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AMATEUR PHOTO CONTEST
A M A T E U R P H O T O C O N T E S T
Summer 2022 Winner
“Cottage on the Water” By Sherry Lozier
Congratulations you’ve earned a gift certificate!
ENTER TO WIN
Fort Bend Focus Magazine is looking for great amateur photos. Any subject matter will be considered, black and white or color, special effects and/or edited are not necessary. The entry must not have previously appeared in any publication.
A WINNER EVERY ISSUE
Each issue’s winner receives a gift certificate and the winning photo will be published in our magazine. To claim your prize, e-mail grace@absolutelyfocusmedia.com.
NO LIMIT TO ENTRIES
To submit a digital photo, e-mail the jpeg file to Grace@ absolutelyfocusmedia.com. Digital photos must be 300 dpi HIGH RESOLUTION at size of at least 10” wide. Please make sure to send some basic information about every photo you submit such as: who, where, when, a title, your name and phone number.
By submitting an entry, the photographer gives Fort Bend Focus Magazine the right to use and publish their photograph. There is no contest deadline.
Summer Breeze
It is only mid-June, and this summer thing has gotten real. And frankly, I’ve taken this going pro thing very seriously. Being a Professional Porch Sitter is a serious business, and it’s not for the faint at heart, so I may or may not have had Mr. Kaminski install an air conditioner on my porch. Let’s go with may. In my defense, I am a middle-aged woman living in southeast Texas where heat, humidity and mosquitos reign supreme a minimum of five months out of the year, resulting in endless bad hair days, glistening upper lips and thighs that are constantly stuck together. A girl can only deal with so much.
Growing up I recall many summers without air conditioning at all. Mawmaw and Pawpaw never had AC at their house in northern Louisiana. There were a couple of old box fans, but Mawmaw didn’t particularly like turning those on due to the unnecessary spike such as that would cause in her electricity bill. If the electricity bill surged past that $20 mark, it was a pure tragedy. So, the fans were mostly for show because if company showed up, the fans still weren’t put to use. Company was escorted to the porch to sit a spell and visit and provided with a glass of sweet tea. They never stayed long. Now that I think about it, that was probably part of Mawmaw’s plan.
Getting ready for church on Sunday mornings was a feat in the summer as Mawmaw would always don a dress, and that particular garment required a girdle and stockings. Now if you are envisioning some dainty, pretty little pink lingerie type thing, just stop right there. Mawmaw was full grown. Her dress size always boasted a 2 in front of it and typically ended in at least a 6. Her girdle was composed of space-age inch thick spandex complete with military-grade stocking clasps that could put an eye out if let loose. Wrestling into this accoutrement was a battle royale that required copious amounts of baby powder to combat the sweat of the effort and promote gliding over the hills and valleys – so much so that the entire bathroom would become enveloped in a dim haze. The grunting, groaning, twisting, bending, cajoling, stuffing and powdering typically lasted a solid ten minutes, and that was just step one. With the undergarments solidly in place, Mawmaw had to take minute, sit on the tiny bathroom stool that I was always stunned held her, catch her breath in the powdered air and ready herself for phase two – all in 90-plus degree heat.
Phase two went rather quickly. Powdered face to eliminate the glisten, red lipstick – always red – comb the sweaty hair in place and spray liberally with Aquanet, then get that dress on as quickly as possible and get out. Shoes and a purse were grabbed on the way out to catch a nominal breeze on the porch.
Once in the car, the air conditioning was turned on full blast, and we could all breathe for the eight-minute ride to the church. Unfortunately, our cool respite was short-lived, because the church did not feature the modern convenience of air conditioning.
After an hour of literally hellfire and brimstone accompanied by rapid fanning – Mawmaw was Southern Baptist – we would stand in the long line to shake the preacher’s hand, remark on his wonderful sermon and get back to the much-needed arctic blast at high noon. By the time the sticky got blown out of our clothes, we were back home peeling off our Sunday best eating dinner in 100 degrees. Point of reference: dinner is lunch in the South and supper is dinner.
Thing is I never remember being hot in the summer at Mawmaw’s house. The windows and doors were always open, my cousins were always around, we always played outside until dark and there was always plenty of amazing homemade food. We all washed dishes because we were the dishwasher. We all had to agree what to watch at night because there was one television with four channels. There were no arguments over the temperature because there was no AC. There was no issue over who slept where because there was one big room with beds that we all piled in. There was no discussion over what we wanted for supper because we ate what Mawmaw cooked. And we never argued over where we were going because we only went to my cousin’s baseball games, the grocery store or to church. That’s what I remember about the summers of my childhood – not the temperature.
See y’all next week – on my air-conditioned porch!
Sweaty summers eliminated with an air-conditioned porch. Thank God for technology!
2022 TOYOTA TUNDRA
The 2022 Toyota Tundra is all-new for this model year. Toyota’s full-size truck was extensively redesigned from top to bottom and sports two new powertrains that deliver much better fuel economy when compared to the last generation’s Tundra. This is a truck aimed squarely at truck buyers who consider Toyota their brand.
The first generation Tundra appeared on American highways back in 1999 and was designed slightly smaller than other fullsize trucks on the market. The second-generation Tundra, introduced in 2006 as a true full-sized pickup, was the first Toyota truck built in Texas at its assembly plant in San Antonio. It was powered by the massive 5.7 liter V8 engine that was awfully thirsty at the gas pump. Although this Tundra experienced several refreshes to update its look, the underpinnings of the truck remained the same. In the highly competitive full-size pickup market, the second generation Tundra was long overdue for a complete makeover.
And now, the third-generation 2022 Toyota Tundra has emerged as an all-new pickup, and it’s a delight to drive. With a base MSRP of $35,950, the Tundra is available with two powertrains, a gas-only engine and a more powerful gas-electric hybrid engine. The base Tundra comes equipped with the gasonly 389 hp, 3.5 liter i-Force aluminum block twin-turbo engine.
For more power, the 437 hp, i-Force MAX hybrid system combines the same 3.5 liter twin-turbo gasoline engine with an electric motor/generator located between the engine and the transmission. Both gas and hybrid engines are paired with a ten-speed automatic transmission. With the base i-Force engine, EPA estimated fuel economy ratings are 18 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway. The i-Force MAX gets slightly better street mileage with 20 mpg city and 24 mpg highway.
The new Tundra’s exterior is distinguished by a massive grill and lots of very bright LED lighting. Only two cab configurations are available, the Double Cab and the roomier CrewMax. The Tundra’s interior features Toyota’s all-new Audio Multimedia system which operates via newly designed touchscreens and an all-new Human Machine Interface that delivers improved interaction through sight, touch and voice activation. The available 14-inch touchscreen impresses with high-quality, crisp visuals including functionality like pinch and zoom that mimic your smartphone.
The all-new Toyota Tundra is a long-overdue upgrade from last year’s model and is sure to win over new truck buyers.
