Mailbag - December 2019

BOWLING FOR ERIC The Eric M. Suhl Foundation hosted its first Bowl a Strike for Mental Health event this fall, in partnership with Jewish Family Service. From left: Eric’s brothers Kyle Suhl and Ryan Suhl, foundation president Eric Horvitz, development director Jodi Gough, board member Eugene Tunitsky, Eric’s parents Debra Suhl and Randy Suhl, Jewish Family Service CEO Linda Burger and Touching the Heart director Laurie Silver. (Photo: Steven David)

Getting people talking

I just wanted to congratulate you on your recent article [Touching Hearts: With caring texts from a stranger, by Pooja Salhotra, November 2019] about our foundation [the Eric M. Suhl Foundation] and JFS [suicide-prevention program]. I have heard from so many people I haven't talked to in a long time who read the story of our journey these past few years. Sometimes, when I think about all that Eric went through, mostly alone, I realize that there are so many people out there feeling the same way he did. Your article gets people talking about mental health. The more we talk, the more we help others and the more lives we save. 

Thank you for your beautiful words. 

Debra Suhl

Fan of Back Porch 

I always read The Buzz from back to front because I can count on my favorite writer, Andria Frankfort, to deliver a terrific "Back Porch" on the last page. I saw Phyllis and Bernie Milstein’s names in the opening paragraphs [Navigating a changing world, November 2019], and that is always a treat because familiar names personalize her material. And then – surprise! She was writing about me! There was our conversation, word for word, expertly blended into her "changing world" theme. Wow! I am going to have so much fun showing this to my children and grandkids. I want her to know she has made my day, week, and month. It is a delight to be mentioned positively in print, and I am going to enjoy it to the hilt. It is fun to make someone happy, so I am eager for her to know how happy her article makes me.

Lee Mountain

The lucky ones

What an honor to have our Wiley [Deweese] featured in The Buzz [The Lucky-Unlucky Kid: A Wiley made it to Broadway, November 2019]. Cindy Gabriel did a great job of capturing our family dynamics. What she didn't include was how lucky we feel to have Wiley and how lucky we are to live in such a great community. The neighbors swept him up and Bellaire Methodist Church fully embraced him with love and music through the choir. Cindy even recently went to his Broadway show, The Lightning Thief, in NYC. Her daughters drove him to HSPVA in high school.

We are the lucky ones and feel the love.

Jean Brackendorff

Travel delights and disasters 

Your story of the family-travel legacy was so unusual and interesting and I would think almost impossible to do [Family Travel Legacy: A four-generation friendship, by Andria Frankfort, October 2019]. Those two brave grandmothers are fantastic. I know a lot about traveling with my seven children. But when I tried it with my granddaughters, cousins of 17 and 19, on a trip to Ireland, I vowed never to do it again. When they weren’t shopping, they were napping in the car from staying out late the night before. I had mapped out all these wonderful things to see (I think they saw one!). Great story!

Katie O’Sullivan 

Rooting for the ’Stros

My wife, Debbie Elliott Griffith, and I have been frequent "flyers " in Section 120 [Section 120 Fan Club: Seatmates bond over Astros baseball, by Karen Vine Fuller, September 2019]. Hosted by Leo Vasquez and SuZanne Feather, our feet hardly touch the ground when we are with them. So many friends pop in to say hello, it's rare that we actually sit very long.  

Astros management team members, politicians, community leaders, military friends are often hosted in Section 120 as a salute for their service to our nation. If folks on the row up or below have extra family, Leo and SuZanne open their extra seats to accommodate any overage. It's just a smorgasbord of solid Astros supporters who pop in on Leo and SuZanne.  

And the night is not complete until Leo Vazquez takes a perfect "selfie" of everyone in the section. It's as much fun to sit home and wait to see who all popped in on 120. Besides our winning ways, their selfies are the second-best thing.  

Lanny Griffith

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.