MAY 2020
Birmingham shines as we weather the storm
Theater and Art Camps
Missoula Children’s Theater | Visual Arts | Music
Shelby County Arts Council
To enroll your child, call (205) 669-0044 or visit shelbycountyartscouncil.com
2 Bham Family May 2020
Specializing in Children’s Wear Gifts & Accessories
Bham Family May 2020 3
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PUBLISHER’S NOTE
don’t know about you, but it’s been a long two months at our house. With two elementary-aged children, two dogs, and two working parents, it has been challenging. But, it’s also given us a lot of unexpected time to discover a love of puzzles, tackle long-shelved projects inside and out, and find a few new shows to stream. Social media has been vital in keeping us connected to friends and local businesses, but it’s also been full of fear-inducing headlines and spurred a lot of uncertainty. In the age of a pandemic, we can easily fall into the “worry trap.” But something else we noticed was that there is a LOT of GOOD going on in our world right now. People are doing amazing things, and we are excited to devote our May issue to telling some of those stories. Read about Bib & Tucker Sew-Op in Crestwood and their devotion to making face masks; get
Keep them looking their best all year long!
inspired by the messages left on the sidewalk of a gym in Hoover; and read several other inspiring stories throughout this issue. I’d like to give special thanks to Scott Stantis for drawing a special image of a teddy bear for us. Scott, who lives in Shelby County, is the editorial cartoonist for the Chiacago Tribune and is a weekly guest cartoonist for USA Today. See the story and his drawing on page 8. Until next month, stay safe, and support the small businesses around you...they’re vitally important to us!
Matthew Allen Publisher and Dad
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LOCATIONS BIRMINGHAM 500 Cahaba Park Circle, Suite 100 MADISON 8490 Highway 72 W, Suite 100 TRUSSVILLE 117 North Chalkville Road TUSCALOOSA 4700 Rice Mine Road NE VESTAVIA HILLS 520 Montgomery Highway Bham Family May 2020 5
MADISON and VESTAVIA locations now open!
ABOUT US
Bham Family is published monthly by JBMC Media, LLC, P.O. Box 26432, Birmingham AL 35260. 14,000 copies are printed and distributed at more than 530 locations throughout 650 Jefferson and Shelby Counties. DISTRIBUTION
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O U R A DV E RT I S I N G PA RT N E R S These folks are the ones to thank for our magazine’s success — spend your money with them, and tell them you saw them in Bham Family! ACE Cheer Company BHM Alabama Adventure and Splash Adventure Alabama Ophthalmology Associates
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Shelby County Arts Council
17
Shelby County Chamber of Commerce 27
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Aldridge Gardens
19
Applause Dancewear
2
Backyard Adventures
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Children’s of Alabama Compact2020
Sike’s Children’s Shoes / Jack n Jill
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Single Barrel Barber Shop
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Southlake Orthopaedics The Shelby County Chamber of Commerce The Whole Scoop Ice Cream Shop
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Urgent Care for Children
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Jackie O’Neal School of Dance
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Vineyard Family Services
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Kasey Davis Dentistry
11
Virginia Samford Theatre
19
McWane Science Center
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Vulcan Termite & Pest Control
23
Painted Personalities
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WAY-FM
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Pediatric Smiles
4
Wee-Peat Boutique / LuLu’s Loft
25
Pigtails & Crewcuts
15
Wrapsody
25
Birmingham BirminghamFamily FamilyMagazine Magazine
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@BhamFamilyMag @BhamFamilyMag
bhamfunandfamily.com bhamfamily.com
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RECYCLE RECYCLE ME! ME!
ABOUT THE COVER Our cover features photos from stories in this issue, an issue we have devoted to sharing the good things that have happened during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place period. Featured on the front: (top row, from left) Mountain Brook Elementary School student Claire Leonard; Charles and Keri Hyde’s neighborhood wedding in Hoover; Women’s group turns plastic tablecloths into protective gear; the Easter Bunny on his visit to the Westwind neighborhood in Hueytown; Barry Alvis and a very special “wedding” for his children; (bottom row, from left) face masks crafted by the artisans at Bib & Tucker Sew-Op; a student in Trussville works on distance learning from home; CakEffect owner and cake artist Komeh Davis works on a cake at her store in Hoover; and Shelby County Arts Council Director Bruce Andrews provides quarantine-themed humor.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
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26
18
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FEATURE STORIES
A Window to the World
Leading from the Heart
Support Small Businesses
Easter, Social Distancing Style
They’ve been there for us, and now let’s return the favor. p.12
Hueytown neighborhood brings cheer with Easter tradition. p.24
A Wedding Day to Remember
Sewing Together Hope
Celebration of Life, Love, and Family
Staying Connected
Teddy bear hunt reminds us that we’re in this together. p.8
Neighbors help Hoover couple celebrate their big day. p.16
Family doesn’t let father’s illness rob them of memories p.18
Leading with Laughter
SCAC director shows us how a little humor and creativity go a long way in tough times. pp.20-21
Sew to Slow the Spread
Bib & Tucker expands mission to teach people how to sew masks and meet community needs. p.22
Student sews masks for healthcare workers. p.24
Women’s group supplies healthcare workers with gowns. p.26
Hoover turns buses into hotspots for online learning. p.27
Handing out Hope
Trinity United Methodist Church expands their Food Share Program. p.27
Parents Get Schooled
School officials share tips for distance learning. p.28
When COVID-19 Hits Home
Helena family shares how illness changed their lives. p.30
IN EVERY ISSUE
Food Review
Just for Dads
Healthy Living
Schoolhouse
CakEffect gets us through this time with some sweet treats. p.10
Burn Boot Camp bond is strong. p.10
During this time let us remember to embrace the quality time and have hope. p.13
Updates from the Hoover School District. pp.14-15 Bham Family May 2020 7
A Window
World to the
Teddy bear hunt reminds us that we’re in this together. BY JEANA DURST Across the U.S. and in more than 10 other countries, something remarkable is happening. You’ve probably noticed it on your street, or you may have already participated. If you haven’t, we are officially inviting you on a bear hunt—a teddy bear hunt, that is. It’s not clear how this phenomenon got started, but what is evident is that when families started placing stuffed bears and other animals in the windows and inviting us all to spot them, there was a sense of comfort in this pandemic— one collective “aww” if you will. This universal symbol for nurturing care is on display, a nonverbal way of expressing camaraderie and love from a safe social distance. Hoover resident Scott Stantis, an editorial 8 Bham Family May 2020
cartoonist for The Chicago Tribune and creator of the comic strip Prickly City, drew a bear for The Tribune that was part of a story in which people could download a pdf to cut out their own bear or submit their photos of bears. “We got hundreds and hundreds of responses—it’s just so darn nice,” Stantis says. (If his name sounds familiar, it’s because Stantis spent 13 years drawing editorial cartoons for The Birmingham News.) He has an even deeper connection to bears. “I have a teddy bear that I gave to my wife for our first Christmas together almost 40 years ago—it’s a pot-bellied bear and we call him Pot’s.” Stantis was inspired to do the newspaper illustration after a friend said she would be coming by the Stantis house on a teddy bear hunt. “So, of course, I ran and we put Pot’s on the front porch on a chair,” Stantis says, explaining that “the way you hunt them is that you wave to them.” Since that time he and his wife have gone on long walks and driven to other neighborhoods to do their own hunting. It’s just this kind of thing that has the power to make us all—young and old alike—set aside the worries of the pandemic, even if just for a while. Stantis decided to draw this special bear you see above just for our Bham Family magazine community, and we hope this inspires you to share photos of your stuffed bear or the ones you spot by sending them to our Facebook page.
PEDIATRIC EYE CARE
Jennifer Davidson, MD, Colette Jackson, MD, and Allison McKelvey, OD
Our pediatric eye care team specializes in a wide range of medical and surgical procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of:
• • • • •
Children that need glasses or contact lenses Children with inherited or genetic conditions Children with cataracts, glaucoma or blocked tear ducts Children and adults with strabismus (crossed eye) or double vision Special needs children with eye conditions
4 Convenient Locations Alabama Ophthalmology Associates, 1000 19th Street South Children’s of Alabama, Lowder Building, Suite 412 Grandview Physician’s Plaza, Suite 100 Montgomery, 2752 Zelda Road For appointments, call (205) 903-0700 Visit us online at AOAPC.com Bham Family May 2020 9
FOOD REVIEW
GRAB SOME CURBSIDE TREATS FROM CAKEFFECT After being in quarantine for a while, many of us are finding ourselves in front of the refrigerator even if we’re not hungry. (I know I’m not the only one, so admit it!) Many local spots that are open are operating curbside, Joy which helps give us a break King and keep them in business. What can really get you through this time is some comfort food like a delicious cupcake or cinnamon roll from CakEffect in Hoover. CakEffect specializes in cake art, and the curbside is still open for those freshly baked cinnamon rolls that are drenched in icing. They come two to a pack, but be warned: they may make you look at your family a little differently when they expect you to share it with them! You can also get satisfied with a cupcake—my favorite flavor is key lime. For the kiddos, you can have confetti and, of
course, a cupcake with gummy worms. If you prefer them to have a little less sugar, you can also grab a pack of the mini cupcakes. You may recall the owner Komeh Davis was featured on the Food Network earlier this year on “Bakers & Faker’s.” Unfortunately she didn’t win, but she will always be Birmingham’s winner. She and her husband are also planning to open a 2nd location in Tuscaloosa in the fall. To learn about more about Joy’s Eat, Drink, Ride Food Tour, go to DiningOutWithComedienneJoy.com
HEALTHLY LIVING
BUILDING
STRENGTH
The Burn Boot Camp bond is strong. The fitness community of Burn Boot Camp has something special going on. This women’s gym, focused on high intensity interval training workout camps, shows what can happen when your customers are also your community. When an executive order was issued requiring all non-essential businesses to temporarily close, fitness facilities had to shutter immediately. That did not prevent Burn Boot Camp from finding a way to serve their 550 members. Trainer Cameron Iverson explained that during this time of social distancing, their trainers found a way to connect with members through Zoom and Facebook Live meetings, even showing up regularly for the 5 a.m. crowd. “We wanted to figure out how we could bring value to the members during this time,” 10 Bham Family May 2020
Iverson says. The staff also delivered their post-workout protein drinks (the After Burn) curbside. As an extra step, they even wrote encouraging messages on top of members’ drinks. Owner Jim Safron treated 75 member families to a social distancing ice cream outing from neighboring business Whole Scoop. Not only were they building up one another, they were lending their support to other small businesses. It’s what happened next that was a surprise. The staff at Burn Boot camp found out what it was like to be on the receiving end of support. One Friday evening about 70 members decorated the building with colorful posters and sidewalk chalk messages. In a twist, it was the members encouraging the trainers with messages that contained familiar sayings, Bible verses, and words of hope. “There were tears from the staff … We wanted to give them support and they turned around and gave it right back to us,” Iverson says. With that new boost of energy, the Burn Sisters, as they are called, and their trainers realized that “they’ve got this.” For more information, visit www. burnbootcamp.com.
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Support Small Businesses
They’ve been there for us, and now it’s time to return the favor BY JEANA DURST Perhaps some of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 outbreak and resulting shutdown are our small business owners. Overnight, we realized how much we rely on our favorite local businesses when we couldn’t access them. While some, like restaurants, continue to operate on a limited basis, other non-essential businesses have been under mandate to temporarily close their physical location, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still doing business. It’s the local business owner who supports your child’s soccer team or donates to your nonprofit cause, and we believe it’s up to us to return the favor and send our dollars to the people in our community rather than big box stores. “We want to be here for there for our customers as much as we need them—this is a time where we must all come together,” says Komeh Davis, owner of CakEffect in Hoover. Here are some ways you can show your support: JUST REACH OUT – DON’T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS:
Many small businesses are ready to take your call or email and work creatively to meet your requests even while their doors are shut. Laura Player, representative for Sike’s Children’s Shoes and Jack n’ Jill in Homewood says that one of the best things you can do is “shop online or call the store to pay via phone for curbside pickup.” They are offering discounted inventory during this time, so it’s also a great time for you to snag a deal and support two businesses who have been outfitting kids for 65 years. It may be tempting to order from Amazon, but take a moment to consider what happens if we lose longstanding “institutions” like these and all of the collective generational memories that they hold. BUY GIFT CARDS YOU MIGHT NOT USUALLY:
Use the time on your hands to plan for the future—a purchase today could make a difference for a business owner tomorrow. Jessica Palmer, a representative of Eyes on Chelsea Vision Care, says, “You can buy contacts or gift cards.” 12 Bham Family May 2020
ORDER LOCAL WITH CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Want to keep our city’s enviable food scene alive? Restaurants, bakeries and caterers want you to know that they are still open for business. “CakEffect is still making custom cakes, and we also have cupcakes, pound cakes, cookies, cinnamon rolls, cheesecake cake and a few flavors of popcorn,” Davis says. (Great options for quarantine birthdays!) And for the comfort of a healthy family style meal without the hours of cooking, consider catering companies as well as restaurants. Joy Smith, owner of Sorelle, says, “We provide wholesome family-sized meals that can be pre-ordered or picked up curbside.” If you order food out, opt for curbside pickup, rather than delivery services like Uber Eats who often take a portion of the profits. If you do use a delivery service, look for options to donate to directly to the restaurant. Remember curbside pickup is not just for food establishments. Ask your local retail vendor if your online orders can be picked up curbside and save the costs to the business that are associated with mail or delivery. INQUIRE ABOUT VIRTUAL SERVICES: Services,
not just products, can be delivered online or by phone. There’s never been a better time to take an online class to support your local guitar teacher. If it’s a medical service you need, don’t just assume that only emergency services are offered. While Chelsea Vision Care is operating from Monday through Thursday to see emergencies and for curbside pickups of glasses, they are also offering telecommunication visits for pink eyes, allergies, dryness, etc. To keep patients safe, many smaller clinics are turning to telemedicine and you can take advantage of that. BE PATIENT: Just remember to exercise patience
with your orders as well. Even businesses that are considered essential may be restricted or operating with a skeleton staff during this time.
JUST FOR DADS Two months ago, life was often overwhelming and going by so fast with my son who is a senior about to graduate and head to college. My second son will be a senior next year, and with the rest of our busy schedules that Ward lead us in a thousand different Williams directions every day, it felt like we were chasing life as it was running away from us. We parents and children have measurably less free time than any other generation before us. We have trouble being still or saying no to activities, and instead feel a need to fill up all our time. I believe that we have bought into the idea that in order for our kids to succeed in life they have to be involved in every club, sport, and activity both inside of school and outside of school. Over the past month, life came to a screeching halt. No more school, activities, and the daily hustle and bustle schedule is no more. Some of us have loved every minute of watching Netflix and Disney+ in our pajamas all day. Some of us have worried about
going out of the house even for essential groceries. Some have needed long walks more than 3 times a day to stay sane. But our family has loved learning new things about our kids before they go to college, and we have spent more quality time with them over this last month than we have had in the last year. During this time let us remember to embrace the quality time and have hope. Hope is an important and lifegiving characteristic for us. The lack of hope causes despair, apathy, and indifference. Verses from Psalm 40 are often times used as common prayers in liturgy for dealing with times of natural disaster and calamity. Psalm 40, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me up out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and the mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth a hymn of praise to our God.� I pray my family has a new focus to live differently after this experience, to be thankful for time we have together and to seek rest and guidance before we get stuck in muck and mire again. Ward Williams is the founder and executive director of Vineyard Family Services. Contact him at ward@vfsdads.com.
Vineyard Family Services Feeding Kids in Need, Promoting Responsible Fatherhood, and Helping Families in Crisis Donations help us: Feed children in need and provide other essential items Deliver family emergency food boxes Aid fathers and mothers with parenting programs Support incarcerated families and children Provide at-risk teens important life skills
www.vfsdads.com
Bham Family May 2020 13
S C H O O L H O U S E NEWS FROM HOOVER CITY SCHOOLS
High schools rank nationally US News & World Report released their annual rankings of public U.S. high schools, and both Hoover and Spain Park ranked highly. In the rankings of more than 24,000 high schools, Hoover High School ranked 22nd among Alabama high schools (and 1,853rd nationally), and Spain Park ranked 11th (and 993rd nationally).
RC3 donates PPP equipment Health Science Academy teachers and Center Director Dr. Debra Smith from RC3 (Riverchase Career Connection Center) donated usable personal protective equipment (PPE) to Grandview Medical Center. Grandview is a partner with RC3, and the equipment was needed to protect medical workers as the coronavirus pandemic emerged.
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Urgent Care Orthopaedic Services at our Hoover-MedPlex location
Walk-Ins after 5pm
Walk-in services Thursday-Friday, 5-8pm; Saturday 8am-noon Hoover-MedPlex 4517 Southlake Parkway, Hoover AL 35244
(205) 985-4220 | SouthlakeOrthopaedics.com 14 Bham Family May 2020
S C H O O L H O U S E NEWS FROM HOOVER CITY SCHOOLS
Transfer deadline extended The deadline for applying for a transfer within the Hoover school district has been extended until June 15. Students may transfer to any school within the system other than the school for which they are zoned to attend. For more information, please visit the system’s website at hoovercityschools.net.
Spain Park sophomore receives award for drawing Spain Park sophomore Konnor Carrie received the “Best of District 4B” award in the drawing category of the Visual Arts Achievement Program. The program, sponsored by Alabama State Council on the Arts, recognizes the best of student art in grades 6-12 throughout Alabama. ON
ATI W LOC
R NE SIT OU
VI
Ice cream so good, you’ll scream!
1021 brock’s gap parkway | hoover (205) 444-8000 find us on Bham Family May 2020 15
A Wedding Day to Remember
Neighbors help Hoover couple celebrate their big day One thing is true about the coronavirus and quarantine—there’s never an opportune time to go through such a traumatic event. But for some it posed more challenges than others. Charles Hyde and Keri McClendon Hyde were just getting ready to be married on April 4 at Red Gates at Kelly Creek in Odenville with 175 people on the guest list. How they decided to handle that challenge reminds us all that even a global pandemic can’t stop love. Keri and Charles, both 31, are both considered “essential workers” during this time, as she is a nurse practitioner at UAB’s outpatient Kirklin Clinic, and he is a manager at Publix and full-time student. Neither wanted to postpone their plans even as they realized that their big day would not be able to go as planned. As the COVID-19 crisis slowly unfolded, the couple first tried to scale back on attendees, but when they determined that Charles’s family would not be able to travel from out of town, they decided to change course and get married by a lake in their neighborhood at the Kirkman preserve in Hoover with Keri’s uncle performing the ceremony. It was all documented in real-time on Facebook Live so friends and family could watch. What happened that day is inspiring. Little did the couple know, the Kirkman Preserve HOA President Wayne Fixler had coordinated with everyone in the neighborhood to plan a special surprise. Keri says, “I knew that they had planned a unity day for the neighborhood, and everyone
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had put up white balloons—I thought ‘oh that’s appropriate because we are getting married that day.’” But what she didn’t know is that Fixler had coordinated with residents so they would know when to come outside and congratulate the couple as they took a ride around the neighborhood before traveling to Oak Mountain State Park to take photos. “At first, I saw a few people out, and I thought ‘oh that’s sweet,’ but then I realized everybody was outside,” Keri says. That’s when they opened the sunroof and the bride and groom stood up to wave to everyone who had gathered on their lawns and driveways. While they were holding the ceremony, neighbors scrambled to drench their lawns in white decorations, just for occasion. Some ran up to the car to deliver champagne –and even a few rolls of toilet paper. Keri and Charles, who met years after graduating the same year from Oak Mountain High School where they had been acquaintances, reconnected one evening when Keri was on a bad online date and spotted her old classmate and a few others at the table next to her. Two days later Charles and she went out on a date. (They also ended up finding out that they had been in the same second grade class.) Though these two could have never predicted that they’d get married like this, they will definitely have a good story to tell as years pass. “It ended up being a pretty great day; I think if his parents could’ve been there it would be a pretty perfect day,” Keri says.
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A Celebration of Life, Love, and Family Family doesn’t let father’s illness rob them of memories
Pictured, from left: Maggie, Lara, Barrett and Barry Alvis; Dad and daughter share a sweet moment; They lit eternity candles and held a sand jar ceremony.
BY JEANA DURST Once or twice in a lifetime, if we are fortunate, we experience a moment where time seems to stand still. Times when we can capture a little bit of magic in our memories that can sustain us for years to come. The celebration on April 5 at a friend’s home in Shelby County was that moment for the Alvis children. Lara and Barry Alvis hosted a ceremony for their children to celebrate their “weddings” alongside their father Barry, who is facing a terminal illness diagnosis of idiopathic lung fibrosis. It was an idea that came from their daughter 10-year-old Maggie in March not long after Lara and Barry returned from Duke University in March with some tough news. Despite the hope that he could undergo a lung transplant, doctors had ultimately determined Barry could not be a candidate for a transplant. After carefully helping their children to grasp what this meant, one night they saw the light bulb go off for Maggie and her brother Barrett, 8. The children realized that doctors “could not heal Daddy and without a miracle he would die,” Lara says. Two days later, Maggie read online about a young girl who had a pretend wedding day celebration so that her father could walk her down the aisle. At first, they thought it was a “little bit unusual” but figured if it was what their daughter needed, then so be it. Joined that day by Barry’s older son Kyle and other immediate family members, Lara officiated 18 Bham Family May 2020
the ceremony and led both children through lighting eternity candles and a special sand ceremony, which left the kids with keepsakes they can use at their actual weddings. “I called each person up, and we added sand for each person and what they meant in their lives,” Lara says. Barry presented the children Bibles, while Lara led the group in prayer. The family ceremoniously passed on treasured heirlooms, like Barry’s beloved Mont Blanc pen, inside memory boxes. Perhaps the highlight was when Barry walked Maggie down the aisle to the end of the front porch and gave her a ring that he had inscribed. “He was so strong to do this for the children,” says Lara. Barry shares that it was “difficult, but it was good difficult.” He explained that his time at Duke with very ill people had given this seasoned and tough trial lawyer a new perspective on empathy. In some ways this day was already borrowed time. Diagnosed in 2015 during a routine examination, Barry was given only 3 months to five years to live, almost five years ago. Even in the midst of heartbreak, Lara expresses gratitude for this and other blessings. For the Alvis family, this quarantine has delivered an unexpected gift of time. Lara, a Shelby County Circuit Court Judge, has more time than before and their children get to spend these days with Barry instead of in school. Maybe when we think of the lessons of this pandemic, we will think of how this family reminds us to be glad for the extra time at home and be inspired by their celebration of life.
Entering 5K-5th Grades All camps start June 1st, and each lasts 1 week, 9am-noon Complete summer camp descriptions, details, and fees available at aldridgegardens.com All teachers are Alabama educators.
Summer Activities
June 8-11: Preschool Princess classes June 1-4: Summer Intensive I (advanced dancers only) June 8-11: Summer Intensive II (advanced dancers only) July 20-22: Recreational Dance Camp (K-5)
(205) 822-6212 | jackieonealschoolofdance.com 3336 Rocky Ridge Plaza, Vestavia Hills Bham Family May 2020 19
Executive Director of the Shelby County Arts Council Bruce Andrews has entertained us through the coronavirus quarantine with his orginal poetry and lyrics.
Leading with Laughter SCAC director shows us how a little humor and creativity go a long way in tough times. BY JEANA DURST “Quarantine, O’ Quarantine, Why you got to be so mean, O’ quarantine?” That’s the question that opens every Facebook episode of “G’s Poetry Corner,” a side-splitting parody of a Shakespearian ode, from Shelby County’s entertaining and well-loved advocate of the arts, Bruce Andrews. In his role as Executive Director of the Shelby County Arts Council, Andrews supports, nurtures, and promotes the arts and cultural opportunities. But from his home during the COVID-19 quarantine, he has been leading with poetry and a heaping dose of humor. From his living room this “quarantine bard” greets “ladies and germs” regularly on Facebook and keeps us entertained with his original rhymes throughout what is otherwise such a serious time. What started as an effort to stay in contact with his grandkids during social distancing by reading Shel Silverstein morphed into his own creative endeavor and gave way to his original poems, which hysterically poke fun of the surreal hardships of the whole quarantine experience. 20 Bham Family May 2020
“Originally, I was going to do it for my wife just to lift her spirits, and she thought it would be cute if I took videos for my grandsons because they like to see me be goofy—it kind of comes natural,” Andrews says. (His grandsons call him “G,” hence the name of the performances.) With some of the videos now liked by as many as 2,000, the endeavor has certainly gained momentum, though Andrews jokes that “Jimmy Fallon hasn’t called yet.” He shares that, like so many of us, this quarantine has given him more time to contemplate his hobbies and that he fancies himself a songwriter, which is what spurred him to create lyrical poetry. Complete with costumes, theatrical background music, an exaggerated accent, and the laugh track from his camera “crew” and wife, Joy Andrews, these Facebook poems are great fun for the whole family. And the rhymes are so relatable—from poems where he bemoans toilet paper hoarders imagining their silly “TP shrines,” to ones where he sings the praises of Oreo’s and other types of quarantine comfort food.
At the Shelby County Arts Council, he regularly leads programs that serve special needs and at-risk kids through arts, as well as organizing educational courses and performance events. “The things that people see is just the tip of the iceberg,” Andrews says. And the council is finding a way to keep it going during quarantine. During the spring months, they will host a statewide juried art show via virtual walkthrough and are underway with plans to set up free online music instruction to keep their teachers employed during this time. As for the future, Andrews had this to say: “I plan for Arts Council to come out of this strong in the fall with ticketed events, workshops and exhibits ... we hope to reward everybody, including ourselves, with some great art when we come out of this time.” This kind of positive perspective has a way of being contagious. Andrews not only believes that the arts can help carry us through but he also sees value in the times we are living in. “It’s good that we now realize how the dominos lean against each other in society—we are aware of truck drivers delivering food to the supermarket when we never thought about them before, for instance.” When I remarked about the therapeutic
EXCERPT FROM “ODE TO QUARANTINE, THE QUARANTINE COWBOY WESTERN EDITION” To mask or not to mask, that is the question Whether it is nobler to look like a surgeon or make a fashion statement, I’m just not certain I know I will wrap my bandana about my head and remember what ole Kid Rock said When he said I wanna be a cowboy baby
value of “G’s Poetry Corner,” Andrews humbly says that getting his wife to laugh has been the biggest value. “If the attraction to the art form is simply making people laugh, then so be it,” he says, observing that it’s always good to remind people that art does not have to be inherently pretentious. It’s precisely this riff on pretension that makes his videos so funny, all while reminding us all that laughter and levity–and most importantly, the arts—has always been something that sees our society through hard times. To watch the videos, search #gspoetrycorner or #scacimagine on Facebook, and to learn more about the Shelby County Arts Council, visit www.shelbycountyartscouncil.com.
6/1 through 7/31
Summer Camp registration is now open! Call us at (205) 714 -8414 or visit us online at www.mcwane.org to reserve your spot today! Bham Family May 2020 21
SEW TO SLOW THE
SPREAD Pictured from left, June Solomon, Barbara Willingham, Gloria Purnell, Betty Bamberg, and Sonya Muhammad.
Bib & Tucker expands mission to teach people how to sew masks and meet community needs. BY JEANA DURST “If you can stay home and sew, slow art saves lives.” That’s the message on the quilt hanging from the side of Bib & Tucker, a collaborative sew-op and nonprofit in the Crestwood area of Birmingham. Their mission is to cultivate skills and community for those who sew or want to sew, where everyone can be both a teacher and a student. During this quarantine, their work has become central to health and welfare, as they show us how we can sew masks to take care of one another. It’s all part of their “Sew to Slow the Spread” campaign, which provides instructional patterns, education, and resources. “If somebody says I need thread and I’m willing to help my community, then we will get them the materials they need,” Executive Director and co-founder Lillis Taylor says. While the mission focuses on empowering others to sew for their neighbors, the artists of Bib & Tucker are creating masks for front-line healthcare workers and employees of other nonprofits or small businesses. At press time, they had handed out about 600 masks. Bib & Tucker has its roots in a friendship forged through sewing ten years ago when Taylor met Annie Bryant, who is also a co-founder. Taylor had returned from studying abroad and wanted to open a textile business, but had one problem: She did not know how to sew. After seeking out the Birmingham Quilters Guild, Taylor met Bryant who began to meet her every Tuesday at the Inglenook Library. Taylor was in her thirties at the time, while Bryant, an African 22 Bham Family May 2020
START SEWING TODAY Visit www.bibandtuckersewop.org for more information about the following programs: Bham Face Masks: For those who want to get plugged into their initiative for healthcare workers Sew to Slow the Spread: For those who want to organize within their own communities, or are looking for no-sew options Sew Your Own Mask: An instructional video created by Taylor for UAB’s Institute for Arts in Medicine Paper Quilt Project: Help make a colorful paper quilt to decorate the storefront windows. To participate, take a sheet of copy paper, fold over a corner and cut off the excess to make an 8.5”x 8.5” square. Draw a quilt block, color it and mail to the Sew-Op at 4915B 5th Avenue S., Birmingham, Ala., 35222.
American retiree, was in her mid-sixties. “Our experiences of growing up in Birmingham were very different ... She patiently gave me an education,” Taylor says. As she points out from early on, their sewing co-op wasn’t just about sewing. “It was about people coming together and learning about our commonalities rather than our differences,” Taylor says. To request masks from Bib & Tucker, text your name and number needed to (205) 386-0575. Check on requirements. At press time, requests were limited to 25 for front-line needs; and two for community and individual needs.
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Easter, Social Distancing Style Hueytown neighborhood brings cheer with Easter tradition
BY JEANA DURST The coronavirus changed almost every facet of our lives—including how we celebrated Easter festivities. The families of the Westwind Neighborhood in Hueytown pitched in to save the Easter tradition of egg hunts. Hueytown City Council President Jay Jacks got the idea to host a social distance Easter Egg Hunt after seeing how much families enjoyed checking out the teddy bears on display in windows. From April 3 through 12, large paper Easter eggs adorned the houses of this neighborhood of about 400 residents. A simple pattern that could be made with paper was distributed and pasted in many windows. “People had climbed up into dormers in their attics and put eggs up there, and one couple who has never had kids decorated with plastic eggs throughout their yard,” Jacks says.
The season’s most famous rabbit even made the rounds in a golf cart to the delight of the children, who stood in their yards and waved to the Easter Bunny. Jacks describes the positive effect it had during the stressful time. “Each night I saw families riding and walking, and I really think just seeing other people helps clean your mind,” he says. Even if neighbors couldn’t visit, they could wave and shout across lawns. What was happening was more than an egg hunt. This joint effort was just one more example of communities finding a way to connect during the COVID-19 quarantine despite the obstacles. Jacks, who has lived in the Hueytown/Concord area all of his life, remarks that Hueytown has always been a tightknit community, and points out this silver lining: “I truly believe in this horrible time there are great things that are coming from it; we are rebuilding families and rebuilding community bonds.”
Fifth-grader sews masks for healthcare workers Mountain Brook Elementary School fifth-grader Claire Leonard has sewn more than 50 protective masks for healthcare workers across the Birmingham metro area. “It makes me feel good because I’m doing my part and what we need to do in this crazy time,” Claire says. Leonard grew up sewing by hand with her grandparents and learned how to use a sewing machine a year ago. When her mother, Elena, a parttime physical therapist at a skilled nursing facility, found out that some coworkers needed masks, she knew where to turn. Claire rose to the challenge. She started sewing cotton masks at her home with the help of her mother and sister, Ann Elise, a seventh-grader at Mountain Brook Junior High. It takes about 15 minutes to sew each mask. The masks feature different patterns on the exterior and a pocket 24 Bham Family May 2020
in the middle for filters. Claire has gone with her mother to deliver the masks to their recipients at Elena’s workplace and hospitals such as UAB and St. Vincent’s. “We’ve gotten text messages from several of the nurses with pictures of themselves in the masks and telling us how grateful they are and how they wouldn’t have a mask if she had not made these available to them,” Elena says. Claire said she plans to keep sewing masks until they are no longer needed. Mountain Brook Elementary Principal Ashley McCombs said that Claire exemplifies the school’s motto, which is to lead from the heart. “When we see students take an initiative to do that and have servant leadership, it is a proud moment,” McCombs says.” eprinted with permission from Mountain Brook Schools R “Good News” series.
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Sewing Together Hope
Women’s group supplies healthcare workers with gowns BY JEANA DURST When I caught up with Sandie Taylor, an RN nurse who works in the ICU Step Down Unit at East Princeton, it was one of her few days off and away from the hospital. Yet she was still hard at work. Taylor was ironing plastic tablecloths together using parchment paper to help seal the separate pieces into protective plastic gowns for those who are vital in the ongoing battle with the coronavirus. Home-engineered PPE, you might say. It’s all because Taylor believes in being proactive: “I’m not one to sit and complain about a situation and wait on someone to bring me what I need.” The idea to create no-sew gowns for nurses from plastic tablecloths began one Friday night at the end of March when Taylor was leaving her hospital shift with a heavy heart. She had heard sad stories of New York nurses using plastic trash bags to protect themselves. With COVID-19 cases in Alabama projected to peak in just a few weeks and knowing that her hospital had already begun to see COVID-19 positive patients, Taylor felt the urge to act. So she called her friend Shirly Arnett, a longtime community leader in South Vinemont and avid sewing circle member, from her car on her drive home from work, sharing concerns and brainstorming solutions. By the time Taylor arrived home, there was a mask and a gown on her front porch. A sign of what would come. Once Arnett and the women of South Vinemont were mobilized, it wasn’t long before patterns for protective gowns had been created that could be easily distributed and replicated by others—in fact, at press time more than 200 healthcare workers had received plastic gowns at UAB Hospital, Brookwood Baptist Medical Center, Princeton Baptist Medical Center East, Jasper Memorial Baptist Hospital and Walker Baptist Medical Center. What the women had discovered is that large plastic tablecloths like you might find at a party store made great material to provide an extra layer of PPE protection for nurses and their patients. Not only could it be sanitized easily but this extra layer meant that they could re-use gowns if they needed to. The only downside, as you can imagine, 26 Bham Family May 2020
Amy Brown, RN and nurse manager at Princeton Baptist, models the hand-sewn plastic gowns that are helping to protect medical workers.
is that they are very hot. However, it’s a new frontier out there—most healthcare professionals are just happy for more protective gear. As Taylor puts it, “Now, every detail that you take for granted when walking through an environment and being safe is gone—you just don’t know who you are taking care of anymore.” And she empathizes with families whose loved ones may be spending their final hours alone during this time when no visitors are allowed by law. “It’s heartbreaking because the families can’t be there. That’s one of the hardest parts: doing Facetime with the family.” In the midst of so much new territory and uncertainty, Taylor and the women of South Vinemont took charge of what they could affect rather than worrying about things out of their control. When I ask Taylor about recognizing these women by name, she says that these modernday Rosie the Riveters prefer to be known as an anonymous group. As Arnett once said, “We are only doing what we should be doing.” Their response has been tremendous: all of their supplies have been donated and many others are choosing to download instructions to make more gowns. If you’d like to be part of this effort, message Sandie Taylor on Facebook or visit the Rusty Peacock page for video instructions on how to make gowns.
Church expands Food Share program to meet needs BY JEANA DURST Sometimes everyone needs a little help. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s clear that many in our city were very close to being food insecure, and the resulting loss of jobs has just pushed that problem further into the spotlight. With the help of the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, Trinity United Methodist Church in Homewood has been serving families in need through their Food Share program since the fall of 2016. Every Tuesday from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. volunteers at the Trinity West Homewood Campus hand out food boxes to families from 15 zip codes within a five-mile radius. However, they recently decided to expand their service. “COVID 19 has created a situation where other pantries have had to close, so we decided to temporarily eliminate our service area restrictions,” says Kristan Walker, Director of Outreach for Trinity. Now the program is open to those in need from any part of town. Volunteers hand out food and supplies—including meat, produce, dairy, baked goods, and diapers. With more families in need, Trinity is also in need of more volunteers to pack up boxes. All packing is done with masks and gloves, and volunteers pack while exercising a safe social distance from one another. While Trinity
is normally a self-select food pantry, families now drive through the church parking lot to receive their food boxes during this time of social distancing. “In the month of March, we had 254 households come and get food; we hadn’t seen that many households since Christmas,” Walker says. In addition, Trinity provides a bag of shelf-stable food for food-insecure children at Homewood and Hemphill schools through their Weekenders program. Though schools have closed, they are continuing to provide these bags weekly at Homewood Middle School. It’s more important than ever that we support community food pantries and food share programs like these—because of the coronavirus, some other area pantries didn’t have the financial wiggle room needed to survive, and others were run exclusively by retired volunteers, who were unable to continue to risk their health by being exposed at this time. So, in effect, the number of families in need is increasing while available help has been limited. Walker reminds us that “the economic ramifications will still be here once social distancing is lifted, adding that “we are prepared to keep on keeping on.” You can help Trinity Food Share program by volunteering to pack and distribute boxes or by making a financial donation. For more information, visit their Facebook page or www.trinitybirmingham.com.
Hoover turns buses into hotspots for online learning BY JEANA DURST One of the most interesting things about the coronavirus quarantine is realizing just how much Internet connection is holding together our modern lives—from doing our work, to learning, to entertaining ourselves–and, of course, staying connected with family and friends. For schools who quickly had to pivot to online learning instruction models, Internet connection was essential to delivering instruction from a distance. Imagine what this meant for Hoover City Schools, one of our state’s largest systems with 18 schools and 14,000 students—some of whom would have trouble accessing Internet at home. Fortunately, the school system was prepared to use the tools they already had in place. Eight buses equipped with mobile Wi-Fi had been in use transporting Hoover and Spain Park
High School students to the Riverchase Career Connection Center (RC3), the district’s new skilled trade academy that opened last August. “We wanted to make sure they had connectivity during that bus ride time as well so the buses were equipped with Wi-Fi technology,” says Jason Gaston, public relations director for the district. Now these buses have new purpose as mobile hotspots. “Our technology department came up with the idea to roll those out as Wi-Fi hotspots placed strategically across the city in areas where we felt would have high student walkability,” Gaston says. Students can walk up or drive with their parents a few yards away from the bus and complete assignments. This is just one way we have seen ingenuity at work as schools like Hoover find a way to meet students right where they are with just what they need. Bham Family May 2020 27
School officials share tips for distance learning BY JEANA DURST The COVID-19 outbreak and resulting shutdown have given us a crash course in adapting. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the shift to schooling at home that kicked off on April 6 per state mandate. In a short time, everything was upended, most of it out of our control. Hoover Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Kathy Murphy, addressed Hoover children in a letter, saying: “I know we can do this together. We can adapt.” We talked to area schools to find out how successful adapting looks. Here are the important take-aways: ASK QUESTIONS: Schools have launched multiple
ways to communicate—email, text, and apps. Find your mode and plug in. Trussville City Schools even established a phone hotline for those without Internet access as well as live chat during daytime hours.
STAY IN CONTACT WITH TEACHERS: Jason Gaston,
public relations officer for Hoover City Schools, reminds us that “The teachers are still the first point of contact when it comes to learning.” When possible, encourage children to ask their own questions directly as well. CONSIDER THE DELIVERY MODEL THAT YOUR CHILD NEEDS: Don’t assume everything
has to be done online; schools are making accommodations. “For some students who might need a packet, we’ve delivered paper kits to their home,” says Dr. Pattie Neill, Superintendent of Trussville City Schools. CREATE A SCHEDULE AND DEFINE “BOOKENDS”:
Essentially, bookends are activities that your child does every day before and after their instruction time, such as a walk or a snack. This simulates a physical school environment. “The feeling in a school is you walk into a classroom and you walk out—their bookend is walking in and out of a building,” Dr. Neill says. DESIGNATE A WORKSPACE: “Students need
to build their nest and decide where they want their learning to take place, and it shouldn’t 28 Bham Family May 2020
be right next to their sibling; households with more than one child can stagger schedules and workspaces,” Dr. Neill says. BE FLEXIBLE AND TAKE BREAKS: Determine
the pace that works well for your child. “Some children don’t do well to work for six consecutive hours, and remember in the classroom, there are collaboration and social things that happen during the school day,” Gaston says. His advice is to respect your child’s ability to get out and move, have some breaks, but keep an eye on the assignments that are coming in. FIND BALANCE: Find ways to nurture the mental
well-being of the children with activities that start a dialogue. “Our counselors have been doing a week by week focus called the Shelby Cares Counselor Challenge,” says Cindy Warner, public relations officer for Shelby County Schools.
How Chamber membership works for me. “Shelby County is a great place to live and do business, and The Shelby County Chamber is one of the big reasons why this is true! Our business has experienced consistent growth as we have taken advantage of the numerous business networking opportunities that are available. We appreciate the partnership between the Chamber, the County and all of our municipalities spelled out in “ShelbyOne – Next Level Up!” – their five-year strategic plan. When you also recognize the Chamber’s efforts in business development and support, career readiness and all the ways in which it supports our County, I think you’ll better understand why I believe the future here is so bright!
Ken Sawyer, CEO, Sawyer Solutions (844) 448-7767 • sawyersolutionsllc.com
To learn how your business can benefit as a member, contact Chris Williams at (205) 6634542, ext. 103, or chris@shelbychamber.org.
business
BREAK w a y f m . c o m / b r e a k
Bham Family May 2020 29
When COVID-19 Hits Home Helena family shares how illness changed their lives
BY JEANA DURST The Andersons had recently traveled to Atlanta in February, and, like all of us at that time, they were just beginning to process what was happening with the coronavirus as details of the pandemic were emerging daily. Two weeks after the trip, their daughter Sara, who is 16 and a sophomore at Helena high school, developed a slight cough. Amie, her mother, described it as sporadic and accompanied by a runny nose, just like seasonal allergies. They couldn’t have been prepared or what would happen next. During this time Sara’s cough worsened and she had a persistent headache. “The first 10 days were very minor,” says Amie. With time, however, Sara developed a sore throat too. On Friday, March 13, about 9 days after her first symptoms, Sara woke up saying she felt like she had been hit by a truck. “She’s a national level weightlifter so for her to say that she’s sore, it’s got to be bad,” Amie says. When Sara developed a 103 degree fever that would not break with Tylenol, the family began to suspect the coronavirus. Getting Sara tested proved to be one of the biggest challenges of the ordeal. “On a Friday night, we called the CDC hotline and they told us they could not assign us to a testing location and to call her pediatrician,” Amie says. But her pediatrician wouldn’t see her because they didn’t have testing, and told them to call a hospital, where they were asked for an expensive telemedicine fee just to see if she qualified for testing. It wasn’t until Tuesday that they were able to get her tested at the Grandview Church of the Highlands testing site. Amie describes the testing site like a scene from an apocalyptic movie. “You had to hold your paperwork up to the window and they snapped a picture of it—they called you on the phone to ask you questions,” she adds. The medical staff wore hazmat suits when they shoved a swab up Sara’s nose through a crack in the window. It took only 24 hours to get the results that confirmed their worst fears and a positive diagnosis. At that moment, Sara, realizing she had a disease that 30 Bham Family May 2020
people are dying from, burst into tears. Once it was confirmed, they immediately quarantined the whole family. Amie took the additional step of notifying the Helena Pandemic Help Exchange Facebook group of the news so that any student who had come in contact with Sara could be put on alert. The response from the Helena community was incredible: “We had people dropping food off, prayers, and all sorts of encouraging messages—including teachers and some who we didn’t really know,” Amie says. As Sara battled this disease, the doctors at the Christ Health Center were with them every step of the way: “They checked on us every single day and made sure that anything that we needed, we had.” Not long after that, she began to recover, but by the Friday after Sara’s diagnosis, Amie came down with it too. For Amie, who is 36, it was especially traumatic because she has asthma, yet after a very harrowing experience, she was able to recover as well. “My superhero husband Kevin was trying to figure out how to feed everybody and bring medication,” Amie says. (Kevin never contracted it and their youngest daughter, who is 13, only spent a few days with a mild cough and was never officially diagnosed.) This story has a happy ending: After 35 days of not leaving their house at all, the Andersons were cleared from lockdown on April 2, and all had received additional testing that confirmed they were all negative. Still, they are quarantining like everyone else—albeit with a different perspective. (They have been advised to assume they can catch the virus again, just to be on the safe side until further tests are developed for them to know for sure.) The whole experience brought them closer together. In fact, Amie was inspired to enroll in The University of Montevallo and go back to college—a goal she says she put off for many years. “I decided to grab life and run with it … keeping an eye on the future helps keeps you out of the darkness of the day and that’s what we tell our daughters and how we try to live life.” To read the full extended version of this story, visit www.bhamfamily.org
Bham Family May 2020 31
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