Mailbag - October 2018

CHEERS TO GEORGE! Yarwell Neighbors raise their glasses of Old Fashioneds in honor of George, the neighbor who brought them all together. Back row (from left): Steve Fowlkes, Matthew Schaefer, Lynne Schaefer, Ted Schaefer, Matthew Hahn, Dong Li; middle row (from left): Jeff Basen-Enquist, Trina Fowlkes, Ezequiel Garcia, Kelly Fowlkes Garcia, Lina Asmar, Martha Bulsara, Khush Bulsara; front row (from left): George Binick, Caroline Binick, Jacob Ehrenstrom, Mindi Stanley, Bill Ehrenstrom, Ike Zach, Helena Zach, Alma Irr Connor, Amy Keiter, Justin Keiter. (Photo: hartphoto.com)

Cheers to a beloved neighbor

Thank you for the article about Col. (Ret.) George McDowell and the 5300 block of Yarwell [The Good Neighbor: George McDowell's happy-hour legacy, by Karen Vine Fuller, September 2018]. Karen masterfully captured the essence of our long running happy hour gatherings and creation of a neighborly street. I laughed, and I cried reading the comments that were expertly woven together to recap our story. We have so much fun as neighbors and we most definitely have each other's back. We celebrate, commiserate and stare down hurricanes during our gatherings. I hope it inspires other blocks to do the same. Cheers!

Trina Fowlkes

Talking of tracking teens

In response to the teen tracking article [Tracking Teens: We can, but should we?, by Andria Frankfort, September 2018]: I am a life coach and this issue has come up in sessions with parents.

As a parent myself, I did not track my older son who is now 22. I don't recall having the technology available to me when he was in high school. My younger son is very social, and he drove all over Houston and the suburbs for three years. I used the Life360 [family locator] app for his safety and my sanity. He was in an accident once, and the app helped us to locate him. After he graduated from high school, he and some friends took a road trip to Big Bend and Austin. All of the parents had the app, which made us feel comfortable about the trip.

Not long after the road trip, my son and I came to the decision that he could disable the app. After all, he was 19 and going to college in Virginia soon. It was a great way to begin the letting go process for both of us. He was given the independence that he needed, and I was able to practice trusting that he would be fine without a tracking device.

Cutting the technology tracking cord over the summer was a perfect way to begin the process of trust and independence. Also, after a couple of days of being untethered, I felt liberated not to feel like I "had" to track him. I'm sure he felt the same way. As we have reliance on many technological "toys," we tend to become addicted to them, and once we let it go, the sense of freedom is refreshing.

Arlene Schneider

Galveston dining memories

I discovered your article Galveston Restaurant Memories by Russell Weil [July 2018]. What a great piece, brought back many memories of some wonderful seafood meals in places like Gaido’s. But, I am haunted by a memory I have of another seafood restaurant on Seawall Boulevard, and I can’t remember the name. I may be thinking of early Gaido’s, but what I remember is a place with white and black checkered tile floors, large windows overlooking the Gulf, waiters with white aprons, white tablecloths and outside, an overhang over the sidewalk. I am hoping that you may have knowledge of such a restaurant you did not mention in your article or one that someone may have brought to your attention after you wrote the piece. If you do, I would greatly appreciate your sharing it with me.

David Batt

Editor’s note: We tried to figure out the mystery restaurant and reached out to our BOI (born-on-the-island) feature writer Andria Frankfort, who thought it might be Hill’s Original Restaurant. It wasn’t. We’re still stumped. If any of you think you might know the answer, please email [email protected]. 

Making a difference

Thank you, Tracy, for this great article [From Houston to Guatemala, with love, by Tracy L. Barnett, August 2018] on our local Houstonians broadening their horizons and making a difference in the world here and abroad. Brooke, Lorena, Christina and Hayley are great examples of how Houstonians go above and beyond. Truly a city with a heart!

Linda Porter-Tucci

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