock up when we visited them. Living in Houston, we’re so blessed with such a diverse community, it’s just a quick trip to Hillcroft, where I can find all the spices I need. Dough noo dles are a little difficult, as is dried mint. But my mom [Amena Loynab] grows mint in California and bottles it, and I have her send it to me.”
Although her own mother’s recipes are “very much a little of this, a little of that,” Seema does her best to emulate them. “She’s all ‘a mug of this’ instead of an actual cup. During Covid, my mom and I would be cooking and FaceTiming, and I’d have my dad measure the ingredients out before she dumped them in. She’s the reason I love Thanksgiving, and she’s one hundred percent the reason I love to cook our traditional food.”
For the children, Seema thinks they favor American favorites – they love the mashed potatoes. “But if I make the spinach, they want it the next day in their lunchboxes.”
The Mirs’ friends and neighbors are also fans of Seema’s cooking, with some asking for certain dishes when they’re sick or need a little pick-up.
Cameron and Byron Cooper and their three children live two doors down from the Mirs.
Before the families became friends, the Coopers had not been exposed to Afghan or Pakistani food. “I grew up in Alabama,” Cameron says, “so we always joke that I’ll give Seema my southern pot pie, and she’ll bring her interesting cuisine from other parts of the world.”
Like the Mir boys, Cameron’s favorite Seema dish is the spinach and beef sabzi. “I want that as my last meal,” she says. “It’s addictive and just delicious. My son especially loves these little samosa-dumplings that are almost eggroll shaped. He’s 7 and pretty picky, but he will eat as many as she will bring over.” Cameron also likes the juxtaposition of chiles and butternut squash that Seema makes at Thanksgiving. “The spices aren’t in my everyday recipes, but it’s so good.”
Samina says Thanksgiving is something she always looks forward to. “And now my grandkids, they look forward to it.”
Seema says, “It’s all about embracing the spirit of the holiday and the culture of American values.” Honoring the traditions of their own cultures is a big part of that. “Truly, it is a melting pot of all the different cultures, and the different spices, at the table.”
If this has you wanting Afghan or Pakistani (or Persian) food, the Mirs recommend Himalaya
(himalayarestauranthouston.com) and Afghan Village (theafghanvillage.com). And to shop for the spices Seema uses, she suggests Subhlaxmi Grocers (subhlaxmigrocers.com).
Kadu (Afghan pumpkin or butternut squash)
From Amena Loynab (Seema’s mother)
1 large to medium sized butternut squash
¼ cup oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon garlic
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon dried coriander
2 ½ cups water
½ teaspoon salt
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
1 ½ cups brown sugar (you can use light or dark, depending on your preference; pictured kadu is using light brown sugar)
5 to 10 small red chili peppers, thinly sliced, for garnish
For the Yogurt Sauce:
1 ½ cups yogurt
¼ teaspoon fresh garlic
¼ teaspoon salt
Peel, de-seed, and chop the butternut squash in evenly-sized cubes.
Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep skillet. When it is hot, add the onion and garlic, and cook until the onions have soft ened and browned. Reduce the heat to mediumlow and stir in the turmeric. Add the butternut squash and coriander, and gently mix everything together. Stir in the water and salt. Cover the skillet and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the water evaporates. Add the crushed red pepper, then stir in the brown sugar. Increase the heat to medium and cook for about 10 minutes, until the squash is soft.
Meanwhile, make the yogurt sauce. In a small bowl, stir the yogurt, garlic, and salt together.
Use the yogurt sauce as a topping to serve, and garnish with red peppers.
Afghan Tea Biscuit (“Roat”) also known as Afghan Sweet Bread
From Amena Loynab (Seema’s mother)
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 stick Crisco shortening, melted
1 cup whole milk
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons nigella (kolonge) seed
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
Whisk the flours, baking powder, cardamom, and sugar together in a bowl. Add the melted butter, the melted shortening, milk, and eggs. Mix thoroughly to create a dough.
Lightly oil a large sheet pan and flatten the mixture on it. Use a rolling pin to even out the dough. Pinch all the edges of the dough.
Using a fork, poke small holes throughout the flattened dough. Sprinkle the nigella seed on top.
Score the dough in even squares. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and run a knife over the precut lines and around the edges of the pan while it is still warm. Let cool and serve.
by Annie Blaylock McQueen, staff writer
TheseBuzz families have been loyal fans of their school’s football teams – through the good seasons and the not-so-great ones. They are at the games on rainy days, cold days, and hot days. They teach their children about showing pride for the team and what it means to be a fan. They are passing on the same traditions they were taught as young children.
Whitney and Joe Sharman, parents to Scotty, 11 months, married in 2017, and together joined two Longhorn-loving families, with graduates of The University of Texas at Austin on both sides dating back to the 1920s. For decades, their fam ily members, including parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, have walked the halls of The University of Texas campus.
Whitney, a 2012 graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, says she “grew up bleeding orange.” She and Joe, who have known each other since childhood, are eagerly passing on the love of the Longhorns to their daughter, which brings pride to their hardcore Longhorn families.
Whitney’s parents, Sally and Jim Easterling, have had Longhorn season tickets since 1978.
Her three older siblings, sister Kelley Hawkins, brother Brandon Easterling, and brother Christian Easterling (along with Christian’s wife Kate, who played soccer for UT) attended UT, along with many other extended family members.
Her parents and three aunts all attended UT.
Whitney, who was a member of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta at UT, attended the 2004
Rose Bowl Game, the 2005 National Championship, and the 2010 National Championship. She has footballs signed by players displayed proudly in her home. Joe’s family on both sides has many Longhorns, including his grandfather, Rex G. Baker, who graduated in 1941 and played football for UT; along with his grand mother, (Jeannette), mom (Bess), aunt (Ann), aunt (Jeannette), uncle (Rex), dad (John), uncle (Charley), four great-grandparents and more. Let’s just say – Longhorn football is a way of life.
During her senior year, Whitney was honored with being chosen as the Texas Cowboys Sweetheart, which she fondly remembers as “hands down, the highlight of college,” she said. The Texas Cowboys is a service organization that has existed
at UT since 1922. They keep and maintain Smokey the Cannon and oversee firing the cannon on the field at kickoff and after any UT touchdowns.
“I also got to be on the field for every home game and was even allowed to occasionally fire the cannon,” she said. “I will never forget the sound of the crowd roaring around us, the cannon going off, and the players running onto the field as the band would play Texas Fight!” she said.
Another family with a generations-long love of the Longhorns is Zach Silverman’s large extended family, along with many members of
his wife Jackelyn’s family too.
Zach and Jackelyn live in Bellaire along with many cousins and family members. Zach attended American University for his undergraduate degree and UT for his graduate degree, finishing in 2010. Even though he did not attend UT for college, he grew up bleeding orange with his family.
Jackelyn attended UT, and they are parents to Gavin, 5, and Dylan, 3, with another one on the way.
“I remember growing up, we did not really have a Thanksgiving, because we were going to the Thanksgiving UT game,” Zach said, laugh ing. His earliest childhood memories of being
together as a family were in Austin at Longhorn games with all his cousins and grandparents.
Recently, Zach and Gavin went to Austin for a game and visited the Alumni Center on campus. Gavin located the memorial brick, showing him the Longhorn legacy written in stone on campus. Zach’s late grandfather, Joel Levy, graduated from The University of Texas in 1950 –along with his grandmother, Kay Levy, and many family members including his youngest sister Lexie, and brother-in-law Stephen Uzick (mar ried to his sister Megan), among other extended family. Jackelyn’s mother
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(Alissa), father (Bobby), sister (Jessica), brother-in-law (David), and brother (Zachary) attended UT as well.
Zach says his favorite memories growing up were traveling to the games in Austin from elementary school age. They would sometimes take the Longhorn bus from Houston to Austin. He would attend up to 8 or 9 games in a single season as a child.
Zach says his son Gavin is now obsessed and he is excited to continue passing down the love of Longhorn football to his son. “It is all he talks about,” said Zach.
Parents Kelly and Jerred Crumley are passing on their love of the Aggies to their two children, Archer and Abigayle. The couple, who met during college, graduated from Texas A&M
University in College Station in 2006. Jerred’s Aggie-loving legacy dates (literally) way back in his life – his mom’s water broke at Kyle Field in 1983. They rushed out of the game.
Fast forward to age 10; Jerred’s first Aggie football game was in Lubbock in 1993 and his first time to officially visit Kyle Field was in 1994 to attend a youth football camp.
During his time as a student at Texas A&M, Jerred held a distinguished honor. He oversaw tak ing care of the official mascot of the university, a Rough Collie named Reveille. Students adopted the first Reveille in 1931. Jerred attended tryouts for Mascot Corporal, a 7-week process that came down to a class and upperclassman vote. The dog Jerred took care of was Reveille VII (or “Rev7”).
Upon their graduation, Jerred and Kelly got a
puppy from the same bloodline, Sylvan Argent L. Sullivan Ross, but they called him Sully. As Jerred and Kelly welcomed their son Archer, born in 2015, and later their daughter Abigayle, in 2019, Sully was a furry companion to their children.
“Sully was a big part of our Aggie family for 14 years,” said Kelly. She says she feels very emo tional looking at baby pictures of her children with him and fondly remembers his loyalty.
Jerred’s grandfather, great uncle, father, and brother attended A&M.
Kelly says that while she did not come from a long Aggie line, she completely “drank the Kool-Aid” starting in college. The Crumleys take their children to Aggie games and are proud to be passing down their deep love of Texas A&M football to their two children.
the cook, there’s a little tension in plan ning the Thanksgiving dinner. Family will expect the tried-and-true staples – grand ma’s marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes, any one? But the person (people) hanging out in the kitchen for a few days might get the urge to put a new twist on things.
Let’s try this: let’s throw a couple of super sub tle spins into this year’s menu. An appetizer that’s unexpected but retro enough to get the old-schoolers excited. A fresher take on the beloved (and bemoaned) green bean casserole. And a leftover turkey sandwich that is simultaneously cozy and contemporary.
We went through our archives at “Back Porch Table,” the online, cooking-centric version of “Back Porch,” and picked some of our holiday favorites. Happy Thanksgiving!
On top of all the once-a-year favorites we get to make at Thanksgiving, the bar snack is where I get abnormally excited. That’s because our bar snacks, for me, are right up there in nostalgia with your green bean casserole.
Growing up, our house was always the one with people in it. My parents’ motto was – still is – “the more the merrier!” Which is why I’m prone to invite people to join plans willy-nilly, which sometimes gets me in trouble, which is yet another story. But back to having people in and out growing up. In addition to the revolving door bringing spontaneous visitors, I remember my parents giving a lot of parties. I don’t remember much about what they served, except for one thing: Bacon Crackers. Or maybe they should be called Bacon Crack. I don’t know.
Fast-forward 30 years or so. The bacon crackers were still swimming in the back of my mind, but at this point, they seemed so retro, so 1982. And who actually eats Ritz crackers anymore –with bacon on them? A few Thanksgivings ago I decided to stop listening to that anti-sugarbut tergluten boring voice in my head. I wanted my kids and their cousins to know the joy of bacon crackers.
So I made them for the kids (okay, also maybe to go with the Bloody Mary and grapefruit-
vodka-St. Germain bar that the grown-ups would be enjoying). And I couldn’t keep them coming fast enough. “Addictive” doesn’t quite describe how yummy these are: crisp and smoky bacon wrapped around buttery crackers that have soaked up all the bacon drippings. Bacon Crack, I tell you. Please do not curse me.
12 slices thin-cut bacon
48 buttery crackers (Ritz or Club work well)
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a rimmed sheet pan with foil and place a wire bak ing/cooling rack on top of the foil. Cut each bacon strip lengthwise, and then cut each of those long strips in half, making four rectangular strips (kitchen shears work well). Wrap each cracker with a strip of bacon, and arrange the crackers on the wire rack. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the crackers are golden and the
bacon crispy. Let the crackers cool a bit; they will crisp up as they cool. Serve immediately.
It’s simultaneously one of the most beloved and most maligned staples on the Thanksgiving spread: The Green Bean Casserole.
Traditionally made with a goopy can of cream of mushroom soup, the green bean casserole is a throwback to the ’70s era of TV dinners and… canned soup. But we are no longer wearing bell bottoms and eating Salisbury steak. We’ve come a long way. Green bean casserole notwithstand ing.
This green bean casserole retake will have you loving green bean casserole in a whole new way. Gone is the gelatinous “soup,” which we replaced with sour cream and heavy cream (it’s Thanksgiving – save austerity for another day), plus some Monterrey jack. A little cayenne
makes it spicy (leave it out if you’re not a fan), and bacon makes it smoky (again, leave it out if you prefer a meatless version).
We stuck with the ’70s and kept the French’s onion rings because somehow that’s still everyone’s favorite. If you have moved on, try some panko dotted with butter as a topping.
6 slices bacon
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¾ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 pounds green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
½ cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup grated Monterrey jack cheese
1 cup French’s Original Crispy Fried Onions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9by-13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
Cook the bacon over medium heat in a large skillet. Remove the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels. Remove all the bacon fat except 1 tablespoon. Add the butter to the bacon fat and melt over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, mushrooms, nut meg, salt and pepper, and cook for another 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are soft. Add the green beans, and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes, until they are crisp-tender. Remove from the heat.
In another bowl, whisk together the sour cream, heavy cream, and cayenne until it is smooth. Stir in the cheese, and then stir in the green bean mixture. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Top with French’s onions. Bake for 30 minutes, until the top browns and the cheese bubbles. Let the green beans sit for 10 minutes before serving.
There is a camp of people who believe that leftovers are the best part of the Thanksgiving spread.
For those who agree, here is a sandwich that is every bit as glorious in leftover status as any, only it’s just a bit fresher tasting. This sandwich makes use of yesterday’s cranberries, mixed together with mayonnaise to make a sweetsavory spread. Then it gets crunchy, thin-sliced apples, which were extras that didn’t go into yesterday’s pie. And to top it off, there is some brie that didn’t get eaten during family hang-out time – that’s going into the sandwich, too. All of that between two slices of toasted sourdough (or whatever bread you like).
Slip a little piece of apple pie into the mix to cap off the leftover love, and you’ve got one winning lunch.
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup leftover cranberries
8 slices sourdough bread (or whatever bread you like)
1 apple, thinly sliced
Leftover brie
In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and cranberries. Spread the cranberry mayonnaise on the bread. Top with turkey and apples. Spread the brie on top of the apples. Set a skillet over medium heat and spray with nonstick spray. Toast the sandwich on each side, just until the bread is golden and the brie gets a little bit melty.
For more recipes, see Back Porch Table at thebuzzmagazines.com every Friday.
cheer is in the air. Find some fes tive ways to celebrate the season around town this month.
The Powder Keg, 1300 Brittmoore Rd. Weds., Nov. 2, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Admission: $5
Steel Magnolia Moms, a local nonprofit for moms of children with special needs, is hosting its third annual Nuttycracker Holiday Market. More than 40 vendors will offer items including clothing and accessories, household items, gourmet food, art, and jewelry. Funds raised will go towards supporting programs for children with disabilities and family members.
NRG Center, One NRG Park Thurs., Nov. 10 (10 a.m.-8 p.m.); Fri., Nov. 11 (10 a.m.-7 p.m.); Sat., Nov. 12 (10 a.m.-6 p.m.); Sun., Nov. 13 (10 a.m.-5 p.m.)
General admission (one-day only): $20/adult; free/children age 2 and under
The Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market fea tures more than 270 booths with a wide range of apparel, accessories, handbags, fashion and fine jewelry, gourmet food and treats, home and holiday décor, toys, and unique gifts. The mar ket is an annual fundraiser that benefits the Houston Ballet Foundation, its Academy, and scholarship programs.
Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney Nov. 11-Jan. 31
Tickets: $17, includes skate rental; discounted tickets on select nights
Glide around Green Mountain Energy ICE this holiday season. There will be themed events each evening including College Nights, Skate with Santa, DJ Nights, Skate with Storybook Stars, and more.
The Galleria, 5085 Westheimer Rd. Sat., Nov. 12, 12-6 p.m.
The Galleria kicks off the holi day season with its 33rd Annual Ice Spectacular, fea turing a dynamic ice-skating show, musical per formances, and the lighting of the center’s 55foot tree. Family and children’s activities start at 12 p.m.
LIGHT UP THE SEASON Lightscape, presented by Reliant, returns to the Houston Botanic Garden for its second year. The internationally acclaimed lights and music event includes an outdoor illuminated trail along a winding path. The new “Bluebonnets” installation, exclusive to Texas, features a field of 2,000 flowers with LED pixel lighting.
Bellaire Arts and Crafts Festival
Paseo Park, 5000 Bellaire Blvd. Sat., Nov. 12, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
The Bellaire Culture and Arts Board hosts the popular Arts and Crafts Festival, aiming to create the atmosphere of the original event dating back to 1972, at its original setting of Paseo Park. Browse arts and crafts from local artisans, in time for holiday-season shopping.
Houston Botanic Garden, One Botanic Lane
Nov. 18-Jan. 1 (entry from 5:30-8:30 p.m.; trail closes at 10 p.m.); closed on select nights
Timed tickets, at 15-minute intervals: $28/adult; $18/child. Flex passes available.
Lightscape, presented by Reliant, lights up the Houston Botanic Garden for its second year. The internationally acclaimed lights and music event features an outdoor illuminated trail including dazzling new immersive installations set to seasonal tunes along a winding path through the Garden. Visitors can also enjoy festive food and drinks, along with fire pits for roasting s’mores.
Houston Zoo, 6200 Hermann Park Dr. Nov. 18-Jan. 8 (5:30-10:30 p.m.); closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Admission: starting at $22/adult (for non-mem bers); kids under 2 are free price varies depending on date/time
The Houston Zoo will be transformed into an illuminated winter wonderland at the annual Zoo Lights presented by TXU Energy. New this
year: Enjoy a “snowy” scene featuring ski lifts; life-sized animal lanterns along the Zoo Lights path; an illuminated, interactive dance floor; a new, colorful holiday light tunnel. Special events include Sip & Sparkle (Thurs., Nov. 17) – adults 21+ are invited to take in Zoo Lights with five 2 oz. wine samples or two Saint Arnold Brewing co. beers.
Constellation Field, 1 Stadium Dr., Sugar Land Nov. 18-Jan. 1 (Sun.-Thurs.: 6-9 p.m.; Friday-Sat.: 6-10 p.m.)
Tickets vary by event date; kids 3 and under don’t require a ticket
The 9th annual Sugar Land Holiday Lights presented by Houston Methodist offers a holiday experience including more than three million lights, 10 themed areas, holiday shopping, food, movie nights, Santa Claus, a carnival, and more.
Children’s Museum Houston, 1500 Binz St. Tues., Nov. 22-Sat., Nov. 26, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. General admission: Free for children under 1; $15/adults and children; $14 seniors
Children’s Museum Houston hosts a variety of fun, hands-on, Thanksgiving-themed activities the whole family will enjoy. Create your own colorful mosaic out of corn, a turkey leg hat, “gobbler glasses” and more.
$15/Kid’s Run; $35/5K; $30/10K Thurs., Nov. 24; packet pickup and registration opens at 6 a.m.
Work up an appetite at the BakerRipley Houston Turkey Trot, benefiting the nonprofit BakerRipley. Options to participate include a Kid’s race, timed and untimed 5K, 10K, and wheelchair 5K and 10K.
Downtown, beginning on Smith at Lamar Thurs., Nov. 24, 9 a.m.
The annual H-E-B Thanksgiving Day Parade starts Thanksgiving off with a fun, festive, family-friendly parade. This year’s Grand Marshal is new Houston resident Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. The parade will include a special performance by local rapper Bun B. Additional acts will include Theatre Under the Stars’ Mary Poppins coming to Houston in December and the iconic Apache Belles. The Thanksgiving Day Parade takes place over 20 city blocks downtown and will feature elaborate floats and marching bands.
34th Annual Uptown Holiday Lighting Uptown Houston, Post Oak Blvd. Thurs., Nov. 24, 4-7 p.m.
After the Thanksgiving feast, make your way to Post Oak Blvd. for the traditional Uptown Holiday Lighting. Festivities begin at 4 p.m. with holiday music, shopping, and street entertainment. The dazzling light show and firework extravaganza takes place at 7 p.m.
Family Movie Night: The Santa Clause Levy Park, 3810 Eastside St. Fri., Nov. 25, 7 p.m.
Enjoy a holiday classic at Family Movie Night featuring The Santa Clause (PG). The free screening at Levy Park is presented by Texas Children’s Hospital. Outside furniture is not permitted; blankets and park chairs can be used.
CityCentre’s Holiday in the Plaza CityCentre, 800 Town and Country Blvd. Sat., Nov. 26, 12-5 p.m.
Free to attend Visit with Santa and two of his reindeer at CityCentre during Holiday in the Plaza presented by Sewell Cadillac. Santa will spread holiday cheer and pose for photos. Help fill Santa’s Cadillac with new, unwrapped toys to be donated in exchange for a complimentary photo with Santa. Houston Show Choir will perform holi day classics at 1:30, 3, and 5 p.m.
City of Bellaire’s Holiday in the Park Bellaire Town Square, 7008 S. Rice Ave. Thurs., Dec. 1, 6-8:30 p.m.
Free
The City of Bellaire will ring in the holiday season and welcome Santa at the annual Holiday in the Park. Enjoy live music from local choirs, snow slides, food and more. Photos with Santa will be available for purchase.
Hermann Square at City Hall Sat., Dec. 3, 6-8 p.m.
Free
The annual Mayor’s Holiday Spectacular includes music, Santa, fireworks, and family fun. A towering holiday tree will light up the streets of downtown Houston this holiday season.
Texas Renaissance Festival grounds, 21778 FM 1774, Todd Mission
Weekends through Nov. 27, including Nov. 25 (Thanksgiving Friday), 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
One-day ticket prices vary from $10-40; kids 12 and under get free admission on Sunday
Travel back in time to the Renaissance age by experiencing the 48th annual Texas Renaissance Festival. An abundance of entertainment, food and drink, shopping, and other activities are available to attendants, all of which are fit for a king or queen. Themed weekends include Heroes and Villains (Nov. 5-6); Barbarian Invasion (Nov. 12-13); Highland Fling (Nov. 19-20); and Celtic Christmas (Nov. 25-27).
Santa’s Wonderland
18898 Hwy 6, College Station Nov. 11-Dec. 30
General admission: $52.95/adult; $47.90/child
This season marks 25 years of the popular Santa’s Wonderland experience in College Station, which includes the opportunity to meet Santa at Santa’s Station, go on hayrides, carriage rides, take a spin around the ice skating rink, play in snow at the Snow Playground, walk through the Trail of Lights, enjoy the Texas Christmas Train, pet cuddly animals at Santa's Barnyard, and more
Space Center Houston, 1601 NASA Parkway
Nov. 12-Jan. 1 (6-10 p.m.); closed Nov. 24, Dec. 8, 24-25.
General admission: $19.95-27.95; varies depending on date/time
Galaxy Lights, powered by Reliant, provides an out-of-this-world holiday-light adventures. Highlights include two high-tech kinetic light shows; the film “Holidays in Space” that includes footage of astronauts celebrating the holidays; a winter wonderland experience; an interactive show to explore the science behind light; and stroll through a 200-foot LED light tunnel made of more than 250,000 lights synchronized to festive holiday music.
Moody Gardens, 1 Hope Blvd., Galveston Nov. 19-Jan. 7
Tickets vary (from $21-75)
Moody Gardens offers multiple festive, fami ly-friendly attractions throughout the season, including Ice Land, Festival of Lights, an iceskating rink, 3D holiday films, Rudolph 4D, the arctic slide, train rides, the Cirque Joyeux Holiday show, pictures with Santa, and more.
The Strand, 2002 Strand, Galveston Dec. 2-4
General admission: $18/adult; $13/youth (712); free/child 6 and under. Ticket prices vary with special events.
The Galveston Historical Foundation presents the 49th annual Dickens on the Strand, based on 19th-century Victorian London. The annual festival features parades, entertainment, roaming characters throughout the festival, costumed vendors, Victorian-inspired crafts, clothing, holiday decorations, live entertainment on four stages, and more.
Editor’s note: See this story at thebuzzmagazines.com for links with more information. Plus, see our online event calendar for more upcoming events.
Buzz Baby is a column about life with little ones. Writer Annie McQueen is a mother of four children under the age of 8.
In the waiting room at Texas Children’s Hospital, the Clark family awaited the arrival of the newest member of their “Clark crazy cousin crew” as they call it. The parents of the baby opted to keep the gender unknown until birth.
In anticipation, the group of 12 cousins all wore matching pink or blue T-shirts (based on their prediction) that read “big cousin” on the front, and the parents had a pink and blue onesie that read across the front “new to the cousin crew” for a big group photo. “We have done this with every birth in the family,” said the mom, who opted to remain anonymous. They ordered the shirts on Amazon.
“It is our cousin tradition, and we can reuse the T-shirts and cycle around the pink and blue as the kids change their predictions for each birth,” said the mom.
The first cousins, spread out across the wait ing room, ranged in age from 6 months to age 12. The toddlers played with trucks on the wait ing room floor as the older cousin held the baby cousin. Later that day, the newest cousin – a baby girl – arrived.
This scene reminded me a bit of my own family. Together, among the adult siblings, our family has 15 first cousins. Every November, we take our annual cousin trip to the pumpkin patch at Dewberry Farm. Some of the older cousins are in college, so this farm trip usually ends up being the “little” cousins – who range in age from 2 to 13.
In 2018, we started a tradition to line up the kids, from youngest to oldest, on a giant swing at Dewberry. Someone acts as the photographer, and someone acts as “the clown” as we call it to get the kids’ attention to look at the camera and smile. Each year, as the cousins get older, we can compare the photos and memories made within the year. We print the photo to put side by side in our houses. It is neat to see the changes over the years.
My twins, Cash and Lila, who are now 8, were
born eight weeks to the day after their first cousin, Wyatt. Wyatt is the third child in his family, but my twins were the firstborn. The dynamic of the “triplets” as we jokingly call them was rock solid from the start. When they were toddlers attending their first school expe rience at a Mother’s Day Out program, they were in the same class.
As a slightly nervous first-time parent, I ven tured to the school’s “Meet the Teacher” with my twins. They were not 2 yet, and it was such a comfort to have my own sister, Wyatt’s mom, there with him, as the three met their teacher together.
Our kids constantly beg to see their cousins. When they are together, they run around and play – and even as the older cousins start to grow apart from childhood games when they are with their little cousins, age does not matter one bit. They all take care of one another.
Parents Ashley and Chip Cavanaugh have two daughters, Greer, 5, and Annie, 3. Annie and Greer have nine first cousins in total,
ranging in age from 6 months to 12 years. They are always around their cousins, doing family things.
“I love that my girls get to grow up with all of their cousins in Houston as I did,” said Ashley. “It allows us to go to each other’s sports games, birthday parties, and other big events. We have been able to bring them up with some of the things we loved to do with our cousins, like spending time in Galveston and Lakeway.”
Ashley says her kids love to be around their cousins and she enjoys watching their bond strengthen. They have traveled together, like when they took a trip to Wyoming in the summer of 2021. “I hope my kids always consider their cousins as close friends, the way Chip and I do ours,” Ashley said. When they visit their family beach house in Galveston, Ashley says they like to rotate which room they spend the night in and with which cousin.
There are so many benefits to being raised in a cousin crew. One of the best parts is that cousins can grow up to be best friends – almost like siblings, but less annoying.
Buzz Reads is a column about books by reviewer Cindy Burnett. Each month, Cindy recommends five recently or soon-to-be released titles.
A Ghost of Caribou by Alice Henderson (mystery/thriller) – In A Ghost of Caribou, Alex Carter, a wildlife biologist, is sent to northern Washington state where a mountain caribou is believed to have been seen for the first time in decades. This would be monumental, because the animal is believed to be extinct in the lower United States. Alex is hired by the Land Trust for Wildlife Conservation to investigate and set cameras to determine if one or more has wandered south from Canada. However, when she arrives, she quickly discovers that finding an elu sive caribou isn’t her only challenge. Right on the edges of the Land Trust, logging interests and environmental activists are at an impasse over old growth forest, and several women have gone missing from the area over the last few years. Henderson’s focus on fascinating wildlife research work and the environmental impact of endan gered animal species make this a unique and com pelling read. While this is the third installment in the Alex Carter series, A Ghost of Caribou can be read as a standalone as well. Alice Henderson has carved out a niche in the thriller arena with this outstanding series that focuses on vanishing animals and their habitats, and I highly recommend her books.
How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz (contemporary fiction) – Written in a unique format across 12 job counseling sessions, the book is a quick but very compelling read. Cara Romero, a woman in her 50s who recently lost her job at a factory manufacturing lamps, narrates her story as she visits with a job counselor each week in order to find a job or qual ify for more benefits. Interspersed among the counseling sessions are various forms and docu ments from her life – her rent application, job applications, and eventually her application for citizenship. Cara is tough, full of heart, and at times absolutely hilarious – she’s one of the best fictional characters that I have encountered in a long while. And the format works so well for telling Cara’s life story. I highly recommend this
one – it is the perfect combination of humor, family drama, a strong setting (New York City’s Washington Heights), and characters you root for even as they sometimes make poor decisions.
The Invincible Miss Cust by Penny Haw (historical fiction) From an early age, Aleen Cust loved animals and dreamed of working with them when she was an adult. But few women in the 1800s pursued such a career, and Aleen’s fam ily was very much against this pursuit. Eventually, she goes against the wishes of her aristocratic fam ily and enrolls in the New Veterinary College in Edinburgh where she encounters a variety of obstacles both from her family and her classmates that she must overcome, but she perseveres to become the first female veterinary surgeon in both Ireland and Britain. This is another great addition to the biographical fiction subgenre about real women who have been lost to history.
WHAT TO READ This month's picks include two thrillers, two historical-fiction titles, and a contemporary tale relayed in a unique format.
the mystery. The highlights of the book are the stellar mystery, the Welsh setting with a glimpse into the Welsh culture and history, and the solid cast of characters, and this is a stellar start to a new police procedural series.
The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh (mystery/thriller) – This psychological thriller is set at The Shore, an exclusive community of lake lodges, in Llyn Drych (also known as Mirror Lake) under the shadow of Pen y Ddraig mountain and near the village of Cwm Coed, just inside the Welsh border with England. The town has a New Year’s Day tradition of a morning swim in the freezing cold Mirror Lake, but this year the swim is cut short when the body of a man is found floating in the lake. The victim, Rhys Lloyd, a local celebrity and has-been opera singer, is the developer of The Shore with his business partner Jonty Charlton. Due to The Shore’s location on the Wales/England border, a joint investigation with DC Ffion Morgan from North Wales and DC Leo Brady of Cheshire Major Crimes from the English side results. The story is written in a dual timeline format – the events that build up to the murder are relayed in the past, while the investigation into the murder is told in the present day – which works well for
Marmee by Sarah Miller (historical fiction) –Sarah Miller’s Marmee retells Little Women from the perspective of the four girls’ mother, Margaret March, known to them as Marmee. Using a jour nal/diary format, the book follows the same events and timeline as the original book, however, since an adult is the narrator, some events that occupy a lot of space in the original story get little more than a passing reference here and vice versa. Most notable to me were Marmee’s reflections on her husband’s absence, his lack of understanding of finances and how that impacts his family, the realities of the Civil War and how it was affecting those left at home, and the time she spends helping others. The novel traces Marmee’s own personal growth, as Alcott’s novel does for the March girls, and is at its strongest when revealing her struggles with loneliness while her husband is absent, her sadness at the war’s horrific impact on civilians, and her profound grief when she loses a daughter. Marmee is a beautiful book that can be read as a standalone or as a companion to Little Women.
Editor’s note: Southside Place resident Cindy Burnett also writes our weekly Page Turners column at thebuzzmagazines.com. She hosts the Thoughts from a Page Podcast, is co-creator of the Houston literary event series Conversations from the Page, runs the Instagram account @thoughtsfromapage, and regularly speaks to groups about books.
Last year, as Becky and John Luman were casting about for what to do with their teenagers for Thanksgiving, they recalled their treasured memories of a trip to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1997, before they had their children. The Covid-weary family was ready, like so many, to return to travel. “We wanted to do something unique with our kids again,” said Becky. Ariana was in her last year of high school, and they wanted to make the most of her time with them. “We'd done the road trips, we'd done Mexico, we'd done Hawaii.” So they asked their kids, “What about St. John? We loved that.”
Indeed, the Luman family had done a lot of travel together. After traveling to overseas destinations like London and Paris, Becky decided to do with her own kids what her parents had done with her and her five elder sisters and brothers: Take them camping. Now 19 and 17, respectively, Ariana and Zane have been to 45 states and over 90 National Park System sites.
In 2013 they took their first big road trip – 27 days in three states, exploring national parks and historic sites throughout the region, and they were hooked. John, a trial attorney, was working long hours but joined Becky, Ariana, and Zane when he could. Dubbed “Luman Family Summer Tours,” that 27-day trip led to a 47-day road trip in the summer of 2014, then trips of 25 to 36 days each summer through 2018, when work, sports, and life got in the way of the treasured summer tours.
Through these years, the family explored historic sites where American colonies settled, Civil and Revolutionary War battles were fought, and Native Americans lived; walked across the headwaters of the Mississippi River; soaked in the beauty of National Seashores and the Great Lakes; and hiked the incredible canyons, gorges, and mountain ranges of the U.S. and Canada, with the kids earning Junior Ranger Badges along the way.
So as they planned their post-Covid getaway, it was logical that they would want to go a bit further afield – and also that they would choose a national park. So Virgin Islands National Park
it was – and specif ically St. John. Two-thirds of the island is national park, and its stun ning white-sand beaches are leg endary, making it an ideal destina tion for the whole family.
“I'm always the nature person and they’re the beach people, so the vacation question is always, do we go to a beach or do we go hiking in nature? St. John lets us do both: enjoy amazing natural beauty, and the most amazing beaches,” said Becky, an environmental consultant whose love affair with nature began before her birth – her family went camping at Big Bend National Park when her mother was four months pregnant with her (stay tuned for more of this story in an upcoming issue). “When I’m on these beaches, I’m more than OK; I’m in nature and love that my family is doing exactly what they want to be doing.”
NATURAL BEAUTY Virgin Islands National Park protects two-thirds of St. John’s land, beaches, and seashores, allowing visitors to experience the beauty of St. John in its most natural form. Pictured (from left) are Zane, Becky, Ariana, and John Luman.
3,000 people, but it’s still a lively cultural and commercial hub, with great gastronomy, interesting markets, and a vibrant nightlife – plenty of amenities for the Lumans.
Becky hesitated to share her Virgin Island experience, reluctant to attract more people to the island. “To think of St. John being overrun by tourists is actually a sad thought,” she commented. “Yet by telling people about how amazing this spot is in its natural form and how St. John emphasizes sustainable tourism, hopefully people will want to protect other natural places in their natural forms and always travel lightly.”
The entire island is sensitively developed and intimate – just 20 square miles, with a forested ridge ringed by small beaches. Each beach has limited parking, so they don’t tend to be crowded. Forty percent of the national park is underwater, with mangrove shorelines, seagrass beds, fringing and patch reefs offering a plethora of snorkeling opportunities, among the most popular being the Trunk Bay Underwater Snorkel Trail.
“Some people are turned off by the lack of amenities. We love the lack of amenities because that means that we get to enjoy nature and smaller crowds,” said Becky. “I've heard people talk about St. John, saying, ‘That was a horrible trip. We got there and couldn’t even go to the beach; there was no place to park.’”
“What a shame for them; when you appreciate and know how to do, what to do, when to do it, the island and its beaches are absolutely beautiful.”
The largest town, Cruz Bay, is home to under
More than 20 hiking trails meander through archaeological sites, an old sugar mill, a viewing deck for the island’s abundant birding opportu nities, and spectacular views for those willing to do a little trekking.
At the heart of the island along the Reef Hill Trail is a petroglyph site that was sacred to the original Taino peoples who inhabited the island before the colonial years. The carvings leave clues about a mysterious people who left the island before the Spanish conquistadors arrived. Other artifacts reveal clues about the brutal history of slavery that began in the early 1600s, when millions of Africans were brought to the Caribbean to work in bondage in the sugar plantations.
“The island is steeped with history and with people who care about protecting the past and present communities, balancing environmental protection with sustainable development. And then there are people that don’t seem to under stand how detrimental, say,
a massive marina would be to the ecology, history, and future of the community. Anyone knowing anything about watershed management, pollution, ecology, and the value of protecting something so special, would know that would not be good for the island community or their tourism’s economy.”
Hurricanes and environmental degradation have damaged much of the island’s coral reefs. Making things worse, visiting boats used to drop anchor on top of the coral, smashing it to bits.
The National Park Service developed a solu tion: mooring lines. Now instead of dropping anchor, ships and boats are required to use the mooring lines. “If they hadn’t done that, I can't imagine how destroyed St. John would be. It’s a balance: We do need to invite people to see our nation’s spectacular natural spaces, to see how beautiful things can be if we take care of them. But we also need to protect them.”
The family flew first to the busy tourist hub of St. Thomas, the island where most peo-
ple arrive. The flight was four hours, and then it was a half-hour by ferry to St. John. They rented a Jeep on St. Thomas and stocked up on groceries – food is available on St. John, but it’s limited and expensive. They rented a house in their favorite area, Coral Bay – far from the more developed area around Cruz Bay, but still with quiet little local restaurants.
Later, John was telling a friend about their trip and his friend asked if it was an all-inclusive experience. John laughed. “It’s not a place where you go to be entertained,” said John said. “It’s a place where you go to unplug.”
The house they rented looked out over the bay and a view of the British Virgin Islands spreading out in front of them in all their tropi cal glory. It faced east, so they were able to see the sunrise and the moonrise over the Caribbean from their porch.
“There was a full moon and it was just phenomenal,” said John. It was Thanksgiving, and they began to look for options to celebrate. Most places were closed for the holiday, so it wasn’t easy. St.
John is home to a large number of US expats, as John called them, for lack of a better term.
“And I thought, ‘Man, there’s got to be a place to get a turkey dinner.’ We found a local restaurant in Coral Bay that offered a turkey dinner, with all the trimmings, and it was great. We had Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving –your traditional turkey with an island flair.”
Special memories for John include sitting in the local restaurants at the end of the day, after spending a day at the beach. “Relaxing at the beach and just watching the world go by with your kids and playing in the water. We snorkeled a bunch, and the snorkeling was incredible. I don't want to scare anybody, but there are nurse sharks – which look scary but aren’t – and all kinds of fish. You name it, it's colorful and it’s there.”
One of the unforgettable highlights was swimming in the company of some giant sea turtles. “They were just kind of hanging out with us there, right next to us,” said John. “At first you kind of freak out … (continued on page 42)
ISLAND LIFE Clockwise, from lower left: St. John is known for its wild donkeys, and the Luman family gets a chuckle out of seeing them roadside every time; views of the bay from the rental home porch; the Luman family dressed up for Thanksgiving dinner in Coral Bay; Zane enjoying time on the beach. The spectacular white sand/greenblue beauty of the beaches is made even more special by the lack of crowds and beautiful island views, plenty of room to toss a baseball or frisbee.
from
man, that’s big. They might come over and just kind of look at you, but they’re not there to mess with you.”
The Luman family kept a respectful distance and didn’t touch them – touching the animals is prohibited – but they didn’t seem at all perturbed by the human presence, so they enjoyed following the turtles as they swam. With their rented fins on, they were able to keep up with them – at the required distance.
“It was really neat, swimming with such a large animal,” said John.
Ariana loved the island so much that when it came time for her choosing a location to cel ebrate completion of her senior year in high school, she chose to go back to St. John with her family, a mere six months after their Thanksgiving adventures.
“It just makes me happy!” she said, smiling at the memories.
The second time together, they rented a boat for a day, adding to their experience. On their first trip, John had noticed “people that were clearly not locals driving these 16-foot boats. So we decided to rent one ourselves.”
Being able to meander up and down the coastline, exploring different bays and islands,
they felt a whole other level of freedom. “It was kind of cool just to tool around. We would go in and out of bays and do some snorkeling.”
John enjoyed exploring the island culture of Cruz Bay, as well, and especially loved visiting with the locals and learning the island’s stories. On their first visit in ’97, John and Becky learned of a longtime popular hangout place with a history: Skinny Legs Bar and Grill, which quickly became a favorite. In 2017 when Hurricane Irma hit, the island was devastated, and the bar with it. But when they came back for a visit last year, they found that the bar had been rebuilt, and they stopped for a meal, this time with their kids in tow. As usual, it was a great place to pick up on the local stories.
For example, they learned that soon after the storm hit, country music artist Kenny Chesney, a longtime island resident when he’s not on tour, began sending supplies and helping people get off the island and to the mainland. He also started a foundation to support those in need on the island: Love for Love City. The singer said the popular local nickname was given to St. John because it’s small and intimate, it’s a popular honeymoon destination, and as Chesney says, there is a lot of love on the island.
John loved seeing the kids interact with the locals, unplug, and soak up the island culture. Zane and John enjoyed playing baseball and football on the beach and snorkeling the reefs. For the two of them, the island songs of Chesney and Jimmy Buffet came alive as they encountered so many places mentioned in their songs.
“The island life is something both Zane and Dad could really get used to!” said John.
There wasn’t really any need to be online, so the family just spent time together.
“At night we’d sit on the balcony, looking out over the water with the moon coming up. We'd just read books or do puzzles. It was just really kind of a great ‘life stands still’ sort of time. You have the ocean lapping in, you’ve got the views, and all the stuff there is to take in – and we don't do it enough in our daily lives.”
For more about the Virgin Islands National Park, check out the National Park Service page, and/or the US Virgin Islands Sustainable Tourism Guide by St John Magazine.
Editor’s note: Buzz travel columnist Tracy L. Barnett is a Lowell Thomas travel journalism award winner and longtime travel and environmental writer. Email her at info@thebuzzmagazines.com to share your own travel tales.
by Dai Huynh, staff writer
Doyou remember the movie Joy? It tells the story of inventor-entrepreneur Joy Mangano, who invented the milliondollar-making self-wringing mop. Well, while listening to Kate Weiser tell the tale of Carl the Snowman, you can’t help but compare these two creative go-getters. You also have to wonder whether a movie or a limited made-for-TV series is in store for the 36-year-old, dimple-cheeked Kansas City-raised blonde with smiling eyes.
Now based in Dallas, the noted chocolatier recently opened a pop-up shop in Houston’s River Oaks District (4444 Westheimer). Her lease runs through March, and she hopes Houstonians will fall for her colorful, handpainted chocolates so that she can hang a per manent Kate Weiser Chocolate sign at Suite F125. So far, she’s been lucky, starting with her first shop at Trinity Groves in Dallas – then along came Oprah.
In 2018, Oprah Winfrey continued her famous ritual of tasting, testing, and picking her “favorite things” list for the holiday. Among them was Kate’s on-the-fly creation for the holidays: Carl the Snowman. Oprah said, “If Frosty were stuffed with mini marshmallows, he'd be like Carl here. Just place this hunk of a chocolate man into a pot of milk, turn up the heat, and watch him melt into a few mugs’ worth of rich cocoa."
Kate will tell you the rest of the story, along with her strategies for pairing chocolate with wine:
Dubbed the “million-dollar snowman” because you have sold tens of thousands across the country at stores like Neiman Marcus at $38 a pop, how did you come up with the idea for Carl the Snowman?
The snowman is by far our most popular prod uct. We sell this snowman for three months, which is responsible for 30 percent of our entire year’s sales. I feel that this is how most people know my brand – because of the snowman. At this point, kids have grown up with Carl the Snowman. My first store opened in August 2014.
Usually, when you have a chocolate store, you have your seasonal products planned far in advance. We didn’t start planning for Christmas
until October. I knew I wanted to make a mold ed Christmas tree, an ornament, and a snowman.
One day, I placed a snowman in front of a customer and asked whether she would try it and give me her thoughts.
It was a gorgeous eight-inch chocolate snowman, and I remember the customer saying, “Oh, I love him, but I don’t want to kill him!” What? You don’t want to kill him? That just tickled me. She gave him a persona. My dark humor kicked in, and I thought, “How do you kill a snowman? You melt him, of course.” The sun comes out, and he melts, so how do I make my customers melt him? With a candle? No. Let’s melt him in a pot of milk, and as he melts away, he becomes hot chocolate!
So that was your “eureka” moment.
We were flying by the seat of our pants. We didn’t even have proper packaging or instructions, but every time we explained it to a customer, they would buy five, so the first 100 we made were gone in a day. I looked at the chefs and said, “Guys, we got to make 100 more. This is going to be big.” We thought 100 was big. Then someone from the Dallas Morning News put a giant picture of the snowman on the food and wine page, and our phone wouldn’t stop ringing. We had a wait list to get on the wait list. We ended up only being able to make 2,000 that first year. It was bananas.
This year, you’ll make about 25,000 Carls, plus 170,000 single-serving Lil’ Carls. How did you come up with the name for this dark chocolate hollow hunk filled with hot cocoa mix and mini marshmallows?
C-A-R-L stands for “chocolate and real love.” He’s become this persona, and every year, we get videos with parents and their children melting Carl, or friends around the stove, or people my age, pouring in Baileys.
Carl aside, you initially made a name for yourself with your hand-painted chocolate bonbons. Each is filled with either ganache, pate de fruit, caramel, or
gianduja (chocolate-hazelnut paste) and takes six days to make from start to finish. You’ve garnered countless fans with three successful chocolate shops in Dallas and Fort Worth. Named among the Top 10 Chocolatiers in North America by Dessert Professional magazine, you can set up shop in any city. How did you narrow your final choice down to Houston?
We’ve been at Central Market since February 2020 and at Neiman Marcus. We’ve been able to track the trends of Houston customers on the wholesale side, and it has always been one of our bigger markets. The plan is to see how it goes. Number one, I want to learn the logistics: How do you open a store four hours away from your corporate headquarters? How do you staff it? How do you get chocolates there? Ultimately, we just wanted to see if this would be a future home for us.
Tell us more about this interactive sensory experience you’ve created for your guests.
I went to Harrods in London in 2019, and they have a wine room where they have this aroma table experience for you to smell the different flavor notes in the wine, and that would help customers select which bottles of wine they wanted to purchase. It was so incredibly fun and thought out. It was the coolest experience, and it did help me choose a bottle of wine…. It was such a unique experience, and that stuck with me.
So, fast-forward to the present, and you ended up building your own sensory table for chocolates.
Chocolate is very similar to wine. There are so many flavor notes and nuances. I was just waiting for the perfect opportunity. When I signed the lease for the Houston store, it was a larger space than I typically have. It’s 1,300 square feet, and my space is
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typically 500 square feet or less, so I thought, I finally have the space for people to walk around to look at things, taste things, and smell things.
Is this free? Can anyone come in, taste different chocolates, and learn how smell affects your taste buds?
Yes, it’s free. I can walk you through it. So, basically, what you’re going to do as a customer, you’re going to go to the back area, where we have an area dedicated to this experience. We have these little plates with a tasting guide on the plate. We have these beautiful bowls with different samples of different chocolates. So, we have a piece of white chocolate, blonde choco late, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate. On your tasting sheet, you’ll put down a piece of chocolate. I’ve highlighted flavor notes for each chocolate, so when you put white chocolate on your tongue, you’re going to taste a lot of milk, a lot of cream, vanilla, and a little honey. So, I listed all that there. So, before you even enter the aroma arena, you understand what you’re tasting with the chocolate.
OK, this one is nutty. This one has a little grapefruit. If you want to stop there and eat your chocolate, you absolutely can do that. Or you can take the plate over to our aroma table, and the best way to do it is to lift up these gigantic hand-painted bonbons that I painted myself in the backyard because my husband wouldn’t let me spray-paint in the house. So, you lift up the dome, and you’re hit with this aroma, and we have four different scents under each of the four bonbons: passionfruit, laven der, coconut, and raspberry. You let the aroma take over your senses, and you put the piece of chocolate on your tongue.
For the passionfruit, we recommend trying it with blond chocolate. But again, you can choose your own adventure. But what is fascinating about this is that 80 percent of what you taste comes from your sense of smell. So, when you smell that passionfruit, and you put that piece of chocolate on your tongue, it will change the experience. Your brain will send signals to your tastebuds that what you’re eating has flavors of passionfruit.
Even though it contains no passionfruit.
Exactly.
The holidays are upon us. This November and December, families and friends will be getting togeth er – some for the first time since the pandemic. Any thoughts on how to pair chocolate with wine?
I try not to be too bougie with it. Whatever excites your palate, then that’s a good pairing. If something exciting is happening on your tongue, you’ve done a great job, so you don’t have to overthink it. We have a four-piece Wine Hanging Box with a loop, designed to hang on the neck of a bottle of wine. So, we’ve taken all the guesswork out of it for you. We have four chocolates that go beautifully with a cabernet or pinot noir. That makes a great Thanksgiving gift if you’re going to someone’s house for turkey.
FAVORITE THINGS Carl the Snowman (top photo) is a hot chocolate phenom – which landed on Oprah's famous “favorite things” list in 2018. Kate Weiser’s hand-painted bonbons (bottom photo) are a year-round favorite, including best-sellers Cookie Monster and Mango Habanero.
Dark chocolates typically go well with bold red wines. As for champagne, I love pairing white chocolate with champagne because white chocolate is very fatty and sugary. White choco late coats your whole tongue with this sweet ness, so when you drink with this dry bubble, the effervescence of the bubble cuts through that white chocolate and creates this exciting sensa-
tion on your palate. When it comes to white wine, we have a lot of fruity-flavored chocolate. We have key lime chocolate that goes well with a pinot grigio. You can play around.
Editor’s note: Buzz dining columnist Dai Huynh is a James Beard food-journalism award winner and longtime Houston-based restaurant writer.
With a 22-8 regular season record and a number nine state ranking, the Memorial Mustangs were off to a successful start in the first ever season of UIL boys water polo. Up until this season, high school water polo had only been played on the club level as part of the Texas Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association (TISCA). “It’s definitely been a transition from TISCA to the UIL,” said Mustangs water polo and swim coach Jason Mauss
“We’re actually playing less games than previous years in TISCA, but the one really good thing is that being part of the UIL is providing a lot of new schools and kids the opportunity to participate in the sport. Water polo is also receiving a lot more media exposure this year. So, that’s also a definite positive.”
There’s been plenty of positives all season for the Mustangs water polo program. “We won our first tournament of the season over in Cy Fair and our boys finished second in district to a real ly good team from Stake Jesuit. Seniors Sebastian Warren, Romain Joubert, and Cameron Brenton have all done really well for us. Also, our goalie Richard Ye suffered a freak type of injury and sophomore Sam Frank has stepped up and played great in his place.”
As for the Memorial girls water polo team, the Mustangs advanced to the UIL playoffs after winning the district 15-5A championship. The Mustangs defeated Stratford by a single goal and then a second time in overtime to secure the district title. “Those were great wins for us,” said Mauss. “Juniors Olivia Wilkinson and Paige Koehn have played really well all season. Also, our entire team has continued to improve and the girls have jelled together when it matters most.”
After finishing third in the state while competing in TISCA last season, the Strake Jesuit boys water polo had their sights set on winning a UIL state championship. The Crusaders entered the playoffs as district cham pions while owning a number eight statewide ranking. “It’s definitely a different sort of chal lenge in the UIL playoffs,” said Strake Jesuit swimming and water polo coach Tim Keogh
“It’s single elimination with several rounds of the post-season playoffs. So, it is a tougher and more challenging road to win it all.”
The Crusaders have done plenty of winning all season while rising up in the rankings. “The thing about our team is that the guys play really well together and we have different guys step up every game,” said Keogh. “Our goalie Chris Poisler has been exceptional. He might be our best player. Also, players like Wyatt Hansen, Charlie Alley, Matthew Trail, and Zach Jones are among those who’ve shined on both sides of the ball. We’re just an overall hard-working team.”
With a 6-0 start in district 18-6A, the Bellaire Cardinals volleyball team had won 34 consecutive matches in district play dating back to the early part of the 2020 season. “The girls are doing great,” said Cardinals firstyear head coach Melissa Martin. “From the first day of practice they came in ready to work hard and win games.”
Martin herself came into the season following in the footsteps of a pair of legendary volleyball coaches in Ap Clarke and then Nicole Blakeman. “I’m loving it here,” said Martin. “I was the junior varsity coach for 10 years and it’s
just exciting to take over the varsity program.”
As for this year’s team, Martin says there’s been several major contributors including senior middle blocker Paris Gilmore. “Paris is my top middle blocker. She’s been on varsity for almost three seasons and leads the team in hitting per centage and blocks.”
In addition, junior outside hitter Auma Mbeche-Odhiambo is the Cardinals kills leader with nearly four kills per set. “Auma is just a fan tastic outside hitter,” said Martin. “She also cov ers the court extremely well on defense.” Other top players for the Cardinals, according to Martin, include outside hitters Camille Lasics and Lucy Bannerman
“Camille leads the team in aces and assists, while Lucy is a freshman who’s kind of our secret weapon on the court. She can put the ball away and has a great serve. I just think we have a strong team across the board,” added Martin.
Editor’s note: Todd Freed is the host and executive producer of H-Town High School Sports, which airs Saturday at 10:30 p.m. on CW39 and Monday-Thursday on AT&T SportsNet SW. To submit high school sports news for possi ble inclusion in SportzBuzz, please email todd@thebuzzmagazines.com.
Welcome to SportzBuzz Jr., a column spotlighting neighborhood athletes in elementary and middle school.
Priya Vasan (pictured), a student at West University Elementary School, recently completed in the Mini Mates Division for the Captain Kids Triathlon at Moody Gardens in Galveston. This was Priya’s first time participating in the race and it was the eighth year for the triathlon to take place. She started to train early for the race, starting in mid-August. Her training coach was West University Elementary School Physical Education teacher Amanda Jehn. The triathlon course was made just for kids with a total of four divisions and different course distances. The race included a 200-meter swim, 4-mile bike ride, and a 1-mile run for the Mates division; a 100-meter swim, 2-mile bike ride and a 1/2 -mile run for the Mini Mates division. Priya’s parents Suresh and Jessica Vasan cheered her on from the sidelines.
The 14U West University Softball Association Wave played their hearts out to win a late-night tournament in Pasadena in early fall. After playing games in the morning and afternoon, the championship game did not end until after midnight. At the game, there were contributions by every player to help take home the championship. WUSA continues to grow their program with teams from 8U through 14U winning championships throughout Houston. Pictured (from left) are players Valeria Casso, Kailin Tang, Michelle Gaw, Safia Chilakapati, Emily Pesikoff, Blakely Roberts, Madysen Tennard, Peyton Laakso, Andi Trejo, Faith Puzon, Eve Puzon, Madeline Liebl and 14U Wave coaches (from left) Chili Chilakapati, Daniel Pesikoff, Joy Puzon , and Michael Liebl .
For the second time, the 12U West U Wave softball team had an excit ing tournament win. The girls capped off an undefeated round-robin tour nament with a decisive championship win in the Santa Fe Strikeout Cancer tournament. The team played hard to complete their season with an outstanding finish. Pictured (back row, from left) are Coach Greg Koush and Coach Bradley Sabloff, (middle row, from left) Claire Koush, Avery Sabloff, Samantha Berzin, Amanda Debusk, Sophie Murphy, (front row, from left) Jessie Whitley, Sydney Monkmeyer, Hailey Lane, Manager Donna Lane, Olivia Murray, Ceci Bass, Mia Fleishman; and (not pictured) are Michelle Gaw and Coach Ben Gaw.
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.
I’veseen the consequences of distracted driving firsthand. I met a man who had tears in his eyes as he spoke about how his teenage daugh ter got badly injured in a motor vehicle accident a few weeks before. The accident was caused by a distracted driver using his cell phone to find directions. While volunteering at my parents’ clinic, I was saddened to see the injuries his daughter suffered from the accident. It led me to do some research. I was surprised to learn the numbers.
According to the CDC, over 3,000 Americans die each year due to distracted drivers. In a 2013 study, taking eyes off the road even for two seconds was shown to cause an eightfold risk of a crash. Distracted driving is the cause of more than 58 percent of crashes involving teen drivers, according to the AAA Foundation for
Traffic Safety. The unofficial fatality and injury numbers are likely much higher. All these acci dents are preventable.
I felt drawn to this cause and researched what we can do to help lower these numbers. Distraction while driving can come from many sources, the most common being mobile phones, but also eating or drinking while driving, talking to passengers, looking at billboards, using a GPS, dealing with children or pets, adjusting the stereo, applying makeup/grooming, or daydreaming.
Educating drivers and spreading awareness of the dangers of distracted driving and ways to reduce distractions is most important. Here are some ways the younger generation can contribute:
• Reminding drivers to turn off mobile devices and put them out of reach before they begin driving.
• As a passenger, offering to make the call, send the text, select the music, or help with navigation.
• Talking about the issue with friends and schoolmates to raise awareness.
• Writing to local governing bodies to create laws prohibiting texting or using phones whilst driving.
• Placing yard signs and holding community talks about the importance of non-distracted driving.
If we all pledge to follow these recommendations, hopefully we can prevent incidents like this one.
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STAY FOCUSED Ralph Satija, an eighth grader at Annunciation Orthodox School, wants to raise public awareness about the harm caused by dis tracted driving.
In an unheralded bonanza to beneficiaries everywhere, stocks and bonds get a new basis on the owner’s death equal to the average of the high and low on the owner’s last day. Sorry, the statement does not count because it only reports the closing value.
If the asset has appreciated, a new basis means the unrealized gain is wiped out, and the beneficiary can sell for the date of death value without any capital gains tax. Did you buy Apple stock 15 years ago? Feeling mortal? Don’t give that stock away. Instead, keep it forever. On your death your beneficiaries will get it anyway, but with a basis equal to the date of death value, not the purchase price.
Income in respect of decedent assets, e.g., IRAs, retirement plans, deferred annuities, and savings bonds, do not get a new basis on death. Assets you gave away before death do not get a new basis, whether to a rel ative or to a trust for a relative. Stocks and bonds in your own living trust (an “inter vivos revocable trust”) do get a new basis on death. Life insurance proceeds, including from variable policies invested in stocks or mutual funds, are income-tax free regardless.
Informing beneficiaries of the new basis is a valuable part of estate admin istration. The task is easy enough when securities are registered electronically. Since 1996, the IRS has used Estate Valuations & Pricing Systems, Inc. (EVP) to calculate the basis of inherited assets and to doublecheck decedents’ and beneficiaries’ math. EstateVal is the software EVP licenses to banks, brokerages, and law firms for the same purpose.
When administration is complete, the challenge is to divide securities
and deliver each beneficiaries’ share without selling the securities and realizing even the limited capital gains from the date of death to date of distribution. The Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS) enables in-kind distributions of book-entry securities in days, not weeks.
In contrast, paper-form securities require medallion guarantee signatures, surrender of the physical certificate and considerable delay. If lost, a surety bond is required for replace ment, in the amount of the value of the secu rity. The premium is generally 3% of the loss. If you should be so lucky to discover Dad had $10,000 worth of AT&T stock in paper-form, but you can’t find the certificates, expect to pay $300 for the surety bond, plus a fixed charge, e.g., $85, per lost certificate.
Planning your own estate? Surrender any paper-form stocks or bonds for book entry. Your broker can help if the issuing company cannot. Register savings bonds via TreasuryDirect.
We write wills and go to probate court. 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
by 281-884-9191
Hello! My name is Copper Dash Lerner. I am pretty new to the area. You should know that I am super friendly, and really want to meet you! So when you see me, I will sit down, wag my tail, and wait for you to come up to me. Sometimes, I’ve sat and waited but we missed each other. That’s ok, I’ll catch you next time! I want to say thanks to everyone who has brought me a toy, but honestly, I really enjoy rolls of toilet paper. They taste delicious, and my family loves to chase me around once I get them. Fun for everyone. I have three brothers who love to play ball and rub my tummy. I try to have sleepovers in their rooms, but my parents won’t let me. I get sad and pee on their floor. I am starting some meditation to work through my “anger management” . . . I’ll keep you posted on that.
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Shellfish contain iodine. Iodine, however, is an element, and too small to trigger a true allergic reaction, involving the allergy antibody, IgE.
IgE recognizes larger things such as proteins. If you make an IgE that perfectly fits with a protein (think of a lock and a key scenario), that can lead to an aller gic reaction releasing histamine and other chemicals that cause hives, swelling, shortness of breath (and maybe even a drop in blood pressure or death.)
People with shellfish allergies are allergic to a protein called tropomyosin. Since shellfish contain iodine though, the correlation of shellfish, iodine, and allergy was mistaken for causality.
To further complicate things, iodine (being present in contrast dye done for some X-ray type medical procedures) was thought to then be the cause of reactions some patients were having to the contrast dye.
This confusion arose from a survey in the 1970s, asking patients who had had a reaction to contrast media if they had other health problems. Some listed shellfish allergy. Physicians incorrectly assumed that there could be a connection and hypothesized iodine was the connection.
To further complicate things, it is important to note it is not the iodine in contrast media that causes the reaction. Rather, it is the concentration or osmolality of the contrast dye. Newer, lower osmolality dye is quite well tolerated by most previously contrast sensitive individuals.
From one false assumption came a series of mistaken leaps. This dangerously leads patients to miss out on safe medically warranted imaging tests (X-ray, CT scan…) or in some situations, to undergo a less safe, less appropriate and/or more expensive alternative medical test. Other times, it leads
to patients unnecessarily taking medications, such as steroids, before an imaging study.
A recent study found no documented cases in the last 70 years where iodine itself was responsible for patient reactions to iodinated contrast media or other iodine containing compounds.
The American College of Radiology and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology as well as other prominent organ izations have published guidelines stating that patients who self-report a seafood or iodine allergy can safely receive contrast dye without premedicating with steroids.
If you have questions about whether you are allergic to shellfish, iodine, or contrast dye, come see us at The Allergy Clinic where we can help sort things out.
By the way, the salt on your favorite French fries is iodinated.
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.
Anthony J. Weido, M.D., The Allergy Clinic, 7707 Fannin, Suite 100, Houston, Texas 77054, 713.797.0993, *1200 Binz, Suite 1400, Houston, Texas 77004, 713.522.9911, www.allergyclinic.com, *Operating as Houston Allergy and Asthma Clinic
chapter and encourage the community to con tinue the fight against the autoimmune disease. Cheryl Yetz, a Lupus Warrior who has singlehandedly raised more than $100,000 for the chapter, was the evening’s honoree, and Shannon Buggs from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Office of Complete Communities declared Sept. 17 as Lupus Awareness Day.
Janna Eastwood, Marc Baca, and Kate Baca (pictured, from left) enjoyed the All That Glitters is Gold gala benefitting the Lupus Foundation of America, Texas Gulf Coast Chapter. Marc, who lost his mother to lupus, chaired the event at the Post Oak Hotel. Guests included advocates, “Lupus Warriors”, and friends of the foundation who gathered to celebrate the progress of the
The executive committee of the Junior League of Houston (JLH), Emily Shushtari, Sydney Goss, Megan Anson, Anne Sears, Courtney Durham, Amanda Hanks Bayles, and Tamra Wilkerson (pictured, from left) attended the opening style show held in the JLH ballroom. This year’s fall show, Studio 75 presented by Texas Children’s Hospital, celebrated the upcoming 75th annual charity ball. Event chairs Judy Peterson, Tea Room director, and Carson Kelley, Tea Room special events chairman, planned a glamorous fashion preview showcasing the hottest looks for the upcoming season, including opening remarks from Tootsies’ creative director Fady Armanious and a meal prepared by the Junior League Tea Room.
Creating a custom skirt for each year’s president is a longstanding tradition for members of the Houston Junior Forum (HJF). A collection of HJF presidents’ beaded skirts will be featured at the 2022 International Quilt Festival at the George R. Brown Convention Center, Nov. 36. Current president Debbie Berner (pictured) will lend her skirt to the featured collection along with skirts of HJF presidents for the past seven decades. Each president’s skirt is created in a specially chosen theme and is traditionally crafted of velvet, satin, beading, and sequins, sometimes weighing more than 20 pounds. Sherri Cooley, former chair of the HJF president’s skirt committee, was instrumental in creating Debbie’s skirt along with other volunteers who dedicated months of time to designing and making the skirt.
Astros players Lance McCullers Jr., Jose Altuve, and Kyle Tucker teamed up to support Houston’s child and animal organizations through the Athletes and Causes Foundation at an event held at Tootsies. Guests enjoyed visit ing with many of their favorite Astros and fami lies, including Alex Bregman and his wife Reagan, Yordan Alvarez and his wife Monica, Jose Urquidy and wife Estefania, and David Hensley. Emcees for the
Anna Maria Salas, D.D.S., M.S.
of the American Board of Orthodontics 3642 University Blvd., Suite 102 Houston, TX 77005
evening, Julia Morales and Johnny Holloway, led the evening that included live and silent auctions helping raise more than $370,000. Pictured (from left) are Allison Cattan, Cole Cattan, Brooks Lewis, Jose Altuve, Carter Cattan, Lance McCullers Jr., Donna Lewis, Kyle Tucker, and Emily Lewis
Debbie Gersh and Fanny Frederick (pictured, from left) are co-chairing the Houston chapter of Hadassah’s 2023 Women Who Do luncheon, which will take place Jan. 17. Barbara Bronstein, founder of Second Servings of Houston, a nonprofit that rescues high-quality unsold and unserved food to deliver to local nonprofits, will be honored at the luncheon. Bronstein founded Second Servings after attending Hadassah's 2013 Women of Courage luncheon and witnessing that multiple tables had no-show seats with lunches going to waste. Being honored by the
organization whose luncheon inspired her to cre ate the nonprofit is a meaningful full-circle moment for Barbara. The luncheon will feature a Food Rescue Challenge with chefs who donate surplus food to Second Servings: Executive Chef Ruffy Sulaiman, Hilton Americas-Houston; Executive Chef Sean Moore, Hess Corporation; and Executive Chef Andres Albarran, Houston Catering Concepts. Their challenge is to create a four-course menu from ingredients they select
at a Second Servings food rescue at Trader Joe’s and then replicate it for the Hadassah luncheon.
The Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs was the setting for the beautiful wedding of teacher India Goldsmith and urban planner Adam Train. The couple met two years ago at the Moishe House and were engaged at the Houston Arboretum & Nature
Center. The maid of honor, Cookie, India’s chihuahua, wore a pink designer dress and joined the family along with the groom’s grandparents Dr. Louis and Sheila Train, groom’s parents Drs. Jordan and Abby Train, and bride’s parents Greg and Dixie Goldsmith. Pictured from left are Greg and Dixie Goldsmith, India and Adam Train, and Abby and Jordan Train.
Terry Leavitt-Chavez, Kristi Coffey, and Jaffray Getz (pictured, from left) joined 200 other guests at the Rockin’ the Park gala held at Evelyn’s Park. The high-energy event, chaired by Jaffray and Chris Getz, had everyone party ing like rockstars dressed in perfectly themed costumes. Auction chairs Whitley and Billy Levy put together a selection of sought-after items to raise money for Bellaire’s beloved park. The evening featured music from the Outliers Band, burgers, cotton candy, popcorn, a silent auction, karaoke, and dancing. Neighbors, donors, and sponsors enjoyed a fun evening for all ages with proceeds benefiting enhancements and improvements to the park.
than 20 pieces from Celebration Company to display in new primary-care practices, along with the artist’s bio and a description of their artistic passion. The collaboration will allow Celebration Company to continue to expand its job skills and employment model. The 17 artists whose works were selected for this phase of the national art program include Elyse Brandt, Amy Davis, Bailey Ferguson, Becca Golub, Shelley Heffler, Gabrielle Howard, Neville Karpas, Linda Lopen (who passed away in 2015 but whose memory will live on through her art), Jeffrey Markman, Maggie Merrill, Ellen Reichenthal, Melissa Shapiro, Ian Spindler, Jacob Sulton, Halley Turner, Nickolas Vasquez, and Evan White. Pictured is proud artist Neville Karpas with his art displayed in a Village Medical location.
enjoyed the special evening chaired by Board member Rob Thornton and his wife Nicole Board president Ken Kades emceed the event which included dinner catered by the Four Seasons Hotel. Event honorees were Anna Deavere Smith and Nina Vance. As the founder of the Alley and its first artistic director, Nina was inducted as the inaugural member of Alley
Nonprofit Celebration Company, which pro vides advocacy, social, and life skills and mean ingful employment to individuals with disabilities, is now partnering with Village Medical. Through the new partnership, artwork and photography from artists with disabilities at the Jewish Family Service's Center for Art and Photography at Celebration Company will be displayed in Village Medical offices around the country. Village Medical plans to license more
Pershing Middle School students Daniella Villarreal, Kyra Hebert, and Nina Merchant Zamorano (pictured, from left) participated in a role-playing activity to learn about resiliency as part of the school’s new enrichment program. The sixth and seventh graders are taking a course that focuses on social and emotional skills using curriculum from the national RethinkEd organization. Each week, teachers provide a lesson on topics like bullying, dealing with trauma, stress management, friendships, and more. Pershing principal Dr. Steven Shetzer welcomes the program to help build a stronger foundation for the students’ well-being in school and as they grow up.
Dean Gladden, Rob Melrose, and Anna Deavere Smith (pictured, from left) celebrated the start of the 2022-23 Alley Theatre season with its 76th Opening Season dinner. Alley board members, theatre patrons, and members of the Alley’s Resident Acting Company
Theatre’s Hall of Fame. Anna Deavere Smith, actress, playwright, teacher, and author, was presented with the Alley Theatre’s Award for Lifetime Achievement. The evening concluded with a performance by Alexandra Silber who will appear as a lead in the Alley’s production of Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me A Soprano
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Remembergetting excited for fall? September 15 was about as early as we could decorate the doorstep with pumpkins.
Now, the August back-to-school displays are overshadowed by Halloween, fall leaves…and everything pumpkin spice. Yay!
Yay?
Originally, pumpkin spice was a bottled blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice created by McCormick Spices in the 1930s as a convenience for pumpkin pie bakers.
Later, it was a latte you could only buy at Starbucks, only after Labor Day. It was delicious and new and oh-so-autumnal. So much so that it became Starbucks’ best-selling drink. Holiday in a cup.
Legend has it that the aha flavor moment hap pened when a Starbucks R&D team met and the director of espresso (that’s a thing) ate pumpkin pie as he was drinking, natch, espresso. Soon it became a culture of its own – the PSL lovers (Pumpkin Spice Lattes – and pumpkin spice in general – have their own acronym now). And the haters.
My daughter Claire (likely influenced by my own PSL thrill) is a lover. “Literally when Trader Joe’s gets all their pumpkin spice stuff, I go just to look at it. Because it makes it feel like fall, even when it doesn’t feel like fall outside.”
The haters call the PSL lovers “basic,” lumping fans with folks whose home décor involves #blessed signs (not saying either is bad, just saying).
Jonathan, a Central Market team member, has been watching the lovers and haters as more and more pumpkin spice products flood the shelves. “We used to like pumpkin pie and the fall smell,” he says. “It’s just now we have a word for it. Now we like pumpkin spice.”
Jonathan contends that the controversy over the flavor is the key to its popularity. “It’s popu lar because people hate it,” he says. “That’s when you know it’s really a thing – if there’s a strong feeling attached to it, either good or bad.”
And feelings are definitely good or bad about PSL. Rachel Tobin says she often swings by a favorite bakery to buy her 16-year-old daughter a morning muffin filled with Nutella. “I went the other morning to get it for her,” the former teacher says, “and it was filled with pumpkin! I was like, ‘I don’t want that,’ and I left. I saw a
behance.net/runamokstudiosFALL PHENOM Are you a PSL lover or hater? Either way, there’s no escaping pumpkin spice everything this season.
pumpkin roll in the store with orange icing. Who buys that? Do people even eat it? I don’t want a pumpkin filled anything. I’ll pass.”
Then there’s Ali Leen, a data analyst who I ran into at H-E-B’s pumpkin spice dairy display of pumpkin-caramel yogurt, pumpkin spice cookie dough, pumpkin spice cream cheese. She was staring at it all, mesmerized by the choices. And that was just one of maybe 10 pumpkin spice-everything displays throughout the store.
“I love a good pumpkin spice every now and then, but this is a little excessive,” Ali said. “I mean, I’ve tried a couple of things here. The SToK Cold Brew Coffee Pumpkin Creamer was actually really good. But that’s pretty much where I get all my pumpkin spice, in coffee. Well, maybe pumpkin spice muffins or pumpkin pie. But I haven’t tried the Pumpkin Spice Oreos, and I’m honestly not tempted.”
After Ali, I met Leslie, a West U lawyer also perusing the pumpkin spice options. “Everyone at the office already thinks I’m crazy because I like pumpkin spice so much,” she said, asking me to use only her first name. “I always loved pumpkin pie,” she said, “because that was the only food
at Thanksgiving I cared about. I don’t like turkey, I don’t like the other traditional foods, so I associated pumpkin with the holidays.”
Leslie was looking for Chobani’s Pumpkin Harvest Crisp yogurt, and also eyeing the Limited Edition Pillsbury Grands! Pumpkin Spice Rolls with Pumpkin Spice Icing. “I think I tried them at one point,” Leslie said. “They weren’t spectacular, but they weren’t bad.” Spectacular or not, Pillsbury claims: “Nothing summons the season quite like an oven-fresh Pillsbury Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Roll. Imagine the memories you’ll make.”
So there it is. We aren’t really talking about a taste, we’re talking about a feeling. Fall, holidays, memories. “There’s also some FOMO going on, like fear of missing out,” Central Market’s Jonathan says. “It’s limited. You have to wait until next year if you don’t get it now. There’s a lot of psychological stuff happening with pumpkin spice.”
I admit to being tempted into buying several boxes of Pumpkin Spice Cheerios (hello Halloween college care packages), thinking they’d be good for a laugh. But maybe there’s a little more to it than that.
