Mailbag - February 2019

Rosie Murphy, here playing with April at home, has fostered dozens of homeless dogs. (Photo: kimhartz.com)

Need for dog fosters

I recently read your January article called Must Love Dogs [by Annie Blaylock McQueen, January 2019] and was so happy to read that so many people are opening their homes to Houston animals. We are always looking for ways to help as many animals as possible. I currently work at BARC Animal Shelter & Adoptions, where we have a foster program for our shelter animals and are always looking for new foster homes. The program was recently relaunched and has been helping us find temporary homes for our many shelter pets. In addition to fostering, we have a volunteer program and, of course, an adoption program at the shelter. 

Jennifer Barrera Wandrey

Editor’s note: Thanks, Jennifer. We’ve added this information on our website.

What the doctor ordered 

I just wanted to share my thoughts about how wonderful this article is [When I’m 64: Comfortable in my own skin, by Cindy Gabriel, November 2018]. Though there are many things I love about it, my favorites are “Now that I’m Finally Comfortable in My Own Skin, It’s Wrinkled” and “When I notice myself feeling anxious, judgmental or worried, I call myself out and sit on the bench until it goes away.” Statements like these kick the door of depression and anxiety off the hinges and open up doorways of peace, joy and laughter. In short, it makes me want to live life to the fullest and squeeze every drop of toothpaste out of the tube of life. This article is absolutely life transforming! If I was a doctor I would prescribe this article for every one of my patients dealing with low self-worth. Laughter is good medicine for the heart, and this was just what the doctor ordered.

Ivan Lonzo

Kudos to Andria and Tracy

Many thanks to Andria Frankfort for the wonderful story on the Junior League cookbooks [50 Years of Junior League Cookbooks, November 2018] and to Tracy Barnett for inspiring us to Go Green [eco-friendly Going Green series], and to all the Buzz writers and editors whose love for our community shows in every issue. 

Margery Anderson 

Omission in cookbooks story

The editor of the Houston Junior League Cookbook [referenced in 50 Years of Junior League Cookbooks] was Mrs. Lorenzo Boykin Taylor (Marilyn), and she is still living. Each recipe was tested three times and graded to ensure quality, as well as to cull the many recipes submitted. Tasting gatherings were had to evaluate multiple entries of the same dish.

Marilyn was particularly proud of the index listing ingredients alphabetically since it was done before computers. The index is very helpful for utilizing leftovers. I believe this book continues to be the best seller of all and paved the way for the success of the subsequent books. Marilyn’s work has provided pleasure for generations of Houstonians.

PS: I went camping in Colorado with Marilyn and her family to celebrate the completion of the book. Thank you for a great magazine. 

Ann Witt 

Editor’s note: Ann, thank you for letting us know. We revised this portion of the online version of the article. 

Making mention of mensches

It is heartwarming to read that youngsters like Daniel Weinstein are taking an interest in Yiddish [Kvelling Over Yiddish, by Deborah Lynn Blumberg, January 2019]. Your readers may wish to know that the internet offers a cornucopia of resources for Yiddish. YouTube has countless songs, film clips, documentaries, lectures, and interviews in – or about – Yiddish. The website ingeveb.org offers articles, commentaries, and Yiddish texts with translations side by side. The National Yiddish Book Center website has digitized thousands of Yiddish books, as well as more than a hundred that have been recorded orally by native speakers. The YIVO Encyclopedia online is a veritable treasure of information, photos, and videos covering every aspect of the culture that flourished in yiddishland in the 1,000 years of its existence.      

Maurice Wolfthal

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