I love when I discover something new (to me) about our city, often thanks to a Buzz reader. Take, for instance, the resident who called to tell us about his wife and her friends. These incredible ladies turned their love for horses into a unique volunteer gig with the Airport Rangers, patrolling IAH on horseback. Next time you swing by IAH, keep an eye out for these equestrian heroes. Our best stories often come from you, our neighbors. In this issue, we’ve got a story about two young sisters who, with the help of their wise, retired neighbor, are raising and releasing monarch butterflies. Their mom had written to tell us about their passion for butterflies and how this experience has made two families feel like one. Other stories come from right here in the office. One of our summer interns, Rebecca Bloome, took a trip to Italy with her family, creating cherished memories and connecting with her late grandfather’s love of travel. Read about it in this month’s Travel Buzz. We hope this issue opens your eyes to something new. And as always, we love hearing from you. joni@thebuzzmagazines.com
THE BUZZ MAGAZINES
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On our cover: Friends Susan Reichenthal, Eve Lapin, and Barbara Levy love riding horses. The three volunteer with the Airport Rangers and go on pack trips. Cover photo by Michael Hart, hartphoto.com
Cindy, I just read your extraordinarily beautiful piece in The Buzz and was moved to tears [Before the Flood, After the Flood: A view from higher ground by Cindy Gabriel, Aug. 2025]. Thank you for capturing this moment of agony and inserting your deep compassion, love, and special humor. The part where you describe writing the obituary through tears. The ending. This piece will be in my heart forever.
Janet Pozmantier
WUES memories and connections
We thoroughly enjoyed reading The School that Shaped a Town by Cathy Gordon (Aug. 2025). Our son, Byron, was a student in Andrea Behrend’s second-grade class and we always enjoyed parent/teacher conferences with Andrea. Those years at WUES were the best years of our son’s life.
One year, we were traveling to Chicago by train and Andrea and her children, Kyle and Lainey, were on board. It turned out to be a godsend because Byron, Kyle, and Lainey entertained each other on the long trip.
In March 2024, I had the honor of singing with Andrea in the choir at West University United Methodist Church for the Celebration of Life service for Rev. Charlie Hall. It was great to reconnect with Andrea and share memories of those WUES days.
Thank you for your great article celebrating 100 years of memories at West University Elementary School!
Brent Lamb
Crazy about The Buzz
I have been getting The Buzz for years and I just love it. I just love Cindy Gabriel’s articles and I love the book reviews [Buzz Reads by Cindy Burnett]. I buy books off the book review list about 20 percent of the time. I’m about halfway through the August magazine and I intend to finish it up today, every bit of it, and then get it to a friend who doesn’t receive it at home. I just love it. I’m crazy about the magazine; you all have just done such a great job over the years. Thank you.
Susie Works
Good news
This is the kind of news we need more of [The Buzz about The Beehive: The sacredness of belonging by Michelle Casas Groogan, Aug. 2025]. These amazing teens have started something very special in Houston. The Beehive is an incredible group supporting an underserved community while raising awareness and funds for rare disorders as well! Our family is so appreciative of these young people.
A few months ago they blessed us by sharing about Jacob, ATP6V1A and the v-ATPase Alliance [on their Share the Rare blog], and made a generous donation as well. As a special needs mom, seeing teens give this type of heart and effort to others who need a place to belong boosts my spirits and gives me hope for Jacob's future. Bravo, Beehive!
I loved the article. Michelle did a great job!
Kristin Anderson
From our Grand Prize winner
Thank you so much for the exciting news – what a wonderful surprise and honor [to be named the Grand Prize winner of the 2025 Buzz Photo Contest]; your email is a rare treat in a world full of junk. I first fell in love with photography at 14, when my inexpensive point-and-shoot camera broke and began unintentionally double-exposing film, creating layered, surreal images. Over the years, life got busy and it slipped into the background, but a couple of years ago I realized how much I missed that creative outlet. Since then, I’ve been intentional about weaving photography back into my everyday life, and winning the grand prize has been both an affirmation and a huge motivator to keep going.
Catherine Yüksek
Editor’s note: Congratulations, Catherine! See all Buzz Photo Contest winners at thebuzzmagazines.com. Keep an eye out for submissions for the 2026 Photo Contest in March.
Email us at mailbag@thebuzzmagazines.com. Or send to Mailbag, The Buzz Magazines, 5001 Bissonnet St., Suite 100, Bellaire, Texas 77401. Please include your name, address, phone number and email address for verification purposes. Letters or emails addressed to The Buzz Magazines become the property of the magazine, and it owns all rights to their use for publication. Addresses, phone numbers and email addresses will not be published. Letters are subject to editing for clarity and length. Views expressed in letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Buzz Magazines, and The Buzz takes no responsibility for the content and opinions expressed in them.
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If this sounds like you or someone you know, please contact us at info@thebuzzmagazines.com or 713.668.4157, ext 102.
Inside This Issue September 2025
4
Editor’s Note
Mailbag: Letters from Readers
Blended Families: Just love and laugh by Cindy Gabriel
Naming and explaining various relationships within blended families can be complicated. But more love is always a good thing.
Dinner by the Day: Theme-night suppers by Andria Dilling
Back to school means back to the kitchen, and back to the kitchen brings the dreaded question What’s for dinner?
Squash Takes Root in Houston: Local players take their game to the next level by Prisha Shivani
Rishabh Sharma and Zaina Zaidi, recent graduates of Episcopal High School, and Ruby Sandoval, a recent graduate of St. Paul’s School, will be playing squash at the collegiate level.
Caterpillars to Companions: How monarch butterflies turned neighbors into family by Cathy Gordon
Sisters Ceci and Emie Van Syoc raise and release monarch butterfly with the guidance of neighbor Joe Cialone.
Rumor Has It by Sharon Albert Brier
Wedding Buzz: The McKinnons and the Ganucheaus by Angie Frederickson
Elena Pappas and Andrew McKinnon married in Xylokastro, Greece; Shelby Skeete and John Ganucheau exchanged vows at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church followed by a reception at the Junior League.
Buzz Reads by Cindy Burnett
Book reviewer Cindy Burnett recommends five recently or soon-to-be released titles.
Runways and Reins: A trio of friends saddle up at IAH by Cathy Gordon
Friends Barbara Levy, Susan Reichenthal, and Eve Lapin volunteer as part of the Airport Rangers at IAH, the only mounted horse patrol of its kind in the nation.
The smallest everyday things can spark joy. 52 54 49 50 48 32 40 44 58
Private School Directory: Special Advertising Section
Buzz-area residents are fortunate in that Houston is home to many of the nation’s top private schools. The Buzz Magazines Private School Directory is a valuable resource as a starting point in the research process.
Travel Buzz: Moments in Italy by Tracy L. Barnett
The Bloome family recently went on a two-week Italian odyssey.
Chef’s Corner: The Art of the Comeback: Chef Bryan Caswell by Dai Huynh
Chef Bryan Caswell, a two-time James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: Southwest, is now bringing to his culinary talents to Latuli.
SportzBuzz by Todd Freed
SportzBuzz Jr. by Annie Blaylock McQueen
Buzz Kidz: Keeping up traditions by Drew Campbell
Neighborhood Tails by Spot
Buzz About Town by Angie Frederickson
Back Porch: Small Joys: Finding the happy by Andria Dilling
by Cindy Gabriel, staff writer
Blended Families
Just love and laugh
Go Arden!” I shouted from the shore as Stan’s 7-year-old granddaughter boogie boarded a Florida wave. A bystander perked up. Arden is my daughter’s name, she proclaimed, pointing to her 12-year-old. Is that your granddaughter? Yes, I demurred, in a moment of grandmotherly pride, assuming the conversation would end there. Technically, I’m her stepgrandmother. What’s a little half-truth chit-chat among strangers, I rationalized. But the woman pressed on. What’s her middle name?
I felt my face freeze, like a contestant on a quiz show as seconds ticked by. Helene, I guessed, as if I was trying to beat a buzzer. (What real grandmother doesn’t know her granddaughter’s middle name?) Oh, said the woman, I love unusual names. She then ticked off the names of her other three children. I don’t remember what she said. But they were different all right. Arden is the only name my mother likes, she added. From what I recall, I agree with her mother. Then came her next question. Where did your granddaughter’s name come from? Gulp. What is this? An FBI interrogation?
The whole truth and nothing but the truth is that Arden’s great-grandmother, Jenny’s real mother’s real mother, was named Arden. But I wasn’t ready to sit down and draw her a diagram. So I just said, It was the name of a beloved grandmother who I never met, but hear was quite a character.
About that time Jenny and Arden emerged from the surf to join our conversation. Now this woman was making the automatic assumption that I was Jenny’s mother. My own mother’s warning about a fib growing into more fibs was putting me into a mild panic. Jenny wasn’t in on my ruse. She may inadvertently out me. Thankfully the conversation morphed into other beaches in the area that were fun for kids. Whew. Crisis averted.
Later, I asked Stan, What is Arden’s middle name? He got that same game show contestant look on his face. He didn’t recall. Is it Helene? I asked. No, that’s Jenny’s middle name. At least I was in the right family. Finally, I had to ask Jenny. It’s Saylor, she said. What an interesting, unique name! Now I wanted to find that nosy
tourist who liked unusual names and tell her, Saylor. Take that for a cool, unusual name. Saylor did ring a bell. I remember seeing it once on Arden’s birth announcement, liking it, then never hearing it again. Jenny was pregnant with Arden when Stan and I met. I was out of town on a business trip when Arden was born. Stan and I weren’t yet married. That’s my excuse. I’m not even sure if I have earned the title stepmother to Stan’s children. By the time I met them, they had finished college and were supporting themselves. All I had to do was meet them for dinner, buy a few birthday cards, and enjoy an occasional family vacation. I even like their spouses. Daughter-in-law Katie was the first to introduce the term “bonus mom” in reference to me and her real mother-in-law Cathie (daughter of the original Arden) on Mother’s Day. Between Boomer parents, who are divorcing and remarrying, along with their children having fewer children, this latest crop of kids must be wondering why there are so many old people staring at them. Stan and I had four grandparents each. Plus, they had other grandkids, our cousins, to keep them busy. My two grandsons have seven grandparents of some version in their lives and no cousins. I see no downside for the kids. You can’t have too many people pulling for you.
But it can get a little crowded over here in grandparentland. Stan chose the name Pappy as his grandparent name when Arden was born. Then, four months later when Eli was born, my former husband, John, thought Eli was such a happy kid, they would be a team, Happy and Pappy. It crossed my mind to mention that Pappy was taken. But it felt petty. So to my grandkids he’s Pappy-Stan. One way to avoid this is to pick a grandparent name absolutely nobody wants. In my case it’s Woo-Woo. Yes, it has been used to make fun of people like me who don’t see life as limited to this world of space and time. But here in grandparentland it has its political advantages.
What grandparent name do you think every grandchild says first? Recently, Jenny was trying to get her toddler nephew, Henry, to say Aunt Jenny. Then, suddenly, I walked in the room, and he looked up and said Hi Woo-Woo!
This summer in Florida, Henry said it every day with total confidence. There is nothing fake about a toddler. I could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice: He was glad to see me, whoever I am. That’s the bonus part. The fact is, I don’t like calling myself a step-anything. It sounds like I am stepping away from someone. Next time I’m asked my relationship to Arden or Henry, I will simply say they are my bonus grandchildren.
THE BEST BONUS Cindy Gabriel, Stan Ehrenkranz, Katie Ehrenkranz, Scott Ehrenkranz, Jenny Evans Presley, Arden Evans, and Henry Ehrenkranz (pictured, from left) grab a moment on the beach in Watercolor, Fla. this summer. Son-in-law Jason Presley was dearly missed due to a work obligation.
by Andria Dilling, staff writer
Dinner by the Day
Theme-night suppers
Back to school means back to the kitchen, and back to the kitchen brings the dreaded question What’s for dinner?
Having moved beyond the phase of putting breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the table for several people every day, I have to tell you I am impressed that anyone makes it happen. I am impressed that I made it happen. At this stage of things, I’m more than happy to get dinner on the table for anyone who wants to eat at home (which is, more often than not, zero people), but the thought of waking up before dawn to make breakfast and lunch and send everyone off and then turn around and figure out what to serve for dinner? I’m already tired.
This is where theme-night dinners can come in handy. Think about it: If Tuesday is always tacos, there’s no question about what to make, and there’s no question from the peanut gallery about what we’re going to eat.
But you don’t need to stop with Taco Tuesday. How about Comfort Monday (a.k.a. Meatball Monday)? While no one else has any recollection of it, my father swears my mother did this. It does track. Everyone needs a little extra TLC on Mondays during the school year, don’t we?
Or Leftover Thursday. When my girls were little, a big spread of leftovers, arranged on the kitchen island for everyone to choose from, was our Thursday-night routine. It made total sense to me: I cooked dinners Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and there were always leftovers. We knew nobody would be eating at home over the weekend, so it was a clean-out-the-fridge kind of night. (And bonus, I actually love leftovers. If you’ve gone to the trouble to make something and it’s really great, wouldn’t you want to eat it again?)
There’s also the old standby Breakfast-forDinner. This one feels extra fun because it turns the day topsy-turvy upside-down. Why should breakfast tacos – or omelettes, or pancakes and bacon, or avocado toast – be relegated to breakfast?
Now I know what you might be thinking –having a set routine for every day of the week is a bit monotonous (don’t we all know those peo-
SUNDAY DINNER OR MEATLESS MONDAY Tex-Mex hominy is the perfect side to fried chicken; it also makes an excellent star for a Meatless Monday.
ple?). We certainly don’t want to be those people. But if we adopt one theme-night, maybe for a few weeks or months and then we switch things up again, we might find a beloved new family tradition. And an easy way to get dinner on the table.
Sunday
Pick up fried chicken and serve it with hominy. My Aunt Marilyn, who grew up in the valley, served this every Sunday night when our whole family would get together for dinner. When I lived in Austin, she took me to the grocery store, toured me around, and taught me her recipe. It adds a little Tex-Mex to Sunday night fried chicken – the best!
Aunt Marilyn’s Hominy
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ large yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 15-ounce can yellow hominy, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can white hominy, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can red enchilada sauce (we like Hatch medium-hot)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish (or equivalent) with nonstick cooking spray. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the onion and bell pepper, and cook until they are soft and
translucent. Stir in the hominy and then the enchilada sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes. Pour the hominy mixture into the baking dish. Top with the cheddar cheese. Bake for 25 minutes. Turn on the broiler and cook for another 4 minutes or so, until the cheese bubbles and browns. Let the hominy rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Monday
Whether school is in session or not, everyone can use a little comfort on a Monday night. What is comfier than spaghetti and meatballs? Let’s bring Meatball Monday into our week. (If a Meatless Monday speaks to you, the aforementioned hominy recipe would be a perfect main alongside a green salad.)
This recipe includes homemade sauce. If you’re short on time or just not feeling 100 percent homemade, sub in a jar of store-bought marinara. Carbone and Rao’s are both delicious.
Spaghetti and Meatballs
For the Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 ½ teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
1 28-ounce can crushed
Andria Dilling
(continued from page
tomatoes with basil
1 24-ounce jar marinara
For the Meatballs:
2 slices bread, soaked in ¼ cup milk
2 pounds ground beef
1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ cup minced fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Cooked spaghetti
For the sauce, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until they are soft. Add the oregano, basil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and bay leaves and stir. Add the crushed tomatoes and marinara. Fill the empty can of tomatoes with water, and stir the water in. Simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for about 3 hours. The sauce will have thickened. While the sauce simmers, make the meatballs. In a large bowl, use your hands to combine the milksoaked bread, beef, sausage, eggs, parmesan, garlic, oregano, basil, parsley, salt, and pepper. Roll meat into 3-inch round balls, and place them in a glass baking dish. Cover the meatballs and refrigerate. When the sauce has thickened, stir in enough water to thin it to the consistency of a thick soup. Gently arrange the meatballs in the sauce, making sure they are covered with sauce. Cover the pot and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes. Gently turn the meatballs over. Cover the pot and simmer for another 20 minutes.
Serve the meatballs and sauce over the cooked spaghetti, sprinkling some minced parsley and grated parmesan cheese over the top.
Tuesday
Everyone loves a Taco Tuesday. Let’s spice it up a little bit with Crispy Chicken Tacos. For the sake of ease, get your butcher to cut chicken breasts up into ½-inch cubes, or even use ground chicken. This is Taco Tuesday 2.0.
1 15-ounce can enchilada sauce (Hatch TexMex Style or Hatch Red Enchilada Sauce is good)
1 cup shredded Colby-jack cheese
12 tortillas
For serving: guacamole, pico de gallo, cilantro, lime wedges
Warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken, season with cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until the chicken begins to brown. Add the onions, stir, and cook for another 5 minutes or so, until the chicken is browned and the onions are translucent. Add the enchilada sauce and cheese, stir, and simmer for a few minutes, until the cheese has melted and the sauce is thick.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in another large skillet over medium heat. Add a scoop or two of the chicken mixture to the center of each tortilla and fold them in half, like a taco. Cook in batches for a few minutes on each side until the tacos are beginning to brown and crisp (you may need to add a little extra oil as you progress). Transfer the crispy tacos to a platter and serve with guacamole, pico de gallo, cilantro, and lime wedges. You can make these
ahead of time and crisp them up in an air fryer or the oven just before serving.
Wednesday
It’s the middle of the week – after today we might as well consider it weekend territory. Breakfast-for-Dinner turns it all around, making fun of dinner and chilling everyone out.
Breakfast-for-Dinner Quiche
½ cup whole milk
⅔ cup heavy cream
2 medium eggs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¾ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup cooked edamame
½ cup cooked, crumbled bacon
1 store-bought pie crust
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, beat together the milk, cream, eggs, basil, salt, and pepper.
Scatter half of the grated cheese in the crust. Top with the edamame and bacon. Pour milk mixture over the top, then sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the quiche is set and the top is golden. Let the quiche sit for 10 minutes before slicing it. Serve with a simple salad.
Thursday
You’ve cooked all week; make the most of what’s left with Leftover Thursday. No recipe required. Think of this as a refrigerator cleanout while everyone gets the chance to choose their own dinner. A little of this and a little of that adds up to a sure-to-be favorite night.
Friday and Saturday
We’ve cooked, we’ve cleaned out the leftovers. Time to make reservations.
UPSIDE DOWN Turn Taco Tuesday around with quesadilla's cousin, Crispy Chicken Tacos, or serve Breakfast-for-Dinner Quiche as a backwards dinner.
12)
by Prisha Shivani, contributing writer
Squash Takes Root in Houston
Local players take their game to the next level
Walking through George Bush Airport with my Tecnifibre squash bag, I’ve learned to expect questions. My bag is long and bulky: tennis-shaped, but not quite. Inevitably, someone points and asks, “Tennis?” By now, I’m used to answering this question (“squash”) and seeing some sort of familiarity wipe across people’s faces: “Ohhh, I think I’ve seen those courts at my gym!”
Squash is played in an indoor square-shaped court. Most commonly played with two people, the objective is to hit a small rubber ball against the wall, aiming to make it bounce twice before your opponent can reach it. To play, you need a racket, ball, goggles, squash shoes, and access to a court. Competitive matches are typically played in a best-of-five format, each game played up to 11 points.
Even though squash is not very well-known in Houston or in this part of the country, there is a community of people who spend hours between the four walls of a squash court every day. They are strong, fast, and disciplined – qualities demanded by the sport, as Forbes deemed squash one of the healthiest sports in the world in 2003, due to the cardio endurance and strength it requires.
That level of intensity can be intimidating, but for many Houston players, the path into squash started with something simple. Zaina Zaidi, a graduate of Episcopal High School, was encouraged to start the sport by her dad, Azam Zaidi, and was inspired to continue by watching her peers play when she was 8 years old. She started with Coach Jahanzeb Khan at LifeTime (now Coach Khan is the founder and director at Houston Squash Club).
“I wanted to do other things like gymnastics, ice skating, and swimming. Then I saw two girls playing in a tournament, Hana [Cochinwala] and Noor [Naseem], and they were the only girls. I saw them play, and they looked like they were having so much fun. After that, I told my dad I wanted six lessons. I don't know where I got six from, but we just kind of went from there,” said Zaina.
Those six lessons took Zaina far, as she became Pakistan’s highest ranked female squash
player globally as well as having an overall global ranking of 179 as of February 2025. (Zaina has a dual citizenship with Pakistan and the US, and chose to be ranked in Pakistan.) To achieve these rankings, Zaina competed in multiple Professional Squash Association tournaments. This past summer, Zaina trained in Egypt, a global hub for elite squash players.
Rishabh Sharma, who graduated from Episcopal in May, started playing squash around age 7, not long after his older sister, Yana, started playing. Their parents, Yasmin and Anuj Sharma, would go to the gym at The Downtown Club at The Met, which has squash courts, and Rishabh and Yana became interested in playing. “We were very competitive with each other. My whole goal in playing was to beat her. She was my biggest motivator and competitor when I was young. That competitive mindset carried over once I started getting older and started taking squash more seriously.” By the age of 9, Rishabh was competing in tournaments across the U.S., playing in over 400 official matches total during his junior squash career and rising to the top 20 national rankings in the BU15, BU17, and BU19 divisions.
Ruby Sandoval started squash at age 10 through a program at Hogg Middle School called Mission Squash, now called Mission Success. What began as a school activity soon opened the doors to new opportunities for Ruby. She received a scholarship to St. Paul’s School, a boarding school in New Hampshire, where she played on the Girls Varsity Squash Team and graduated in May. Ruby said, “If you watch a professional squash match, and you understand what's going on, it's really interesting. That's how I fell in love. Everything's always happening and going on, and it makes you want to try and play.”
Unlike the explosive boom in the sport of pickleball, squash in Houston has seen a steady growth over the past few decades. Just last year, Houston hosted the World Squash Junior Championships put on by the World Squash Federation (WSF), welcoming 46 teams from around the globe.
Even with that momentum, squash within the Houston community remains relatively niche compared to cities in the Northeast, where squash is a common high school and college team sport. In the U.S., as of 2021, there are 34 men’s varsity teams, 32 women’s varsity teams, and 45 additional club teams, according to US Squash.
Rishabh said, “When I first got into high school, people didn't really know what it was. But people saw that I was really dedicated to squash, and it started getting more exposure. People knew I played; people knew I was good. People thought it was interesting.”
After undergoing the recruiting process, Ruby, Zaina, and Rishabh are officially taking their talents to the collegiate level at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Trinity, and MIT, respectively. Just like any other college sport, the varsity recruiting process is competitive and requires a mix of athletic skill, academic achievement, and communication with coaches.
Rishabh went to high school focused on academics, with the mindset of being recruited to
HOUSTON STAR HEADS TO MIT Episcopal High School graduate Rishabh Sharma, who has been playing squash since age 7, will join the MIT Men’s Varsity Squash Team this fall.
be a college squash player. He graduated valedictorian. However, unlike his East Coast peers, he said he didn’t have built-in connections, just a clear sense of determination and a strong support system including his parents and his older sister, Yana, who now plays squash at Amherst.
Rishabh said he’s seen his sister play in college a few times and it’s made him proud. “It would just bring me back to seeing how competitive she was with me. She brought that same intensity to any opponent she had. I think it just made me her biggest supporter.”
Yana, who graduated from Episcopal in 2023, helped Rishabh prepare for the recruitment process. Rishabh said, “She told me don't let the process define you as a player and as a person. She told me to keep being yourself and don't let what they think affect what you think about yourself. Being able to be prepared for that was important.”
Balancing two competitive sports while preparing for college recruitment is no easy feat. For Zaina, who played both varsity field hockey at Episcopal and squash, pressure mounted quickly. She learned how to balance her time and decided to give up field hockey in her junior year. Zaina said, “I learned how to study and succeed in school while maintaining a tough training regimen. Socially, it was rough because I felt
like I was missing a lot of events.” Then, a month before recruiting started, she suffered a concussion, causing her to rethink her journey. Ultimately, she decided to continue with the recruitment process. “The thing that always brought me back was when I played one of my first tournaments I played that was at Yale. I didn't know that there were college squash teams. I saw some girls practicing and I didn't even know that was a thing and it looked so fun to be on a team. Every time I felt like this wasn’t going to happen, I just remembered my younger self,” said Zaina.
For Ruby, her main goal was to get a scholarship and find a team she could bond with. Ruby said she had such a tight squash community in Houston and a great coach in Santiago Moran and wanted to find the same community in college. “I really liked Hobart, and I fell in love with the school,” said Ruby. “I fell in love with the team; everyone was so sweet.”
For Rishabh, a memorable moment was meeting former World No. 1 player Ali Farag. Rishabh recalled, “He also told me he thinks of himself as a husband, a father, a Harvard graduate before he thinks of himself as a professional squash player. A lot of times, you can get so caught up in wins and losses, you forget who you are as a person. Squash isn’t the end all be all
wherever you land up.”
That perspective stuck with Rishabh during his visit to MIT. “I saw that the team was so well balanced. They're obviously very smart. They had the best academics. They were very committed to squash. But they knew that they could be so much more than just squash players. They're good people and good humans. Squash was just a way that people connected to each other,” Rishabh said.
Looking forward, these incoming college squash players are most excited for the team aspect of collegiate squash. “Honestly, the biggest thing for me is just being in a team because coming from Houston, it's always been about playing individually, traveling for tournaments, just me and my parents. Now it's not just about how I do individually,” said Rishabh.
He added, “I think people should take more notice about squash in Houston. Now more than ever, Houston's becoming more and more developed in the squash scene. It used to be me traveling all over the country to fly for tournaments and now people are traveling to Houston to play.”
Prisha Shivani interned at The Buzz Magazines this summer. She plays squash for Andover, a boarding school in Massachusetts.
Squash: Where and how to play
Whether you are picking up a racket for the first time or getting back into the game, there are many go-to spots in Houston with courts available. See houston.ussquash.com/clubs to find a nearby court, such as at Houston Squash Club, LifeTime City Centre Houston, West University Recreation Center, The Downtown Club at The Met, the Downtown YMCA, Greenspoint Club, Houston Center Club, the Houstonian Club, Houston Center Club, Texas Club, and Westlake Club. Learn more about squash at ussquash.org/get-started or see www.worldsquash.sport.
COLLEGIATE BOUND Left photo: Episcopal High School graduate Zaina Zaidi, who has reached No. 1 in Pakistan and 179th globally, will continue her career on the Trinity University Women’s Varsity Squash Team. Right photo: Ruby Sandoval, graduate of St. Paul’s School and Mission Success alum, competes for St. Paul’s in the pictured match. She will go on to play for Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
Courtesy of St. Paul's Squash
by Cathy Gordon, staff writer
Caterpillars to Companions
How monarch butterflies turned neighbors into family
Friendships are rarely born with fanfare. They begin in the simplest, most serendipitous ways. Through volunteer shifts and book clubs. Over heartbreak, and unexpected kindnesses. They start in waiting rooms, on park benches, over the love of music.
And sometimes bonds are solidified over something so delicate and fleeting as the endangered monarch butterfly. Over a combined passion for raising them till they flutter north on paper-thin wings.
“They’re the most beautiful little things and it feels good to help them along the way,” says Laura Van Syoc of the passion project she started with daughters, Ceci, now 10, and Emie, 7, in 2020, during the Covid pandemic. When the world turned in on itself and school vanished into screens, paper, scissors, and a myriad of craft projects weren’t cutting it.
But raising the tiny travelers – the only butterfly in existence that makes a two-way, longdistance migration – gave new rhythm to life. A miracle on wings.
Unbeknownst to them, just a block away, Joe Cialone, 81, was just as hooked. His passion for monarchs started decades ago, when his two sons, long since grown, raised monarchs as a school project. Long after the days of report cards, Joe still tends to milkweed – the monarch’s life sustenance – with the precision of a farmer, in his backyard.
He diligently checks leaves for eggs, and watches tiny, striped caterpillars chomp their way into fatness.
His voice picks up pace when he talks of their metamorphosis. He describes the process with awe and reverence, as if depicting something sacred: How caterpillars spin a tiny button of silk, anchoring themselves upside down in a perfect J shape. How, when it sheds its skin for the final time, its soft chrysalis (the pupa stage in the lifecycle) hardens, becoming a beautiful jade green, adorned with golden accents. How, just before the butterfly emerges, its black and orange wings can be seen through a darkened, translucent chrysalis, revealing the glory inside. When monarchs emerge, they don’t dawdle, Joe explains. They lift into the sky, heading
north. Without fail. It’s the start to their twoway long-distance migration, fluttering across thousands of miles of fields, cities, mountains, and rivers. “No other butterfly does this,” he says.
Spring and summer generations surge northward in waves, each generation born further up the journey, pushing the species closer to Canada. When autumn comes, the monarch knows to fly south, to the mountains of central Mexico where they overwinter, clinging in clusters to trees, a pulsating blanket of orange and black. When spring stirs, they begin the first leg of their journey north again.
“There are so many things that can get in the way of an egg ever actually growing up to become a monarch,” says Laura.
Monarchs follow the seasons like clockwork, their migration timed to temperature, wind, and bloom. Late springs, early freezes, and more frequent violent storms don’t sync with the choreography they’ve followed for generations, say ecologists. Too much rain can drown caterpillars. Too much heat can dry out milkweed before it’s useful.
And the milkweed they rely upon used to grow everywhere, wild along roadsides, in pastures. But neat rows of monoculture have replaced the plant and herbicides have killed it.
What’s more, their sacred wintering grounds high in the fir forests of central Mexico are disappearing, trees cut down for lumber, and dying slowly from warmer temperatures and bark beetle infestations, say experts who monitor monarch populations.
“It feels good to raise monarchs in our own little way, to see them take flight,” says Laura. Laura is happy for neighbor Joe’s expertise.
“A neighbor mentioned to me that we should meet Joe because he was raising monarchs, too.
So, one day, we were on a walk in front of his house, and we stopped and talked,” Laura recalls. “And boy, have we learned a lot from him!”
“He taught us all about how they fly all the way to Mexico!” says Ceci, who with sister Emie, students at River Oaks Baptist School, make up a collective of youthful, strong eyes. They help their mom and Joe spot eggs, no bigger than the tip of a pencil, on the milkweed plants.
“When Joe and I think we’ve found all the eggs on a milkweed plant, and all the caterpillars, my girls can find 30 more!” Laura says.
Aphids are the milkweed’s nemesis. Garden pirates that plunder, sipping relentlessly into the plant’s soft tissue, caring nothing about the monarch eggs laid delicately on its leaves, or for baby caterpillars nibbling away. Laura taught Ceci and Emie to brush away the aphids with a paintbrush, stopping the tiny tyrants.
“I’m telling you, those little girls are becoming expert monarch caretakers,” exudes Joe, a former attorney, who with wife, Brenda, a retired chief operating officer over an attorney group, loves their visits. “They’re like grandparents,” says Emie. “And they give us Blue Bell ice cream!”
The sisters bring them gifts, like a butterfly crafted of Perler beads that sits on the couple’s kitchen counter.
Sometimes, nature’s guardians must help
ALL AFLUTTER Raising monarch butterflies is a passion for Joe Cialone and his neighbors, sisters Ceci,10, (middle) and Emie Van Syoc, 7, who prepare here for a release. What started as a mutual interest has bonded them like family.
nature, stresses Joe. “Sometimes the chrysalis isn’t hanging correctly on the milkweed for whatever reason. They’re in a precarious position or the silk fails.”
Kind of like a bungee jumper with an untrustworthy cord.
So, Joe brings the chrysalis into the kitchen, sometimes using dental floss for an alternative hanging thread, taping the jade-colored marvels to the underside of cabinets.
They dangle like tiny lanterns, secure and safe from predators.
“The girls came over one day and saw a fullfledged butterfly in the kitchen,” says Laura, laughing. “Yeah, that one got by me,” says Joe who didn’t quite get the monarch memo: I’ve arrived!
Joe’s wife is a good sport, he says. Though she doesn’t like handling the butterflies.
“Although I’ve been forced to do so,” quips Brenda. And what does she think of all this?
“I’m glad he has a hobby he enjoys that keeps him home a fair bit. And it really is a beautiful thing. Our favorite thing is having these precious little girls over.”
“We miss them terribly when they’re out of town,” says Joe of Ceci and Emie, who look forward to teaching a new family member about monarchs. Laura and husband Rhett, a mergers and acquisitions attorney, are expecting a baby
boy soon.
Joe’s love of all things nature began in childhood. The books in his den are telling. In one stack: The Nature of Oaks. Night Herons. Backyard Bird Book. What It’s Like to Be a Bird.
He grew up on a farm in Arkansas. Not a working farm, no cash crops or cattle to tend.
Butterflies, by nature, are fleeting. Lives measured in weeks. But raising butterflies together leaves behind something permanent, says Laura. Joe agrees.
But land just the same, his chunk of paradise, where he’d frolic in the creek, lifting rocks to find crawdads. “I mean, I’m just a critter person. I love snakes. I really do,” he says. “But my favorite animal is a turtle.”
His dad was manager of a milk producers association in northwest Arkansas, and he drove
around the state visiting dairy farms. “I would drive around with him sometimes and if there was a turtle in the road, we’d put it in a box, and it went home with us.”
To Joe, nature and critters are the rhythm of life, a grounding he’s always embraced.
But he’s not so fond of wasps. This day, he points to a butterfly net that he doesn’t use for butterflies. He uses it to capture their nemesis, who is on the hunt for caterpillars. Wasps are methodical in their savagery, tearing the hapless caterpillar in half at times.
“So, I keep eyes sharp, always looking for wasps,” Joe says. “Those things hover like helicopters, up, down, and around, in search of caterpillars. That poor little caterpillar is vulnerable to anything. I read that about five percent of eggs laid will make it into a butterfly. And a female can lay hundreds of eggs.”
“And I’ve read that monarchs can sense milkweed from a long way away,” joins in Laura with another factoid. “They can find the tiniest of little milkweed plants. I’m glad I’m at the point now that I have a pretty good amount of milkweed and don’t have to always go hunting at nurseries. I need my milkweed!”
She’s learned the hard way the proper way to handle milkweed.
While it’s food to the
(continued on page 20)
BUTTERFLY BEAUTIES Left: It’s all things monarch butterfly for sisters, (from left) Emie and Ceci, who love to wear them and hold them before they take off north in flight. Top right: Ceci holds a container with several dangling chrysalis – the pupa stage of the butterfly that becomes a beautiful jade green – as Emie looks on. Bottom right: All eyes to the skies as they prepare for launch.
Middle: Ceci palms a handful of fat caterpillars, inching their way into becoming butterflies. Right: Joe handles a monarch, while Emie looks on, as it prepares for its first flight.
(continued from page 19)
monarch butterfly – a lifeline for the species’ survival – a toxic white milky sap is inside its leaves and stem. They store it like a warning, most would-be predators staying clear of its bitter taste.
To humans, the sap is no joke. If you rub your eyes after handling milkweed, it can cause intense irritation, swelling, blurred vision and, at times, even temporary blindness.
“Anytime you touch it, you must wash your hands. My girls know this. They saw what happened to me,” she says. “I woke up seeing white spots and halos all over and I was like ‘What is going on?’”
“I was like, ‘What’s happening?’ Emie shrieks. “It was not good!”
Laura made an emergency trip to the eye doctor. Have you ever touched milkweed?
“I told the doctor ‘I literally was just handling milkweed before coming to you.’ He explained
that the toxin in milkweed blocks something in your eyes that’s in charge of draining excess liquid out of your retina. So, I basically had an excess accumulation of fluid in my eye.”
Steroid drops cleared it up. “I probably hadn’t washed my hands yet and put my contacts in,” she says. “My girls and I never take any chances now!”
Check the history books for other amazing things about milkweed, encourages Joe. The lowly milkweed answered a call in World War II that no one expected. America’s scrappiness turned to the plant to provide a buoyancy for life preservers.
Milkweed floss, the silken threads inside its green, horn-shaped pods, aren’t just soft. They’re hollow. Each filament carries air inside it, giving it a natural buoyancy. It was packed into soldiers’ and sailors’ life jackets. By war’s end, millions of pounds of milkweed floss had been collected, enough to fill hundreds of thousands of life vests,
Monitoring Monarchs
turning the plant into battlefield lifelines.
“It’s almost magical. The story of milkweed and the story of the monarch,” Joe says.
“Releasing them is fun!” says Ceci. “And we can tell the females from the males,” chimes in Emie.
To tell male from female monarch butterflies, you focus on the hind wings, they instruct. Males have two small black spots on the hind wings that the females lack.
Her daughters were tempted to name each butterfly at the beginning of their monarch mission, says Laura, with a chuckle. “But that wasn’t happening. No way to tell them apart and too many!”
Butterflies, by nature, are fleeting. Lives measured in weeks. But raising butterflies together leaves behind something permanent, says Laura.
Joe agrees.
“We’re like family with Joe and Brenda. It started with butterflies, but it’s so much more.”
Monarch Watch, a volunteer-based citizen science organization that tracks the fall migration of the monarch butterfly, offers nonprofit education, conservation, and research programs at the University of Kansas that focus on the butterfly’s habitat and ways to help the endangered species.
The group works to promote monarch conservation through initiatives such as the Monarch Watch Waystation Program that involves monarch tagging to help understand their migration patterns, timing, and the impact of environmental factors, data that’s crucial to responding to habitat loss, climate change, and other factors affecting the population.
“Where should we start? Everything about the monarch is so incredible,” says Nancy Greig, who was director of the Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science for 24 years, since its inception. While the center has resources about the monarch, it only displays exotic tropical species not found in the United States.
“Monarch Watch is an excellent resource for people wanting to learn more about the monarch butterflies,” says Greig, who recently attended a Monarch Watch conference. She recommends the 2012 film Flight of the Butterflies that highlights the monarch butterfly’s journey, migrating thousands of miles from Canada and the United States to specific overwintering sites in the mountains of central Mexico.
The movie focuses on Dr. Fred Urquhart, a Canadian entomologist, and his wife, Norah, who dedicated their lives to understanding the monarch’s migration. And it showcases the role of citizen scientists, including a couple in Mexico, who helped the Urquharts locate the overwintering sites, a breakthrough in understanding the monarch’s life cycle.
Urquhart pioneered the tagging program which later evolved into the Monarch Watch program.
“Why do they go to the same place every year? It’s an incredible phenomenon,” says Greig. “The Monarch Watch is a great way to learn more and get involved. Monarchs really capture people’s imaginations.”
Visit www.monarchwatch.org for more information.
PASSION PROJECT Left: Laura Van Syoc, flanked by daughters Ceci, left, and Emie, right, started raising monarchs during the Covid pandemic, a fun alternative to traditional paper and scissor crafts and other activities.
by Cathy Gordon, staff writer
Runways and Reins
A trio of friends saddle up at IAH
Ahorse is a horse, of course, of course. But who’s ever heard of an airport patrol horse?
Um, Houston has.
At George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), security is bolstered by the Airport Rangers, the only mounted horse patrol of its kind in the nation. Under the supervision of the airport’s security office, volunteers keep vigil from the saddle, clip-clopping the airport’s perimeter, eyes peeled for anything amiss.
Friends Barbara Levy, 66, Susan Reichenthal, 62, and Eve Lapin, 61, are part of that ranger pack, ready to giddy up and go every chance they get. Though they take off summers when Houston’s air feels like soup and they’re the croutons.
“Ugh, the humidity! There are certain times of summer we don’t do it. But when we do the patrols, we love it. We see eagles and all sorts of wildlife,” says Barbara of the job that keeps security tight where millions pass through every year.
There’s been plenty of whinnying in the airport woods since the program’s inception in 2003. At last count, 75 volunteers belong to the patrol that scour a 27-mile perimeter by daylight, mostly along an extensive trail network of hardwoods and creeks. The trails merge with long stretches of open land near the bustle of airliners, landing and taking off.
“We see people’s faces in planes, on the runways, and they wave to us, and we wave to them,” says Barbara. “That’s how close we are to the action. You sometimes wonder if passengers are thinking, ‘Wow! Really? On horses? You know this is Texas!’”
The three ride like sentries on the edge of a kingdom, looking for holes in fences or wayward wildlife that dig with delusions of escape onto the runway. They cover more ground than a foot patrol could manage, looking for discarded cigarette butts or footprints pressed into dirt that hint at unauthorized visits.
The women have yet to find anything too alarming. But they’ve called in observations, like a critter’s attempt to dig under the fence line.
The trio command a presence in their reflective orange vests, helmets, and badges, but they
laugh at an encounter with nearby construction workers who asked if they were Texas Rangers.
Yeah, that’s a whole other variety of ranger, what with the trademark cowboy hat, shiny boots, and holstered firearm. Texas Rangers rode horseback over wide-open frontier long ago. Seeing one on horseback would be a rare sight these days, since their current mode of transportation is primarily Ford F-150s.
Mama D is intimately familiar with the equestrian patrol because, well, she basically initiated the idea.
Barbara laughs at the encounter.
Are you packin’?
Absolutely, we’re packin.’
What are you packin’?
Our lunches. We pack our lunches.
“I mean, that’s the truth. A woman’s gotta eat sometimes!” quips Barbara. “Though one time we did go to Sonic. We made this girl’s day. It was super hot, and we went up and ordered our drinks and stuff. We were on the way back to the ranch.”
That “ranch” would be Cypress Trails Ranch that provides the women’s horses. “We rent, not own,” says Susan who primarily rides a horse named Van, an “intuitive” type, she says, who is “very chill.” She shares a screenshot of her and Van together, joking that his fuzzy forelocks resemble her own hair. “We go to the same hairdresser.”
Barbara is partial to TikTok, an obedient mount and smooth ride who always follows orders. Eve rides an Arabian, Qatar (like the country), rescued from a kill pen. He’s a fiery sort, of great lineage, who likes to go. Not unseemly fast, but just right, says Eve. He turned out to be a great horse who knows the ropes, says Darolyn Butler, owner of Cypress Trails.
Darolyn, 75, is known as “Mama D” to family and friends. Barbara, Susan, and Eve trust her horse instincts implicitly. They’ve trained and ridden at her trail riding business at the ranch. She’s the one who told them about the Airport Rangers several years ago.
The long-distance endurance rider’s 10-acre ranch is just minutes away from the airport periphery. She’s galloped that area since the mid-1980s.
Airport security noticed her one day.
“I’d been galloping around the airport for years, nobody saying a word,” Darolyn explains. “But after 9/11, people got a little sensitive about that. So, I was accosted one day, questioned about it.”
But Darolyn was looking for a win-win.
“I told them I’d been riding out there 15 years! So, I went to the airport people and said, ‘Can we establish something that gives us permission to do this?’”
After “a lot of wrangling,” she recalls, the Airport Rangers was established. “You go in, get security clearance, take a test, get a badge, watch a video, the whole safety thing that every employee does there. And then you renew your badge once a year. So, we aren’t just pretty faces out there. We’re doing a job that’s important. It’s a win-win deal because you’re watching for things and you’re getting to do some endurance riding.”
Barbara, Susan, and Eve have taken endurance riding clinics at Darolyn’s ranch. Because, once a year, The Three Amigos – as they call themselves – embark on long-distance rides via pack trips, multi-day excursions where belongings and supplies are transported by guides with pack animals such as mules. They go to quiet corners of the world where they can hear their own breath with the steady beat of
PERIMETER POSSE Patrolling the perimeter of George Bush Intercontinental Airport is fun with a sense of purpose, say (from left) Susan Reichenthal, Eve Lapin, and Barbara Levy, who love being in the Airport Rangers. The three also do pack trips in the summer, going off-grid on camping and riding adventures.
horse steps. Where nature isn’t curated, but tangled and unpredictable.
They like it rugged. It’s not about riding, then returning to spa robes or wine tastings. It’s campfire coffee, sleeping bag hair, and sometimes waking up to frost on your tent zipper. They want the stars as their ceiling, the ground as their bed. No internet. Guides have satellite phones for emergencies.
Their husbands cheer them on from home. “Robert much prefers a pillow and mattress,” says Barbara of her attorney husband. Ditto, say Susan and Eve of their spouses.
In chronological order, this horseback trio has ridden in Vail, in Utah, in Yellowstone, then –twice again – in Utah. Then in Iceland. Again, in Iceland. Up next, the Canadian Rockies, and in the Teton Range in Wyoming. And just this month, in the Canadian Rockies again, to camp and ride the Continental Divide.
Iceland was a magical experience, they say. The purebred Icelandic horse isn’t big in stature but carries itself like a creature that knows it comes from Viking stock. Compact and strong, it moves with a gait most riders have never experienced: the tölt.
Most horses in the world have the same set of natural gaits – walk, trot, canter, and gallop, the women explain. Their middle gear, the trot, usually has you bouncing in the saddle. With the tölt, you’re moving in a rolling, fluid rhythm.
“What an experience that was,” says Susan. “It took a while to get used to.”
“You could carry a drink without spilling a drop,” adds Barbara.
Icelanders take significant precautions to protect their native horse breed, due to its genetic purity. The women had to sterilize their equipment before the ride, buy new gloves. No horses of other breeds can be imported to Iceland. And once an Icelandic horse leaves the country, it can’t re-enter.
“We’ve learned lots of things on our trips. I’ve loved all our trips,” says Eve, who doesn’t particularly relish cold nights and frosty mornings, though. “But it sometimes comes with the territory. You prepare for it.”
Susan has a keen memory of their first-ever pack ride in 2018, riding Colorado mountain trails, from Vail to Aspen. Ten days before the trip was to start, she found herself hobbled.
“We see people’s faces in planes, on the runways, and they wave to us, and we wave to them,” says Barbara. “That’s how close we are to the action. You sometimes wonder if passengers are thinking, ‘Wow! Really? On horses? You know this is Texas!’”
“She broke her ankle, falling off a horse!” shrieks Barbara. “But what a trooper, she rode anyway!”
“Well, I dismounted,” Susan says, of the accident. “So, we were training for the ride and stupid me had gone to hot yoga at 5:30 in the morning and didn’t change my pants, and my pants were all wet and my horse decided he wanted to go back to the barn, and he yanked the reins out of my hand and took off. And
when that happens, they’ll try to get you off. They’ll run into the trees! So, I bailed and landed underneath him. Broke my ankle.”
The equestrian move deserved a perfect-10 dismount, they deadpan. And left Susan with a boot up to her knee.
She called the Vail pack ride group to ask if she could still do the trip. “They said absolutely, as long as I got a release from my primary care physician and if my insurance would cover it.”
As outings go, this was a posh trip, Barbara says. Every day, a chef was waiting for them at the end of the ride with beverages and appetizers. “But it was one of the hardest ones because that first day we rode for eight hours.”
“I’d say we have a really good sense of adventure,” says Susan, recalling last summer’s trip to the Teton Range in Wyoming where the three basked in, what some would call, unfortunate weather. Snow, hail, and rain within their first four hours of riding. “We’re singing, we’re just so happy! The guide is like ‘Are you okay?’ I mean, we’d come from Houston summer where it was over 100 for days!”
The women also recall spotting a silverback bear their last day of riding in the Wyoming wilderness. Barbara started singing the Jungle Book tune The Bare Necessities at the top of her lungs.
Look for the bare necessities!
The simple bare necessities!
“I’ve always heard you want to make yourself seem loud and big,” says Barbara, barely 5 feet. The bear was a way off and not interested in attending the concert. “I don’t think he was impressed.”
The women are grateful for life’s intersections that brought them together. They met years ago through the Jewish community. Susan and Eve took riding lessons together and sometimes ride on their birthdays, just one day apart.
Their lives move at a clip
(continued on page 24)
MOUNTED ON A MISSION Left photo: Turning their love of riding into airport protection anchors these friends in a unique mission. Pictured, from left: Eve, Susan, Barbara, and Darolyn Butler, owner of Cypress Trails Ranch, who wrangled the idea for the Airport Ranger program, are always happy when riding high in the saddle. Right photo: Barbara, Eve, and Susan ride even the far reaches of the airport’s perimeters, where law enforcement sometimes trains.
(continued from page 23)
that rivals time in the saddle. Barbara works as a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit at Texas Children’s Hospital, tending to tiny, fragile lives. Susan wrangles credits and collections at the steel company she and husband Max operate, with the same quiet authority she brings to a winding trail.
And their pal Eve, they agree, is out there quietly changing the world.
Barbara’s son, Avi, and Eve’s son, Oliver, played together when young. Oliver, the eldest of Eve’s three sons, died at 12 of Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a deadly genetic disease that affects 1 in 18,000 people. It most severely affects boys and men. The brain disorder destroys myelin, the protective sheath that surrounds the brain's neurons.
Eve’s life thunders with purpose. She founded and oversees The Stop ALD Foundation that focuses on accelerating knowledge about the disease and finding new therapies to treat it. Husband Bobby directs its fundraising efforts, serving as its development director and general counsel.
through a myriad of points
Twenty years ago, the couple endowed Oliver Lapin Day as an annual event at the Jewish Book Festival at the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center (ERJCC) – coming up Nov. 2 – “to enable community children to enjoy precisely the kind of literary and musical events for children at the ERJCC that Oliver so enjoyed during his lifetime,” Eve explains.
“She’s incredible,” says Barbara of Eve’s passion. Eve, along with the Stop ALD Foundation and others, was instrumental in getting newborn screening for ALD implemented in Texas after lobbying the state legislature. It’s her resolve, the longest ride of her life.
“And I think she’s also the most adventurous of the three of us,” Barbara states.
“I do like trying new things,” says Eve, who has hiked Mount Kilimanjaro – the highest mountain in Africa – and trained to be a sighted guide for a blind hiker, helping him on a rim-torim journey of the Grand Canyon.
Eve and Susan have ridden in the downtown Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo parade, with the Airport Rangers. “It’s a good way for the
public to learn what we’re about,” Eve says. “I mean, all three of us, we just love being on horses. I’ve loved every single trip with them and every single patrol.”
Airport Rangers experience a unique sensory mash-up, the three agree. A strange symphony of nature and machine. The sound of pounding hooves. The metallic shriek of jets, slicing through the air.
But one time, another chorus joined the mix. An unexpected voice, that of a 911 emergency dispatcher. What’s your emergency?
“I was running on my horse and my Apple Watch rings. I answer and it’s 911,” recalls Susan. “I’m like, ‘I didn’t call you.’ And the woman says, ‘Yes, this number called us right now.’ I said, ‘I’m sorry. I’m on a horse. Please do not send the police! I’m on airport property. I’m on a horse. On patrol.
“She’s like, ‘What?’
“I mean, we were all cracking up. Running on my horse must have caused it somehow, jostled it. But if I ever do fall off my horse out there, well… I guess I’m in good hands.”
WOMEN IN THE WILD Top left photo: Everything’s better off-grid to these women who prefer a rugged experience, camping and riding
on the globe, like here in the Canadian Rockies. Pictured, from left, are Barbara, Susan, and Eve. Top right photo: The Three Amigos, as they call themselves, pause on their horses during the Rockies trip. Bottom left photo: A pack trip to Utah was one of many they’ve embarked upon. Bottom right photo: Two trips to Iceland found them on a different kind of ride with the country’s purebred horse known for the tölt, its smooth gait uncommon to horses here.
. by Sharon Albert Brier, staff writer
Rumor Has It
This month, we introduce our Rumor Has It column by Sharon Brier to Bellaire neighbors. Sharon has been dishing up "rumors" in our Tanglewood/River Oaks and Memorial Buzz magazines since 2006.
Dolce vita, Atlas-style! Traveling with 15 relatives sounds like a reality show – but this one came with pasta, not drama. Brian and Cindy Atlas led the merry band: Kim and Zac with their trio (Faye, Hazel, and Lila), Julie with her crew (Anna, Tucker, and Travis), and Angela and Kevin with their two (Naomi and Teddy). They kicked things off in a Tuscan villa (wine included), then scattered toward the coast. Highlights included truffle hunting with a dog who clearly ran the show, and boat splashing that left sunscreen and dignity behind. Stops in Lucca, Rome, and the Amalfi Coast sealed the deal – la famiglia, la fun!
Food centric. EAT! Thanks to a City of Houston artist’s grant, Diane Gelman’s Fresh exhibit at Phoenicia Specialty Foods downtown opened Aug. 1 with a dessert reception at MKT Bar that blurred the line between art and indulgence. Guests marveled at the exhibit of Diane’s oversized sculpted donuts, towering ice cream bars, and canvases of pastries so realistic they devoured Diane’s edible versions. Jill Reichman, Becky and Paul Katz, Sheila Aron, Robin Beerman, Elaine Roufa, and Rhonda and Bill Glick showed zero restraint, proving that in the face of great art (and frosting), selfcontrol is highly overrated. The exhibit runs through the end of fall.
Pavé pens were party favors. The joyful group of 10 was gracefully pared to six after a wave of Covid and life’s usual curveballs – but the celebration never lost its sparkle. Friends gathered at the Thompson Houston hotel to honor Perri Palermo’s birthday, surrounded by a breathtaking floral display from Sherri Zucker , who lovingly planned the affair but was sidelined in quarantine. Fellow KnowAutism Foundation board members and friends – Michelle Bohreer, Alice Mao, Marian McClendon, Heidi Turney, and Serena Hudson – showered Perri with a meaningful bracelet, her
beloved Chantilly cake, and another dazzling bouquet for a bedazzled party.
Glam. It was pure Southern sparkle at Leisa Holland-Nelson Bowman’s swanky high-rise, where 50 glittering guests gathered for an evening of art, elegance, and celebration. Hosted with flair by Yvonne and Sheperd Perrin, Marilu Garza, Sandra Porter, and Leisa herself, the soirée honored the ever-fabulous Leila Perrin – whose journey from Southern belle to powerhouse executive is the stuff of legend. A surprise moment stole the show when artist Taft McWhorter unveiled Pursue Your Passion, a custom painting gifted by 10 devoted friends. Glasses were raised to “Tequila Leila,” the once-reigning Queen of the singles scene, as guests savored Marilu’s divine cuisine and the magic of friendship.
Connections and cake! With a first career as a Ph.D. in microbiology, Ruth Sherman reinvented herself as everyone’s favorite sex, marriage and family therapist, as seen and heard on several shows. Ruth turned 85 in style at Four Leaf Towers. Fifty partiers gathered to celebrate the trailblazer, including her children Marc Sherman, Rhonda Kaplan, and Scott Sherman, who shared hilarious tales of growing up with their science-loving,
straight-talking mom. Ruth chimed in with gratitude and the story of meeting her rabbi husband Jerome (Jerry) Sherman – while on a date with someone else! Granddaughter Anna wowed with centerpieces of vintage-like lanterns with snapshots of Ruth through the decades. It was a celebration of science, sass, and serendipity –just like Ruth herself!
Tears of joy. On July 12, Jessica Stern Meyer marked her 55th birthday with a tender, unforgettable evening hosted by her parents, Dr. Juan and Susana B. Stern at The Villa d’Este. Jessica wasn’t sure she had the heart to celebrate, still feeling the weight of recent tragedies – until her mother gently said, “You’re my only daughter, and I haven’t planned anything since your sister passed.” What began as a modest dinner of 10 grew into a gathering of 30 cherished friends. The room, beautifully transformed, glowed with roses and candlelight. Heartfelt toasts, a loving tribute from her husband Philipp, and music reminded all present: joy and sorrow can share a table – and love, in all its forms, carries us through.
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ROMAN HOLIDAY The Atlas family had a bellissima vacation through Italy. Pictured, at the Colosseum in Rome, are the Atlas family including Brian and Cindy Atlas; Kim, Zac, Faye, Hazel, and Lila Harrington; Julie, Anna, Tucker, and Travis Taylor; and Angela, Kevin, Naomi, and Teddy Mutisya.
. by Angie Frederickson, staff writer
Wedding Buzz
The McKinnons and the Ganucheaus
From the first date to the honeymoon, and everything in between, these newlyweds have buzzy stories to tell. We wish them the best as they begin their exciting new chapters.
Elena Pappas + Andrew McKinnon
When Elena Pappas said “yes” to Andrew McKinnon’s proposal, she knew exactly where she wanted to marry her groom. The seaside town of Xylokastro, Greece, about an hour and half from Athens, situated on the coast of the Gulf of Corinth, was the perfect spot. This destination is very special to Elena, as she spent many childhood summers at the family home in the nearby town of Kiato Diminio.
Andrew and Elena met while they were both law students at South Texas College of Law. Andrew was two years ahead of Elena and they had mutual friends in the law-school community. A Florida native, Andrew is the son of Lessa and Scott McKinnon of Juno Beach, Fla. After growing up in West Palm Beach, he attended Appalachian State University in North Carolina before relocating to Houston to study law and meet his future wife. He is now the owner of McKinnon Law, specializing in personal injury, estate planning, and probate law.
Elena, the daughter of Pamela and Bellaire Mayor Gus Pappas, grew up in Bellaire, attending Condit Elementary, Pershing Middle School, and Bellaire High School. After graduation, she headed to College Station to pursue a finance degree from Texas A&M University and then moved back to Houston for law school.
Friends and family traveled to Greece and were treated to stunning views and festive Greek culture. The wedding was held in a tiny Greek Orthodox chapel in the woods alongside the beach, with the reception at a nearby resort on the water. Keeping with traditional Greek culture, the couple did not have bridesmaids or groomsmen; families of the bride and groom stood at the altar during the ceremony. Sunset along the coast was the perfect backdrop for the evening, while guests danced to music from a DJ and saxophone player, both from Athens. The Greeks know how to throw a party, and it didn’t end until after 3 a.m., with everyone enjoying
A GLORIOUS GREEK WEDDING Top photo: The Pappas family stood by Elena’s side outside a villa at the Sikyon Coast Hotel and Resort before she exchanged vows with Andrew at a chapel in Xylokastro, Greece. Pictured, from left: Nick Tsagalakis, Lexi Tsagalakis with daughter Meli Tsagalakis, Elena Pappas, Demi Pappas, Pamela Pappas, and Gus Pappas. Bottom left photo: The happy couple enjoyed perfect sunset lighting for their reception on the Gulf of Corinth. Bottom right photo: Elena and Andrew danced until the wee hours of the morning, surrounded by friends and family. Athens-based DJ and saxophone player kept the crowd moving on the dance floor for hours.
Christos Mavraganis
Christos Mavraganis
Christos Mavraganis
time socializing and hitting the dance floor with many traditional Greek dances.
After a honeymoon in Portugal, Mr. and Mrs. McKinnon are back home in Houston.
Shelby Skeete + John Ganucheau
Despite growing up just a few miles apart in Houston, and having several connections, Shelby Skeete and John Ganucheau did not know each other until they met on the Bumble dating app when Shelby returned to Houston after graduating from college. When they finally met, they learned of many friend-of-friend connections that brought an immediate sense of comfort. That initial comfort proved reliable, as they began a dating relationship that led to an engagement and marriage.
After three years together, John surprised Shelby with a proposal at her farm in Burton, Texas. Just hours before her planned birthdayweekend celebration with friends was scheduled
to begin, John stood anxiously in the middle of the house, surrounded by flowers, waiting for Shelby to return from taking her dog to the vet. Shelby opened the door and was completely shocked to see John. She had spent the day preparing for guests, making a trip to the vet, and was not “dressed up,” making it the perfect surprise occasion and a special moment for the couple.
Standing among bridesmaids and groomsmen, maid of honor and best man, and flower girl, Shelby and John exchanged vows in front of family and friends at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Memorial Park, with Father James Murphy as celebrant. After saying “I do,” the wedding party and guests headed to the Junior League of Houston for the reception featuring musical entertainment from Adrian Michael and The Greenway Band. It was a special treat for American Idol fans who recognized lead singer Adrian Michael from Season 10. When it was time to cut the cake, John was thrilled to have
a 3D replica of a Red Bull F1 car as his groom’s cake. After the wedding and reception were over and everyone had a chance to catch their breath, Shelby and John enjoyed a honeymoon at Sandals Dunn’s River in Jamaica.
The couple is now home in Houston, living near where Shelby grew up and attended Memorial Drive Elementary, First Baptist Academy, and Memorial High School. Her parents, Robert and Monica Skeete, still live in the area. John grew up in Bellaire and attended St. Thomas High School. His parents, Thomas and Lisa Ganucheau, are close by in Montrose. With a master’s degree in accounting, John now works for Deloitte, while Shelby, a graduate of Texas Tech University, works as a senior multinational underwriter at Chubb.
Editor’s note: If you were recently married and would like to submit your wedding to The Buzz, email us at info@thebuzzmagazines.com.
HOMEGROWN LOVE Top photo: A beautifully dressed wedding party wishes the new couple a lifetime of happiness at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church. Pictured, back row: Mary Clare Ganucheau, Hannah Robichaux, John Kaul, Bailey Jetton, Cade Skeete, Katie Ferris, Jack Schrimsher, Lukas Dworak, Olivia McGuire; front row: Jon Lauck, Emma Kaul, Hanna Kaul, William Kinney, Shelby Skeete Ganucheau, John Thomas Ganucheau, Morgan Coppoc, Augustine Zepeda, Allison Monacelli, and John Brady. Bottom left photo: John and Shelby exchanged vows in a traditional Catholic ceremony. Bottom right photo: Mr. and Mrs. Ganucheau show off their wedding rings while celebrating with family and friends at their reception at the Junior League of Houston.
Lucy Struve Photography
Lucy Struve Photography
Lucy Struve Photography
. by Cindy Burnett, staff writer
Buzz Reads Five
picks for September
Buzz Reads is a column about books by reviewer Cindy Burnett. Each month, Cindy recommends five recently or soon-to-be released titles.
The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (speculative fiction) – This lyrical combination of dystopian intrigue and historical fiction grabbed me from page one. Set in a 1970s small English town, the book follows triplet boys who are the only remaining residents at New Forest Home, in the care of three women they call Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon, and Mother Night. Their small and controlled world consists of taking their medicine to fight off an unknown illness, doing their chores, and playing games. A sense of dread builds in the reader as the story unfolds; clearly something is amiss, but what exactly? The tension ratchets up until the unexpected and highly satisfying ending. While there is a mystery at the heart of the story, so much more is at play – the nature of truth and control, testing the bounds of morality, and the age-old debate over nature versus nurture. This book will thrill readers looking for unique reads, provocative premises, and page turners.
Departure 37 by Scott Carson (speculative fiction) – Departure 37 is a creative blend of thriller, historical fiction, and science fiction with an added nod to The Twilight Zone. The book opens when pilots across the country receive calls from their mothers, urging them not to fly; however, the reader quickly learns that none of the women actually made the calls. Meanwhile, in Maine, Charlie watches a mysterious balloon drift toward a famous wreckage near her home. These seemingly unrelated events are connected through time, as the reader soon discovers. Carson expertly weaves the two timelines together, alternating between present day and 1962, at the height of Cold War tensions and a secret government experiment involving disappearing planes. The end result is a haunting, high-stakes mystery that wraps in the themes of AI, surveillance, and the military-industrial complex –incredibly relevant for today’s world. This one is great for readers who like thought-provoking premises, genre mashups, and distinctive stories. Glorious Ruins by Judithe Little (historical
fiction) – Houstonian Judithe Little returns with another engrossing historical-fiction tale. In Glorious Ruins, she brings to life the relationships, heartbreaks, and antics of three powerful women whose lives intersect in Jazz Age Paris: Coco Chanel, Misia Sert, and Roussadana Mdivani. Little’s meticulous and exhaustive research is evident in the manner in which she tells their stories while also touching on themes of power, ambition, and love. The Author’s Note at the end is well worth the read. Gloriouis Ruins will appeal to those who like biographical fiction and tales about famous women and women lost to history.
WHAT TO READ This month's selections include an eerie sci-fi thriller, a mixedmedia mystery set at an English pub, a thought-provoking speculative tale, a light spy caper, and an engaging historical story set in Paris.
The Killer Question by Janice Hallett (mystery) – Told completely in a mixed-media format through news reports, emails, pub trivia quizzes and notes, WhatsApp and text messages, police records, emails, and more, The Killer Question is an entertaining mystery with clever plotting that propels the story along. Set in and around The Case is Altered pub, located on an isolated road outside a small English town, the story follows new owners Sue and Mal who hold weekly trivia nights to draw in more pub customers. One evening, a visitor disrupts the trivia night and is found dead down the road from the pub later that evening. The unspooling of information through various documents allows the story to unfold in a way that keeps the suspense high as well as pulling the reader into the investigation in a unique and fun way. The twists and turns kept me guessing until the very end. This one is a good fit for fans of the mixed-media format, trivia, humor, and fun mysteries.
Mrs Spy by M.J. Robotham (mystery/thriller) –This witty spy caper is a tongue-in-cheek take on the James Bond series told through a widowed single mom who feels her age. Set in 1960s London where the Cold War still rages on, Maggie Flynn is working for MI5 as a watcher. She is a master of disguise and keeps close watch on those to whom she is assigned. When she stumbles across information that indicates her husband was a spy versus the salesman she believed him to be, her world is turned upside down. I listened to this one, and the audio is outstanding. The narrator’s British accent brought the story to life, particularly the sly British humor. This smart game of cat-and-mouse was delightful from beginning to end. This book is for fans of classic mysteries, the Cold War, and stories set in London.
Editor’s note: Book reviewer Cindy Burnett also writes our weekly Page Turners column at thebuzzmagazines.com. She hosts an award-winning book podcast entitled Thoughts from a Page Podcast www.thoughtsfromapage.com, runs the Instagram account @thoughtsfrompage, and regularly speaks to groups about books.
Cindy Burnett
Private School Directory
Finding the right fit for your child’s education is vital to their academic, social, and personal growth. Buzz-area residents are fortunate in that Houston is home to many of the nation’s top private schools, most of which are located right here in our neighborhoods. The Buzz Magazines Private School Directory features key information about the private schools that have chosen to participate. Our goal is to provide readers with a snapshot of each of these schools, as a starting point in the research process. The directory spans early learning through high school and has been a valuable resource to our readers since 2016.
Find and share the online version of this directory at thebuzzmagazines.com/private-school-directory. Also, check out buzzworthy stories about local schools and students on our Schools section atthebuzzmagazines.com/schools and read stories written by local high school students on our School Buzz blog at thebuzzmagazines.com/columns/school-buzz.
The British International School of Houston offers an outstanding private education with state-of-the-art facilities on a sprawling 32-acre campus unlike anywhere else. They recruit teachers who are global talents to inspire students’ confidence, resilience, and creativity within an internationally minded environment. Students build pathways to the world’s best universities through excellent results in internationally-recognised qualifications. Serving children from Pre-K3 to 12th grade, learning and achievement are supported by collaborations with The Juilliard School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), UNICEF, and IMG Academy. Inquire to learn more about the future of education today!
Admission Events: Open House: Nov. 15, 2-4 p.m. Visit www.cathedral-hs.org/admissions for more information on admissions
Cathedral High School is rebuilding Catholic culture through a classical education in Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. The school’s vision is to form students to be conformed to Christ, pursue truth, and create beauty in a virtuous life. This vision unfolds according to the time-tested discipline of the classical curriculum and method and benefiting from the holistic philosophy and spirituality of Cardinal Saint John Henry Newman, whose motto guides this educational endeavor: Cor ad cor loquitur.
Admission Events: Please visit website for Open House dates or contact admissions@dbahouston.org to schedule a tour.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Academy is an independent middle school dedicated to supporting our students in the present while preparing them for success in the future. We offer a challenging curriculum emphasizing the acquisition of organizational skills that is delivered in an engaging, collaborative environment that encourages the development of strong social skills. By recognizing and meeting the unique needs of early adolescents, our learning program equips students to thrive in college preparatory high schools and beyond.
Duchesne
Academy of the Sacred Heart
Pre-K3 / Pre-K4 / Lower School / Middle School / Upper School Girls • Est. 1960
Admission Events: Please check Duchesne’s website for dates and times at www.duchesne.org/events. Houston’s only all-girls Catholic Pre-K3 through Grade 12 school, Duchesne Academy provides an empowering education in the context of the values of the Society of the Sacred Heart. Guided by the Goals and Criteria, students encounter a challenging curriculum and embrace a vibrant sisterhood in an atmosphere of wise freedom. Our graduates leave Duchesne prepared to transform the world as empathetic adults, astute thinkers, and women of courage and confidence.
Admission Events: Middle School & Upper School Open Houses – Nov. 9 (Contact the Admissions Office for times and details)
Offering an exceptional education in a supportive, hands-on, experiential environment, The Emery/Weiner School is a private, college-preparatory middle and high school framed by and infused with pluralistic Judaism. Our unique, inclusive culture values diversity and encourages students to pursue a wide range of academic, athletic, and artistic interests while developing a strong sense of self and community. Our vibrant Experiential Education program sparks collaboration, resilience, and camaraderie among students and faculty. Our small class sizes allow our dedicated teachers to focus on helping students grow in confidence and competence, and our outstanding college admission record reflects Emery's status among Houston's top academic institutions. Emery students graduate empowered to advocate for themselves and others, with a profound sense of moral self-reliance and a confidence that will guide them throughout their lives.
Carol Wasden, Director of Admission and Financial Aid
Admission Events: Oct. 22, 2025, 7-9 p.m.
From day one, Episcopal High School was designed to be different. A place where students fearlessly test out new waters. Take intellectual risks. Make great leaps of faith. Our curriculum, the Four Pillars, stretches students in bold new directions – academically, artistically, athletically, and spiritually. At EHS, students uncover their God-given gifts and discover their purpose along the way. Because we believe that when you know who you are and what you’re capable of, you can do extraordinary things.
Houston Christian is an exemplary, college preparatory high school providing outstanding academic and leadership programs aimed at preparing each student for collegiate study and beyond. HC offers a distinctive curriculum and a spiritual focus, all while giving students the opportunity to compete and perform in award-winning sports and fine arts programs. Located in the heart of Houston’s growing west side, HC is housed on a 45-acre collegiate-styled campus.
Admission Events: Open School Visit Day, Tues., Oct. 2 and Fri., Nov. 7; Open House: Sun., Nov. 16
Discover how Incarnate Word Academy has been shaping exceptional young women since 1873. Located in downtown Houston, IWA challenges students with rigorous College Prep, Honors, AP, and Dual Credit. Our one-of-a-kind leadership program instills teamwork and self-advocacy, preparing students for an ever-changing world with classes such as Fundamentals of Leadership, Personal Finance Management, Service in Action, and Emerging Entrepreneurs. With our cornerstones of academics, values and spirituality, our tight-knit community and small class sizes help our faculty guide each student to become her best self. Visit www.incarnateword.org/admissions/visit-iwa to RSVP today!
Admission Events: Schedule your individualized tour with admissions@segalacademy.org
The mission of Jack Segal Academy of Beth Yeshurun is to foster confidence, leadership, a love of learning, and a sense of responsibility in students by honoring individual strengths in an environment dedicated to academic excellence, Jewish teachings, and the continuity of Jewish values.
Admission Events: See website for bi-weekly tours.
The Joy School prepares students with learning differences to return to traditional classroom settings by enabling them to reach their academic and social potential in a safe, supportive environment.
The Mays School
Nursery School / Preschool / Lower Elementary / Upper Elementary Co-ed • Est. 2012
5606 S. Rice Ave., Houston, TX 77081
713-669-9286 • info@mays.school • www.mays.school
Jessi Mays, Director
Admission Events: Open House Date: Oct. 11
The Mays School is a private preschool and elementary school based on the Reggio Emilia Approach. Through our unique inquiry-based learning program, we provide high-quality early childhood and elementary education to students between six weeks and 12 years of age. We believe that children learn through meaningful interactions, inquiring about new ideas, and exposure to new opportunities. We are committed to providing the best experiences, education, and nurturing care to children enrolled in our program.
Admission Events: Private campus tours are available year-round. Tours last approximately 1.5 hours and include an overview of the campus and classrooms, as well as a presentation from the director of admissions. Since 1983, The Parish School has empowered children ages 2-12 who have communication delays and learning differences to thrive through whole-child education, innovative therapy, and access to nature. This nationally recognized, special needs school provides an education for the entire family within the environment of a nurturing and safe 17-acre campus with on-site pediatric therapy clinic, The Carruth Center.
Post Oak challenges the norm. We don’t teach to a test. Instead, we guide our students from toddler through high school as they learn how to learn –to help them develop problem-solving, leadership, interpersonal, and academic skills for creating their own bold pathways through life. Post Oak’s two campuses are engaging Montessori environments, culminating in the IB diploma program and year-round internships for high school students at partner institutions throughout Houston.
The Regis School of the Sacred Heart
Early Childhood / Lower School / Middle School Boys • Est. 1991
Admission Events: (Open House for All Divisions) Nov. 2, 2025; Fall Welcome Wednesday Tours: (Early Childhood) Oct. 1, (Lower School) Oct. 8, (Middle School) Oct. 15. Visit www.theregisschool.org/visit for information on how to register.
The Regis School of the Sacred Heart is Houston’s only all-boys Pre-K3 through eighth-grade school, educating scholars and gentlemen in the Sacred Heart tradition since 1991. Through a unique mix of challenging academics and the values of the Sacred Heart, Regis empowers students of all faiths to become lifelong scholars and authentic, compassionate leaders.
River Oaks Baptist School
Preschool / Lower School / Middle School
Co-ed • Est. 1955
2300 Willowick Rd., Houston, Texas 77027
713-623-6938 • admission@robs.org • www.robs.org
Kealey Johnson, Director of Enrollment Management
Admission Events: Visit our website for available dates and registration links. ROBS melds ambitious academics with abiding Christian values, preparing students to identify and solve nuanced problems in an ever-changing world. Through our student-centered approach, ROBS will challenge your child to be the example of an eager mind guided by a faithful heart. Our graduates become leaders in Houston’s top high schools, premier boarding schools, and beyond. If your hopes for your child include intellectual curiosity and a strong moral compass, apply now.
Admission Events: Private tours available by appointment. Applications for 2026-27 will be available Sep. 1.
With a commitment to small classes and an emphasis on outdoor learning and play, we practice education as a pursuit for the whole person. Our teachers provide students with excellent classroom instruction balanced with time to play, wonder, and explore. Students in our Lower School spend many hours outside in our natural playground and garden each day, and are not burdened with take-home busywork afterwards. Older students receive rigorous instruction in discussion-based, dual-credit courses, giving them a head start in college and preparing them for life as independent adults.
Saint Thomas’ Episcopal School
Preschool / Elementary School / Middle School / High School
Danny Kahalley, Director of Admissions and Marketing
Admission Events: For open houses and visit information, go to www.stes.org/visit. Saint Thomas’ Episcopal School (STE) is celebrating seven decades as a Preschool through 12th-grade Christian college preparatory school offering a classical education. STE’s strong academic reputation and supportive community distinguish it among Houston-area schools. Annually, students win championships in state athletic, scholastic, and fine arts competitions. We also offer a world-renowned Scottish Arts program that includes bagpiping, drumming, and Highland dance. Graduates attend universities throughout the nation, with recent acceptances from Cornell, Yale, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Rice, Vanderbilt, and universities throughout Texas. We invite you to visit our beautiful campus! (continued on page 36)
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School of the Woods
Preschool / Pre-K / Kindergarten / Elementary School / Woods Middle School / Woods High School
Admission Events: Open House Dates: Sept. 23, preschool/Pre-K/Kindergarten; Sept. 30, Elementary grades 1-3; Oct. 7, Upper Elementary grades 46; Nov. 11, High School grades 9-12; Nov. 18, Middle School grades 7-8. See our website for dates or call the office to schedule an appointment for a tour. School of the Woods is Houston’s oldest continuously operating Montessori school and is non-profit, independent, and non-sectarian. It is accredited by Cognia and the Texas Education Agency, and is an American Montessori Society member school. The school provides students with a college preparatory Montessori curriculum from ages 2 1/2 through high school in an interactive learning environment, through individualized curriculum personalized for each student by credentialed Montessori teachers. Educational programs encompass: Early Childhood-Kindergarten, Elementary, Upper Elementary, Woods Middle School, and Woods High School. Auxiliary programs include After School Care, Choir, Dance, Gymnastics, Sports, and Summer Theater Camps. All children are eligible for enrollment regardless of race, color, creed, or national or ethnic origin.
Tara Gassett, Director of Admissions and Development
Admission Events: To schedule a tour, please contact the director of admissions and development. Families choose The Shlenker School because of the school’s commitment to an outstanding secular education with integrated Jewish studies. Our curriculum fosters the whole child in a developmentally appropriate learning environment that is both nurturing and challenging. When you visit our campus, you will feel the warmth of our community and see why students and families strongly believe in the foundation that The Shlenker School provides. Shlenker students graduate with confidence, knowing that they are prepared for the next stage of their academic life and beyond.
Admission Events: Visit www.stannecs.org for information on tours. Since 1930, St. Anne Catholic School has been committed to teaching the Basilian philosophy of “Teach Me Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge,” in a nurturing environment. The St. Anne philosophy embraces the uniqueness of the whole child and celebrates the diversity of the student body. In collaboration with the family as a partner, St. Anne endeavors to provide an opportunity for the optimal growth of each child, while celebrating our Catholic heritage.
Admission Events: Open House: Oct. 9, 9-10:30 a.m.; Dec. 9, 9-10:30 a.m. Or schedule a tour at admissions@stcathmont.org.
Rooted in the Montessori tradition and Catholic faith, our approach fosters independence, purpose, and a deep sense of responsibility to others and to the natural world. We serve students from toddler through high school, guiding them in discovering who they are, how they learn, and how they can make an impact in the world as compassionate, engaged global citizens. Grounded in the values of joy, respect, and peace, students explore meaningful work in thoughtfully prepared indoor and outdoor environments – from hands-on materials in Primary to original research, capstone projects, and international travel in High School. Our AMI-accredited program nurtures confident learners and ethical leaders, prepared for the challenges of college, work, and service to the wider world. Located near the Medical Center, our 10-acre campus offers space to grow, question, and thrive –beginning with your child’s first steps into the classroom.
Jeff Matthews, Principal Admission Events: Nov. 13, 2025. Group and individual tours available by appointment. Our mission at St. Cecilia Catholic School is the ongoing Catholic formation and education of the whole child in mind, heart, and spirit, in preparation for an adult life of commitment and service.
St. Francis Episcopal School
Pre-K / Lower School / Middle School / High School Co-ed • Est. 1952
Piney Point Campus (Lower and Middle School): 335 Piney Point Road, Houston, Texas 77024
Couper Campus (Primary and Upper School): 2300 S. Piney Point Road, Houston, Texas 77063 713-458-6101 • jglover@stfrancishouston.org • www.stfrancishouston.org
Jennifer Glover, Head of Admissions and Enrollment Management Admission Events: Open House: Nov. 7 (Upper School) and Nov. 8 (Primary, Lower, and Middle School). Primary School Tour Dates: Sept. 12, Oct. 24, Nov. 21, Dec. 12, Jan. 16; Lower School Tour Dates: Sept. 10, Oct. 22, Nov. 12, Dec. 10, Jan. 14; Middle School Tour Dates: Sept. 29, Oct. 21, Nov. 18, Dec. 9, Jan. 13; Upper School Tour Dates: Sept. 11, Oct. 23, Nov. 20, Dec. 11, Jan. 15.
Founded in 1952 as a parish school of St. Francis Episcopal Church, St. Francis Episcopal School is an independent, accredited, college-preparatory school serving students from age 2 through grade 12. We nurture growth in mind, body, heart, and soul in a supportive and challenging environment where students are encouraged to take wise risks, celebrate success, and learn from setbacks. Through meaningful lessons, projects, and experiences, students discover their unique talents, build confidence, and develop into thoughtful, resilient individuals who live out their learning and faith as people for others.
St. Mark’s Episcopal School
Early Childhood / Elementary School / Middle School Co-ed • Est. 1960
At St. Mark's Episcopal School, we believe in celebrating the unique spirit of every child! From 18 months through 8th grade, we cultivate intellectual curiosity, faith, and a lifelong passion for discovery in a joyful, child-centered environment. Our holistic approach to education, continuously evolving curriculum, and vibrant athletics and arts programs are all designed to inspire growth, resilience, and collaboration, preparing our students not just for high school, but for a future where they are mindful, active learners, ethically motivated to contribute positively to the world. At St. Mark's, you'll find a truly engaged community where every child is seen, known and celebrated. We invite you to explore how St. Mark's can become the nurturing and inspiring academic home for your child!
St. Pius X High School is a premier co-ed Catholic institution known for its academic excellence, robust athletics, award-winning fine arts and vibrant student life. Founded in 1956 and rooted in the Four Pillars of Dominican education – Prayer, Study, Community, Preaching – SPX fosters a holistic learning approach that nurtures intellectual, spiritual and personal growth. Home of the Panthers, St. Pius X embraces diversity and encourages creativity, offering a supportive environment that prepares students for success in college and beyond.
Admission Events: Visit ssesh.org/admission/tours to sign up for a tour.
Located in the heart of Montrose, St. Stephen’s is a Montessori School serving children from 15 months through 8th grade. We welcome families of all faiths, backgrounds, and lifestyles into our kind and inclusive community. Students enjoy individualized learning plans with an emphasis on hands-on and project-based curriculum. With our enriching co-curricular classes in art, music, and a robust STEAM program, students have the opportunity to explore their creativity while building a strong foundation for their academic future.
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St. Thomas High School
College Preparatory
Boys • Est. 1900
4500 Memorial Dr., Houston, Texas 77007
713-864-6348 • admissions@sths.org • www.sths.org
Maxwell Holmes, Director of Admissions
Admission Events: Open House, Dec. 7, 2025, 1 p.m.
St. Thomas High School is a Catholic college preparatory institution for young men in grades 9-12. With more than 120 years of teaching tradition, the Basilian Fathers’ sacred mission of teaching goodness, discipline, and knowledge inspires faith-filled, lifelong learners who think critically, communicate effectively, and prepare thoroughly to excel personally and professionally. A man of St. Thomas actively serves his community and integrates Christian teachings into all aspects of his life.
Admission Events: Open House Dates: Evening of Nov. 12, 2025; Jan. 25, 2026, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Tours every Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. Please contact us to schedule a tour.
Celebrating our 60th year, St. Thomas More Parish School equips students with a dynamic education while embracing our strong Catholic identity. We are STREAM-certified, a two-time National Blue Ribbon recipient school, a National Beta Club School of Distinction, and boast teachers who hold advanced certifications and degrees in their respective fields. Our curriculum is intentionally curated to offer students an opportunity to excel. We strive to draw families closer to Christ through Catholic education. Visit our 11-acre campus and see why so many families are choosing St. Thomas More Parish School.
Admission Events: Open House Dates: Tues., Oct. 7, 2025, 9 a.m.; Tues., Nov. 18, 2025, 9 a.m.
SVdP Catholic School provides a rigorous academic curriculum enriched by Catholic teachings that challenges students while encouraging critical thinking, creativity, and a love for lifelong learning. We were named a National Blue-Ribbon school in 2016 and 2022. SVdP was the first Catholic school in the nation to become STEM-certified by NISE (National Institute for STEM Education). Discover the countless opportunities our school offers, from advanced academics, engaging extracurricular activities, excellent Fine Arts, a strong athletic program, and meaningful service projects. Our school community is united by shared values, and we cherish the partnership between our dedicated faculty, parents, and students.
Trafton Academy fosters the maturation of each child into a well-adjusted adult, equipped to succeed in the world in which we live. Education is studentcentered; each child is recognized as an individual with unique interests, needs, and abilities. Our staff is dedicated to cultivating life-long learners while helping them to develop organizational skills and a strong work ethic.
Angela Rimington, Head of School; Amanda Owen, Director of Admissions
Admission Events: Open House Dates: Oct. 15, 9 a.m.; Jan. 14, 2026, 9 a.m.
Veritas Christian Academy offers a Christ-centered, classical education that nurtures the heart, soul, and mind. Students are formed in truth, goodness, and beauty in rich, joy-filled classrooms.
The Village School
Pre-K / Elementary School / Middle School / High School
The Village School, located in Houston’s Energy Corridor, is an academically rigorous American school with an International community. Our world-class teachers provide highly personalized and hands-on, innovative learning experiences to generations of creative and resilient global citizens. Village offers four specialty diplomas, including the International Baccalaureate (IB), Pre-Medical Science, Entrepreneurship and Computer Science. In addition, it offers a standard High School diploma, as well as Advanced Placement (AP) courses. With its diverse student body representing six continents and over 90 countries, The Village School serves students from preschool through 12th grade. Known for its commitment to excellence in math and science, The Village School's STEAM curriculum includes enhanced learning experiences through unique collaborations with MIT, Space Center Houston, Juilliard and UNICEF. The Village School is a proud member of Nord Anglia Education’s network of schools.
Admission Events: Coffee Talks and Tours – 1st Wednesday (K3-4th grade) and 2nd Wednesday (5th-12th grade), September through May. Preview Days – Oct. 30 and Jan. 25
For more than 50 years, Westbury Christian School has served students from age 3 through 12th grade as a Christ-centered, college-preparatory school. A vibrant community of learners, Westbury Christian reflects the Kingdom – Faithful, Wise, and Diverse. In today’s world, meeting the needs of Christian families requires both innovation and vision. While academics are essential, our mission extends beyond the classroom, preparing students “for here and eternity.” At Westbury Christian, every student is personally known by both peers and teachers. Our Christ-centered academic program, combined with opportunities in clubs, athletics, fine arts, leadership, and spiritual development, equips students to become lifelong learners, compassionate leaders, and devoted servants of Christ.
Admission Events: Open House Date: Wed., Oct. 1, 9:30-11 a.m.
The Westview School provides a unique, specialized, and nurturing learning environment offering outstanding educational and social opportunities for students with autism. Westview believes that when students with autism are educated in a nurturing, supportive environment, they learn, grow, and develop a strong sense of self and appreciation for others. The vision of Westview is to provide a learning environment sensitive to the social, emotional, and academic needs of students with autism to ensure they reach their full potential.
Yorkshire Academy
Early Childhood through Elementary School Co-ed • Est. 1984
Admission Events: Open House: Jan. 22, 2026, 5-7 p.m. and Jan. 23, 2026, 10 a.m. Now accepting applications. To schedule a tour, please email admissions@yorkshireacademy.com.
Yorkshire Academy, a private school located in the Memorial/Energy Corridor area, was established in 1984, with its primary goal to create an environment in which children can develop to their fullest potential at their own individual rate. Students range in age from 18 months to Grade 5. Yorkshire’s extensive afterschool enrichment program offers classes as diverse as coding, tennis, chess, piano, tae kwon do, and dozens more. Yorkshire Academy boasts tenured teachers, small classes, and summer camp.
. by Tracy L. Barnett, staff writer
Travel Buzz
Moments in Italy: A Multi-Generational Journey
Susan Bloome spins a tiny globe on a chain as she recalls the moment her late husband Mickey gave it to her a decade ago. The two were on a cruise ship heading to Antarctica.
“For my 70th birthday, we went to our seventh continent, Antarctica. And lo and behold, they sold these globes, little ones, earrings, cuff links, all different kinds.”
By the third night of walking past the gift shop on their way to dinner, Mickey noticed her lingering glances. “‘Susan, is there something you’re looking at?’ he inquired. “And I said, ‘Well, if you want to buy me a present…’”
Ten years later, Susan still wears that globe almost every day – a symbolic reminder of a life spent exploring the world with Dr. Michael “Mickey” Bloome, a renowned ophthalmologist whose international lectures became the launching pad for decades of adventure. Mickey passed away two years ago, and it’s been tough moving on without him. But Susan vowed to continue the family tradition.
This summer, with her granddaughter Amanda’s college graduation as the catalyst, she gathered her son Jerrad, daughter-in-law Sara, and granddaughters Rebecca and Amanda for a two-week Italian odyssey that would reveal how the same destinations can speak differently to each generation.
The Seasoned Traveler’s Perspective
Italy is a place of memories and magic for Susan, who traveled there many times with Mickey, but their children and grandchildren had not yet been there.
The couple had established a tradition of taking each grandchild on a special trip for their Bar or Bat Mitzvah – London and Paris for Amanda, the Galapagos for Rebecca and her cousin Ashley, and Alaska for the youngest, Connor.
“We just wanted to pass on our love of traveling,” said Susan. “And we felt like, when you’re on a trip doing something special, you bond in a different way than just seeing each other at home.”
So Amanda’s graduation gave the family a
reason for a new adventure in a place they’d long heard about from the stories of their grandparents. Together with her family, Susan was able to revisit Tuscany, Rome, and the Amalfi Coast, cherished destinations she’d traveled with Mickey.
“Granny and Papa have all of these pictures from their travels up in their apartment,” recalled Rebecca. “And growing up, I remember running down the halls with my cousins, and we’d be like, that’s Granny and Papa’s air balloon. And there were always these mystical ideas in my head of them in these far-off places.”
Traveling at 80 is much different than it was when Susan was younger, however, and this trip brought new challenges.
“At this age, I’m happy they want to be with me and put up with me – because travel for me is not as easy as it used to be.” The family learned to adapt, discovering that most museums offered wheelchairs and that careful planning could accommodate everyone’s needs.
Rebecca, for her part, saw it differently. “I
never once thought there was ‘putting up’ to be done, just a little extra thought to make everyone more comfortable and, as a result, happier.”
Susan found unexpected joy in the small cultural moments – for example, the boat captain in Sorrento who discovered her name and serenaded her with an Italian song called “Susanna,” and the European tradition of treating elders with special attention.
“When we would get into a place like the wine tasting or the cheese making or the boat, they knew I was the old lady. And in some ways, I think it’s just more European, they would kind of cater to me.”
The Parents’ Fresh Eyes
For Jerrad and Sara, Italy represented uncharted territory. “When we chose Italy, we hadn’t been there. I could have gone almost anywhere,” Jerrad recalled. The trip awakened something unexpected: “It made me want to travel more.”
Jerrad was struck by the historical layers
BRIDGE TO MEMORIES Jerrad, Sara, Susan, Amanda, and Rebecca Bloome pause for a photo on the iconic Ponte Vecchio in Florence, with the Arno River and rolling Tuscan hills as their backdrop.
everywhere they turned. He’d been in the Middle East and had seen biblical and Roman and Greek ruins. “But I've never seen sites dating to the Renaissance period, or the medieval times or the gothic era.”
The Colosseum particularly fascinated him –not just for its grandeur, but for learning its true purpose. “I didn't realize it wasn’t for the wealthy Roman people to go see big shows. It was really made to placate the poor people and to make sure they didn’t rise up against the emperor.”
Sara had always been aware of the family-oriented nature of Italian culture, but was delighted to see that quality in action, for example on their boat tour of the Amalfi Coast, and in Schiazzano, a tiny hamlet near Sorrento where they spent an unforgettable afternoon.
“That was basically a family-run little town,” she said. “And our boat trip was the daughter and father running the boat trip. So it just really was lovely and reflective when we were on a family trip to have these interactions with other families, just to sort of cement the idea of coming together and working together as family
members.”
Rebecca echoed her mother’s impressions, with more detail:
“Schiazzano was a 500-person town that was all three families, I think. And when we got there, the guide was like, ‘Hi, I’m Elsa. I’m the one that does the lemon groves.’ And then they put us in these little cars that felt like a roller coaster ride down those tiny streets. And then we’d get to the top and it was like, ‘Hi, this is my cousin.’ And the guy would be like, ‘I'm the cousin Bernardino, who makes the cheese.”
The language barrier, typically intimidating for Sara, became an opportunity for growth. “Normally I'm shy to try a foreign language, but I felt like the Italians are really welcoming you to try, and they don’t laugh at you. So I felt inspired – maybe to put myself out there verbally in another language.”
The Young Adults’ Adventure
For Rebecca, 20, this trip marked a transformation from passive participant to engaged explorer. “I feel like this is the first one where I
actually was ‘in it,’ because I was old enough to delve in instead of just being like, ‘I'm going on my tour, okay.’”
Her detailed observations revealed a generation comfortable with spontaneous exploration and cultural immersion. In Florence, she and her sister Amanda, 22, discovered wine windows –“a historic thing” where some restaurants have a little window, and a bell you can ring.
“And it’s comical because usually the guy standing outside the restaurant is like, do you want to sit down? We’ll hear the bell, walk inside and [someone will] be like, do you want wine?”
One evening, they were walking back to their hotel when they stumbled upon a symphonic performance in Piazza della Signoria, which became a defining moment. “We got wine glasses from the wine window. And then we were just walking back to the hotel... And there was a huge crowd of people just sitting and watching, I think it was a youth symphony. So we sat down with our wine and watched the symphony in this gorgeous (continued on page 42)
TRAVEL TRADITIONS Clockwise, from upper left: Sisters Amanda and Rebecca Bloome departing from Sorrento on a boat tour of the Amalfi Coast; Rebecca and Amanda at a Tuscan vineyard; Susan and Mickey Bloome in 2011 at a Tuscan vineyard; Amanda, Susan and Rebecca Bloome in front of Positano on a boat tour of the Amalfi Coast. Around her neck, Susan wears the treasured globe that her late husband Mickey gifted her on a trip to Antarctica for her 70th birthday.
(continued from page 41)
historical area.”
The boat trip along the Amalfi Coast showcased Rebecca’s generation's enthusiasm for authentic experiences. She marveled at the captain backing their boat up to a freshwater waterfall: “We could all take showers in the waterfall. It was so cool.”
Perhaps most tellingly, Rebecca found herself connecting her travels to her late grandfather’s legendary knowledge. “There’s one thing that I feel like I heard a lot right after my grandpa's
passing, which everybody likes to call him a walking encyclopedia. He was just a guy who knew everything. And the more I traveled, the more I understand that... if you see all these places and you've got a good memory and you're naturally a really smart guy, like he was, you just absorb everything.”
The Bonds That Unite
Despite their different perspectives, certain moments transcended generational boundaries.
Tips from Our Travelers
By Rebecca Bloome
The family’s visit to Rome's ancient synagogue resonated deeply with their Jewish heritage. The medieval perfection of Siena captivated them all. And throughout their journey, they discovered that travel’s greatest gift isn't just the places you see, but the relationships you deepen.
As Susan reflects on the experience: “You can’t beat travel for learning. You come back, you have absorbed new ideas and things that you had just heard about. It’s just such a wonderful way to expand your life.”
Worth the splurge: Taking a boat around Amalfi was incredible. We got to see every town on the coast without having to drive or take a bus. Our captain brought us to hidden spots and caves that were beautiful and special.
Don’t miss: Exploring little towns outside of famous metropolitan areas. Getting out of Florence and into Siena was one of the most memorable parts of our time in Tuscany. There are countless small towns that overflow with charm and history, perfect for day trips away from popular cities.
Favorite restaurants: Trattoria Zà Zà in Florence. Make a reservation and get the Florentine Steak and Truffle Carbonara.
Currency exchange: Just using a debit card is typically better than trying to get cash. Your bank will give you the best exchange rate while avoiding fees from ATMs.
Packing: For summer travel: The lightest clothes possible! Everything I brought that had long sleeves or thicker fabric stayed in my suitcase the whole time.
Don’t forget: Blister bandages. However much walking you think you will be doing, expect it to double.
Local favorite: Pizzeria Ganza in Florence has mini folded pizza street food for just a few euros each! A super cheap bite, delicious and authentic!
Safety tip: Be aware of your surroundings while in big tourist areas. A shoulder bag or crossbody purse is most reliable against pickpockets; just cover the top with your hand and stay alert.
Not really worth the trouble: Waiting in line to actually walk down to the water of the Trevi Fountain didn’t even tempt me; people down there are only taking pictures. The impressive part is the grandeur of the architecture. You can get an even better view if you go into the clothing store across the street and look at it through the second-floor window! You can also take it all in from the street.
FROM RUINS TO ROMANCE Left: Jerrad, Susan, Amanda, Rebecca, and Sara Bloome in front of the Colosseum; right: Jerrad and Sara making their way to a seaside dinner in Sorrento’s Marina Grande.
by Dai Huynh, staff writer
Chef’s Corner
The Art of the Comeback: Chef Bryan Caswell
Achef’s reentry into the culinary orbit, particularly after a long absence, is a leap of faith that the old magic remains. But Bryan Caswell, whose name once hung above the clamor of Reef, isn’t about to leave his resurrection to the gods of nostalgia. His new kitchen at Latuli (8900 Gaylord Dr.) is a careful recalibration, not just a relit pilot light. Time away has helped Bryan – a two-time James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: Southwest – refine his vision for a transformed culinary landscape. He understands that a successful comeback requires more than a famous name and past glory.
“You know, this is my 17th opening,” the West University resident says. “So, I’ve done it a few times, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes. Generally, I’m good about not making the same mistake twice.”
A lieutenant for Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Bryan helped the renowned celebrity chef open restaurants worldwide, including the now-shuttered Bank in 2004 at Hotel Icon on Main Street. Three years later, Bryan left Bank to open Reef with restaurant veteran Bill Floyd in Midtown at a time when the fryer basket and butter-soaked scampi still defined the city’s seafood scene. Reef arrived like a sea breeze, with its modern, sophisticated yet thoughtful showcase of Gulf Coast bounty.
But Bryan’s legacy is diverse and pure Houston, ranging from the creative, acclaimed Texan-Tuscan plates at Stella Sola to the exuberant preservation of Tex-Mex at El Real TexMex Café. It also includes the everyday pleasures of beef sliders at Little Bigs and post oaksmoked brisket at Jackson Street BBQ.
Alas, Stella Sola bolted its doors in 2012, followed by Little Bigs and then, El Real and Reef in 2019. The decision to close Reef was most complex because it was a retreat born not of failure, but of a quiet, unshakeable loyalty – his desire to care for his father, Michael Caswell, a man whose history as a successful wildcatter was as much a foundational piece of Houston’s lore as its petrochemical heart.
So, for the next six years, Caswell became a culinary gun for hire, lending his talent and
knowledge until Allison Knight, the wife of his best friend, presented him with a roadmap back to his own kitchen.
In late May, their new kitchen unfurled its sails on a plot where a Memorial-area institution once stood. Latuli, a restaurant emboldened by salty air and Gulf Coast catch, now occupies the space that was, for so long, the utilitarian domain of Gorman’s Cleaners – a delightful reminder that the most delicious culinary transformations can often take root in the most unexpected of places.
A true Southerner, born in the red clay of Lafayette and raised on the bayous of Houston, Bryan doesn’t waste time with small talk. This avid fisherman will be the first to tell you, with weary conviction, that in this sprawling metropolis, you get one shot. Houstonians are blessed with endless options.
“But I’m not afraid of competition," he says, the words a low rumble in the polished quiet of his 130-seat dining room, tucked in Memorial’s Hedwig Village. The lunch rush is over. This hour-long window before happy hour, though quiet to an outsider, is a whirlwind of concentrated preparation for the staff. The front of the house resets the room for the evening. Silverware is polished, and linens are folded.
In the kitchen, choreographed responsibilities give way to focused intensity. Garde manger, prep cooks, and sous chefs are hunched over cutting boards, their knives making a rhythmic thwack-thwack as they slice vegetables and meats. This is the crucial prep time when they prepare sambal from scratch, simmer sauces, por-
tion proteins, and organize the mise en place –everything in its place – to ensure that service runs smoothly. It is banal, yet essential toil. Without this, everything unravels.
“This is the first kitchen I have ever had where everything is new. It’s always been scratched and dented, used. And this floor is my favorite thing. It’s got a grip and a bounce. It’s easy to clean, so it probably saves me an hour and a half of labor every day,” says Bryan as he crisscrosses through the galleys, passing frilly ribbons of Mafalda and orecchiette. “We make our own pasta. Here is a fryer with only tallow. It’s our gluten-free fryer, but also for our french fries,” says the 6-foot-5-inch-tall chef as he walks toward a warm, bright-faced blond. “This is my little sister Mary Charlotte, an incredible pastry chef.”
Then, Bryan, the craftsman, gazes proudly at a gleaming stainless steel combi oven that utilizes dry heat and steam simultaneously. “This is
CHEF CASWELL Chef Bryan Caswell is pictured here in the dining room of Latuli, his new Memorial-area restaurant. The venture marks his return to the city’s dining scene with a menu centered on Gulf Coast-inspired dishes.
Alex Montoya
the most expensive piece in the kitchen. It can do almost anything with the touch of a button. You can set it, walk away. It’ll bake bread perfectly.” His focus shifts from technology to people. He calls out to a stout man with merry eyes. “Meet Sal. Thirty-two years this guy and me. He was the first butcher I trained. He’s better than me now. Maria! She’s been with me for about as long.” Several staff members have previously worked for Bryan, including general manager Lauren Hernandez, and their shared history is evident in their silent efficiency.
Then there is Allison, the rookie on paper, unburdened by a lifetime in the kitchen trenches. She is the creative force who arrived with a fresh perspective and profound, uncomplicated belief in Bryan’s talent – a conviction shared by her husband, Tucker, who was a minor investor in Caswell's previous concepts.
“Bryan is a creative genius in the kitchen,” says Allison, who rattles off a list of favorite dishes without a moment’s hesitation. But ask the chef himself for recommendations, and you’ll get a pained, parental look.
“My top three?” she continues. “It would be the heirloom tomato salad because those tempura onion rings are the X-factor for me. You see tomatoes and burrata a lot, but you’ve never seen them paired with onion rings for that extra crunch and flavor. My two main dishes are the wagyu barbacoa and the crab cakes.”
Bryan’s crab cake is not a binder-heavy fritter, but nearly a six-in-half-pound dome of sweet, tender jumbo lump crab fried golden brown. JayZ, who has the world at his disposal, and
Beyoncé, for whom the world is a stage, found themselves in a corner of Reef, finishing off a stack of seven “legit” crab cakes.
Throughout Latuli’s menu, longtime fans will spot a few familiar dishes. But Bryan doesn’t plan this to be a replay of Reef, El Real, and Stella Sola. “The truth is, I don’t think I can
Bryan Caswell, whose name once hung above the clamor of Reef, isn’t about to leave his resurrection to the gods of nostalgia. His new kitchen at Latuli is a careful recalibration, not just a relit pilot light.
open a place without the crab cake. People would bug me about it. These dishes are not restaurant-specific. They’re a culmination of my life’s work. They include the pecan-smoked pork chop, the mussels, the market salad, the meatballs. Oh, the meatball mix is completely different. People say, ‘Oh, that so-and-so is from El Real, and that’s from Reef. However, these dish-
es have a long history. They are constantly being tweaked and perfected. The crab cake; it’s better. The recipe hasn’t changed. It’s more the technique.”
When the time came to name the restaurant, there was an endless string of “nos.” It was Allison who finally came up with a moniker born not from market research or branding, but from a tribute fashioned from the first two letters of her three children’s names – Lawson, Tucker, and Lillie. Stories circulated that Allison attended the Culinary Institute Lenotre to prepare for her role at Latuli. But the fact was she “always loved to cook,” she says. “I wanted to entertain large groups at my house without stressing. It wasn’t until I was in school for a while that people in the neighborhood asked me in jest, ‘Hey, are you going to open a restaurant? There is a void in this area.’”
Eventually, the idea took root. The former real estate professional contacted Bryan, who offered a dose of reality. He said, “It’s a lot of work. Not everyone is cut out for it.” Allison admits that this is the scariest thing she’s ever done, but now, joy has eclipsed fear: seeing her neighbors settle in and making Latuli a home away from home. The Hunters Creek Village resident’s goal of making Latuli feel at home succeeded a little too well. Many diners take this to heart, lingering at the cozy 50-seat artladen bar for hours. With the ambiance of an upscale Pacific Ocean beach resort, the 50-seat patio is poised to become one of the city’s most sought-after outdoor destinations as Houston weather cools.
LATULI In designing Latuli (the restaurant's name is a combination of her three children's names – Lawson, Tucker, and Lillie), Allison Knight drew inspiration from her family's Texas ranching traditions and chef Bryan Caswell's lifelong love of fishing. One of her favorite items on the menu is (pictured, top right) the heirloom tomato salad with burrata, 1015 fried onion rings, and Russian dressing. Bottom right: The spiced peach cobbler.
(continued from page 45)
From his kitchen, Bryan has a panoramic view of the bar through a large cutout window and the dining room through another. Grand, dark metal lanterns cast a soft glow onto the leather banquettes and upholstered chairs in the main dining room. Eyes drift from large potted palms to the high, pitched wooden-beam ceilings. Pale walls serve as a refined backdrop to strategically place original artwork and rustic elements, such as a mounted deer above a stately fireplace. Natural light spills through floor-to-ceiling arched doors and windows, as well as grand wall alcoves covered with arboretum-themed wallpaper featuring green broad-leaf botanical motifs. The simple lines and curved forms commonly found in modern Spanish or Santa Barbara-style designs are incorporated throughout. Alfredo Paredes’s touches of old-world glamour and polished Americana are apparent. The esteemed New York-based designer hired by Allison is known for the luxurious yet relaxed aesthetic of Ralph Lauren Home, which he developed during his long tenure as chief creative officer.
Meanwhile, in the bar, an afternoon ritual gets underway. Men in their earnest sport coats and women in chic, but practical, attire arrive with their wheeled bags chock-full of samples. The wine reps come, as they do on weekday afternoons after the last power-lunchers have ventured into Houston heat, to seek an audience with Jeb Stuart. A former executive chef,
the revered sommelier is the quiet arbiter of taste, the one whose nod or shake of the head will determine which bottles from a distant vineyard (most likely Italian) will make it onto his thoughtful 100-bottle list, which strikes a balance between approachability and high-end selections. His choices are not merely a collection of vinos, but a curated conversation between the familiar and the deliciously obscure single vineyard.
“This guy is a magician,” says Bryan, pointing to Jeb. “He’s got the best palate in the city. He gets the first taste of every new dish I come up with because he’s not afraid to tell me I suck.”
A nod from Jeb, for instance, sealed the fate of the now-popular duo smoked redfish dip with pimento cheese, and the seemingly simple yet complex snapper carpaccio, marinated in lemon catsup and dusted with a whisper of grapefruit powder.
The first wave of happy hour celebrants stroll through the iron-and-glass doors, and Bryan's bearded face breaks into a satisfied smile. “They’ll start coming in now,” he says. “Typically, a restaurant is dead at this hour. We’ve been busy since we opened.” Despite years of a chef’s hustle etched around his eyes, the 52-year-old still finds joy in the daily discipline of his craft. An hour before dinner service, he retreats to the kitchen and picks up his Japanese fish knife. With deep concentration, almost meditatively, his blade slices into the delicate grouper flesh. It is a perfect, quiet act of
preparation for a satisfied man who still believes in the simple alchemy of a knife and a fish.
Chef Bryan Caswell’s Signature
Pimento Cheese
1 oz softened cream cheese
9 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Crystal Hot Sauce
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon Colman’s mustard
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon black ground pepper
8 oz piquillo peppers
3 cups yellow cheddar cheese, shredded
3 cups white cheddar cheese, shredded
Allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature. Place the cream cheese into a KitchenAid mixer with a paddle attachment. Add mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, sugar, mustard, salt, and black pepper; mix well. Transfer cream cheese mix to a large bowl and fold in the piquillo peppers and both types of cheddar cheese. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve. Make 6 cups.
Note: At Latuli, Bryan makes his mayonnaise from scratch for his pimento cheese. You can, too, to elevate this dish. He also uses artisangrade cheddar cheeses, such as those from the Houston Dairymaids.
Michael Anthony Frank Frances
Frank Frances Hasan Yousef
CULINARY CRAFT Menu items at Latuli include the market vegetables and herb salad (top left); charred broccolini, a dish with preserved lemon, drunken cherries, and house granola (top right); a double dip of smoked redfish and pimento cheese with kettle chips (bottom right); and orecchiette with fennel sausage.
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SportzBuzz SPORTS
. by Todd Freed, staff writer
After advancing to the second round of the UIL 6A football playoffs last season, the Stratford Spartans have high expectations for another successful season. “We have one of our biggest senior classes ever with about 60 seniors,” said Spartans head coach Todd Rankin. “It’s a group we expect to continue to improve as the season moves forward.”
The Spartans will move forward literally behind a powerful offensive line led by pre-season All-Greater Houston selection Foard Polley. A 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive tackle, the highly touted senior has committed to play collegiate football at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, 6-foot-5, 280-pound offensive tackle Clayton Nonhof offers an imposing force up front for the Spartans.
The Spartans also feature a dynamic running back in senior Davis Kendall, who has committed to play college football for the Air Force Academy. “Davis is a very quick and explosive player,” said Rankin. “He did a great job for us last year when our starting running back got injured.”
On defense, the Spartans are led by standout cornerback Johnathan Joseph Jr., who is coming off a spectacular junior season with five interceptions, two kickoff returns for touchdowns as well as a punt return for a touchdown. The son of former Houston Texans defensive back Johnathan Joseph, the Spartans senior has offers from several major collegiate football programs. “Johnathan is an extremely dynamic player who also broke a couple of short pass receptions into long touchdowns on offense for us last season,” added Rankin.
The St. John’s Mavericks enter the football season with what head coach Kevin Veltri describes “as the Mavericks’ most talented team from top to bottom in my seven seasons at St. John’s. We’ve become better and better every season, and I couldn’t be more excited about this year’s team.”
While the Mavericks will have to overcome the loss of dynamic all-purpose player Cole Allen, who’s now playing at Harvard University, there are several key returnees led by senior quarterback Shea Quinn. “Shea is everything
you would want in a quarterback. He’s a talented senior captain with extremely high academics and has collegiate offers from several Division 3 schools,” said Veltri.
Blocking up front for Quinn is senior standout offensive lineman Will Lane who will also see playing time on the defensive side of the ball. The 6-foot-4, 305-pound senior has committed to play college football for the Air Force Academy.
Also, Coach Veltri says senior tight end Andrew Christensen is a big weapon who’ll also play college football.
Defensive lineman Jack Stanger, a major Division 1 recruit in baseball, is among the Mavericks’ top returning players as are senior linebackers Nick Verducci and Winston Silsby “Nick is coming back from a knee injury so we’re extremely excited to have him healthy and ready while Winston is another senior captain with great academics,” added Veltri.
Ithas all the makings of another big season ahead for a Lamar Texans football team coming off its 15th district championship in the last 16 seasons. The Texans followed up last season’s undefeated district title with a great playoff victory over the Cy-Fair Bobcats.
“We’ve got a really good group of players coming back including five returning starters on both offense and defense,” said Texans head coach Mike Lindsey. “We have a lot of offensive weapons and some big-time players defensively.”
One of those offensive weapons is senior running back Larry Sanders, who led the team in all-purpose yards last season. In addition, the Texans welcome the return of highly touted wide receiver Enrico Moore-Espinoza, who missed much of last season with a knee injury. “Enrico may very well be the best player on our team,” said Lindsey. “He’s a great player and just a tremendous athlete. Enrico was also the district Newcomer of the Year back in his sophomore season.”
On the offensive line, 6-foot, 290-pound Jayden Cook is a three-year starter who Coach Lindsey describes as an “elite offensive guard and a fantastic player.” Cook will also see playing time on defense for the Texans.
The Texans’ highest recruited player entering the season is senior defensive back Robert McFarland, who has several offers from major college programs and is also a pre-season All-Greater Houston selection by the Touchdown Club of Houston. In addition, 6-foot-4, 250-pound defensive end Martin Davis-Wheatfall has collegiate offers from Division 1 football programs.
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 possible inclusion in SportzBuzz, please email todd@thebuzzmagazines.com.
MIGHTY MAVERICK A major Division 1 recruit in baseball, senior linebacker Jack Stanger is also one of the Mavericks' top returning players in football this season.
Jack Chavez
. by Annie Blaylock McQueen, staff writer
SportzBuzz Jr.
Welcome to SportzBuzz Jr., a column spotlighting neighborhood athletes in elementary and middle school.
Congrats, 10U Nationals
The West University 10U Nationals went undefeated in their district and sectionals run and battled their way to the East Texas State Championships, where they earned third place overall. From May through July, the hardworking 10-year-olds put in daily practices and grinded through weekend tournaments. The boys were led by manager Ben Guez and coaches Matt Rovelli and Collin Salisbury. Their families and friends were a huge support system every step of the way, cheering them on to the final moment. Pictured (back row, from left) are Coach Collin Salisbury, Team Manager and Head Coach Ben Guez, Coach Matthew Rovelli; (front row, from left) players Brooks Keller, Everett Wangler, Jake Bingham, Peter Volf, Mitchell Gaston, Walter Carroll, Miles Guez, Jake Rovelli, Kendrick Leung, William Kleine, Brady Salisbury, and NJ Dingmann
Wave rolls to Oklahoma City
The 12U West University Softball Association Wave team took first place at the USSSA Road to the Show Tournament in Oklahoma City, going undefeated with a 6-0 record, held alongside the Women’s College World Series. Pictured (front row, from left) are Alexis Freshwater, Emily Garland, Grace Hirvensalo, Abigail Castillo; (second row, from left) Stella Boyd, Ava Castillo, Lorelei Walker, Ellis Gorski, Aviana Chang, Lauren Martin, Julissa Sanchez; (coaches, from left) Alfonso Sanchez, Marcus Martin, Marco Hirvensalo, and Jorge Castillo III. While in Oklahoma City, players and families attended two Women’s College World Series games. A highlight was when WUSA teammates Aviana Chang and Alexis Freshwater met University of Texas standout Mia Scott and received her autograph.
Baseball champs
The Blue Anchor Baseball 10U Majors team ended the 2025 season as championship runner-up in the Houston Astros Fest World Series. After going 3-1 in pool play, the Blue Anchor boys won their first bracket game by run rule, followed by a walk-off win in the second game after eight innings. They ultimately fell in the finals to finish as tournament runnerup. This was the most successful season to date for the Blue Anchor team, wrapping up its 10U Majors campaign with 36 wins, including two championships, three runner-up finishes, and one third-place finish. Blue Anchor Baseball began as a local Little League group committed to continuing development and competing nationally against academy-style teams, all while maintaining a strong team-first approach. Pictured (from left) are players Noah Bozeman, Reed Smith, Ewan Walker, Asher Levy, Jeff Jones, Eli Musher, Jeff Harwell, Zain Thowfeek, Rudy Ramirez, Beckett Whitman, and (back row, coaches, from left) Alex Mintz, Elan Levy, Rob Whitman, and (not pictured) Ted Walker.
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.
PEAK PERFORMANCE This June, Bellaire Troop 222 took a trip to Philmont Scout Ranch, where they hiked Mt. Philips, which peaks at 11,736’. From left: Matt Campbell, Kazim Mirza, Thomas Carville, Drew Campbell, Shea Standish, Kieren Welsh, Eli Shebay, Jake Arnold, Adam Mirza, Calvin Dai, and James Arnold. Bellaire High School sophomore Drew writes about the experience.
by Drew Campbell, age 15
Buzz Kidz
MKeeping up traditions
y dad and uncle were both Scouts, and my grandpa was their assistant Scout leader. This summer I continued our family tradition of high adventure backpacking. I was lucky to share it with my dad, our Scout leader. I hiked 61 miles over 10 days with my troop, Troop 222. We went to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, with a base camp elevation over 6,500’. I was able to accomplish the long hike because we had practiced with training hikes and carrying a heavy pack. My longest hike was 20 miles along Brays Bayou at 60’ above sea level a few weeks before. Though I have hiked high altitude in Colorado and California before, the elevation change was an extra challenge. It was a great trip, from the views and the
night sky to the scouting program activities and the food. My favorite activity was rock climbing in Miners Park, which we finished just before a big storm. I remember climbing in a harness on the “lefty” course, named because it’s on the left of the rock face. We cheered each other on, but when it was my turn, I didn’t hear the cheers because I was so focused. It was fun to rappel down the cliff when I was done because it’s a different feeling. We could hear thunder in the distance as we went back to camp. It was monsoon season, so we had afternoon showers most days, and this time we had to set up camp in the rain. Another day we hiked through hail. We crossed ice-cold streams and hiked past tall Ponderosa pines and birch trees. It was my first time seeing a wild turkey in the wide-open fields, and the
stars were extra bright at night.
The Philmont experience is unique for everyone, but our troop has a few traditions. We always stop at Amarillo on the way to see The TEXAS Outdoor Musical in Palo Duro Canyon State Park. The last day on the trek we woke up at 3:30 a.m., packed up, and started hiking to catch the sunrise on Shaefers Peak. On the drive home, we celebrated at the Big Texan Steak Ranch steakhouse in Amarillo – the food tasted so good after 10 days of backpacking meals. It was an amazing trip that I am thankful I was able to share with my dad.
Want to be a Buzz Kid? Email approximately 350 words, a high-resolution photo and caption to info@thebuzzmagazines.com.
Spot, age 7, Pomeranian Mix, Palmetto St.
Woof, woof. Can you guess what my name is from my black and white spots? I am Spot, and my humans say I am seven years old. My pastime is traveling. I was born in Goa, India, and from there I traveled to Mumbai, where I prepared for my long trip to Los Angeles, California. In Mumbai, I swam and enjoyed daily massages. Then I packed up and headed to my next stop, which was in Dubai! There, I chilled for a bit while I waited for my flight to LAX. I adapted quickly to life in LA. Hikes at Eaton Canyon, road trips to northern California, and weekends in Arizona. Life was good, but this traveling dog sniffed out a new destination: Bellaire, Texas. Here, I chill at the window in my new home. I have already met my doggie neighbors and look forward to new adventures in my new home! 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.
Probate without a lawyer
You can be on life support, and the pre-approved credit card offers keep on coming. No medical exam or underwriting required, because the lender can get paid out of the probate estate after you die. As much of probate procedure is dedicated to protecting your creditors as protecting your family. To ensure the rights of both distributees and creditors, the general rule is that no executor or administration of a decedent’s estate may proceed without a lawyer.
So-called “nonprobate” assets can usually be collected without going to probate court. If you remembered to designate family or a trust as your beneficiary, the rightful owner can collect your IRA, life insurance, and investment and bank accounts with just your death certificate. Joint owners with right of survivorship can also collect accounts, motor vehicles, and even real estate without probate court.
Without a beneficiary designation or right of survivorship, the bank or broker is usually within rights to demand letters testamentary or of administration from the clerk of the probate court. Letters are proof that the executor or administrator’s probate application was approved by a judge and the applicant assumed personal responsibility for the estate’s debts on filing an oath. Probate applicants are required to use an attorney to appear with them before the probate judge and to be the court’s point of contact if the required notices and accounts are neglected.
There are very limited probate procedures that do not require a lawyer. If there’s no will and no real estate, title may be cleared with a Small Estate Affidavit signed by all the heirs, provided the non-exempt assets are $75,000
or less. The surviving spouse or minor children may also clear title to decedent’s homestead (but no other real estate).
Larger estates require an heirship determination and/or a probate application. Practices varied from court to court, but since the June 2025 Texas Supreme Court opinion in Suday vs. Suday, a lawyer to represent the applicant is optional if the estate is debt-free and there is only one beneficiary under a will, or, absent a will, only one heir at law.
As before, if decedent left a will with only one beneficiary, and there are debts but those debts are secured by real estate, an applicant without a lawyer may probate the will as a muniment of title. This allows collection of real estate after the debt is paid. Motor vehicles, bank accounts, and brokerage accounts can also be collected with just a muniment of title, although many banks and brokers will resist without, you guessed it, a lawyer representing the applicant.
We write wills and go to probate court. Foreign nationals and international families welcome.
Russell W. Hall, Bellaire Probate, Attorneys at Law, 6750 West Loop S. Ste. 920, Bellaire, Texas 77401, 713.662.3853, bellaireprobate.com/blog
. by Angie Frederickson, staff writer
Buzz About Town
Jennie + Sammy
She said yes! Sammy Robinson and Jennie Levy (pictured) are planning a 2026 wedding after a surprise engagement. Their story started back in middle school when they met as students at Emery/Weiner: He was the soccer team’s goalie, and she was the team manager. No sparks flew back then, but they were always friendly with each other through high school and then during their college years when they both attended The University of Texas. On a June evening in 2023, Jennie and Sammy ran into each other at a mutual friend’s wedding at Hotel ZaZa, and they have been together ever since. Earlier in 2025, Sammy popped the question at the place their relationship began, the ZaZa. The happy couple then met their families for dinner at Caracol, and friends joined the celebration later that evening. Now, the planning begins for their special day.
Hoops overseas
Peter Berry (pictured) is starting a new chapter in his basketball story with Hannover United. The US men’s national wheelchair basketball player, 2024 Paralympian, and former University of Alabama player is headed to Europe to compete with the Division II European team. He signed a one-year contract and will look to extend his stay beyond that. It is an exciting time for Hannover United as they
aim to be promoted to the first league or the Champions League. Peter, a 2020 graduate of Emery/Weiner, says he is looking forward to meeting teammates from around Germany, and the world, and competing alongside them as
they grow together on and off the court. Read more about Peter and his basketball journey in Peter Berry: A star from the start by Andria Dilling (March 2024).
A night at Moulin Rouge
Renee Clapp and Denise Leisten (pictured, from left) joined more than 700 fellow supporters at VICTORY Houston’s A Night at Moulin Rouge. The event at 713 Music Hall raised $1.8 million for cancer research initiatives in Houston. Ball chairs Cissy Abel and Hallie Vanderhider transformed the space into a Parisian music hall complete with crystal chandeliers, billowing red fabric, decorative wind-
mills, and lots of feathers. Frank Billingsley served as master of ceremonies, and Johnny Bravo led the live auction. Guests also enjoyed a glitter bar, tequila tastings, and casino games like craps, blackjack, and slot machines. Q The Band played throughout the evening for a fun night of dancing and singing along to crowd favorites. At the end of the evening, the Chickfil-A cow handed out chicken biscuits as a latenight snack.
My grandmother’s ring
Author Laurie Kuper Bricker (pictured) published My Grandmother’s Ring , a story of her grandmother, Lorraine Rey Isaacs Hofeller, the last known survivor of the 1900 storm in Galveston. Laurie has fond memories of her “Meme,” and captured her incredible 106-year life in print. This year marks the 125th anniversary of the infamous storm, and Laurie will be the keynote speaker for a Sept. 6 commemorative event at the Bryan Museum in Galveston. The book chronicles Lorraine’s experiences spanning three centuries, two World Wars, and the Great Depression. Lorraine described her life as “happy and enriched but nothing remarkable,” but My Grandmother’s Ring tells chapters of her
Ashley
remarkable stories, including her trailblazing, pre-women’s-suffrage win over four boys in the race to be class president at Ball High School.
Fair winds and following seas
It was a day to remember at the Cardboard Boat Regatta. Competitors (pictured) gathered at the Bellaire Town Square Family Aquatics Center armed with self-made boats to race to the finish line. To enter the race, participants were charged with creating their own vessels, using only cardboard and duct tape. The pool was filled with boats of all shapes and sizes that thankfully stayed afloat while paddling as fast as possible. Prizes were awarded in multiple categories, for ages 10 and under, ages 11-15, ages 16 and up, as well as best costume and best boat design.
Summer of giving
Board members for PATRONS for Bellaire Parks (pictured) have been busy fundraising for Bellaire’s beloved neighborhood parks and green spaces. Pictured (from left) are Karalee Gatlin, Trisha Pollard, Rebecca Phillips, Marybeth Flaherty, Faby Lopez, Cindy Siegel, Sharon Veldman, Dawn Bloomer, Johnnie Frazier, Win Frazier, Amisha Diwali, Lily Collins, Damien Whitley, Cheryl Bright, Kaliko Veiseh, Millie Hast, Roopal Amin, and Shital Dalwadi Oza. They kicked off the Summer of Giving with generous support from park patrons
and community members that will pave the way for two new projects. Coming soon are improvements and redevelopment projects for Lafayette Park and Evergreen Park. A new playground structure will be unveiled at Lafayette Park, on the corner of Baldwin and Lafayette Street, later this year and the City of Bellaire will welcome the community to a rededication ceremony. Through the city’s We Are Evergreen committee, PATRONS is providing a conceptual design plan to redevelop Evergreen Park. With community input and funding, the team plans to redesign the space for all to enjoy. PATRONS and City of Bellaire also recently completed fundraising for a butterfly-themed play structure at Joe Gaither Park as a community tribute to 8-yearold Blakely McCrory, whose life was lost in the July 4th flood. When the play feature is installed, the community will be invited to a dedication ceremony. Stay tuned for details.
An actor comes home
Bellaire native turned New Yorker Jon Bass
(pictured, second from left) had a warm welcome home for a screening of his film Bad Shabbos. He joined his family, Ariel, Rhonda, and Oren Bass (pictured with Jon, from left) at the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC for the sold-out event to view the film. Afterwards, the crowd enjoyed a Q&A session with Jon and his former principal at I. Weiner Middle School, Ilona Thompson. Bad Shabbos won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. Jon stars as “David,” alongside Kyra Sedgwick and Method Man in this comedy about an interfaith engaged couple’s plan to introduce their families at Shabbat dinner. As a child, Jon once thought he would grow up to be a rabbi, but he was introduced to theater by I. Weiner Middle School teacher Larry Dachslager, and the rest is history. Jon, a Bellaire High School graduate, also starred in the 2017 film Baywatch (Ronnie Greenbaum), Molly’s Game (Shelly Habib), Carole & Grey (Grey), and Loving (Phil Hirschkop). (continued on page 56)
Dee Zunker
Trees for children
Carissa Barcus, Lisa Barth, Sara Jane Wilson, and Emily Goolsby (pictured, from left, at an earlier Trees of Hope event) are preparing to
celebrate 35 years of Trees of Hope. Since 1990, the organization has raised funds exclusively for the Children’s Critical Care Fund at Star of Hope Mission. On Friday, Nov. 7, supporters will mark the group’s 35th anniversary at the annual gala at the Four Seasons Hotel Houston where the Advisory Board and Life Members will be honored. The holiday-themed event Hope Guides the Way – A Journey to the North Pole will feature live and silent auctions, festive music, dancing, and a visit from Santa. The highlight of the evening will be Trees of Hope’s signature items: stunningly decorated, themed Christmas trees available for bidding. For more information about the event, visit treesofhopehouston.org.
Adventures in learning
Life Enrichment of Houston (members pictured on a guided tour of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo) announces its new fall schedule. The group will gather for seven consecutive Thursday mornings, beginning Sept. 18 at 10
a.m. at Bellaire United Methodist Church. Life Enrichment of Houston is an active learning group for adults ages 50+. Members gather to hear engaging speakers on Thursday mornings, followed by optional activities including a light lunch, beginning Spanish classes, watercolor art classes, bridge, and a chat group. The group also ventures out for monthly bus or car trips to sites in and around the city. One $25 registration fee covers the entire seven-week program, with separate fees for lunch and art class. For more information, visit leohtexas.org.
Battle of the law firms
Hugh Zhang, Dexter Davis, Amy Blumrosen, and David Stone (pictured, from left) enjoyed the Battle of the Law Firms charity pickleball tournament at the Pickleball Country Club. Hosted by the Houston Hammers, the city’s only ranked professional pickleball team, the event pitted rival law firms against each other in a battle for bragging rights, while raising funds for the PTSD Foundation of America and Camp Hope.
Players stepped away from their desks and grabbed their paddles to compete in front of more than 100 spectators and enjoy Tex-Mex from Gringo’s. Players from Adams and Reese, The Rudnicki Firm, King & Spalding, Gibson Dunn, Baker McKenzie, Forman Watkins, Skadden, Akin Gump, BRG, Greenberg Traurig, and AZA Law hit the courts. In a hard-fought final, Akin Gump edged out King & Spalding to earn the title of “Houston’s Best Pickleball-Playing Law Firm.” The Houston Hammers, founded in 2024 by Zhang and Blumrosen, competes in the National Pickleball League (NPL) in both doubles and mixed doubles. Outside of league play, the founders are working to expand access to pickleball in Greater Houston through collaboration with school PE programs and local facilities.
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Al Torres Photography Inc
Alex Montoya
. by Andria Dilling, staff writer
Back Porch Small Joys: Finding the happy
Last month, a weekly edit of The New York Times’ “Well” newsletter popped up in my morning inbox, and I have been thinking about it ever since.
Jancee Dunn, who writes the newsletter, sent an email entitled “Happiness doesn’t have to be a heavy lift.” Always a sucker for a wellness hack, I read on.
“I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed lately, both by the news and by a bit of life stuff,” Jancee wrote. “I wish I could retreat to a mountaintop, but my more realistic plan is to seek out the smallest possible things I can do each day to give myself a lift.” She went on to interview experts on “how to incorporate more low-lift, bare-minimum pleasures into…life.”
Since I read it mid-summer, the email has sort of lived in the back of my head. While I always count my blessings and focus on the big things I am grateful for – family, health, friends, work I love – I am less good about zeroing in on those little things Jancee was talking about. She wrote: “A friend of mine told me recently that he was not going to use the self-checkout kiosks at the grocery store anymore. He realized that he liked talking to a checkout person, he said, and was trying to build back more human interaction into his life.” It all makes me wonder: What is my self-checkout boycott?
I started asking around, thinking maybe if some wise friends had identified their own tiny happiness boosts throughout the day, I could find inspiration to pinpoint my own.
Wendy Gold, a mom of three grown children, seems to have the “finding glimmers of joy” mindset locked down. “Noticing small things is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to create joy,” she says. “Joy hides in ordinary moments, if we slow down enough to see them. For me, something as simple as swirling milk into iced coffee feels like magic. I pause every time and watch the colors mix and shift.”
Another mother of a recent law school graduate says, “Gratitude is happiness. Whenever I feel down, I look around and cherish a cup of coffee, the sunlight on my face, my fingers in the dirt playing with my plants, loving on my cat and dog, calling my daughter and hearing her
voice, kissing my husband as he leaves to play golf. Just being alive at 65 is happiness!”
A friend who is famous for her chocolate chip cookies and also for her dedication to and love for her favorite food group, is more predictable – and definitive. “The answer is always chocolate,” she says. “Ice cream outings after school, chocolate chip cookies in the lunch bag and/or after school, chocolate croissants on Sunday mornings, hot cocoa on stormy cold days. The list goes on and on!”
This same friend has been known to find joy in a little piece of dark chocolate at the end of the day.
When I asked my dad about identifying small joys, he turned the question around. Instead of telling me what made him happy, he told me how he tried throughout his day to make other people
Joy hides in ordinary moments, if we slow down enough to see them.
happy, mostly just by noticing them. “I have started asking people with accents where they are from and thanking them for coming here. That puts a smile on their face and mine too!”
And then he adds, “I always try to just thank people for doing what they are supposed to be doing,” he said. “Having someone seat us for
dinner, going through the check-out at the grocery store. But I think everyone does that.” Actually, Dad, I think that might be a special trait of yours (and my mom’s). As I get older, I am noticing more and more how my parents have friends everywhere they go, from all age groups and all backgrounds. At most of the stores and restaurants I walk into with my mom, someone on the staff will greet her and say Hi Phyllis!
How could that not be a moment of joy – for the staff person, for my mom, and, really, for anyone close enough to hear the conversation?
Back to Wendy, who shares another tip for finding the happy: “At night, I think of three good things that happened that day,” she says. “They don’t have to be big. Maybe I found my keys without searching, or I had a great conversation, or I laughed unexpectedly. Over time, I have trained my brain to notice the good more easily. The more you look for these little gems, the more they appear.”
MAGICAL When we notice them, the smallest everyday things can spark joy.
