Mailbag - September 2025

HOPING FOR SUNNIER DAYS A rainbow spreads over Hunt, Texas.

Moved to tears 

Cindy, I just read your extraordinarily beautiful piece in The Buzz and was moved to tears [Before the Flood, After the Flood: A view from higher ground by Cindy Gabriel, Aug. 2025]. Thank you for capturing this moment of agony and inserting your deep compassion, love, and special humor. The part where you describe writing the obituary through tears. The ending. This piece will be in my heart forever. 

Janet Pozmantier

WUES memories and connections 

We thoroughly enjoyed reading The School that Shaped a Town by Cathy Gordon (Aug. 2025). Our son, Byron, was a student in Andrea Behrend’s second-grade class and we always enjoyed parent/teacher conferences with Andrea. Those years at WUES were the best years of our son’s life.

One year, we were traveling to Chicago by train and Andrea and her children, Kyle and Lainey, were on board. It turned out to be a godsend because Byron, Kyle, and Lainey entertained each other on the long trip. 

In March 2024, I had the honor of singing with Andrea in the choir at West University United Methodist Church for the Celebration of Life service for Rev. Charlie Hall. It was great to reconnect with Andrea and share memories of those WUES days.

Thank you for your great article celebrating 100 years of memories at West University Elementary School! 

Brent Lamb 

Crazy about The Buzz 

I have been getting The Buzz for years and I just love it. I just love Cindy Gabriel’s articles and I love the book reviews [Buzz Reads by Cindy Burnett]. I buy books off the book review list about 20 percent of the time. I’m about halfway through the August magazine and I intend to finish it up today, every bit of it, and then get it to a friend who doesn’t receive it at home. I just love it. I’m crazy about the magazine; you all have just done such a great job over the years. Thank you. 

Susie Works

Good news

This is the kind of news we need more of [The Buzz about The Beehive: The sacredness of belonging by Michelle Casas Groogan, Aug. 2025]. These amazing teens have started something very special in Houston. The Beehive is an incredible group supporting an underserved community while raising awareness and funds for rare disorders as well! Our family is so appreciative of these young people.

A few months ago they blessed us by sharing about Jacob, ATP6V1A and the v-ATPase Alliance [on their Share the Rare blog], and made a generous donation as well. As a special needs mom, seeing teens give this type of heart and effort to others who need a place to belong boosts my spirits and gives me hope for Jacob's future. Bravo, Beehive!

I loved the article. Michelle did a great job!

Kristin Anderson

From our Grand Prize winner

Thank you so much for the exciting news – what a wonderful surprise and honor [to be named the Grand Prize winner of the 2025 Buzz Photo Contest]; your email is a rare treat in a world full of junk. I first fell in love with photography at 14, when my inexpensive point-and-shoot camera broke and began unintentionally double-exposing film, creating layered, surreal images. Over the years, life got busy and it slipped into the background, but a couple of years ago I realized how much I missed that creative outlet. Since then, I’ve been intentional about weaving photography back into my everyday life, and winning the grand prize has been both an affirmation and a huge motivator to keep going.

Catherine Yüksek

Editor’s note: Congratulations, Catherine! See all Buzz Photo Contest winners at thebuzzmagazines.com. Keep an eye out for submissions for the 2026 Photo Contest in March. 

Email us at [email protected]. Or send to Mailbag, The Buzz Magazines, 5001 Bissonnet St., Suite 100, Bellaire, Texas 77401. Please include your name, address, phone number and email address for verification purposes. Letters or emails addressed to The Buzz Magazines become the property of the magazine, and it owns all rights to their use for publication. Addresses, phone numbers and email addresses will not be published. Letters are subject to editing for clarity and length. 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.