35th Edition - June 2013

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF SLIDELL HERITAGE FEST! Music, Food and FUN!!!

magazine Vol 35 June 2013

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Kendra and Boni on The Tour of Slidell

Editor’s Letter

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By Kendra Maness

Have you ever been to a happy funeral?

I know it’s a paradox. As an empathetic species, humans just don’t think of death as a happy thing. I know that, for most of us, it takes a while to overcome the sadness of losing someone and begin the healing process. But, it takes a truly self-less and enlightened person to see past the personal pain and to celebrate the memories shared and the journey that lies ahead for the deceased.

Last month, I went to a happy funeral for Robert Johnson, the beloved husband of my dear friend, Boni. I had never met Robert. By the time Boni and I became friends, he was quite ill and required nursing care in a facility out of town. I’m not a big funeral-goer, but I went to the services because this was not about ME. I love Boni – and Robert was a part of the person I love. It was just the right thing to do.

I remember when I first met Boni. I had won a “Tour of Slidell” that she had designed and planned. With Boni serving as tour guide, my group of seven friends, most of whom were Slidellians, had an unforgettable and fun experience. The day’s plans involved a packed schedule of visits to numerous locations and with many community leaders. But the highlight of the tour was Boni herself. She was a flurry of motion and excitement. Dressed in leopard print high-heeled boots, with clipboard in hand, she (literally) ran circles around all of us. Did I mention that Boni is in her late 70’s? Her enthusiasm and energy defied her age and were contagious to all of us. She was quirky and fun – we had an awesome time.

I thought of that day as I entered the funeral parlor for Robert’s services. Boni had sent word out to everyone that this was to be a celebration of Robert’s life, not a sad remembrance of his loss. And, it truly was a celebration. I could hear the group of friends and family from outside the door, jovial and laughing. The room was filled with people mingling and chatting, while a classical guitarist played beautiful accompaniment to a lifetime of happy images of Robert on a projector screen.

The minister was prayerful and respectful – but reminded us all that this was a happy occasion that required audience participation. He recalled his fun moments with Robert and Boni and encouraged us to share ours too. The services had a classical guitarist solo and singers performing beautiful versions of “Amazing Grace” and “My Way”.

Homage was paid to Robert’s military service, with “Taps” being played by a lifelong friend and Boni receiving a folded flag. The great Storyteller, John Case, stood in front of the room and asked each of us to imagine that we were writing a song about Robert. What phrase or

words come to mind as we compose our song? The audience gave amazing descriptions of a man who led a full life, filled with philanthropy, friends, and kindness. These words filled a poster board on an easel that remained at the front for everyone to view and add to. Friends stood and gave their personal reflections and remembrances of a loving and caring man and the joy that he brought to their lives.

It was a beautiful service – sentimental, fun, loving, and quirky. Just like Boni. And, I assume, just like Robert. I didn’t know Robert but I know now that I would have liked him.

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Kendra Maness - Editor/Publisher Editor@SlidellMag.com Alan Lossett - Graphic Design Lee Kreil - Accounts Manager Photography: ImkePhoto.com Contributing Writers: Carol Ruiz EFOP, Nancy Richardson Sli-Ku, Lee Kreil The Storyteller, John Case Jockularity, Corey Hogue Pet Points, Jeff Perret, DVM 20/20, John Maracich, III Frankly Slidell, Frank Davis Mike Rich John N. Felsher Rose Marie Sand

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Slidell Magazine now available at all 4 Slidell

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Extraordinarily Fascinating “Ordinary” Person of the Month

by Nancy Richardson

Slidell Magazine’s Extraordinarily Fascinating “Ordinary” Person for June 2013 is Annette Hall. On the third Wednesday of each month, you can find Annette, along with dozens of volunteers, dressed in the red t-shirts of Slidell Ladies for Liberty, packing boxes to send to the military heroes from our community. Although Annette is not a native Slidellian, her dedication and passion for volunteer service has made her a true Slidell community leader.

Annette’s journey to Slidell got off to a rocky start. “I moved here, kicking and screaming, literally, in 1990. I had just finished remodeling my home in Monterey, California. I hadn’t seen my husband in a year, he was off the coast of Africa, charting the coast for Kenya (Chris is an oceanographer). He called me and at first, I refused to do it!” Annette laughs. “When I got here, it had rained for days and the house we rented was practically underwater. Then, they sent my husband back to Monterey for two weeks. So, it’s my birthday and I’m sitting at McDonald’s with a 2 year old and a 5 year old, crying my eyes out.” It was that day that Annette met her first Slidell friend – and began to fall in love with the community she would continue to serve for the next two decades. “That was 23 years ago and I still have the friend that I met that day.”

With her son just starting kindergarten, Annette joined the Honey Island Elementary PTA as a way to stay connected with her son’s educational growth and to meet people in her community.

Over the next 17 years, Annette would be an active and vocal member of the PTA at every

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school her children attended, serving on the board and eventually becoming President. She also served as Assistant Librarian at Boyet Jr. High and as a substitute teacher at Northshore High for a number of years.

Annette’s dedication to education stretched far beyond her PTA duties. She coordinated the Woody Woodside Adult Spelling Bee for 5 years, which raised money for the St. Tammany Adult Literacy Program. The literacy program was a huge asset to the area, teaching non-fluent adults how to read English. “Without being fluent in English, adults can’t fill out job applications, can’t get jobs, can’t read maps. We had a whole program set up…all of the workbooks, meetings at libraries, volunteer training. There are a lot more Slidell residents than you may imagine that can’t read English.” The program was very successful but had to be suspended in 2005 with the loss of their building in Katrina.

“Volunteer work is where my heart really is,” says Annette. Nothing has proven that more than her work with the charity she and fellow PTA members founded in 2006, Slidell Ladies For Liberty. After the last of their children had graduated, Annette and the other PTA mothers asked themselves “What now?”

Slidell Ladies For Liberty is a non-profit organization comprised of a group of mothers in Slidell dedicated to adopting local soldiers being deployed to the Middle East. It was a natural transition for the PTA members, especially Annette. Born into the military, Annette grew up on base at the Post Graduate School in

Annette Hall June 2013 Monterey, CA where her father was an instructor.

Both she and her brother joined the Navy, with Annette serving 4 years and traveling the world.

“I loved it!” she says. After her service, she returned to school, graduated, and went to work as a civilian back at the Post Graduate School that had been her home for so many years. It was there that she met her husband of 31 years, Chris. Chris would go on to serve 30 years in the Navy as an oceanographer, and continues his work now as a civilian.

Slidell Ladies For Liberty As local graduates joined the military, it seemed obvious to these involved moms that their Slidell sons and daughters so far away from home still needed their support. “Letters home from the soldiers indicated that there was quite a lack of ‘niceties’ and comfort items,” reports Annette.

It came as quite a shock to this writer that each soldier gets only one set of sheets. “When these go to the laundry, the soldier sleeps on the rough mattress for days, if not weeks,” says Annette.

As the women sent packages to local soldiers, they were told about other soldiers who did not receive anything from home, and so the lucky Slidell soldiers shared the wealth. Well, that sparked an idea in the group. They thought, “Why not gather up more things and send more packages?” As word spread and this small group of 6-9 women started getting noticed for their efforts, they banded together to become Slidell Ladies for Liberty. And did they get noticed!

They’ve been honored by the City of Slidell, the Parish of St. Tammany and both the Louisiana

House and Senate in Baton Rouge. They have been awarded the highest honor civilians can receive, the Victory Patriot Award. “I am simply amazed at how this simple idea has been embraced by Slidellians,” says Annette.

“Home of the free BECAUSE of the Brave!” is not only the motto but the basic belief of Slidell Ladies for Liberty. Annette, along with a team of 75 other dedicated volunteers, lovingly prepare about 150 boxes of “goodies” each month to be sent to soldiers from the Slidell area who are serving in the Middle East.

Each soldier is mailed three boxes EVERY month from the Slidell Ladies for Liberty. The first box contains food items, like Zapps chips (donated by Zapps each and every month!), cookies, and other hometown favorites that they definitely cannot get in the desert. The second box provides the soldiers with items to entertain them, like playing cards, puzzles, DVDs, (and, of course, Slidell Magazine!) etc.

The third parcel holds things to make them clean and healthy, like deodorant, sheets, soap, razors and socks.

All those who are away from home and their loved ones like to receive mail, and soldiers are certainly no different. So Annette has involved children from Cypress Cove and Honey Island schools to decorate all the boxes, and kids from Whispering Forest practice their writing skills by sending letters to the soldiers. The children enjoy reading the letters they receive in return from far-away places. Annette beams, “The brightly colored boxes from home are doubly exciting to those who receive them.”

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In addition to the three boxes each soldier receives each month, they are not forgotten when their deployment comes to an end.

“We throw welcome home parties for the service men when they return,” Annette says. “A lot of them say, ‘I don’t want to do that, I don’t think I’m a hero.’ We tell them that it’s important for us to hug you and know you are back safely. We get pretty close to these guys.” Upon their return, each soldier receives a Welcome Home basket, which includes such items as restaurant coupons, massages, bowling coupons, Dr. Wagner’s Swamp Tour tickets, movie tickets, car washes, oil changes, and more. Every item is donated by Slidell merchants, happy to see their hometown kids returning home safely.

And sadly, sometimes they don’t return safely. Recently, when Marine Sergeant Michael Guillory was killed in action while deployed in Afghanistan, Slidell Ladies for Liberty and My Girlfriend’s Kitchen owner Ginny Falcone donated a Christmas dinner for 25 to the Guillory family.

Annette and her gang of moms try to provide whatever support might be needed, even if it’s just a shoulder to lean on. If a family emergency arises where the soldier isn’t able to come home or help from over there, Annette and her gals step up yet again. They really do try to be Moms to all our Slidell service men and women In addition to improving our community, Annette made the decision to start improving HERSELF. When her mother was diagnosed with late stage Celiac disease (glucose intolerance), Annette channeled the determination and motivation she had devoted to the community into bettering her own health, losing a whopping 120 pounds in less than 2 years. “Everybody assumes that I’ve had lap band. But I lost it naturally. I didn’t want to be heavy. I found out I was having a grand baby and I didn’t have a lap she could sit in!” Annette laughs.

“I gave up wheat and sugar, and that’s what started it. I started doing Barre, which I love. I shop the perimeter of the grocery store: fruits, vegetables, fresh meat, frozen meat, dairy and then I leave. It’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done,” she says.

Annette Hall is an extraordinarily fascinating person because she saw a need (not only in herself and her friends, but also a need for our military) and decided to do something about it. She didn’t sit around and hope that someone else would do something… She did it! Her dedication to our hometown military heroes has made a tremendous impact in our community and has touched the lives of hundreds of military personnel and their families.

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Annette with her Slidell Ladies for Liberty volunteers Annette welcomes all who share the vision for better conditions for our soldiers to help Slidell Ladies for Liberty by donating postage money, used DVD’s, beef jerky, razors, etc. and by visiting the website www.slidellladiesforliberty.com.

Slidell Magazine is very proud of one of Slidell’s most extraordinarily fascinating women! So now it’s your turn to step up and help out! On June 24th, Texas Roadhouse will open for a special lunch with Slidell Ladies for Liberty serving as wait staff. Tickets are only $10 and can be ordered through the website. With prizes and loads of great food, this is an easy way for you to support this great project!

Boxes packed and ready to be shipped!

If you know of a local soldier currently serving overseas who would enjoy receiving packages from home, let Annette know. As this proud Slidellian beams, “I love what we do! The soldiers say they share everything they receive. I’m super proud of Slidell Ladies for Liberty for touching the lives of easily over 1000 soldiers!”

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Camp Salmen Park Children’s Wish Endowment Spring Fling -10am Oak Harbor Golf Course Golf Tournament – 1pm Disney’s “Cinderella Kids” Mix & Mingle – 4:30pm Cutting Edge Theater - 7pm Blues Bash Disney’s “Cinderella Kids” 100 Men Hall, Bay St. Louis Cutting Edge Theater - 7pm 8-11pm Public Policy Committee 15 Chamber Boardroom Motorcycle Awareness Ride 8am PR Town Hall to Camp Salmen Park Kids Fest 11am-5pm Slidell Auditorium - 9:30am Disney’s “Cinderella Kids” Disney’s “Cinderella Kids” Cutting Edge Theater - 7pm Cutting Edge Theater - 7pm

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National Cancer Survivor’s Day SMH Cancer Center 5-7pm EYP Golf Tournament Pinewood Golf Tournament - 5pm Luau – 8pm

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J U N E 2 0 1 3

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I was just sixteen and I thought it was unusual. We passed him on our way to town that Saturday morning. He was walking down the road with a suitcase in each hand. Dad said that it looked like Billy Wayne was leaving and not coming back.

I asked Dad how he was so certain and he said, “No man packs two suitcases, never, unless something is wrong. A man will pack one and scatter the rest of his belongings in the back of his truck, the back seat of his car, or just leave them behind, but men only pack one suitcase.

Women pack two, but not men.”

LEAVING HOME He was intelligent, and worked hard at everything he did. He went to junior college and made good grades, but for some reason didn’t continue his education. For the last year he just worked odd jobs.

Billy Wayne was over six feet tall and had handsome, rugged features. To add to that ruggedness, when he was about eight years old, he got kicked by a pony.

Like I said, Billy Wayne was older than I was; but from what I remember, he was a good guy and was well liked. He seemed to participate in everything. Football, baseball, and I remember now, he must have been in the band. At night we could hear him playing his trumpet. Sometimes he would play taps late at night.

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I think the town’s sympathy was with Billy Wayne. If the authorities showed up to look for him, someone would tip him off and he would disappear for a week or two.

His parents did not mention him or seem to look for him. This caused some to think they knew where he was. If they did, however, they never told. Speculation had him in Canada.

I didn’t know Billy Wayne very well.

He was twenty one years old. There was a good bit of age difference between us at the time.

Later that day when we got to town, we heard about the b a n k r o b b e r y. A few days after that, the sheriff came by asking questions because others had seen Billy Wayne leaving that day. Dad told the sheriff it never crossed his mind that Billy Wayne would be involved. He didn’t fit the description anyway. The sheriff agreed.

Most of the people back home never bought into the Viet Nam War. I suppose they had poured too much emotion in WWII and Korea. It didn’t help any when the military sent Joe Klein’s body home.

Joe’s father insisted on having the coffin opened and nothing was in it but some magazines and trash. The military never did explain that.

It left the undeniable image of a horse’s hoof on the side of his jaw. He was probably the most recognizable young man in the county because of that scar.

He had become a little strange in the eyes of a few, especially in the last year or two. He got drafted but did not show up for his induction. He really did not try to run away; he just made a point not to be around when they came looking for him. He didn’t hide the fact that he did not show up either. He just said he didn’t feel like it was his time to go to Viet Nam. Not now, anyway.

It is my opinion that there was a larger crowd at his mother’s funeral than normal.

People came just to see if he would show up. It had been ten years. I know that is why I went. But I didn’t see him there and others said that they did not see him either.

Tw o y e a r s l a t e r, t h e s a m e t h i n g happened at his dad’s funeral. No Billy Wayne. After this, and with the passing of the older crowd, the bank robbery and Billy Wayne were basically forgotten.

A few years ago, Brenda and I were at the La Jolla, California Torrey Pines Hilton for a business meeting. Several other industries were using parts of the facility at the same time and we would

mix with those groups in the bar between meetings or in the evenings prior to going to dinner.

I first heard him - the voice, the accent. It was southern with a rapid cadence, and then emphasizing points with slow drawn out words. I did not remember what he sounded like but it reminded me of his father. I listened and I watched.

Yes, it could be him but it had been over forty years. I moved closer.

Not as obvious now, but visible, was the scar on his jaw.

I was certain it was him. As he turned toward me, I could read the name tag, B.W. Tarver. He wasn’t hiding anything.

It was him.

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I waited until he moved to the bar to pay his tab, away from all the others.

“Billy Wayne?” I said while his back was to me, knowing that if he did not answer, I could just pretend I was mistaken in his identity.

He did not turn but I saw him glance in the mirror behind the bar. He could watch me without facing me.

“It has been a long time since I have been called that. Are you someone I knew from home, or are you someone who chased me for dodging the draft?”

“From back home. I am Lewis’s son, lived down the road from you when I was a kid.”

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“Then you must be Johnny?”

“Yes, but most people call me John and I assume you are now B.W.?”

“I found out when I first came to California that if you want to be dubbed a red neck, have a double name. Initials are ok, but no Freddie Joe, Sammy Ray or, in my case, Billy Wayne.”

He turned toward me and offered me his hand. As we shook hands, he asked me if I was in a hurry. I told him no, when the fact was I was late for dinner already. We moved to a table just out of the main bar.

I did not have to say anything. He volunteered, “So I guess you’re wondering about me, the mystery man that disappeared. Is that correct?”

“You were sure the topic of conversation for a year or two back in the sixties.”

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“Well let me set you at ease. I did not rob the bank.”

“I never really thought you did, and I don’t think anyone else did. It was just that you disappeared the day after it was robbed.”

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I noticed that he was dressed expensively. Not pretentiously, just that he wore a pleated tailored shirt, had on designer shoes, and a Rolex. Not the Rolex with all the diamonds but a Rolex anyway.

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“I finally reported for duty, or you may say, I joined the army.

I joined under the name B.W.” “I had been in country about six months and got wounded.

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sent me home to rehab at Walter Reed. One day, a couple of military officers show up and give me the Purple Heart. That was an award for getting wounded.

“Three days later, two officers show up to arrest me as Billy Wayne for dodging the draft. I just handed them the Purple Heart and they left. They never returned it and I never used the name Billy Wayne again.”

“Since you had nothing to hide, why didn’t you come home?”

“Oh, I did. I missed mom’s funeral but I was there for dad’s.”

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“I didn’t see you.”

“No one did. You see, I remained in the reserves after Viet Nam. In fact, I put in thirty years total. I went to OCS when I returned from Viet Nam and I retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.

“Anyway, Dad had been a WWII veteran and wanted a military funeral. He always loved those, especially the gun firing and the playing of taps. Bugle players were becoming rare and I had some clout with the reserves.

I was the one in the woods at the edge of the cemetery and I played taps.

Dressed in full military uniform, the few glimpses people got of me, they never suspected who I was.”

“But why did you remain a mystery?

Yo u w e r e n o t wanted for draft evasion and you had nothing to do with the bank robbery.”

“I said I did not rob the bank. I did not say I had nothing to do with it.”

I motioned to Brenda to come over and told her to make my apologies for not going to dinner with our group. Just tell them something had come up.

“Back to the bank robbery,” I redirected the conversation.

“Well you remember the large culvert that ran under the highway, just where the road to our houses intersected the highway?”

“Yes, I played there as a kid.”

“I did too, we all did.

“Just about dark, I was walking toward the road and I heard an argument coming from a car parked beside the highway. I hid in the trees. I am not sure if there were two or three men in the car, but finally one jumped out and climbed down into the culvert. He then got back in the car and sped away.

“As soon as their car went over the hill, I went into the culvert and there I found the sack of money. Over $20,000.”

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“So you took the money and left?”

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“Yep. I had planned to go to Canada, but the first bus out was a Trailways headed west and I ended up in California. I figured the serial numbers were marked on at least some of the money so I hid it in the desert just out of Palm Springs. I then joined the army.

“When I got back from the army, I did not even go and look for the money for over a year. If the truth be known and it had not worked out like it did, I would not have risked spending any of it.

“Golf Courses were being built everywhere in the late 60’s, lots of them. I met a man who sold golf course equipment and got a job selling for him. He got killed in a snow skiing accident just about the time the business took off. His wife asked me if I wanted to buy the company and we agreed on $15,000.

I paid cash.

“Actually Johnny, I am not bragging but I have done well, real well. This convention is a meeting of the International Golf Course Equipment Managers Association. I am the largest exhibitor here.”

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“You don’t feel that you are taking a chance on telling me all this?”

“No, not at all.

“You see, about ten years ago, I had my attorney contact the FBI. Not giving any names, he floated the idea by them that his client would return all the money - plus interest. You can imagine it was a tidy sum by then.

“They were to mark the case closed and agree to never search for or prosecute anyone for the robbery or the possession of the money. It worked.”

B.W. asked a few questions about people back home, most of whom were dead. We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses and agreed to keep in touch. He says he wants to come to New Orleans sometime and maybe drive up home.

But I don’t think he will.

B e f o r e y o u a s k , h i s r e a l n a m e i s n o t B i l l y Wa y n e Ta r v e r . H e i s s t i l l s e c r e t i v e i n a l o t o f w a y s .

Go figure.

John Case June 2013 15

Frankly Hucklebucks (huck-a-bucks) To all my Slidell friends: I just want to give y’all lots of thanks from me and Mary Clare for all your prayers and well-wishes.

The story that appeared in Slidell Magazine last month about my diagnosis with C.I.D.P. really helped spread the word about this rare disease. It also really helped lift my spirits because so many of you contacted me and wrote into facebook that they were praying for my recovery. It was great hearing from y’all – keep in touch! ~ Frankie D I know you must want to know what a “Huckabuck” is. Basically, it’s a homemade popsicle, but nobody ever called it that.

It was a frozen confectionery, made with Horseshoe brand flavored syrup and water, that was mixed together and poured into a little 4 ounce cup, then allowed to freeze in the grocery store freezer. The reason they

By Frank Davis

sit under a tree with all your friends, and you would kind of scrape the ice off the bottom and drink and eat it as it melted.

It was one of the biggest thrills to summer there was!

made Huckabucks was because not many areas had snowball stands or musical trucks that came by to sell ice cream treats.

In the summertime, you couldn’t wait for two things to happen. 1.) Take your shoes off and go barefootin’, and 2.) While you were barefootin’, you’d run down to the corner grocery, walk up to the counter and say, “Hey mister, can I have a nickel-cup…

Mister, can I have a frozen cup… Mister, can I have a Huckabuck?” And by all three names, he knew what you wanted. He’d hand you the little Dixie cup with a small wooden spoon or a stick stuck down into it.

He sold them for a nickel. You’d go outside,

Prior to that, the only thing you did in neighborhoods (around New Orleans, Slidell, Pearl River, and everywhere else) is you’d go down and wait for the ice man to come down the street with the Pelican ice truck. You’d run up behind the truck and you’d say, “Mister, could I have a piece of ice please?” And he’d take a piece of newspaper and chip off a chunk of ice and give it to ya. Then you and your friends would go sit underneath a tree and just lick the ice, lick the ice, lick the ice until it melted. That was your summertime treat.

I’m tellin’ ya, some of the best treats came from the poor neighborhoods! You didn’t need a snowball stand with 45 different flavors. If you had a huckabuck - cherry, strawberry, lemon, lime, peppermint, spearmint… oh, you were an uptown kid, ‘cause that’s what you could afford and

that’s what you grew up on. I just wish today that kids could go back to a corner grocery store, if you could find one; the one with the two swingin’ doors in the front. Then you could bring your kids in and say, “Go ask the man for a huckabuck.”

Aside from that, don’t worry if you can’t find a huckabuck! Do this: make sure you look for snowballs, not snow cones. We don’t have snow cones in the south. Snow cones come from up north of the Mason Dixon Line. Also, look for homemade ice cream. Look for funnel cakes. Look for things that are unique to us. And you know why? The Yankees don’t know how to do it!

If you want to make hucabucks yourself, go to the grocery and get some 4oz. Dixie cups, the paper ones with the wax coating so you can put them in the freezer. Then walk up the flavor aisles where you find vanilla and cherry and all the other flavors and look for a bottle of Horseshoe syrup. Most of the time, that was used to make homemade snowballs, but it was the main ingredient in making huckabucks. If you want to do it up-class and first rate, you could use bottled water, but that’s not necessary. Good ole water out of the tap will work just fine. You pour the water into the cups about ¾ of the way for as many as you want to make.

And then you take the syrup and start adding a little bit at a time.

First it gets light pink, then a darker pink, then a dark cherry color.

You keep increasing the flavor until it’s really intense! You can buy the strawberry, cherry, peppermint, spearmint, blueberry, water melon, lemon/lime and all kinds of flavors. The most popular were peppermint and strawberry. After you fill them up, you put them in the freezer and let ‘em stay for about 20-30 minutes. They’ll just start to freeze up. Then you take your wooden sticks, or nice thick

straws if you don’t have the sticks, and place them into each of the cups and let ‘em freeze up the rest of the way. You could also go down to the drug store and get some tongue depressors and use those. Once they are all frozen, take a cup and rub it between your hands, back and forth, back and forth. That will loosen it up a little bit. Then you grab the stick and pull gently. The huckabuck comes out of the cup and you eat it like a popsicle! It was, and still is, one of the greatest treats in the south, particularly in our area.

Footnote: If you go to a festival and there isn’t a huckabuck stand, tell ‘em they need to get one or you’re not comin’ back again! I’m tellin’ ya, once you make them, you’re gonna have ‘em in your feezer all the time! I keep ‘em for my grand kids today. They come ask, “Hey Pawpaw, got any huckabucks?”

Huckabucks are a sticky, delicious reason to be livin’ in the South!

Chef’s Note: 1.) If you want to do a gourmet huckabuck, you can put chopped peaches, crushed pineapple, strawberries, fruit cocktail or any other kind of fruit you want!

2.) It is recommended you eat huckabucks OUTSIDE! You don’t what ‘em all over your new furniture. Also make sure the kids have on old clothing, these things drip and can get pretty messy! I don’t care how fast you are at licking, you’re gonna have huckabucks on the sofa!

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Small hinges

by Mike Rich

( and what they mean for you and your money ) At our workshop this month, we’ll focus on your questions about money, the economy, how to invest in uncertain times, whatever. It’s going to be fun, so please join us!

us in the audience – 40 or so Rotary club members – can accomplish great things to serve others in the world simply by combining the small efforts of individuals into a larger force for good.

When my good friend, Reverend Don Bryan, addressed my Rotary club a few months ago, he started his talk with these words: “Big doors swing on small hinges.” His topic? The ways each of

Don reminded us that, in 1985, Rotary International began work to rid the world of polio by 2000. Since those early days, more than $1.2 billion has been contributed for this effort, most of which came from

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the pockets of the 1.2 million Rotarians around the world – the occasional big check from a major donor, but mostly a dollar here, a few dollars there, and so on for the past 28 years. The result? Polio has been eradicated everywhere in the world except Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan (but we’re getting very close in those countries), and more than TWO BILLION precious little kids have been protected from that terrible disease. Yep, big doors swing on small hinges.

Our experience here at Pontchartrain Investment Management has shown us time and again that our clients’ financial independence can work the same way. For most of them, their independence hasn’t come in the form of a big inheritance or windfall. Instead, it’s from slow and steady saving and investment over many years, along with risk management strategies that protect their nest eggs from much of the bad stuff that can happen to any of us – premature death, catastrophic illness, stock market debacles, and other unplanned events. Their strategy can work for you, too. Consider these “small hinges” that can help swing open the big doors of financial independence for you: 1.) Make sure you have emergency money.

Other than procrastination, few things are more devastating to a long-term financial plan than to be forced to stop it or raid your retirement fund to pay for a short-term emergency. Just a few hundred dollars in an envelope in your desk drawer might be enough to take the edge off an emergency.

2.) Build a pension for guaranteed income.

As far as we’re concerned, there are only a few people out there who don’t need a guaranteed income plan. Bill Gates is one.

Maybe. Everyone else needs to give it serious consideration. Even if you’re one of the lucky few who has an employer pension, our guess is that it wouldn’t hurt

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to have another steady source of money coming in every month when you retire. If you give this strategy enough time, you can do it with small, periodic outlays of money. Call Andy, Chris, Steve, Robin, or me, and we’ll figure out what might work for you. 1

4.) Don’t guess. Guessing about LSU winning the SEC football championship is fun. Guessing about your financial security isn’t. Yet, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 58% of people surveyed did just that when they tried to figure out how much money they need to save for retirement.2 To us, planning is a no-brainer because you don’t have to spend much time doing it. It takes only a few hours over two or three or four meetings with one of us to put a financial plan in place (and the meetings are free). After that, we’ll meet periodically for an hour or so to fine-tune (those meetings are free, too). Whether your plan works or not depends a lot on your commitment, but at least you won’t have to guess at things, like “Is my savings plan for college tuition going to work?” or “How much life insurance do I need?” or, the big one, the mother of all money questions, “Will my money last as long as I do?” So, spend a few hours out of the 8,760 you get this year, meet with us, and make a plan.

The winter after Katrina, my family went on a three-day weekend vacation to New York City so we could escape – however briefly – the mayhem that was going on in our lives. Walking through lower Manhattan and the financial district, I marveled at the huge bronze doors that graced the entry ways of many of the big banks and investment houses. I didn’t notice it at the time, but my guess is that some of those massive doors swung on small hinges. Your financial independence can work that way, too. Little efforts can add up to a lot over time. Call us, and we’ll figure out something that works for you.

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Talk about big doors swinging on small hinges! Your tiny monthly premiums can give your family access to a huge pot of money.

Money they will be grateful to have if you aren’t around anymore.

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Heritage FEST

by Kendra Maness

Get ready! Slidell Heritage Fest is just around the corner! And this year’s event is sure to be the biggest and best ever!

“It’s evolved and gotten bigger every year since then,” says Ken Thompson, Heritage Festival Foundation board member.

Started in 1997, the festival originally took place in Olde Towne, but moved to Heritage Park for more room when it began attracting thousands of people from across the parish.

The all day festival was begun by the two Rotary clubs in Slidell who were looking for a way to raise funds for local charities, while providing the city with family entertainment.

The festival really encompasses everything at once – it’s a patriotic salute to our country and America’s service personnel; it provides a venue for local artists and artisans to show and sell their creations; it offers the best in food and drinks from local restaurants and caterers; it’s an all day music jamboree, with several local and national talents entertaining

the crowd; it’s a kid’s utopia, with activities and fun for all ages; and as night falls on an awesome day, it’s an amazing and colorful display of fireworks – the city’s largest!

Heritage Fest brings together family and friends in a festival atmosphere and offers a safe (and legal) venue for the biggest firework display of the year. The admission price is small compared to the value of seeing the huge pyrotechnic display of colorful starbursts in the sky, choreographed to the

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stirring sounds of our most beloved patriotic music. “We spend thousands and thousands of dollars each year on the fireworks.

We know that it is the highlight of the festival and we make sure the crowds get a real treat,” says Ken. What a lot of people don’t know is just how much Heritage Fest helps the community with the money raised each year. All proceeds from the festival are donated to a variety of charities in the Slidell area. “Being chosen as a Heritage Fest recipient is exciting!” says Annette Hall of Slidell Ladies for Liberty, one of this year’s charities. “It means a big boost in our funding that will be used for supporting our troops in the Middle East. The donation from Heritage Fest, right here in Slidell, will have a tremendous impact on our service personnel in another country!” Talk about paying it forward!

This year’s recipients include: Good Samaritan Ministry – a non-profit, non-denominational charity that serves the poor and those coping with emergencies in Slidell, Alton and Pearl River.

Slidell Boy Scouts – provides a program for young boys that builds character, trains them in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and develops personal fitness.

Gulf South Leadership Institute – provides career and workforce readiness initiatives for youth as well as leadership guidance and education for organizations and businesses.

Slidell Youth Soccer Club – this fun family organization builds teamwork and sportsmanship while providing kids with exercise and fitness through soccer.

Slidell Ladies for Liberty – an awesome organization that mails packages to our Slidell military personnel currently serving in the Middle East.

Slidell Police Association a benevolent organization comprised of the men and women who are sworn to protect and serve our beautiful community and its citizens.

Past recipients have included: Safe H a r b o r, S TA R C , Habitat for Humanity, Toys for Tots, Community Christian Concern, Rainbow Child Care, and more!

The festival entry fee for adults is $8.00. Kids under the age of 12 are free with a paid adult, with all of the Children’s Activities included at no additional charge.

“The Children’s Activity area is getting bigger and better each year,” Ken says. “There’s something for every age group and activity level.” Just some of the fun things for kids include: face painting, giant inflatables for jumping, a HUGE waterslide

21

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(be sure to bring the swimsuits!), mascots, a climbing wall, robots, and a video game trailer. A big favorite for kids and parents alike is the Home Depot display.

Here, kids of all ages are given a complete building kit with pre-cut wood, glue, paint and brushes for building and designing their very own bird houses, mobiles, yard ornaments and more. The kids have a great time and adults enjoy it just as much!

The kids even get to take their architectural masterpieces home with them!

The festival opens at 3pm, to allow the sun to settle a bit.

There’s plenty of shady places within the park, and the cool bayou breezes help make this an enjoyable July day. The ďŹ rst band is on stage by 3:30 and the music lasts all day, with 4 acts performing into the night. (see the schedule at the end of the story for performance times)

22

YOU HAVE YOUR RETIREMENT DREAMS...

From 5-7pm, juried artists and craftsmen display their work in the Camellia City Art-in-the-Park area along scenic Bayou Bonfouca.

Food and drinks are always a part of July 4th, and the Heritage Fest provides a huge selection of both: sausage sandwiches, smoked alligator, funnel cakes, tamales, crawfish bisque, crab patties and ice cream, snowballs, smoothies, daiquiris, beer, soft drinks, and more keep you cool and well-fed throughout the day!

Come out and celebrate our country and our city this July 4th at Heritage Fest. It’s a great day for family fun and a super way to help our community!

I’ll see you there!!

16th Annual Heritage Festival

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by Jeff Perret, DVM

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veterinary fees A member of my staff is leaning in through the doorway towards the nervous people inside.

“The doctor says your dog is critical, and he needs your OK to spend $500, and that’s just to stabilize him.”

Thumbs up: Yes, we have the ok to treat! We get to work quickly, with pain meds and oxygen, fluids and bandages. Or…..

Thumbs down: I have to return to the exam room, leaving other staff in the treatment area to comfort the dog while I explain the need for euthanasia if we aren’t going to treat.

Most people handle the situation with amazing grace, making their decision quickly and responsibly. In an emergency they know it’s serious, and they know they’re going to have to deal with serious decisions about life, pain, death, and, yes, money. Sometimes big money.

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Fees can get very big, very quick in an emergency, or when an animal is seriously ill. Quality veterinary care is not cheap. And that’s because providing high-quality veterinary care to the public is not cheap.

Veterinarians have to set their prices to allow themselves to keep a wellstaffed, well-equipped office that is ready to deal with countless situations. And we’re sensitive to the fact that, sometimes, fees add up quickly. Mostly, people are ready for that when there’s blood and trauma, but maybe not so much when it’s some seemingly simple thing, like a lump or a bad tooth. I explain how what we are seeing could be a sign of something more, maybe much more, and what’s needed to tell them if it is, and what we might be able to do about it. And that’s when I hear the question.

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“Uh, Doc...” An awkward pause, maybe, then, “…How much is this gonna cost?”

I don’t mind hearing that question. I don’t know if it’s because of their experience in human health care, or a lack of experience with veterinary care, but many people honestly aren’t prepared to have a price placed on what we need to do for their pet.

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But that’s a significant part of my job. It’s my job to tell my client what care their pet needs and why. It’s a pet owner’s job to decide how much to spend. That might sound really cold. But you are not being cold-hearted when you ask how much, or when you tell us you don’t have it, or don’t want to spend it. And we’re not being heartless when we tell you how much, or when we can’t haggle or negotiate because a pet-owner doesn’t agree it’s worth it, or just can’t afford it.

It’s OK not to have money. It’s OK to have it and choose not to spend it, just as it’s clearly OK to have it and spend it. I am a bit shakier on whether it’s ok to spend it if you don’t have it, by using a credit card or dipping into savings. I feel that living beyond one’s means is always a bad decision. But in an exam room with a distraught pet owner, maybe in the middle of the night, my job is not to advise pet owners about personal financial decisions, it’s to tell them what it’s going to cost to try to fix their broken animal.

My client’s job, then, is to tell me how much he’s willing or able to spend. He’s the best person to make that choice.

I don’t get to choose for him by low-balling the estimate or by padding it. Or by not giving one, just doing what I think needs to be done, and hoping the finances work out.

I know that’s how it goes in human hospitals, where we’ve divorced the medicine from the paying, with sometimes awful consequences. But not in the veterinary hospital; here, what we do is entirely the client’s choice.

People don’t choose to end up in life-or-death situations with their pets; but once they are in an emergency situation, it’s absolutely their choice what to spend. It’s their money, their pet, their choice. I may not like it, but I don’t have to. I do have to do my job - which is offer quality care and charge appropriately for it, so I can keep my doors open. The clients’ job at that point is to decide how much they can afford. Hopefully, if I do my job well, those clients will leave with a healthy pet and a sense that they got value for whatever amount of money they spent.

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Children‛s Wish Endowment

by Lee Kreil

“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can.

In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can.

As long as ever you can.” ~ John Wesley

Angelle’s heart sinks. She hears a familiar reply from the corporation she is following up with about donating to her nonprofit, “Thanks, but we just gave to your national chapter.”

A case of mistaken identity once again.

Frustrated for just a second, Angelle DeGruy Morley, Board of Directors Vice President has moved on and in no time at all, she is back to the task at hand. She is raising money for a wonderful local charity...

Children’s Wish Endowment (CWE) is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The Endowment calls Slidell home and has no affiliations to any other national endowments, chapters, or subsidiaries. It can be said that CWE was born at Northshore Regional Medical Center during the grand opening ceremonies in 1985. As part of the celebration, Red Skelton performed and the proceeds from his show were the initial funding used to breathe life into this local charity. CWE’s mission is fulfilling the wishes of children under the age of 18 from our area who suffer from life-threatening illnesses and allow them to experience moments of joy and happiness.

They have been successful with their mission.

The very first wish started with a request to meet Superman, Christopher Reeve in New York City. From that beginning, the wishes, the children, and the people involved with CWE have grown; the wishes in scope, the children with joy, and the people through experiences.

All growing individually as well as growing together. Growing as a family does. One wish was granted that first year; since then, CWE has been steadily increasing the number of wishes and now grants an average of 15 wishes per year. Since that first wish was granted, the total number has grown to over 250 wishes…and is ever growing!

There are many aspects of CWE that make them unique. One huge difference is that they are able to grant non-verbal wishes. This is something other national organizations are not able to do. As a result, not one child is told that they can’t participate because an illness has taken away their ability to verbally communicate.

Another crucial difference (and one that allows them to maximize their mission) is that the Board of Directors for Children’s Wish Endowment is an ALL volunteer Board. With only one paid employee in the entire organization, 100% of all the proceeds go towards their purpose of granting wishes. This allows them to dedicate 98% of all proceeds to fulfilling dreams. When you give to CWE, you help them give kids the world!

There is a family feel with this group. “We love who we are. We are a family,” says Board President Michelle Badon. “We don’t just grant wishes and then are never heard from again.

We get to know our children. We are with them on the trips, but we are also with them from the time we meet, all the way through their 18th birthdays.” Michelle goes on, “We know when our children are in the hospital. They receive birthday cards and Christmas cards from us.

CWE dedicates itself to the children and not just to the wishes.”

Listen to Michelle talk about her role with the nonprofit, the people she works with, or the families and children she cares for, and you are going to hear the word “WE” a lot.

Even the moniker for her organization has this pronoun that is so fitting to describe the attitude of everyone associated with this great group of caring volunteers who make it all happen…CWE.

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O Contributing to this family atmosphere is the fact that several Board members started out as volunteers. Other Board members were introduced to CWE when a child of their own was diagnosed with a chronic, life-threatening or terminal illness. As the need for, and the role of CWE increased, so too did the involvement of these future Board members increase. When people go through the same ups and downs and fight the same battles, they develop the kind of bonds that forge families.

For two Board members in particular, they really are family. Barbara DeGruy and her daughter Angelle DeGruy Morley began their journey as a family with a child who received a wish. One of the first few children to receive a wish from the Children’s Wish Endowment, Barbara’s daughter and Angelle’s sister unfortunately passed away in 1991. That next year, Barbara was asked to join the Board and has been involved ever since. And with mom so involved, it was no surprise Angelle followed in her mother’s footsteps. As Angelle recalls, “I have been helping my mother for as long as I can remember. When I was much younger I didn’t realize I was volunteering. It was just a part of growing up in our house. I helped paint murals, went on shopping sprees, and basically got involved in any way I could.” Angelle continues with pride when talk turns of her mother, “My mother has played such a big part from early on. She is responsible for making all the wishes happen. She makes all the arrangements and does all

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the things necessary to make the trips, celebrity meetings, or whatever the wish is be successful and memorable for the children.”

Unless you have a special needs child, it is hard to appreciate the planning and arrangements it takes to accommodate travel and lodging. Angelle explains, “Vacations with special needs children are so much harder to plan for and are more costly due to all the arrangements that need to be made. Most families, as a result, have never really traveled much, if at all, until CWE has granted a special wish. Traveling with medical equipment or oxygen tanks requires a lot more than just buying tickets and making reservations.” CWE makes all the arrangements and accommodates the children and their families with special places to stay. Places which are suited for all the medical needs for the children and also for their families. Michelle furthers the point, “During these trips, the families, for the first time in a long time, can relax and enjoy themselves without having to constantly worry about all that needs to be looked after while traveling.”

Most all the wishes granted involve travel. Disney World continues to be the most popular wish for children under 14 years old. But like that very first wish, or a more recent wish where a young boy wanted to meet his favorite basketball star, Dirk Novitzki of the Dallas Mavericks, travel and lodging arrangements are a constant requirement.

What happens if a child can’t go to Disney? Then CWE brings Disney World to them! Michelle emphasizes, “And we don’t just focus on the wish. The child’s wish is enhanced with surprises along the way. Side trips to extra attractions, dinners, shopping sprees and other extras are included not only for the child but for the entire family.

Siblings of special needs children grow up with a lot more responsibility and have to sacrifice more than those siblings without special needs brothers or sisters. For the first time, these brothers or sisters can be a kid too without the added responsibility they normally carry.”

All the good work CWE does requires money. The organization doesn’t want to ever have to say “no” to a wish request. But like everything else, wishes are becoming more expensive. They are also granting more wishes with each year that passes. Thankfully, CWE is entirely funded by the generosity of the community and its sponsors.

CWE also has several wonderful fundraising events that help make all the wishes come true. “Fund Fest” is an annual event each April coinciding with Secretaries Day. This fundraiser is a huge gala fashion show and luncheon. During this event the Pearl Williams Straight From The Heart Award is presented. Named after the Slidell City

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Councilwoman who was an active and vital member of CWE, it is presented in recognition to a person who has exhibited dedication, time, effort, and energy for the organization. During this event, CWE hopes to celebrate a child and his or her wish experience.

Sadly, some years CWE has to dedicate the event to a child that has passed.

“We always hope to celebrate versus dedicate,” Michelle says.

This June marks Slidell Police Chief Randy Smith’s 2nd Annual Golf Tournament, benefiting CWE. This event has quickly become a huge success thanks to Chief Randy and all the people involved that help make it so. Also, Coastal Cruisers has become an important member of the CWE family over the last couple years. In two years, this group has raised over $15,000 during its annual Camellia City Car Show.

Leadership Northshore has also made a colorful impact with its project to raise money for CWE. With 30 local artists participating, Pelicans are starting to show up all over town. The “Pelicans on Parade” are sponsored by local businesses or individuals, with the donations going to CWE. (Look for more on “Pelicans on Parade” in an upcoming issue of Slidell Magazine!)

One act of generosity can make a child’s dream come true and help CWE carry out its charitable mission. Michelle sums up, “We don’t ever want to have to say no to a child.”

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ummer is upon us! Sunshine, blue skies, and LOTS of heat.

Summer is probably the number one deterrent in the Louisiana tourism industry. Nobody else sweats as much as we do down here. But, we all know of the best way to combat this problem: Water! Swimming is almost a given for most people with access to a pool in Louisiana during the summer. It’s a great way to pass the time and keep from filling the buckets of sweat you have to carry around with you. Just swimming around can be boring though. From experience, I know that dunking your sister is only fun the first fifty or so times. Luckily, there are many different sports and games we can play in the water. I have scoured the Internet, looking for the most interesting watersports of them all. Ok, maybe that is a little dramatic, but these sports were some of the most surprising watersports I found.

Even if these don’t interest you, there are some fun fallback options too.

Slidell Athletic Club

First up is water polo. Ok, to be honest, I had no idea how this sport works and have never actually seen it played. I mean, the first thing that comes to mind is Marco Polo, which I never was any good at. But, looking into water polo, it reminds me of a water version of soccer. You can only have one hand on the ball, unless you are the goalie, and you have to throw it into a

net similar to a soccer goal. Seems simple enough, but none of the players can hold or push on another player unless that player has the ball. Also, you have to hold onto the ball with one hand. And you can’t push the ball under the water. It can get pretty aggressive with all of the pushing and holding. You can pass it between players but the ball can be blocked or intercepted by the opposing team.

I know what you are thinking, how can you grip a wet ball? It is specially textured to be gripped even if your hand is wet. And there are different sizes for men and women, to make it easier for teams of either gender to grip the ball. Might not be the best game for kids but, with a level-headed group of people, can get very competitive. Just remember, no one likes an elbow to the face.

The next sport is more about the ball than the sport itself. The ball is called a Waboba, short for water bouncing ball. Creative.

And very entertaining. Turns out, this ball, a little smaller than a baseball, skips on the water like a skipping stone. I watched some

crazy shots, like throwing the ball across a beach from a second story condo and hitting a coke can on a post in the ocean. Or throwing the ball from across a small pond and hitting someone’s ice cream cone who is sitting on the ground at the other side.

The game itself has actual rules and is fun and complex in itself. There is a minimum of two players to a team and the object is to pass to each member, hitting the water at least once, with no interruption, to win the round. First team to win three rounds wins the game.

Finally, we come to another sport I didn’t know existed. This sport blew my mind.

I have always thought surfing was really cool but there was never a wave worthy of surfing safely in the Gulf. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you flowboarding.

Flowboarding involves a surface that simulates a real wave when water is projected across it. The water is pumped at a whopping rate of 20-30 mph, and the right surface can create that cool surfing wave that curls over itself. It actually seems like a much safer way to surf, considering one of the major dangers is being pulled under a crashing wave by the current. There are even competitions for flowboarding. I have heard of wave pools and even surfing pools, but nothing like this. Safety-wise it reminds me of indoor skydiving, you know, the kind with a giant fan. It is so cool! I wish we had one here but the closest flowboarding pool is in Gulf Shores, AL. Bummer, dude.

Even if you don’t partake in all of these fancy-shmancy water sports, there are still

the tried-and-true favorites of the water world. They are oldies but goodies. After all, a pool party isn’t a party unless there is a chicken fight. You know, two teams of a person on another person’s shoulders, grabbing each other and trying to push the other back into the water, duking it out for who rules the pool. No big deal, but I kinda have been ruling the pool for a while. When I’m not ruling it though, I am creating havoc with my cannon balls. This and other forms of diving are another fun pool activity. Personally, if it isn’t splashing on people who are trying to tan near the pool, it isn’t fun.

If you are looking for a more toned down pool activity, taking some coins to the pool and throwing a few in to search for can be a fun way to spend the time. The only problem is that you can never find good goggles to put on, and I gotta have my goggles! Another toned down pool activity for most is the use of noodles.

Again, I always find a way to annoy other pool-goers and with this tool, I can create a water cannon when I blow water out from one end! I assure you though, noodles can be perfectly safe, non-annoying floatable toys in the pool.

We know way more about the heat in the south than we wish we did. The water is one way to take our minds off of the heat. Whether you spend some time in the water with a Waboba, trying to understand water polo, or catching a wave in the flowboarding pool, interesting water games can be a great way to cool down

and explore a new sport. Even if you just chicken fight, splash everyone with a cannon ball, search for coins at the bottom of the pool, or find new ways to use a noodle, you are still finding a way to spend time while cooling down. At the end of the day, no matter what you do or who you are with, just remember two things: One, that everybody prunes after an hour, and two, do NOT forget the sunscreen. Ouch.

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Just 30 minutes away in Carriere, Mississippi, Toft Farms is a whole new world. A whole BLUE world, that is!

A

visit to Blueberry Bluephoria at Toft Farms is an almost surreal experience from the beginning.

The drive just over the Mississippi state line is a beautiful adventure in country living: rolling hills, bright green pastures dotted with cattle, horses keeping pace with the car as you drive past, and historic farm houses, barns and churches around every bend of the winding, tree-draped country roads.

Toft Farms has been owned by the Toft family since 1980.

The first blueberries were planted in 1985 for the family’s personal enjoyment. Kathleen Toft married into the family in 1987 and fell in love with the natural beauty of the countryside – and the blueberries.

By 1997, Kathleen’s blueberry passion had grown into hundreds of bushes and the family opened its farm for public picking.

The farm is eye-candy for nature lovers landscaped lawns, towering shade trees and TONS of blueberry bushes in perfectly-lined rows as far as the eye can see. Blueberry season lasts through June and July. The

thousands of berry clusters are ready for picking when they turn from little green orbs into their mature deep-blue/purple hue and become plump. By the time you’re reading this, they’re ready for the picking!

Kathleen takes a lot of pride in her growing style. “No chemicals, ever! We’re all-natural.

You can taste the difference and it’s so much healthier,” she says. Because blueberries don’t have a lot of diseases, Kathleen can grow them without the use of pesticides.

In addition to an amazing amount of blueberries, the farm also has gorgeous greenery – landscaped lawns with magnolias, oaks, pines, sycamores, and cypress trees. The fruit trees include peach, plum, nectarine, mulberry, apple, pear, blackberry and huckleberry. Eucalyptus trees and rosemary bushes from the herb garden fill the air with fragrance.

The vegetable garden is in full bloom with goodies like tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and squash.

The entire farm is alive and vibrant each summer.

Kathleen estimates it takes between 30 - 40 minutes to fill a gallon of blueberries but the real fun is spending time lingering with your family on the farm.

It’s outdoors entertainment so Kathleen recommends morning picking (8-11am) and evening picking (5-8pm) to beat the heat.

Also, be sure to bring your hats and sunscreen! Between picking, the family can relax around the picnic tables, sipping on cold water, soft drinks, blueberry lemonade and homemade smoothies and slushies while nibbling on some fresh popcorn – all provided for a nominal fee.

The kids will love checking out the chicken coops. The chicken yard not only provides dozens of eggs daily, it’s also a source of entertainment. Chickens are really funny creatures!

Nature’s candy is always available to take home with you.

Toft Farms sells honey, wheat grass for juicing, eggs, different varieties of herbs and vegetables, jams and, of course, A LOT of blueberries! Honey and frozen berries are available year-round. One day, Kathleen hopes to open a Blueberry Café on the farm and offer delectable dishes straight from the garden. Sounds yummy!

Gather up the kids and take a break from the city! Visit Blueberry Bluephoria at Toft Farms for a true blue delicious adventure!

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might develop pneumonia or get all itchy from rolling around in the cold, wet grass…but you’ll look great and be married in no time!

School’s out! The “100 Days of Summer” are beginning and co-workers are starting to disappearing right and left. Log on to Facebook and you’ll see pictures of your “friends” checking in from Paris…Mexico…or on a cruise.

It is estimated, as well as made-up by me, that $20 Bazzillion dollars (that’s €2,000 Euros) will be spent on witty t-shirts, postcards, coffee mugs, and shot glasses. Souvenirs brought back as keepsakes that will one day end up in garage sales. Thankfully, the days of enduring slide-shows with 100 pictures of Aunt Mable having a ball at the Knitting Hall of Fame are over.

Replaced by smartphones, we can now be bombarded with images at the water cooler, thru texts, or in emails. Most of the time, before our friends and family make it home. Gee, thanks.

As in past months, you’ll notice I have a thing for noting opposing observances and holidays, and June is no exception. June gives us Heimlich Maneuver Day (June 1) while observing Thick-cut Meat Steakhouses Month. Naked Bike Ride Month is a perfect match for Men’s Infertility Month…there HAS to be a connection between these two. But the worst of all has to be Migraine Awareness Month coinciding with National Accordion Awareness Month. Talk about being diametrically opposed!

Vacations, sports camps, church camps, or hosting visitors from out of town while they’re on vacation, our daily routine is about to go out the window.

The year is entering the halfway mark…whether we are ready for it or not.

Temperatures and humidity rise with each day but are still bearable. June sets the bar for “most daylight hours” and with the solstice (the longest day of the year). So what does this mean? Take advantage of June while it still has that “new feel” and before the dog days arrive - do as much outdoors as you can. Attend KidsFest on June 14th in Olde Towne, a celebration of arts that’s fun for the whole family. Explore Slidell as a “staycation” and I promise you’ll discover something new about our great city.

We observe D-Day on June 6th. In 1944, soldiers who comprise a large part of “The Greatest Generation” in America stormed the beaches of Normandy, France. The US troops fought alongside other allied forces. Our brave soldiers fought because it was the right thing to do. The right thing for us to do is remember the sacrifices our soldiers made that day, which helped end World War II. Few times in human history has a single day changed the course of world events. This is such a day.

Let’s not forget about dad. The third Sunday of June, we celebrate Father’s Day. Many fathers sacrifice so much for their families, so one day out of the year we need to hook them up! My kids are the four-legged kind that bark and have cold noses. Oh, how I’d love to get a Father’s Day tie ( a bow tie of course) from them. Alas, they are going to “leave” the same present for me on Father’s Day that they leave for me every other day…if you know what I mean! As for my father, I can no longer tell him how much he means to me or that I love him.

But I don’t have to…he knows. My father knows all now and I have him to watch over me the rest of the days of my life. For this I am truly blessed.

Chances are you’ll attend a wedding or know a couple that is getting married.

June traditionally hosts a lot of weddings. Named after Juno, the goddess of marriage and married couples’ households, many feel it is good luck to be wed during this first month of summer. Fewer incidences of “cold feet” are reported before weddings in June than any other month. Speaking of cold feet, Icelandic folklore says if you bathe naked in the morning dew during June, you can delay aging and have a better chance to attract a mate. You

Some, our time is now Enjoy the warmth of the light Before we lose it

Until next time…

Lee Kreil

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G

GO BEYOND Story & photos by Rose Marie Sand

George Carlin once quipped that a house is just a place to keep your stuff and when you travel, you need a big suitcase to take some of your stuff with you.

How much stuff and which stuff is sometimes the least enjoyable part of travel – but it doesn’t have to be. This month, let’s Go Beyond that idea and turn packing into a favorite experience.

It’s time for my family’s annual week in Orange Beach and packing for the beach is a joy in itself!

A suitcase (basically a big empty hole for stuff) isn’t stored for long in my house, as thankfully it gets a lot of mileage. I put mine on the bed, unzipped the case, took off the airline tag from my recent Washington trip, and smiled at the memory of rolling the suitcase into the unknown.

My multi-colored case happily stands out in the baggage claim conveyor belt. Thoughts of all those different bags in the airport sparked an idea, so I also opened my laptop and sent a quick email to my vagabond friends – what’s your favorite packing tip? The results of my query filled my inbox as I filled my empty suitcase in anticipation of Saturday’s trip.

34

Monday: I open the case and check the zip lock bag of basic toiletry items that’s always stored inside. Since Monday’s also laundry day, as I fold freshly laundered clothes some items go in the suitcase instead of the closet.

Proper setting is as important at this step as the vacation destination itself, so I cue Jimmy Buffett music and realize that a Margarita would also be in order!

Monday night: After a trip to Rouse’s for limes, sunscreen and travel sized toothpaste, I’m back to the task. The good thing about a beach vacation is that you don’t have to worry about packing jackets and coats, but I travel light even in cold weather. Layering tee shirts and light jackets cuts down on suitcase weight and keeps you ready for any weather change.

We even once borrowed jackets from hotel staff members during an unexpected cold snap in Disney World. What you don’t pack you can borrow or buy!

EMAIL TIP OF THE DAY – Leave a little room in your suitcase, and don’t worry about packing everything. The inevitable souvenir tee shirts can be layered for warmth, or rolled up as a pillow. No one said they wish they’d have packed heavier.

Tuesday: The next packing step is an initial perusal of closet items worthy of inclusion.

Usually I stick with a color scheme – black clothes with bright accessories can take you anywhere – but beach vacations call for a different vibe. The rule of thumb is to lay out what you think you want to bring, and then narrow that down at least one third.

Armed with some colorful Jazz Fest tee shirts and a fresh Pina Colada, I check my email tips to find my people have sent some good stuff!

Have you ever heard of a packing method called “bundling?” It seems there are three basic methods of packing clothing into the suitcase – folding, rolling and bundling. I spend an hour or so wasting away in YouTube videos that illustrate the virtues of bundling – basically laying out pant legs and sleeves to encase your garments in a bundle, leaving no wasted space. What you end up with is a bundle of clothes that looks like a pillow, with less wrinkles and wasted space. For a more complete explanation of bundling, check out You Tube for some awesome videos.

TRAVELER’S TIPS OF THE DAY: A common idea is to roll clothes and entire outfits together. If you’re moving around, put

toiletries on top and pack clothes in the order that you’ll think you’ll wear the items, so you don’t have to repack every day.

A frequent business flyer grumbles because he thinks it adds 20 minutes to the boarding process for everyone to smash their luggage into the overhead bins, so he always checks his clothing bag. This business traveler is philosophical about having lost luggage. “When that happens, it’s an excuse to wear jeans at a business meeting, so I win either way.”

But if you do check a bag, don’t pack anything that you can’t go for more than 12 hours without – phone chargers, medications, phone, money, or valuable jewelry.

Wednesday: Choosing the perfect beach movie, “Blue Hawaii,” for background, I scan the emailed packing tips.

Just about everyone agrees that packing light is best, but a few admit they always bring too much clothing. Most of us have a closet full of clothes, but only wear their favorites, anyway.

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TRAVELER’S TIP: Here’s some sage advice on backpacks: Carrying a backpack has many benefits. You can easily carry your luggage on your person, reducing the risk of having it left on the ground or being stolen. Backpacks are malleable, unintentionally make you pack lighter, and also make great pillows during travel.

Also: Mail things home during your trip! This works for everything from having purchases mailed home to sending your dirty laundry home. On motorcycle trips, when space and laundry facilities were at a premium, we always sent laundry home mid-vacation.

Another tip: “I always bring as much black stuff as I can, and just mix and match.”

Thursday: Repacking is the final step in the process and usually the most fun. I think in terms of what each day’s planned activities might be, even if there are no firm plans. Consider multi-purpose items, like a scarf that changes outfits but also keeps you warm or serves as a beach cover-up.

Since this beach trip doesn’t involve air travel, TSA or customs, it’s a breeze to pack. As I decide on each item, memories of past vacations surface:

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I recall using Schwegmann bags to pack food for a camping trip in the ‘60’s. That’s multi-purposing, but paper bags with Rouse’s logo will do.

I discovered a copy of my passport in the suitcase, and remembered the time I cruised Italy and lost some of my baggage. Shopping for shoes in Florence actually wasn’t that bad.

My bank wouldn’t honor my credit card in France, however, because I’d neglected to add that country when calling ahead. International travel brings up it’s own set of tips from my emailers.

EMAIL TIP: Call your credit card and bank before a trip, even in the US, if you’re far from your home town.

Always set your watch for the time zone of where you’re going when you get on a plane.

Check out additional tips on the web – search “travel warrior”.

Friday evening: Time to pack the laptop computer and other tech items: Kindle, IPod, phone chargers, etc. My well worn leather computer case on wheels doubles as an overnight bag, especially handy if a long vacation necessitates a couple of days away from your base.

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I downloaded a few summer reading books – including the new book in the Divergent series and my favorite guilty pleasure, light novels.

Checking the email thread one last time, I found a helpful tip about fabric choices called the “crunch method.”

EMAILED TIP: Grab a handful of fabric from a garment and scrunch. If it wrinkles in your hand, it probably will in your suitcase. You can always hang clothes in the bathroom and turn the hot water on to produce steam and get wrinkles out, but you can avoid wasting the water and the aggravation by only packing clothes that don’t wrinkle. Packing a small bottle of Downy Wrinkle Release is a favorite of business travelers.

What to wear during travel was another consideration. Cargo pants with lots of pockets for ID, boarding pass, cash and tissue is a good idea for plane travel. One senior traveler shared a story about boarding a plane.

“The fellow in front of me was taking off his shoes to go through security and he noticed I was next in line. “You don’t have to take your shoes off,” he said. “People of…er, a certain age...don’t have to.”

“Don’t worry,” she said. “When you get old, you don’t want to see your own naked body parts.”

Saturday morning: My friend Andy has backpacked around the world, and he feels the best part of traveling is sharing where we all come from. Andy’s award winning blog will take you on adventures: www.backpackingdiplomacy.com. After loading the suitcase in the truck, I pack one last item inside the computer bag – a photo of my family that’s traveled with me everywhere.

Travel helps you appreciate where you’ve come from and who helped you get there - what George Carlin calls the “stuff that makes you feel at home.”

When traveling, Carlin opined, “It takes about an hour, but after a while you finally feel okay. All right, I got my nail clippers, I must be okay. Even though you’re far away from home, you start to get used to it, because after all, you do have some of your stuff with you.”

Maybe it’s all just “stuff,” but stuff can trigger memories - and travel makes memories. I take off to pick up my Mom, and make a few more memories in Orange Beach. I’ll show you some pictures next month.

Enjoy Your Summer!

36

by John Maracich III

Fremaux Town Center points to the future of retail in Slidell and beyond...

Remember the Gentilly Woods Shopping Center? The Plaza in Lake Forest? When many of us were kids (the 70’s for me) places like this were the epitome of high end retail shopping in the New Orleans area. It was a time many refer to BWM (before Wal-Mart - or at least before Wal-Mart’s rise to retail domination). Enclosed shopping malls were a place that offered a single destination for everything one might need. That’s passé now, but in those ancient times, it was a big deal.

Flashing forward to the present, many enclosed malls have gone the way of the dinosaur. While some, like Lakeside Mall in Metairie which has pumped millions of dollars into its own infrastructure and beautification, have flourished, many others languish or simply disappear.

So what has replaced the classic shopping mall? As observers have noted, the glass atriums, food courts and holiday sausage dealers have been replaced by open air, big box strip malls.

Slidell got a taste of these kinds of developments when Target, Circuit City, Academy and others opened in a strip north of Airport Road. Since then, several larger developments have opened in the Covington/Mandeville area.

Housing names like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Kohls, etc. - as well as movie theaters and more obscure retailers, these strips don’t have the same overhead the enclosed malls have. The savings on air conditioning alone has been an economic incentive to evolve retail in this direction.

The Summit Slidellians were excited in 2008 when ground was broken for a massive project off I-10 and Fremaux. Before the Fremaux overpass was built and all that land was cleared, this area was just a massive forest.

Bayer Properties, a group of developers from Birmingham, Alabama, had experienced great success with a shopping destination also called The Summit in Hoover (just south of Birmingham). Built to resemble an upscale main street, The Summit has brick pathways, corner street lamps and high end retailers like the Apple store and Restoration Hardware.

These same developers had similar plans for the Fremaux project. UNO had committed to opening a research and technology park that would serve as a technology bridge between NASA’s Stennis and Michoud operations. Also planned were residential and medical facilities.

Unfortunately, these plans were dashed when the economic downturn put almost all large developments in a holding pattern. From 2008 to 2013, the Summit was nothing more than a few nice hills, a street and a cobblestone turnaround.

Fremaux Town Center After years of languishing in limbo and much prodding from local politicians, the projct was taken over by local developers Stirling Properties (in partnership with CBL Properties of Tennessee and Brian Harris.)

On track to open in Spring of 2014, Phase I of the Town Center will have big box stores like Best Buy, Kohls, Dick’s Sporting Goods, T.J. Maxx and Michael’s.

“Fremaux Town Center is well-located and is already well leased with an outstanding retail line-up,” says CBL’s Michael Lebovitz.

“We are looking forward to announcing additional retailers as the development progresses.”

Dillards, already popular and successful in Slidell’s North Shore Square Mallz, has committed to opening a 126,000 square foot store on the property as part of Phase II of the development.

Lebovitz is excited. “The traction we are receiving from retailers for both phases is a testament to the strength of the market and its increasing demand for retail.”

Hot & Muggy (and Buggy)

Louisiana Summers By: Carol Ruiz – Blue Star Pest Control

As I write this month’s article, our family just had a good old fashioned backyard BBQ. We celebrated three amazing family members - two graduated from college and one from medical school.

Nothing fancy; table clothes that did not match, borrowed tents, chairs and tables from all the family and friends who made an appearance. There was a row of tables hitched together that were laden with the best from our kitchens and one table we covered with newspaper and mounds of spicy crawfish. The three graduates received a few stuffed cards (if you know what I mean) and a ton of hugs and kisses.

We even presented each with their favorite cake decorated with their school colors.

But y’all it’s June - it’s hot, it’s muggy and we live in southern Louisiana.

The only thing cool things at this BBQ were our hands, reaching in the Igloo for another drink, or maybe grabbing a

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few moments of air conditioning as you run inside to get the foil paper to keep the flies away from the ribs.

We headed home as the sun was beginning its descent and, exiting the car, we forced ourselves to begin unloading once again. As we made our way outside, my husband said three words, which kicked us all into high gear …“TERMITES ARE SWARMING”. We moved so fast, only taking in the things that had to go inside.

As we raced into the kitchen door, we shut off all the outside lights. Items left in the car would have to wait until tomorrow. We ran around the house slapping off all the lights and readied ourselves for our bed time routines in near darkness. Grateful to be showering after a long hot day - who needs lights?!

Finally I make my way to the bed and settled in. Oops, nope - found a termite on the pillow and two on the quilt. Ya gotta love Louisiana during Formosan Termite season.

But don’t panic, these swarms are only temporary and swarming termites DO NOT do any damage to our homes. If you are seeing swarming termites inside your home or arrive and find thousands of tiny wings in any room, then you may have a problem.

Call Blue Star Pest Control and we will do a thorough inspection free of charge.

Termites are scary and they can do thousands of dollars of damage to our homes. In Southern Louisiana, we’ve got to deal with them every now and then but don’t let it stop you from enjoying all the other things to do this time of year. Family BBQ’s, crawfish cookouts, picnics in our many parks and lots of water activities. Keep termites in their place and out of yours. We are here if you need us, visit our website: BlueStarPestControl.com for amazing termite videos, tips and our termite protection plan. Follow us on Facebook and let the kids visit the Kid’s Fun Stuff section on our website for really cool things to do.

Happy Summer-TermiteWater-Fun-BBQ Season!

www.BlueStarBugs.com

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