Mailbag - September 2015

Traveling light is key, says mom Dana with kids (from left) Ellery, Ryker, Davis and Alegra. Dana is homeschooling during the trip, but normally twins Alegra and Ryker are students at Lanier Middle School while Ellery and Davis attend The Shlenker School. (Photo: lawellphoto.com)

August issue hit home

I love The Buzz! I especially love the one that arrived today [August 2015], as it featured such a special family, The Germains [Tackling Grief: Living life jelly side up, by Cathy Gordon]. Having just retired from Congregation Beth Israel, I was privileged to know this wonderful family. There are no words descriptive enough for Dana and her personal strength. Thank you for highlighting and to Cathy Gordon for her sensitive handling of this family.

On a more somber note, I am in shock reading the words “Condolences to the Family of Sarah Pesikoff.” I had no idea she passed away, nor had I read anything in the Houston papers. Dr. and Mrs. Pesikoff have been wonderful to my family, so I will reach out to them immediately. Thank you for that tribute as well.

Kathy Cohn Knott

Appreciated school-safety story

I wanted to thank you for the fun of being a part of your magazine [Playing It Safe: Preventing crime on campus, by Andria Frankfort, August 2015]. I didn’t realize Cole and I would be on the cover [of The Tanglewood/River Oaks Buzz]. What a wonderful surprise! And so many readers, who are also friends of mine, have sent me nice notes and copies of this month’s edition.

It has been a pleasure getting to know you. And I appreciate the article you allowed me to be a part of. One of the notes I got was from an acquaintance who is a former Israeli Special Forces member who now works with the U.S. government, local police, the U.N. and many other entities around the world (private and public) who have to think about security. He was pleased with the article and said schools can be a “soft target.” Bringing the issue of school safety to our community is important! What could be more important than keeping our children safe? So, on behalf of our community, thank you for raising awareness around this issue.

Tama Lundquist

Editor’s note: Thank you to Tama, who detailed in our article how she has a safety plan in place for her son Cole, a student at Lamar High School. We want to give a shout out to an event Tama is co-chairing. The Houston PetSet’s 11^th Annual Fierce & Fabulous Soiree, which helps fund local animal-welfare organizations, will be Sept. 11 at The Astorian. For tickets, see www.houstonpetset.org.

Look into student exchanges

It’s so inspiring to see the courage that these kids have to go on exchanges [Travel Buzz: Youth exchanges shape lives, by Tracy L. Barnett, August 2015]. More kids and parents should really look into this. It’s not for everybody, but the impact it has is tremendous. Most American kids and parents, too, seem to be in this American bubble and have no clue on what is going on in the world, nor do they realize how good we have it here. Thanks again for all your support.

John Thornton

Book stories are good stories

I saw your summer reading column [Back Porch: What to read this summer, by Andria Frankfort, July 2015] in the July Buzz (my mom saves them for me!), and I was so happy to see the great book recommendations. I’m always looking for new books. It was also great to see the coverage of Katherine Center and her newest book, Happiness for Beginners. She’s a dear friend AND a great writer!

Katherine Seger Weber

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