The Bellaire Buzz - October 2022

Audrey Nguyen

A recent college graduate who popped by our office this summer made me tear up (in a good way). She was a past intern and School Buzz correspondent and shared that her experience with The Buzz was instrumental in her decision to change her college major from neuroscience to jour nalism. I’m not sure her parents were quite as joyful as I was in hearing about her deci sion. But seeing her eyes light up when talking about scoring a great story affirmed that it was the right choice for her – and made me proud that The Buzz played even a small role in helping her find her career path. In this issue, you’ll meet our 2022-23 School Buzz team, comprised of 97 talented student writers, editors, and photographers from 29 local high schools. Follow along as they chronicle the school year, from their perspectives, at thebuzzmagazines.com/columns/school-buzz. joni@thebuzzmagazines.com

Published by Hoffman Marketing & Media, LLC 5001 Bissonnet, Suite 100, Bellaire, Texas 77401 info@thebuzzmagazines.com • p: 713.668.4157 • f: 713.665.2940

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Editor-in-Chief Joni Hoffman

Publisher Michael Hoffman

Editor Jordan Magaziner Steinfeld

Editorial Assistant Caroline Siegfried

Design Manager John Duboise

Staff Writers Tracy L. Barnett

Sharon Albert Brier

Cindy Burnett

Andria Frankfort

Angie Frederickson

Todd Freed

Cindy Gabriel

Cathy Gordon

Michelle Groogan

Dai Huynh

Cheryl Laird

Annie Blaylock McQueen

Jennifer Oakley

Pooja Salhotra

Cheryl Ursin

Contributing Writer Jenna Baer

Account Managers Andrea Blitzer

Leslie Little

Jo Rogers

On our cover: Junior Audrey Nguyen is a School Buzz correspondent at Saint Thomas’ Episcopal School.

Cover photo by Nikky LaWell, lawellphoto.com

The Buzz Magazines has made all reasonable attempts to verify the accuracy of all information contained within. Advertising claims are solely the responsibility of the advertiser. Copyright © 2022 Hoffman Marketing & Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this magazine by any means without written permission is strictly prohibited. Printed on recycled paper. Please remember to recycle.

Reputation Matters

“Mike I would like to thank you for everything you’ve done for me over the past few months. From the very beginning you were patient in allowing me to move at my own pace, then again, while explaining the ins and outs of selling a house. I never imagined we would have an offer above asking price in only two days and a closing within 30 days.

If that wasn’t enough, you remained to be patient in helping me find and quickly close on my new property. Been quite a ride over the last couple of months and I could never have done it without you. I don’t just consider you my realtor…I also consider you a friend.” - Don Miller, 4614 Holly, Bellaire

Your letters, thoughts, opinions

Tasty tatin

In the September 2022 issue, the Tomato Tarte Tatin by Julia Hellums [featured in Recipes to Relish: New dishes to try this fall by Andria Frankfort] will have your tastebuds talking. It is both delicious and easy to make. I recently made it for a family brunch. There was not a slice left. This tarte is a perfect centerpiece to any meal. I will definitely be making it again!

Debby Dreyfus

Editor’s note: Great to hear you enjoyed it, Debby! See this story at thebuzzmagazines.com for more recipe inspiration from foodie neighbors.

Adventurous spirit

I loved the [Travel Buzz] article about our son Jared and his quest to visit all of America’s national parks [Epic journey reinforces lifelong friendships by Tracy L. Barnett, Aug. 2022]. Friends from all over the city have reached out to us about the article. We love Jared’s sense of adventure and would like to thank you for sharing his 2022 summer adventure.

Lagenia Clark

Where they’re headed

I love reading the “Where are They Headed?” articles in The Buzz [Class of 2022: Where are they headed? by Caroline Siegfried, June 2022]. So fun to see which teachers inspired the kids and learn where they are headed.

Teachers play such an important role in both children’s and parents’ lives, and this is just a small celebration of all the amazing teachers in our community.

Nina Godiwalla

Editor’s note: Thanks, Nina! We always love seeing where our high school grads are off to each year and it’s fun to see their kindergarten and senior photos. See this story, which features 70+ local students, at thebuzzmagazines.com.

Houston gems, closed but not forgotten

I was searching for the Green Parrot – now closed – and found your 2014 article [Restaurant Memories by Russell Weil]. I’ve been to most of those restaurants during my 1952-1970 residence [in Houston], mostly with my fam. Bud Bigelow’s [also now closed] was one of my early repeat restaurant experiences. I loved the Green Goddess salad. Great memories.

Bill Spencer

Editor’s note: You can read this reflection on Houston’s restaurants of yesterday, and all our articles, online at thebuzzmagazines.com.

Buzz circulation question

I love reading The Bellaire Buzz but do wonder why there isn’t a Meyerland Buzz. Have y’all given that any thought?

Ellen Gerson Tagtmeier

Editor’s note: Ellen, we’re glad you enjoy reading The Buzz and appreciate your question! The Bellaire Buzz circulates to areas surrounding Bellaire, including Meyerland, Braeswood Place, Ayrshire, and Linkwood, and highlights people who live in those neighborhoods. Our other publications – The West University Buzz, The Tanglewood/River Oaks Buzz, and The Memorial Buzz – also cover the surrounding neighborhoods, respectively.

Recipe success

Just had to say thank you for your chili-lime corn salad recipe [shared in Andria Frankfort’s online Back Porch Table column]! It was awesome! Happened to have corn already ready, from another recipe, so made your recipe and it is heaven! My new go-to summer (and winter, spring, fall) side dish!

Dee Dee Dochen

Editor’s note: Dee Dee, so glad you loved this recipe! Find more recipes on Back Porch Table every week at thebuzzmagazines.com.

Send letters to info@thebuzzmagazines.com. Please include your name, address, phone number and email address for verification purposes. Letters are subject to editing for clarity and space. Views expressed in letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Buzz Magazines, and The Buzz takes no responsibility for the content and opinions expressed in them.

We are looking for residents for upcoming articles who:

• Have special holiday traditions.

• Have inspirational stories related to New Year’s resolutions.

• Know a Buzzworthy neighbor to feature.

• Have an interesting hobby.

• Have a compelling travel tale. s your stor y?

If this sounds like you or someone you know, please contact us at info@thebuzzmagazines.com or 713.668.4157, ext 12.

by Cindy Gabriel, staff writer and (mostly) Burke Watson

Who Rescued Whom?

Henry the Harvey Rescue: Part 2

Last

month, I (Cindy) told you about a mysteriously exotic breed of dog who landed in my life a month after Harvey. I named him Henry. You would think the owner of a rare Coton du Tuléar worth an average price of $3,000 would surface. But after six months of living with Henry, I knew that despite my attachment, Henry’s high energy and quirky personality was more than I could handle. He needed a bigger yard, and some patient dog whisperer types. He needed Burke and Sarah Watson. Their acceptance would ease the painful parting. Conveniently, Burke, a journalist by trade, has agreed to tell his side of the story. Here’s Burke.

I was sitting in Cindy’s kitchen in February of 2018, where friends had gathered to watch the Super Bowl, when this fluffy little guy with almost human eyes bounced into the room, cheerfully sniffing the forest of legs as he politely greeted everyone. Then he jumped into my lap.

He may have chosen me simply because I looked like an easy mark for snacks, but I loved him imme diately. A few weeks later, Cindy suggested that we take Henry home for a weekend to see if he and our dog, Einstein, would get along. Sarah and I had been talking about finding a companion for our 12-yearold Miniature Dachshund. Despite the difference in age, size, and energy levels, they became pals. Sarah and I made the arrangement permanent the following week. As I held him in my lap and Sarah drove us home, Henry got so excited that he threw up. Oh, well. That’s why God created dry cleaners and car detailers.

Henry loved his new home, exploring a backyard that included a large herb garden, broad beds with roses, perennials, and flowering shrubs, and a corner that we’ve kept somewhat wild, with tall cannas and thick vines shaded by a massive pine. When we sat beneath the pergola on our patio, he would effortlessly hop onto my lap and then ricochet onto the table, from which he could monitor his domain and launch himself like a heat-seeking missile if a squirrel dared peek over the fence.

Even as he adapted to his new home, one minor adjustment was needed: We have a grandson named Henry, who lives just a few blocks away. To avoid con fusion, Sarah did some research and suggested that

Jacques would be a good name for a pooch whose lineage traces back to Madagascar royalty. He soon learned his new name and, with love and patience on our part, gradually let go of some of the demons he had carried from his earlier life.

I noticed one morning, as I swept the breezeway, that Jacques was taking a circular path around me and watching closely. He also became distressed when we first put his harness and leash on him for a walk. Signs of abuse? We’ll never know for sure. All we could do was give him a loving home and help him learn that he no longer had anything to fear. Now the word “walk” sends him dashing for the back door.

Another issue hasn’t entirely disappeared, however: We’ve read that housebreaking is a particular challenge for Cotons, and to that we say, amen. At moments when he became alarmed because someone dared to walk in front of our house, or when Sarah and I went somewhere without him, Jacques expressed his displeasure by leaving a generous puddle somewhere in the house for us to discover in our own good time. Doggy diapers have helped, but Jacques has become skilled at wiggling out of those. The quest goes on.

We became a one-dog family again in March, when Einstein crossed the bridge at age 16. Losing that sweet, fierce little guy has hit us hard – Sarah, especially – and we saw that Jacques was mourning, too. As life has moved on, our intrepid guardian still has his two Yorkie cousins nearby, and he loves his role as my navigator, standing in my lap and watch

ing out the window on our Friday drives to the recy cling bins. Sarah and I embrace our roles as well, making sure he wakes up each day to a world where he feels loved and secure.

People frequently compliment Jacques during our walks, and we tell them about his breed and mention that he’s a rescue. I like to imagine, though, that while we humans are talking, Jacques tells their dogs how he met us and how long it took him to get us trained, but that it was worth the effort and he’s glad he rescued us.

Now I wonder if Jacques also tells those dogs about his name change. Perhaps he knew the name Henry needed to be saved for the future Henry Ehrenkranz, Stan-the-Man’s grandsonto-be, due in November to Scott and Katie Ehrenkranz, named after Stan’s beloved father. Another happy note is that Burke and Sarah have not only provided a happy home to Jacques, but they are still speaking to me five years later.

HIS OWN BACKYARD This Harvey rescue has Sarah and Burke Watson completely broken in five years later.

Will Bonassin

Making the Team

Coming back from surgery in a big way

Therewas a one-in-a-million chance that Eden Epner would play lacrosse at the world level.

That’s what her ophthalmologist mom Linda Epner said, citing not only the sheer odds of her daughter reaching such heights in her favorite sport, but also some special challenges that made the task seem impossible.

Eden is a busy fourth-year medical student at McGovern Medical School at UT Health Houston. She’s prepping for a wedding this win ter, when she’ll marry fellow med student John Bruhn. Together they are applying for a couple’s match – she for a residency in orthopedic sur gery, he for one in emergency medicine – and they’ll find out in March where their next chap ter will take them. Eden also recently underwent

major ankle surgery from an injury she sustained over four years of playing lacrosse at Johns Hopkins University. The doctors said she probably wouldn’t play lacrosse again.

But Eden Epner was one-in-a-million.

“I didn’t even know what lacrosse was until I got to St. John’s [School] in seventh grade,” Eden says. “I had never seen a stick or even heard of the sport.” Still, she started playing. And she got hooked.

“I credit the initial spark, and actually a lot of how my life has turned out, with Angie Kensinger,” Eden says of the beloved SJS varsity women’s lacrosse coach who passed away in 2019. “She recognized in middle school that I was sort of an athlete, and she let me play what ever sports I wanted to and also recognized,

‘Hey, this kid might be good at lacrosse.’”

Eden fell in love with the sport and went on to play in college. “Back in 2016, when I was still at Hopkins playing, I got an email from these national coaches in Israel saying, ‘Hey, we noticed you.’ Basically, they had stalked the college lacrosse rosters and figured out I was Jewish playing Division 1 lacrosse, and they asked me to come try out.” Eden not only tried out, she spent an entire summer training and playing in Israel and also coaching younger players.

“Fast-forward to last year,” Eden says. “They reached back out and asked me to try out for the World Championship.” Because lacrosse is a relatively new sport in Israel, the team is com prised mostly of young, Jewish American play ers. Eventually, the team

DREAM TEAM Eden Epner played on Israel’s women’s lacrosse team in last summer’s World Championship games.

Jodi Applebaum

Photography

will be comprised of all Israeli players.

Eden says she told the coaches, “No way. I would love to, but this is crazy. I’m in med school, I have this big ankle surgery.” This was two years ago, when Eden was a second-year medical student suffering from serious ankle pain. She was about to undergo major surgery that many doctors say “almost never works,” according to Linda. They were warned that Eden might never run or walk without a limp.

“I had sworn up and down I would never play lacrosse again after my surgery. It was such a big surgery, I’m actually glad I didn’t know how big before I had it,” Eden says of the osteo chondral allograft transplantation she underwent just as hospitals began allowing elective surgeries again after Covid. The goal was to replace damaged parts of her ankle with bone and cartilage from a donor. “I was not destined for great things after that.”

But the coaches kept calling, checking in, and saying they’d make it work for Eden to play. In the meantime, she was recovering, doing physical therapy, and beating the odds. In September of 2021, Eden tried out for the Israeli team and made it. She would be playing the coming June (2022) in the Women’s World Championship in Maryland.

Even though she says her daughter had dreamed of playing at such a high level since she was in middle school, Linda says she told Eden,

“I do not see how you’re going to be able to train and do everything you need to do [in school].”

For Eden, though, playing in the Women’s World Championship was too big an opportunity to pass up, and she started training. She moved her schedule around so that the time she would have had off during her fourth and final year of med school was pushed forward to be used for lacrosse. (Next semester, she will be working hard while her classmates’ schedules ease up as they prepare to graduate.)

Eden and her teammates trained where they were, whether that was Israel, Houston, New Orleans, or other spots around the country. “We didn’t train for months on end like [the] USA [team], which is a powerhouse team,” she says. “Whenever I had a chance, I would squeeze a workout in. St. John’s let me use the facilities when they weren’t practicing. I made up the workout based on what I’d done in college – a hard bike workout one day, weights others, sprints another, and rest days to preserve what cartilage I have left in my ankle and knee.”

Because all the women had played collegiately, they had a good idea of how to train on their own depending on their position. “Israel tapped into the best talent they could find,” Linda says.

“It was never the full team together until the week prior,” Eden says. “It’s a little bit crazy when you think about it.”

In June, Eden and her teammates gathered in Baltimore from all over the world to com

pete in the World Championship. She was joined by another Houston player and St. John’s graduate Lindsey McKone, who played for Northwestern University and is now playing at the professional level.

“It’s so special when you step on the main field in the stadium and you’re lined up with your teammates. It’s giving me chills right now. Everyone worked so hard to get there, and you’re finally there, and you get to just play,” Eden says.

In the end, Eden’s team ranked sixth out of 30 teams. “It was really cool to have all those people from all over the world come together and just click. It’s such a specific community – all women, all Jewish, all fighting for the same goal. It’s not a very common combination, so it bonds you for life.”

Eden also had her own community in attendance. Her Houston family and fiancé stayed the full 10 days, and lots of family from the Potomac and D.C. area joined them. Additionally, many of Eden’s former Hopkins teammates came to cheer her on, as did the Harlem Lacrosse team, who she had coached as a volunteer while in college.

The next Championship games will happen in three years. “God willing, I’ll be an orthopedics resident, which is basically no days off,” Eden says. Still, she says she’ll be ready. “One of my PTs told me way after the tournament that he’d never seen anyone do so well after the sur gery. If my body allows me to, I will be playing again if I’m called upon.”

FAN SUPPORT Clockwise, from top left: Eden Epner, third from left, poses with her fiancé John Bruhn, mother Linda Epner, father Daniel Epner, cousin Ezra Epner, and cousin Justin Epner during the Women’s World Championship games; Eden and her fiancé, fellow med student John Bruhn; Eden, her sister Margeaux Epner, cousin Sidney Epner, and cousin Aviv Epner gather after a game; family members cheer Eden on from the stands; Eden and Lindsey McKone represent Houston on the Israeli team. from page 10)

Jodi

Applebaum

Photography

Jodi

Applebaum Photography

Jodi

Applebaum

Photography

by Jenna Baer, contributing writer

Fall Festivals

Fun happenings this season

Makethe most of the cooling tempera tures and the spirit of autumn by head ing to one of the many fall festivals Houston has to offer.

Zoo Boo

Houston Zoo, 6200 Hermann Park Dr.

Oct. 1-31, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Zoo Boo After Hours each Friday in October until 8:30 p.m. $19.95-$22.95

Party animals and ghouls come together for the Houston Zoo’s annual Zoo Boo festival in which visitors can experience a pumpkin lantern tunnel, an immersive dance floor, and carved pumpkins galore. Costumes are strongly encouraged.

Haunted House

National Museum of Funeral History, 415 Barren Springs Dr.

Oct. 1-31, Open Monday-Friday: 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.; Saturday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday: 12 p.m.-5 p.m. $5

Get up close and personal with spooky spirits in this family-friendly haunted house. Recommended for age 7+.

Biergarten

CityCentre, 800 Town and Country Blvd.

Oct. 1, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Oct. 2, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Free admission. All ages are welcome to relax in the plaza. Guests 21+ can buy alcoholic drinks. Nonalcoholic drinks are available for purchase as well.

CityCentre is hosting its first Biergarten, Oct. 1-2, and will draw beer aficionados and football fans to enjoy specialty Oktoberfest drinks and screens to watch college and professional games all day long. Cheers!

The Original Greek Festival

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 3511 Yoakum Blvd.

Oct. 6, 5 p.m.-10 p.m.; Oct. 7-8, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

$5 adults; children 12 and under admitted free. Free admission Oct. 7, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Immerse yourself in Greek culture through authentic Greek food, live music, dance pro grams, Cathedral tours, crafts and gifts, and more.

43rd Annual Festival Chicano Miller Outdoor Theatre, 6000 Hermann Park Dr.

Oct. 6-8, 7 p.m. each night

Free Experience a night of Chicano music, influ enced by a variety of styles including tejano, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, mariachi, and much more. Thursday performers will be Jay Perez and David Farias Band; Friday performers will be Elida Reyna y Avante and La Fiebre; and Saturday performers are Little Joe y La Familia and Ram Herrera.

Mi Casa, Your Casa Installation

Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney St. Oct. 8-Nov. 14

Free

Discovery Green’s new art installation, Mi Casa, Your Casa by Esrawe + Cadena, features 16 glowing house-like play structures where visitors are invited to sit, swing, and relax together. The opening night celebration takes place on Sat., Oct. 8, 6-10 p.m. and will include performances such as acrobatic dance group Lifted by Mimbre. Other special events throughout the fall include arts and crafts activities for kids and a sing and dance-along with Encanto characters.

Bayou City Art Festival - Downtown

Sam Houston Park, 1000 Bagby St. Oct. 8-9, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. $15 for adults; $5 for children 6-12; children under five are free

The 50th Annual Bayou City Art Festival will draw more than 220 national and international artists for a weekend full of art, food, music, and entertainment. Bayou City Art Festival, produced by Art Colony Association, Inc., benefits local nonprofits; this year, a por tion of proceeds will go to ArtReach, Fresh Arts, Orange Show for Visionary Art, Second Servings, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,

Barktoberfest

The Powder Keg Houston, 1300 Brittmoore Rd. Oct. 15, 2-6 p.m.

Free; tickets available for beer tastings and separate registration charge for dog costume contests

Assemble your best furry and human friends together for Barktoberfest, an event benefiting Houston Pets Alive!. Enjoy local beer, food trucks, a dog costume contest, a vendor market, dog adoptions, and more.

Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival

Nature Discovery Center, 7112 Newcastle Oct. 15-16, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Free

Fulfill your pumpkin picking fantasies by heading over to Nature Discovery’s Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival with tens of thousands of pounds of pumpkins to choose from, in addition to carnival games, concessions, opportunities to meet animals, family photo opps, and more.

ArBOOretum

Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, 4501 Woodway Dr.

Oct. 15, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Free for children under 3; $15 presale for ages 3 and up; $20 for nonmembers ages 3 and up at the door

Head to the Houston Arboretum for their 20th annual fall festival and take advantage of a host of activities, including a trick-or-treat nature trail, pumpkin patch, Halloween market, carnival swings, petting zoo

and The Women’s Fund for Health Education and Resiliency.

PUMPKIN SEASON Nature Discovery Center’s Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival, Oct. 15-16, offers pounds of pumpkins to choose from, plus carnival games, concession stands, opportunities to meet animals, and family photo opps.

Rachel Cruz Auwarter

and pony rides, pumpkin decorating, and train rides.

West U’s Full Moon Festival

Colonial Park, 4130 Byron St.

Oct. 21, 5:30-7 p.m.

Free

This annual Halloween celebration has everything including pumpkin decorating, face painting, and costume contests. Top off this cel ebration by staying for a spooky movie screening in the park, 7-9 p.m.

Korean Festival

Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney St. Oct. 22, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Free

K-Fest provides incredible free performances including folk musicians, TaeKwonDo masters, and traditional Korean dancers, as well as delicious food.

The Great Pumpkin Hunt in Bellaire Bellaire Town Square Great Lawn & Pavilion

7008 S. Rice Ave.

Oct. 27, 4 p.m.- 5:30 p.m.

Free

Scour Bellaire Town Square for candy and prize-filled pumpkins, starting at 4:30 p.m., and be sure to wear your spookiest costume. There will be music, games, and more.

Scream on the Green

Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney St. Oct. 28, 6 p.m.-10 p.m.

Free

Celebrate Halloween with a costume contest, music, fun prizes, and a screening of Monster House at Discovery Green.

West U Halloween Dash and Kids Fun Run

West U Community Building, 6104 Auden St. Oct. 29, 6:45 a.m.-9:30 a.m.

5K Registration: early - $35; same day - $40 Kids’ Fun Run Registration: early - $30; same day - $35

Race to register for King & Spalding’s annual West University Halloween Dash and come dressed in your favorite creepy costume for the 5K and Kids’ Fun Run.

Asia Society’s Night Market

Asia Society Texas, 1370 Southmore Blvd.

Nov. 4, 6-10 p.m.

Free

Experience an East and Southeast Asian inspired street market complete with Bollywood and K-pop dance performances, artistic activi ties, food, and more.

10th Annual Houston Margarita Festival

The Water Works in Buffalo Bayou, 105 Sabine St. Nov. 5, 12-10 p.m.

Tickets start at $20

Celebrate this popular mixed beverage with other enthusiasts and be sure to cast your vote

for your favorite margarita from the participating bars and restaurants. Top your night off by enjoying live music including mariachi, Latin salsa, and reggae.

Worth the Drive

Blessington Farms Fall Festival and Pumpkin Patch

Blessington Farms, 510 Chisolm Trail, Wallis, TX 77485

Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 20, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

General admission: $24; Senior Citizens: $18; Children under 2: free

Blessington Farms offers family-friendly fall festival staples, including hayrides and giant slides. A newer venture is a walk-through aviary.

Austin City Limits

Zilker Park, 2100 Barton Springs Rd., Austin, TX 78704

Oct. 7-9, 14-16

Tickets start at $145

ACL features a variety of musical acts with 9 different stages and over 100 performers. Headliners include: The Chicks, SZA, P!NK, Lil Nas X, Wallows, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kacey Musgraves, and more. Check out the full lineup on their website. The ACL Eats Food Court will be offering tacos, brews, vegan selections and other delicious options from all around Austin.

Texas Renaissance Festival

Texas Renaissance Festival grounds, 21778 FM 1774, Todd Mission, TX 77363

Weekends Oct. 8-Nov. 27 & Thanksgiving Friday, 2022 (Nov. 25), 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

Ticket prices vary; kids under 12 get free admis sion 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 Oktoberfest (Oct. 8-9); 1001 Dreams (Oct. 15-16); Pirate Adventure (Oct. 22-23); All Hallows Eve (Oct. 29-30); Heroes and Villains (Nov. 5-6); Barbarian Invasion (Nov. 12-13); Highland Fling (Nov. 19-20); and Celtic Christmas (Nov. 25-27).

Dewberry Farm Fall Festival

Dewberry Farm, FM 362 & Morrison Rd., Brookshire, TX 77423

Sept. 24-Nov. 13; Tuesday-Friday from 9 a.m.2 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. -9 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

$34.95-$41.95

With over 40 attractions to choose from, including riding the Dewville Express, running through the corn maze, and more, there is something for everyone at Dewberry Farm’s Fall Festival.

ARToberFEST

Galveston’s Historic District, Postoffice St., between 21st and 23rd

Oct. 15, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Oct. 16, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Virtual event hours through Oct. 31.

$5; free for kids under 12

ARToberFEST is an outdoor fine arts festival displaying the masterpieces of over 120 artists. Browse a wide selection of artwork, meet the artists, and enjoy food and entertainment in Galveston’s Historic Downtown Cultural Arts District.

Editor’s note: See this story at thebuzzmagazines.com for links to these events. Plus, browse our online event calendar for more upcoming happenings.

ALL TREATS The ArBOOretum event at Houston Arboretum and Nature Center features fun fall activities, including a trick-or-treat nature trail (pictured), a pumpkin patch, Halloween market, petting zoo, pony rides, train rides, pumpkin decorating, and more.

Christine Mansfield, Houston Arboretum

School Buzz

Meet our 2022-23 correspondents

by Caroline Siegfried, staff writer

As teens move past their elementary school cut-and-paste days and into high school, they seem to fill up their days more and more. Extracurricular clubs, AP classes, sports – you name it, they’re involved.

Writing at this age can often attract a smaller crowd: a thoughtful subset that values reflecting and connecting with their community. Teen writers often write for an audience of one, scribbling in journals until they have the chance to be published. The Buzz Magazines is proud to offer an outlet for high school students to report on their school community, and to reach a broader audience than their individual schools. These students are a part of our neighborhoods, and we’re glad that they want to share their stories with you.

Our correspondents – 97 students from 29 local high schools – cover campus happenings and give us behind-the-scenes glimpses into everyday life at their schools. At thebuzzmagazines.com, you can see hundreds of student-written articles about campus events, clubs, teachers, classes, extracurriculars, trends, and more. Some of our writers and editors are fresh faces, while others are veterans returning for their fourth and final year of School Buzz. Below, some of our reporters discuss their love of stories and how it led them to School Buzz.

SCHOOL BUZZ A group of School Buzz correspondents gathered at The Emery/Weiner School to meet each other and take headshots for the upcoming year. Front row (from left): Hank Davis (Stratford High School), Athitiya Singhapan (Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions), Leah Cororve (The Emery/Weiner School), Trinidad Gonzales (Westbury Christian School), Sophia Martinez (Westbury Christian School), Frances Sherman (The Emery/Weiner School), Dani Barg (The Emery/Weiner School), Mischa Wijesekera (Lamar High School), Jasmine Sidhu (Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions); Second row: Rebecca Jackson (St. Francis Episcopal School), Melinda Dae (St. Agnes Academy), Victoria Carroll (Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart), Melanie Fung (Bellaire High School), Suria Mehta (St.AgnesAcademy), Orianna Fong (Memorial High School), Laine Lohfink (Memorial High School), Adriana Martinez (Houston Christian High School); Third row: Kayla Pearl (Lamar High School), Andrew Yang (Memorial High School), Izza Effendi (Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart), Alden Farrow (Memorial High School), Riley Warnica (Houston Christian High School), Maggie Veech (St. Pius X High School), Chisom Nwabudike (The Kinkaid School); Last row: Abby Von Eik (Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions), Sofia Ordaz (St. Pius X High School), Caroline Killinger (Lutheran North Academy), Maggie Hester (St. John’s School), Audrey Nguyen (Saint Thomas’ Episcopal School), Alexis Westlake (British International School of Houston), Gwyneth Delling (Lutheran North Academy), Rushil Chetty (Strake Jesuit College Preparatory).

Hank Davis – Stratford High School

As the Stratford School Buzz Editor for a second year, I enjoy sharing stories about the people and activities that make Stratford America such a special place. Be it Link Crew’s greeting of new freshmen students in August or the Annual Big Day community service event in April, the Spartans are committed to the success and inclusion of every student both on and off campus. With a wide array of student clubs including the award-winning Business Professionals of America and Student Council, numerous sports and other competitive teams, and the opening of our new theatre last spring, the Spartans are busy preparing for another impactful year. I look forward to covering more sto ries that make SHS shine. Houston’s youth repre sent a diversely talented group of individuals, and I am thankful to The Buzz Magazines for creating a platform where student reporters can highlight what’s happening in their schools and communities. It’s a great way for readers to appreciate the uniqueness of our city and its youth.

Audrey Nguyen – Saint Thomas’ Episcopal School

Approaching my second year as a School Buzz reporter, I am excited for the continued opportunity to become involved in my school and learn real-life skills in journalism. Journalism feels like a natural path to me because of my love for books at a very young age. When I was given my first journal, equipped with a sparkly, scented pen, for my fourth birthday, my fascination with story telling was born. To my young self, it was as if words danced with each other, weaving together intricately in the shining lights of the stage: the

lined paper in my pink journal. I was enchanted by how magical mere words could be; I’ve been captivated ever since. This past year, I was honored to cover remarkable stories, including the grand re-opening of my school’s new building following Hurricane Harvey and our Pipe Band’s performance at Dickens on the Strand in Galveston. I love being able to tell each of my classmates’ stories through their eyes, and I can’t wait to share them all with my Buzz family!

Kayla Pearl – Lamar High School

Some people are able to express themselves in speech and be completely understood and well received. Unlike those people, I have always been able to best express myself by writing a composition of words on a page. Writing has always been an innate aspect of my existence, but my passion for writing started out with music. I would listen to my favorite songs and wish for nothing more than to be able to convey the emotions that were presented to me in song. I began writing song lyrics and poetry. Soon that developed into a love for writing stories. I started taking a closer look at the world around me and wanted to write about the things I saw. This was the moment that I realized my love for journalism. I was finally able to write about issues that were not only important or relevant to me, but also to others around me. I want to write for School Buzz because it is a wonderful opportunity for me to get involved with my school and com municate the interesting and exciting things that I see happening all around. It is a great experi ence to improve my journalism skills and have my stories shared for the enjoyment of others.

My name is Athitiya (uh-thih-tee-yuh), and I’m a lover of people, cheese, and literature… in no particular order! I discovered my passion for writing not too long after complimenting someone by saying, “your face is as beautiful as the moon’s craters” and receiving a not-so-pleasant response back… To me, writing offers both readers and writers the opportunity to dive into a whole new world, where finely crafted “compli ments” and sentences that may not be so generic in real life are invaluable in stories and articles, like ones in The Buzz! Because I also love cap turing memories but am terrible at photography, I decided to play to my strengths and capture the warming shades of Houston’s diversity through School Buzz. For Buzz readers like you, I can cap ture how the different skin tones, accents, and personalities of Houston dwellers entwine so perfectly into a beautiful tinge of empire gold.

Hannah Groogan – Westbury Christian School

I have always had a love for writing, and quickly realized I had a real knack for it. I would say that my joy of writing came from my parents. Once I started, I found that it was easy to express myself in a way that I had never thought of. I was able to fill several notebooks and journals by just expressing myself through past experiences, and the different people I met. There was never a time in my life where I would look at a blank page and just stare at it. I think that is one of the many joys of writing, the unknown. I believe writing will always be a huge component in my life, and will always be

Athitiya Singhapan – Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions

Hannah Groogan

Hank Davis

Oliver Oldham

Audrey Nguyen

Mischa Wijesekera

Kayla Pearl

Riley Warnica

Athitiya Singhapan

lawellphoto.com

something that I enjoy, whether it be in high school, college, or when I get a professional job. Writing gives me different opportunities to express myself in ways that others might not expect from me. It can be as simple as writing about your current surroundings, or what you did that morning. I think that if more people did this, they would be surprised by how much they could discover about themselves.

Oliver Oldham – The Kinkaid School

Students dread writing. Rarely in the hallways do you overhear enthusiastic comments about an essay assignment. I can remember countless times that I have joined my friends in lunch table banter complaining about current and upcoming writing assignments. Nearly every writing assignment I had freshman year, I joined my friends in bitterly complaining about not wanting to have to write the paper. However, I began to notice how deep I got into my writing and how much I was enjoying completing these assignments that I and others so often complained about. I realized that I was only complaining to fit in, and that I actually loved writing assignments and found a whole new way to express myself through words.

Mischa Wijesekera – Lamar High School

A few years ago, I “borrowed” my parents’ credit card to buy my first journal. Little did I know that, with each page, I would discover my unbridled passion for writing. After I ran out of pages, I began participating in writing clubs at school and writing camps during the summer to develop my writing skills. As a School Buzz edi

tor, I plan to open a fresh journal and turn the page to a new chapter in my life. I hope to have the opportunity to hone my journalism skills as well as write about the uniqueness of Houston.

Riley Warnica – Houston Christian High School

Although I cannot pinpoint when my passion for writing began, I know it began at an early age. I always had a knack for reading and an eagerness to absorb as much information as I could possibly cram into my unsophisticated mind. As I grew, so did my fervor for the English language. I was intrigued by how simple words on a paper could move something so deep with in me, and I decided that I, too, one day would like the opportunity to touch others with my words. So, unlike most kids, I began free writing for fun. I wrote articles, short stories, and poetry, all of which I keep stashed away to this day in a small drawer in my desk. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to write for The Buzz not only because I can impact others with my words, but also because I can keep my school informed about the events and activities that occur within our own little section of the world.

Alden Farrow – Memorial High School

I discovered my love for writing at a young age. Maybe it’s the fact that I have “main character syndrome,” creating an internal monologue that is performed in my brain, narrating my life. Or the fact that reading a book, the black ink on paper still affects me months later. Whether it’s the words that float around in my brain or the ones I read every day, I always need

to write to express my thoughts before they slip away from me. My love for writing came naturally and has matured authentically. I desire to share my perspective through writing for others to experience my love for words as well. This year on School Buzz I am thrilled to be able to let others see my passion to write.

Amy Park – Bellaire High School

Ironically, my journey as a writer started with a reluctance to put my pencil to paper, but a love for absorbing the scrawl of words across pages. My younger self could usually be seen frantically flipping through pages in the brief breaks of my fifth-grade homeroom or squinting to make out words far past bedtime in the dim glow of a nightlight. My passion started to spill over into writing, however, through the forced transition of the world to a digitalized one. Quarantine had necessitated the use of electronics in our daily lives but had also normalized a new means of writing for those in school: the keyboard. The satisfying, rapid click of the keys and minimal hand cramping required to spell out entire stories was what initiated my exploration of writing as I dabbled in genres ranging from adventurous fiction to professional-sounding expository. Now, I especially enjoy using my passion for reading and writing to explore my other loves for scientific research, cats, and activism in medicine and societal issues!

Haley Saikin – The Emery/Weiner School

I found my passion for writing at a young age, as English has been my favorite subject in school for as long as I can remem (continued

hartphoto.com

Ayushi Mohanty

Alden Farrow

Rebecca Jackson

Amy Park

Emma Chang

Haley Saikin

Maggie Veech

Diane Weber

ber. I have not always been the most enthusiastic public speaker, so for me, writing became a way to express my thoughts and ideas without having to say them out loud. Being able to share someone’s story or convey a message through others’ experiences with my writing is just one of my favorite elements of reporting and part of why I would love to possibly pursue a career in journalism in the future. This is my second year writing for School Buzz, and I am thrilled to continue to further my passion and skills for writing and reporting, as well as representing my school and showcasing its achievements and accomplishments.

Diane Weber – Houston Christian High School

From an early age, all I could do was formulate stories; my imagination was not just a fun game to play with my fellow kids, but a doorway to stories that expanded my mind’s capabilities and expressed fantastical ideas about the world. I discovered writ ing was the best medium to tell stories, and though my writing was primarily fictional, I grew to love writing in all shapes and forms. Writing allows others to step into multitudes of shoes. Reporting is no different, except the stories I will be able to tell through School Buzz are not ones of fictional characters, but ones of real people, real experiences, that allow us to feel more connected to one another through the constant exploration of perspectives. In short, School Buzz will enable me to do what I’ve always loved to do: tell stories.

Ayushi Mohanty – Carnegie Vanguard High School

Writing isn’t just words on a page: it’s the shar ing of stories, the catalyst of conversation, and the expression of our experiences. At least that’s what I believe. My passion stems from the deep desire to share, catalyze, and express these stories, conversations, and experiences. Especially those at Carnegie Vanguard High School where hall ways echo with the chatter of remarkable students who continue to inspire me. I felt it necessary to document the noteworthy deeds and incredulous feats these students accomplished along with their rigorous academic curriculum. By becoming a School Buzz Reporter, I was able to cover stories on fundraising for our local conservancy, conversations about the challenges of learning in a pandemic, and experiences volun-

teering for cancer patients and healthcare pro fessionals. By sharing these narratives, I hope to leave readers as speechless as I am by the exceptionality that surrounds me at Carnegie.

Rebecca Jackson – St. Francis Episcopal School

My love for writing developed when I was in sixth grade and placed second in my very first state competition. From then on, I knew I was going to be a writer. At first, I wanted to write books, but quickly learned it was a lot more difficult than I expected. In high school, I decided that journalism was where I wanted to continue my journey; I just didn’t know how to get involved. Then, in my junior year, I was intro duced to The Buzz Magazines. During my time at School Buzz, I have had the opportunity to write about my classmates and their incredible talents. From a 6’9” basketball player to a future pilot, The Buzz has been an outlet for me to develop my sto rytelling, interviewing, and writing abilities.

Emma Chang – St. John’s School

I first discovered my interest in writing in the fifth grade when I was assigned to write a sonnet. Because my dog was my first love, I decided to write a heartfelt sonnet expressing my love and devotion to my fur baby. My passion for writing continued to develop when Taylor Swift released her album Reputation in 2017. I listened to the album for hours, devouring the songs and breaking down the lyrics. After hearing the album about 100 times, I knew that one day, I wanted to be able to write like Taylor Swift. As my fondness for writing grew, I began exploring other areas of writ ing. I joined my first journalistic publication in middle school, at River Oaks Baptist; and now, I write for the St. John’s newspaper, The Review, and serve as an online editor. With five years of writing for a newspaper, I have found excitement in getting news out quickly, which is why I want to write for School Buzz and enjoy journalism.

Maggie Veech – St. Pius X High School

Within the last few years, I have found a new love for writing through journaling. I journal to lay out my thoughts whenever I am sad, anxious, or overwhelmed. It helps to clear my mind and keep going about the day. I also love to be able to write about the good times. After a good day or week, I want to write that down so I can read

back and remember all the memories. I think both forms of reflection are meaningful. When I read back about the good days it’s a reminder that there are so many good times. When I read back about the bad times, I am reminded of each challenge in life I have gotten through, and therefore have the strength to get through others down the road. I want to write for School Buzz to share things going on in my school community. We’re a busy school with lots of interesting things going on, so I think others in the Houston community would love to hear our stories!

Izza Effendi – Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart

I have had a passion for writing ever since I was a little kid. In elementary school, I would come up with ideas for stories and both write and illustrate them. In middle school, I would write scripts with my friends in our free time. Now, I am the Chief Information Officer of my school’s newsletter. I enjoy writing about various events at Duchesne and about my peers through topics such as Senior Spotlights. This is my first year on the School Buzz team! I joined because I want to improve my writing skills and discover which writing genres I am most interested in. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be part of the School Buzz team, and I am looking forward to the new school year.

Alexis Westlake – British International School of Houston

This will be my third year writing for School Buzz, and I cannot begin to say how amazing my experience has been. I discovered my passion for writing during freshman year, as I had to com plete a lot of creative writing within English. However, School Buzz was the first time I ever truly delved into a reporting style of writing. Although I was quite nervous at first, I quickly fell into the swing of it after my first couple of articles, and soon learned that I really enjoyed informative writing too. Initially, I wanted to join School Buzz because it would help me be more confident and put myself out there (as well as improving my skills), but now I do it purely for the enjoyment, and the pride I get out of having some of my work be seen by the public.

Alina Syed The Awty International School

Ever since I was a little girl, I cherished story-

Izza Effendi

Alexis Westlake

Alina Syed Caroline Killinger

telling and the fictional world. As I grew older, my childish love for fairytales slowly developed into a keen interest of Shakespearian plays, such as “Othello” and classic novels like Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. By the end of my freshman year, my love for literature and analyzing various pieces of art created by authors such as Jane Austen and F. Scott Fitzgerald, inspired me to cre ate my own art and start writing more frequently. Writing essays for English class motivated me to introduce my writing to other people. I wanted the opportunity to share my experiences and thoughts to a greater audience. Therefore, the day that I read the ad for School Buzz reporters in my copy of The Bellaire Buzz, I found exactly what I was searching for to further develop my hobby. I wanted to write for School Buzz to share my own experiences and events from my high school with

my community in a fun and casual approach. Writing monthly articles for School Buzz helped me talk to more people at school and make new friends while also expanding my knowledge of my school. School Buzz allows me to cultivate my hobby of writing and become a representative of Awty’s finest qualities!

Caroline Killinger – Lutheran North Academy

I want to write for School Buzz because my school is extremely small but the community it has and the things the students do are priceless.

I am a sophomore and I am very involved at my school and extracurricular activities. I am involved in band (marching and concert), drama (plays and musicals), chapel committee, presi dent of my class, president of my student council, parliamentarian of my 4-H chapter, sophomore

This year’s journalists

The Awty International School

Alina Syed

Ava Nair

Devan Kalra

Zach Daube

Bellaire High School

Amy Park

Andrew Liu

Anya Edelman

Gargi Rakhade

Jason Deng Karis Chen

Melanie Fung

Mickie May Levin

British International School of Houston

Alexis Westlake

Carnegie Vanguard High School

Ahmed Aslam Ayushi Mohanty

Danielle Yampuler

Ruhaan Singh

Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions

Abby Von Eik

Athitiya Singhapan

Cherish Amby-Okolo

Jasmine Sidhu

Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart

Isabel Fernandez-Cueto

Izza Effendi

Julia Harfenist

Tess Harfenist

Victoria Carroll

leader of my band, president of the sophomore homecoming committee, and part of the Marketing and Stock club. At school, I am given lots of opportunities to improve my writing. I’ve always had a passion for writing because I have older siblings and they always were writing and using advanced words, so I always wanted to be like them. I also love telling stories and putting my thoughts into words because everything ages and fades but writing and literature do not.

MORE ONLINE

See this article at thebuzzmagazines.com to read more from local correspondents about their love of writing. Check out the School Buzz blog at thebuzzmagazines.com/columns/school-buzz throughout the year as these correspondents share school happenings.

The Emery/Weiner School

Dani Barg Frances Sherman

Haley Saikin

Leah Cororve

Energy Institute High School Yonathan Bibi

Episcopal High School Raigan Clay

Houston Christian High School

Adriana Martinez Diane Weber Dj Ijaola Donna Xue Joshua Chin Laraleigh Hackerman Riley Warnica

Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts

Irene Roddy Kate-Yeonjae Jeong Matthew Jeong

Incarnate Word Academy

Anna Galan Danielle Bartholet Denise Walsh

The Kinkaid School

Ana Susman Chisom Nwabudike Eshaan Mani Lindsey Karkowsky

Oliver Oldham

Lamar High School Kayla Pearl Mischa Wijesekera

Lutheran North Academy Caroline Killinger Gwyneth Delling Imry Shrout-Jordan

Memorial High School Alden Farrow Andrew Yang Ellen Baik Hannah Kim Laine Lohfink Orianna Fong Reed Ingersoll Tulsi Parikh

Memorial Private School Justin Wei Ray Rosenthal

Second Baptist School Caroline Martinez Isabella Ventura

St. Agnes Academy

Alexandra Wong

Anika Shethia Anna Frederickson Bailey Raymond Chiderah Emeakoroha Lilly Jarlsjo Melinda Dae Rebecca Bi Suria Mehta

St. Francis Episcopal School

Rebecca Jackson

St. John’s School

Emma Chang Maggie Hester

Veda Chilakapati

Josie Feldman

St. Pius X High School

Laura Jones Maggie Veech Sofia Ordaz

Saint Thomas’ Episcopal School Audrey Nguyen Elsie Wire

St. Thomas High School Ethan Vinson

Strake Jesuit College

Preparatory

Bowen Moore Carter McKenna Rushil Chetty

Stratford High School Hank Davis

The Village School

Aditi Iyer

Westbury Christian School

Emily Goldstein Hannah Groogan

Sophia Martinez Trinidad Gonzales

Xavier Educational Academy Hannah Sternberg

The Hallo-Queen

Mia Parker loves Halloween by Cheryl Ursin, staff writer

CREATURE FEATURE Emerson Beck and Mia Parker in front of a popular scene, where passersby can take “killer selfies” with their favorite horror-movie characters.

Thereis a house in the Highland Village neighborhood that, eleven months out of the year, is much like its neighbors: a pretty and well-kept house surrounded by flower beds and shaded by live oaks.

But on October 1st, a pirate skeleton, mouth agape in a skeleton grin, appears somewhere in the yard, sometimes on the roof of the house’s entry. He stands behind an ornate wooden ship wheel. A sign over his head reads, “Arrgh You Ready for Halloween?”

Halloween season at the Parkers’ house has begun.

Almost every day through the month of October, something new will appear in the yard. Although these scenes change every year, they have in the past included Pennywise, the clown from the movie It, complete with his signature red balloon, peeking out from the storm drain on the corner; a skeleton scarecrow standing on his head; a row of skeletons in yoga clothes on yoga mats, all in warrior 2 pose; a life-sized mermaid, a skeleton with a glittery tail and matching bathing suit, a crown atop her blonde wig, false eyelashes and lipstick, lounging in a planter; Gollum, from Lord of the Rings, hoarding

his “precious,” which was a roll of toilet paper during the height of the Covid shutdown.

Freddy Krueger, the monster from the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, appeared one October day, on one knee, proposing to one of the mermaid skeletons. A nearby sign read, “The Girl of My Dreams.”

Get it?

Not everyone did, but that’s okay with Mia Parker, who makes all the scenes herself.

“I think I’m funny,” she says with a smile. “I amuse myself.”

One of her favorite installations last year was a skeleton wearing an undershirt, boxers, slip pers, and reading glasses standing at an open refrigerator – a real refrigerator, by the way – full of nothing but bright yellow bottles of mustard. According to a sign at his feet, he’s saying, “Honey, where’s the mustard?” Inside the refrigerator door is written, “Male Blindness …”

The individual scenes themselves also change over the days. Last year, a skeleton appeared walking his six skeleton dachshunds. The first day, the dachshunds were well-behaved, all in an orderly line. Then, they chased a skeleton cat

up a tree. Eventually, one of them lifted his leg on the Parkers’ neighbor’s “curb your dog” sign.

One of the most popular from last year was several characters sitting in a group-therapy session. Each held a sign. The witch’s said, “I fly off the handle,” a ghost’s “I used to be somebody,” a Jack O’ Lantern complained, “I feel hollow inside,” and, perhaps the crowd favorite, a skeleton wearing an Astros cap and shirt had a sign that read, “I’m stressed out from being an Astros fan.”

One thing that might not be apparent, because the scenes are so well-done and detailed, is that they are not store-bought. By and large, Mia makes them herself. And to chal lenge herself further, she makes them largely out of, well, junk. She looks for “curb alerts,” when people post on Facebook Marketplace or Nextdoor that they are putting stuff out for bulk pick-up in case anyone wants any of it.

Mia also goes to Goodwill Outlet stores. “Not regular Goodwill stores,” she clarifies. “These are the Goodwill outlets, the things that didn’t sell at their regular stores.” She’s also been known to poke around in dumpsters at construction

SHIVER ME TIMBERS Mia Parker’s creative Halloween scenes always make a splash. She has made new connections because of her Halloween decorations, such as with neighbor Emerson Beck. Emerson, now 12, left a handwritten note in Mia’s mailbox last year, asking if she could help with the decorations. Here, Emerson and Mia are working on a new character for this Halloween, the pirate Davy Jones.

sites. “I use things like bits of PVC pipe that no one else has any use for,” she says.

In fact, if something she gets seems too nice, like someone might be able to use that piece of furniture or wear those clothes, she will often give them away again rather than use them for her Halloween decorations.

But glittery prom dresses from the ’80s – “No one should wear those,” says Mia – become the tails of her mermaid skeletons. Those skeletons started as regular plastic skeletons, by the way, but Mia converted their legs into fishtails. A jacket with a double row of metal buttons has its sleeves cut off and becomes a pirate’s vest. Clear glass Christmas tree balls become the bubbles in a tub where a mother skeleton bathes her

baby. Plastic toy chains are coated in glue and tossed in plastic bags filled with coffee grounds, “like Shake ’n Bake,” says Mia, so that they look like real rusted metal chains.

That ship wheel? It had been the top of a glass table that was missing its glass. Its handles are pieces from an old poster bed. (Mia owns power tools.)

Some of the things she makes look like they are made out of wood, but they are really made out of insulation board. Built, carved, sanded, painted, and weathered, they look like wood or metal or, really, anything Mia wants them to look like.This year, she is using another type of insulation, a kind of foam spray meant for gaps and cracks called Great Stuff, to make very real-

istic-looking coral. She also used it to make the tentacle beard of a new character, the pirate Davy Jones. Like the character from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, this one has octopus tentacles as his beard, the suckers of which are Cheerios in Mia’s version. Where other people might take a book or a laptop, maybe a needlework or knitting project in their carry-ons, Mia took this somewhat realistic and definitely disturbing life-sized head through airport security when she flew to Colorado recently. (TSA didn’t bat an eye, she reports.)

To challenge herself even further, Mia doesn’t usually start working on her Halloween scenes in earnest until October – and then she tries to put a new one out every day. (continued

FUNNY BONES Mia’s scenes often include funny signs, like the group therapy session (top photo). She makes her decorations herself, largely out of “junk” she finds around the neighborhood or at Goodwill Outlet stores. Bottom right: the pirate wheel Mia made out of pieces of an old table and an old bed. Bottom left: The pirate skeleton asks “Arrgh You Ready for Halloween?” each October.

Long-time friend of the Parkers, Mike Leach, the head football coach for Mississippi State, says he thinks Mia should put out her scenes year-round, with a different theme every month. Mike has a well-known interest in pirates himself (his memoir is called Swing Your Sword), and this year, Mia is creating a Mike Leach pirate character to join her crew.

Mia has digital photo albums and Pinterest boards (“I shouldn’t be allowed on Pinterest,” she jokes), full of reference images and inspira tion. She says she never runs out of ideas and, indeed, has several years’ worth. She recently found a child’s violin in a curb alert and is think ing about some day putting a Fiddler on the Roof skeleton on her roof.

Sometimes

Mia works on her Halloween things in her garage, but often she throws a tarp down in her den and “tootles on my junk” while watching TV. When someone, like her young grandchildren, come over, she can bundle up the tarp “like The Cat in the Hat,” she says.

She resists turning one of her bedrooms into a workspace because she wants to leave it available if friends and family want or need to stay. “I don’t need to know the why,” she says of her frequent guests. Mia has four grown children, her husband Gardner has three, and the Parkers have five grandchildren between them. They also have what Mia calls their three “bonus chil dren,” kids now grown, who, for various reasons, came to live with the Parkers when they were teenagers and remain part of the family.

One young friend, who tragically died recent ly, lived with the Parkers while she received treatment from MD Anderson. Another, along with her little dog, came to live with the Parkers during Covid rather than live alone and isolated. Her shih tzu, named Dolly, still comes over two or three times a week for playdates with the Parkers’ dogs, Teddy, a charming Pomeranian (“He’s such a player,” says Mia), Bitsy, a Maltese, and Mia’s daughter Emily’s pit bull, Hazel. Little Bitsy is the pack leader, and Dolly and Hazel are best friends.

“Our house has a heartbeat of its own,” says Mia.

And she has met people because of her Halloween decorations as well. Last year, she met her neighbors, the Becks, when their daughter Emerson, now 12, slipped a handwritten note in Mia’s mailbox, asking if she could help with the decorations. She could. Emerson especially likes manning the glue gun, to encrust, for example, Davy Jones’s clothes with seashells and barnacles. This year, her younger sister Lily may join her.

For the grand finale on Halloween itself, Mia puts out her large pirate ship and a pirate bar, both of which she, of course, made herself. Gardner hands out candy, lots of candy.

“Everyone should have a hobby like Mia’s, one that makes them happy and lets them use all their God-given talents,” says Gardner. “Mia’s so good at it and so creative, and she enjoys making other people happy.”

FANGS FOR THE MEMORIES “Our house has a heartbeat of its own,” Mia says. The Parkers’ home bustles with activity, humor, creativity, love, and friendship all year long. In October, Mia’s Halloween deco rations bring entertainment to the neighborhood. Top photo: Mia and neighbor Emerson work together to craft colorful items for detailed scenes, like the skeleton couple who “met online” (bottom photo).

. by Annie Blaylock McQueen, staff writer

Buzz Baby

Signing with baby

Buzz Baby is a column about life with little ones. Writer Annie McQueen is a mother of four children under the age of 8.

Imagine

replacing a baby or toddler’s cries with a direct, clear-cut sign as to what the child wants at that moment, reducing stress for both the upset baby and the confused parent. Baby sign language, which differs from the complex language of American Sign Language, are signs and gestures that can be taught to an infant as young as six months of age. Sign language can assist a baby in expressing to a caregiver when they are hungry, want more, are all done, thirsty, tired, and more.

A couple of parents in the Buzz community shared their journey in using sign language with their children in their homes.

Mom-of-four Kellie Patrick remembers opening a baby sign language book at her first baby shower when she was pregnant with her first child. She tucked it away but recalled the con cept of teaching a young child to sign.

When her oldest son Zachary was around 11 months old, she slowly started working on teaching him to sign, starting with “more” (bring thumbs and fingers together then bring hands together and pull them apart repeatedly). She says at first, she felt discouraged when he was not using it to communicate with her. However, she stayed the course, and eventually, it started to work. “When the first sign clicked, he picked them up easily,” she said. From that moment on, the head-scratching tantrums were cut down, says Kellie, making for a happy mom, dad, and tot.

Kellie says teaching sign language just under the age of 1 helped when he knew what he wanted but could not vocalize it just yet because he was not talking. “Signing saved us from lots of whining,” said Kellie. “We focused on signs that were helpful to everyday life and wants and needs like more, all done, water, milk, eat, hun gry, hurt, diaper, and bath.”

Kellie recalled a cute moment when a stranger gave her Zachary a compliment, and he signed thank you.

She focused on building his word bank and

improvised when he struggled. “For example, to sign water is the three fingers up with the index finger side tapping on the chin,” said Kellie. “Babies cannot hold up their three fingers in isolation, so we did drink [instead], which is mimicking someone drinking water.”

Mom-of-two and baby sign language expert Laura Payne says signing with her two children came natural ly in her house hold. She has per sonally been famil iar with sign lan guage since she was 8 years old when she learned from Deaf classmates at her elementary school, Meadow Wood Elementary (which was at the time, the host campus for the Deaf Education program in Spring Branch Independent School District). She received her undergraduate degree in Deaf Education.

Laura’s daughter Marlowe’s first sign was “all done” and at an early age, around six months old. “I caught it on video. It was just lucky,” Laura said. “She slapped her hand on the highchair, signed it one-handed, not two, and then slapped the highchair again as if she was opening and closing the sign,” said Laura.

Later, they grew their sign language word list. Laura recalls exploring outside when her daugh ter was a toddler and when she spotted a lizard, signing the word “lizard” to her mom added extra excitement to finding one.

Sign language has become a natural form of communication for her children, but she says

there are important things to keep in mind if this is something you want to instruct your child. “I love seeing my children signing to each other,” says Laura. “[My daughter] knows that sign language allows [my son] who is younger to communicate some words he cannot say yet,” she said.

Laura reminds parents that sign language is another language. “We are using another culture's language, so signing correctly and not making up signs is very important,” she said. She also recommends searching a local library for reliable books on sign language or referring to a baby sign language expert’s online tools and resources (such as @mybabysigns on social media).

Teaching use of sign words is sure to help open the doors of communication between a small child and their parent, which makes for smoother sailing at mealtimes and more.

COMMUNICATION IS KEY Laura Payne, a mother-of-two who’s fluent in sign lan guage, started to use baby sign language with her daughter, Marlowe, when she was six months old.

. by Cindy Burnett, staff writer

Buzz Reads Five picks for October

Buzz Reads is a column about books by reviewer Cindy Burnett. Each month, Cindy recommends five recently or soon-to-be released titles.

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn (mystery/thriller) – This delightful and thought-provoking mystery stars four women, Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie, who have been employed by the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for four decades. When the Museum sends them on a fabulous vacation to celebrate their retirement, the women quickly determine that their trip is a ruse because they are being targeted by someone within the Museum due to the work they have done for the organization over the years. Times have changed and their skill sets are no longer valued by the Museum, but the friends are determined to upend the view that women of a certain age are expendable. Through experience and working together, they prove that their age and gender are positives versus nega tives. Combining humor, reflections on what it means to age, and a clever mystery, Killers of a Certain Age kept me engaged from page one; it is a must read for mystery lovers.

The Matchmaker’s Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman (historical fiction) Written in a dual timeline format, The Matchmaker’s Gift follows Sara Glikman, a Jewish matchmaker ahead of her time in the early 20th century who begins her matchmaking when she is 10 and finds her sister a husband. When she dies, she leaves her journals to her granddaughter Abby who is a lonely divorce attorney. Abby is distrustful of true love because her parents fought often and eventually went through a bitter divorce. But as she continues to delve into her grandmother’s journals, she realizes that she may be following the wrong path and that she needs to make some changes. This delightful, feel-good book drew me right in, and I did not want it to end. I highly recommend it.

Miss Del Rio by Barbara Mujica (historical fiction) Miss Del Rio chronicles the life of famed Hollywood star Dolores del Rio whose life spanned a number of pivotal moments in history including the Mexican Revolution, the Jazz Age, Golden-Age Hollywood, and World War II. Relayed through Mara, Dolores’ fictional

hairdresser and close friend, the novel follows Dolores through a mete oric film career in Hollywood, despite intense racism directed her way, and an intense personal life which included numerous lovers and husbands, all amid the backdrop of wealth and privilege. When the war intensifies nativism in the United States and nonwhite stars are ostra cized, Dolores finds she must return to Mexico to continue her career. Hollywood fans will enjoy the presence of other screen royalty including Marlene Dietrich and Orson Welles. I read this book in a day and found it absolutely fascinating – I loved learning more about Mexican history, Golden Age Hollywood, and what it was like as actors tried to switch from silent films to “talkies,” and the Mexican film industry in the 1940s.

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng (fiction/dystopian) – In a near future world, 12year-old Bird Gardner lives in an apartment on the Harvard University campus with his father, a former linguist who now shelves books at the university’s library. For over 10 years, the United States has been ruled by laws created to maintain an “American” way of life in light of years of violence and economic upheaval. Those who oppose these laws have their children removed from them and their livelihoods taken away. Moreover, libraries have removed books deemed “unpatriotic” including a book of poems written by Bird’s mother, Margaret, that are linked to a growing resistance movement. While she left when he was nine and Bird has learned to dis avow her, when he receives a special drawing he believes is from her, he sets out on a long journey to find her. This heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful book shines a light on injustice and

racism and demonstrates how art and quiet resistance can bring about change. This stunning story touched my heart, and I will not soon forget it.

The Storyteller’s Death by Ann Davila Cardinal (fiction) The Storyteller's Death is set in Puerto Rico and follows Isla Larsen Sanchez as she comes to terms with a strange family gift she inherits after her grandmother, a great storyteller, dies. This gift makes her family’s stories come to life and play out in front of her over and over again until she resolves the issue at the heart of each story. But when an old murder mystery sur faces in her visions, she has to race to solve the murder before the visons take her life. This book is so compelling, unique, and lyrically written, and everything about it was fabulous – the characters, the vivid setting, and the creative storyline. I felt like I visited Puerto Rico and experienced life there in the 1970s and 1980s and was sad when it was over.

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.

WHAT TO READ This month's picks include a fabulous thriller, two histori cal-fiction titles, a near-future cautionary tale, and a Puerto Rican tale with a dose of magical realism.

Cindy Burnett

. by Tracy L. Barnett, staff writer

Travel Buzz Exploring family heritage in Portugal

Nancyand Gene Silva have traveled to Portugal many times over the years –partly because Gene’s grandparents emigrated from there to the United States, and partly just because they love it. So it was an obvious destination for their 50th wedding anniversary. What wasn’t as obvious – and what made the journey truly epic – was when it grew into a group of 20.

It started as a plan for the immediate family to go in 2020. But as with so many other plans, this one was put on hold because of Covid-19. In 2021 the same thing happened.

So they decided that this would be the year. “I mentioned it to some of my family members across the country, and we ended up with 20 people from five states.”

The intergenerational group hailed from California, Washington state, Washington, D.C., Virginia, and New Hampshire – and, of course, Texas. It included son Michael Silva and his wife Jessica, and their three children, as well as a host of nieces and nephews from across the country. In all there were 13 adults, three teens and four children.

“This was the trip of a lifetime for our close family living now all across the U.S., and an opportunity for the younger generation to con nect with one another,” said Nancy.

The original plan was to rent two cars but when the group grew to 20, Gene decided to rent a Mercedes minibus and hire a driver, and went into tour guide mode. Together he and Nancy planned an itinerary that included major cities (Lisbon and Porto), seaside villages (Ericeira and Nazaré), historic landmarks (Óbidos, Alcobaça, the Knights Templar Castle in Tomar, and the Battle Abbey, or Batalha Monastery) and concluded with several days visiting the hometown of Gene’s family, Ílhavo. They visited the nearby coastal city of Aveiro, known for its lagoons and network of canals and the colorful boats (moliceiros) that navigate them.

They mapped out the entire route together, arming an illustrated itinerary for the family with information about each stop. With his years of travel and study, Gene is a storehouse of knowledge, is trilingual (Portuguese, Spanish,

and English) and is practically a tour guide himself, Nancy says. But he cites one source in particular that has never led him astray: Julie Dawn Fox (juliedawn fox.com), a British trav el professional who has lived in Portugal since 2007 and whose website he’s followed for years.

Julie gave them excellent restaurant recommendations throughout the country, Nancy said, as well as the contact person for their Mercedes minibus at Vinic Tours (vinictours.com). The decision to rent the bus turned out to be a good one. The driver, Luis, was “not just good, he was terrific,” said Gene. And the bus was well appointed, with leather seating and excellent views.

Nancy and Gene honeymooned in Portugal and have traveled there many times since. During those early years, Gene still had a few liv ing relatives, and the couple would spend time in their early visits getting to know them. They were elders, though, and the last one passed away a few years ago.

“I had a rather small family that survived – a number of my ancestors were seafarers and more than the usual number died at sea, so not too many made it.” They do still have Portuguese friends, however, that they visit on each trip, as they did this time.

Medieval castles, Roman ruins, sunny beaches, mountain forests with waterfalls and, of course, Port wine were just a few of the items on the itinerary – something that would appeal to everyone in a group this diverse. A swimming pool at every hotel was a requirement.

“We never stayed on the road longer than 50 minutes at a time, yet we got to see six World Heritage Sites and some unique sites most people don’t get to see,” Gene said. On the personal side, the group spent time walking in their ancestors’ footsteps in what for them was once a fishing vil

lage, now grown into the town of Ílhavo, where Gene’s family came from, along with the nearby city of Aveiro. And they were able to visit the grand old Vila Santos, the same restaurant where Gene’s parents celebrated their wedding dinner 90 years ago, and celebrate with the current owner.

That would be a long way down the road, however. The first big challenge was to get peo ple from all over the US to arrive in Portugal at the same time so they could all start together. Instead of waiting for everyone to arrive in the capital city of Lisbon, Gene and Nancy headed for the coastal city of Ericeira, just half an hour away, and made that their rendezvous point. It ended up being the best thing they could have done; Portugal experienced a searing summer, with temperatures that reached 107 in Lisbon at one point. On the coast, at the Vila Galé hotel overlooking the beach, it was 15 degrees cooler.

“We got everyone there over a two-day period, and it was an absolutely glorious time – a wonderful way to be introduced to a foreign city,” said Gene.

The first day after they collected everyone together, they drove about 30 minutes down the road to the town of Sintra to see three castles, including two World Heritage Sites: a 14th-century Royal Palace in the town center, an 8thcentury abandoned Moorish castle halfway up the mountain, and a 19th-century royal resi dence at Sintra’s summit, Pena Palace.

“Most people will go to Sintra because it’s absolutely gorgeous, with lots of trees, and up on the side of the mountain

A PORTUGUESE LOVE STORY Gene Silva, left, honeymooned with his wife Nancy, right, in Portugal, the country of Gene’s ancestry, and visited with her many times since most recently, for their 50th wedding anniversary. Photo taken at Belém Tower in Lisbon, overlooking the Tagus River.

(continued from page 36)

there are some great vistas,” said Gene. The complex was quite crowded that day, however. “We had to stand in long lines but we were able to see Pena Palace before circling back at the end of the day to relax one more evening in Ericeira,” said Gene.

“All of us gathered for a late dinner (all dinners are late!) at a seaside restaurant walking distance from our hotel where we enjoyed a variety of grilled fish,” wrote Nancy in an account of the trip. “Delicious food is a consistent component when traveling in Portugal and ranges from all types of seafood and shellfish near the coast to Black Pork (acorn fed pigs) and Suckling Pig found inland. A meal begins with a satisfying soup and usually finishes with the ubiquitous dessert delicacy, Pastéis de Nata.”

The next day they began their travels north, stopping at the charming medieval towns of Óbidos and Alcobaça then continuing to Nazaré, where they would spend the night on the coast. The walled city of Óbidos is a wellpreserved example of medieval architecture. The stone fortification with its picturesque parapets received its first charter early in the 12th century, as Gene wrote in his annotated itinerary. In 1210 King Afonso II gave the title of the village to his queen, originating the reference, Vila das Rainhas (Town of the Queens).

“The fortification is magnificent,” said Gene. The narrow city streets are too small to enter with a vehicle, so the family was deposited on its doorstep. “We spent two hours walking around the embattlement, enjoying the town,” said Gene.

Then it was on to Alcobaça, where they would visit a 12th-century church and monastery that was home to the star-crossed lovers whose story everyone in Portugal knows: Pedro and Inês. As the tragic Portuguese legend goes, the young man who was to become King Pedro I was married off to an heir of a neighbor ing kingdom. He fell in love with his wife’s lady in waiting, the beautiful Inês de Castro, and they

had a secret affair. When his wife died in childbirth, Pedro decided to make their relationship public, and they married and had several children. But his father, King Afonso II, opposed the relationship and eventually, succumbing to pressure, had Inês killed.

Pedro was distraught and wanted to declare war on his father but his mother, Queen Beatriz, talked him out of it, as the story goes. When Afonso died and Pedro became king, he had Inês’ remains exhumed, and he dressed her in royal gear, according to the version that Gene heard as a boy. All his nobles were obligated to parade across the throne room and kiss her hand.

King Pedro crowned Inês queen, making her the only Portuguese queen to be crowned posthumous ly. He had the royal title carved into the Gothic stone tomb that would match his own, and he ordered them to be placed together for eternity.

Gene, like most Portuguese, loves the story, though he acknowledges it’s “pretty gruesome.” The exquisitely carved tombs, complete with lifelike sculptures of Pedro and Inês, now lie in state at the Mosteiro de Alcobaça, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, considered “a masterpiece of Cistercian Gothic art.”

After touring the sites and paying their respects to Pedro and Inês, the Silva family headed to nearby Nazaré – another great tourist attraction, a magnet for surfers with some of the world’s largest waves.

Next it was on to Battle Abbey, or Mosteiro de Batalha, which was built to commemorate victory of Portugal over Spain in the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385. The abbey’s extravagant Gothic architec ture makes it “the most beautiful building in Portugal, in my opinion,” said Gene. It took 70 years to build, and commemorates an achievement that is equally impressive: The victory of King John and his young general, Nuno Álvares Pereira, with only 6,500 soldiers over an invading Spanish army with more than 30,000 Spanish soldiers.

The next stop was the city of Tomar, founded

by the Grand Master of the mysterious Knights of Templar in 1160. The impressive Convent of Christ and its surrounding castle complex, built by the Templars over five centuries, combines a variety of styles and influences, including Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulcher Rotunda. The Templars were a highly disciplined elite fighting force and semi-religious order founded in 1119 that gained influence and wealth around the world, eventually being violently suppressed amid accusations of heresy in the early 1300s. Their wealth was confiscated and their fortifications dismantled. The Tomar castle complex is consid ered the best preserved of the Templar castles.

The next day they traveled to Condeixa-aNova and took advantage of cooler morning temperatures to visit the day’s destination, the nearby Roman ruins. In the heat of the day, they were relaxing at the pool of the Hotel do Paço, a former palace converted into a grand home and then a hotel.

The ancient Roman city, which Julie Fox considers the best Roman ruins she’s ever visited, was home to a school for tiles and mosaics, and the 2,000-year-old mosaic tile floors are still vibrant in color and design. The interior gardens still function with the original piping that was installed two millennia ago.

Finally, it was time to head for Ílhavo and nearby Aveiro to explore the family’s roots. Along the way they stopped in the Buçaco Forest, known for its cypress groves and gardens, hiking trails, and the hunting palace of the last Portuguese king – now a grand old hotel with elegant stone lacework and garden mazes.

“It was almost like something out of Disneyland,” said Gene. “It’s remarkably well preserved for something that was built 150 years ago.” The family opted to stay in Ílhavo but did a lot of walking on the forest’s trails leading from the palace to duck ponds and waterfalls.

Ílhavo was already an (continued on page 40)

THE TEST OF TIME On left, Sept. 23, 1932: Wedding reception of Gene’s parents, Edward and Rose Silva, at the Vila Santos restaurant in Costa Nova, Portugal, on thenorth central coast, a few kilometers from Ílhavo, their hometown. The groom is second from the left of the men standing wearing suits and the bride is seated directly in front of him with the long braid. On right, July 2022: The Silva family in front of the current-day Vila Santos restaurant. Back row, from left: Edward White, George Dewey White, Dewey White, Edward Silva, Zack Coffman, Debbie Silva, Michael Silva, Jr., Mike Silva, Ed Phillips; middle row: Ruthie White, Margaret White, Irving Silva, Nancy Silva, Gene Silva, Jessica Silva, Mary Rose Silva, Dewanne Phillips; front row: Charlotte Silva, Lauren Silva, David Silva.

established community when the Romans arrived. Some say the city was founded in 400 BC by Greek colonists, but others believe that it was founded by Phoenicians some 2,500 years ago. The town became known as a base for its seafaring culture and eventually a strong fish ing industry. The family made their base the Hotel de Ílhavo Plaza & Spa in the historic center, mak ing everything within walking distance.

They spent their last Saturday together enjoying neighboring Aveiro, which has been called the Venice of Portugal, exploring family sites there and joining in a ride on a colorful moliceiro through the city’s network of canals. They also visited the charming nearby former fishing village of Costa Nova, now a beach resort town known for its fish markets, seafood restaurants, and brightly striped houses.

Sunday they spent in Ílhavo, attending Sunday Mass at the parish church where relatives had been baptized, confirmed, and married. They visited the graveyard where those relatives are buried. Gene led his troop down the narrow cobblestone streets of the town’s historic center to see the homes where his parents were born (the grandparents and great-grandparents of most who accompanied him).

In Ílhavo the family tour ended; several said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Nancy and Gene, together with their immediate family – Michael, Jessica, and their three children – went on a tour of their own.

First they spent several days touring the city of Porto, taking a boat tour along the Douro River, and having a guided Port wine tasting at Graham’s Port Lodge. Graham’s is known as one of the first companies to invest in the Douro Valley vineyards, the birthplace of the distinctive Port wine.

Their final adventure was planned especially for Michael’s family. It was an excursion in Peneda-Gerês National Park. They booked a day-long small group tour through Oporto Adventure Tours (oportoadventuretours.com).

“Our guide, Miguel, led us on hikes into the lush forest landscape up and down trails to reach two remote crystal-clear lagoons fed by moun tain waterfalls,” Nancy wrote. “There we savored the fun of being drenched under those cold waterfalls and swimming in the privacy of our own lagoons. It was remarkable.”

Lunch was in the hamlet of Fafião, where local villagers are proud of their ancient mountain heritage. The tours are designed to introduce travelers to their ecosystem and help support their way of life. The Silvas ended their day watering tree saplings that will replace the ones burned in the forest fires that have become common in recent years.

“At the end of the day, we made our way out of the mountains over the same winding, narrow dirt road we drove in,” wrote Nancy. “By then, the kids had bonded with Miguel’s mountain spirit and relished the dust-spinning hairpin turns in our 4X4. This was an incredible day into a part of Portugal we had never experienced

MAKING MEMORIES Top photo: The Silva family taking a ride along the canals of Aveiro, Portugal, on a typ ical moliceiro boat. Moliceiros were used for centuries to collect seaweed, for fertilizer. They were largely replaced by modern vessels in the mid-20th century. From left: Dewanne Phillips, Ed Phillips, Gene Silva, Lauren Silva, Edward Silva, Charlotte Silva, David Silva, Irving Silva, Nancy Silva, Dewey White, Michael Silva, Jr., Jessica Silva, Mary Rose Silva, Mike Silva, Zack Coffman, Ruthie White, Margaret White, Edward White, George Dewey White. Bottom photo: Family members at Graham’s 1890 Lodge overlooking the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia and the Douro River, which extends deep into the countryside where grapes for port wine are grown. From left: Mike Silva, Michael Silva, Jr., Mary Rose Silva, Nancy Silva, David Silva, Gene Silva.

before, and we can highly recommend it.”

Looking back, the mere mention of the trip still brings a smile for both of them.

“From age eight to eighty, all came away with wonderful memories of our trip to Portugal,” Nancy concluded. “The scenery, historical sites, comradery and food alone would have made a wonderful trip but, for our family members, staying in their ancestor’s town and walking in their footsteps made this

a profound personal experience. Their loving grat itude was expressed in many ways but it always came down to, ‘This was a trip of a lifetime!’

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

After four decades of cooking for some of the city’s most notable Italian establish ments, Alfredo Mojica sold his home and signed the lease to open Amore Italian Restaurant (3310 S. Shepherd Dr.). The selftaught chef realized it was a gamble. Nine out of 10 restaurants fail, but the former Da Marco chef was confident he had the right formula and was ready to showcase his version of Italian.

However, the best-laid plans often go awry, and trouble usually comes in a double-whammy, the 54-year-old learned. Alfredo’s elation at signing the lease for his new restaurant in January 2020 transformed into apprehension two months later when the City of Houston imposed Covid lockdowns. On top of that, street construction would soon begin on South Shepherd – the kiss of death for many eateries. Thus, it would be an obstacle course for a year or more for those trying to get to the restaurant.

“We found out after we signed the lease. It was demoralizing. I thought, ‘I’m going to lose every thing,’” says Alfredo, who credited his wife’s unwavering support for getting him through the tough times. The word amore (Italian for love) in the restaurant’s name pays tribute to his wife, Christina, their children, and food.

Disheartened, Alfredo felt immobilized and halted the buildout of the 2,500-square-foot space at the corner of West Main and South Shepherd. Then the bills started to trickle in. The six-month, rent-free deal bought him some time, but he had to act quickly because he soon would need to pay $3,000 for rent, insurance, and other costs. He wanted to keep this a family business without investors. So, he wound up borrowing money from family members and rolled up his sleeves to remodel the interiors of what was once the lobster-roll joint Maine-ly Sandwiches.

Alfredo and a few buddies did the demolition and remodeling of the kitchen, dining rooms, and bathrooms themselves. He planned to trans form this lackluster space into an elegant 60-seat respite with white table linens and fresh flowers. He had to strip everything down to the bone to make this happen. It was a labor of love.

Today, the narrow dining area near the front door shines with serene, muted tones, an

elegant marble-topped bar, and a gold-tiled wood-burning pizza oven that Alfredo helped build. This isn’t the first time the chef has had to start from scratch.

Alfredo recalled his journey to the United States as an undocumented immigrant from a small village of fewer than 1,000 people in southern Mexico. The lessons he learned along the way are ones he plans to pass on to his daughter and son, plus one more on the way. “I want to teach them how to work, make money, and be useful,” he says. “They teach you a lot of stuff at school, but in the end, when you need to survive, none of that will help you. These les sons don’t come from textbooks.”

Alfredo is the fifth child, an only brother to six sisters. In 1983, when he turned 16, he told his parents that he wanted to make something of himself in the United States. The journey would be grueling and dangerous. Some people are never heard from again. His parents were against the idea, but the teenager convinced them to let him try. They gave him about $500 to pay the smugglers, known as “coyotes,” to help him cross the border.

A bus took him and three friends to the border

near Laredo. It was a cold February morning, and the coyotes shuffled them into a small U-Haul truck. “It was a nightmare. There were about 50 people, and we were packed, standing up together like sardines. By noon, it got so hot that a few people fainted from lack of oxygen. A hole at the bottom of the truck’s floor the size of a golf ball provided some air, but that was it. Can you imagine? I don’t know how, but we made it. Everything else about that ride is a blur.” (Alfredo gained US citizenship in 1998.)

When Alfredo arrived in Houston, where he had a few friends, he worked odd jobs in con struction, but they didn’t pay enough, so he started washing dishes at $3.25 per hour at a couple of downtown Houston restaurants. “My first paycheck for about two weeks of work was $180, but for me, it was a miracle,” he says.

He washed dishes for about a year, and on days off, he would volunteer to prep and make salad dressings. Things escalated from there. He wanted to be on the line, cooking. “But back then, nobody left,” he says. “It would be eight months before someone quit.”

He watched and learned the basics of cooking, and in 1993, he started work-

THAT’S AMORE Veteran chef Alfredo Mojica with wife and business partner, Christina, at their first restaurant, Amore.

Chef’s Corner Alfredo Mojica Amore – a labor of love

Tony Bullard

ing at Grotto on Woodway, where legendary restaurateur Tony Vallone eventually made him an executive chef. Then, in 2000, Alfredo left Grotto to help Marco Wiles open Da Marco, where he would meet his future wife, Christina Sulien, who was a hostess there.

Back then, foodies and well-traveled diners flocked to the unassuming Montrose restaurant for elevated, uncomplicated Italian fare similar to what they would find in Italy. Houston was starting to understand that there was more to Italian food than heavy red and alfredo sauces. Diners were learning about the simplicity of authentic Italian, from handmade pasta and meticulous meat dishes to pristine seafood fare. For the next 20 years, Alfredo would keep Da Marco’s lauded kitchen humming.

Now a seasoned chef, Alfredo was ready to start serving the Italian food he loved to eat.

“After nearly 30 years cooking at Grotto and Da Marco, I have seen what people like to eat, and what they order again and again,” he says. “It’s a simple formula.”

To start, Patagonian prawns, perfectly roasted and bathed in a briny shell-infused tomatocream sauce reminiscent of Michelin-starred

worthy French lobster bisque. The charred, grilled octopus is fork tender and flavorful, resting on a bed of arugula.

Alfredo executes classic Italian pasta with finesse, from linguine with Manila clams and ricotta-stuffed ravioli occhi to pappardelle with Texas wild boar sauce. A crowd favorite is the robust Spaghetti Harry’s Bar with plump lobster and tendrils of linguini tossed in a brandy-kissed luscious tomato sauce anointed with mint.

Lasagnette is ribbons of pasta with flaky branzino fish. Lemon, white wine, Romano green beans, and pine nuts combined for a bril liantly lilting mix of textures and flavors. Crudos, wood-charred pizzas, and a sizable grilled porterhouse (bistecca alla fiorentina) are meant to be shared. But it might be trickier to get your dinner date to share the egg souffle with Iberico ham or the Adriatic sea bass – two of seven black truffle dishes featured by fungi-loving chef Alfredo.

Amore Italian Restaurant opened last December without fanfare a few weeks before Hanukkah. “Ricky, how many tables did we serve that first day?” Alfredo asks his assistant.

“Two, chef. We served two tables, four people,” says Ricardo Rodriguez, another Grotto alum.

“I was scared that first day,” Alfredo recalls. “By then, I didn’t have much money, but slowly, a few more, mostly from the neighborhood, started to come. They would come back with friends. By the end of Christmas, Amore was doing well. Now, we are doing great.”

At the time, there was no sign out front. But word of mouth about the deftly executed Italian menu and well-trained waitstaff spread among the West U and River Oaks crowd. These days, advance reservations are necessary for Friday and Saturday dinners.

River Oaks residents Jesus and Rossana Fuentes dine at Amore three or four times a week. Rossana especially looks forward to the end of the meal and the sponge cake. It is harder for her husband to pick a favorite. He loves everything. “Beautiful food; wonderful service. This place has become our home,” Jesus says.

Linguine alle Vongole

Chef Alfredo Mojica shares this classic pasta made with spaghetti or linguine. At Amore, he throws in fried pancetta, but purists believe that pasta and clams require no additional ingredients like in the recipe below.

1 pound dried linguine (continued

Tony Bullard

Tony Bullard

Tony Bullard

TASTE OF ITALY

Clockwise: Salmon caviar with corn pancakes and condiments; Thanksgiving duck breast with cranberry sauce and parmesan potatoes; and Lasagnette pasta with branzino, green beans, and lemon-wine dressing.

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

6 garlic cloves, sliced

1 pound clams, such as manila, or cockles, scrubbed

1 teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 bunch of Italian parsley, coarsely chopped 3 teaspoons kosher salt

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil. Salt the water. Drop the linguine into the boiling water. While pasta cooks, make the sauce.

In a 12- to 14-inch sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sliced garlic. Cook the garlic until fragrant. Once the garlic is golden in color, add in the clams. Add the chili flakes and white wine. Cover the pan and cook until the clams steam open. While cooking, coarsely chop parsley, including stems.

Drain the linguine when it is one minute short of the cooking time on the package instructions and put it in the sauté pan with the clams. Toss the pasta in the pan to allow it to absorb the broth. Remove any unopened clams. Add parsley and toss together. Serve the pasta immediately while hot. Makes 4 servings.

Pan-Seared Duck with Cranberry Sauce

Chef Alfredo came up with this addictive recipe for cranberry sauce a few years ago at Thanksgiving. Part of its simplicity comes from using canned whole cranberries instead of tootart fresh cranberries. He loves this sauce so much that he wanted to make it a year-round affair, so at Amore, he serves it with duck instead of turkey. At home, he also pairs the cranberry sauce with grilled pork chops or roasted chicken thighs.

2 oranges, juiced

1 (14 oz) can Ocean Spray whole berry cranberry sauce

4 tablespoons dried cranberries

1/4 cup of bourbon or brandy

1 small cinnamon stick

1 tablespoon butter

4 duck breasts, 4 to 5 ounces each

Kosher sauce

Freshly ground black pepper

In a saucepan over medium heat, add orange juice, whole cranberry sauce, dried cranberries, bourbon, and cinnamon stick. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to simmer for about 10 minutes. Incorporate the butter and remove the cranberry sauce from the heat. Allow to cool, then transfer the sauce into a container and refrigerate until you’re ready to use. The sauce can be made a few hours in advance or the day before.

With a sharp knife, gently score duck breast skin in a crosshatch pattern. The deeper the score, the more fat will be rendered, but take care not to expose the flesh. If you prefer a little fat on the breasts after cooking, just lightly score the skin. Season duck breasts with salt and pepper, heavily on the skin side and lightly on the flesh side.

Place duck breasts skin side down into a large sauté pan. Place pan over low to medium-low heat. To keep the edges from curling up, press duck breasts down with the help of a large spat ula or smaller sauté pan. After a few minutes, the fat should begin to render. Cook until skin is golden brown and crispy. Flip over and cook the meat side for about 3 minutes, or until the duck’s internal temperature is 125°F on an instant-read thermometer. For medium-rare meat, cook until breast registers 130°F for medium-rare duck, 140°F (60°C) for medium, and 155°F (68°F) for well-done. Remove duck from the pan and set aside to rest. Duck breasts can be served whole or sliced with cranberry sauce. Make 4 servings.

Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Honey Panna Cotta is a chef’s favorite dessert, and

here, Chef Alfredo makes it with buttermilk for added dimensional tang. This breezy dessert can be made in advance and is ideal for festive family dinners.

2 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla paste

9 gelatin leaves, soaked in cold water for about 4 minutes

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup Texas honey (See note)

Fresh mint for garnish (optional)

Spray six ramekins with cooking spray, then use a paper towel to wipe out most of the oil, leaving only a light residue.

Place 1 cup of heavy cream, whole milk, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat. Add the vanilla paste to the cream. Squeeze the gelatin leaves to remove any excess water, then add them to the saucepan, stirring constantly until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Do not let it boil.

Stir in the remaining heavy cream and but termilk. Remove from heat and ladle the cream mixture into each ramekin. Refrigerate overnight, or until thoroughly chilled.

You can serve panna cotta straight from the ramekins, without unmolding. However, to remove it from the mold, dip the bottom of the ramekin into a pot of hot water to loosen the panna cotta. Slide a knife around the edge, then carefully turn it over onto a serving plate. Drizzle generously with the honey. Garnish with fresh mint and serve. Makes 6 servings.

Note: Instead of honey, try saba, a syrupy Italian condiment of reduced unfermented grape juice or strawberry coulis.

Editor’s note: Buzz dining columnist Dai Huynh is a James Beard food-journalism award winner and longtime Houston-based restaurant writer.

LABOR OF LOVE Chef Alfredo Mojica built his own pizza oven, which he also uses to roast various meats and seafood including (pictured, on right) this top-selling wood-roasted Patagonian prawns with garlic, herbs, butter, and grilled bruschetta.

Tony Bullard Tony Bullard from page 44)

. by Todd Freed, staff writer

SportzBuzz

With the unexpected departure of long-time head coach Terry Pirtle just seven weeks before the start of the football season, the Second Baptist Eagles had big shoes to fill in a short amount of time. Fortunately for the Eagles, former University of Houston head football coach Tony Levine stepped in to fill the void. “I became part of Coach Pirtle’s staff last year as a volunteer assis tant when my son joined the varsity [team] as a wide receiver and special teams player, which was a lot of fun,” said Levine. “We had a great season and our team made it all the way to the state finals in TAPPS Division II. So, when Coach Pirtle took the athletic director’s position at Houston Christian this summer, our athletic director Mike Walker met with all our coaches and the last thing they wanted to do was start from scratch by bringing in a new coach with a new system at the very last minute.”

It was at that point that the head coaching role was offered to Levine, which he accepted on an interim role for this season only on a volunteer basis. “We still have our family-owned restaurant in Missouri City, so working the business for much of the day and then driving across town mid-after noon for football practice is pretty exhausting. Still, I know the season is going to fly by and I’m really enjoying the role,” added Levine.

Making the job even more enjoyable for Levine is the return of several key players from last year’s state finalists including standout quarterback Turner Murdock. Murdock, who also was a pitching ace for the Eagles state championship baseball team, is considered one of the state’s top private school quarterbacks. “Turner’s definitely a big recruit for the class of 2024,” said Levine.

Other key returners according to Levine include wide receiver and defensive back J.D. Crisp, senior all-state linebacker and running back Kyle Kollmorgen, wide receiver and linebacker Karsten Chambers as well as highly recruited offensive and defensive lineman John Dearing. For his part, Dearing is on the field for every snap on both offense and defense.

With a 42-24 victory over Dallas’s Lakehill Prep, defending six-man state champion

Emery/Weiner entered the season in victorious fashion under first-year head coach Sam Castello. “The transi tion has been pretty smooth,” said Castello, who was the Jaguars’ assistant head coach last season. “Even though we graduated 15 of our 18 players from the state championship team, we have a lot of guys who are stepping up to the challenge.”

On the flip side, Castello welcomes the return of a pair of standouts from last year’s team including running back and line backer Josh Costa as well as center and defen sive end Ari Strauss

In the season opening win over Lakehill Prep, Costa rushed for a school record 285 yards while also scoring three touchdowns. As for the varsity newcomers, Castello expects good things from junior quarterback Ben Zadok as well as wide receiver and junior captain Zac Laviage. “We have some unknowns with all the new guys but with two of the last three state championships in TAPPS Division 1 there’s also great tradition to build on here,” added Castello.

Behind a sensational night from quarterback Donte Lewis, the St. Thomas Eagles kicked off the football season with a 43-27 victory over the St. John’s Mavericks. Lewis, who transferred to St. Thomas this season, threw for 399 yards and a lofty six touchdowns. “Donte is quite dynamic when he gets the football in his hands,” said Eagles head coach Rich McGuire. “He’s also a great baseball pitcher with a fastball that reaches 93 MPH.”

On the ground, the driving force for the Eagles is the return of running back Johann Cardenas. Cardenas, who rushed for 200 yards

in the win over St. John’s, has already received offers to play college football from multiple Power-5 Conferences. “He’s kind of what we center our offense around,” said McGuire.

The Eagles also have enormous talent at the wide receiver position with multiple threats in Shaffer Henderson, Larry Benton III, Luke Edgecomb, Preston Bowman, Caleb McClure, Nick Ferruzzo, and Trey Robinson. “We have seven or eight receivers who are extremely talented,” said McGuire.

Even so, McGuire says the Eagles defense could be the team’s biggest strength, led by the return of all-state defensive backs Caleb Davis and Marquis Kiatta. In addition, the Eagles boast a solid group of linebackers led by all-state player Zach Rocha as well as returning starters Tyler Day and Jack Keeler.

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.

RECORD BREAKER Senior running back and linebacker Josh Costa is one of just two returning starters for The Emery/Weiner School Jaguars. Costa broke a school record with 285 rushing yards in the Jaguars season opening victory.

. by Annie Blaylock McQueen, staff writer

SportzBuzz Jr.

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

In a Flash

The West U Flash youth track team had a strong second season. Out of the 43 athletes on the team, eight qualified for the AAU Junior Olympics, three of whom traveled to North Carolina to compete in the National Junior Olympics. The three teammates included Nico Curtin, who went an All-American by finishing seventh place in the 13-year-old Boys’ Pentathlon; Ella Sweeney, who competed in the 11-year-old Girls’ 3000 meters and discus and finished with new personal records in both events; and Toby Yip, who competed in the 3000 meters and finished with a new personal record. The Flash coaches were Marion Jones, Linzy Taylor, Corbett Fong, Jonathon Curtin, and Dan Bass. A few of the teammates who participated in the season were James Duman, Adin Rogers, Nico Curtin, Weston Heard, Christina Curtin, Ella Sweeney, Lauren Mull, Shaun Livingston, Lilly Prestwood, Gigi Bass, Bella Fiore, Reagan Mull, Lucie Millas, Toby Yip, Lochlann O'Suilleabhain, Colin Mull, Alex Montoya, and Ceci Bass

Go Barracudas, Go

The Bellaire Barracudas finished out the 2022 swim season strong with 76 swimmers qualifying for the Southwest Aquatic League (SWAL) Championship meet. Swimmers that placed in the top 12 (ages 5-10) and top 6 (ages 11 and older) in the preliminary meet went on to race in the SWAL Championship meet at Willow Pool. Zoe Cheng won first place in the girls’ 9-10-year-old 25-meter Breaststroke. Madelyn Melville placed third in the girls’ 9-10-year-old 25-meter Butterfly. Abigail Ward, Mia Torres, Eliana Munro, and Ariel Li placed third in the 100-meter Freestyle Relay. The team was coached by Sophie McCollum. Pictured (from left) are Madelyn Melville, Zoe Cheng, Abigail Ward, Mia Torres, and Eliana Munro.

WULL All-Stars

Every season, beginning with the Minor A division, two West University Little League All-Star teams are formed. At the end of the season, every manager, assistant coach, and all 150 players vote for the best 13 players in each league, forming two All-Star teams of 13 players. A manager for each team is selected and that manager appoints two assistant coaches. One of the two West U All-Star teams competed for the Little League District 16 Championship over a four-week period. Pictured are (back row, from left) assistant coaches Kevin Coffman, Craig Burns, manager Geoff Fraser (second row, from left) Max Coffman, Ben Berry, Hollis Burns, Jonathan Loftus, Mason Pinnix, Walker Thomas, (front row, from left) Lincoln Wagner, Martin Gaw, Andrew Phillpott, Landon Lowery, Clayton Fraser, Bennett Kronzer, and Joey Anderson.

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.

by Sarah Levaro

Asa kid in artistic sports, I thought that artis tic expression was limited to helping the audience understand a character’s feelings. At face value, this is true – but personally, I believe someone who has a true mastery of the skill conveys the emotion of their character through their own persona, adding nuance to the performance. I know this sounds complicated, but for me, movement has always been the preferred form of expression.

From dancing in my Little Mermaid costume nonstop as a baby to joining gymnastics and ballet at a young age, my parents were always looking for a creative outlet that I could use consistently. A part of me certainly did find satisfaction in flipping around and dancing with my peers but even then, something still felt off. I found my outlet in the oddly specific solution of

artistic swimming, because it was such a perfect combination of artistry, athleticism, and friend ship that would, unbeknownst to me, make the pool my second home for the next six years.

I started swimming with my club, the Houston SynchroStars, at around 11 years old with zero experience. As you can imagine, first-year me had priorities that definitely did not include artistic expression: what they did include, on the other hand, was staying afloat. However, my skills eventually improved and artistic expression became something I could focus on more and more.

Even now, ending my latest season with two podium finishes at the 2022 Junior Olympic Championships, I know there is much work to be done next year both inside the water and out.

Regardless of where my team trains, I know

that every time we have a difficult set or work out, I will remember my first time in the water, remember the joy of movement and expression. With every competition and every practice comes another opportunity for mastery.

Although it may seem tedious running through routines over and over, it will all count in those three minutes that we swim before the judges. Those opportunities for mastery? I’ll take them all. I know that the little girl dancing in her mermaid costume would be overjoyed to see me now.

Want to be a Buzz Kid? Email approximately 350 words, a high-resolution photo and caption to info@thebuzzmagazines.com. Or mail it to The Buzz Magazines, 5001 Bissonnet, Suite 100, Bellaire, Texas 77401.

A good estate plan helps manage assets on disability and eases distribution of assets on death. As a young lawyer, I thought that started and ended with wills, powers of attorney, and maybe trusts. I am older and wiser now, and realize that my work product is as often the sideshow as the main event.

More important than my paper is the client’s paper, including deeds, mineral leases and division orders, account agreements, insurance policies, tax returns, divorce decrees, adoption records, motor vehicle titles, marital property agreements, probated wills, trust instruments, articles of organization, business agreements, assumed name registrations, and burial plot certificates. Rare is the client where this is current or immediately available when some one dies or becomes disabled.

And yet, we figure it out. Hopefully. With probate, confidential infor mation is available, like IRS account transcripts and tax returns (1040s reveal assets; 1099s, 1098s, and W-2s identify accounts and employers; K1s recite partnership capitalization and trust interests), credit reports (debts), and account agreements (owners, rights of survivorship, and beneficiary des ignations). Even without probate, interested parties can request vital sta tistics (birth, death, divorce, adoption). Anyone can see anyone else’s appraisal and deed records, vehicle title, probated wills, Secretary of State records, Texas Comptroller Public Information Returns, and county clerk records (dbas, powers of attorney, deeds).

Anymore, my office starts estate planning and estate administration the same way: ask the client for all they have, and then compare it to the public record. We run a LexisNexis Comprehensive Persons Report to identify real

property, property tax records, business associates and relatives, related entities and assumed names, and motor vehicles. With an appraisal parcel number, DataTree can provide the last transfer and finance documents. TexasFile is a good alternative if DataTree didn’t capture that much.

The Comptroller of Public Accounts is an unheralded resource. Franchise Tax Account Status is public record, and now includes Secretary of State file numbers. The Unclaimed Funds Division reveals lost refund checks and sometimes unknown mineral royalties.

Ancestry.com is surprisingly helpful. Decedents’ Social Security numbers are published, vital statistics are collated, even old Texas probate records with death tax returns are linked.

Fact development is always more expensive dead than alive. We like to identify missing information and documents while the client has the time and the personal resources to locate them.

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

PETS

Neighborhood Tails

Holly, age 2, Great Dane, Datonia St.

281-884-9191

Holistic caregiving

Hi, I’m Holly, like the street in Bellaire where my family used to live. My family got me in August 2020 (#CovidCaninePurchase). I was already 30 pounds then, but now I am 140 pounds.

My mom says I’m big-boned, but I’m pretty sure I am just big. Here are a few of my favorite things: 1) my fami ly’s other dog, PJ Tucker, for whom I have heart-eyes, 2) walks, 3) any member of my family, for whom I show affection by leaning on them so hard they are sometimes pinned against the furniture, and 4) barking at any dog who has the audacity to walk down Datonia Street. About the barking: my family says it is “intim idating” and that we “probably do not need to worry about getting robbed.” I guess I am big-lunged, too. If you see me on a walk, say hi – if you don’t run in the opposite direction, like most people.

Got a cute critter? Email a picture of your pet with approximately 150 words to info@thebuzzmagazines.com or mail it to The Buzz Magazines, 5001 Bissonnet, Suite 100, Bellaire, Texas 77401.

Recently, the wife of a client called me on my cell phone at dinner time. She was frustrated because she and the caregiver were having difficul ty getting her 61-year-old, 6-foot, 2-inch tall, 220pound husband out of his bed and chair. It was becoming risky that he would fall on them and injure her or the caregiver.

“What do I do? I can’t handle him anymore,” she said.

I told her how a Hoyer Lift could safely lift him. His rehab therapist had never mentioned the device, and then, after I suggested she ask them about it, they told her it would take three weeks to get the lift. After hearing that, I called a local medical equipment company, and the lift arrived the next day.

That holistic approach sets S. Gerber & Associates apart from other caregiving agencies. Those agencies send someone to babysit your loved one, and the only time they communicate with you is when placing the caregiver or when the caregiver doesn’t show up. Their communication revolves around the agency caregiver’s needs and situation, not around the family’s.

I personally talk to clients’ family members often to get updates or give advice. And I draw on my 27 years of experience working in healthcare to solve problems.

Clients and family members don’t pay extra for that 24/7 responsiveness and knowledge; it’s just part of our approach at S. Gerber & Associates.

S. Gerber & Associates, 3730 Kirby Dr., Suite 1200, Houston, TX 77098, 713.857.3227, sid@personalcaregiving.com

Yet another update of Vitamin D

In 2013, when Dr. Michael Foggs of Chicago was president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), his presidential address was titled, “Here Comes the Sun”. It explained how Vitamin D is not only a vitamin, to prevent osteoporosis and other bone issues, but also an immune modulator, helping reduce hypersensitivity reactions. A study published in 2007 showed that many more EpiPens were prescribed in the northern USA than the south. Is that because northern doctors are smarter? Of course not! The opposite is true. But those authors hypothesized that folks living in the north get less benefit from sunshine, so maybe they had lower Vitamin D levels. Sure enough, many epidemiologic studies con firmed that Vitamin D levels are lower at higher latitudes.

I started checking Vitamin D levels on my patients who continued to have difficulty with hives, eczema, and anaphylaxis in spite of optimal medical therapy, and found that if I supplemented that vitamin when it was low, many patients had fewer symptoms. In 2016 and 2017, part of the time when I was volunteer faculty at Baylor College of Medicine’s division of allergy and immunology, I had the fellows-in-training present data on my patients showing that the risk of anaphylaxis was much higher in patients who had low Vitamin D levels.

Normal 25-hydroxy Vitamin D levels are between 30 and 100 ng/mL, but my data showed that it’s best to have your Vitamin D above 40. Further reading on my part led me to several other helpful facts:

1) Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is three times more bioavailable than Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol). So when patients are on a “mega dose” of

50,000 IU D2 every week, that’s not even as good as 3,000 IU D3 every day.

2) Vitamin D should always be taken with food. It's a fat-soluble vitamin and best absorbed if there is a moderate amount of fat in the stomach, ideally 10 to 15 grams. That is the amount of fat present in a medium avocado, 2 whole eggs (including the yolks), or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter.

3) Vitamin D deficiency cannot be “cured.” After finishing a high dose to correct low levels, almost everyone will need to continue taking a maintenance dose or levels will go back down again.

Why this sudden epidemic of low Vitamin D? Sixty years ago, we spent more time outside. Now, when we do go outside, dermatologists have wisely recommended we use sunscreen It protects the skin but limits Vitamin D production. Though not always standard of care, correcting vitamin deficiencies often brings relief when routine therapy fails.

No one nose allergies like we do.™

Note: Information contained in this article should not be considered a substitute for consultation with a board-certified allergist to address individual medical needs.

David B. Engler, M.D., The Allergy Clinic, 7707 Fannin, Suite 100, Houston, Texas 77054, 713.797.0993, *1200 Binz, Suite 1400, Houston, Texas 77004, 713.522.9911, www.allergyclinic.com, *Operating as Houston Allergy and Asthma Clinic

. by Angie Frederickson, staff writer

Buzz About Town

Calling all book lovers!

Back to School registration, and Faith Lutheran Church hosted the community event. Pictured are the 2022 CCSC Back to School Committee (back row, from left): Laura Notestine, Jennifer Rosenfeld, Kelly Mathews, Elaine Fitzgibbon, Heather Aldis, Leisa Novak, and Kip Haines;

2022-23 season: Your Boyfriend May Be Imaginary and Orion and the Goatman.

The 80th annual Bulb & Plant Mart

The 2022 Ann and Stephen Kaufman Jewish Books and Arts Festival celebrates 50 years of bringing authors, music, theater, and films to the community. This year’s lineup features celebrity memoirs, international authors, debut novelists, children, and parenting experts. One of the highlights of the annual festival is the Community Read event where book clubs and individual readers around the city are encouraged to read a specially selected book. This year’s Community Read selection is Metropolis, a true page turner about six strangers with a common connection that leads to a mysterious accident, by New York Times bestselling author B.A. Shapiro. Community Read co-chairs Jeryl Golub, Nada Chandler, and Christine Laskin (pictured, from left) will welcome Shapiro to speak on her novel on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 7:30 pm. Festival tickets are on sale at erjcchouston.org and Metropolis can be purchased at bookshop.org/shop/erjcchouston or in person at the J’s front desk.

Back to school with new supplies

The Christian Community Service Center (CCSC) provided much-needed supplies to thousands of local pre-K through 12th-grade students through its annual Back to School community event and school partnerships. Students received grade-appropriate supplies including new crayons, composition books, pencils, and folders, along with clothing and shoe gift cards. Bellaire United Methodist Church hosted the

(front row, from left): Bronwyn Campbell, Miriam Zatarain, and Rachelle Maldonado; not pictured: Karen Cullen and Mayra Marshall.

Rising film star

Noah Pacht (pictured), a 2020 graduate of The Emery/Weiner School, made his feature-film debut in Amazon Studios’ Anything’s Possible, available on Prime Video. Pacht plays the role of Chance in the Gen Z coming-of-age story about a high school trans student navigating senior year. Currently, Pacht is a junior at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama where he studies acting and musical theater. While in high school, he performed in more than 12 Emery/Weiner productions, including Cry-Baby the Musical, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Romeo and Juliet, and Mary Poppins. Now with his own IMDb page, Pacht’s future looks bright. In addition to his film career taking off, he has already been cast in two stage productions for Carnegie Mellon’s

The Garden Club of Houston (GCH) presents the 80th annual Bulb & Plant Mart this month. Event chairs Paula Mentz, Claire Curtin, and Ashley Clark (pictured, from left), along with club president Nancy Kelley (not pictured), are coordinating the beloved event that gardeners look forward to each year. Shoppers can find topquality bulbs from the best growers around the

United States and abroad, including amaryllis, anemones, crocuses, daffodils, freesias, hyacinths, irises, ranunculi, and varieties of tulips and wat sonias. Hard-to-find and unusual flowers, plants, and herbs, including exclusive offerings grown specifically for the Mart from the gardens of GCH members, are also available. The Bulb & Plant Mart will take place at the Church of St. John the Divine on Oct. 13, 5-7 p.m. (Preview Night, including music and light bites); Oct. 14, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Oct. 15, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. See gchouston.org/bulb-plant-mart-info for more details and to pre-order.

High tea with Pratham Houston

Netflix star Aparna Shewakramani, who grew up in Bellaire and appeared

Nathan Barber

on the reality television show Indian Matchmaking (season one and two), shared her education journey, from public schools in Bellaire to Rice University and Vanderbilt Law School, during high tea at the Junior League of Houston. Pratham Houston, a nonprofit organization focused on education in India, organized the event to highlight the importance of youth education, especially for young women, who in India often face significant barriers to graduating from high school. In addition to Shewakramani, Nina Verma Magon, a luxury designer in Houston, shared her path to becoming an interior designer after finishing a postgraduate degree from The Art

Institute of Houston. Nearly 200 people attend ed the event, emceed by Fox 26 reporter Rashi Vats. Pictured are (from left): Sippi Khurana, Asha Dhume, Pratham Houston chapter presi dent Annu Rao Naik, Nina Verma Magon, Aparna Shewakramani, Mili Shah, Aarti Pandya, Yamuna Srinidhi, and Rashi Vats.

A glowing start to the school year

Palm Village, a band based out of Palo Alto, Calif., was the highlight of the Back to School Glow Party at St. Mark’s Episcopal School. The band features Clark Palmer, St. Mark’s class of 2012, and bandmate Chris Villegas. After graduating from St. Mark’s, Clark attended Strake

(continued (continued

Jesuit, and then UC Berkeley, where he studied computer science. At Berkeley, he met Chris Villegas and the two quickly connected over their love for creating music and formed Palm Village. The duo was in town to perform at Raydon Creative in the Heights and dropped by St. Mark’s for a special concert and festive celebration for students, faculty, staff, and parents.

Pictured, from left, are Chris Villegas, St. Mark’s Episcopal School head of school Garhett Wagers, and St. Mark’s alumnus Clark Palmer.

A local author’s new children’s book

Local children’s author Kimberly Miller (pictured), an academic tutor and former elementary school teacher, has released a new book. Webster is a picture book written by Miller and illustrated by Eletra Cudignotto about a spider at a new school that promotes kindness, inclusion, diversity, and anti-

bullying. She has done book reads and speaking events at local schools, and recently had reading/signing events in Aspen, Colo. and Brenham. Miller donated 100 books to Houston Children’s Charity’s Back2School backpack and schools supplies program, and also provided books for the Laura Ward Child Life Room at Texas Children’s Hospital Cancer Center. Webster is available locally at Magpies in Bellaire and at both Bering’s locations, as well as online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Educational momentum

school students with four-year renewable scholarships to help them with their educational expenses. The scholarship focuses on first-generation, low-income students, who are attending either community college or a four-year university. In addition to the scholarship, students also participate in a mentorship program to support them through their college education and into the workforce.

BLL shares the love of baseball Bellaire Little League (BLL) donated baseball gear to children in Belize and Colombia during two dif ferent international trips this summer. West University Baptist Church and Crosspoint Church Bellaire took gear to Belize on their annu al summer mission trip that includes a sports camp for local children. Bud Eby led the effort to deliver the equipment to Belizean children and adults.

On another trip, Bellaire resident Gabriel Monroy took three large bags of gear to Colombia.

In total, BLL families donated more than 60 bags, 30 gloves, and dozens of backpacks, helmets, balls, and catcher’s gear. Pictured with Belizean children: Olivia Dennis, Michelle O’Brien, Rynie Badenhorst, Sailor May, and Jenny Cortez.

Local nonprofit organization Momentum Education recently awarded 30 scholarships to Houston-area students. Jorge Alvarado and Momentum Education founder Raj Salhotra (pictured, from left) celebrated with other schol arship recipients at the scholarship event. Jorge is a graduate of HISD’s Sam Houston High School and will attend Houston Community College with the award he received. The Momentum Education scholarship awards high

Fighting Huntington’s disease

Jennifer Grigsby, Marla Hurley, and Iraida Brown (pictured, from left) joined other sup porters in the fight against Huntington’s disease at the HelpCureHD Foundation gala at Union Station at Minute Maid Park. Joe Smith, former Houston Astros pitcher, and Allie LaForce, TNT sports reporter, founded HelpCureHD in honor of Joe’s mother, Lee Smith, who was diag

nosed with Huntington’s disease in 2012 and passed away in 2020. The foundation raises money to fund scientific research to find a cure and for in-vitro fertilization genetic screening. The fundraising evening started with a VIP reception and silent auction attended by some of Joe’s fellow Astros, including Ryan Pressly, Kyle Tucker, Jeff Bagwell, and Tony Kemp. More than $525,000 was raised during the evening.

Be seen in Buzz About Town. Send your high-res photos and community news to info@thebuzzmagazines.com. Items are published on a space-available basis. Also share your upcoming-event listings on thebuzzmagazines.com.

Daniel Ortiz

. by Andria Frankfort, staff writer

October,

and we cannot go to a store with out running across pumpkins and candy corns. Up next: pilgrims and Christmas trees. We are officially in celebration mode.

But first, there’s the big question: What should we do with all the leftover candy accumulated on Halloween (and all month long, if we’re honest)?

Of course there’s the fun-mom answer, which would be to keep the candy within reach until it’s all gone – a candython run up to the holidays, if you will. After all, why stop when we know pumpkin pie and cookie seasons are upon us?

Then there’s the mean-mom answer, which was me, and it means you let everyone choose one piece of candy for their lunch box for each day of the week following Halloween, and then the magical Candy Fairy comes for the rest of it. Poof, it’s all disappeared.

But there are more creative ways to handle the embarrassment of riches amassed in rain bow-colored balls of sugar and crunchy krispies swathed in chocolate.

For years, Melanie Patton, who now works at Northern Trust Bank, would hop on a school bus with her fellow teachers at Bales Intermediate School in Friendswood to deliver extra Halloween candy to police and fire departments. “There was just so much candy,” she says, “and so much of it goes to waste!”

Elyse Kalmans says she will sometimes send extra treats to her husband Lewis’ JP Morgan office for the office candy bowl. Or she will send it to Kinkaid (where she and her three daughters went to school; one is still there) to make the teachers’ lounge a little more festive.

Others ship candy off to our troops. Check out the Treats for Troops program at SoldiersAngels.org or OperationShoebox.com to learn how.

Or, you might choose to give the candy a sec ond life. First-year South Texas College of Law student Ahava Guefen says, “Make Everything But the Kitchen Sink Cookies! Just make the same batter as chocolate chip cookies and add in the random candies after smashing them in a Ziploc. You can also add pretzel pieces and potato chips. Also, this may go without saying, but

this works best with chocolatebased candies.”

Another way to reincarnate the candy: Halloween Candy Milkshakes with (delicious) Marshmallow Cream. This is a concoction we shared in our weekly, online “Back Porch Table” column (thebuzzmagazines.com/columns/back-porchtable) a couple of years ago, when I was grap pling with the question of whether to share a virtuous, counter-sugar recipe for salad or veg gies on Nov. 1, or go all-out with the candy. Sugar won.

Both Everything But the Kitchen Sink Cookies and Halloween Candy Milkshakes are totally customizable. Butterfingers? Snickers? Whoppers? Bring ’em on. There’s no going wrong here.

For everyone donating their candy, bless you. For the rest of us mortals, we’ll just keep rolling through the holidays with the sugar.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Cookies

This is the original Tollhouse Cookie recipe embellished with Halloween candy.

2 ¼ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room tem perature

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups chopped Halloween candy

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Stir the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl. In a stand mixer using the paddle attach-

ment, beat the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addi tion. Gradually beat in the flour mixture, just until it is combined. Stir in the candy. Drop overflowing tablespoons of cookie dough onto two cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Halloween Candy Milkshakes with Marshmallow Cream

If you want something more grown-up, replace the milk with Bailey’s Irish Cream or brandy.

½ cup heavy whipping cream

½ cup marshmallow fluff

3 scoops vanilla or chocolate ice cream (we like Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla for this)

1⁄3 cup milk

3 fun-sized candy bars

In a stand mixer or with a hand-held mixer, beat the heavy cream with the marshmallow fluff until stiff peaks form. Set the whipped marshmallow cream aside.

Put the milk in a blender, then the ice cream. Blend it together, and check the consistency. If you want a thinner shake, add a tiny bit more milk and blend again. Throw 2 fun-sized candy bars into the blender. Pulse 2 or 3 times, just enough to sort of chop up the candy, but not enough to puree it. Pour the milkshake into a glass, and top with a big dollop of the marshmal low cream and another chopped-up fun-sized candy bar.

Back Porch The all-month-long candython

CANDY CANDY EVERYWHERE How will you recycle – or dispose of – your Halloween haul?

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