Mailbag - April 2017

HAPPY PLACE Little things can prompt big smiles in the midst of our day-to-day routines. (Illustration: behance.net/runamokstudios)

Made her smile

Andria Frankfort’s article Little Smiles [Back Porch, March 2017] was smile-worthy itself!  I have fun matching photos or images to the contacts in my phone, and it does make me smile to see a shot of a Dairy Queen sign pop up when I hear from a friend who loves Dairy Queen, for example. The suggestion Andria reported on to take photos of Christmas cards was, as she writes, “genius.” I look forward to doing exactly that before I recycle my next batch of Christmas cards next year, or to add other fun reminders of friends to their contact information in the meantime. It is easy to do and well worth the couple of seconds it takes.

Kathryn Wilson

Editor’s note: We thought that was a great idea too. For readers who missed this story or any other stories or photographs in our print issues, you can find everything online here.

Showing rivals as friends

As a parent of one of the students that dives for SBISD, I want to thank Jordan Steinfeld for truly capturing the spirit and camaraderie of SBISD Diving [Buzz About Town, March 2017, The Memorial Buzz]. Their district coach, Anastasia Pozdniakova, has developed a unique situation in high school sports, rival teams that truly support and root for each other, and they want each other to succeed at the sport.

Geoffrey Dixon, Assistant Principal, Memorial Senior High School

Party write-up not funny

I am a longtime, faithful reader of The Buzz. I was just reading the March [2017] issue when I came across an item in Rumor Has It that really offended me. I'm referring to the "thank you party" (Rumor Has It, The Memorial Buzz and The Tanglewood/River Oaks Buzz) where there was a donation jar for Planned Parenthood "in honor of Mike Pence" as well as an Obama cutout and a Trump piñata. I can only conclude that the idea was to beat the Trump pinata with a stick. 

I find this piece to have been highly insensitive to those who share a different political philosophy. Indeed, hitting a piñata in the form of our president is incredibly disrespectful, not just of the person but also of the office itself. I can't imagine that you would publish a piece about a party given to celebrate the end of the Obama era, complete with a piñata of Pres. Obama that guests would gleefully hit with a stick.

I would hope that in the future, The Buzz takes a little more time to consider what is printed on the pages of this wonderful, neighborhood magazine, and avoids this sort of inappropriate reporting.

Elizabeth Labanowski

Place to get a passport

I saw that you published an article on passport services in The Buzz Magazines in January [Travel Buzz: Passport tips from the pros, by Tracy L Barnett, January 2017]. The Harris County District Clerk’s Office, my employer, runs a quick, efficient passport service. Is there a chance that you might provide some information on the DCO’s passport service in an upcoming Travel Buzz column, please? The downtown passport service remains the hub of the DCO’s passport operation. The service is convenient for residents of River Oaks, West University, Bellaire, Meyerland, Tanglewood and Memorial. The downtown service is located on the first floor of the Harris County Civil Courthouse, 201 Caroline. Hours of operation are weekdays from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Walk-ins are accepted. To make an appointment or get more information, residents may call 713-755-1674. Thanks.

Bill Murphy, Office of Harris County District Clerk Chris Daniel

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