NOVEMBER 2016
Elegant Ranch Designs at Affordable Prices
31300 IH-10 West (exit 543 across from Toyota) • Boerne, Texas 78006
830.755.6355 • 210.535.3070
www.CatrinasRanchInteriors.com • catrina@catrinasranchinteriors.com
‘
HEALTHY TREES
BEAUTIFUL VIEWS
CERTIFIED ARBORIST TREE PRUNING • TREE REMOVAL BALL MOSS REMOVAL • TREE MITIGATION SELECTIVE TREE CLEARING • PLANTING STUMP GRINDING www.burkettarborcare.com | 830.229.5700 | Contact us for a FREE ESTIMATE
T H E R E S E R V E AT S A D D L E H O R N N E W S E C T I O N O P E N • S TA R T I N G F R O M T H E $ 2 2 0 ’ S
BUILDING AFFORDABLE LUXURY ON OUR LOT OR YOURS SINCE 2006.
301 DERBY
|
BOERNE, TX 78006
info@woodridgehomesusa.com
|
|
830.816.5203
w w w. w o o d r i d g e h o m e s u s a . c o m
COMING SPRING 2017
styling for the discerning gentleman
Styling for the discerning gentleman. SPRING 2017 - NEXT TO LA GLORIA www.completegent.com BOERNE LOCATION :: 930 E. BLANCO, BOERNE TX :: 830.443.4500
COMING SPRING 2017
styling for the sophisticated woman
Styling for the sophisticated woman. SPRING 2017 - NEXT TO LA GLORIA www.completejolie.com
CONTENTS
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Marjorie Hagy History Marjorie is a bibliophile, a history nut and an insomniac, among several other conditions, both diagnosed and otherwise. When she's not working tirelessly to avoid getting a real job, she nurses an obsession with her grandson and is involved in passing legislation restricting the wearing of socks with sandals. She is an aspiring pet hoarder who enjoys vicious games of Scrabble, reading Agatha Christie, and sitting around doing nothing while claiming to be thinking deeply. Marjorie has five grown children, a poodle to whom she is inordinately devoted in spite of his breath, and holds an Explore record for never having submitted an article on time. She's been writing for us for five years now.
Kendall D. Aaron Spiritual I’m just a normal guy. I’m not a theology student, I don’t preach in church, and I’ve never written a book. I’m just a normal guy that thinks, and feels, and is on a never-ending journey attempting to be the best person I can be. I fail frequently at this quest, yet each day, the quest continues. I’ve lived in Boerne since the late ‘80s, I’ve got a most beautiful wife, three wonderful children, and just really, really love God. Thanks for going on my spiritual journey with me.
Old Timer Just Old Timer
Key to the Hills Rod Run Boerne, Main Street - October 2016
10 From The Publisher
32 History
14 Calendar
38 Spiritual
20 Pumpkin Spice Insanity
44 Art Of
26 Thanksgiving Facts
50 Old Timer
Operations Manager Peggy Schooley peggy@smvtexas.vom Publisher Benjamin D. Schooley ben@hillcountryexplore.com
8 | EXPLORE
Creative Director Benjamin N. Weber ben.weber@smvtexas.com
ADVERTISING SALES 210-507-5250 sales@hillcountryexplore.com
The Old Timer tells us he's been a resident of Boerne since about 1965. He enjoys telling people what he doesn't like. When not bust'n punks he can be found feeding the ducks just off Main St. or wandering aimlessly in the newly expanded HEB. Despite his rough and sometimes brash persona, Old Timer is really a wise and thoughtful individual. If you can sort through the BS.
EXPLORE magazine is published by Schooley Media Ventures in Boerne, TX. EXPLORE Magazine and Schooley Media Ventures are not responsible for any inaccuracies, erroneous information, or typographical errors contained in this publication submitted by advertisers. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of EXPLORE and/or Schooley Media Ventures. Copyright 2016 Schooley Media Ventures, 930 E. Blanco, Ste. 200, Boerne, TX 78006
I think about the wisdom that we all gain as we grow through our lives, picking up knowledge like pebbles on a path and gradually filling our pockets. As we age, the experiences of our lives brings us knowledge that only life can bring us, and we learn more and more about how wrong we might have been yesterday. And then I think about the elderly folks in our lives. I see my 92 year old grandfather who is still as sharp as a tack and think “Well, then I guess he would have to be one of the smartest people that I know.” Surely he has had experiences that would give him maximum clarity about most situations, and I suppose I would have to be right. You have a sweet grandma in your life. She might be the oldest person that you know. If you follow my logic, you might begin to think that she holds the maximum amount of knowledge as well. However, she’s 4’9” now and is just adorable and you discount her because she’s “just” your sweet lil’ ol’ grandma. However, sometimes I think about the advice I have sought from my elderly grandparents (I still have 3 of ‘em). I probably wasn’t actually seeking their advice, but rather, I was bragging about how I was really working for something that was SO very unbelievably important to me and was confronted with some sort of problem that my amazing knowledge was going to help me overcome. These adorable lil’ ol’ grandparents of mine have invariably responded in the same way: they smile and pat me on the head. They grab my cheeks when I tell them how upset I am over something and they tell me that it will be ok. They offer me a cookie when I stomp my foot about some great injustice and they tell me that I shouldn’t worry so much. They grab my hand with their very frail hand and tell me I should sleep more when I brag about some accomplishment. I smile when I remember these interactions because, in spite of my pride, I was being given KNOWLEDGE from those that we rarely seek it from.
DEAREST EXPLORE READER, When do we stop learning? A pretty simple question. One that you all will undoubtedly know the answer to. The majority of you are going to say “Duh – NEVER!” because you are so smart and you know that you will just keep on picking up pearls of wisdom all the days of your lives and will be unbelievably smart and well-versed in – what – your 50s? 60s? 70s? Today? Perhaps. Socrates said “The only true wisdom is knowing that you know nothing.” You might nod your head in agreement with this, but the real truth underlying this statement requires some serious humility. Do you know NOTHING? Do you truly live today in a cloud of naivety that makes you unknowing? You’d probably disagree with this, as surely you know SOMETHING, but do you? Do you have the foggiest idea what the hell you are doing with your life? Or are you simply bouncing off the walls of your existence like a pinball machine, haphazardly heading in some direction while proclaiming that you are just “doing your best” and living the only way you know how? Are you making decisions on a daily basis on sheer intuition, with no real experience to back up that decision? Do you defend your decision simply because it’s “right”, despite not knowing if it really is? I started this by asking about when you stop learning, and that is pretty broad. You surely gave me the answer of “NEVER”, and maybe that’s true. Maybe we never stop learning in general, but what if we drill down to other parts of your life? When do you stop learning about yourself? I mean, you live in your own head, so surely you know what is going on with YOURSELF at some early stage of life, right? RIGHT? What about relationships? Your marriage? Your job? At some point, you have to feel confident that you 100% know what you are doing in your business dealings. And at some point you recognize what is important in your marriage and what is not, and you act accordingly. Right?
10 | EXPLORE
Maybe. Maybe you are that rare soul that is wise beyond their years and dispenses wisdom on their spouses, their bosses, and their friends that causes them to build statues in your honor. You find yourself faced with a massive existential situation, and YOU are the one to bust out some amazing knowledge and philosophy that causes those around you to jot notes, sing a little “Hallelujah” and thank you for the influence on their lives. Maybe. But I’d probably call bullshit. I keep thinking about LEARNING and it’s giving me a headache lately. Yeah, I learn things, just the same as the rest of you each and every day, but what I keep learning is that I don’t know a damn thing. What I thought I knew today is proven to be a fairytale the next day. My behaviors, which were honest and virtuous one day are proven to be misgivings of my own twisted desires the next. Basically each season I find something about myself and my behavior that was WRONG after I trusted it to be right. While this might sound as if I don’t trust myself or my decisions, I think that it’s an honesty that, curiously, makes me wise. The things that make me tick, the things that I’m passionate about today…I discover were rooted in selfishness. The things that I argued over, and stood up against yesterday…I discover were misguided and misled. The things that I was angry over, and “stood up for myself ” about…I discover were hiding a deeper hurt that had nothing to do with the very subject at hand. Nothing is what it seems, and it takes a continuously searching mind and heart to grow and to learn. And that’s the part that I think separates the wise from the obtuse. The day that you think you know something beyond the shadow of a doubt is probably the day that you learn the exact opposite. And perhaps the knowledge that you know next to nothing is the day that your wisdom grows.
If my hypothesis is correct that the older we get, the more knowledge we accumulate, then my grandparents (and yours) are probably the smartest people that you know. And if yours are anything like mine, they tell you to relax. They tell you to let it go. They tell you to sleep better. They tell you to stop worrying because everything will be ok. And perhaps that’s all the knowledge that you really need: the clarity to understand that what is important today, will not be important tomorrow. What we seek as our goals today will be tossed aside in due time. What angers us in this moment will be forgotten. The obstacles we face will be overcome, or not. And if not, life goes on. And with it, we gain knowledge to see that it probably didn’t matter anyway. I seek knowledge every day, same as you. I also like to think that I’m not a stupid person and have my priorities in line with my values, same as you. But just like you, I’m bouncing through life and picking up those pebbles as fast as I can as I walk along the path. However, in my relentless pursuit of goals, successes, and some mythical stress-free life, perhaps I’m missing the entire journey. Because maybe all the collective knowledge that I seek is in the journey and that there really is no path. And perhaps, the day that I raise my eyes and breathe in the beauty of my own existence (in spite of my troubles), then I may truly be WISE and understand that I know nothing, and I don’t need to. Welcome to November. May you enjoy this month of Thanksgiving, and I pray that your life is full of reasons for it. EXPLORE this life you’ve been given, and no matter what path you might be on, may you enjoy the journey. Give thanks. Dream a little. Have a cookie. And simply smile. Smiling,
ben@hillcountryexplore.com
Authentic
WE ARE
518 River Road | Boerne, TX | www.littlegretel.com | 830-331-1368
CONCERNED ABOUT RETIREMENT?
HUNGRY FOR AN EDUCATION?
Join us for a free educational dinner held weekly at Bob’s, Ruth’s Chris, or Maggianos. RSVP at 210-255-3040 Texas License Number 1490984
507 E. Blanco Rd.
|
Boerne, TX
|
210-255-3040
AREA EVENTS
Get out and enjoy the great Texas Hill Country!
The most comprehensive events calendar. Send submissions to info@hillcountryexplore.com
November 5, Kerr County Market Days An indoor marketplace for vendors of original handcrafted goods, artwork, and home grown plants and produce. Pets on a leash are welcome. Kerr County Hill Country Youth Event Center, 3785 Texas 27. www.kerrmarketdays.org November 19, 16th Annual Holiday Lighted Parade Officially welcome the holiday season and the arrival of Santa Claus. Downtown Kerrville on Water Street. www.mainstreetkerrville.com November 26-27, Kerrville Traders Fest Hill Country shopping event includes more than 150 vendors, food trucks, live entertainment and kids activities. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. River Star Arts and Event Park, 4000 Riverside Drive. www.kerrvilletradersfest.com MARBLE FALLS November 18, Christmas Light-Up Parade This parade is sure to get the entire family in the holiday spirit. 218 Main Street. www.walkwayoflightstx.com
BANDERA November 4, Annual Hunters Bar-B-Que & Musicfest Event includes a Texas-size gun raffle, live music, barbecue, exhibits and entertainment. Antler Oaks Lodge, 3862 Texas 16 N. www.banderatexasbusiness.com
BULVERDE November 25, Christmas Lighting Old Village of Bulverde, 2300 Block of Bulverde Road. www.bulverdespringbranchchamber.com
November 5, Bandera Market Days Features arts and crafts vendors. Bandera Courthouse Lawn, 500 Main Street. www.banderatexasbusiness.com
COMFORT November 26, Christmas In Comfort Daylong event includes craft and food vendors, entertainment, and a lighted nighttime parade. Local business are open throughout the day. Santa comes to visit. Library book sale, petting zoo. Historic Downtown, 7th Street and High Street. www.comfort-texas.com
November 13, Bandera Honors Veterans Features music, the official ceremony and parade at noon. Free barbecue sandwich lunch for veterans and their wives. Additional food available for purchase. Military displays, concessions and more. Bandera County Courthouse Lawn, 500 Main Street. BLANCO November 4, 5th Annual Hill Country Western Showcase This Western-style outdoor festival offers food, games and contests. Pine Moore Town Buggy Barn Museum. www.buggybarnmuseum.com BOERNE November 5, Hot Rod Night Relive old-fashioned Americana street parties with this gathering place for old and new friends. Soda Pops, 103 N. Main. November 5, The Chamber of Commerce Wild Game Dinner Enjoy fried alligator, Cajun crawfish pasta, stuffed pheasant, bison sliders or bacon-wrapped Nilgai, duck gumbo, spicy jambalaya and flavorful axis carne guisada. Other selections include some old favorites like smoked turkey, smoked pulled pork, brisket tacos and beans. Features live and silent auctions, plus registration for door prizes. Kendall County Youth Agriculture & Equestian Center, 649 R.M. 289. November 5, 80’s Night at Random Music by: MixTape Band. 11 Upper Cibolo Creek Rd. November 12-13, Fall Pre-Holiday Market Days Since 1850, Main Plaza has been a center point of trade for the people of Boerne. On the second weekend of every month, the plaza is home to a magical outdoor market that blends the traditions of the Texas Hill Country with the creations of today’s culture. Includes food. Main Plaza, 100 N. Main. November 25-26, Dickens on Main Shop for unique holiday gifts along Boerne’s Hill Country Mile while the whole family enjoys live musical entertainment, Dickensera theatrical performances, a variety of children’s activities, including Santa, and a 60-foot snow slide, live ice sculpting shows, horse-drawn carriage rides and snow on Main Street. Downtown. November 26, Live Music Night at Random Celebrate Thanksgiving Weekend with Amazing Performance by Gunpowder Soup and A Pint Night Extravaganza!! 11 Upper Cibolo Creek Rd.
14 | EXPLORE
FREDERICKSBURG November 4, First Friday Art Walk Fredericksburg Tour fine art galleries offering special exhibits, demonstrations, refreshments and extended viewing hours the first Friday of every month. Participating fine art galleries. www.ffawf.com
NEW BRAUNFELS November 4-13, Wurstfest Join in a unique annual celebration rich in German culture. Includes food, music, dancing, carnival rides and games, plus German, Texan and domestic beer. Features special events and the finest in Alpine- and Bavarian-style entertainment. Located near the headwaters of the Comal River. Wursthalle, 178 Landa Park Drive. www.wurstfest.com November 18-20, Weihnachtsmarkt German-style Christmas market offers unique decorations, specialty items, gifts and antiques. Select from a wide array of retail merchants, artisans and authors. New Braunfels Civic Center, 375 S. Castell Ave. SAN MARCOS November 5, Veterans Day Parade Honoring all who have served our nation. Downtown Courthouse Square.
November 11, Veterans Day Observance On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, this event honors all veterans of all conflicts. Memorial Courtyard at the National Museum of the Pacific War. www.pacificwarmuseum.org
November 12, CAF Veterans Dinner and ’40s Swing Band Hangar Dance Celebrate and remember the brave men and women who gave us our freedom at the Commemorative Air Force Central Texas Wing in San Marcos. Enjoy an authentic ’40s-style swing dance, surrounded by a number of restored and functional WWII aircraft. Commemorative Air Force CenTex Hangar, 1841 Airport Drive, Building No. 2249. www.CAFcentex.com
November 18-20, 25-27, Trade Days Shop twice in November with more than 400 vendors in seven barns, acres of antiques. Site has a biergarten and live music. Seven miles east on U.S. 290 across from Wildseed Farms. www.fbgtradedays.com
November 30-December 3, Sights and Sounds of Christmas Highlights include carnival rides, arts and crafts, pictures with Santa, local school performances, live nativity scene and a food court. San Marcos Plaza Park, 206 N. CM Allen Parkway. www.sights-n-sounds.org
November 25, Annual Lighting of the Community Christmas Tree and German Pyramid Captures the spirit and celebration of Christmas through German heritage with refreshments, caroling and the countdown to flipping the switch. Marktplatz, 100 block of W. Main. GRUENE November 19-20, Old Gruene Market Days Nearly 100 vendors offer uniquely crafted items and packaged Texas foods. Gruene Historic District. www.gruenemarketdays.com HONDO November 1-November 20, South Texas Maize People of all ages can find their way in and out of the 7-acre maze and enjoy other family friendly activities during the fall season. South Texas Maize, 911 U.S. 90 E. www.southtexasmaize.com KERRVILLE November 5, Hill Country Swap Meet This is a community garage sale, flea market and trade day. Buy or sell new, used, antiques, collectibles, arts and crafts, knives, books, furniture, tools, clothing, household items and more. Concessions are on site, and there is lots of free parking. www.kerrmarketdays.org
STONEWALL November 26, Holiday Cookie Decorating and German Traditions Observe and learn some of the early 1900s German holiday traditions such as cookie decorating, wreath making, tree decorating and candle making. Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm at the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site. www.tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/lyndon-b-johnson WIMBERLEY November 5, Market Days More than 475 booths along a windy, shady path feature treasures of all sorts. Includes live music and great food. Lions Field, 601 F.M. 2325. www.shopmarketdays.com
ALL COUNTY HOME CARE and HOSPICE
The Hill Country’s Most Caring Professionals
Contact Us At: 37131 Interstate 10 West, Bldg. 400 Boerne, Texas 78006 Office 830-331-1291 :: Fax 830-331-1295
If you have lost someone beloved to you recently, we invite you to give yourself the give of time and space to grieve and to experience sharing with others who understand your loss. Light refreshments will be provided.
November 15th at 5:30 p.m. All County Home Care and Hospice 37131 I-10 W, Building 400, Boerne, TX 78006 (Next to Hill Country Crossfit)
Proudly serving those in need in and around the Hill Country
CINCO PESO
SURVEILLANCE & COUNTER SURVEILLANCE O&G ROYALTY FORENSICS EXECUTIVE PROTECTION
Contact Us At: www.cincopeso.com info@cincopeso.com
Cinco Peso Security & Investigations is the Texas Hill Country’s premier professional investigations and private security firm offering a full suite of investigative, protection, and legal services. We are veteran owned and staffed by licensed professionals and experts such as former law enforcement, CPA’s, attorney’s, oil and gas experts, financial compliance officers, bank examiners, and fraud examiners. Our team has decades of combined experience, domestically and internationally and is dedicated to providing our clients with the most prompt, cost effective, and discrete services. Whether you are looking for a long lost friend, wanting to verify your well production, needing to “know your customer”, detect and prevent corporate espionage, locate assets, vett potential candidates or future business associates, or need armed personal protection, Cinco Peso Security and Investigations is your only option.
The Hill Country’s Premier Professional Investigations Firm 16 | EXPLORE
MY TOWN 2 GO Not enough time to cook lunch or dinner? If you are like us, feeding the family is just another item on a never ending to-do list. We can help! My Town 2 Go offers meal delivery straight to your door from your favorite restaurant. It is quick and simple. How does it work? Order online at mytown2go.com or download the app (mytown2go) and order from your phone. Just enter your address and the restaurants available in your area will appear.
HOME
What is the delivery cost? When you put in your address, an estimated delivery fee will appear. The standard delivery fee is $4.99.
OFFICE HOTEL CATERING AVAILABLE Contact Us At: www.mytown2go.com michelle@mytowntx.com
How quickly will my food arrive? We are quick! You should have your meal delivered in no more than 45 minutes. Depending on your location, you could have your delivery in about 30 minutes. We are continually adding more restaurants so if you don’t see your favorite on our list, check back. As residents right here in Boerne, the Hill Country community is near and dear to our hearts. A portion of our proceeds go to Hill Country Daily Bread to help those less fortunate in our local area. Pictured above: (Owner of MyTown2Go, Michelle Donnell with Hill Country Daily Bread Executive Director Agnes Hubbard. MyTown2Go donates a portion of our proceeds to HCDB in an effort to support those in our community that are less fortunate. HCDB serves Boerne and the surrounding area by donating food and services to families in need. If you would like to donate in any way, please contact them at 830-755-5200.
Check back - we’re adding more restaurants every day!
TRIO Rehabilitation & Wellness Solutions ALL sessions are one-on-one between the patient and the therapist for the FULL session.
Locally Owned & Operated
Contact Us At: 830.331.2083 • info@triorws.com www.triorws.com
Trio Rehabilitation & Wellness Solutions focuses on you! We provided Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy in one convenient location. All treatment sessions are private and tailored to your needs! At Trio, we recognize life can be hard. You are not alone on y(our) journey!
217 E Bandera Rd. Ste #2 Boerne, TX 78006
THE ONLY OUTPATIENT FACILITY IN A 20-MILE RADIUS OFFERING PHYSICAL THERAPY, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY & SPEECH THERAPY
Investing in people. Changing perspectives. WWW.HILLCOUNTRYEXPLORE.COM | NOVEMBER 2016
| 17
Coffee I Tea I Smoothies Bubble Tea I Pastries I BAGELS Organic & Gluten Free Snacks Meetings I Parties I Live Music
215 W. Bandera, Suite 115 Boerne, TX 78006
830.331.2272
Rehabilitate in Boerne, One Step Closer to Home
Cibolo Creek provides accommodations
in the heart of Boerne, with individualized therapy programs that enable one to return home quickly. By receiving rehabilitation services close to home, family and friends are able to visit often and with ease.
Cibolo Creek stands apart by:
• Being the most contemporary rehabilitation facility in Boerne • Providing physical, occupational, speech, and vital stim therapy in a modern and innovative setting under the guidance of highly trained and experienced therapists • Offering both inpatient and outpatient therapy services to improve one’s overall strength and mobility • Facilitating admissions 24/7
1440 River Road • Boerne, Texas 78006 • 830.816.5095
C ibolo C reek H ealtH . org
18 | EXPLORE
PEEPS
For some reason, someone thought it would be a good idea to dust off these Easter candy abominations and cover them with a copious amount of cinnamon and nutmeg to give us something that, like a dead animal, is fun to poke at but you should never eat it.
TRISCUITS
The fact that some exec somewhere greenlit the addition of pumpkin spice to these cardboard squares of colon cleansing evil really gives me pause as to the future of the human race. Or at least America. You’re basically adding potpourri to a box of packing peanuts.
SALSA
PUMPKIN SPICED INSANITY By now the vast majority of people with internet, TV, and radio access know that ‘tis the season for Starbucks to roll out their infamous “Pumpkin Spice Latte” in small, medium and gallon sizes. You may have also heard that there is no pumpkin in the pumpkin spice latte baristas have nightmares about from October to December. Which is probably a good thing. Think about it. Pumpkin, like other members of the gourd family is generally a very “earthy” flavored fruit. Yeah. A fruit. No matter how much whipped cream you cap it off with, a Venti latte with a tablespoon of dirt isn’t going to taste very good. So “pumpkin spice” was invented.
B
20 | EXPLORE
This is the one that, during our research, gave us the most pause. Perhaps it’s actually good. We’ll never know because the thought of dipping a chip into a bowl of pumpkin spiced salsa is something best left to shows like Fear Factor. “You can eat this 5 gallon bucket of pig guts... OR... 3 small chips of pumpkin spice salsa. What will you choose?” “OH LORD!! The pig guts. DEFINITELY the pig guts.”
Though not by Starbucks. They just made it popular and EVERYONE jumped on the bandwagon. Pumpkin spice flavorings have become so prolific in the latter part of the calendar year it’s almost comical. Like Hobby Lobby breaking out the Christmas trees around Labor Day. ENOUGH ALREADY! We’ve surely all seen things that one might, if not grudgingly, accept as being “ok” to flavor with pumpkin spice. Those things usually include desserts and for the folks not wanting to throw down a 10 spot for some bandwagon in a cup, coffee creamer. However, as previously stated this flavoring has become a virus. It has spread to things that, without the help of a fistful of MSG, have no godly business being infused with holiday lies. Here are just a few of the things that should make you stop and wonder... WHY?!
And these are but a few of the more major offenders. Other items include Pringles, Jell-O, nuts, fettuccini, peanut butter, popcorn, gum, body wash, and nail polish. Yes. Nail polish now comes in pumpkin spice. Let’s hope, for the sake of all that is good and pure in the world that it is only pumpkin spice SCENTED and not flavored. Because if we’re licking out nail polish enough for there to be a need that it’s flavored, that’s probably why the terrorists hate us.
WINGS | BURGERS | SALADS FULL BAR | WINE | CRAFT BEER
Sauced Wing Bar is where Boerne finds good wings made fresh. Sauced Wing Bar believes the secret to being the best place to eat in Boerne is to make great food, make it fresh every day, charge very reasonable prices, provide excellent service and a fun sports bar environment.
215 W. Bandera Rd, Ste. 101, Boerne, TX | Monday-Sunday 11:00 am-12:00am | 830.331-4398 | www.saucedwingbar.com
217 & 219 Whitworth Rd • Boerne, tx $515,000
107 Bentwood $245,000
2 home property on 5 acres in Boerne ISD. (219 Whitworth) - Charming 3 bedroom 2 bath home, 2021 sq ft, 2-2 car garages, fenced, electric gate, amazing views. (217 Whitworth) - 3 bedrooms 2 baths 1240 sq ft. fireplace, separate fence & gate. MLS# 1187533
22 | EXPLORE
Cute 2 bed, 2.5 bath townhouse across from Boerne High School. Features include large bedrooms, walk in closet, dining room, vaulted ceilings, fireplace, and a converted garage that could be used as a den or 3rd bedroom. Walking distance from shopping and walking trails. MLS# 1202017
The Hill Country defines tranquility and beauty, but when you long for new and different adventures, one place in urban San Antonio is unforgettable... The Broadway.
Dwell in concierge style with downtown skyline views complimented by floor to ceiling glass window walls overlooking the premier San Antonio Country Club greens and fairways. The Gotham floor plan offering sleek and contemporary high end finishes awaits you in #1101. It is complete with 2 oversized balconies taking full advantage of the southeastern exposure. Almost 1900 square feet with luxe Miele appliances, gas cooking & Sub Zero refrigerator/freezer. Gorgeous Quartz countertops and serving bar glisten and add luxury. The Master suite is glamorous and the Guest suite will turn visitors into neighbors. The superb quality and easy living is definitely something to brag about. Lock and leave while you travel the globe or make it your full time residence. Call me to experience The Broadway where amenities abound and everyone lives ‘Life at the Top”.
Debra Janes • 210-573-4040 • Debra@DebraJanes.com • DebraJanes.com
~
Apparel and accessories and gifts as well 116 W Blanco Rd., Ste. 9 | 830-331-9171 24 | EXPLORE
10% OFF
your next purchase
Book your Holiday Party Now!!!!
/RandomTexasFamilyFun t /RandomBeeRGaRdn /RandomTexas
80+
Craft Beers 11 Upper Cibolo Creek Rd.
210-294-0025
Kid ZONE FAMILY Friendly Dog FRIENDLY Wonderful Food Truck Eats
Live Music Every Friday & Saturday! Join Us! November 5 - 80’s Night - Music by: MixTape Band November 26 - Celebrate Thanksgiving Weekend with an Amazing Performance by Gunpowder Soup and A Pint Night Extravaganza!
GIVING THANKS Since it’s that time of year again, we here at EXPLORE thought we’d compile some of the lesser known facts about this feasting holiday. So this month, you can expand your mind, as well as your waistline.
Commercially raised Of the 102 colonists that set out for America, only 57 survived the voyage and first winter. Good odds back then.
turkeys
Lobster, rabbit, chicken, fish, squash, beans, chestnuts, hickory nuts, onions, leeks, dried fruits, maple syrup and honey, radishes, cabbage, carrots, eggs, and goat cheese are thought to have made up the first Thanksgiving feast.
The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds, about the size of a large dog.
Congress passed a law on December 26, 1941, ensuring that all Americans would celebrate a unified Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November every year. You read it right. The day after Christmas Congress was WORKING.
Plymouth was not the first place the Pilgrims landed. More than a month prior to landing in Plymouth, they landed at what is present day Provincetown. However, they were unable to find a suitable area to set up a colony and small groups set out to search for a more habitable area.
26 | EXPLORE
CANNOT fly.
A 16-week-old turkey is called a fryer. A five to seven month old turkey is called a young roaster. Most people just call them delicious.
Sarah Josepha Hale, an American magazine editor, persuaded Abraham Lincoln to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday. She is also the author of the popular nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. Abraham Lincoln issued a ‘Thanksgiving Proclamation’ on October 3, 1863 and officially set aside the last Thursday of November as the national day for Thanksgiving.
In 1939, President Roosevelt proclaimed that Thanksgiving would take place on November 23rd, not November 30th, as a way to spur economic growth and extend the Christmas shopping season.
Dr. Sara Stuart, DO
AROUND-THE-CLOCK ACCESS NO WAITING RELAXED, EXTENDED VISITS SAME DAY SCHEDULING
Cibolo Family Medicine provides quality care at your convenience - a practice without time constraints, with a doctor who is accessible when you need her.
CIBOLO FAMILY MEDICINE
We’re Here For You.
a personal relationship with your family physician We are a Direct Primary Care practice, providing affordable concierge service for a flat monthly fee. Discover healthcare like you’ve never experienced before.
EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY Dr. Stuart spends far more time with you to understand and investigate your concerns. SUPERIOR CONVENIENCE Dr. Stuart can see you today, and is available by email and phone, even after hours. We also offer quality medical care for businesses and their employees.
Schedule a Free Consultation Call 830-428-2500 211 N. Main St. in Boerne
|
w w w. c i b o l o f m . c o m
Barn Venue Let the beauty of our majestic oaks be the setting for your perfect day. Just 15 miles north of Boerne Texas our spacious restored barn is secluded among huge shaded live oaks on 110 acres of scenic hill country ranch land.
1244 FM 474 | Boerne, TX 78006 | 210-410-7300 | theoaksatboerne.com
28 | EXPLORE
E + L BARRE STUDIO
Designer Athleisure Apparel & Lifestyle Boutique Shop the Lounge Mon. - Thurs. 9am-5pm & Fri. - Sat. 9am-2pm
E
legance and Life Barre is a comprehensive, total body workout that incorporates major muscle groups in such a unique way that it literally reshapes the whole body, in turn, creating a more elegant and elongated physique, without adding bulk. Our low-impact workout is great for all ages and all fitness levels as we protect the joints by avoiding any bouncing or jumping. Our Barre classes challenge the body’s strength and endurance through small, isometric movements with the use of a set of hand weights, resistances band, a core ball, and the ballet Barre for support. As our workout is strategically set to fun and upbeat music, no dance experience is required!
Reserve your mat for class at www.eleganceandlife.com info@eleganceandlife.com | 412 River Road, Suite 104 | Boerne, TX 78006 | 830.331.8939
H ea lt h | Wellness | Lifestyl e Follow us on facebook as we “POP UP” in your neighborhood.
Lone Star Gun Safes inc. Lone Star Gun Safes is one of the largest and finest dealers in southeast Texas of topquality gun safes and gun vaults. Protecting your guns, money, documents, gold and more importantly your family is one of our top priorities at Lone Star Gun Safes. We provide a wide variety of gun safes and gun vaults to help keep dangerous firearms from the hands of children or anyone else without the proper authorization or training to use them. Gun ownership is a right, but also a huge responsibility. Let Lone Star Gun Safes provide you and your family with the peace of mind that your weapons and ammunition are properly stored and safe.
Authorized Dealer: Champion, Superior, Gun Vault, and Graffunder Gun Safes
2 8 3 4 4 Wa t e r v i e w D r. | B o e r n e , T X | w w w. l o n e s t a r g u n s a f e s . c o m | ( 8 3 0 ) 9 8 1 - 9 0 0 3 Also serving the Austin and Houston areas
9120 Old Dietz Elkhorn Rd • Boerne • 830.755.5105 w w w. t h e e l k h o r n r e s t a u r a n t . c o m
|
info@theelkhornrestaurant.com
Wine & Fire Bistro - Open Seating
Call early for events & dining reservations | Wednesday - Saturday noon-9pm | Sunday 1pm-8pm
30 | EXPLORE
HOW GREAT THOU ART
By Marjorie Hagy
I want to tell you a different kind of story this month. The history of someone who grew up in Boerne and loves this town. A person who studies its history, and the other people who have grown up here and lived here and loved it. This person is someone who can’t pass a crumbling rock fence, a weed-choked graveyard, or the ‘hope’s skeletons’ of old foundations and outbuildings moldering in fields beside country roads, without dreaming of those who built those walls and houses. Those who buried their folks in those forgotten cemeteries and who now lie there themselves in the country they loved. This is my own history.
I
32 | EXPLORE
Bugs Bunny, in an old episode, was a guest on “This Is Your Life,” and the emcee told him to just start at the beginning. So BB, obviously an adherent of the evolutionary school of thought, went way back to the Big Bang, and when he got to the part about the primordial ooze that covered the earth, from which crawled “two tiny amoeba”, the host stopped him and suggested, er, maybe not THAT far back. Don’t worry- I won’t start with some ancient Hagy or Weinburger emerging from the wilds of Darkest Scotland- or wherever we came from- nor even with the bouncing baby girl (the most adorable, incidentally, ever seen in the newborn nursery) born at the Nix Hospital on the same day as The Munsters first premiered on television. Our story opens outside a gas station in a November rainstorm that was ushering in one of those cold snaps they warn you about on those crawlers during your favorite tv shows. The kind that makes kids sleepless with excitement hoping school will be closed tomorrow in the ice storm.
It was fifteen years ago now, and I was standing outside that gas station, falling apart. Two weeks earlier my husband had left -for good- and I had been busy telling everyone I was going to handle this divorce so well that people who knew me would comment on it; “Man, Marj handled that divorce better than anyone I’ve ever seen! She is an inspiration to womankind.” Who needs a man?! So with the northerner coming, I had some vague idea that a car needed anti-freeze, and although my husband had always been the one to take care of the cars, I was woman and people were going hear me roar. So I set out to find some anti-freeze and do it my damn self. And so I ended up at this gas station after looking for it everywhere else in town, and finding everywhere else was sold out. It was about eleven at night and the cold front was blowing in with freezing rain. I had five kids at home in bed, counting on me to keep it all together, to suddenly do everything, all the things that I’d always thought there would be two of us to share. I’d been a stay-at-home mother for the last 14 years. I got married straight out of high school and I had no job and no skills and no money. I had just gotten a repossession notice for the car I was trying to protect with anti-freeze I couldn’t find, and our landlord had sent me a registered notice of eviction the day after my husband drove away; just the night before our cat died.
moment I don’t even know if I believed in panic attacks. But I do now. I married again, briefly, and that was so disastrous that I don’t even want to write about it, here, where I’m baring my heart to you, reader. It left me so bitter, not just with him but with myself, and with God. I made so many mistakes and so many bad decisions. I put my kids at risk and in actual danger and I couldn’t stop hating and berating myself for it. I couldn’t forgive myself. And like Forrest Gump said when things were too painful to talk any more about, that’s all I have to say about that. So this was Marj in 2007. I had a job I loved at Bumdoodler’s, my kids were all doing well, but my heart was breaking again as they all graduated, one by one, and left home to begin their own lives. Ever since I became a mother, in 1983, my life was my children, and I wasn’t doing too well letting them go. I remember in a psychology class once, hearing something about stagnation versus...something-or-other, having to do with what direction one’s life would take once the kids left home and you were on your own once again. I kept thinking about that, and about how it looked like I was definitely headed down the stagnation road. I thought I was holding up then - remember the chick who was going to show the world how to do divorce with grace and panache? I guess I had this amazing ability to fool myself into thinking that I was doing pretty good.
{ This really happened. So I stood there in front of that gas station, out of options, out of hope, out of ant-freeze, and the outside lights went off. The store was closed. And I just stood out there in the rain and cried, just fell apart. When I finally crawled back into my soon-to-be-ex-car, that Guns n Roses song November Rain was on. Nothin’ lasts forever, and we both know hearts can change. Ever since then, this time of year has been tricky for me. Every year, when October comes around I start to get down. I start to worry, depression sneaks up on me and bites me in the butt and it’s funny, I never even remember it IS this time of year till I bawl out “What’s WRONG with me?!” and then it hits me. That cold November rain. Everything that smacks me seems to happen in October and November, these beautiful autumn months that I always look forward to with their short, soft, golden days. One November I thought I was having a heart attack. I rushed to the emergency room with pains shooting through my chest and down my arm, and when the tests showed that my heart was perfectly fine, the doctor asked me, ‘Has anything bad ever happened around this time of year?’ and I actually burst into tears. I swear to you, I hadn’t even been thinking about that stuff, and before that
and my breathing tube was, at some point, replaced by a tracheostomy. My father burst into helpless sobs. My brother read me our favorite book, Vonnegut’s Slapstick. My mother and sister took shifts at my bedside, organizing the prayers and the news and the visitors. And my children held my hands by the hour, day after day after day. At some point in there, my family and friends at Bumdoodler’s had a fundraiser for me at the restaurant, and it was something like the biggest day Bum’s ever had. Five years later I am still hearing from someone new and unexpected, that they were there that day at Marj Madness. And then one day I woke up, and I was alive. Because of some damage to my trachea, the tracheostomy was reinserted some weeks after I awoke and I have it to this day. It is a hole in my neck, with a plastic tube in place through which I breathe, and in order to speak I have to cover the opening with my finger. In the year following my illness, I had thirteen different surgeries and procedures to try to repair the damage, and instead of being thankful to be alive and humbled by what my family had gone through on my behalf, I was bitter. I was so, so bitter. I lay on the sofa that year, between surgeries, unable to work, at one point having to use a walker to get around, frequently calling 911 because of difficulty breathing- and I sunk deeper into that bitterness, and I felt I deserved it. One month after I woke up from that coma, I picked a horrible fight with my sister, out of that bitterness. I yelled
I was all alone, and many, many miles away from anyone in the world who knew me, and I talk to God out loud. I was mad at Him...
On a Wednesday afternoon in October I had finished my day slinging sandwiches at Bum’s and was chilling at home on the sofa waiting for my sister to come over, when I was hit all in a moment by the most horrible stomach pains. I’ve never been one of those people who runs off to the doctor at the first sign of trouble, preferring insteadmaybe from laziness, or denial, or just because I’m cheapto wait until a limb is about to actually separate itself from my body before asking for a professional opinion. But this day the pain was so bad and so sudden I thought my appendix had burst (or whatever they do) and so I went right away to the minor emergency clinic up the street from where we lived. The last thing I remember was seeing my sister’s face as I was loaded into an ambulance, and wondering what she was doing there. I woke up a little while later, with my dad leaning over me and asking if I knew what day it was. I think I hazarded, “Thursday?” I know I was thinking, fuzzily, what the hell kind of question is that? And, this doesn’t sound good. It was, what else, but November, nearly six weeks later. I had had pancreatitis, brought on by very high triglycerides and undiagnosed, untreated diabetes, and I had been in a coma, and hovering somewhere between life and death for 38 days. On the Friday after I first became sick, the doctors and nurses in the ICU had called my family to get my kids out of school and to gather them to say their goodbyes. All of my systems- respiratory, kidneys, etc. were shutting down, and I was dying. I survived that night, but my family was told I had about a five percent chance of living through the weekend. For six weeks my folks, my kids, my sister and brother and all the people who loved me, held vigil in the ICU waiting room and took turns sitting by my side. I had a feeding tube
}
at my mom as she drove me home from the hospital. I was hateful, and the memory of who I was in those days still brings me to my knees. Almost exactly one year after I first got sick, I was on my one last chance to get rid of this tracheostomy, and my mom gave me the money to go to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. I went alone, because we could only afford the one plane ticket. In between appointments and surgeries and being at the hospital, I drove my little rental car all over the countryside up there. It was in October- the old tricky time of year- and October in Minnesota is unspeakably beautiful. I had never seen the leaves change, and now I know what people from up north mean when they say they miss the changing of the seasons. I just drove and drove and drove, I drove along the cliffs above the Mississippi River and I drove dirt roads between corn fields, I drove through little towns with clapboard churches and parks ankle-deep in leaves in colors that hurt your eyes. And as I drove, I began to talk to God. I opened up to Him all along those roads in Minnesota, in Wisconsin and Iowa, and I talked to Him like He was sitting next to me in the car, riding shotgun. I wasn’t happy with him. On the last day of that trip, with my trake still firmly in place and my last hope exhausted, I stopped at a rest area alongside the highway, and behind the restroom building I noticed a marked trail snaking off into the trees, and I took it. It lead way back, and it ended in a deck stuck out over a kind of bluff looking down onto a river, from Minnesota into Iowa beyond. As it turned out, this was kind of the bookend to that scene outside the gas station in that November years before, because I fell apart again. But this time it wasn’t the same person who climbed back into the car afterward.
WWW.HILLCOUNTRYEXPLORE.COM | NOVEMBER 2016
| 33
I was all alone, and many, many miles away from anyone in the world who knew me, and I talked to God out loud. I was mad at him, not only about my trake, but about having been sick, and some other stuff too; about my kids going off and leaving me alone, and about not being able to work at Bum’s anymore, about my husband leaving, for that matter, and for that night in the cold November rain. For the time I tried to start the lawn mower and ended up sitting down in the long grass to cry, for that whole god-awful mess of a second marriage and for every time my kids had ever cried for their dad. I was mad because I didn’t have a house or a car or any money and because I was lonely and because of EVERYTHING that had ever gone wrong in my life. Because of everything, God, everything, and it doesn’t feel like you even care and I don’t know where you are and why, God, WHY?? By this time I was on my knees on that deck hanging out over the river, sobbing, alone with my God on the Minnesota-Iowa border in the autumn of 2008. God then spoke to me. God spoke to me. I heard Him speak to my heart and I heard Him clearly, and He said this: Trust me, Marjorie. As I knelt there in the autumn above the river, He spoke to my soul and told me that nothing that had ever happened to me had come as a surprise to Him and that nothing was a mistake. That He had begun a work in me that He would finish and that He would work his will in my life if I let him. I knew all this as I knelt there, and when I got to my feet I was a new person. I was God’s child whom He had saved from death. I got in the car and I came back home to Texas with a trake and my life has not been the same life since. I stumble and I fall and I mess up every single day, but the bitterness is gone, and the regrets and the sadness and the sorrow and the what-might-have-beens. What’s changed in me is just like one of those optical illusions where you can’t see the word that’s written plainly in front of you because you’re looking at the dark spaces instead of the white spaces? Do you know those? I was looking at all the bad things that happened and I couldn’t see what was right in front of me- so many, many beautiful, amazing things in my life to be grateful for. I’m as close to my kids as any mother of adults can be, we all live within an hour of each other, and all of the things we went through in those lean years has made them stronger, funnier, more compassionate, wonderful people. I have a baby grandson whom I would have never met if I had died five years agoto my Axle I would’ve been no more than a headstone to visit and a character in some of his mama’s and aunts’ and uncles’ stories. Instead today He grabs both sides of my face and kisses me with a loud smack on the nose. I have that whole family who kept vigil beside what might’ve been my deathbed- I have my sister who is my best, best friend and I have the copy of Slapstick my brother read to me. Even my trake has become, at times, a blessing and a miracle, and just as much a part of me as my blue eyes and my flat feet. I have discovered that the true gifts in this life of ours are love, kindness and gratefulness, and that nothing really matters but those. And now these days, when October and November roll around, the song in my heart is not about how nothing lasts forever. I’m no longer a bewildered, bitter, hard-luck case standing crying in the cold November rain. I’m a triumphant woman raising her arms to heaven in love and gratitude, a smile on my face and a trake in my neck, and the song in my heart is about How Great Thou Art. How Great Thou Art!
34 | EXPLORE
your local Design Build Firm servicing the greater Boerne and Texas Hill Country, as well as North San Antonio.
Specializing in:
Other Features:
Architectural color rendered master plan
• Irrigation Installation and Repair (including water efficient drip irrigation)
including brilliant images and plant descriptions in both 2D & 3D, outlining 10 months of color with a balance between evergreen and deciduous foliage containing movement throughout, resulting in low maintenance, drought tolerant and deer resistant landscape.
• Outdoor Kitchen • Lot Clearing, Cedar Tree Removal and Mulching • Outdoor Lighting • Hardscape (including Fire Pits, Seat Walls, Retaining Walls, Flagstone Patios, Stained and Stamped Concrete, Arbors, Pergolas, Split Rail Cedar Fencing, and more)
Stop in and see us, our associates are ready to assist you. 3 2 2 5 5 I H 1 0 Wes t , B oer n e, TX 78006 | Tel : 830. 816. 3200 | Fax: 830.249.3090 w w w.acaci al an d s cap ean dd es i gn . com
websites
|
brochures
|
logos
|
other pretty things
210.507.5250 • 930 E. Blanco, Boerne 78006 we’re so good, you thought this was an article. didn’t you?
• Ken Nietenhoefer •
Premier Custom Home Builder in the Texas Hill Country For over 40 years, KCN has been building beautiful custom homes of all sizes in Boerne, Comfort, Bandera, Castroville and throughout the Texas Hill Country. Join Aerial Yoga Boerne on an expertly crafted tour through India’s most treasured sights! A fantastic short adventure to the icons of northern India. We will tour royal palaces, sample the sumptuous cuisine and take rickshaw rides through narrow ancient lanes. Visit www.aerialyogaboerne.com for more information and to sign up.
CLASSES • WORKSHOPS • EVENTS OFFERING A WIDE VARIETY OF YOGA STYLES
hatha Iyengar yin
vinyasa power vinyasa gentle/adaptive
aerial conditioning aerial yoga crunch barre
37131 I-10 Frontage Rd. | Boerne, TX 78006 | 830.428.3022
www.aerialyogaboerne.com
Our reputation for honesty and integrity, combined with our commitment to deliver excellent quality, expert craftsmanship, and customer service, has afforded us the opportunity to build many long lasting relationships with our clients. In fact, we have constructed two or more jobs for 31 different customers.
830-816-5202 920 East Blanco Road Boerne, TX 78006 www.kcnbuilders.com
Gentle, Caring, Family Practice, Courteous Professional Staff • State of the Art Procedures & Techniques
WE’ VE RECENTLY E XPANDED George E. Metz III, DDS • Michael Hoeppner, DDS
830-229-5581
Gentle, Caring, Family Practice, Courteous Professional Staff State of the Art Procedures & Techniques
NowRaccepting appointments for Kevin Beitchman, DDS, MS - Orthodontist WE’ VE ECENTLY E X PA N DED George E. Metz III, DDS • Michael Hoeppner, DDS
Kendall Woods Dental 830-229-5581
25 FM 3351 South Boerne, Texas 78006
Now accepting appointments for Kevin Beitchman, DDS, MS - Orthodontist
Kendall Woods Dental
WWW.HILLCOUNTRYEXPLORE.COM | NOVEMBER 2016
| 37
“I HAVE QUESTIONS” A RESPONSE By Eric Waters (Senior Pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Boerne)
I
I recently moved to Boerne and am still exploring the area. Naturally, I turned to Explore Boerne Magazine, and was much intrigued by Kendall Aaron’s article in the last issue, “I Have Questions.” Mr. Aaron writes, “I have questions. LOTS of questions, and I put them in a list for your perusal. If you don’t have questions, but rather have answers…I’d like to hear ‘em.” I’m taking Mr. Aaron up on his gracious invitation and offer these answers to six of his questions for your consideration. Who made God? I know that you’re going to tell me that He has no beginning and no end, but the human mind can’t comprehend that, so I’m left imagining something even bigger than God…and that makes my head swim.
38 | EXPLORE
Excellent question, and you already know how I’m going to answer: Nobody made God. God is holy, which means that God is unlike anyone or anything else. Everyone and everything else came into existence at some point in time, but God has always existed – “I am that I am,” he says, “that is my name forever” (Exodus 3:14-15). Everything which begins to exist depends for its existence on something prior to it. Like links in a chain, each successive link hangs on the one before it. But there must be some anchor point holding the chain up, or the whole thing would come crashing down. God is that anchor point (Hebrews 6:19). He is the Creator, not a part of creation. I agree, Mr. Aaron, that the human mind can barely comprehend it, which brings us to your next question… If God is Jesus, and Jesus is God…why did He pray to Himself for safety before his crucifixion? Some of “The Trinity” stuff is confusing and I struggle with it. I can get
how God can become Jesus, but the Holy Ghost is not something I understand completely. Me neither, Mr. Aaron! Neither you, nor I, nor anyone else can understand the Holy Spirit completely. This “Trinity stuff ” is confusing, no doubt about it. But would you expect anything less? If there really is a God, who by definition is holy – wholly unlike anyone or anything else – how could we possibly expect to understand who He is? To what could we compare him (Isaiah 40:18)? Nothing! There is nothing and no one like Him. He is one-of-a-kind. We believe that God is the Trinity not because it makes sense, but precisely because it doesn’t. “One God in three Persons” is not the sort of thing that anyone would ever expect or make up. It is not speculation, the revelation of a mystery. When God Himself took on flesh and came among us, Jesus called God his “Father,” called himself
“God is love” (1 John 4:8), and He made us in His image. God made us to love Him and love one another (the two greatest commandments!). But love must be freely given. Love can’t be coerced or forced, or it’s not love – its abuse. God gave us the freedom to choose for or against Him, to love Him back or walk away. Even when we walked away and made a mess of the world, He didn’t walk away from us but sent His one and only Son to win our hearts and put things back together again. “God is love” and God doesn’t change. God’s unwavering love in spite of our unfailing failure is not a contradiction, Mr. Aaron; it’s a coherent thing of beauty that goes all the way to the heart of who He is. God could never say “To heck with us,” and that brings us to your next question… God is merciful. Yet he created the most nightmarish, cruel, eternal place of damnation. What gives? If He loves us so much, how could He ever imagine putting us in such a place? And not for a day or a year, but for all time. I don’t know of any enemies in my life (that I really don’t like) that I could justify such a punishment, but God can do it to me. Ouch.
God’s “Son,” and claimed to work by and send forth the “Holy Spirit” of God. We can never fully understand it, and frankly should not expect to. We can only accept it as a mystery. Which brings us to your next question…
God did not create “the most nightmarish, cruel, and eternal place of damnation.” God created all things good and indeed very good (Genesis 1:31). Hell was not a part of God’s good creation, but a remedy for sin, set aside “for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41) as a way to quarantine evil and remove it from the world. Jesus describes hell as a place of “outer darkness” far removed from the presence of God (Matt 25:30). Hell is the one place in all creation that truly is God-forsaken. God is not there, which means that all the things which depend on and proceed from God – goodness, mercy, compassion, light, joy, etc. – are not there, either. Hell truly is a “nightmarish, cruel, eternal place of damnation.”
If God can see the future, why make us at all? I mean, He knew that we were going to sin, screw up the entire Eden thing, and ultimately kill His Son. I suppose it means He loves us, but I might have said “To heck with this” and gone back to whatever God did before we came along. This one really troubles me and seems contradictory. If He knew we would be a failure, why not correct the failure so that He doesn’t have to endure millennia of frustration?
But God goes not put anyone there; sin does, and we believe in a God who did everything in his power to save us from sin and keep us from going there. We believe in a God who “so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” to die in our place and take away our sin (John 3:16), so that no one who turns to and trusts in Him will ever go to Hell. And that’s the Gospel truth, which brings us to your next question…
Great question, Mr. Aaron, and the answer goes back to what you suppose is true: He loves us. God created the world good (Genesis 1:31), but the world as it is, is not as it’s supposed to be. It’s a world scarred by sin, marred by failure, and mired in violence. Yet God so loved the world that He didn’t give up on it in frustration, crumpling it up and throwing it away. And God so loves us that He is willing to endure millennia of frustration if it means giving us the chance to turn away from our failures and back to Him.
If God can write on the wall (as He did in Daniel 5:5) then why didn’t He write the Bible? It says in Daniel that the hand of God appeared and wrote on the wall. If this is the case, why not just send Moses (or Adam) up on a mountain and hand-deliver the original copy of the Bible, written directly by Him? God did write the Bible, not with His hand but with His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit inspired the various authors of the Bible (over 40 in number) to write the words of the
Bible in three different languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic) over the course of 1500 years on three different continents (Europe, Africa, and Asia). Yet through it all, there is one coherent narrative about a God who loves us and call us back to Himself. God opted to take the long, drawn-out approach to writing the Bible, I think because He’s not just a God “up there” who speaks and demands that we listen. He’s a God “with us,” who intervened in history and acted on behalf of his people time and time again. He’s a God “with us” who ultimately became one of us, “the Word made flesh” (John 1:14). God gave us the Bible not just so that we might know what He said, but so that we might know Him. Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness to me, yet you refuse to come me have life” (John 5:39-40). And that leads us to the final question… If heaven has no sadness or pain, how can I go to heaven and watch countless millions of people die horrible deaths and NOT be sad? This terrifies me about heaven. If I really am “watching over my loved ones” as so many say, I fear I would just go nuts trying to watch over my kids. And if their lives take bad turns, it would be excruciating not being able to help. I’ve been blessed with six kids and understand the fear, but I think it’s misplaced. There is no place for fear in heaven. Heaven is a place where “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes,…there shall be no mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore” (Revelation 21:4), in large part, I think, because we don’t “go to heaven and watch countless millions of people.” Jesus tells us that when we go to heaven, we will “be like angels” (Matthew 22:30). When we read the descriptions of heaven in the Books of Isaiah, and Ezekiel, and Revelation, we notice that the angels are focused on God. They’re not looking down from heaven, watching people; they’re looking to God, worshipping Him. John tells us that we will do the same: “I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…crying out ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10). Heaven is a place of joy, not tears, or fears, or anguish. Heaven is a place of worship, where there is “fullness of joy” in the presence of God (Psalm 16:11). I don’t understand how it all works, and I don’t have all the answers. But Mr. Aaron, I do know the Way to get there; His name is Jesus. He loves you, He died for you, He rose from the dead for you and lives for you forever. Put your trust in Him, and one day in heaven we’ll find our answers together.
WWW.HILLCOUNTRYEXPLORE.COM | NOVEMBER 2016
| 39
WWW.HILLCOUNTRYEXPLORE.COM | NOVEMBER 2016
| 41
42 | EXPLORE
THIS YEAR, I’M THANKFUL FOR MY CLIENTS.
My name is Robbie Parr and I would love to earn your business. I am a decorated USAF veteran, Boerne High School and Texas A&M graduate, a proud husband and an expectant father. I am also a native of Boerne and have spent my entire life building relationships in this area. I’m proud to be at North Park Subaru at Dominion and I look forward to serving the clients in and around my home town.
21415 IH-10 W
| San Antonio, TX 78257 | Cell: 210.602.4644 | Facebook: “ThatSubieGuy-RobParr”
ART OF ADVENTURE Mason Mainz, owner of Montechema Firearms, is no stranger to adventure. From working heavy equipment in Colorado, to being a cattle rancher, to living off the grid at his family ranch, Mainz has done a lot. All by the age of 24. However, as it turns out, the life of adventure is something that runs in his veins. By Ben Schooley
H
He begins, “Montechema was the name of my great, great uncle. His real name was Herman Lehmann, and he spent 9 years with the Indians after being captured at 11 years old. He was captured by the Apaches, ultimately killed their medicine man, and fled to live in the wilderness for a year. He came across some Comanche braves and followed them back to their tribe. They scattered and ran because he looked like a crazy Indian after his time in the wilderness. They were going to kill him, but one of the Comanches spoke Apache, and upon learning of his story of killing the medicine man, they took him in as one of their own. He ultimately became leader of that tribe.” Upon graduation from high school in 2009, Mainz began his college schooling at Blinn, but quickly dropped out. “After leaving school, I moved to Colorado to work heavy equipment pushing snow off the mountains. I got sick of that, and came back to Boerne and was living on the ranch here in town that has been in our family for over 100 years, and I had the opportunity to live off the garden and land and I was self-sufficient for over a year. I kind of accumulated some debts and had to start working at the Fredericksburg Auction Barn selling sheep, goat, and cattle for 3 years.” With a myriad of experiences, Mainz began to consider entrepreneurship. From his days at Blinn to his life living on the ranch, Mainz had accumulated quite the knowledge of firearms. “My grandpa passed, and his office was in my current location (right behind Sugar Shack). After speaking with the family and realizing that none of them had any real plans for the building, I elected to use it for Montechema Firearms. I had been working with guns since I was a kid and I hunted and I got more into guns during college and I had gotten an AR-15 and I was bit by the gun bug. I started getting into reloading specialty ammunition for these guys at school. So that’s what got me into the idea that there were a lot more people out there that were into a respect for guns, and I opened my shop hoping to manufacture ammo, but being in the middle of town, you can’t manufacture. So instead I’ve found a niche in the suppressors which I saw as a rising market.”
44 | EXPLORE
Opened in the summer of 2015, Mainz has been honing his business skills while working to expand his customer base. “It’s been good so far. The first year I was open we had Obama sign a lot of stuff into law, and it’s pushed a lot of our firearm sales. The laws that have changed for the suppressors have caused a lot of people to try to get theirs before these laws take effect. I hooked up with a suppressor shop out of Austin that got me a kiosk that enables me to take the required fingerprints right in my shop, which is a great convenience and has helped as well.” While his inventory and conveniences have helped Mainz’s business, he has found that it really comes down to service. “I got tired of the way I was treated at some gun shops, and so I opened my shop with the desire to provide the best service I can. Bass Pro doesn’t care about you or what you need, so I wanted to bring the small business aspect back to the gun world, and a gun purchase is very personal so I really want to highlight that aspect of it.” And that service is paying off. He continues, “I’m moving my shop to Main Street the beginning of next year. I’m trying to expand into the firearm manufacturing business, explosive licensing, and continuing with the niche markets I service already. It will be five times the space, and I want to make my new shop an area for men to come hang out in Boerne – there’s nothing for guys to do on Main Street, and so I really want to open up an area where they can come in, relax, and be with like-minded men.” From standard firearms to highly exotic ones, to custom ammunition, to simply good ol’ fashioned customer service. Mason Mainz has been working hard at his passion of firearms, and surely, is looking forward to the next great adventure.
104 E San Antonio Ave Boerne, TX 78006 (830) 388-0004 www.montechemafirearms.com
WWW.HILLCOUNTRYEXPLORE.COM | NOVEMBER 2016
| 45
46 | EXPLORE
WWW.HILLCOUNTRYEXPLORE.COM | NOVEMBER 2016
| 47
48 | EXPLORE
A lifestyle boutique for health, happiness and comfort! 194 SOUTH MAIN STREET, SUITE 115, BOERNE, TEXAS 78006 (830) 331-2345 @LUNAMORESSENTIALS
LUNAMORESSENTIALS,LLC
WWW.LUNAMORESSENTIALS.COM
OLD TIMER
I
I’m writing this little column in late October, and that means that the Presidential election is in just a few days. I am extremely happy (as I’m sure many of you are) that this sad chapter in American history is closing, as the campaign was one of the biggest circuses to watch. We’re probably faced with electing two of the least qualified people to be charged with the overall direction of this great country, and so in some ways this impending
election feels like watching two train locomotives crash into each other in slow motion. By the time you read this, odds are that you know the outcome of the election. One of two things is happening: you are relieved and cautiously optimistic of what the next 4 years will bring, OR you are building a stockpile of firearms
to fight off the impending Civil War. Because of this, there is absolutely no way I feel like even talking about our local City government shenanigans (of which there are many). So we’re going to talk about food. Yep, FOOD. Why not? It’s November and that means Thanksgiving, so you lucky souls out there are going to be treated
to some of my favorite family recipes from years past. So while you’re either leveling your picture of Hillary that you are hanging over the mantel, or are cleaning your guns as fast as you can, kick back and give one of these recipes a shot. Hang in there – regardless, it’s going to be a wild 4 years.
GRANDMA RUTH’S KERNBREAD DRESSING Grandma Ruth was nuts. As in, certifiable. However, that woman could make a dressing that was better than sex. 1 (16 ounce) package dry corn bread mix 2 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup chopped celery 1 small onion 2 eggs, beaten 2 cups chicken stock 2 tablespoons dried sage salt and pepper to taste
1 Prepare the dry corn bread mix according to package directions. Cool and crumble.
2 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9x13 inch baking dish.
3 In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the celery and onion until soft.
4
5
In a large bowl, combine the celery, onions, 3 cups crumbled corn bread, eggs, chicken stock, sage and salt and pepper to taste; mix well.
Place into prepared dish and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
AUNT FRANCES’ TURKEY BASTE Now little old Aunt Frances was a peach, and I once had a dream about her turkey while in Germany during WWII. I had reasons to survive the War, and I think I’d put Frances’ turkey way up the list. 1 cup oil 1 1/2 tablespoons Kitchen Bouquet 2 tablespoons paprika 2 tablespoons garlic 1 1/2 tablespoons salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper Mix all ingredients together and rub/squirt under skin of turkey, all over. Grease inside of brown bag. Place on a rack. Place turkey inside of bag. Close with paper clips. Put pan under rack and bake. After cooking turkey appropriate time (20 minutes per pound in a 350 degree F oven), remove bag and return to oven to brown.
UNCLE FRED’S REDNECK LOWBALL Fred was a jackass, and had this peculiar need to constantly put me in a headlock every time he saw me. As I grew older, I learned to love his Lowball, but I still remember him as being a world class ass. 2oz. Vodka 2oz. Light Rum 2oz. Gin 2oz. Tequila 1/2 can Mt. Dew Serve in a glass, clean or not, over ice. If you want to get fancy drunk, garnish with a slice of lemon or lime.
50 | EXPLORE
F A M I LY
|
R E A L E S TAT E
|
BUSINESS
706 E. BLANCO, SUITE 200 | BOERNE, TEXAS 78006 | O: (830) 249-3559 | F: (830) 214-2181