39th Edition - October 2013 by Slidell Magazine

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF SLIDELL STREET FAIR • PUMPKIN FEST • BAYOU JAM • ART SHOWS

magazin magazine Vol 39 October 2013

WE KEEP IT FRESH

SAY KEEP IT POSITIVE

SLIDELL

HISTORICAL ANTIQUE ASSOCIATION’S 32ND ANNUAL FALL STREET FAIR October 26-27, 2013 – 10am - 5pm

MUSIC SCHEDULE DJ Professor Possum

Oct. 26th

Slidell Newcomers Nightingales Chorale, TiJonne Reyes Jazz Trio, Smoking Time Jazz Club, Overboard, Roamin’ Jasmine Band

First, Second & Erlanger Streets

OLDE TOWNE SLIDELL, LA

Antiques, Collectibles, Crafts, Music & Food

More than 200 Booths!

Oct. 27th

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INFO For more information 985-641-6316 or visit

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Editor’sLetter

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This is a love story. My dog has a new boyfriend. It’s a pretty serious relationship. Exclusive, of course - she’s no harlot. Sure, other dogs have come sniffing around, but she’s saved herself for Mr. Right. His name is Buddy. Buddy is her first true love. A boxer-mix, he is tall and tan, with an expansive chest and muscular shoulders. An added bonus is the excess skin around his cheeks so that his kisses are extra sloppy. I would guess that, in the dog world, Buddy would be thought of as handsome. This love story would be so much more romantic if our heroine had a feminine name like Lily, or Daisy, or Amber. Nope. My dog’s name is Moosta. Pronounced just like it’s spelled. (She was named by a 3 year old and answered to it quicker than I could change it.) Moosta is (I can only guess at this) a black lab mixed with a beagle?? She’s dark black with a white chest, floppy ears, and very short, squat legs (they kind of bow out a little). She’s the fastest little runner I’ve ever seen. Or, maybe not – she just looks like she is because those short little legs are revolving so quickly. She can jump a 4 foot fence from a dead standstill without so much as a hair touching the metal. She may not be much to look at, but she’s the friendliest little gal you’d ever want to meet. She hops the fence to greet the neighbor when he gets off the school bus. Then, she hops back into the yard. She’s a good girl. Nancy Richardson (Slidell Magazine’s EFOP writer and my friend) is Buddy’s mom. She first brought him here so I could babysit him while she was on a short vacation. She warned me that Buddy was sort of the dainty type. And spoiled. And a picky eater. And he wouldn’t walk in wet grass. Seriously? Seriously. I swear that dog held it until high noon when the morning dew had completely evaporated.

No offense to all of the ﬂuffy little noise makers out there that get their hair done on Fridays, but I like dogs that act like DOGS. My dogs all swim and play catch and slobber and chew stuff they shouldn’t. They dig holes in the yard and roll in smelly things then jump in my bed. I’m okay with this because they’re being DOGS. And they keep me company and make me laugh. They are my family. At my house, Buddy had to adapt to being an outside dog. I have 3 inside dogs and, sorry Buddy, they’re not good at sharing. Up until then, I don’t think Buddy had ever spent more than a few minutes outside (or stood on anything other than carpet, for that matter). Buddy would lay on the porch, with his nose and mouth wedged under the kitchen door, sucking in the air conditioning from the crack underneath. And bark. And bark. And bark.

per month

They are soul mates. And Moosta is teaching Buddy how to be a dog. A REAL DOG. He walks in the wet grass now. Hell, she had him walking in the RAIN last week. Atta girl, Moosta! Nancy brings Buddy to the house for playtime at least once a week now. Buddy, the digniﬁed stud from the good side of the tracks, becomes a love sick slobber hound the second he sees Moosta, the mutt. I sit on the porch outside just to watch them. They make me laugh and I record them and show it to Nancy so we can laugh together. True love, taught by our dogs.

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Kendra Maness - Editor/Publisher Editor@SlidellMag.com Alan Lossett - Graphic Design Lee Kreil - Staff Writer Niki Bech - Accounts Manager 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

He would bark himself to exhaustion at night. I felt horrible for him. He was lonely. So I introduced him to Moosta. It was the most instant love connection I’ve ever seen. I don’t know how these two ever lived without each other. They play together, eat together, sleep on top of each other. They are even making attempts to mate (both are ﬁxed). They’re not quite sure how to do it – or where – so it’s a real hoot to watch.

6 mo

Lori Gomez Mike Rich John N. Felsher Rose Marie Sand

www.LoriGomezArt.com MikeRich@mypontchartrain.com www.JohnnFelsher.com Rose@RoseMarieSand.com

Slidell Magazine now available at all Slidell and

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Extraordinarily Fascinating “Ordinary” Person of the Month by Nancy Richardson Sponsored by:

Roxanna Becknel October 2013

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Owner and primary educator for Harvest Christian Academy, Roxanna Becknel, has been an inspiration not only to her three daughters, but to all the many students who have had the good fortune to be affected by her positive attitude. Roxanna is passionate about education – for herself, for her family, and “for those who just aren’t making it in the normal school setting”. Says Roxanna, “I made sure that all my children got what they needed. I was in college when they were little and they sat in the back of the class and watched. My husband and I have tried to instill in our kids to follow their dreams. I did what I had to do to make sure my kids’ lives went the way they should. My oldest daughter Pernethyia is well on her way to becoming a doctor. She wants to go into pediatrics. She’s always been a pusher, excelled in school, carried a 4.0 and she

has inspired me in so many ways,” says Roxanna. “We never had an issue with her growing up. She and I were together for 9 years before my next daughter came along. So we are very close.” The family pride is deﬁnitely reciprocal! We chose Roxanna as Slidell Magazine’s Extraordinarily Fascinating Ordinary Person for October 2013 after an email was sent to us from her daughter, Pernethyia: I am submitting Mrs. Roxanna Becknel, M.Ed. as an EFOP in Slidell. After losing her business in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, she decided to work out of her home. She is now the proud owner of Harvest Christian Academy, LLC. The school now educates children in around the St.Tammany area. I have watched her work with various age

groups and grade levels daily. She is like a mother to some; bringing them to work, helping them get jobs, preparing them for job interviews. She even does their hair and provides haircuts when needed. She gets up early in the morning, when parents need to get to work for ﬁve in the morning. One parent went to truck driving school on weekends and she kept the children, bringing them with her to church along with her family. He is now a truck driver because she helped him with his four children. Another time, she was a court appointed monitor for a lady with three children. In the classroom, Roxanna may have to remediate children because many come in academically insufﬁcient. The reason is she believes children need more attention in smaller environments than larger settings. However, she goes above the call of duty.

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Married to Pernell Becknel for the past 27 years, Roxanna tells that “we got married when I was 20 and we built the shell of our house here in Slidell (which now houses not only their home but the school as well) and finished it as we could.” Roxanna started teaching in the public schools but found that in the public school environment, she just was not able to provide the individualized program that some children needed to succeed. So in 2004, Ms. Becknel opened her first school in New Orleans on Broad Street. A friend had a building that had been used as a preschool which the Becknels renovated to make her private school. When Katrina’s flood waters destroyed that building along with all the classroom materials inside, she decided not to go back to Broad Street. Roxanna’s father had a vision for a school on his large property in Slidell so when his daughter indicated to him that she wanted to help him fulfill his dream, as well as hers, he carved out some land for her to build her school. He died in 2008, living long enough to see both of their dreams materialize. “After Katrina, I thought about getting a regular teaching job while I taught my own kids at home, but parents from New Orleans started migrating over here and began asking me to help with their kids. Just part time at first, but it grew and grew,” remembers Roxanna. Pernell and Roxanna began adapting their Slidell home to accommodate more students. That was right after Katrina in 2005. They took out the dining room to make more space because, according to Roxanna, “It looked like this was going to be serious!” Next door to her home is another house where the younger students go and they are constantly adding and improving it too. “Church families hear about my school because it’s a Christian school. The kids who came to me were not learning as they should or just didn’t fit in a public school environment. If kids aren’t pushed, they don’t thrive. Some have behavioral problems. It takes about a year to get them reoriented before they really begin to do well with me,” says Teacher Roxanna. “I call it the public school mentality, and it can take awhile to break them out of that.” Normally Ms. Becknel has about 12 students at any one time, all on different grade levels, from kindergarten to high school. She is certified to teach all subjects. Some kids rotate in as needed for special subjects or help. Licensed and registered with the BESE Board, Harvest Christian Academy students get full credit for their work and, at graduation, receive a certified diploma which allows them to go on to higher education just like the public school graduates. Not only an innovative educator, Roxanna is also a very keen female business owner. Having been in leadership positions when she worked in public school, Roxanna was able to see and learn the administrative side of running a business. The success of her school makes Roxanna a commodity in the Slidell business arena - an African-American, female business owner. Way to go Roxanna! Harvest Christian Academy is a family affair with Roxanna’s mom, Gloria Gilbert, working as the school’s cook, along with the help of Roxanna’s brother, David Gilbert. Before joining the Army and getting married, daughter Pernethyia also had been one of the teachers there.

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Classroom subjects that Roxanna teaches run the whole gamut. But this isn’t a problem for this former education major who ended up getting her degree in history. She taught at Fischer Elementary School during the day, while taking classes at night. Roxanna graduated while pregnant with her youngest daughter. She had to go out of the country to work on a project for graduation, but she just did what she had to do. She kept her eye on the prize. She also gives a great deal of credit to her very supportive husband, Pernell. Many of Roxanna’s students go on to college or another form of higher education. “Drake Nevis, whom I taught from the third grade on, now plays for the Indiana Colts. One former student is a coach at Ehret High School.” Roxanna’s students are spread out all over the country, showing how one person can touch the lives of so many. She keeps in touch with many of them via Facebook. “They call from time to time and let me know how they are doing,” Roxanna beams.

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A typical student is one who is having issues in the classroom academically. His or her parents see their child struggling. They hear about Harvest Christian Academy through friends or their church and they bring their struggling child to Ms. Becknel who evaluates and designs a program speciﬁcally for that child. “But it requires parental input to coordinate between home and school. We must all be committed to the same plan,” explains Ms. Becknel.

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Being nine years older than her next sister, Pernethyia has watched her mom’s development all her life, pushing and pushing, setting goals and accomplishing them. “Many nights, she’d fall asleep by the computer. I saw her tenacity and drive to keep going.” Pernethyia says that her mom has provided the inspiration for her life and goals and she wants everyone to see the fascinating person that her mom is. “I’m very proud of my mom. A lot of women don’t get the training from their parents today, but my mom showed us by her own example just what we could accomplish if we just pushed like she did,” says Pernethyia.

What motivates Roxanna Becknel? “I see the negativity in society towards people who are uneducated. I want to give everyone a fair chance at life.” Her dreams include the opening of a magnet school like John Curtis in New Orleans. “I want to create ‘big dreamers’ like doctors, lawyers, medics, nurses. I want to be an inspiration to kids to set and accomplish their goals so they can get out of Slidell and see what the rest of the world has to offer them.” Known primarily as an educator and savvy business woman, Roxanna is also very passionate about music and singing. She sings in a community choir with a former EFOP, Steve Abrams (June, 2012). She recorded her ﬁrst R&B album at the age of 13 and has sung with some of New Orleans’ great artists, like Irma Thomas, Lady BJ, Marva Wright and the Neville Brothers. In fact, she met her drummer husband “doing music” as she says. When asked which she would choose, singing or teaching, she answers, “Both in their own time. Maybe when the kids are grown I’ll go back to music but I am totally dedicated to education for now. Education opens up the world. And I want to help all kids to have a chance.” This fascinating ‘ordinary’ person lives what she believes. She has been a shining example not only to her own children who have excelled, but to her students and their families. Like a pebble thrown into a pond, the ripples of her inﬂuence just keep going on and on, as Ms. Roxanna Becknel encourages her students to dream big dreams while providing them with the educational tools and skills to achieve those dreams.

Proud Grandma with her ﬁrst grandbaby, Brazil

Slidell Magazine is proud to name Roxanna Becknel our Extraordinarily Fascinating Ordinary Person of the Month for October 2013!

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Chamber Events!

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SUN Bayou Jam Concert SWINGAROUX Heritage Park 5:30-7:30pm

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Saints @ Chicago AWAY • Noon

Saints @ New England AWAY • 3:25pm

Newcomers Craft Show Northshore Harbor Center 11am “Duck Hunter Shoots Angel” Slidell Little Theatre • 2pm 20

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Grand Opening Family Notary 3-5pm

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Saints vs. Dolphins Home • 7:40pm

BRAS FOR A CAUSE Harbor Center 6pm

Financial Peace University Paul Wood Photography 7pm

STREET FAIR Saints vs. Bills HOME • Noon

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Education Committee Chamber Boardroom 8:30am

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Free Business Counseling Chamber Boardroom 9am • by appt. only

Job Fair Castine Center • 9am

Business After Hours Harborside Apt. Homes & Villa du Lac Apt. Homes 5-7pm 17

Ribbon Cutting Café du Bone • 3-5pm

“Duck Hunter Shoots Angel” Slidell Little Theatre • 2pm 27

Chamber Luncheon ATHENA AWARD Harbor Center 11:30am Business After Hours NOFFCU, Northlake IT Wine Market 5-7pm

Cole Brothers Circus Harbor Center • 4:30pm

Introduction to Computers Slidell Library • 5:30pm 22

STARC Art Sale My Girlfriend’s Closet Oct. 3-5

Grand Opening Allegiance Title & Land Service 3-5pm

Business Tax Incentives & Legislative Updates Chamber Boardroom 9am-12noon Financial Peace University Paul Wood Photography 7pm

LAST CHANCE! Slidell Art League, Artist of the Year Show SMH Cancer Center Show ends 10/3

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Chamber Golf Classic Oak Harbor Golf Course Tee time 12:30pm

EYP After Hour Social Castaway’s 5-7pm

Sm. Bus. Support Chamber Boardroom•8:30am

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Public Policy Committee Chamber Boardroom•8am

Newcomers Craft Show Northshore Harbor Center 10am

“Duck Hunter Shoots Angel”• Slidell Little Theatre • 8pm “Steel Magnolias” • Cutting Edge Theater • 8pm 18

Art Exhibit • Slidell Library 10/18 - 11/1

Ashlee’s Angles Golf Tournament Oak Harbor • 11am

United Way Glitz, Glamour, & Giving OLDE TOWNE PUMPKIN FEST Harbor Center • 7pm MMA Fights Harbor Center • 7pm “Duck Hunter Shoots Angel”• Slidell Little Theatre • 8pm

“Good Night Moon” Slidell Little Theatre 9am

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LA Historic Trust FALL RAMBLE 9:30am-3pm • Camp Salmen “Duck Hunter Shoots Angel”• Slidell Little Theatre • 8pm “Steel Magnolias” • Cutting Edge Theater • 8pm

St. Tammany Parish Fair October 2 - 6 PARADE: FRIDAY

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BIRD I am by no means a bird watcher. I certainly appreciate the grace of the eagle as it soars in search of its prey; and I think, for a common bird, the male cardinal is spectacular. As far as being knowledgeable, I probably could not identify eight species of birds if my life depended on it.

They must be pretty smart to find their way from Costa Rica to Slidell, Louisiana. Someone once told me that they attached themselves to the back of wild geese and got a free ride in, but of course that is not true. They are also smart because they will avoid your feeders if cats are present. We had a cat for about two years and our feeders were void of the hummingbirds. When the cat passed away, the birds returned.

The hummingbird, however, has always fascinated me. The iridescent colors of their feathers that the sun reﬂects and the way the color changes as the bird changes its position, to me is a sight to see. Adding to this is the bird’s diminutive size. Starting in March, we carefully fill the feeders to await their coming. As best as I can describe, it reminds me of waiting for Santa Clause but not knowing what day Christmas will be. Sometimes they don’t arrive until the second week in April and, when they do start to come, usually they come one at a time for the ﬁrst few days.

art by Dean Crouser

I am told that they come from Central America where they winter. I am also told that they come back to the same place every year. I cannot prove this, or I have not been able to in the past.

Even though, as the season progresses, they tend to congregate like a family, they are pugilistic little creatures. They dart at each other, try to run each other off the feeder, and it appears they try to spear each other with their long sharp beaks. I am amazed at how they will fly straight towards each other and just pull away at the last possible second, much like two fighter planes engaged in head to head combat. Their selfishness for the feeder is how I think I met Bird. One afternoon, I was sitting on the

patio and the hummers were in a feeding frenzy. They would buzz me, as if to tell me that I was in their space and then they would bare down on one another in an attempt to claim sole position on the feeder.

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I can’t say I saw it happen, I didn’t. I heard it, but when I looked up, it was over. I suspect that one of the birds actually did make contact with Bird and knocked him into the glass window. What I did see was a heap of small feathers on the patio and a hint that there was some life left as the feathers quivered weakly from the small body beneath. There is fine line between being humane and cruel. I have never exactly been able to place the act of putting an animal out of its misery appropriately. I know this; I don’t like to do it. Why couldn’t Bird have just died on impact with the glass? But he didn’t. I had a decision to make. I went inside, looking for a soft cloth. Little did it occur to me that I picked up my wife’s scarf that she brought back from Venice (Italy, not Louisiana). Not a cheap one, either. As delicately as I could, I slid the cloth under the bird and took him inside. It was my intention not to touch him. I was hoping that he was just stunned and would regain consciousness if left alone for a few minutes. He did not. I decided I would examine him to see if I could see any visible injury. I stroked his head as gently as I could, and to my surprise, he began to respond. I know he made eye contact with me. I lifted his wings, but I could see no damage. I could feel his heart beat. It felt like it was as big as mine but beating so rapidly I could not count. Quickly, I made up some sugar water. When it cooled, I took an eye dropper and gently attempted to feed him. To my surprise, he ate voraciously. In about two hours, he was walking around but not flying. I could tell that one wing was being carried lower than the other. That sounded serious, but I was not going to give up. You want to know something? He was not either. That night, I put him in a box with ventilation but I fed him several times before turning out the light. The next morning, I gently lifted him from the box and pitched my hand forward to see if he would fly. He tried but he could not. He floated to the ground in a circular motion. We continued our rehab for two more days. I think we talked to each other. I know, by his determination, he talked to me. He tried so hard. Somehow I knew on the third day something was going to happen. Either he would fly or it would be time to

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The next day, he flew more. And the next, even more. His wing was damaged, so instead of flying with a level body, he flew with his body tilted at a 45 degree angle. The next day, he did not return to my hand but landed on the feeder. I honestly believe the other birds intentionally departed, giving him sole access to the feeder, as if extending to him a standing ovation. He deserved it. I saw him for the next few weeks. He was easy to recognize because he did not fly with perfect body orientation. Then, it came that time of the year and all of the hummingbirds were gone. That was last year. This past March, I waited patiently to see if he would return. Did he have the strength to make the overseas flight? Did he fall prey to some larger species? I waited.

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end his suffering. Something did happen. He ﬂew. Not far; only about ten feet. And he returned to my hand.

Late this past March, the first hummingbird arrived. It was not him, or at least I could not tell if it was. As the days passed, more came. Finally, after a month, when I felt all the birds that were coming had arrived, I looked up and saw a bird in flight to the feeder. He flew with a slump to the right. I realized he had not been able to keep up, but he had that determination; that same determination that had saved his life the summer before. Bird was home.

John Case October 2013

The Women’s Health Alliance The Slidell Memorial Hospital Women’s Health Alliance was started in 1985 as an educational, charitable, scientific and humanitarian organization. The purpose of the Alliance, nearly 30 years ago, remains the same today, illuminating issues regarding health concerns of the women in Slidell and providing public forums through which health care information can be shared in our community. Originally named the Women’s Health Foundation, in 2004, the organization became an advisory committee of Slidell Memorial Hospital. The signature event of the WHA has become the fall symposium, held each October. A must-attend event for women in St.Tammany Parish, the symposium has seen increasing attendance from area business owners. “My staff is all women,” says Joe DiGiovanni, CPA of DiGiovanni and Associates. “We try to attend every year because, as an employer, it’s important that I educate myself on women’s health issues and promote preventative health practices. Plus, we have such a great time - it’s like an office party with healthy benefits!” The event always includes information booths, free health screenings, a keynote speaker, and is topped off with an exciting fashion show. Through the years, the WHA has been privileged to host such dynamic speakers as Former Congresswoman Lindy Boggs,

Angela Hill, and healthy cooking writer Holly Clegg. This year, Slidell Memorial Hospital is delighted that Sally Ann Roberts will speak and share her journey. In recent years, the theme of the luncheon has highlighted different women’s health issues. Last year’s lifesaving focus was cardiac disease. (An alarming statistic: Heart disease is the number one killer of women, causing 1 in 3 women’s deaths each year, or approximately one woman every minute.) This year, the symposium will focus on breast cancer, which will affect at least 1 in 8 American women in their lifetime. The day will offer plenty of literature and screenings to support all of the health issues that affect women. The day will be an informative and fun one, while discussing serious issues. Hannah Rucker, 2013 WHA Fall Health Seminar Chairperson, says, “As chairperson, I had the opportunity to select the focus of the event and chose Breast Cancer Awareness. As a survivor, I know the impact the diagnosis has had, not only on my life, but on my family members as well. For the keynote speaker, I immediately thought of Sally Ann Roberts. My mornings always begin with Sally Ann and Eric in the background as I prepare for my day. She has such a comforting, reassuring, sincere persona and I knew she would be exactly who we needed for this event. I asked her to speak on the role of faith, family, and friends on the road to survival. That’s also why Zondra White Jones will be on hand to sing a beautiful

rendition of Kathy Troccoli’s ‘Go Light Your World.’ This year’s fashion models are all breast cancer survivors. They will help bring focus to the need for an increased awareness of breast cancer and the many ways that it impacts all of us. It is also important that we all remember that a diagnosis of cancer is not an automatic death sentence - just a reminder that we have a lot of living to do. At the conclusion of this event, it is my hope that even more people will believe in my motto…‘No matter how you feel-get up, get dressed, and get going!’”

The Fashion Show has been the highlight of each WHA Fall Seminar and has brought us some unforgettable moments. Pictured above is Peggy Cromer, who in 2011, was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. Strutting the cat walk, Peggy wore a wig as she modeled each fashion. As the ﬁnale of the show neared, Peggy proudly walked to the end of the runway, dropped her hoodie, and dramatically revealed her still bald head. There was a standing ovation from everyone in the room. What a glorious moment of celebration!

empting T the

Story and Art by Lori Gomez

Palette

A lot of you know me for my Artwork: The Mardi Gras Mural on Cousin Street or the life-sized Nativity that I created after Hurricane Katrina and display on my property every year. But those of you that have been guests at my home know that I also have a passion for cooking. I make sure no one ever leaves my house hungry. In fact, some of my children’s friends have asked to be adopted after sharing a meal with us. They always tend to show up for visits at dinner time. It has always been a goal of mine to one day write a cookbook and combine my favorite recipes with my artwork. So when my friend and Slidell Magazine Editor Kendra Maness approached me with the opportunity to write a column doing just that, I was over the moon. I can’t wait to share some of my favorite recipes and love of art with you! For me, creating art and good food is not a hobby. It’s a way of life.

My maiden name is Anselmo and my grandmother’s maiden name was Civello. With my Italian heritage, I was destined to love good homemade food. As a kid I noticed that the food we ate at home seemed to be different than what the other kids in the neighborhood ate. We cooked a lot of pasta and rice dishes. Looking back as an adult, I now realize we were on a budget. But the food was always amazing! There was no such thing as spaghetti sauce from a jar. (God knows, if I used sauce from a jar, someone somewhere might revoke my Italian card.) My father was handicapped and my mother worked full time, which was very unusual for the time. So, I started cooking dinners when I was 12. We also sat at the dinner table, as a family, EVERY night. This is a tradition I have passed on to my children and I hope they continue it with their children. The only difference now is that you have to keep the electronics off of the table. We are definitely living in a different world now. So let’s get started! I’m very excited that my first column is in October. It’s my favorite time of the year for lots of reasons. As an Artist, Halloween is the ultimate creative month for me. I love creating costumes and becoming a specific character. I also enjoy sculpting pumpkins. Many years ago, I was looking for a pumpkin pie recipe that didn’t have that heavy, overwhelming pumpkin stuff that

One of the many artful pumpkins that Lori creates each year, sculpted to look like New Orleans legend, Morgus the Magniﬁcent. Lori explains, “Sculpting pumpkins is when you remove the skin of the pumpkin but do not carve through it. Carving pumpkins is cutting through to see the empty center. Either one, or combining the two, gives lots of room for creativity!”

comes out of a can. So while I was carving a pumpkin one day, I decided to come up with my own pumpkin pie recipe. As I carved, I took the pieces that I didn’t need and peeled off the skin and cut it into ½ inch cubes. The beauty of this was I only needed one cup of pumpkin for my recipe, so I put the rest in a zip lock bag and put it in the freezer to be used for a Thanksgiving pie. I tried to not waste any part of the pumpkin, so I also washed and saved all of the seeds for roasting.

Here are my favorite Halloween recipes: Holie-Molie Pumpkin Pie 1 cup fresh pumpkin 1 stick of butter 1 ½ cups sugar 3 tbsp. flour 2 eggs 1 small can of evaporated milk ½ tbsp. lemon juice 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 pre-baked pie crust 1. Pre-bake pie crust according to package directions. 2. In a sauce pan, melt butter. 3. Add sugar, milk and vanilla. Stir just till sugar dissolves and becomes creamy. Remove from heat 4. Wisk in flour and cinnamon. 5. In a food processor, put fresh pumpkin, eggs, lemon juice and cooled butter mixture. 6. Pulse till pumpkin is well blended. 7. Pour mixture into your baked piecrust. 8. Wrap the edges of piecrust with foil so that it doesn’t over brown. 9. Set the pie on a baking sheet in case it overflows. This recipe makes a 9 inch pie. 10. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for one hour.

The pie will rise in the oven and then settle back down slightly as it cools. It’s extra amazing when served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream while it’s still warm! Tip: You can pour the mixture into individual ramekins and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes and serve as a custard. Now... what to do with all of those pumpkin seeds you’ve just removed? I’m not the type of person to let anything go to waste so... Roasted Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Seeds Pumpkin seeds 1 tbsp. cinnamon ¼ cup sugar 1 pinch of salt 2 tsps. melted butter 1. Wash pumpkin seeds thoroughly. 2. Spread them out on a towel to dry. 3. Toss seeds with butter in a bowl to coat. 4. Mix the cinnamon, sugar and salt together and sprinkle over seeds 5. Spread the seeds on a baking pan. 6. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. Stir seeds every 15 minutes to get them evenly cooked.

Savory Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Pumpkin Seeds 1 tbsp. of your favorite seasoning such as Tony Chachere’s or Zataran’s 2 tsp. melted butter or olive oil Follow the same directions as Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Seeds.

So there you have it, my very ﬁrst column. I hope you enjoy sharing these recipes with your family as much as I have with mine. I’m looking forward to sharing more recipes and art with you! Thanks for reading!

Here’s another one of my favorite recipes. It’s a quick and easy dinner (and one the kids really enjoy) for that long and busy trick-or-treating Halloween night! Yummy Mummy Dogs Good quality hotdogs, such as Nathan’s (Not those pink things that no one knows what they are made of!) A pack of garlic bread sticks dough in the can from the dairy section. 1. Wrap each hotdog with a breadstick leaving just the top of the hotdog visible for the mummy’s eyes. 2. Lay on a baking sheet and bake according to the directions on the breadstick package. I tend to leave them in the oven an extra 5 minutes. 3. When they come out of the oven put two dots for eyes using catsup or mustard.

You can enjoy more of Lori’s art on facebook or by visiting:

www.LoriGomezArt.com

Making ₵ents

of your money by Mike Rich

Two monsters are hiding in your closet, and they just can’t wait to devour your money! My wife Mary loves scary movies. She absolutely loves them, and the scarier, the better. Me, I hate them, and always have. I remember trying to watch “The Shining” on TV with her. It’s the 1980 Stanley Kubrick movie that starred Jack Nicholson as a frustrated writer who takes a job as the winter caretaker of the ﬁctional Overlook Hotel. If you’ve seen the movie, you know that

Mr. Nicholson’s character goes a little nuts and ends up wielding a ﬁre axe around the place. Mary was mesmerized by the movie, and hung on every spine-tingling scene. I, on the other hand, had to leave the room. It scared the youknow-what out of me, and, to this day, I still can’t watch scary movies. Now, think of the scariest movie you’ve ever seen. Think blood and guts, axes and chainsaws.

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Think of the bad guys (or gals) and their awful evil deeds. Think of the worst movie monster that ever scared the pants off of you. Now, think of that monster serving you breakfast in bed, washing the dishes, taking the kids to soccer practice, and doing all kinds of other nice things for you. Because, that’s what he’ll seem like compared to the two monsters I’m thinking about, the ones that are just waiting to ruin your money plans. If you are like me and don’t like scary stuff, you might want to stop reading this article right now, because I’m about to introduce these guys, and they are mean and ugly. I’m not kidding. Read on… but only if you dare. Unlike movie monsters, these guys are not make-believe, and they have names - real nasty ones. They’re called “Inflation” and “Taxes”. They’re ugly, too. They might not actually be hiding in your closet at home, but they’re real, they’re out there somewhere, they’re coming after you and, believe me, they are a whole lot more vicious than an axe-swinging, crazy-eyed Jack Nicholson. Let’s deal with the first one, Inflation. Currently, official U.S. inflation over the past 20 years is running about 3% annually.1 The number in the future is going to vary, and could be higher or lower over time. However, using history as our guide, let’s assume average inflation of 3% over the next 20 years or so, and apply it to a hypothetical retirement savings scenario for my friend Jennifer. Jennifer earns $80,000 a year as a sales manager for a thriving local business. She currently has $125,000 in her 401(k) account and contributes 6% of her salary every year, and her generous employer chips in 3%. Jennifer is 44 years old and plans on working and contributing to her 401(k) for the next 20 years. Let’s assume

that Jennifer doesn’t get any raises (sorry, Jen, but I want to keep the math simple). Let’s also assume that everything rolls along and Jennifer earns an average 5% rate of return on her investment. She will end up with a retirement nest egg of approximately $576,000.2 Not bad. Except, we forgot about Mr. Monster Number One, Inflation. Not only is he ugly, he has a vicious appetite, too. Using our average from above, we know that every year Inflation eats 3% of the purchasing power of Jennifer’s retirement money for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a bedtime snack. Jennifer still has $576,000 in her account when she hands over her keycard, but, after 20 years of Inflation’s feeding frenzy, her money buys only $319,000 worth of all the stuff she might need or want in retirement like food, vacations, gasoline, gifts for the grandkids, and that motorcycle she promised herself. Bummer. But, it gets worse. Because Jennifer has been deferring the tax bill on the money in her 401(k) for 20 years, Mr. Monster Number Two, aka Taxes, has been waiting patiently for his share. Jennifer knew all along that she’d have to pay taxes when she started to spend her retirement money, but all the money experts on TV told her she’d be in a lower tax bracket in retirement, so the tax hit wouldn’t be as bad. But, a lot has happened during the past 20 years: deficit spending by the government, tax increases to pay for entitlement programs like Medicare, a huge national debt to pay down, you name it. In fact, Jennifer finds that marginal tax rates have crept up over the years because the government needed money, and she’s actually in a higher tax bracket now than she was before she retired. Those TV experts were wrong (imagine that). So, between taxes and inflation, her purchasing power has dropped through the floor, along with her retirement lifestyle. Bummer times 10. The good news is that your retirement plan doesn’t have to suffer like Jennifer’s. The Inflation and Taxes monsters are not going away. But, you can do some things now to tame them significantly so they don’t try to devour your retirement income. The strategies are different for everyone, but our guess here at Pontchartrain Investment Management is that one or more might be right for you. One thing is certain: you likely won’t know about your options unless you crunch some numbers. You don’t have to do it alone, so call Andy, Chris, Steve, Robin, or me for a free appointment, and let one of us do it for you. We’re not monsters and we promise not to scare the life out of you.

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2242 Carey St. Olde Towne, Slidell, LA 1 http://www.inflationdata.com/inflation/Inflation_Calculators/Cumulative_Inflation_Calculator.aspx 2 This is a hypothetical example and is not representative of any specific situation. Your results might vary. The hypothetical rate of return used does not reflect the deduction of fees and charges inherent to investing. Future tax laws can change at any time, and their impact on the tax treatment of retirement accounts may change. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. Securities and Advisory Services offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC. The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

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A Patchwork Orange: Recipe for Success! By Lee Kreil

Many a Southern cook can tell you that three is the magic number when it comes to preparing many traditional Southern dishes. From the “holy trinity” of deepsouth cooking to the belief that the best classic southern recipes usually contain no more than three basic ingredients, three is a familiar theme in our kitchens. And like with many successful recipes, each time it is prepared it gets better and better. When all three ingredients come together and blend perfectly in the right amounts, the end result has the likelihood of becoming an instant classic. Olde Towne Slidell is about to offer up its own version of a three ingredient dish; a recipe for fun, family, and giving. It is the second version of this recipe so it goes without saying that it will just keep getting better. On the menu for October 19, 2013 will be the 2nd Annual Olde Towne Pumpkin Festival! Let’s see how it is made: F I R S T I N G R E D I E N T: T h e foundation of the dish, the basis for which the recipe is built around. One generous portion of First United Methodist Church (FUMC).

Located at 433 Erlanger Dr. in Olde Towne Slidell, Louisiana, FUMC started life in 1887 with a revival and soon began meeting in a community building near the railroad tracks by the Salmen Brick and Lumber Company. The original Methodist Church was built at Second and Guzman Streets with a graveyard (now called Greenwood Cemetery) just behind it. The church relocated to First Street in 1905 having outgrown the location. The final move to Erlanger Dr. would take place in 1957 when the entire city block was purchased right across the street from the city park. In 2001, the First United Methodist Church started the “pumpkin patch” which has quickly become an established tradition in the dozen years since its inception. It serves as the unofficial sign that Fall is here. Like the church itself, the pumpkin patch has continued to grow, getting bigger and bigger with

each year. Family and service has always been important to the church and FUMC’s pumpkin patch has offered a great place for families to come and have fun. Proceeds from the sale of pumpkins each year are used to support ministries, both local and others around the world. Non-profits and organizations like the East St. Tammany Habitat for Humanity, Mt. Olive Feeding Ministry, as well as Community Christian Concern are just a few examples of the local ministries that are beneﬁtted. SECOND INGREDIENT: Works with the foundation to help build flavor, giving dimension or texture to the dish. Add a heaping serving of Leadership Northshore’s Class of 2012 team. This LNS Team from the class of 2012 is comprised of Debbie Crouch, Barbara Doyle, Christian Lee, Daniel Mangieri, Donald Westmoreland, and Tiffany Tucker and mentored by JoBeth Kavanaugh and Shawn Macomber. It was from here the

Olde Towne Pumpkin Festival came to life. In choosing their Leadership project, the team conceptualized the idea of an annual pumpkin festival, based from the model of success of the Pumpkin Festival in Illinois. The team received valuable input and mentorship from that festival’s founder, Mr. Wally, a.k.a. “Mr. Pumpkin”, as he was known. Started 50 years ago as a one-day event, the Illinois Pumpkin Festival has grown to become a 5 day extravaganza which draws thousands of people from all over the country. Mr. Wally advised the LNS team to start small, nurture and grow the fest; then someday, their fest could be that big too. Donald explains, “We celebrate everything else in Southern Louisiana but we don’t have a Pumpkin Festival.” The project fulfilled all of the elements that Leadership Northshore wants to have in their projects. Donald goes on to say, “We had an opportunity to build off of something that already is a success with the Pumpkin Patch. It’s new and there is no other festival like it around!” The Olde Towne Pumpkin Festival offers a wonderful day of food, family, and fun right in the heart of Slidell. Barbara Doyle adds, “We’ve been so lucky and blessed with our partnerships and it’s been made so much easier for us to be successful because of them.” She then emphasizes, “People don’t have to go to New Orleans to enjoy a great festival. They can stay right here in the heart of Slidell.” The LNS Team was pleased that the festival would be an opportunity for people to “rediscover” Olde Towne and see all the changes that have occurred since Katrina. To explore the area and visit the new businesses, shops, and restaurants was all part of their goal with introducing the festival. One member of the team remembers coming to the pumpkin patch when she was younger. “We came together as a family. It’s great that the church has the pumpkin patch each year. It is a tradition that I remember as a kid. Now with the festival, it is something that other kids will talk about for years, just like I did. We are trying to bring the family outing back,” Tiffany says. T H I R D I N G R E D I E N T: C o m p l i m e n t s t h e f i r s t t w o ingredients, serving as the binding agent so the three ingredients are now one and completes the dish. Add in a big helping of East St. Tammany Rainbow Child Care Center! Executive Director Dionne Graham oversees Rainbow Child Care as it helps bind our community together, as it has done for the past 30 years. Rainbow got its start in 1983 as an outreach mission of Aldersgate United Methodist Church and Macedonia Baptist Church. From the very beginning, Rainbow Child Care’s main purpose was to provide affordable childcare for everyone in need. This purpose sounds pretty simple and straightforward. But, as Dionne says, “…if it were only that simple!” Helping families in need of affordable childcare so that the parents are able to work, Rainbow CC has played a large role in the lives of hundreds of families in St. Tammany Parish. But there are so many outside factors affecting the help that Rainbow can give and the single parent homes they are trying to help. Economic changes are probably the biggest factor and challenge for this organization.

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Childcare reform, shrinking dollars, increased training costs to keep their 4-Star Center rating (one of only 2 centers in Slidell to boast this highest ranking) are all challenges for the Center. But the end result of their influence makes all the hard work worth it for the many people involved with Rainbow Child Care.

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Just five short years after its formation, Rainbow Child Care was accepted by and became afﬁliated as a United Way Partnership Agency. This was a big step early on for this wonderful group. By being afﬁliated with the United Way, it not only gave this local organization another source of funding but also lent a recognizable name to Rainbow Child Care. This could help in their efforts to seek out local sponsorships and also help build Rainbow’s own name. This partnership with the United Way was important early on.

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At the age of 18, Dionne needed help; she was at the point of being overwhelmed and not knowing what to do or where to get help or if there was any help out there to be had. T h a n k f u l l y, s h e reached out and made a phone call that would change her life - and years later, would change the lives of so many others that she and Rainbow Child Care would touch. Dionne called the Crisis

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Another affiliation that many others inside and outside of Rainbow Child Care see as having a huge impact on the organization is the one with its current Executive Director. Dionne Graham IS Rainbow Child Care Center. She is a 2008 Leadership Northshore graduate who has had a successful career previous to becoming involved with Rainbow. Her experience is what makes her the perfect Director for this wonderful organization. Her work experience may have prepared her to carry out the role of Executive Director but it was her life experiences that instilled the passion in her to make a difference and change peoples’ lives. She knows exactly who her organization is helping because she was a single mom trying to raise a family. She too struggled with meeting the cost of quality daycare and all the other expenses needed to get by.

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Pumpkin carving and sculpting contests bring out the creativity in our local artists! Shown above: Lori Gomez’s pumpkins and poster design

Pregnancy Center. Her life changed with that one call. “To know that there was someone else who understood made ALL the difference to me. I knew at that moment I had help and that somehow everything would work out,” Dionne says. She was so impacted by her experience that she wanted to give back and actually started volunteering for the Crisis Pregnancy Center when she was just 19 years old. Funding is a constant challenge for Dionne Graham and Rainbow. Additional funding is always needed to help meet the needs of shortfalls and cuts in funding and in donations. Bubbly on the Bayou is a great fundraiser for Rainbow Child Care Center but it is their only fundraising event. She wanted to add another fundraiser - one that was family oriented because she and Rainbow are all about strengthening families. Becoming involved with the Olde Towne Pumpkin Festival will allow her and Rainbow to support kids and help raise families up; both in spirit and economically. “If you educate a m o t h e r, y o u change a family and transform lives. Also, getting a child ready for kindergarten increases the chances of that child’s success in school,” Dionne informs me. And this all takes funding to achieve the level of quality Leadership Northshore Class of that Rainbow Child 2012, Project Pumpkin Fest Care does. Team Members Now that they have taken the reins from the Leadership Northshore project team, the goal now is to turn the current format into a multiday festival that involves more of Olde Towne and still mainly focuses on family. “I would like to see this become a Thursday through Sunday festival. We see the wisdom of the LNS project team using the advice they received from Mr. Pumpkin by starting the festival small to ensure its success. Then after establishing itself to make sure it will be around for years to come, make the move to expand to cover the entire weekend,” Dionne acknowledges. Three amazing ingredients when put together by people who care and have a desire to help others through giving can

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Olde Towne Pumpkin Fest

Dionne and the staff at Rainbow Child Care Center, along with the board members, invite you to get involved! For more information on RCC or FUMC, contact them at the information below.

First UMC

Rainbow Child Care 985-643-3742 www.rainbowccc.org First United Methodist Church 985-643-6437 www.ďŹ rstumcslidell.org

Saturday, October 19, 2013 11am - 6pm

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Look for Olde Towne Pumpkin Festival on facebook! Or email: OldeTownePumpkinFest@gmail.com

GO BEYOND Story by Rose Marie Sand

What would you do if you had no fear? This question was posed in a FaceBook post recently, along with some interesting thoughts. “Sing in public,” “tell the truth,” “donate blood,” and “be happy with who I am” were some of the responses. Which got me to thinking of what my own answer would be - what would I do if I weren’t afraid? Swim with sharks? Bungee jump? Finish that novel? Maybe a better way to phrase the question is “what would you WANT to do if you weren’t afraid?” I really don’t want to face a predator shark or hurl myself from a perfectly good bridge, but I do want to ﬁnish the novel. It seems that this big question elicits responses in one of two categories - fear of a physical happening or one that shakes the soul. What would your answers be? Maybe it’s best that we don’t stop to think of those chilling moments too often. But the question is intriguing and brings up memories and, more importantly, lessons learned from facing fear. Any time I’m in a situation that feels physically dangerous, with that all too familiar queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, I ask myself - are you as scared as you were that night in Creed, Colorado?

electric wires in Boulder, Colorado; bicycling along the city streets of Boston; a biplane stunt ride at a Stearman Biplane Fly-In in Jennings, Louisiana; not to mention navigating the treachery of catching a ﬂight at Heathrow Airport in London. But the night when I was lost, scared and cold on a mountaintop on the back of a Harley was fear incarnated for me. There’s a saying I learned when I used to ride motorcycles – “Ride your own ride.” I’ve thought of it often when faced with decisions about many things – trust your instincts and make your own decisions. My husband and I were on the ﬁrst of many motorcycle trips in the American southwest, accompanied by several friends. There were six motorcycles on this particular trip, each piloted by an experienced guy and his eager spouse. We trailered our red Harley Ultra Glide through the brutal Texas summer, and then left the truck and trailer in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Six screaming engines roared through the desert, bound for Durango, Colorado and the ﬁrst stop in a week-long adventure. The itinerary had been mapped out by one of our companions who’d made the trip a few months before. Let’s call him Dick. Dick had the maps and the experience, and we were bound for glory and photo opportunities. We were used to hairpin turns and less than optimal conditions - or so we thought. We had the requisite chaps, leathers, gators, hoods, helmets, scarves, gloves - most of which was emblazoned with a Harley logo. What can I say – we thought we were cool. I took lots of pictures from the back of that Harley, truly the best seat in the house. Our first day ride was to Mesa Verde, Colorado. Mesa Verde, Spanish for green table, offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, starting in 600 AD. You can climb among their structures built in caves and under outcroppings in cliffs at the largest archeological preserve in North America. The entire experience is stunning. It’s a place to find a respect for nature, human ingenuity and the will to survive. It was there that I also learned that, if a bee lands on the driver’s lap, it’s best not to slap at it. Who would’ve guessed?

Thankfully, blessedly, the answer to that question since that event 20 years ago has been “no.”

Lesson learned – some things are best overlooked until you can do something about it.

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The next day, we headed for Taos, New Mexico. Dick had mapped a route that first took us to Santa Fe, and I fell in love with that city

immediately. We spent one night there, ate lots of Mexican food, and then headed to Taos. The road to Taos follows the Rio Grande and crosses a desert where you can see sagebrush for miles. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains form a casting director’s dream backdrop for the historic city. In the big sky’s distance, we saw thunderstorms brewing but had no choice but to forge ahead. We pulled over at a scenic overlook of the great river, and pulled on our rain gear. There was no shelter, nothing but alien desert scenery, and we knew the worst part of the storm was ahead. And then we roared into the cloud-shrouded New Mexico skies bound for Taos, following one another’s taillights. Rain and hail pounded our bikes and our helmets. The storm passed over as we tore under, guided by a rider’s will to go on. I wasn’t too worried; I put my camera in my pocket, wrapped my arms around my husband, and tucked my head behind his broad shouldered back. But believe me, hail bouncing off your unprotected limbs at 50 mph is plenty frightening. Lesson learned - Sometimes there’s nothing to do but face the future, trust your friends will be there for you, and trust your instincts. Taos and the high road surrounding the city is charming, and is noted for its art colony, skiing, and Taos Pueblo, a photogenic American Indian community. I’d never seen Pueblo architecture up close, and love the clean lines and earthy colors. So, what’s next, I wondered. What could top the amazing scenery and adventures w e w e r e h a v i n g ? We l l , we made our way back to Durango, and regrouped for what was to be a day trip through the “Million Dollar Highway” in Colorado from Silverton to Ouray and then to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River.

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The Million Dollar Highway has some of the most spectacular views of the San Juan Mountains you’ll ever see – and it also has hairpin turns, narrow lanes and no guardrails. With elevations of over 10,000 feet, this Louisiana girl was suitably impressed. We took lots of photo breaks, and bought whatever souvenirs would fit into the tour packs of our bikes. We lunched in the small mining town of Silverton, and then Dick led us to the Black Canyon. Let me tell you a couple of things about this canyon. The Gunnison River drops an average of 34 feet per mile, making it the ﬁfth steepest mountain descent in the country. The canyon walls of volcanic rock worn from the river are named because sunlight doesn’t penetrate very far in that steepness. When you see road signs depicting steep grades and locations of runaway truck ramps, you know you’re in for it. When we got out of that national park, the passenger on the back of Dick’s bike actually got off and kissed the ground. So, scary enough, right? Wrong.

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The sun was going down quickly, and the map showed we still had lots of ground to cover to get back to our hotel rooms in Durango. We’d been out all day, so everyone was tired and hungry and the gas tanks of the bikes were hungry, too. And we knew that a two-hour ride through mountain roads is not the same as a two-hour ride through ﬂat land. We rode on in the fading light, and I began to get really, really cold. Here’s where the young and stupid part of the experience kicks in. The group saw lights ahead for what looked like a roadside bar in the middle of nowhere. Five bikes pulled over – and my husband and I forged ahead. We were so sure we only had a hour or so of the ride ahead of us, with a warm bed in Durango. We knew it would be harder to get back on the bike if we stopped in the bar, so we foolishly left our friends and headed into the night alone.

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For the next hour, I worried about elk jumping into the headlighted path. I worried about the cold, the gas left in the tank, how long would the engine keep us warm if we did run out of gas, the Continental Divide sign we passed, and the maps that were on Dick’s bike, not ours. I sang into the night and told my husband every crazy story I could think of to keep him awake and alert. When you’re on a bike, any tiny inch of exposed skin can feel like a knife blade – so I wrapped my scarf around his neck and hunkered down. After what seemed like an ETERNITY of fear, we saw the lights of a police car in the distance. The bar owner had called ahead to the Sherriff of Creed, Colorado, who got out of bed to chase down the crazy idiots on the motorcycle on top of a mountain in the middle of the night. They knew what we were beginning to realize – we’d have never made it without their help. The Sheriff woke up the owner of a campsite, and we gratefully dove under the blankets of the cabin’s bedding. I think we put on every article of clothing we’d packed, and covered the bed with towels from the bathroom. Then my husband and I looked at each other and laughed out loud – at the absurdity of what we’d done and the joy of having people who looked out for us. Lesson learned – Ride your own ride, but don’t be stupid. It’s been twenty years since that incident, and I’m hoping it will stay the benchmark of both fear and stupidity. And if it’s not, I’m glad I don’t know it yet. So, what’s next? What do I want to do without fear?

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With the heart and soul of those young riders from so long ago and my own road map - with instinct and the wisdom I’ve acquired, I’m doing it.

Sli-Ku By now, many of you are aware of my fondness for special holidays and observances. I would like to petition for the ofﬁcial adoption of October to be known as National Incredulous Statement Month! Why you ask? Just listen the next time you are at work, school, church, or any other gathering of ten or more people and you are bound to hear one or more of the following comments. “Wow! I can’t believe it’s October already!” or “Where has the year gone?” or “Christmas will be here before we know it!” I am guilty myself of uttering these and several other similar sentiments. October is one of my favorite months - I love Halloween! But mostly, I love this month because it’s when thoughts turn to those of Fall and the promises that come with the changing of the seasons. School and football are in full swing, the cultural arts season has begun, the major holidays are about to begin, and cooler weather is just around the corner! Time to enjoy the crisp mornings and the chilly nights, right? At this time, I should mention that October is National Sarcastic Awareness Month. No promises of Fall in Slidell! Most Octobers we are still in the mid-80’s, with “lows” as high as the 70’s. Crisp, Fall-ish weather…not! October really is a great month here in Slidell. The City of Slidell will be offering up some great entertainment - catch both free performances of the Bayou Jam Fall Concert Series in Heritage Park. Witness always puts on a great show and Vince Vance and the Valiants will headline the Bayou Jam Halloween Bash. Arts-In-Education offers the LPO’s Young Audiences program and Beethoven’s Fifth. The Olde Towne Pumpkin Festival is a guaranteed fun time for the whole family. And while there, check out all the changes that have taken place in Olde Towne. Have a great time exploring the heart of our great city!

October is also the perfect month to show your heart in Slidell. It is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Several local organizations will be putting on events to raise awareness and money. Fallen Fireﬁghters Memorial Weekend is October 5-6, followed by Fire Prevention Week. I will take a picture of the Pelican, “Blaze,” at the Third Street ﬁre station and post it on my Facebook page all week to show my support. Take this week to tell these brave men and women “thank you” in your own way. October 4th is “10-4 Good Buddy Day.” In the days before cell phones, there were CB radios. “Breaker Breaker 1-9 this is the Chess King calling all Vikings…you got your ears on…come back.” Between being in the school band, my parachute pants, and having a 4ft magnetic CB antenna on top of my 1979 Chevy Chevette with 8-track tape player…it’s no wonder I didn’t date much in high school! And I still know all the words to “Convoy”!! If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. However, if you think life gave you melons instead, you might have dyslexia. But that’s ok because October is National Dyslexia Awareness Month. This month also observes Work From Home Week and Wear Something Gaudy Day. (I have a friend that unknowingly celebrates both of these observances on a regular basis.) And lastly, for all the sports fans out there, the last week in October is the only time of the year when ALL four major American sports leagues play at the same time. Just one more reason to Fall for October!

The leaves…if all for They reveal Autumn’s beauty The leaves…I fall for

Until next time…

Lee Kreil

by Jeff Perret, DVM