Mayor Mike Rawlings

Transcription

Mayor Mike Rawlings

Serving Dallas, Denton, Collin & Rockwall Counties
a paper with a purpose
Mayor
Mike Rawlings
...a young man from humble beginnings in a tiny town climbs
up to sit in the highest seat of a very large metropolis.
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January/February 2016
features
COVER>
Mayor Mike Rawlings.
He could be the subject of a
Horatio Alger story: with meager
means but ample work ethic, he
earned the top job at Pizza Hut
which in turn led to the top job
at Dallas City Hall. As Mayor,
Mike Rawlings is not afraid to
tackle the tough issues from the
homeless to domestic violence.
Meet Mike Rawlings originally
from Borger, an oil patch dot on
the Texas map, he is now in his
second term as Mayor of Big D.
By Harriet P. Gross
7> Bob Jones: The name
Bob Jones is well-known in
Southlake. The man whose name is
memorialized on a road, a sprawling
park, a resplendent nature center
and preserve was a freed slave who
became one of the area’s largest
landowners.
16> Gary Patterson:
By Marice Richter
By Bo Carter
On the surface, TCU head football
coach Gary Patterson is one of the
most intense football mentors and
minds in the collegiate game. Yet
on the interior, Patterson has a kind
heart and a wife Kelsey who shares
his love for people and causes.
S P E C I A L E X H I B I T February 3 – March 10, 2016
Reserve tickets online at jfk.org
Exhibit included with Museum admission.
411 Elm St | Dallas, TX 75202 | 214.747.6660
Sign of the Times is a Program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance with The Texas Commission on the Arts and The National Endowment for
the Arts; Roy Lichtenstein, 1992 Democratic Party candidates Bill Clinton and Al Gore, Offset lithography, 22 x 15 x 1 1/2, Courtesy Hal Wert
4 | www.theseniorvoice.com
January / February 2016
Publisher & Founder>
Carol Butler
cbutler@theseniorvoice.com
President / CEO>
Bob Bowsher
bobbowsher@theseniorvoice.com
Copy Editor>
Harriet Blake
Marketing & Business
Development — Eastern Region>
Heidi Frankel
heidi@theseniorvoice.com
Marketing & Business
Development — Western Region>
Kathryn Miller
kathryn@theseniorvoice.com
Production & Graphic Design>
Leigh Ellis
www.EllisGS.com
Website Editor>
Andra Dunn
andra@convertible-communications.
com
Cover Photo>
Allison V. Smith
www.allisonvsmith.com
Contributing Writers
Harriet Blake
Durhl Caussey
Barbara Glass
Dianne Hackett
Mary Jacobs
Debra Jones
Mike McGee
Trilla Pando
Maurice Richter
Contact Us!>
We value your feedback.
CButler@theseniorvoice.com
972-862-2668
The Senior Voice is published monthly and
single copies are available free in Tarrant,
Johnson, Parker and Hood counties. Our
sister edition serves Collin, Dallas, Denton
and Rockwall counties. Entire contents of
The Senior Voice, unless noted, all rights
reserved. Material may not be reproduced
without written permission. Opinions
expressed in articles appearing in this
magazine do not necessarily reflect the
views of the publisher. Publisher is not
responsible for errors in advertising.
Dearest
Community,
contents
Editor, Carol Butler
COLUMNS
9> The Aging Hippie
We trust the holidays were good to
you and your great expectations for
the new year come to pass.
Here at The Senior Voice, we are so
excited to expand to Tarrant County
with a separate edition beginning with
this first issue of 2016.
Our January–February edition brings
you covers on our local mayors: Dallas
Mayor Mike Rawlings is featured on
the Dallas County edition; Fort Worth
Mayor Betsy Price graces the cover of
our Tarrant County edition.
Mike Rawlings is in his second term
as Dallas mayor and as writer Harriet
Gross says, he is a big believer in
Dallas as the “City of Opportunity.”
After coming to town with $200 in
his pocket, he worked his way up to
become CEO of Pizza Hut. He is a
vocal opponent of domestic violence
and sees seniors as a vital resource in
town.
Betsy Price also is in her third term in
Fort Worth and is not only working
hard for FW, but as writer P.A.
Humphrey says, is keeping Fort Worth
on its toes, encouraging residents to
ride their bikes and be “Fit Worth.”
She is proud of Fort Worth’s position
as the 16th largest city in the United
States and at the same time, proud of
it’s small-town feel.
As we honor the birthday of Martin
Luther King this month and celebrate
Black History month in February, we
recognize Bob Jones. Mr. Jones was
a freed slave who not only became a
landowner but one of the area’s most
successful farmers and ranchers.
Writer Marice Richter reports on the
man whose name is well-known in
Southlake, home to the Bob Jones
Nature Center and Preserve.
Columnist Mary Jacobs covers aging
and spirituality. In this issue she
discusses the subject with Rev. Dr.
Christy Thomas, who is a retired
United Methodist pastor and author of
the new book, “An Ordinary Death.”
Caring for the aging parent, especially
long distance, is a subject that many
can relate to. Author Harriet Blake
discusses the difficulties that ensue
based on personal experience as
well as the experiences of others.
Professionals weigh in with advice on
the best ways to manage.
by Amy Martin
11> Soul of Aging
by Mary Jacobs
16> Bo Knows Sports
by Bo Carter
20> Between the Covers
by Harriet P. Gross
20> Getting Reel
by Larry Ratliff
OUT AND ABOUT
22> Grand Times: Activities to
Enjoy with Your Grandkids
by Heidi Frankel
Don’t let the cold weather keep
you inside. Check out The Taste
of The Bishop Arts District’s Food
and Walking tours. The tours are
presented by Dallas Bites and run
from Jan. 2 to March 30 starting at
Dude, Sweet Chocolate, 408 W.
Eighth St., Dallas.
23> Grand Times: Reading
with Your Grandkids
Valentine’s Day is not far off and Love
is ON the air — Learn how Barbara
Eden still loves being Genie and
reminisce with Betty Lynn, Barney
Fife’s girlfriend on The Andy Griffith
Show, as she shares her role at the
Andy Griffin Museum in Mount Airy,
NC.
25> Events in February
What a better way to celebrate
Valentines Day than with a healthy
aphrodisiac, chocolate. Dark chocolate
especially is good for your heart —
emotionally and physically.
Respectfully and in JOY,
Carol
by Heidi Frankel
23> Grand Times Foodie
by Chef Travis Wick
24> Events in January
Get the most out of the
senior voice!
Website> Visit our website at
www.theseniorvoice.com to read the
newspaper online, find events, connect
with resources, dig into past issues and
more!
E-Newsletter> Our weekly newsletter tells
you what is happening in and around North
Texas with lectures, seminars, freebies and
more! Sign up on our website.
Social Media> Follow us on Facebook and
Twitter
in the news
Longtime San Antonio and
(Senior Voice!) film critic
Larry Ratliff finally ‘writes it
out loud’
Eisemann Center
Presents An Evening
with Garrison Keillor
Thursday, January 28, 2016 at
8:00 PM
Eisemann Center Presents, An Evening
with Garrison Keillor at the Eisemann
Center, 2351 Performance Drive in
Richardson, Texas on Thursday,
January 28, 2015 at 8pm. Garrison
Keillor is America’s favorite storyteller.
The charming, witty, and always
entertaining writer will have you
wrapped around his finger with
his touching anecdotes, comic monologues, and thought-provoking
observations. You’ll never forget his tales of Lake Wobegon and so much
more.
Master storyteller and host of Public Radio’s “A Prairie Home Companion,”
Garrison Keillor is one of the most beloved raconteurs and commentators
of our times. For more than 40 years, he has been drawing pictures with his
words and nudging us with his gentle, sardonic humor.
Over 17 million listeners on more than 900 public radio stations still hear him
every week. In addition to his radio roles and playing himself in the movie
adaptation of “A Prairie Home Companion,” he is also a prolific author and
poet.
Tickets are $48–$75 and are available for purchase online at
www.eisemanncenter.com or by calling the Eisemann Center Ticket Office
at 972-744-4650 and group discounts are available for 10 or more persons.
Dear Editor,
Thank you for featuring Catherine Barr and The Texas Winds Musical Outreach. As a
resident of Forest Dale Senior Apartments for almost 18 years, I’ve enjoyed many hours
of music from that source, thanks to their Program Director Laura Irvin and the generous
professional musicians. There are not enough great words to describe what this free music
means to the likes of my building, and Laura manages to send us great performers even
during our Christmas Week Coffees and Cider every morning of Christmas Week. Not easy
to find entertainment that week, but Texas Winds can do it!
I should add that I really enjoy the column by Barbara Glass every month.
We seniors do very much appreciate The Senior Voice. Thanks again,
E.H. — Dallas
Award-winning film critic, public speaker and
humorist Larry Ratliff is adding published author
to his credits.
“Did I Write That Out Loud? — We Might As Well
Laugh, It’s Only Life,” available at Amazon.com
in paperback or the Kindle format, is a collection
of entertaining essays about the raucous roller
coaster ride of the veteran humorist, public speaker, film critic and stand-up
comedian.
“Did I Write That Out Loud?” covers topics such as why Ratliff’s family doctor
broke up with him and what happens when pants begin to have minds of
their own. Ratliff writes from his heart and his funny bone, so even subjects
such as a late-night encounter with paramedics and job loss are skewed with
truth softened with humor. Or as Ratliff puts it, “We might as well laugh. It’s
only life.”
“My wife Suellen has been after me
for years to write a book,” said Larry
Ratliff. “Now she can get after me
about something else.”
Ratliff, known as The Jalapeño Guy,
established his website LarryRatliff.
com in 2009 after serving 13 years as
film critic for the San Antonio ExpressNews newspaper and several years as
film critic at the San Antonio Light. His
reviews and interviews also appeared
on various San Antonio TV and radio
stations, as well as being syndicated
nationwide and to 15 foreign countries
via the NBC News Channel.
in the news
Bob Jones and His Legacy:
A freed slave became one the area’s largest landowners
PHOTO: Southlake Historical Society
By Marice Richter
The name Bob Jones is well-known in Southlake. The man whose name is
memorialized on a road, a sprawling park, a resplendent nature center and
preserve was a freed slave who became one of the area’s largest landowners.
The Jones family built a log house that was eventually expanded to an
impressive two-story structure with a balcony and wraparound porches.
John Dolford “Bob” Jones was born a slave in 1850, the son of white
slaveholder Leazer Alvis Jones and his slave Elizabeth. Leazer Jones left his wife
and four children in Arkansas before the Civil War and traveled with Elizabeth
and their mixed-race children to Texas, where he bought land in northern
Tarrant County.
A successful farmer and rancher, Jones hired black and white sharecroppers
and workers for his operation. He built a family church and the one-room
Walnut Grove School for his children and other nearby black children, who were
banned from attending white schools. The Carroll school district’s Walnut Grove
Elementary School, its newest school built in 2012, was named as a tribute to
the Jones schoolhouse.
A slave himself, Bob worked as a sheepherder on his father’s farm. At the end of
the Civil War, Bob, his brother and mother were set free and they bought the 60acre farm Leazer Jones left behind to return to his white family in Arkansas.
“He hired teachers from Dallas during the summer to come teach at the school,”
recalled his grandson, Bobby Jones, who grew up on the farm and grew up to
become an epidemiologist for Tarrant County.
In 1874, Bob Jones married Almeady Chisum, the mixed-race daughter of
legendary Texas cattleman John Chisum and his slave, Jensie. The couple and
their 10 children expanded the farm to nearly 2,000 acres, one of the largest
holdings in present day Southlake, according to the Southlake Historical Society.
After his death in 1936, his children planned to carry on the legacy of farming
and ranching the Jones family land. But misfortune fell upon Mount Carmel
Baptist Church and homestead, which burned down. Eventually, the school
closed and the building deteriorated and crumbled.
The Jones land was located near a tributary of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River
that was selected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the site of Grapevine
Lake. Most of the Jones family land was acquired by the federal government in
the 1940s for the lake.
Some Jones family descendants held onto small plots until the 1990s, but most
of the heirs moved away to find work. Bobby Jones said his father, Emory
Jones, and uncle, Jinks Jones, opened an auction barn. Frequent auctions took
place at the dusty site at White’s Chapel Road and State Highway 114 from
1947 until 1984. The brothers’ wives — Lula and Elnora — ran a café to feed
the auction-goers, travelers and truckers who hauled rocks from Bridgeport to
Grapevine for the lake’s dam.
It is regarded as the first integrated café in Texas.
A Jones family tradition that began in the 1800s and continued at the auction
barn site was an annual harvest picnic and barbecue. By the 1960s, it lasted
three days and included baseball games, music and dancing and a carnival,
which drew up to 1,000 people per day, according to a Southlake Historical
Society.
Bob Jones was so well known and respected that his funeral drew a crowd
of “500, which jammed the white people’s church” and was attended by as
many whites as blacks, according to the historical society account based on a
newspaper report.
“Bob Jones was truly an American success story,” said Debra Edmondson,
president of the board of the Bob Jones Nature Center and Preserve. “And I’m
proud to say that we continue to tell that story.”
| 7
Jingle Maker’s
Career Has Been
“Finger Lickin’ Good”
By Debra Goldie Jones
Bill Jones tells a funny story. “I’m outside my
recording studio in Salt Lake City getting some fresh
air when I see this white-haired, bearded fellow in a
white silk suit. He’s looking for a restaurant to serve
his special chicken. It was Colonel Sanders. We
wrote his first jingle ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken. Finger
lickin’ good. Take it from the Colonel’.” It was the
beginning of a relationship that would span twenty
years and earn Bill one of many CLIOs and other
awards.
At 84, Bill Jones is still a hip cat and that oxymoron,
a working musician. His studio overlooking a golf course epitomizes workfrom-home bliss.
Growing up on his grandmother’s ancestral Wooster, Ohio farm, the great
grandson of a Congressman, Bill’s parents were members of the Oxford
Group, precursor to Alcoholics Anonymous. Doctor Bob, co-founder of AA,
was a frequent visitor.
Music was in his blood. In 1919, his father’s orchestra beat out Hoagy
Carmichael’s for a recording contract. One day a traveling rural music
teacher offered Bill a bass repaired with thick plywood. With all his effort, he
conquered the instrument.
Enlisting in the Air Force, stationed in Ogden, Utah, Bill was assigned to
the band with players from across the country. The Utah Symphony made
overtures, but he earned more playing private clubs. And, he had married a
great Irish gal.
Charlie Freed, brother of famed DJ Alan Freed, asked Bill if he could play
bass and sing jingles. Discovering this aptitude, Notable Ads was formed. An
original weather break series sold to 400 radio stations featuring a cappella
singers (think Andrews Sisters) predicting the weather. “Don’t wear a plain
coat, wear a raincoat. Big storms toooooo-night.” Bill also did the voice and
recording for a 40-hour Book of Mormon LP record. Dave Frishberg (My
Attorney Bernie, Peel Me A Grape) came onboard to write for a while.
In 1960 a doctor diagnosed Bill with MS and suggested he give up Notable
Ads. A year later, he moved his family to Dallas to work for legendary radio
ID producer, Tom Merriman. Bill excelled within the community during
what has been called the “shining, golden years of creativity.” Eventually he
partnered with Don Zimmers and the rest is Texas jingle history.
Bill started our interview by playing a very scratchy recording of his father
at the piano mimicking a 1910 radio program. As we wrap up he plays
something he’s found on YouTube: his own jingle for Viv fertilizer on station
KOS now circulating on the Internet as iconic 1950s radio advertising.
Sound in memorium.
The Aging Hippie
Becoming a Crazy
Aunt
Dallas Theater Center
By Amy Martin
Hippiedom is superb training for being the crazy aunt.
A good hippie embraces each day as a unique gift
overflowing with creative potential and opportunities
to connect and serve. We are the keepers of the
carpe diem. My heart melts each time my grandnieces greet me at family
gatherings with the expectation of “What is our adventure today?”
My play with this trio of bright souls ages 4 to 10 started with make believe,
enacting characters and scenes from movies and plays they’d seen. The
conflations were great. Minions from Despicable Me invaded Frozen scenes,
with random ceramic bulldogs off the bookshelves joining with My Little
Ponies to save the day. I am in awe of their creativity.
Our great girl science period began when I showed up with kinetic sand,
the new generation of Play-Doh: sand with just enough plastic resin to stick
together under pressure. With tools, molds and tints we could build just
about anything. And make a glorious mess. Beach scenes and castles with
moats quickly ramped up to contests for making the most elaborate cupcake
ala The Great British Bakeoff.
But you have to keep up your cool quotient or risk losing the weird aunt title.
So I introduced them to the glories of InstaMorph, plastic granules that soften
in hot water to create gooey blobs. Through trial and error, we discovered
how hot the water had to be to soften the InstaMorph and for how long.
Much discussion of boogers arose at this point. We determined how to mix
the tint pellets into the soft plastic.
Roles naturally arose among the sisters, each taking the task that best
suited them. I found my niche among them and we transformed into an
InstaMorphing machine. We stretched, twisted, and shaped the soft plastic
into bracelets, bunnies, and magic rings. I stretched the InstaMorph to saranwrap thinness and made a cast of my nose and a macabre ghost finger that I
teased them with, assuring my weird aunt title for quite some time.
SHAKESPEARE’S
For Christmas, we went to Lone Star Circus, a local Cirque du Soliel outfit
with clowns, acrobats, and jugglers, even professional hula hoopers and
trained cats. Ideas were spinning out of their little blond heads afterward. The
family gathering at Easter this year will be very interesting.
Fortunate me, I am the one they’ll tell stories about to their friends when
they’re older, the one who made their life a little more colorful, who showed
them they could be forever young. To paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.,
“Girls do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they
quit playing.”
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK
www.facebook.com/SeniorVoiceDFW
directed by
JOel Ferrell
JAN 27 - FEB 28
kalita humphreys theater
Tickets as low as $18
buy early before prices go up!
Dallas Theater Center’s production is part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.
DallasTheaterCenter.org (214) 880-0202
| 9
LIVING BRAIN HEALTHY
Improve Overall Health and Sharpen Memory
Dr. Diana Kerwin
As Chief of of Geriatric Medicine at Texas Health
Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, my goal for the
aging population is to promote a brain-healthy
diet and increase exercise. And as a specialist in
cognitive disorders and brain health, much
of my career has been spent researching about
how the brain changes as we age and what
steps we can take to keep it healthy. I am also
the medical director of Texas Alzheimer’s and
Memory Disorders, a Texas Health Physicians
Group practice in Dallas, and I serve on the
board of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Brain Healthy Diet
n Dark leafy greens— every day
nCold water fish for protein and Omega 3 source — two or more
times a week — sardines, anchovies and Atlantic salmon
nNuts — walnuts, almonds and peanuts
n Legumes — three to four times a week
nVitamin E and C rich foods — almonds, kale, pumpkin seeds
parsley, papaya
My practice is dedicated to promoting the health of my patients
through education on how to improve their brain health through food
choices — a nutrient-dense diet is a big part of the prescription for my
patients.
nHealthy fats, olive oil two tablespoons a day, no butter.
Brain-Healthy Food Choices and Exercise
As a treat add a bit of dark chocolate for a sweet indulgence and to up
your antioxidants.
I advocate for maintaining an ideal body weight by making brainhealthy food choices with a simple plan: choose fresh ingredients;
avoid simple sugars; consume lots of whole foods (nothing
processed); and avoid fast food. These steps are nothing new — but
it can be challenging at first to adopt this new approach to a brainhealthy diet.
Like the heart, the brain also needs the right balance of nutrients —
including protein and sugar — to function well. A brain-healthy diet is
most effective when combined with physical and mental activity and
social interaction.
Regular exercise throughout all stages of life is healthy, and it’s never
too late to start. The brain benefits are immediate. Begin by adding 30
minutes of exercises three times a week. Be sure to consult with your
doctor about how to safely increase your exercise.
Healthy Diet, Healthy You
Sure, it takes more effort to eat healthy. But a poor diet, eaten over
many years, increases our risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, type
2 diabetes and even Alzheimer’s disease.
Research shows that a healthy diet can diminish these risks and
enhance our longevity. But we need to know what to eat, how much
to eat, and why it’s important that we make these decisions now.
Diet and nutrition are two of the first treatments I discuss with
patients who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. And to
their family members without memory loss, I offer the same advice.
All of the healthy-eating recommendations I make are based on
vitamins and minerals that support our minds and bodies in countless
ways.
nTurmeric — as often as possible
nStay hydrated
Food as Ultimate Protector, B Vitamins for Added Brain
Health
Think of food as the ultimate protector and as your medicine. Choose
foods that serve your individual needs and improve your brain health
and overall health as you age.
Think of B vitamins as brain food. Our bodies use B vitamins to keep
the nerves and the brain healthy, when B levels start to decline around
age 55, mental performance may suffer.
n For a good source of Vitamin B12 eat turkey, chicken, and seafood
(clams, mussels and mackerel)
nTo boost your B6 levels, choose potatoes, bananas, prunes, greens
and pinto and kidney beans
n Look for Vitamin E in your food sources (wheat germ, olive oil, nuts
and seeds).
With the growing knowledge around food choices, we now can make
good decisions and balance our scales to live the longest, healthiest
lives possible.
Texas Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders is part of Texas Health
Physicians Group. Physicians employed by Texas Health Physicians
Group practice independently and are not employees of the hospital
or Texas Health Resources. For more information, all 214-345-4449 or
visit TexasAlzheimersandMemoryDisorders.com
The Soul of Aging
By Mary Jacobs
In this new ongoing series, Mary Jacobs talks with
local faith leaders about the spiritual side of aging.
This month she interviewed the Rev. Dr. Christy
Thomas, a retired United Methodist pastor in Frisco
and author of a new book, An Ordinary Death.
Here are excerpts.
What does it mean to “age gracefully”?
In old age, we lose our filters. The public part of
us disappears and the private part surfaces. If it’s cynicism, anger, or
jealousy, that’s what comes out. If it’s gratefulness, kindness, patience,
and a gentle spirit, that’s what comes out.
Spirituality is about taking our interior to the point where it matches
our exterior. I don’t have to pretend to be good; it is habitual to me.
Kindness and courtesy become so
much a part of me that they are
natural.
Getting older often involves
loss — losing physical abilities,
losing friends. As a Christian,
how do you handle that
spiritually?
I think the answer is holding life
with open hands. When you do that,
things can spill out. When my fists
are closed, I’m less able to receive.
Many of us try to hold onto our
youth rather than recognizing that
Dr. Christy Thomas
growing old is such a privilege. In
the Bible, God tells Abraham, “I’m
going to give you more descendants
than the stars, so that you might be a blessing.” Blessings are always
given so that you can give them away.
What are some ways that older people can be a blessing?
Some of it is financial generosity. Also, as we get older, we’re not so
afraid of human emotion, human tragedy. We can be a stable force
when those things happen.
What are some of the spiritual tasks involved in nearing the
end of life?
As a pastor, I’ve been at the bedside of dying people. So often, at the
moment of death, a hand will raise. I believe the person is welcoming
Jesus, saying, “I’m here, come get me.” It becomes this holy moment
– this sense of the angels surrounding the person to take him or her
home. There is something so peaceful about being ready for that.
Anyone who ever feels the need to
justify consumption of chocolate should
consider these facts:
n Stearic acid, which is the main saturated fat in chocolate, does not
raise blood cholesterol levels. A study where subjects ate a 1.4-ounce
chocolate bar instead of a high-carbohydrate snack found that the
chocolate bar did not raise low-density lipoprotein levels (LDL or “bad
cholesterol”), but did increase high-density lipoprotein levels (HDL or
“good cholesterol”).
n Solid chocolate is a major source of copper and magnesium. Copper
helps the body use iron and aids in the development of connective tissue,
blood vessels, and skin. Magnesium is part of the bone structure. It also
has a role in the nervous system and in the break down of protein.
n Chocolate is not high in caffeine. The amount of caffeine in a typical
1.4-ounce bar or an 8-ounce glass of chocolate milk is equivalent to a
cup of decaffeinated coffee with 6 mg caffeine. An ounce of bittersweet
chocolate has more, from 5 to 35 mg caffeine; one ounce of unsweetened
baking chocolate has 35 mg – all well below the 140 mg in a cup of
brewed coffee.
n Candy alone does not cause cavities. Susceptible teeth, dental plaque,
and food cause cavities. Cocoa and chocolate actually have the ability
to offset the acid-producing potential of the sugar they contain. Milk
chocolate is high in protein, calcium, phosphate and other minerals,
which have protective effects on tooth enamel.
Although research and information on health benefits of chocolate is
surfacing, it’s important to remember that chocolate is at the tip of the
food guide pyramid along with fats, oils, and sweets. Eating a chocolate
bar will not necessarily make you fat, but chocolate treats should be
balanced with other food choices throughout the day.
| 11
Love is ON the Air
Barbara Eden Still Loves Being the Genie
“I have the real bottle,”
announced Barbara Eden,
84, about the unique prop
that served as the home for
her supernatural character
“Jeannie” from the 1960s
television show I Dream Of
Jeannie.
The iconic actress revealed another fact about
the decanter during her visit with enthusiastic
fans at the Dallas Comic Con Fan Days event.
“[It was] a Jim Beam bottle,” she stated. “It was
a Christmas bottle for Jim Beam, and most of
those in-the-know go find them and have them
painted...”
Eden also shared how she won the most famous
role of her career. “I had been reading about
it in Variety…” she began. “They were testing
actresses for the part and they were all very tall
brunettes.
“And they were all like, Miss Greece, Miss
Israel, Miss Italy, you know — all these beauty
contest winners. And I said, ‘Okay, not for me,’”
she remembered. Still, Eden’s agent sent her a
script to read and she met with producer Sidney
Sheldon over an iced tea.
“….And that’s how I got it.”
In addition, the actress revealed some
sentimental thoughts on Larry Hagman (Tony
Nelson), who hailed from the Ft. Worth area.
“I miss Larry,” she said of her costar who later
gained fame on Dallas as J.R. Ewing.
“Over 500 people come through,” says Betty of
a typical day when sits throughout the afternoon
once a month at the museum greeting fans. They
come from all over the world to meet a former
cast member of the popular show and to see the
large collection of Andy Griffith memorabilia,
assembled by Griffith’s life-long friend Emmett
there would ever be a remake of Jeannie. Eden
mentioned that she might enjoy being a part of a
rebooted series. “I would. I would like to play her
grandmother,” said Eden, drawing laughter from
the crowd. Part of what made Jeannie a popular
character was her personality; “She really loved
life and she loved people,” the actress explained.
Along with her Jeannie work (including two
television movie sequels), Eden did extensive
USO service in the 1980s with Bob Hope. She
also appeared in the t.v. series Burke’s Law and
had roles in such films as The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao
and Ride The Wild Surf. The actress mentioned
the films Harper Valley P.T.A. and The Wonderful
World Of The Brothers Grimm as some of her
favorite roles.
“He was wonderful. For me in particular his
timing was so good and so wonderful,” she
asserted. The actress worked with Hagman
throughout her career — a connection which
included a role on Dallas.
“At the end of his life we did Love Letters
together — completely different characters —
and he just fell right into it,” she remarked upon
their theatrical pairing. “He was a delight to work
with.”
“I think I had an angel on my shoulder,”
Eden said as she looked back on the positive
experiences in her career.
“I loved being a genie,” Eden exclaimed.
“I still do — look out!”
At one point an audience member wondered if
Betty Lynn Keeping Mayberry Alive
It’s just after noon on the
third Friday of the month,
and 89-year-old Betty
Lynn is preparing to take
her seat behind a small
brown table in the main
room of the Andy Griffith
Museum in Mount Airy,
NC. Visitors are already beginning to flood into
the 2,500-square-feet building to meet the actress
best known to 60s TV fans as Barney Fife’s
girlfriend, Thelma Lou, from “The Andy Griffith
Show” set in the fictional town of Mayberry.
By Mike McGee
By Nick Thomas
Forrest (see www.andygriffithmuseum.com).
In 2007, after being twice robbed in her Los
Angeles home, Lynn left Hollywood for the quiet,
secure life in Mount Airy, which was also Andy
Griffith’s hometown. “I’d been coming here
for the Mayberry Days festival for ages, so it
seemed like the perfect place to settle,” she said.
“Everyone has been so kind since I moved here.
It didn’t take long for me to feel like a local rather
than a visitor.”
“The Andy Griffith Show” ran for 8 seasons,
throughout most of the 1960s. It won six Emmys,
including five for Don Knotts. “Andy was fun and
a bit of a tease off camera, while Don was sweet
but very quiet and nothing like his Barney Fife
character. But that just illustrates what a good
actor he was.”
Lynn also appeared in some 20 films and over 40
other TV shows, including many westerns.
“My first film, ‘Sitting
Pretty,’ and then
later ‘Cheaper by the
Dozen,’ were with
Clifton Webb, a sweet man with a good sense of
humor,” she recalled. “I also did two films with
Bette Davis who got everyone to call me Boo,
after one of my characters, so it wouldn’t be
confusing when they called ‘Betty on the set!’
As she does on each of her visits to the museum,
Betty braces for a long afternoon as enthusiastic
fans are already forming the meet-and-greet line.
“It’s a little tiring by the end of the day, but it’s the
least I can do since people may stand for hours to
take a picture, get an autograph and a hug,” she
says. “There’s a lot of love coming my way.”
Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at
Montgomery, Ala., and has written features,
columns, and interviews for over 600 magazines
and newspapers.
Stirring Up Memories
A Sweet, Steamy Romance
By Trilla Pando
Hijacking cars, robbing banks
and capturing imaginations of
Americans dragged down by
the Great Depression, Bonnie
Parker and Clyde Barrow
spent years scaring many
folks and killing more than a
few. But before they started
terrorizing the nation, they
were just two tumble-down
almost-kids who’d never
known many good times
between them and thought
they’d found heaven when
they found each other.
Bonnie, born in Rowena,
‘way out in West Texas, lost
her dad when she was only
four. Her mom gathered up
the brood and took them all
to her mom in West Dallas’s
Cement City. Bonnie shone as a good little girl, loving to read and
write poetry; in 1922 she was the junior spelling champ of Dallas. The
literary life of her dreams never materialized.
his exact recipe but here’s one a tough guy like Clyde might concoct.
No measuring, just crumbling, pouring and pinching.
Clyde Barrow’s “Tough Guy’s Hot Chocolate”
• 1 milk chocolate candy bar, crumbled up (A standard Hershey works
fine)
•About a cup of whole milk — either 2% or skim, makes it a little less
wicked, but not nearly as good
• 1 pinch pumpkin pie spice, or ground cinnamon
Place chocolate pieces in a saucepan over medium-low heat; add
milk and stir constantly until the chocolate is melted and well
blended. Whisk in spices or cinnamon. Remove from heat; put in a
cup and hand to your honey with a kiss.
Learn more about the romance of Bonnie and Clyde at my blog,
Culinary Anthropology at http://culinaryanthropology.blogspot.com.
You can e-mail me at culinaryant@gmail.com.
By the time she turned 16, tiny Bonnie — she never reached five feet
— was a married lady. Didn’t last long. Two years later, she was on
her own. Until one day in January, 1930, she was at a friend’s house
when out in the kitchen she found a dapper guy with a dimple in his
chin, and she knew she’d found her heaven.
If Bonnie knew hard times, Clyde Barrow knew harder. He knew how
to land on his feet — usually running! Growing up in a squatters’
camp tent a under the Oak Cliff Viaduct in Dallas, clever Clyde knew
he’d get out, didn’t much matter how. Fellow gangster Floyd Hamilton
commented, “Life was desperate enough in West Dallas before the
Great Depression, but after 1929, it was almost impossible to stay
honest.” Certainly, that was true for Clyde. At seventeen he rented a
car, but he “forgot” to return it. The beginning. Three years later Clyde
was on the lam when Bonnie found him in that kitchen.
Soon after their meeting, he’d come a-courting at Bonnie’s mom’s
house when the cops nabbed him. Did Bonnie drop that bad boy? No
way. On Valentine’s Day, she penned a long letter to Clyde, who was
now in the Waco jail.
Honey, I sure wish I was with you tonight. Sugar, I never knew I really
cared for you until you got in jail.
Chaotic and tragic years followed for the couple, but we’ll leave them
finding heaven in the kitchen. What do you think Clyde was making
out there? Why, his lifelong specialty — hot chocolate. We don’t know
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Mayor
Mike
Rawlings
He could be the subject
of a Horatio Alger story:
a young man from
humble beginnings in a
tiny town climbs up to
sit in the highest seat of
a very large metropolis.
Meet Mike Rawlings, who has done just that. Originally from
Borger, an oil patch dot on the Texas map, he is now in his
second term as Mayor of Big D.
This may be the stuff of legend, but it didn’t just happen.
Our city’s leader labored tirelessly to create his own success.
Born in 1954, he “invaded” Dallas 22 years later — with
just $200 in his pocket. Elected Mayor in 2011, Southern
Methodist University praised him the following year with this
introduction as a conference speaker: “Through hard work
and determination, he proved that Dallas truly is The City of
Opportunity.”
Certainly, education helped. Mike first went from Borger to
Boston College, where he earned a letter in football as well as
his Bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in philosophy and
communications. These two subjects helped launch Mike’s
ambitious plans for making this city even bigger and better.
He truly believes in improving the lives of Dallas residents –
including himself, his wife, and two grown children -- and he’s
proved himself able to convince his constituents how they can
do just that.
It was hard work in the Dallas business
world that gave Mayor Rawlings his
personal boost. He began his climb
from an entry level position in a major
advertising agency to eventually becoming
its CEO. Then, following two decades
of unquestioned success, he moved his
marketing know-how into the top position
at Pizza Hut. After making another positive
mark there, he went on to CIC Partners, a
successful business dedicated to helping
other businesses find their own successes.
Mike was elected mayor in 2011 following
a proven record in public service that
paralleled his achievements in private
business. He had already chaired the
Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau,
served as Park Board president, and was
widely known as the city’s “Homeless
Czar” for his advocacy of the Dallas Bridge
shelter. The top priority on his platform
was to highlight southern Dallas as the
city’s greatest untapped resource. Almost
immediately after election came the launch
of GrowSouth, an ambitious plan of action to
revitalize those sectors of the city.
“We have a vibrant business community that is
succeeding and growing,” he wrote in a public
“Dear Friends — Message from the Mayor”
“before the opening of Dallas’ now-signature
bridge in early 2012. “Our downtown is coming
alive with increased convention and visitors’
business, and the excitement of a world-class
arts district. Perot Museum and the Margaret
Hunt Hill Bridge will redefine our city. We
must develop southern Dallas.” His early
efforts prompted The Dallas Morning News to
comment that:“After only six months, Rawlings
has accomplished more for southern Dallas
than many of his predecessors managed in
their entire terms.” He is presently continuing
the effort, and just last November, the city
unveiled its comprehensive plan for the
revitalization of Fair Park.
“We’re already spending more money in
our recreation centers and providing more
for seniors in those centers,” he said.
“We have to dial that up, using capital
resources to create even more.”
Many surrounding municipalities now
have full-service centers for seniors.
Dallas has only a single designated senior
center, and the push is on for a second,
more modern one. Mayor Rawlings is
cautiously in favor: “We’ll look at the 2017
bond election for capital products. Should
that be one? All things being equal, I’d be
in favor,” he told us.
Rawlings is, at 61, already a well-qualified
senior himself. The Senior Source in Dallas, the
non-profit that has provided a half-century of
assistance to aging locals, recently mounted a
campaign to make more and better recreation
facilities available to its clientele. The Mayor
understands both the needs, and the very real
problems in meeting them.
“Our population is going to be made up of
more and more seniors in the future,” he said.
“Do the basic math: 300,000 now, and growing.
So we’ve got to make sure our city resources
are customized and delivered effectively.”
Substantial progress was made when the
Dallas City Council set its budget priorities for
2016. As chief elected officer who presides
over city government, the Mayor is on board
with adding a Senior Division to the Parks and
Recreation Department.
The Mayor also has some additional
ideas about service not only for seniors,
but by them as well. “There’s a lot of
passion about building a senior resource
center,” he said. “Where would it be?
We don’t want this to be divisive. Our
senior citizens must concentrate on details
for the whole city to get behind. Could
the community figure out how to use a new
center to increase senior volunteerism? In
a central location, seniors could be trained,
assigned, and sent out to go and do. There
are so many needs out there to connect with
seniors’ passions, like being reading partners
for children, or working with other seniors. My
mother did that,” he recalled.
But there may be some exciting opportunities
for seniors even before any new center is built,
because Mike Rawlings is issuing a call for their
participation.
“We need more senior voices around Dallas
City Hall,” he said, “more seniors to volunteer
from a leadership standpoint, to serve on
Boards and Commissions.” He’s encouraging
them to “Meet with your City Council
representatives; they’ll get to know you and
your expertise.”
The Mayor sees Dallas’ senior citizens as a
human resource, just as he saw high school
juniors and seniors and college students when
he created summer internship programs for
them in business settings, or to learn more
about politics and government. All residents
are part of his long-range dream for the city he
loves, and loves to serve:
The mayor’s other areas of concentration
have included the Dallas Men Against Abuse
campaign to combat domestic violence,
furthering the arts, and the city’s economic
growth across the board. He’s now in his
second term following reelection in May 2015,
and city statistics for that year show a drop in
unemployment paired with rises in both sales
tax revenues and property tax values.
“As citizens of the fastest growing metropolitan
area in the country,” he said, “we have a duty
to develop and foster our cultural identity,
ensuring that Dallas continues to be a great
place to live, work, and play.”
But The Senior Voice was most eager to learn
the mayor’s views on what matters most to
us, and maybe to him as well — after all, Mike
| 15
Bo Knows Sports
Gary Patterson
Football Intensity Belies Unseen Kindnesses
By Bo Carter
On the surface, TCU head football coach Gary Patterson is one of the
most intense football minds and mentors in the collegiate game.
Inside, Patterson has a kind heart and a wife Kelsey who shares his
love for people and causes as diverse as student scholarships and
shelters for underserved women.
In the past 14 years, the Gary Patterson Foundation (GPF) has
assisted numerous groups such as the Giving Back Team. The team
is comprised of children from Presbyterian Night Shelter, which has
raised area awareness about abused and neglected animals in East
Fort Worth and the downtown area.
The GPF also has worked with George C. Clarke Elementary School to
help support an anti-gang campaign, a campus beautification project
and a pajama drive for Safe Haven House. Twenty-two other area
organizations have benefitted from the work of the foundation and its
generosity.
Patterson acknowledges his desire to help youngsters and the
disadvantaged, especially in the Tarrant County and metro DFW areas.
While modest, he realizes the impact it has made on thousands of
lives.
“We want to reinforce that it takes a team effort to make a difference,”
Patterson said. “The team of volunteers and everyone who attends
our annual fundraising event are part of the Foundation family.”
As for the intense Patterson, it’s hard to ignore the driving and
football-savvy force that has helped the Horned Frogs win a schoolrecord (for 15 years) 142 games since 2001 and prior to the post-2015
bowl season while
also capturing 89 of
122 games in three
different conferences
– Conference USA,
Mountain West and
Big 12 – over that
same era: all school
records.
The TCU taskmaster
came through this
year with possibly his
best coaching season
(though he has 10-plus
victories in five of the
last seven years at the
helm) as he guided the
squad to a 10-2 prebowl mark and 7-2 mark in the Big 12 to tie for second place. There
were 23 players on the ’15 squad who missed at least one game with
injuries in an almost-surreal rash of physical maladies.
Still, Gary Patterson relies on that will to win and motivation of
players (as well as his coaching/teaching skills) to roll to the best
individual coaching record in TCU football annals. His penchant for
calling sideline defensive signals and getting the most out of players
are almost unmatched nationally.
Siblings And The
Aging Parent
Sharing Care Across the Miles
First in a two-part series
By Harriet Blake
The cellphone beeps. It’s my sister, again. “Mom is having a bad day. She lost
one of her hearing aids and thinks the nurse took it.”
A few days earlier: “Mom’s checking account has been hacked. We need to close
her account and open a new one.”
And the week before that: “Mom is hallucinating. She told me she saw Dad in
her room but he wouldn’t speak to her.”
What can I say to alleviate the situation? I’m in Texas, my sister lives in New York
— about half a mile away from our mother’s assisted living facility. All I can do
is text, email and call back to let my sister vent. My next trip to see them is later
this month. I will try to spend a few days smoothing things over.
But it’s never enough. How do you care for an aging parent from a distance? And
how do you share the burden with the sibling who has become the designated
caregiver? A friend who’s been in the same position says, it is tough to weigh in
on decisions from a distance — whether they are medical, financial or emotional.
“Once my father reached the point of needing nursing home care, my siblings
and I met in person (the four of us live in three different cities) to discuss how
we could help. We made an agenda, appointed a leader and made a plan. It
was messy, and, in many ways, unpleasant, but far better than trying to do by
phone.”
Teresa Whittington, Vice President of Community Services at CC Young Senior
Living/Senior Care, says she has observed many families struggle with this
dilemma. “Most of the time,” she says, “one child ends up with the majority of
the responsibility.” She recommends the following for siblings caring for aging
parents.
1. Proactively have a family meeting — if possible while both parents are
cognitively intact, to discuss medical and financial power of attorney and
their specific wishes regarding end-of-life treatments. When families are in
crisis, it is difficult to have these discussions. A lot of emotions can lead to
poor conversations and outcomes.
2. If one sibling is going to be the primary caregiver, the other siblings need to
plan to give them a break (3-5 days) on a quarterly basis if not more. Siblings
should call their parent and siblings weekly. Send thank-you notes and/or
small gifts to the primary caregiver to make them feel appreciated.
SleepHero App
Baby Sleep Aid
SleepHero is the worlds first App that helps lull babies and toddlers to sleep,
then keep them asleep throughout the night. The App was developed after a
Dad experienced what most new parents endure, crying babies and sleepless
nights.
He tried many techniques, but realized ten minutes of Daddy singing did the
trick. What he needed, he thought, was a robot to step in at night to handle all
singing requests.
The SleepHero App was born!
This unique App allows parents (and grandparents) to record their own
voices into their iPhone, iPad or iPod and record talking, singing and cooing.
SleepHero automatically activates when the child begins to stir or make
noise at night and gently soothes them back to sleep
Here are a few features of SleepHero:
n Sound recorder to record your own voice, lullabies and bedtime stories.
n Autopilot monitor: listens for crying and automatically plays calming
sounds to settle your child back to sleep.
n Connected to a smartphone projector, the app will play a looped video on
the ceiling to help lull your baby to sleep
n White noise audio library including 35 calming sounds.
n Gentle fade in/fade out.
Please note: SleepHero is not a substitute for caring parenting and grand
parenting. SleepHero is available for iPhone, iPod and iPad and can be
downloaded from the app store for $2.99.
Visit www.sleepheroapp.com for more information and additional features
of the app.
3. Find out what resources are available in the community to assist the primary
caregiver.
4.Other siblings should educate themselves on the disease process so they
understand what the caregiver is dealing with.
5.If the family has not had any prior discussions and is in crisis mode, they
should contact a social worker who can facilitate the family conversation.
| 17
Improving on Home Care
By Harriet P. Gross
With so many more people now living so much longer, senior care is one
of today’s major growth industries. Growing within it is the number and
variety of choices for care at home as an alternative to assisted living within
a residential facility.
behaviors that are within personal control, such as healthy nutrition,
physical exercise, mental stimulation and meaningful social ties. It holds
the promise of making seniors’ lives more purposeful and much happier as
well as longer.
One of the newest local entries into this field is Home Care Assistance of
Dallas. Its trademarked Balanced Care program and Cognitive Therapeutics
methods already have a proven record of making the live-at-home option a
viable, productive decision
Jennifer Satery, local HCA administrator and client care manager, says
“The most important aspects of caring for elderly seniors are to identify
ways of assuring the best possible outcomes, and then establishing a plan
to achieve them. Home Care Assistance has been able to do this for many
families.”
HCA developed its unique approach through research that included
observation of the Japanese on Okinawa, among the world’s healthiest,
longest-lived individuals. “Balanced Care” promotes the unity of health
in body, mind, and spirit. “Cognitive Therapeutics” is a stimulation
program that addresses mental decline through targeted interventions.
Memory is usually the first — and often the only — symptom of decline
to get attention in the usual provision of senior care, but HCA routinely
also deals with four additional areas: Attention, Language, Visual-Spatial
Perception, and Executive Functioning (this latter encompassing judgment,
reasoning, and problem-solving abilities). Individual evaluation assures a
fully personalized program designed in advance specifically for each senior,
after which a reliable, trained caregiver provides its benefits.
HCA defines its Balanced Care as “an evidence-based program built on
studies demonstrating that only one-third of healthy longevity is based
on genetics; two-thirds depend on lifestyle factors within our control.”
This approach promotes longevity by working with those specific lifestyle
All HCA’s care services are delivered by carefully chosen Interventionists
who undergo extensive training for certification in the Cognitive
Therapeutics Method before beginning their work. As it expands, Home
Care Assistance is also welcoming applicants for these positions, people
who are already degreed in health or a health-related field, and who feel
comfortable working in clients’ homes on a regular part-time schedule.
If you are considering Balanced Care for a senior loved one, or are
interested in delivering such care yourself, Jennifer Satery will be happy to
hear from you.
For additional information, contact her by phone at 214-363-3400, or email:
jsatery@homecareassistance.com. HCA of Dallas has offices at
6029 Berkshire Lane, Preston Center; its local website is
www.dallashomecareassistance.com.
Culture Change in Aging
By Barbara Glass
Better than discovering the solution to a problem is to
at last see clearly what the problem really is.
n It used to be common for an elder to die younger and suddenly; now
the norm is more old age with slow decline
The attitude toward aging and mortality have
dramatically changed since World War II. The signs
have been evident for years: upon reading Atul
Gawande’s book “Being Mortal”, they are expressed
with great clarity.
n Whereas we used to highly value an elder’s knowledge and experience;
now we Google the topic and get answers instantly
The crux of this paradigm shift is that we have
transformed from a society that used to dignify age to
one that values the ‘independent self’. It used to be that
the elder would choose how they wanted to live and it was the family’s
responsibility to make this happen. Now, families generally operate
independent of one another — even the elder is traveling or working at a
second career. The children pursue their own path, and often the parents
aren’t sorry to see them leave the nest. Even in emerging societies, the way
forward for the youth is to function independently of their traditional family
unit.
Certain scientific changes have greatly contributed to the cultural shift:
n Elders used to represent 2% of the population — now it’s 14% and
rising. Old age isn’t as rare as it once was
n It’s easier to be youthful longer with supplements, nutrition and
surgeries. Now we’re working on the genetic possibilities of extending
age
n Information processing moves at the speed of light and grandpa just
can’t keep up with the technology
As doctors have moved from generalists to specialists, they have become
adept at fixing one broken part at a time. Older patients baffle most doctors
because there are often multiple conditions present. Not enough care is
given to the impact of one treatment on another health condition which
further complicates a problem.
Dr. Gawande’s story is poignant and revealing as he confronts the
complicity of the medical community in not properly caring for the aged.
Death is not a failure to cure, but an inevitability for all of us. Sometimes
the best quality of life is found in managing a condition rather than curing
it. It is important to decide what is truly important to us and to embrace it
fully.
RING IN THE NEW YEAR
WITH SECURITY
By Lori A. Leu
The New Year is a time for fresh starts and optimistic outlooks. Your
holiday to-do lists are complete; why not welcome 2016 with a checklist
that will provide peace of mind throughout this year, and the years to
come? Ensuring that the following items are in place and updated on a
regular basis will help protect you and your loved ones, no matter what the
future holds.
n Will — The primary purpose of a Will is to declare your intentions
regarding the distribution of your property after your death. The type
of Will that you need and the way in which your property should be
distributed depends upon your particular circumstances and desires.
n Durable Power of Attorney – A statutory durable power of attorney
is used to appoint an agent to act in your place regarding financial and
legal transactions and is arguably the most important document in your
planning portfolio.
n Medical Power of Attorney — A medical power of attorney enables
another person to make health care decisions that you would otherwise
make, if you were able. A doctor must declare you to be incapacitated
before this authority becomes effective.
n Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates (Living Will) —
A living will provides direction regarding your desires to administer,
withhold, or withdraw life-sustaining treatment if you have an
irreversible or terminal condition.
n Authorization to Release Medical Information — In 2003, the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
took effect. HIPAA contains medical privacy rules that restrict disclosure
of health information by health care providers and plans. A HIPAA
Authorization allows the individuals that you specify to have access to
your health information so they can assist in decisions regarding your
care.
n Declaration of Guardian — Further protect your interests by declaring
the individuals that you would like to be appointed as guardian over you
and your estate (as well as individuals who should not be appointed).
n Long-term Care Insurance — Americans are living longer than ever,
and the cost of care in the final years of life has risen dramatically. A
long-term care insurance plan can help ensure that you have good
options for quality care, when the time comes.
This year, resolve to plan for your future, today. Check these items off your
New Year’s List and alleviate the stress that can occur when care issues turn
into a crisis, so that you can enjoy a fresh and optimistic start to your New
Year.
Lori Leu, Erin Peirce, Lauren Olson, and Laura Chavero are Elder Law
attorneys with Leu & Peirce, located in Plano, Texas. They can be reached at
972-996-2540
| 19
Getting Reel
Between The Covers
By Larry Ratliff
By Harriet P. Gross
Joy
Watching Joy, the mesmerizing dysfunctional
family drama-with-comedy starring Jennifer
Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper, this
thought kept running through my mind:
“Is there anything Jennifer Lawrence can’t do?”
The answer is apparently not, at least on a movie
screen. Lawrence is already a three-time Academy
Award nominee and a best actress winner for her performance as a troubled
young woman in Silver Linings Playbook in 2012. The 25-year-old actress
takes center stage in this based-on-real-life saga of Miracle Mop inventor Joy
Mangano.
Lawrence returns to the Oscar hunt with the same grim determination she
displayed so well in Winter’s Bone, her gritty breakout film of 2010.
Much of the movie-going world knows Lawrence
as Katniss Everdeen, the steely eyed champion
of the common people in the Hunger Games
fantasy action franchise. It is Lawrence’s ability
to alternate between mass appeal projects and
meaty acting challenges like Joy that could keep
Lawrence on top for the long run; a la Sandra
Bullock or even Meryl Streep.
At first I was slightly thrown off by the way director/co-screenwriter David
O. Russell opens this film with a darkly comic spoof of a TV soap opera
that serves as the bizarre Greek Chorus in this riveting four-generational
biography.
Joy is a 1980s young single New York mom so blitzed by the loser cards life
has dealt her that she barely reacts when her divorced dad (De Niro) moves
into her basement after yet another failed relationship. Joy’s ex Tony (Edgar
Ramirez), a lounge singer with dreams of becoming the next Tom Jones, is
already living down there. His words of welcome to his former father-in-law:
“You touch my microphone and I will kill you.”
Even though Joy appears stunned by her struggles, Lawrence is skilled
enough to show through her eyes that no matter how tough life gets, she will
eventually take charge.
De Niro is also magnificent as Rudy, a father with anger issues and no rudder
to navigate his own stormy life waters. Bradley plays it low-key as the
QVC television exec who sees the value in Joy’s revolutionary mop, taking
a backseat to his leading lady. That was not the case with Silver Linings
Playbook, also directed by Russell.
Joy (Rated PG-13), though a tough emotional ride, is 126 minutes well spent.
On my scale of 1-to-4 jalapeños, it earns an outstanding 3½.
Eugene Burdick and William Lederer were very
smart when they wrote “The Ugly American.”
They first penned it as a real-time expose of our
country’s inept official representatives to foreign
countries. But when they realized that no one
would want to believe this, they rewrote their
book as fiction. After it was published in 1951,
everyone took it seriously.
Plano gastroenterologist Michael Weisberg has
shown the same wisdom with his novel, “The
Hospitalist.” It’s a fictionalized expose of what’s
become a trend in American medicine today:
specialists see patients until they need more than office visits can provide,
but upon admission to hospitals, they’re turned over to the new breed of
doctors now responsible for follow-up. The problem: these “hospitalists”
have never seen their new patients before and don’t know them as the
referring doctor does…but that doctor is no longer the caregiver.
Dr. Weisberg first introduces three characters who would
seem to have nothing in common: an incredibly racist
Klan member from backwater Florida; an incredibly
bright little boy from the slums of Mumbai, India; and
an incredibly dedicated medical student at Nashville’s
Vanderbilt University. Over the course of some 300 fastreading pages, these lives converge and interact. The
results — given today’s hospitalist system, which affects
them all — are not pretty. The inevitabilities include loss
of moral compass, valuation of money above humanity,
and even death.
This book’s characters are not highly nuanced; the reader has little difficulty
telling the bad guys from the good ones, although there are a few surprises.
There are also forays into events and situations that allow Dr. Weisberg to
include a fair amount of sex and blue language, along with a more-than-equal
sprinkling of medical terminology; he invokes lots of procedures without
explanation, but you can make sense of them from context and won’t have to
look them up unless you’re extra-curious. And he’s not above inserting a few
bits of sly humor; for example, one of his main characters is an Indian doctor
whose last name, “Givagushrai,” bears a striking — and certainly intended!
— si milarity to a Yiddish word loosely translated as “let out a big scream”!
The author’s own medical credentials are beyond reproach; the book’s back
cover proudly proclaims that he’s been named to D Magazine’s “best doctor”
list eight times, and has also achieved recognition as one of Texas Monthly’s
“Super Doctors.” And he is serious about his concern for how the hospitalist
system reflects a change in U.S. medicine’s emphasis from healing to
business. Michael Weisberg’s “ugly Americans” are not overseas, however;
they are very much with us here at home!
The Hospitalist by Michael Weisberg, M.D., from Lulu Publishing Services, is
available on Amazon in paperback at $17.99 or for your Kindle at $1.99, or as
a Barnes and Noble Nook book, also at $1.99.
New Year New YOU! Hello 2016!
By Mimi Conner
Here we are closing down 2015. As I look back
over this past year, I am reminded that Life is only
as good as You make it. My personal one is “go
out and make it a great day, you are the only one
who can make that happen.” So many times we
blame someone else for our unhappiness, yet it is
we who make the choices and decisions. We can
choose to be happy or not.
2016 is going to be a great year! Great because I am choosing to be happy
and healthy and I am going to find the best way to make this happen. I often
get distracted and lose focus. I am going to come up with a plan to tackle
tasks and to help keep my sanity. I will set short term goals, write them down,
check them off when completed and reward myself for a job well done.
Tips to stay focused:
1. Set a Timer. You’ve probably heard of a power hour. It’s a great
productivity tool, and you can apply the same concept to any amount of time.
Just set aside the time and give yourself the pressure of a deadline. It will
help you focus on the task at hand.
2. Turn Off the Internet. Pull the plug. Turn off your Wi-Fi. Work on —
gasp! — actual paper. Do whatever it takes to remove the distraction of the
Internet
3. Make a List. Lists are great for a few reasons. You’re writing something
down, which is like making a commitment to yourself.
Lists force you to prioritize and help you focus your effort on what really
needs to get done. Most importantly, you get to cross things off. Sometimes,
I’ll make a list of things I’ve already done just so I can cross stuff off.
4. Remember Your Goals. Goals don’t accomplish themselves. There are a
lot of tasks that need to be completed along the way.
But having that goal — remembering why you’re putting in the work — will
help you focus on the tasks at hand.
5. Start with Something Physical. Our minds and bodies work together
pretty well. So get some blood flowing. Take a walk. Exercise. Stretch or do
yoga. Getting your body involved and burning off some nervous energy can
help your mind focus.
If you made it this far without succumbing to the temptations of the web,
congratulations! You’re already ahead of the game and you should be proud.
So what other tips do you have for staying focused and on task? I would love
to hear from you. Send me your ideas to mimi@aquafitplano.com
Wishing you a Happy New Year, New You!
Helping North Texans Age With Dignity Since 1934
VNA Private Care
VNA Private Care empowers you to age where you are most
comfortable – at home. VNA Private Care is an affordable
alternative to nursing homes and extended hospital stays.
To schedule your free in-home informational visit contact:
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or visit vnatexas.org
| 21
GRAND TIMES
Activities To Enjoy With Your GrandKids
By Heidi Frankel
Nature Connect
Video Game Museum
Calling all video game enthusiasts—Visit the ONLY museum dedicated to the
history of the video game industry. Share your memories with your grandkids
of such classics as Asteroids, Centipede, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders and more — Play the timeless game Pong on the worlds largest home pong
console in a giant 15-foot TV replica from the 1970’s. Your eyes will widen
as you experience a hall full of gaming stations; learn the stories behind the
games and see rare artifacts. You may even notice a few systems you have
never seen before!
Where: The National Videogame Museum
8004 N. Dallas Parkway, Frisco (inside the Frisco Discovery Center)
When: Permanent Exhibit
Cost:
$12 Adult | ages 13–65 | $10 Children 12 and under, military,
educators and seniors. Valid ID required for military, educators
and seniors ticket.
Phone: 972.668.8400
Website: www.nvmusa.com
Is an exciting new exhibit opening at the Dallas Zoo! An incredible sculpture
show created by artist Sean Kenney, each design is built with thousands of
LEGO® bricks. The exhibit features 16 displays created from 24 sculptures
depicting scenes from the natural world. Marvel at how one small LEGO®
brick, when thoughtfully placed with thousands of others, becomes a polar
bear family a snow leopard, and a peacock displaying his colorful feathers.
Your grandkids will be able to play, build, experiment, and create in the Stay
and Play Brick Yard. Your whole family can collaborate, problem solve,
and connect with science, technology, engineering, and math through the
interactive activities.
Where: Dallas Zoo
650 R.L. Thornton Freeway, Dallas
When: Jan 15 – April 10, 2016
Cost:
Adults (12-64) $15 | Youth (3-11) and Senior (65+) $12
Exhibit included with admission
Phone: 469.554.7500
Website: info@dallaszoo.com
Where: The Heard Museum and
Wildlife Sanctuary
1 Nature Place, McKinney
When: Tues–Sat 9am – 5pm; Sun
1–5pm
Cost:
Adults $11 | Children (3-12) $8 | Seniors (60+) $8
Members & Children 2 and Under — FREE
Phone: 972.562.5566
Website: www.heardmuseum.org
If you haven’t seen the traveling exhibition, Creatures of Light: Nature’s
Bioluminescence, this is a perfect time. Discovery Days lets you explore the
world of light and investigate creatures and habitats, the solar system, how
plants grow, and how electricity works; build circuits, travel near the sun and
beyond in a portable planetarium; learn how to grow your own plant and so
much more. You and your family will discover the fun of science together.
And while you are at the Perot say hello to “Ellie May,” the nearly intact and
pristine Columbian mammoth discovered in an Ellis County gravel pit in May
2014.
Dinosaur’s Live! at
The Heard
Visit The Heard Museum with
your grandkids and look up at the
46-foot T-Rex and nine new life-size
animatronic dinosaurs along the
Heard Natural Science Museum &
Wildlife Sanctuary’s nature trails at
the 9th annual Dinosaurs Live!
The Perot Museum
Discovery Days
Curious George:
The Golden Meatball
Laugh with abandon as you and your grandkids watch Curious George swing
and flip, through a fun-filled adventure where he learns the more about
Rome…and meatballs…and the “secret ingredient” to cooking, than he’d
ever imagined! Join that inquisitive monkey, star of books, movies and the
award winning PBS television show in this delightful new musical, CURIOUS
GEORGE: THE GOLDEN MEATBALL..
Where: The Eisemann Center
2351 Performance Drive, Richardson
When: Sunday, January 24, 2:30pm
Cost:
Ticket prices ranges from $13 – $23
Phone: 972.744.4650 Website: www.eisemanncenter.com for more information
Where: The Perot Museum of Nature and Science
2201 N. Field Street, Dallas
When: Saturday, January 9
Time: 10am – 4pm
Cost:
Please visit the website for admission packages.
Discovery Days are included in the cost of general admission
Phone: 214.428.5555
Website: www.perotmuseum.org
If you have any fun family activities for
grandparents and their grandkids send
them to heidi@theseniovoice.com.
GRAND TIMES
Reading With Your GrandKids
By Heidi Frankel
The weather outside is getting colder; make a cuppa hot chocolate and spend time with your grandkids. Find out
about a Yeti, what’s that? Learn of Buzz Aldrin’s vision of the planet Mars and all about our fabulous 50 states, then
cuddle up and teach your grandkids how to crochet a Star Wars character.
My Heritage Book
Angelina Ballerina
Written by: Deanna Bufo Novak
Age: 5 years and up
My Heritage Book is truly a one-of-a-kind keepsake that the whole family will enjoy reading
together. It is a personalized children’s book that takes families on a wonderful journey into
their past while exploring their own special origins. Children can find out who they are and
where they come from. It is a special book to bond with your grandkids. See more at:
www.myheritagebook.com.
A Dance of Friendship
Age 3-5 years
Angelina is excited when her friend Anya comes to stay with her from another country. But
when Anya begins to get all of the attention Angelina feels a little unhappy and resentful.
Will Angelina overcome her feelings of jealousy and save her friendship? This is a great
story to help your grandkids learn about friendship and life lessons.
Smithsonian Sticker Creations:
Edible Science
UNDER the SEA
Written by: Jodi Wheeler-Toppin
Age: 8-12 years
Grab a beaker, pick up your whisk, and get ready to cook up some solid science with your
grandkids. Using food as your tools (or ingredients!) curious kids become spicy scientists
that measure, weigh, combine, and craft their way through the kitchen. Discover dozens of
thoroughly tested, fun, edible and educational experiments, like purple cookies (yum) where
you test pH indicators or mix up salad dressing and learn about emulsifiers. Edible Science
is sprinkled with helpful photos, diagrams, scientific facts and more. The best news is, when
you and your grandkids are done with your mad-science cooking; you can grab a spoon and
eat all that you have learned!
Age: 6 and up
Engage young readers with an innovative, hands-on approach to learning. You and your
grandkids will embark on a fun underwater adventure to learn about life beneath the waves.
Each book presents kid-friendly facts and lets your grandkids explore the amazing diversity
of the sea with more than 175 reusable stickers and 5 oversized deluxe stickers, creating
their own underwater scene by placing stickers in the removable framed ocean scene. The
beautifully illustrated activity book gives young ocean explorers a creative opportunity to
learn about all types of incredible sea creatures!
As a special treat here are a few games your grandkids will enjoy with YOU!
Monkeys Up™
Ages: 6 to adult
Players: 1-6
Monkeys Up™ will have you going bananas! Players compete to get the best score by flipping,
switching, and stealing monkeys. Each monkey has a value hidden under its feet that is only
revealed when flipped. Victory will come to the player who switches, steals, and flips the best. This
is a great game to enhance memory and strategy.
GRAND TIMES
Chef Travis Wick
Cooking With
Your GrandKids
Crazy Legs Board Game
Ages: 8 to adult
CRAZY LEGS gets players up and moving. Each space on the game board represents a new
physical challenge for you, your grandkids and the whole family to jump, twist, shake and exercise
their way to victory! What a great way to get your exercise in a fun way with your family.
Lemon (or Lime) Kissed
Broiled Asparagus Spears
Purchase fresh asparagus (or broccoli) from your local grocer. I
like the medium sized kind, about the width of a pencil. Once home,
set your broiler to low. Remove the band that holds the veggies
together.
Wash asparagus in cold water then remove the bottom 25% of the
stalk. You can do this one of two ways—By grabbing the bottom of
the stalk with both hands and bending the stalk till it snaps, which is
my preferred method, or by taking a sharp knife and cutting off the
bottom half of the stalk.
The New Year is here and one of my goals is to eat more vegetables.
We all should, and hopefully our example will influence our kiddos
and grandkids.
How we prepare our vegetables can reduce how healthy they are for
us. The minute a vegetable is picked it starts losing its vitamins. And
then depending on how we cook them they could lose some or most
of their healthy qualities. Frozen vegetables can sometimes be better
than fresh. Frozen vegetables are usually processed within 18 hours
of being picked, allowing them to retain their nutritional value. But
fresh is always best if they are truly fresh and have not been lying
around for a week.
The more water used to cook a vegetable, such as boiling, the more
of the “good” nutrients will be washed away. Try grilling, sautéing
or broiling in an oven for best results to keep them the healthiest for
your family.
Ingredients:
1 pound asparagus, fresh
1 lemon, fresh
1 tablespoon lemon zest
¼ cup olive oil
As needed—cracked pepper
As needed—sea salt
Next, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and fan the asparagus
in a neat row on the pan. Take each half of the lemon and squeeze
the juice onto the asparagus.
Drizzle olive oil over the asparagus. Season as desired with the
fresh cracked pepper and sea salt. Broil asparagus for 7-10 minutes
to reach preferred doneness. When done sprinkle with lemon zest
and serve.
E vents
of
C alendar
January
DALLAS: Winspear Opera House
presents Shen Yun
Through the universal language of music and
dance Shen Yun weaves a wondrous tapestry
of heavenly realms, ancient legends and
modern heroic tales.
Where: AT &T Performing Arts Center
2403 Flora Street, Dallas
When: January 1 – 10
Time: Jan. 1 – 6pm; Jan. 2 – 2pm & 7pm;
Jan. 3 – 2pm; Jan. 6–8 — 7:30pm;
Jan. 9 – 2pm & 7pm; Jan.10 — 2pm
Cost: $66 – $165
Phone: 214.880.0202
Web. www.winspear.eventticketcenter.com
DALLAS: Deep Ellum Outdoor
Market
The market features local artists, live music
and food trucks in Dallas’ most unique
neighborhood and includes a walking tour.
Where: 2800 Block of Main Street, Dallas
When: January 1 through March 1
3rd Saturday of each month
Time: 11am to 5pm
Cost:Free
Web. www.deepellumtexas.com
DALLAS: Taste of The Bishop Arts
District food and Walking Tour
presented by Dallas Bites
Where: Dude, Sweet Chocolate
408 W. Eighth St., Dallas
When: January 2 – March 30
Time: 1pm to 4pm
Cost:$40
Phone:972.814.5997
Web: www.dudesweetchocolate.com
DALLAS: Cirque de la Symphonie
presented by the Dallas Symphony
Orchestra
Start your New Year with this symphony hit.
Contortionists, jugglers, aerialists and
strongmen perform alongside the DSO.
Where: Meyerson Symphony Center
When: January 2 — 7:30pm
January 3 — 2:30pm
Phone:214.692.0203
Web: www.mydso.com
DALLAS: Dallas Safari Club
For nearly three decades, Dallas Safari Club’s
annual convention has set the standard for
sporting enthusiasts from around the world.
This year’s convention promises to be the most
successful yet.
Where:
When:
Cost:
Web:
Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention
Center, 650 Griffin Street, Dallas
January 7–9 — 9am to 5:30pm
January 10 — 9am to 3pm
Contact 972.980.9800
Children under 12 are free
www.biggame.org
DENTON: Star Stories
People from around the world have seen
the same stars but they have seen different
pictures in the sky. Each culture has made up
stories to explain the star patterns they saw
in the night sky. Let the Sky Theater take you
on an adventure through space and time to
discover some of these “ Star Stories.”
Where: University of North Texas
1704 West Mulberry Street
Denton
When: January 10
Cost: $5 for adults, $4 for seniors,
$3 for students and children
Phone:940.369.8213.
Web: www.skytheater.unt.edu
PLANO: DFW Train Show
With 75 tables of vendors, the event is geared
toward model train enthusiasts and
families for a fun day’s outing. The show
will have many operating train layouts
and will include door prizes, contests,
and learning workshops.
Where: Plano Centre, 2000 E. Spring
Creek Parkway, Plano
When: January 16 – 17
Cost: $8 per person, children under
12 Free
Phone:972.941.5940
Web: www.dfwtrainshows.com
DALLAS: “Twelfth Night” —
The Complete Work of
William Shakespeare
This comedy of gender confusion in
which a
girl disguises herself as a man to be near
the count she adores is a masterpiece
and remains one of Shakespeare’s most
popular and most performed comedies.
Where: Winspear Opera House—Hamon Hall
When: January 17–18
Phone:214.880.0202
Web: www.attpac.org
COLLEYVILLE: Awards Luncheon
The 40th Annual Awards Luncheon, presented
by the Colleyville Chamber of Commerce,
will celebrate the work that the chamber
and its members have done in the Colleyville
community since 1976.
Where:
When:
Phone:
Web:
Piazza in the Village
77 Piazza Lane, Colleyville
January 21 — 11am to 1 pm
Erin Pederson at 817.488.7148
www.colleyvillechamber.org or
erin@colleyvillechamber.org
DALLAS: Ann Veronica Janssens
Exhibition
This Brussels-based artist will be featured in
her first one person museum exhibition in the
United States. at the Nasher Sculpture Center.
They will install several sculptural works that
will allow viewers to encounter shifts in surface,
depth and color, challenging perception and
destabilizing their sense of sight and space.
Cost:
Web:
$10 for adults; $7 for military;
$7 for seniors; $5 for students
and children are free.
www.nashersculpturecenter.org
DALLAS: Time and Eternity:
Landscape Paintings by
Bireswar Sen
Compact and sparkling like a diamond, is
how the small, almost playing card sized,
landscapes of Bireswar Sen might be
described in this exhibition. One will see what
the artist himself had always aimed at doing:
“to limn unerringly, lives of beauty with a light
that never was on land or sea.”
Where: Crow Collection of Asian Art
When: January 23 through April 24
Cost:Free
Phone:214.979.6430
Web: www.crowcollection.org
Where: Nasher Sculpture Center
When: January 23 to April 17
Valentine Lovers Delight —
Specialties for that Special Someone
Chocolate Secrets
3926 Oak Lawn Ave. | Dallas
214-252-9801
Kate Weiser Chocolates
3011 Gulden Lane | Dallas
469-619-4929
CocoAndré Chocolatier
508 W 7th St. | Dallas
214-941-3030
Sublime Chocolate
908 Market St. | Allen
214-383-6776
Dude, Sweet Chocolate
408 W. 8th St., Ste. 102 | Dallas
214-943-5943
Dr. Sue’s Chocolate
& Gourmet Candy
417 S Main St. | Grapevine
817-527-4424
DALLAS: 2016 Mardi Gras
Parade & Festival
Come out and enjoy great food, great fun, great
festivities and a parade. Mardi Gras food and
merchandise will be available for purchase.
Serving “ Nawlins” favorites including Gumbo,
Po-Boys, Jambalaya and Beignets.
Where: Dallas City Hall
1500 Marilla Street, Dallas
When: February 9
Time: 10am to 6pm
Cost: Parade is free
Phone:972.679.2671
Web: www.visitdallas.com
Texas Discovery Gardens, speak on how home
gardeners can landscape with plants that
attract butterflies, including plants which meet
the particular needs of monarch butterflies on
their spring migration through North Texas from
Mexico to Canada.
Where:
When: Time: Cost: Phone: Web: Lakewood Branch of the
Dallas Public Library
6121 Worth, Dallas
February 17
Doors open at 1:30pm for the
2pm program
Free
214.670.1376
www.lakewoodlibraryfriendsdallas.org
DALLAS: TACA 2016 Silver Cup
Award Luncheon
The luncheon will honor Rebecca Fletcher and
James E. Wiley for their visionary contributions
to the arts community.
Where: Hilton Anatole
2201 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas
When: February 19
Cost: $150 and up
Phone:214.520.3930
Web: www.taca-arts.org
DALLAS: Gardening For Butterflies
The public is invited to hear Roseann Ferguson,
master gardener and longtime volunteer with
of two tickets to see the great Elvis Poultry in
concert.
Where: Eisemann Center’s Hill Performance
Hall, 2351 Performance Drive
Richardson
When: February 28 2:30 p.m.
Phone:972.744.4600
Web: www.eisemanncenter.com
RICHARDSON: Jeffrey Siegel’s
Keyboard Conversations —
The Golden Age of the Piano
Jeffrey Siegel’s conversations are piano
concerts with broad, popular appeal and
lively commentary, making the music more
accessible and meaningful for all.
Where:
When:
Phone:
Web:
Eisemann Center
2351 Performance Drive, Richardson
February 22
972.744.4650 — Amy Taylor
www.eisemanncenter.com
Where: Highland Park High School
4220 Emerson Ave., Dallas
When: February 25 7:00 p.m.
Cost:Free
Phone:214.746.4222
Web: www.hplitfest.com
Where: The Grand Pavilion of the
Dallas Trade Mart
2100 N. Stemmons Freeway Dallas
When: February 26 11:30 a.m.
Cost: $125 and up
Phone:214.631.1117
Web: www.attitudesandattire.org
RICHARDSON:
Chicken Dance —
The Musical
ArtsPower’s newest musical portrays
the colorful story of Marge and Lola, two
barnyard chickens on a mission to win
the barnyard talent contest first prize
DALLAS: Birding Basics
Bird watching is the fastest growing and
currently the fastest growing and currently
the most popular spectator in America. Join us
to learn more about birding, binoculars,
field guides, keeping a life-list, and the basics of
bird identification.
Where: Trinity River Audubon Center
6500 Great Trinity Forest Way, Dallas
When: Ongoing — please check website
for details
Cost: $15 for non-members;
free to members
Phone:214.398.8722
Web: www.trinityriver.audubon.org
GRAPEVINE: Food Truck & Live
Music in the GCB Beer Garden
Make your way to the Taproom & Beer Garden
at Grapevine Craft Brewery for great beers,
food trucks and live music from great local
artists on Friday and Saturday nights.
Where: Grapevine Craft Brewery
906 Jean Street, Grapevine
When: Ongoing
Time: Food Trucks from 5pm to 8pm
Live music from 7pm to 9pm
Phone:817.488.2337
Web: www.grapevinetexasusa.com
E vents
DALLAS: Attitudes &
Attire Annual Luncheon
and Fashion Show
This non-profit is dedicated to promoting
personal growth for women seeking selfsufficiency.
Where: Frisco Heritage Museum
6455 Page Street, Frisco
When:Ongoing
Cost: $8for a family; $4 for adults;
$3 for seniors; $2 children 5–11;
children under 4 are free
Phone:972.292.5665
Web: www.friscomuseum.org
of
HIGHLAND PARK: Highland
Park Literary Festival
Highland Park Literary Festival featuring awardwinning author David Eggers. Books by Dave
Eggers, as well as books by other HP Literary
Festival workshop presenters, will be for sale
beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday, February 25th,
before and after the Keynote address. Mr.
Eggers will be available for book signing
following his lecture.
FRISCO: Frisco Heritage
Museum
The Frisco Heritage Museum tells the rich
stories of the development of the city of Frisco,
Texas from the turn of the century to the
present day. Museum exhibits feature dozens
of artifacts and photographs depicting Frisco’s
past. The museum chronicles their growth from
the small farming town of Lebanon to one of the
fastest growing cities in the country.
C alendar
February
| 25
EnGROSSing
Experiences
Three new
things for
the New
Year
Resolutions
By Harriet P. Gross
By Durhl Caussey
My sole resolution for this
New Year is to concentrate on
coincidences.
During a recent discussion with a
few friends, someone said that a
coincidence is when God blinks.
I agreed with crediting God, but
the blink — which sounds like
a moment of inattention — is
wrong. What I believe is that any
coincidence is when God has
engineered something, but chosen
to remain anonymous.
That conversation got me thinking
backward to several memorable
incidents of coincidence in my
own life. And when I did, I
decided that these weren’t just
random happenings, or fate –
there had to be some force behind
them. I’ll share three significant
ones with you.
#1. The Play.
I was in Ontario, Canada, for the
annual Shakespeare Festival.
On a beautiful summer day,
during a play’s intermission, I
want outside the theater, and
noticed a young man eyeing
me. Soon he walked over and
said, rather apologetically, “You
look so familiar, I just have to
ask. Where are you from?” I
laughed as I replied, “Well, I know
this couldn’t be a pickup; I’m
old enough to be your mother!
So: Pittsburgh — where I was
born; Chicago — where I lived
for many years; Dallas — where
I live now. Choose one!” Turns
out, he played cello in the Dallas
Symphony; the area where my
seat was located was in his line
of vision when the lights were up,
and that’s why he recognized me!
Random?
#2. The Outback.
I was in Australia, attending a
tourist treat: an evening with
dinner under the stars, enhanced
by an astronomer explaining
the southern sky. Another man,
another apologetic approach,
and another surprise: he looked
familiar to me, too. What are the
chances that two Dallasites who
had never met before would turn
up at the same event, halfway
across the world? We just
recognized each other at the same
time because we often pushed our
carts in the same Tom Thumb!
Fate?
#3: The Cemetery.
I had just arrived on vacation in
Montego Bay, Jamaica. From
my room, I looked down on the
beach — and on an old cemetery
abutting the resort property. I’m
not much of a water person,
so exploring the latter seemed
more intriguing than lounging on
the former. I was totally alone
in that quiet place, taking notes
about its very old headstones,
when an English-accented voice
startled me: “Why are you here,
when everyone else in the local
world is out there sunning and
swimming?” That began an
enduring two-continent friendship
with a woman from Leeds who
just happened to be walking past.
Coincidence?
Your call, but I thought I could
hear God laughing each time.
Many happy coincidences to you
in 2016!
Get up and move!
Before you go to sleep and before you get up, do some low energy exercise
while still in bed. Takes only about five minutes. Then as you go through
your day, when sitting, take a few minutes and repeat. Start with your toes
and wiggle and crunch. Wag your feet from side to side. Do some leg raises
and hold a few seconds. Raise your arms above your head and swing them
over your head back and forth, stretching your fingers. Turn your neck slowly
from side to side as you do this. Conclude with 5-10 sit-ups. Sit only when
necessary; a body in motion is good for the body. However, this should not
hinder a short afternoon nap.
Learn to say “No!”
Most of my life has been spent trying to please others. Sometimes at my
own expense. It is a shame I had to get old before discovering it is okay
to say “No.” My answer now is predicated on what is best for me. That
includes my friends, kids and spouse. Even my grandchildren. And when I
do say “No” I have no regrets, without even a tiny teaspoon of guilt. I have
to protect myself, even if it means disappointing someone I care deeply
about. I’m not going to agree to something that compromises my values,
requires undue physical or financial burden, or eats up my precious time
unnecessarily. Only agree to do what you feel you can do comfortably,
without undue loss. Ask yourself before you say “Yes,” is this good for me,
leaving me stress free? Sometimes telling someone “No” is best for both of
us. Don’t let pity drip into your free will.
Find a quiet place or time for quiet.
Below my house is an isolated, quiet, small lake. Sometimes around sunup
or near darkness I journey down to the lake called Emerald. I sit on a bench
near the water listening to it ripple against the shore. No one is ever around.
As the wind walks through the tall cottonwoods nearby, restless birds make
friendly noises. Beavers splash as they prepare their meal. My soul becomes
quiet. My mouth is shut, and mind at rest. I dream the dreams of a child. I
pray to my Heavenly Father. Heart becomes open to suggestions helping to
enrich my being. All is forgiven, mistakes are erased, and pardon is granted.
I invite you to find such a place. Your Emerald Lake can be in your bedroom,
office, car, on an afternoon walk. Fill your bucket, excite your mind, and open
your heart.
Durhl Caussey is a syndicated columnist who writes for papers across
America. He may be reached at this publication or dcaussey@sbcglobal.net.

Mayor Mike Rawlings

Transcription

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