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PRSRT STD US Postage PAID Permit No. 1 Houston, TX The buck starts here Mr. Peanut College bound Junior year abroad Junior year abroad Mr. Peanut The buck starts here College bound College gap year College gap year Dynamic duo Dynamic duo Get running motor Get motor running your your From the publisher M A R K E T I N G & M E D I A , L L C The Memorial Buzz Editor: Joni Hoffman Publisher: Michael Hoffman Associate Editor: Heather Stelzer Account Executives: Andrea Blitzer, Patti Dennenberg, Juliet Hubbell, Leslie Little Staff Writers: Andrea Blitzer, Angie Frederickson, Todd Freed, Michelle Casas Groogan, Katy Holt, Sarah Williams Designer: John Duboise Published by Hoffman Marketing & Media, LLC 5001 Bissonnet, Suite 100, Bellaire, Texas 77401 e-mail: info@thebuzzmagazines.com Web site: www.thebuzzmagazines.com Phone: 713.668.4157 Fax: 713.665.2940 Cover photo by Andrews Photography,
713.523.4916, www.andrewsphoto.com On our cover: Gary Eckhardt is proud of the ‘75
CJ5 Jeep he restored with the help of sons Todd
and Drew (not pictured). The Memorial Buzz has made all reasonable
efforts to verify the accuracy of articles and
information within. Responsibilities for the accu-
racy of claims and information of our advertisers
lie solely with them. Editorial content does not
necessarily express the opinions of the publish-
er. Editorial or advertising does not constitute advice, but is considered
information. Copyright © 2008 Hoffman Marketing & Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part by
any means without written permission from the publisher. .com B U Z Z the BELLAIRE
MEMORIAL
TANGLEWOOD
WEST UNIVERSITY This month's cover story features residents who are restoring classic
cars, as either a long-time hobby or a special project. Whether it’s our
changing technology or our changing lifestyles, the fact is that it’s
becoming increasingly hard to find anyone who still works on his or
her own car. The people we talked to all describe a feeling of pride
and satisfaction which comes from working on their cars, not to
mention the special bond that can be created when the project
consists of multiple family members. We wish all the dads out there
a very happy Father's Day and hope you enjoy doing whatever
makes you happy, even if that means spending the day under the
hood of your car. Considering Improving your Smile? philipcimodds.com Town & Country Village 650 West Bough Lane #160 • Houston, TX 77024 713-464-1887 Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 3 Karastan, Make A Beautiful Statement. Houston’s premiere selection of flooring, countertops & window coverings. 2504 Bissonnet just east of Kirby 713.528.2404 www.vbaf.com Mon – Fri 7am – 6pm, Sat 9am – 4pm, Evenings by appointment Family Owned Since 1952 MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 4 When you’re an Invisalign ® patient at our office, your teeth star in their very
own movie–and you can share the fun
with family and friends! Invisalign
straightens teeth using a series of cus-
tom-made, nearly invisible, comfort-
able, removable aligners. Aligners are
created with the help of advanced com-
puter imaging technology. At our office, these computer images of your teeth are compiled into an animated movie
that shows how your teeth will move from crooked to
straight over the course of your treatment! It’s like a little
glimpse into the future of your perfect smile. You can log on to our Web site anytime to see your very own movie–and with the click of a button, you can e-mail
your movie to friends and family to show them how great
your teeth will look after your Invisalign treatment! If you haven’t signed up for this free online service yet, ask us about it during your next visit! Cosmetic Dental Associates, Scott Coleman, DDS, MAGD; Spiker Davis, DDS., MAGD, 7575 San Felipe,
Suite 135, Houston, Texas 77063, 713.781.2800,
www.cosmeticdental.com Achieve movie star status with Invisalign • Strengthens and tones legs, abs, buttocks and back • Improves posture and performance • Increases circulation and respiration for a more intense workout • Targets key muscles to increase calorie burn, aiding in weight loss WOODWAY @ VOSS LEFT OF WHOLE FOODS 713.706.3668 ELDRIDGE @ BRIAR FOREST NEXT TO KROGER 281.759.3668 AVAILABLE ONLY AT Dr. Russel Williams, MD urologist at Spring Valley Medical, has noticed a
trend where men are more active in cre-
ating their dream family. Whether it
involves enhancing fertility or choosing
contraception, men feel more of a
responsibility to “do their part”! Gone
are the days that the female must travel
the road alone and undergo all of the
treatment for fertility enhancement and sterilization. “I see an increasing trend from 10 years ago where men get a semen analysis early in the conception process.” Much
can be done to improve a man’s fertility and thus provide
increase chances for the couple to conceive more naturally
and thru less expense. Advances in male fertility medical
treatment, genetic testing, and microsurgery have led the
way for success. Dr. Russel Williams as an urologist is best able to evaluate how the man helps or hurts his wife’s chances of getting
pregnant. Dr. Russel Williams encourages all men who want
an expert opinion on their fertility to call his office. Male Reproductive Clinic, P.A., Russel Williams, MD, 9190 Old Katy Road, Suite 101, Houston, TX 77055,
832.358.8600, www.maleinfertilityhouston.com Men assuming more respon- sibility for fertility issues! MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 5 Dr. Robert Vaughan and his wife Caroline have lived in Memorial for 9
years with their children, Trey, Boston,
and Victoria, and border collies Max and
Mimosa. With 19 years experience, Dr.
Vaughan practiced in Austin and
Richmond before buying Bingle
Veterinary Hospital in 1995. When looking for a veterinarian, a client seeks experience, skill, and knowl-
edge. A fourth component in an ideal vet-
erinarian is compassion. Clients and patients benefit greatly
from compassionate and caring service and attention. Both Dr. Vaughan and his staff understand that pets are important family members. “Comprehensive veterinary
care entails more than routine vaccines,” said Dr. Vaughan.
“Comprehensive care includes being there when a client
needs us at all stages of a pet’s life.” With a well-trained staff, state-of-the-art equipment and tech- nologies, and current procedures, Bingle Veterinary Hospital is
dedicated to providing top-quality care. The same attention to
detail is evidenced in the climate controlled boarding facility. Dr. Robert Vaughan, Bingle Veterinary Hospital, 2025 Bingle Road, Houston, Texas 77055, 713.468.1676, www.binglevet.com Looking for a compassionate veterinarian? Residents, guests, and family members gathered to enjoy golf lec-
tures, video swing analysis, virtual
golfing via Wii technology, putting
practice, and golf-themed refresh-
ments at a Swing into Shape event
hosted by The Plaza at The
Buckingham. Golf pro Dave Balzer
began the afternoon with a presenta-
tion on finding your ideal golf
swing, then took participants outside to practice. “Guests and volunteers enjoyed ‘Arnold Palmers’ while taking turns practicing their best swings outside for video
analysis, on the putting green, and on the Wii,” said execu-
tive director Julie Fenske. The Buckingham is Houston’s premier life care retirement community located in the Memorial neighborhood. The
Buckingham offers resort-style living for active, independent
seniors, and all levels of health care services on-site at The Plaza
at The Buckingham. The Buckingham is a 501(c)3 community
of Texas-based Senior Quality Lifestyles Corporation (SQLC). The Buckingham, 8550 Woodway at Old Farm Road, Houston, Texas 77063, 713.979.3777,
www.theplazaatbuckinghamhouston.com A golf-themed afternoon for seniors Dahn YOGA & Tai-Chi 15% OFF with this ad 3321 Westpark Drive, Houston, Texas 77005 (Buffalo Speedway and Westpark by Kroger) 713.664.3246 6401 Woodway Drive, Suite 185
Houston, Texas 77057 832.251.9642 2621 S. Shepherd Dr., Suite 145
Houston, Texas 77098 713.529.9642 • Stress Relief
• Weight Control
• Flexibility & Balance
• Relaxation
• Meditation Free Trial Class every
Wednesday and Saturday Exp. 6-30-08 How to Start Please call to schedule
a private introductory
45-minute session: $25 MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 6 Finding an ideal teen sum- mer camp is more complicat-
ed than it used to be. It’s
tough for parents to figure
out which programs will be
worthwhile, says mom
Robyn Tepper, especially
when you want something
that will engage your kids
and be educational at the same time. With her teens having different interests, Robyn wasn’t sure there was a summer camp program that would work for
both of them. Especially, since it was also important to Robyn
that the program mixed indoor with outdoor activity. Once Robyn learned about the Extreme Sports Video Production class at Digital Media Academy, she knew it was
the summer camp program she’d been looking for. Taught at
college campuses nationwide, the class gives teens a chance
to shoot their own videos at extreme sports events. It even
teaches them to edit their footage into films using Final Cut
Pro software. By the end of the course each student pro-
duces a full-fledged extreme sports movie. Digital Media Academy, info@digitalmediaacademy.org, 866.656.3334, www.digitalmediaacademy.org Your ideal teen summer camp Attractive smiles are very impor- tant to Americans. Statistics tell us
92 percent of adults think an attrac-
tive smile is a social asset, but only
50 percent of adults are actually
satisfied with their smile. Why?
Most adults and older teens do not
want to wear braces for 18 months
to two years. Now, with Invisalign there is a new option to wear clear aligner
trays to straighten the teeth. Most
people cannot detect the patient is wearing braces with
Invisalign. With the 3-D technology, the doctor along with
Invisalign can use the sophisticated computer to plan the
course of treatment that is predictable for each patient. Dr. Skibell and his highly trained staff can help you attain the beautiful smile you have always dreamed about. Dr.
Skibell has been creating beautiful smiles in Houston for
over 30 years. To see if you are a candidate for Invisalign,
call our office. David L. Skibell, DDS. M.S., 7887 San Felipe, Suite 150, Houston, Texas 77063, 713.782.4566,
www.aworldofsmiles.com The smile you want MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 7 F or many college graduates, deciding which job offer to
accept upon graduation can be well, overwhelming.
Finally landing that foothold on one’s career ladder is essential. Chris Kaitson understood the importance of using what he learned in college early on in his career. Fresh from the
doors of Indiana University, he stepped into the halls of the
Indiana State Prison. “During my senior year of college, I applied to every law enforcement agency. FBI, DEA, US Border Patrol, State
Police, you name it. The only thing I enjoyed about being a
prison guard was the pay check. I was scared to death.” Chris had hoped to use his forensic science degree to investigate unsolved crimes. Instead, he found himself
searching cell blocks for handmade weapons and fearing
that an inmate riot could break out at any moment. Today,
Chris is much more relaxed in his duties as in-house counsel
for Enbridge Energy. Some people will give any job a try. Joshua Berry had
already done stints as a donut
fryer, English teacher in a for-
eign country, and welder
when he decided to really
expand his horizons. At the
tender age of 25, Joshua
thought it would be an adven-
ture to drive a taxicab.
Flexible work hours, meeting
interesting people, and, of
course, the “cool factor” were
all good reasons why he
decided to step out of his com-
fort zone and take a walk on
the wild side of Houston. While attending the University of Houston’s
Graduate School of Business, Joshua spent his work hours
parked outside of topless bars in the wee hours of the morn-
ing and picking up passengers arriving at Houston airports.
“After working as a cab driver for a few months, finishing
graduate school became a great motivator for me to be able
to move onto something else, he said. “I never had any
downtime. Driving a cab was like a round-the-clock gig. I
was never off the clock, so-to-speak.” But there were rewards and life lessons that came with driv- ing a taxicab. “I got an inside look at a very different world
that I otherwise wouldn’t have come into contact with.” Today, as president of Berry Healthcare Services, Joshua doesn't rely on his taxicab driving skills much. But he still feels fortunate to have had the adventure that most people
just wouldn’t open themselves up to these days. “Most peo-
ple don’t ever get that kind of experience in life.” We all have a hobby or life’s passion that we only dream will one day evolve into a successful career. Such was the case for Mix
96.5 DJ Sam Malone. A love for music was practically embedded
into his DNA. Before he ever stepped foot inside a studio, Sam
rolled his tunes through Philadelphia as a mobile DJ—grooving
his way through more than 400 weddings in the early 1980s. “I worked three to four weddings every weekend to put myself through college. If there was a wedding in Philly from 1981 to ’86,
I’m sure I did it,” he proclaims (and still with a huge grin). Wielding his wares from location to location wasn’t easy like it is today. In those days, a mobile DJ required an enormous
amount of heavy equipment like huge speakers and turntables
(think vinyl records). Still, Sam says he wouldn’t trade the
experience for anything. As with any job, being a mobile DJ did have some
risks. After all, a wedding can
be a very emotionally charged
event. “One wedding in par-
ticular reminded me that my
job wasn’t without danger. I
asked the clients before their
reception if they had any
musical requests and they
said as long as I didn’t play
any Frank Sinatra songs, any-
thing else was fine. “As the evening dragged on, for whatever reason, I
ended up playing something
by Sinatra and the father of
the bride began yelling
obscenities. Everyone started
screaming ‘Turn the music off!’ He was coming after me, like he was out for blood. I was
frantically throwing records and equipment onto my hand
truck and hauled out of the reception. To this day, I have no
idea why Frank Sinatra caused such a horrible reaction.” If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to hold on for dear life to the back of a garbage truck, Larry Feingersh can tell you.
Now an independent real estate investor, Larry says his six
months hauling away trash from one side of the 610 loop on
Mondays and Thursdays, and the other side of 610 on
Tuesdays and Fridays in 1975 were the best. Great hours and he only had to work four days a week. Worst memory? “I would have to say the sight and smell of
maggots would still get to me.” by Karen Edelman, contributing writer Local DJ Sam Malone earned his chops as a mobile DJ in Philadelphia
during the early 1980s. What a way to make a living MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 8 Bu z z Kid z A s a member of Boy Scout Troop 642 since 2002, it was
time to start my Eagle Scout Project. I asked around
Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center in Memorial if they had a project for me. Father Joe Moons, C.P., the retreat
director, agreed I could build a labyrinth on their property.
They asked to see my plans and a detailed description of the
labyrinth before I started building. A labyrinth is a flat circle used for prayer and meditation. I found an 8-ring labyrinth designed by the Knights Templar.
My labyrinth’s diameter is 40 feet, and I built it with charcoal
pavers for the path itself and red pavers for the border. I estimated I would need to raise $5,000 to build the labyrinth, so I sent many letters to family and friends request-
ing donations. Within a short period of time I had enough
money to begin buying materials. John Gillette, an experienced craftsman, was my consultant on the project, and a trucking and pavestone company in Katy
gave me substantial discounts on materials. I scheduled five
major construction days for building the labyrinth and enlisted fellow Scouts, family, and friends to help me with the project. I
divided people into several crews and the labyrinth into 12 sec-
tions. Some people moved the cement and sand to each of the
sections. Some laid the pavers for each section, and others fol-
lowed them and hammered the pavers in place with rubber
mallets. Once we were finished laying the path, I placed a paver
cross in the center and surrounded it with lava rock. Several times I have been asked what I learned during this project, and I continuously answer, “What didn’t I learn?”
This was an extensive project that I didn’t know anything
about, and I was happy to have the support of Mr. Gillette,
my friends, and family. Editor’s Note: The Retreat Center is landscaping the area around the labyrinth and installing a flagstone path connecting the labyrinth with the
nearby Holy Cross Meditation Garden. A formal dedication is planned for
October 5, 2008, at 3:30 pm. Want to be a Buzz Kid? E-mail approximately 350 words, a high-resolution photo, and caption to info@thebuzzmagazines.com. Or mail it to The Buzz
Magazines, 5001 Bissonnet, Suite 100, Bellaire, TX 77401. Building a labyrinth takes team work by Cavalier Coffield, age 17 Enlisting the help of fellow
Scouts, family, and friends,
Cavalier Coffield planned and
built an impressive labyrinth
for his Eagle Scout project. MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 9 I often say that in my next life, I want to live the life my
own children have experienced. They have had many
more opportunities available to them that weren’t even a consideration when I was younger. Something that was just about unheard of when I was a college student was spending a semester in a foreign coun-
try. Now, almost every university in the country has stu-
dents participating in junior year abroad, in which students
study at a foreign university earning college credits while
exploring many foreign locales. It is a great way to absorb a
new culture, and perhaps perfect or learn a new language. My daughter, Elissa, just complet- ed a semester in Florence, Italy. As
part of her program, she participat-
ed in a three-week Italian language
immersion program in Sienna,
took Italian cooking classes, volun-
teered as a docent at the main cathe-
dral, and studied Italian art and
Italian history. She spent her week-
ends traveling to many different
countries. After visiting her in Florence, I was bowled over at what a broad-
ening experience it was for her. She
seemed wiser, more mature, and
more cultured as a result. Other Houston students have also benefited from their own junior
year abroad experience. Some, like
Andrew Zwelling, went as far away
as Australia. Many others went to
locales in Europe and the Middle
East. Their reflections on their time away center around experi- encing many different cultures, learning self-sufficiency,
managing on their own in a foreign country, and meeting
young people from around the world. Alissa Rauch, who attends the University of Hartford, was initially motivated by an interest in archeology and Middle
East politics, so she decided to spend her entire junior year
in Israel. While there, she traveled to Burma, Jordan, and
Egypt, enjoying the wonders of each country. She even took
a side trip to Thailand during a break. Being so far from home for such an extended period taught her many things. “One thing I have learned is that
there are really good and caring people in the world and
when faced with a problem someone is always there for
you,” Alissa said. “I have also learned to trust myself. But
most importantly I have learned to relax and have a good time because back at university in the states, I am always
busy doing work. From school work, to an internship, clubs,
and so many other things, I often forget about personal time
for myself. I came to Israel to discover another side of me,
and I have accomplished that! So finding myself has been
one of the greatest experiences in this.” Jenna Cohen participated in an exchange program at a world renowned business school in Barcelona, Escuela
Superior de Administración y Dirección de Empresas. As a
student in business honors at the University of Texas, it was
important to her to be able to continue taking honors cours- es there. Friends also attending
with her were Sharon Sulami and
Erin Buchman. “I had some proficiency in Spanish and I am so glad I chose
Barcelona,” she said. “I was going,
going the whole time, traveling to
other cities in Spain and in other
countries, and seeing cultural sites
while keeping to my budget. But it
was a great respite from the regular
pressures of school and it ended up
being the happiest, most carefree
time of my life.” Rick Chainani, who goes to Wake Forest University, spent the fall
semester in Granada in the south-
ern part of Spain because he want-
ed the opportunity to speak more
Spanish in a less westernized area.
“I am majoring in premedicine so
speaking Spanish will help me,”
Rick explained. “I had to speak Spanish exclusively when I was in Granada. They have a
completely different culture, traditions, and way of life. I
was immersed in their culture, holidays, and even lived with
a Spanish family.” Sarah Pierce, Jennifer Rice, and Erica Lehrer, who all go to different universities, chose London, England for their
semester abroad. Although it is an English speaking country,
they still had to learn the terminology unique to the vernac-
ular. “They spoke really fast and used a lot of slang words
that I had to learn,” Sarah said. “And some of their expres-
sions were so British. Like ‘Mind the gap,’ which means
‘Watch your step.’ It was fun figuring the meanings behind
all the little expressions and different words.” Hearing about their adventures left me thinking it’s too bad they couldn’t pack parents in their luggage and take us
with them. by Arlene Nisson Lassin, contributing writer Junior As part of his junior year abroad, Rick Chainani spent a fall
semester in Granada, Spain. Here he is pictured overlooking
the valley of Ronda. abroad year MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 10 Spring Special 50% off Laser Services DOCTORS CLINIC HOUSTON Don’t wait any longer to look younger! State-of-the-art medical-grade technology merges with elegance offering an unforgettable skin revitalization experience at Skin Venus. Specializing in treating body and skin conditions with physician-supervised aesthetic med- ical procedures, the professionals at Skin Venus care for patients in a healthy environment while achieving dramatic results. Undesirable Body and Facial Hair Enhanced Skin Rejuvenation • MicroLaserPeel Services Offered: • Laser Hair Removal • Acne Treatment • Medical Facials • Medical Makeup • Vascular Lesions and Leg Veins • Medical Facials • Micro and Deep Laser Treatments • Cosmetic & Therapeutic Skincare • Enhanced Skin Rejuvenation • Laser Hair Growth Treatments • Chemical Peels Cynthia Ketterer, MD & Irman Forghani 14770 Memorial, Dairy Ashford Area • 281.496.7333 6535 SW Frwy • 713.981.8185 Learn defensive shooting and self defense from a former U.S. Marine Counter Terrorism Hostage Rescue Team
Section Leader and Certified Combat Focus Instructor. Beginner - Advanced Classes • Private and Group Women's Only Group Classes Concealed Handgun License Classes Memorial Shooting Center on the north side of I-10 just across from Memorial City Mall 713-984-9921 • www.memorialshootingcenter.com For more info or to schedule classes call 713-456-9466 or visit our web site at www.360tacticaltraining.com No place to board Fluffy this summer? Don't panic. We still have space! Free tote bag for Buzz Readers with mention of this ad • Full Service Veterinary Care
• Focus on Preventative Healthcare
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2025 Bingle Rd.
Spring Branch Area 713.468.1676
www.BingleVet.com MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 11 I t’s never too early to start teaching kids about responsi-
bility and the value of a dollar. Long before they’re old
enough to get a job at the mall, opportunities abound to put your youngsters to work. Having them earn some of their own money can put an end to the incessant “Can I have it?” requests for the latest
must-have items. Your new answer can be: “Sure. As soon as
you earn enough to pay for it.” Thirteen-year-old Matteo Costantini is a real jack-of-all-trades.
His employment repertoire includes
everything from plant watering and
picking up newspapers to babysit-
ting and helping out at birthday
parties. “At kids’ birthday parties,
I’ll scoop ice cream, hand out cake,
monitor a Slip ‘n Slide and organize
games,” says Matteo. His newest venture is scanning photos onto CD’s for people. Some
neighbors wanted to put all of their
old photos on CD to share with
family members, and Matteo spent
an entire weekend on the job. So, just what does Matteo do with his money? Amazingly, he doesn’t
blow it all at once. “I always save
some of it,” he said. “Right now I’m
saving to buy a new tennis racket.” His mom, Betty, says that after the photo scanning job, he’s more than
half way to the amount he needs for
the racket. “My parents always
made us have a job, and I want my
kids to learn the same lessons,” said
Betty. Matteo loves making money, and his jobs move into
full swing during the summer. Sixth-grade twins Jonathon and Zachary Pelton have also found a way to make money around the neighborhood.
Each month, they distribute the civic association newsletter
to all 350 houses in the Fonn Villas subdivision. “We split up
to cover the neighborhood faster,” says Zachary. “We walk
to each house and it usually takes a couple of hours.” Although the boys’ parents initially had to encourage them to do the job, Jonathon and Zachary say it’s not a bad
way to earn some extra money. “We use the money to pay
our cell phone bill,” says Jonathon. If your kids are ready to move beyond the neighborhood, Little League baseball offers a good way to make some
money. Randy Bullard, with the West University Little League, employs young teens as umpires. Players who come
up through the league are natural fits to help umpire the
younger teams. “It’s on the job training,” says Randy.
“They’re instructional umpires, teaching the young players
game basics.” In addition to earning money, the kids get to
learn baseball from an umpire’s point of view. “It definitely
helps their own game,” Randy said. Girls softball also offers kids a chance to work. Fourteen- year-old Lexxie Steele works in the
concession stand at Bayland Park
for the Bellaire Girls Softball
Association. Serving things like
nachos and hot dogs to hungry
players has been a great way for
Lexxie to earn money during the
past year. “It’s lots of fun, even
when it gets a little busy,” she says.
“The younger players can get a lit-
tle rowdy when they’re hungry.” Lexxie is learning to handle money and getting great experi-
ence dealing with lots of different
people. “It’s a good way to make
money since I’m young and can’t
really work yet,” said Lexxie. She
uses her earnings to go to the
movies, buy new clothes, and other
things that she wants but doesn’t
necessarily need. Although they’re too young for an actual job, even kindergarteners
can start learning responsibility.
Simple things like making their
bed and picking up toys set a great
foundation for a strong work ethic later. DeJeania Jones with Junior Achievement says it’s
important for children to learn that the things they want
aren’t free. Whether or not children get paid for basic chores around the house is an individual family decision, but giving some
type of reward makes sense. “Parents should let kids know
that there is a payoff for their efforts, although at a young
age it might not be monetary,” says DeJeania. While school is out and kids are taking a break from the books, try giving them some real-life education about money
and responsibility. Parents and kids can work together to find
an appropriate summer job. With a little creativity, they just
might come up with a great moneymaker. Younger kids can
work around the house and older children can forge out into
the real world. Or, at least, out into the neighborhood. by Angie Frederickson, staff writer buck Matteo Costantini is no stranger to hard work. The 13-year-
old earns spending money doing everything from walking
dogs to scooping ice cream at childrens' birthday parties. here The starts www.andrewsphoto.com MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 12 M Me em mb be err s siin nc ce e 1 19 96 66 6 Long Point Roofing, Inc. Since 1942 • Workmanship Unconditionally Guaranteed • Specializing in all types of roofing systems • Family Owned and Operated 713-465-9008 • www.longpointroofing.com • Weekly pool cleaning • Equipment repairs • Filter cleaning • Pool inspections • Acid washing • Total pool renovations • Jandy Warranty Station Luxury Pool Service, LLC 832-489-3757 • www.luxurypoolservice.com MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 13 I t’s a European trend that’s pricking the interest of American
students. Young adults are opting to bust away from the
books and immerse themselves in new experiences. The common name for the trend is “gap year,” and more universi-
ties are deferring admission so students can have one. Mariana Diez had planned to go onto college with the rest of her classmates from St. John’s High School. Instead, fresh-
man year at Cornell University was put on hold, on a whim.
“I was feeling an itch and wanted something different,”
Mariana explains. Counselors at her college preparatory high school didn’t
exactly embrace the idea and per-
mission from her parents required
heavy coaxing. But Mariana was
able to close the deal when a sup-
portive Cornell granted her request
to defer admission for one year. By August, she was living with other foreign students attending a
university in Madrid. “It was sink
or swim and I didn’t think I wasn’t
going to make it. I couldn’t under-
stand anyone,” says Mariana.
“Then things started turning
around, you just start learning.” She learned the language and even a smattering of French from
the students she lived with. “It
gives you a freedom you know
that you can be dropped off any-
where on earth and survive. You
can deal with whatever comes
your way,” says Mariana. Erin Pomerantz postponed stud- ies at the University of Texas at
Austin for a gap year in Israel. “I wish more people did it. You
come into college so quickly and then all of a sudden it’s been
two years and you still don’t know what you’re majoring in.
You don’t have time to find yourself,” explains Erin. She signed on with a program called Young Judea. Taking intense language classes in Jerusalem, she spent several
months living and working in the poorest community of Tel
Aviv. “I knew a lot of friends from summer camp who were
also doing it. But it was really different. Spending a whole
year in another country is a huge step. And you take leaps
compared to somebody who stays in the US and goes to col-
lege. You just figure out a lot about yourself,” says Erin. UT amplified its support for Erin by accepting 24 credit hours in addition to deferring admission without reapplying. Danny Bement got the same support to delay admission from UT and Texas A&M. A decision he didn’t take lightly.
“I couldn’t make a decision on what college I wanted to go
to, and I didn’t know what I wanted to study,” explains
Danny. “I didn’t think I was ready to make those decisions.
I wanted a year to find out a little more about myself.” He took a mission trip to Guinea, Africa to help build a hospital. Then he spent the winter working as a ski instruc-
tor in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Hardly a holiday—the purpose of a gap year is to challenge yourself.
“Taking a year off isn’t really the
point. I was trying to get an experi-
ence that I couldn’t get out of college.
And I knew I didn’t want it to be
easy. I was definitely looking for an
experience, not a break,” says Danny. Danny still doesn’t know what he wants to major in. But he feels
good about his decision to go to
A&M this fall. Jennie Howard had always planned for the gap in her colle-
giate studies. The 22-year-old
American citizen was born in
England, attended the
International School in Houston,
and returned to England for col-
lege. She is currently on her gap
year before coming back to the
states for law school. Jennie expected her globetrotting gap year would be an enriching
cultural experience but underesti-
mated the impact of a six-week stay in Kenya. “The village homes are made out of cow
manure and straw. They have no electricity and no running
water,” explains Jennie. “When I got back I went around my
house just turning off lights. And though it was really nice to
have a shower, I knew I needed to do more.” Jennie took on the challenging role of launching a non- profit organization to help the village. So far, she’s raised
enough to send three students to high school. It’s just one of the unforeseen benefits stemming from an adventure that takes faith and commitment. No price tag can
be stamped on each of their experiences—gauging the value
of this kind of investment depends on just how significantly
you fill the gap. by Michelle Casas Groogan, staff writer Jennie Howard underestimated the impact that a six-week stay
in Kenya would have on her when she initially decided to go
there as part of her gap year. College gap year MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 14 5941 Bellaire Blvd., 713.662.8383 www.picos.net Mon-Thu 9:00am-10:00pm, Fri-Sat 9:00am-11:00pm, Sun 9:00am-10:00pm It’s that time again for Pico’s soft shell crabs. Call for availability. DR. RUSSEL WILLIAMS, M.D. BOARD CERTIFIED UROLOGIST MALEINFERTILITYHOUSTON.COM • SEMEN ANALYSIS TESTING AVAILABLE
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Katy Rd. MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 15 B est pals, vibrant seniors, and next door neighbors all
describe sisters Polly Gentry and Dot McMillan.
Though Polly is 86, and Dot is 82, their animated per- sonalities cause them to be often mistaken for much younger
seniors. Through various moves and several houses, they always made sure they lived in close proximity to one another. Most
recently, these spry gals have become next door neighbors. Polly boasts three daughters, Phyllis Kidson Williams, Pamela Kidson Adger, and Patricia Kidson Cavanagh. She
also has seven grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. Dot’s daughter is Janet McMillan Lehr and her son is Hugh McMillan III. She is proud of her three grandchildren
and two great grandchildren. With their children and grandchil- dren scattered around from Memorial
to Katy, and even to Ohio, these sisters
find living next door to each other is
not too close for comfort. In the beginning of their adult lives, they followed each other’s footsteps
by working in the same office for the
same boss, Bill Allen, though at differ-
ent times. “Mr. Allen used to say that
he got into the right family and stayed
there,” Dot said. As adults, they first moved to the same neighborhood in Oak Forest,
where Dot watched Polly’s children
while she worked. Polly, who was left a widow by her first husband and three daughter’s
father, first moved to Memorial with
her second husband, when her
daughter Pat was in the very first freshman class at
Memorial High School in 1962. It didn’t take long for Dot to follow Polly’s lead and move to Memorial with her husband Hugh McMillan and children
Hugh and Janet. Dot moved to the street directly behind
Polly shortly after, and they raised their children there. “As close as we are, as sisters we are as different as night and day,” Polly laughed. “Dot is a perfectionist, who has
traveled all over the world. I like to take long driving trips
with my daughter Phyllis and granddaughter Lauren. Dot
likes to watch TV and work crossword puzzles, and I am an
avid reader and love to sew and bead.” “But we have never had an argument, except when we were little,” Dot added. Through some twists and turns of life, Polly became a widow for the second time, and then married her last hus- band George Gentry. In the mid 1990s she moved to the
Memorial home she now resides in. When the house next
door became available in 1999, Dot was widowed, and
jumped at the opportunity to be closer to her sister. Now, though they do some things separately, part of their daily routine includes each other. “Around three times a
week, we walk 2 miles around Memorial City Mall, and then
we go to the Curves exercise studio in Town and Country,”
said Dot. “We take turns driving, and leave at 7:30 in the
morning.” “We’ve been exercising together for years,” Polly said. “We did aerobic dancing and took golf lessons together.” For
the rest of the day, they split up, with Dot doing volunteer work at Tallowood Baptist Church,
where she has been a member for
many years. “Baptists like to eat, so it
seems we are always serving a meal
for something,” Dot said. Polly keeps busy on many of her sewing or beading projects. She reads
so many novels each month she keeps
a log book of the hundreds she has
completed. A game of Sudoku and
lunch with lady friends might round
out her day. On many early evenings, Dot will go next door to Polly’s where they
have “a little happy hour with some
wine” and talk politics or work on a
jigsaw puzzle together. Sometimes
they go to dinner together at their
favorite Mexican restaurant. Having traveled together on a cruise to Alaska and trips to Mexico and Branson, Missouri, Polly points out that Dot unpacks and
organizes immediately, while she leaves everything and
opens up a novel. They do lots of celebrating together too. With their natural sense of humor and flair for fun, they take a road trips with
a group of friends and relatives. During a weekend together,
they have food, margaritas, and the highlight is a pajama
party. “We do a little style show and pageant with fancy pj’s,” Polly said. “There’s a lot of fun, and laughter,” Dot said.
They aren’t kidding. In fact, they revel in taking glam- orous photos together, and are immortalized on special T-
shirts in costume. When it comes to a great example of sisterly (and neigh- borly) love, you needn’t look any further than this pair. Sisters Dot and Polly have kept young sharing a lot of
laughter over the years. It’s hard to believe this was
taken at Polly's 86th birthday party. duo Dynamic by Arlene Nisson Lassin, contributing writer your Get running motor by Andy Blitzer,
staff writer www.andrewsphoto.com Rebuilding his ‘75 Jeep along with
sons Todd and Drew (not pictured)
was a labor of love for Gary Eckhardt . MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 17 T he once-common scene of father and son tinkering
under a car hood has become a rarity. Even those who
collect old cars may have someone else restore them. But for some classic car aficionados, time spent working on
a car is half the fun. Gary Eckhardt has been rebuilding cars for over 40 years. “As a kid, I grew up across the street from a man who built
race cars. I’d watch him and learn,” says Gary. In the ninth grade, Gary bought a jeep that was no longer needed by the Sharpstown Drive-in Picture Show, which
had used it to haul supplies. Gary’s friends would meet at
his home on Fridays after school, taking the car apart, just to
then reassemble it. “We knew we had Saturday and Sunday
to get it together if I wanted to have a car to drive to school
on Monday,” he laughs. In 1976, Gary purchased a ‘75 CJ5 Jeep, and after taking it apart countless times, it finally sat in the driveway unused
for many years. “When my
son, Todd, then a student at
Memorial High School,
asked me to get it out and
fix it, I said I would, as long
as he would help.” A family project was born. “A lot of days after
school when my dad came
home from work, and on
weekends, we worked on
the car,” says Todd. “It was
a lot of fun, a good bonding
experience.” Today, a sophomore at A&M, Todd says he’s been
able to fix his roommates’
and girlfriend’s car, or at
least rule out problems
before they took it to a pro-
fessional mechanic. After driving the refur- bished Jeep to school for
two years, it now rests at
home waiting for Todd and
his brother Drew’s return
for school vacations.
“Whenever the boys come
home, they park their regular cars and take the Jeep out for
a spin,” says Gary. “It is so much fun to get to drive around a Jeep that my dad drove 30 years ago. Our Jeep has been the center of so
many good memories and a project that my whole family
has enjoyed working on together,” says Drew. Todd is wary about entering the cherished Jeep in an upcoming off-road meet, having put so much into its well-
being, but Gary is encouraging him. “If it gets beat up or
something breaks, we’ll just fix it again,” he says. Another family saw value in spending time refurbishing a ‘76 Jeep when they purchased it 8 years ago. Bill Christmann
and son Brian devoted six months worth of weekends and
free evenings “taking it down all the way in our driveway,”
says Bill. “My dad taught me to work on cars and I wanted to extend that to my son.” After the Jeep’s transmission, body, and interior were com- pletely redone and the car taken to be professionally paint-
ed, Brian drove it for his remaining years at Stratford High
School. Even the cold and rain did not deter Brian from driv-
ing the red Jeep, but with no windows and roof, he admits
he borrowed his dad’s truck for dates. “A lot of kids don’t know how to work on cars,” says Brian, who will be graduating from the University of
Louisiana this year. “It’s helped me over the years at college,
and you’ll usually find me outside working on my truck,” he
laughs, adding he knows when a mechanic’s diagnosis is
truthful. A love of working on cars is likely to remain a lifelong hobby. Jerry Rebman’s interest in cars began in grade school,
and he soon began working on rebuilding brakes and
engines. “My first experience with a big piece of sheet metal was to take a water heater apart and rebuild it,” he says.
Twenty-eight years ago, Jerry was given the honor of restor-
ing a Model-T Truck, one of three of its type still in existence
worldwide. Today, you can find Jerry working on his nine collector cars, consisting of five Corvettes, two Chevelles, a ‘67
Mustang, and ‘67 GT. As the original owner of a ’72 Chevelle
and ‘77 Corvette and the second owner of a ’69 Chevelle,
there’s always a something to fix. “I do all the work in my
garage, and have bought every service book and piece of lit-
erature I can find on cars,” he says. Restoring a classic car is time consuming and labor inten- sive. Still, spending time together tinkering under the hood
is well worth the investment. Bill and Brian Christmann spent six months working together on refurbishing this ‘76 Jeep. MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 18 N ot one to relax idly on a beach vacation, Janice Law
has danced at dusk in Timbuktu, on the Sahara with
a blue robed Tuareg warrior, and chatted up former headhunters in Papua, New Guinea. Less traveled roads still seduce her as much as they did more than 40 years and
100 countries ago. “If you
haven’t traveled, you see
our world through a key-
hole. If you have, you see
the world from a helicop-
ter,” says the retired
attorney, who usually
uses Continental fre-
quent flyer miles for two
international trips per
year. She suggests find-
ing flights on the shoul-
der seasons (spring and
fall) when there are less
people traveling. Janice has attended gatherings of a select
group of travelers who
have visited more than
100 countries called the
Century Club. “It is fun
to compare notes,” says
Janice, who enjoys hear-
ing about exotic places.
Janice estimates that she
has visited 101 of the 317
countries in the world. “People ask about all of our trips and we say,
‘Well there were biting
flies, tremendous heat (or cold), constant diarrhea, and we
got sick from the malaria medicine, but it was a great trip.’
Even if you don’t drink the water, almost always you get sick
in third world countries.” Prior to setting out on a trip, Janice does a lot of research, which cuts down on the number of surprises. Sometimes she
draws inspiration from articles or documentaries. She and her husband Don Jansen, also an attorney, pass time on the 15- to 20-hour flights to remote locales by play-
ing cards, reading, and sometimes resorting to annoying
each other. Even though she’s a seasoned traveler, Janice admits to occasional mishaps. When she and her husband went camp-
ing in the desert in Namibia, Janice forgot that their seasons are reversed. “It was the peak of their summer. It was about
120-degrees during the day,” she said. Thankfully the area
cools off at night. Although Janice realizes that most people are out of their comfort zone on a trip like Timbuktu, “There’s just some- thing in your soul—it’s a
memory that you just
have forever. No one can
ever take those memo-
ries away from you.” As a result, Janice is left with a relatively
short list of spots that
she’d like to visit. “Next
year we are going to
Ethiopia. It was sort of
the last really famous
place left.” Curious about Janice’s shortest international
trip? She once went to
India. For the weekend.
The couple flew to New
York and then from New
York to Delhi. “We got
that flight on Friday and
arrived on Saturday,”
she says. After touring
the Taj Mahal they
returned on Sunday. By
using Hilton hotel and
Continental miles, the
whole weekend cost
about $500. “Maybe
we’ll go back someday
and see the rest of it,” she says. After surfing the Internet to find family-friendly dive spots, Martin Wolff plotted his course to the Cayman
Islands, literally. He even filed his own flight plan with the
F.A.A. Martin, his wife Marilyn and sons Carl, 8, and Max, 6, have flown south the last two years to enjoy undersea
adventures while scuba diving. Although the family takes
commercial flights when returning to Marilyn’s native
Australia, part of the excitement of traveling comes from fly-
ing their twin engine plane that seats seven. Prior to acquiring the twin engine, the couple crossed the Atlantic in their single engine plane. “We had an emergency
landing during one Atlantic crossing and landed in Vagar, in by Katy Holt, staff writer Having a shared passion for scuba diving, Martin and Marilyn Wolff traveled to Honduras
so their sons Carl and Max could learned about scuba and swim with dolphins. Adventure Travel Buzz travel MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 19 the Faroe Islands near nowhere,” said Marilyn. (Actually it’s
part of Denmark.) There was a fire truck and an ambulance
standing by.” After spending the night, a mechanic cleared
them to travel. More recently, the Wolffs visited Anthony’s Key resort in Roatan, Honduras in 2007 and Grand Cayman in 2006.
Because Marilyn has been certified for over 15 years and
Martin for many more, the
couple was eager to get
the children started with
Kids Sea Camp. “The boys are currently SASYs (Supplied Air
Snorkeling for Youth), two
years ago they learned
snorkeling and then began
using regulators and to
read the dive gauges.
Basically they were scuba
diving on the surface
wearing a life jacket and a
pony tank, a small kid-
sized tank.” Grand Cayman’s Cobalt Coast Resort is far from the
heavily built-up Seven
Mile Beach. Because of its
remote location the children enjoyed having a lot of freedom. “Grand Cayman was really a perfect place to start because it was such a small resort,” says Marilyn. “The boys were in
small groups with five children and two instructors. In the
open water, each child had one-on-one instruction. They
were very careful with them.” Diving highlights included sunken wrecks, reefs, caverns, and several sites with “tame” grouper and eels. “I got to hug
a grouper,” explains Marilyn. In addition to learning about turtle conservation and visit- ing a breeding farm, the family got to dive with string rays.
“It was the first chance that we had all week for the whole
family to dive together. Honduras featured gorgeous tropical surroundings, and lots of outings and activities for both the kids and adults
including horseback riding and canopy tours. The focus was
on dolphin conservation so the kids learned to communicate with them and had daily
activities with dolphins.
“At the end of the day,”
Marilyn recalled, “Max
would say, ‘I taught a dol-
phin how to jump up in
the air and show the hand
sign.’ ” Because the resort at Anthony’s Key was much
larger than the resort at
Grand Cayman, the
groups for adult dives
and youth dives were
both much larger.
Although it was not
included in their package,
a highlight of the trip for
the adults was a shark
dive. “It wasn’t actually as scary as it sounded before going down there. You break it
down into its individual components,” says Marilyn. The components involve a distance of only 10 feet, a buck- et of chopped fish, and 15 blacktip reef sharks measuring up
to 7 feet. “After the feeding frenzy, they are gone. Then you
can go around and pick up shark teeth in the sandy bottom.” Editor's Note: Katy Holt is addicted to traveling and loves hearing from fel- low travel enthusiasts about their experiences and adventures. If you'd like to
share a favorite destination, send an e-mail to katy@thebuzzmagazines.com. A love of exploring other cultures has created unlimited travel opportunities for
Janice Law and husband Don Jansen (not pictured). Travel tips • To view the list of countries considered valid for membership in the Century Club, visit www.travelerscenturyclub.org.
• Want access to more than 90 countries on all seven continents? Travcoa is a favorite source for tours. Visit www.travcoa.com for information on escorted journeys, custom journeys, and private jet expeditions. • Travcoa tours are limited to 18 guests. Before the trip, travelers receive reading recommendations and packing tips. Accommodations and meals are included for $8,695 per person. Returning travelers are eligible for a discount. • Kids Sea Camp is a camp within a vacation and includes accommodations, itineraries, meals, dive guides, educational activities, and more. Children’s gear is provided. Adults should bring their own, however, rentals are available. Meals are included. Marilyn
gives Kids Sea Camp high marks for cost-value and rates the children’s program “outstanding.” Adult rates per person for one
week start at $1,460. • Children ages 4 and up use SASY (Supplied Air Snorkeling for Youth) snorkeling with scuba equipment instead of a snorkel. The Seal Team program is designed for kids 8 and older and features underwater pool adventures. The Junior Open Water Diver
course teaches 10- to 15-year-olds the basic knowledge and skills needed to dive with a buddy (independent of supervision).
Anthony’s Key Resort in Honduras was designed as a tropical hideaway and has 56 bungalows. • Cobalt Coast Resort is built in the style of a Caribbean Great House and located in Boatswains Bay on Grand Cayman’s North Wall. Children interact with turtles at the Cayman Island Turtle Farm, and rays during a Stingray City trip. Want to spend
Thanksgiving week in Fiji? Visit www.kidsseacamp.com for details. Interested in getting certified before you go? To explore your
options, visit www.padi.com. MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 20 Pure Driving Fun! 2008 Lotus Elise
Super Charged 713.868.6856 (Phone) • 281.844.1082 (Cell) tearl@starmotorcars.com www.starmotorcarslotus.com 7000 Katy Road, Houston, Texas 77024 MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 21 H ats off to the Class of 2008! See why these graduates are
in a class all their own. Kinkaid Serena Mammen will be at Tulane University after receiv- ing a Presidential Scholarship. Stephanie Gerow-Davidson will play Division I soccer for Davidson College. Taylor D. Hendrix is going to Alabama, where he’ll be a business honors major. Yurina Kodama will attend Washington University for architecture after earning several scholarships. Kristin Wilkinson is all set for Rhodes College. Awty International School Colleen Hogan will play soccer at Dartmouth College.
Christoph Meyer is going to Rice with a Distinguished
Trustee Scholarship. Zach Goldman is packing his bags for Princeton. Houston Christian High School Kristin Kingsbury will attend Belmont University with an
academic merit scholarship St. Agnes Academy Virginia (Ginny) Dean will attend TCU. St. Thomas High School Eric Lodge may want to pol- ish his cowboy boots for Fort
Worth, where he will attend
TCU. Memorial High School Alyssa and Juliana Herring, Courtney Spafford, Brynne Walker, Kirby Cohen, Kristin Hudson, and Bennett Brown
are soon to be Longhorns at UT. Alyssa received a CATE
scholarship from the Academy of Finance. Bennett received
a Jackson School of Geosciences Freshman Scholarship and
is going to UT. Sarah Strutton, Travis M. Tippit, Brian Winkler, Hunter P. Coleman, Matt Runkel, and Jefferson Hardy Walker will be
Aggies. Chelsi Davis will go to TCU with an academic scholarship where Amy Carrigan and Mindy Stockdale will room together. Joseph F. “Trip” Nistico III received a TCU Faculty Scholarship.
Annie Bates and Muriel Forney will be at the University of Arkansas where Muriel will play lacrosse. Hayden Rome will attend the University of Georgia.
Kirstin Keely Hughes will major in engineering at the University of Virginia. Lex May will make Waco home in the fall as a Baylor bear.
Megan Williams and Ryan Kimble will attend SMU. Megan was awarded a merit based scholarship. Colleen Peel will major in elementary education at North Carolina State University. Katharine Bruce is going to University of South Carolina with a double major in international studies and Spanish. Mary Grace (Gracie) Gleeson will attend Texas State University for elementary education. She received the
Monica Neubauer Memorial Scholarship. Blake Lawrence Bravo is going to attend Texas Tech.
Jesse Wallace is going to Sam Houston State University and will be a cheerleader. Jake Signet won the Arizona Excellence Award
scholarship for the
University of Arizona. Laura Jackson will attend LSU. Twins Adam and Austin Nowicki received scholar-
ships for LSU. Patrick Samper was a National Merit Scholarship
finalist and a National
Hispanic Finalist. He will
attend Stanford University
in the fall. Chris Valach will swim for Washington University in
St. Louis. Sean Patrick Giroir is going to study film at
Savannah College of Art and
Design. Jeremy Rathjen will play baseball at Rice, where he received an athletic scholarship. Hilary Szczepanski is headed to Notre Dame.
Theresa Valach is off to Stanford and can’t wait to root for the Cardinals. Allison Taylor will attend Mississippi College with a Presidential Scholarship. Paul Richards is going to Hendrix College and was award- ed several scholarships. He will do a one-month German
American Exchange Program. Brittany Lee Carameros will be at Baylor University.
Amanda Shook is off to St. Edward’s University with a Presidential Scholarship and a cross country scholarship. 2008 Kinkaid graduate Yurina Kodama will soon root for the Bears at
Washington University in St. Louis. Mindy Stockdale, a Memorial gradu-
ate, will hoot and holler for the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs in
Fort Worth. by Sharon Albert,
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song, one last year of baseball in the old Eighth
Wonder, the Houston Astros lined up all the celebrities they could think of to throw out the ceremonial
first pitch before each game. Local baseball veterans like Nolan Ryan and J.R. Richard were natural choices. One night, a balding guy from
Cleveland strode confidently up to the mound. He’d never
played a game of professional baseball in his life. He’d never
had a baseball card with his picture on it. But this man was—
and is—an undeniable part of baseball in this city. And when he made his wind-up and let loose his pitch, Arnie Murphy didn’t send a baseball sailing toward the
plate. He threw a bag of peanuts. What else would you
expect of a guy known to Astros fans everywhere as the
Peanut Dude? For the past 15 seasons, Arnie has been a peanut vendor at
Astros games, both at the old
dome and at the newer Minute
Maid Park. What can be a humble
profession in less inspired hands
becomes a stage for a natural
show-off like Arnie, who wings
bags behind his back and fancies
throwing multiple bags at once. He rarely misses his mark, and it’s not unusual to see him flip a
bag to a customer a dozen rows
away. The longest toss Arnie can
remember was at an All-Star
Game—he was invited to work as
one of baseball’s best vendors.
Encouraged to sling one beyond all hope of collecting any
money, “I threw this strike into the upper-deck there in
Atlanta, and all the sudden someone was hugging me. Turns
out it was Jane Fonda.” Arnie typically works the field level at Minute Maid, gen- erally around home plate. He is such a fixture year in and
year out, “people come up to me and swear that they caught
peanuts from me in the 1970s. But (former owner John)
McMullen never allowed peanut throwing in the dome.
When Drayton McLane bought the team, I started throwing
the peanuts. He loved it. He immediately saw the entertain-
ment value.” The Peanut Dude started his career up in Cleveland, where he was raised, selling peanuts outside Municipal Stadium.
He would fling peanuts behind his back, “all that fancy stuff.
I eventually drove all the other kids off my corner.” Arnie did play some baseball as a kid, but it was his expe- rience as a point guard on his high school basketball team
that gave him the chops he now uses as the Peanut Dude. “Watch this, behind the back,” Arnie says now, just before hitting a fan waiting 10 rows away. I am not about to try and
match him out here, so I settle for a short toss of maybe two
rows, with no one standing nearby to get plunked in the
noggin. “You know, I did hit a federal judge in the head once. The peanuts bounced off the hands of the guy I was throwing to,
and they smacked the judge right in the head,” Arnie says,
forever killing my desire to make a second toss. “He was not
nice about it—not at all.” When Murphy reached adulthood, he decided to leave Cleveland and down move to Texas. Why? “That’s a silly question,” Arnie answers with an amazed stare. “Have you ever been to Cleveland?” Then he grins and laughs. It is that spirit—as much as the flam-
boyant throwing—that makes the
Peanut Dude a success.
Customers—many of them sea-
son-ticket holders who see him
night after night—stop him just to
talk and ask about his favorite top-
ics, including the Astros and his
golf game. “He is such a wonderful per- son,” said 83-year-old Sofia Garza,
a diehard fan who started coming
to Astros games in 1966 and says
she never misses a home game.
“He just belongs here.” Fans like Sofia kept a close watch on Arnie in 1995, the summer his wife died of cancer. “Being
out here with all these people, they were so supportive. It
was like family out here.” At 60, Murphy has had some health issues himself. About three seasons ago, he had a heart attack. He conditioned
himself to return by walking these same stadium steps in the
off-season. When this year’s baseball season geared up, the Peanut Dude considered retiring. The prospect of another long sea-
son almost seemed too long, too grueling. “I quit at the end of every year. I say, ‘That’s it. I’m done,’ ” Arnie said. “But I always come back. My doctor says it’s
good for me. It keeps me young.” Editor’s Note: Greg Hassell is a contributing writer for The Buzz Magazines. If you have a new adventure for Greg to write about, please
e-mail your suggestions to greg@thebuzzmagazines.com. The Peanut Dude can sell $1,000 worth of peanuts on a good
night. Not bad at $4.25 a pop. by Greg Hassell, contributing writer MR. PEANUT MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 25 A s the high school sports season
draws to a close, by no means is
it time to close the book on some of the region’s premier athletes,
who now get set to take their game to
the next level. One of those athletes is Memorial Mustangs volleyball player Sydney Stewart , who has signed her letter of intent to play for SMU. “I visited the
school without really knowing a whole
lot about it, but I just fell in love with
the university. The girls and coaches are
really great, and I’m just really excited
to go,” said Sydney. The outside hitter leaves quite a lega- cy behind at Memorial, having led her
team to the 5A State Volleyball
Tournament during her junior season.
“That’s probably the biggest thing I’m
going to remember from my career at
Memorial,” Sydney said. “Being in that
gym at the state tournament and com-
peting with all that incredible talent
was overwhelming. It was an amazing
experience.” The Kinkaid Falcons boys lacrosse team enjoyed one of its best season’s
ever, winning the Southwest
Preparatory Conference South Zone for
the first time in school history. “We
exceeded all expectations,” said head
coach Jeremy Platt. “We graduated 14
seniors off last year’s team and added
16 new players to this year’s roster.” Highlighting the Falcons season was an 8-7 double overtime victory over
rival St. John’s. “It was just a great
game that went back and forth the
whole way,” said Coach Platt. The
Falcons were trailing with only two
minutes left in the game, when Jarrett
Wadler scored the tying goal to force overtime. It was Jarrett who also came
to the rescue in the second overtime,
when he scored the game-winning goal.
Along with Jarrettt’s heroics, Falcons
junior captain Zach Stoler had a huge
game with four goals and one assist. “We’ve had a lot of guys step up all season,” added Coach Platt. “Senior
captain Andrew Sprague was our lead-
ing points scorer. He had four goals in
our city quarterfinal victory over
Episcopal . Also, senior captain Boone Bajgier was as an All-State goalie for the South Zone. Amazingly, he played
the entire season without a ligament in
his right knee after suffering an injury
during the football season. This team
just overcame adversity all season.” It’s been another championship sea- son for the girls lacrosse team at St. John’s High School , with the Mavericks capturing the SPC title in a 9-
7 victory over Dallas Hockaday. “It
was quite a battle,” said St. John’s head
coach Angie Kensinger. “Our goalie Aly Leczner had a great game. We held them scoreless for the
final 24 minutes of the game. Senior
captain Clayton Crum scored three
goals and one assist while another sen-
ior captain Sarah Jewett scored two goals and sophomore Catherine
Franklin added three goals. Both teams were extremely talented.” St. John’s carried a perfect 18-0 record entering the Texas Girls High School
Lacrosse League State Championship, a
championship the school had won the
last three consecutive seasons. “I think
this year’s team has handled itself real-
ly well,” said Coach Kensinger. They’ve
played especially well in the playoffs
and have had a lot of fun together. It’s a
great group of girls.” Another great group of girls this sea- son has been the Bellaire Cardinals
softball team, which advanced to the
final four in the regional playoffs for the
first time since 1994. The Cardinals were more like the Cardiac Cards in their tremendous post
season run, rallying from one game
deficits in playoff series victories over
Cy Woods and then Cy-Fair. In fact, Bellaire scored two runs in its final at
bat in the Cy-Fair series to pull out a
dramatic 6-5 victory. While Bellaire’s McKenzie Sher homered in the deciding win over Cy-
Fair, the Cardinals benefited from
another outstanding pitching effort
from senior Katherine “Kat” Espinosa.
It was in the regular season finale a cou-
ple of weeks earlier, that Katherine
struck out a remarkable 19 batters over
the rival Lamar Redskins, as Bellaire
earned a share of the district champi-
onship with Lamar. “Her ability to
strike out 19 of 24 batters was amaz-
ing,” said head coach Brian Tuffy.
“Katherine was just phenomenal all
season, and our entire team just contin-
ued to come through when it counted
most. It was truly a special season.” Editor’s Note: Todd Freed is the host and execu- tive producer of High School Sports Live, which
can be seen each Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at
6 pm on KTBU Channel 55 The Tube. To submit
information for possible inclusion in SportzBuzz,
please e-mail todd@thebuzzmagazines.com. Sydney Stewart makes a great return during
one of the Mustangs games last season. The
senior outside hitter will play at SMU next fall. MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 26 FREE FRIES or DRINK Lunch boxes available • High school delivery M-W-F Free Fries or Medium Drink With purchase of any Burger or Sandwich Try one of our Famous Milkshakes 6 delicious Flavors to Choose From 713 468-4111 • 8800 Katy Freeway Dine in only • One Coupon per Person • Exp. 6-30-08 FREEWAY BURGERS Decorative Concrete Driveways | Walkways | Pool Area | Patios With concrete, you don’t get a second chance! INCRETE of Houston Excellent Craftsmanship at
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12201 Carlsbad | Houston
www.increteofhouston.com The Buzz Magazines has been proudly serving our community since 2002. Take a bigger bite of your market— call 713.668.4157 or visit www.thebuzzmagazines.com Hungry for business? MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 27 N ow that summer is here, parents of young children
are all faced with the same question: What do we do
with the kids all summer? Day camp and trips to the pool can occupy a lot of time, but how do you fill their
downtime indoors? Most kids would say that’s an easy
question. If they’re not playing outside, they’ll probably turn
on the Wii. But, if the thought of hearing Super Mario ring-
ing in your ears for three months
makes you cringe, it’s time to expand
the kiddos’ toy repertoire. Have you ever thought about showing them the toys you played
with as a child? You know, the classic
toys like checkers, pick-up sticks,
and jacks. Most young kids today
don’t know much about those toys,
but this summer might be an ideal
time to push the issue a little bit. Walker and Harrison Herzog rec- ognize most of the classic toys, but
don’t have much interest in them.
“Checkers is boring,” says Walker.
“There aren’t any flashing lights.” Harrison agrees and adds, ”We like our Nintendo DS. It’s much better.” Like most boys, the Herzog broth- ers are intrigued by fast-paced,
action oriented games. But, even
energy filled young boys need to
slow down sometimes. When they
first saw the classic pick-up sticks,
neither was very interested in learn-
ing how to play the game. However,
they were interested in using them
for a different purpose. “Wow,
swords!” exclaimed Harrison. After a few minutes of pick-up stick sword fighting, Walker and
Harrison settled into a real game and were pleasantly sur-
prised by how much fun it is. Although they still prefer
something a bit more high tech, both brothers conceded that
playing pick up sticks might not be a bad way to spend some
quiet time together. Pick-up sticks is also an unknown game to 5-year-old twins Eleanor and Jack Carter. “I’ve never heard of them,” said Jack.
He says he would rather play with his Leapster or Jumpstart,
educational computer games. Eleanor is more interested in
trying out the classics. She has a game of jacks, but hasn’t
played with them yet. “I think it would be fun,” she said. In addition, both Carter children love their Slinkies and have spent lots of time playing with them. The twins’ mom,
Mary Grace Carter, would like for her kids to take more of
an interest in the toys she grew up with. Like most moms,
she tolerates their computer games, but would love for the
children to find another way to spend a rainy day. Maybe the best way to get your kids interested in the classics is to sit down with them and start playing. The Kalmans fam- ily has done just that with the game of
dominoes. Aerin and Kendall
Kalmans have learned to play domi-
noes with their grandfather. “We play
every time we see Papa,” said Kendall. Dominoes with Papa has become a tradition, and 8-year-old Aerin has
turned into quite a pro. “Papa taught
me to count dominoes. It’s so fun!”
she said. The girls look forward to
their game time, and can’t wait for
their younger sister, Tali, to learn to
play with them. Unlike many children, 7-year-old Peyton Boyce prefers classic toys to
anything electronic. “Her favorite
toys are jacks, shape sorters, and the
jack-in-the box,” says her mom, Susie
Boyce. Peyton is autistic and is over-
whelmed by all the bells and whistles
of today’s video games. “She can
anticipate what the jack-in-the box is
going to do and she enjoys having
some control over what’s she’s play-
ing with,” Susie said. Peyton’s twin brother, Logan, and their older sister Abigail don’t care
for the classic toys. “They don’t beep
and don’t give any instant gratifica-
tion, so most kids don’t care anything
about them,” said Susie. She wishes more children would take an interest in the classic toys, and thinks kids really have a lot to gain by play-
ing with them. “Older toys require children to really think
and create their own experience,” she said. “The newer toys
tell you what the experience should be, rather than letting
you come to it yourself.” So, will your kids really embrace the classics? You won’t know until you try. They just might surprise you. If nothing
else, you can enjoy a bit of nostalgia from your own child-
hood just by having those toys around the house. High-tech
fun may continue to reign supreme, but slowing things
down a little may be a great way to spend this summer. by Angie Frederickson, staff writer Classic Six-year-old Harrison Herzog initially thought classic
toys were boring compared to his modern day
Nintendo DS. But he and his 7-year-old brother Walker
found that classic toys might be a nice way to spend
some quiet time together. fun www.andrewsphoto.com MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 29 Dance for the children Memorial Middle School eighth-
graders Chloe Gold and Kelly Walker
celebrated their 14th birthdays with a
great cause in mind. The girls chose to
raise money for St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital in lieu of traditional
gifts at their birthday party. Over 150
teenagers attended to help kids battling
cancer celebrate another one of their
birthdays. The thoughtful event raised
$3,239! In it to win it Memorial women really care about rais-
ing awareness and funds for multiple
sclerosis! • Congratulations to Laura Gauss,
Aimee Dodson, Kim Overall, Suzanne
Odum, Vicky Rocher, Melissa
DeAyala, Jean Gaines, Julie Stratton,
Tracy Kettler , and Tracy Jarvis who participated in this year’s MS 150.
Inspired by their close friends and
neighbors, Ann and Jim Tidwell, these
moms, many of whom have never rid-
den in any sort of bike race before,
trained for weeks to participate in this fundraising event.
• Strong headwinds were no match for
Stephanie Manara . The Memorial High School sophomore’s endurance pre-
vailed in her first BP MS 150 bike ride.
With a 162-mile cycling adventure
behind her, Stephanie finished strong
with 13,000 other cyclists in downtown
Austin. Racing for the Westside Tennis
team, Stephanie raised over $2,500 for
the National Multiple Sclerosis Society! Running for the Arts Lori and Jay Barr with daughter Meegen and twin sons Carson (left) and Ethan joined competitive runners,
students, families, and community
members for the annual Running for
the Arts. This year’s run had the largest
crowd ever! Proceeds provide cultural
arts field trips for SBISD students, as
well as college scholarships for students
and professional development scholar-
ships for teachers. Record breaker It was a night filled with great
moments! Honored guests Cheryl and
Bob Boblitt celebrated with two of their three daughters, Kendall (left) and
Kacie at The Covenant House Texas Guild’s 25th anniversary gala, 25 Years, 100,000 Lives. The evening began with
emcee Linda Lorelle asking everyone
to toast the Covenant House Texas for
25 more years of helping homeless
youth. Adding to the excitement of the
big event was the generosity of donors
who raised a record breaking $730,000
in gross proceeds to benefit runaway
and abandoned youth in Houston and
Harris County. Proud to be an American Rummel Creek
Elementary stu-
dent Kalyn Barker sang the National Anthem
for a Spring
Branch Memorial
Sports Association
midget league
baseball game
recently. She was
honored to be able
to open the game
with a patriotic melody before her
brother Carson’s baseball game. Her
parents Jennifer and Trey Barker
proudly watched from the stands. about town Buzz BU Z Z Z Z Bee Seen in Buzz About Town Send your local notices and announcements
(approximately 100 words) along with a high-res-
olution photo. All submissions are due on the first
of the month prior to publication. Items are pub-
lished on a space-available basis. Items may be
e-mailed to info@thebuzzmagazines.com or
mailed to The Buzz Magazines, 5001 Bissonnet,
Suite 100, Bellaire, TX 77401. The Memorial
Buzz reserves the right to edit all submissions. MEMORIAL BUZZ JUNE 2008 30 Stanley, age 9 & Stella, age 3 Havanese
Longworth Lane Neighborhood Tails sponsored by Rover Oaks 7 1 3 . 6 6 2 . 2 1 1 9
www.roveroaks.com I was 6 years old and when I decided I was ready for my first girl-
friend. We were in North Carolina
and heard about some Havanese
puppies for sale. The largest female
of the litter was a darling, white,
fluffy puppy who seemed destined for the job. Since Hurricane Katrina had just struck New
Orleans, and since we are fans of Tennessee Williams, it was
decided that at last, I, a la Streetcar Named Desire Stanley
should have his Stella. She was aptly named, because she is
a sneaky little gal, who always seems to get “out and about”
whenever someone comes to the front door, and she is not
properly contained. People calling “Stella, Stella!” can be
heard all over the neighborhood. I have taught her some
good habits and some not-so-good habits, but together we
make a great pair. We have lots of fun and love! Got a cute canine or a photogenic feline? E-mail 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, TX 77401. Featured pets receive
two passes to Rover Oaks Pet Resort. Each pass can be redeemed for one day of
boarding, four extra playtimes or one day in Doggy Day Camp (for approved pets). P E T R E S O R T Be real. Be you. Senior portraits beyond the ordinary. Mention The Buzz and receive 24 complimentary wallet photos ($79 value) Reserve your session now A portrait remembers Andrews Photography, Inc. Carol Andrews • Nikky Lawell 713.523.4916 • www.andrewsphoto.com It’s About Time To Get Out of Braces Faster! The new innovative system for Braces OrthoCad IQ More Comfortable • Fewer and Shorter Appointments Less Time in Braces • Beautiful Results Call for a Complimentary Consultation! David L. Skibell, DDS, MS, PA Certified by the American Board of Orthodontics Orthodontics for Children and Adults 7887 San Felipe, Suite 150 Houston, Texas 77063 713-782-4566 aworldofsmiles.com Professional Memberships and Qualifications: American Academy of General Dentistry • American Dental Association Houston Academy of General Dentistry • Texas Dental Association Houston Dental Society C OSMETIC D ENTAL A SSOCIATES Accredited Members of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry 7575 San Felipe, Suite 135, Houston, Texas 77063 713.781.2800 Visit our Web site to see before and after pictures of our work www.cosmeticdental.com The Perfect Smile. . . is within reach Scott Coleman D.D.S., M.A.G.D. Spiker Davis D.D.S., M.A.G.D. Extreme Makeovers
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