Mailbag - September 2018

POPULAR GUY Dorothy Kaldis, Maura Montgomery and Allison Mercado (from left) hug on their favorite neighbor, Sterling, outside of his West University home. (Photo: lawellphoto.com)

Fan of sewing and Sterling

Both your May 2018 features on the talented heirloom sewer Denise Moseley [Heirloom Sewing: From dress to lifetime quest, by Andria Frankfort] and the June 2018 feature on the inspiring West U neighbor Sterling Burton [The Good Neighbor: Everybody loves Sterling, by Cathy Gordon] made the subjects dazzle. Good job!

Thank you for connecting us with Sterling, as requested. My husband and I spent a delightful afternoon visiting about ballroom dancing and the care of live oak trees with the absolutely charming Sterling in his home. In the shade of his live oak trees, we demonstrated for him a few of our ballroom steps. He is an inspiration!

Janice Law

Reconnecting with alma mater

Thank you for publishing Russell Weil’s “Back to School” article [Back to School: Revisiting Bellaire High School, August 2018] As an architect specializing in education projects and a 1983 Bellaire High School graduate I related to a lot of what he saw. Like Russell, I returned to Bellaire many years after graduating, for a workshop for architects working on the HISD 2012 bond projects, and was surprised to see that so much of the facilities remained unchanged. What I wasn’t able to see is how much of what happens within them had – interactive learning and teaching, use of technology in real time, students engaging with each other more.

The quote from Ms. McLendon was right on: “The constants are the excellent leadership…. The wonderful students and their parents make the school as strong as it ever was.” I would just add that teachers like Ms. McLendon and Ms. Quaite are what have made the school not only strong for all of these years but make it possible for us to connect back and remember a time with them that made the difference in our careers and in our lives.

Marie Hoke

To Guatemala, with love

After reading Travel Buzz in the August issue [From Houston to Guatemala, with love by Tracy L. Barnett] I thought Buzz neighbors might want to see what they can do to help the families of Guatemala.

I’ve been a pediatric operating room nurse at Texas Children’s Hospital for 18 years. I could barely identify Guatemala on a map when I was invited to join a surgical mission team sponsored by Faith in Practice two years ago; today, it is impossible to ignore. Last year, in Guatemala, we performed surgeries on 80 children and treated an equal number of dental patients. Without this team the very real possibility exists that the children would have gone untreated for years.

The families of Guatemala need our help. Even with deep discounts for mission teams, the average cost of these materials for one surgical team is $40,000. With your help, we will reach that goal long before we leave for Guatemala in February. If you would like to donate, please see donate.faithinpractice.org/605YvonneSpolane. Thank you for any help you can provide.

Yvonne Spolane

Back to high school years

I enjoyed Russell Weil’s very entertaining article in The Buzz [Back to School: Revisiting Bellaire High School, Aug. 2018]. I can’t say it took me back to Bellaire High School, as I didn’t go to school there, but I can certainly relate to those days. (I just wish I had seen more photos of Russell in eMotion dance class…!) He always writes from the heart, and his passionate writing style allows anyone to appreciate the story irrespective of where they went to school. I enjoy reading The Buzz each month.

Randy Wile

Editor’s note: If the rest of you missed the photo of Russell dancing, let us be of assistance! Check out the online version of his story.

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