January 2015
Welcome to Boerne
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Bluebonnet Realty HOMES FOR SALE
1.) FOR SALE - $234,500 - Totally renovated. New ceramic tile, laminate and carpeting throughout! Freshly painted in neutral colors. New stainless oven/range, dishwasher and fresh landscaping in front yard. Back yard is 1/3 acres!!! Close to walking trail and downtown Boerne. Reduced for quick sale! 3.) FOR SALE - $675,000 - Great Potential for this property on Scenic Loop Road. 3 houses, old smoke house, and storage building on 2.82 acres. Main house has 3000 s.f., and other 2 houses have approx. 1500 s.f. each.
2.) FOR SALE - $230,000 - Charming Hill Country Home, sitting on over a 1/2 acre, in sought after Boerne, TX. This is a must see! New roof, paint, floors, windows, bathrooms, A/C... too many upgrades to list.
4.) FOR SALE - $520,000 PRICED TO SELL. Waterfront property in River Mountain Ranch with private access! Custom home built with views of the Guadalupe from the master bedroom, family room, and balcony. Outdoor balcony runs the length of the home and features a fireplace and surround sound speakers. Private road on the property going down to the river. 3.57 acres.
HOMES & COMMERCIAL FOR LEASE
5.) FOR LEASE - $1400 - 3 bed, 2 bath restored turn of century home with approx. 1665 s.f. of living area, all new appliances in Comfort, TX
6.) FOR LEASE - $1475 - 3 bed, 2 ba w/fireplace and fenced yard. Approx. 1/2 ac cul-de-sac setting
9.) $1800 - 4 bed, 2.5 bath approx. 2600 s.f. of living area, in Boerne Heights. Recently updated with laminate and ceramic tile floors.
7.) FOR LEASE - $1175 - 3 bed, 2 ba mobile on 2 acs off Walnut Grove Rd
10.) FOR LEASE - $1250 - 3 bed, 2 ba updated moble in Walnut Hills
8.) FOR LEASE - $1200 - 3 bed, 2 ba mobile with workshop in Foothills MHP
11.) FOR LEASE - $2200 - 3 bed, 3 bath townhome in Tapatio Springs. One car garage. Golf course view! ALSO FOR SALE!
MORE HOMES AVAILABLE. CALL FOR LISTINGS.
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January
Explore what's inside this issue!
10 From the Publisher
26 Spiritual
grocery stores and tattoos
12 Calendar
28 art
14 MUSIC
38 Cooking
DON’T BE CHICKEN
Chef Denise shows us how easy it is to cook perfect chicken paprika.
Perspective on the future
TROUBADOUR
A song can be all the difference when you have a problem. It can lift you up or throw you deeper.
Four art professionals lend their expertise on the future of the art world here in Boerne for 2015.
HANG A RIGHT IN SAN FRANCISCO
A little adventure to Wente vineyards in the beautiful Livermore Valley, just 45 minutes east of San Francisco.
20 History
Operations Manager Kristine Duran kristine@smvtexas.vom Creative Director Benjamin N. Weber ben.weber@smvtexas.com
32 Fitness challenge
16 Wine
Publisher Benjamin D. Schooley ben@hillcountryexplore.com
Assistant Creative Director Michael Mancha michael@smvtexas.com
The fitness challenge concludes
A look at each of the participants and the results they were able to accomplish as well as their perspective of the past three months.
ADVERTISING SALES 210-507-5250 sales@hillcountryexplore.com
REFLECTIONS IN THE WIND
The way things are and how they used to be.
42 Life
The Sinister Side of social media
24 Musical Arts
Is it really possible to become addicted to the use of social media?
CANADIAN BRASS
The Canadian Brass bring their unique flavor to Boerne Performing Arts.
46 OLD TIMER
2015 Predictions
Old Timer predicts the newsworthy events of the upcoming year. Better start packing your bags for Comfort.
EXPLORE magazine is published by Schooley Media Ventures in Boerne, TX. EXPLORE Magazine and Schooley Media Ventures are not responsible for any inaccuracies, erroneous information, or typographical errors contained in this publication submitted by advertisers. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of EXPLORE and/or Schooley Media Ventures. Copyright 2015 Schooley Media Ventures, 930 E. Blanco, Ste. 200, Boerne, TX 78006
Contributing Writers
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Marjorie Hagy History
Rene Villanueva Music
Kendall D. Aaron Spiritual
Old Timer Just Old Timer
Paul Wilson Life & Living
MARJORIE is a bibliophile, a history nut and an insomniac, among several other conditions, both diagnosed and otherwise. When she's not working tirelessly to avoid getting a real job, she nurses an obsession with her grandson and is involved in passing legislation restricting the wearing of socks with sandals. She is an aspiring pet hoarder who enjoys vicious games of Scrabble, reading Agatha Christie, and sitting around doing nothing while claiming to be thinking deeply. Marjorie has five grown children, a poodle to whom she is inordinately devoted in spite of his breath, and holds an Explore record for never having submitted an article on time. She's been writing for us for five years now.
Rene Villanueva is the lead singer/bass player for the band Hacienda. Having toured worldwide, hacienda has also been featured on several late night shows, including Late Show with David Letterman. Rene and his wife Rachel live in Boerne, TX and just welcomed thier first child.
I’m just a normal guy. I’m not a theology student, I don’t preach in church, and I’ve never written a book. I’m just a normal guy that thinks, and feels, and is on a never-ending journey attempting to be the best person I can be. I fail frequently at this quest, yet each day, the quest continues. I’ve lived in Boerne since the late ‘80s, I’ve got a most beautiful wife, three wonderful children, and just really, really love God. Thanks for going on my spiritual journey with me.
The Old Timer tells us he's been a resident of Boerne since about 1965. He enjoys telling people what he doesn't like. When not bust'n punks he can be found feeding the ducks just off Main St. or wandering aimlessly in the newly expanded HEB. Despite his rough and sometimes brash persona, Old Timer is really a wise and thoughtful individual. If you can sort through the BS.
An insatiable curiosity for life and an incurable fascination with human behavior has forged in Paul Wilson a keen interest in helping people think about wise living. As a Life Coach, Paul offers professional mentoring to clients seeking greater personal fulfillment in their life. He currently serves as the Lead Pastor of Cibolo Creek Community Church in Fair Oaks Ranch, a faith community he began in 1996 to serve people who didn’t really like church. As artistowner of The Paul Wilson Studio, he also creates bronze sculptures for private and corporate collections. Paul and his wife, Charlotte, who make their home in Fair Oaks Ranch, are the proud parents of two teenage sons. If you’re interested in receiving daily thought-provoking insights about life and living, follow Paul on Twitter at @paulwilsonTX or Facebook at facebook.com/ paulwilsonTX.
EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
From the Publisher Dearest EXPLORE reader, “Each thing I do I rush through so I can do something else. In such a way do the days pass— a blend of stock car racing and the never ending building of a gothic cathedral. Through the windows of my speeding car, I see all that I love falling away: books unread, jokes untold, landscapes unvisited. And why? What treasure do I expect in my future? Rather it is the confusion of childhood loping behind me, the chaos in the mind, the failure chipping away at each success. Glancing over my shoulder I see its shape and so move forward, as someone in the woods at night might hear the sound of approaching feet and stop to listen; then, instead of silence he hears some creature trying to be silent. What else can he do but run? Rushing blindly down the path, stumbling, struck in the face by sticks; the other ever closer, yet not really hurrying or out of breath, teasing its kill.” Stephen Dobyns – Cemetery Nights (1987)
another? Yeah, me too. In my appreciation for the similarities of us all, the uniqueness of our concerns and yet the knots of sameness that course through us all are just beautiful things. Through the windows of my speeding car, I see all that I love falling away… That sentence right there is enough to keep me up at night. Maybe that’s why I write these little columns every month – I’m in a furious race to share what I see as it speeds by my windows. Will you care about all that I share? Probably not. But I do think that the more we share together, the less is lost. Get out there. Make some noise. Talk to your friends. Share what you know. Make someone smile. Make someone cry with happiness. Yes, you have the ability to do it. Why? Simply because you are pilots in the vehicle of LIFE, and are on the journey of a lifetime. But what good is a journey if it is not shared? Whether it’s with me, or your wife, or a zillion people via a Publisher Letter…get out there and document what makes you happen and transcend all that is mundane. Don’t miss it as it flies past the windows of your speeding car. I dare ya. Welcome to January. It’s cold and dark and windy and you have nothing to do but get out there and write the story of your adventure. May you EXPLORE, find the truth you seek, and smile at the oil well fires in your mind.
I don’t sleep very well anymore. I don’t know why you would care to know that, but there ya have it; just thought I’d share. One of the few traits from my mother that I hoped to not inherit was her chronic insomnia, but alas, I’m afraid I have locked horns with it. My eyes may open at 2am, my brain fires up, and I’m doomed to a very, very long night. Tonight is one of those nights. It’s 2:52am on a Friday night, and I’m overlooking a balcony from a middle-tier hotel in the middle of West Texas. I can see the oil well burnoff fires in the distance, and the dust dances across the street outside of my window. It’s dark and cold and it’s time for the sun to rise soon, I pray. More than anything, I think that this is the time to feel ALONE. I can hear the clock ticking, my kids are asleep behind me in the bed and I hear their rhythmic breathing, and somewhere down the hall, someone just coughed. My face is bathed with the light of this laptop, and with weary eyes and a scruffy face, I sit here and type away. The sleeping world is a beautiful one; it’s a reminder of the ties that bind us. We all must rest, and we all hope for a better tomorrow. Every day. Even those of us that can’t sleep. We stare at our laptops and squint our eyes against the light and pray that the dawn’s light brings us a better existence. And I suppose I’m no different. I would prefer to be having these thoughts from my own living room, but for tonight, the West Texas landscape is my friend and I’ll simply breathe it deeply. I texted my dear friend Johnny earlier to see what he was doing (he’s a pastor), and he sent back, “I’m down here with the sinners and the saints, the addicts and the druggies, the broken and the saved…wish you were here.” I smiled and watched that oil well flame in the distance. It burns tirelessly. I can’t. If I type a thousand Publisher Letters, they may all try to unpack the same concept that I may never truly appreciate: we are all the same. No matter the number of keystrokes I type, I might eternally seek and attempt to unravel the mysteries underneath the understanding that, while we are all so unique, we are so very, very hopelessly similar. We all seek the same: We all desire the beautiful. We all hope for the best. We all dream for the amazing. We are all beautiful. And we all fail. Every single day. And every single night. Right or wrong, I’m sipping my coffee at 4:27am overlooking those same oil fields in West Texas. I figured that I had passed the point of no return, and broke out the high octane caffeine a few minutes ago. I smile as I sniff my coffee and watch the sky turn the slightest color of orange. Today is mine. I think about that poem above a lot. When I first read it a few weeks ago I thought, “That’s pretty good.” Then I caught myself thinking about it while I drove my car. And while I checked the mail. And when I took the dog for a walk. And then I realized that the emotions in it are ones that I feel way too frequently. Especially on a cold West Texas night. Do you sit up at night and think about the things that you need to hurry FROM, so you can get to the NEXT? Do you mourn the missed adventure, while I planning
Smiling,
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ben@hillcountryexplore.com
EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
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January
Get out and enjoy the great Texas Hill Country! The most comprehensive events calendar. Send submissions to info@hillcountryexplore.com
JANUARY 2 FREDERICKSBURG First Friday Art Walk
Tour fine art galleries offering special exhibits, demonstrations, refreshments and extended viewing hours. www.ffawf.com 830-456-0422
JANUARY 6 BANDERA Cowboy Capital Opry
Enjoy Grand Old Opry-style entertainment hosted by Gerry and Harriet Payne. Silver Sage Community Center.www.silversagecorral.org 830-796-4969
JANUARY 8-10 LLANO Llano Junior Livestock Show
John L. Kuykendall Events Center. 325-247-5354
JANUARY 9 UVALDE Four Square Friday
Enjoy shopping, food, live music and art from 6–9 p.m. Downtown. www.visituvalde.com 830-2784115
JANUARY 10 Bandera Bandera 100K, 50K and 25K
Hill Country State Natural Area, 10600 Bandera Creek Road. www.tejastrails.com/Bandera 830-7964413
JANUARY 10 BOERNE Second Saturday Art and Wine
Enjoy complimentary beverages and hors d’oeuvres with art in local galleries. Various locations.www.secondsaturdayartandwine.com 830249-7277
JANUARY 10 KERRVILLE “POPS” Concert
Cailloux Theater. www.symphonyofthehills.org
JANUARY 10 NEW BRAUNFELS Roy Rogers Jr. with the Diamond W Wranglers in Concert
Begins at 7:30 p.m. Brauntex Theatre. www.brauntex.org or www.innewbraunfels.com 830-625-2385
JANUARY 10-11 BOERNE Market Days
Find hundreds of booths, food and live entertainment. Main Plaza. www.boernemarketdays.com 830-249-7277
JANUARY 11 BANDERA Frontier Times Museum Cowboy Camp
Enjoy listening to traditional cowboy music or bring your own guitar and join the song circle. Hours are 1–5 p.m. Frontier Times Museum, 510 13th St. www.frontiertimesmuseum.org 830-796-3864
JANUARY 11 KERRVILLE “Vocal Trash”
This electrifying theatrical show features a cappella harmonies, urban-style break dance and mesmerizing drumming. Cailloux Theater, 910 Main St. 830-896-9393
JANUARY 15-17 JOHNSON CITY Blanco County Youth Stock Show
Blanco County Fairgrounds. www.blanco.agrilife. org 830-868-7167
JANUARY 16-18 FREDERICKSBURG Trade Days
Shop with more than 350 vendors in six barns. At 355 Sunday Farms Lane. www.fbgtradedays.com 830-990-4900 or 210-846-4094
JANUARY 17 JOHNSON CITY 12th Annual Chili Cook-Off
Dinner is served at 6 p.m. There also will be a silent auction. First Baptist Church. 830-868-7252
JANUARY 17 LLANO Llano City Pickers
Citywide Garage Sale American Legion Hall.325/247-5354
JANUARY 17 SPICEWOOD Albert and Gage in Concert
Tickets required. Begins at 7 p.m. Spicewood Vineyards Event Center. www.spicewoodarts.org
JANUARY 17 SAN MARCOS Purgatory Trail Run 10 Miles and 5K
This trail race takes place on San Marcos’ beautiful Purgatory Trails. San Marcos Drive.www.athleteguild.com/running/san-marcos-tx/2015-3rd-annualpurgatory-trail-run
JANUARY 17-18 FREDERICKSBURG Hill Country Gem and Mineral Show
Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park. www.fredericksburgrockhounds.org
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JANUARY 18 FREDERICKSBURG Pianist Doug Montgomery in Concert
Fredericksburg United Methodist Church. www. fredericksburgmusicclub.com 830-990-2886
JANUARY 23 NEW BRAUNFELS The Oak Ridge Boys in Concert
Begins at 7:30 p.m. Brauntex Theater. www.brauntex.org 830-625-2385
JANUARY 23-24 SAN SABA San Saba County Quilt Show
Enjoy quilt displays, antique bed turning and quilts displayed around town. San Saba Civic Center. www.sansabachamber.com 325-372-5141
JANUARY 24 BANDERA Wild Game Dinner
Mansfield Park Show Barn, 2886 Hwy 16 N. 830796-3091
JANUARY 24 LUCKENBACH Luckenbach Blues Festival
Luckenbach Texas Dance Hall.www.luckenbachtexas.com 830-997-3224
JANUARY 29 BROWNWOOD Brownwood Community Concert Association Presents “Bronn Journey” Victory Life Church, 901 CC Woodson. 325-6436049
JANUARY 30 BOERNE Canadian Brass in Concert
Champion High Auditorium, 201 Charger Blvd. www.boerneperformingarts.com 830-331-9079
JANUARY 31 BOERNE Random 1st annual chilibowl
Come out to RANDOM and watch as food trucks battle it out for Chili Supremacy
JANUARY 31 FREDERICKSBURG Hill Country Indian Artifact Show
Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park. www.hillcountryartifacts.com 830-626-5561
FEBRUARY 1 BOERNE Superbowl viewing party
Come out to RANDOM and watch the big game on our big screens
EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
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By Rene Villanueva
A beautiful golden bear of an alarm clock named Bella came ringing her collar into the den. I was hiding under a pile of blankets and pillows when she managed to sniff my face out from all of it. I tried to ignore her and get back to a dream. Back in Texas, warm sunlight, a lake like heaven, where I’m kissing her or the sky itself. Everything is weightless, lifting the sun, the water, the two of us. The music of her voice as clear as the lake and the day itself. But it’s Bella and her big drooping lips, and the cold Ohio morning pulling me back. I guess the alarm was set just for me, because Bella didn’t bother to wake anyone else up. The slate gray sky brushed at the horizon with strands of soft red; the light was fighting to get out. It was another cold day. I got a chill that ran deep under my skin. I think the sun rises differently in Ohio. Though this is where I wanted to be, I was still dreaming about home. I rolled over to my suitcase stuffed in a corner of the room, marked by the pile of clothes spilling onto the carpet, and hunted down my jacket. I needed
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it even inside the house. I stepped over my brothers and snuck out of the den with Bella in lead. Quiet. Dan’s house was held in the perfect unbroken suspension of morning. Guitars on nearly every wall waiting to be plucked, waiting to break from their stillness. Guitars are never good at resting. Bella went off to the kitchen in search of her breakfast and left me in the empty room. I can’t tell you how crazy it is to be so close to an amazing studio, and having to wait for everyone else to wake up in order to get to work. If it was up to me, I’d have run yesterday’s session all through the night, and we’d already be into another song. It helps to keep my head in one state. And now that I was up and alone in the house, I had a feeling calling me over to the tracking room. That’s where I’ve got to be. I turned on the lights, walking quietly past the Hammond organ, past the drums. My hands and mind wanted to shake off the cold and distance with a little music, and rummaged through a rack of guitars like I was in a music store. I found a ‘64 Texan still in its bed case ready for me. Dan and his engineer,
EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
Bob, had so much cool gear you wouldn’t believe it. Large barely begins to describe it... and the Paul McCartney ‘64 Texan was only one tiny, amazing part. I closed my eyes. The smell of the guitar, the wood, so pristine, almost transported straight out of the sixties. For a brief moment, I remember my dream. It hadn’t been that long, but almost completely slipped my mind already. And a song I had written a while back came into my mind... My girl’s got everything she needs, big cars, house, his money and TVs, he tries to buy her all life’s big luxuries/ My girl’s got everything she needs so her love just won’t come to me I tried my best, but Love’s no security/ My girl’s as lonely as can be but she ain’t got the heart to be free She’s in his house I wonder if she thinkin’ about me... “Is that what we’re doing next?” “Hey,” Dan caught me by surprise, “morning...” a slight pulse of embarrassment ran through my veins as I put the Texan back in its case. He was carrying his daughter and a cup of coffee. Still in full family mode, they weren’t even dressed for the day. She threw her head down against his shoulder to hide her face. “This one sounds good... when the dudes are ready, we’ll hit it.” “You tell me man, I’m ready to go.”
Lunch Break Part 1 Our table’s crammed with food and wrappers, mostly burgers and the five of us lounging back in chairs bolted to the floor. Good days. My brothers, my cousin and Dan. All family. We’d already finished half of our second record in three days. Of course we were prepared and that didn’t hurt. We had our songs arranged and rehearsed before we ever got to Akron. After Abe gave the arrangements a onceover, we’d track the music as a group, following Jaime’s drum lead through each take. Two or three passes, then overdubs, vocals, and the whole song done in an afternoon. One song, soon to be one of two title tracks, Big Red, had us struggling and ready for a lunch break. “She knew what I was about... Hell that’s the thing about border towns man, everyone knows you before they meet you. Besides, it was a party. I mean the next day... the next day got crazy.” While Dante’s on a story about his party days in Laredo, I’m now taking down a basket of Cajun fries. I checked out around the time the food came; I’ve heard this one before, plus I can’t stop thinking about the problem with this song...
A Few Hours Earlier “It’s just not sitting right.” Dan flipped knobs like a mad man with several strings of jumper cables around his neck, his chair squeaked as he swung around the mixing room. His mind had been in another zone for the last half hour of vocal takes. He quickly moved his empty mug off of the console and adjusted more knobs. “Damn...” I wanted to say it, but I held it back. It kills me when he we hit problems like this. I need more details; specifics: is it too much, not enough, too sharp, flat, what does he mean? But he’s so focused I don’t want to disturb Dan’s process.
January 2015
“I think I know what we need to do,” I said to Dante Finally his chair spun around toward us. “The vocals are after his story ended. “It’s all about the rhythm; it’s just good,” he said while checking his phone. “I like it... I just off to me. Maybe the guitar, maybe if it had some more don’t know if it needs something else, or not, or what... substance ya know? Just put some movement in it. Listen but we’re not there yet.” I can’t help but take these things personally. Not because I think I’m great, but because I Everyone else and the real problems want what’s best for the band. I want to nail my vocals. I want of life are so much more important a definitive yes. I think I’d even than a song. But a song can be all the take a definitive no more than difference when you have a problem. It just a “not there yet.” The microphone hung in the can lift you up or throw you deeper. tracking room like it had defeated me, not eager to go through that again. to what he’s doing here.” I pointed to the speaker, but “Should I go for it again?” I asked, half not wanting an Dante’s looking away to the other side of the table, resanswer. taurant, maybe nowhere. “Meh,” Jaime and Abe mumbled from behind me. “Maybe,” Dante’s lips barely move, “I don’t know.” Seems they weren’t into that idea either. And the song finishes. Dan scratched his beard and finished up a text. “Let’s “We ready to hit it again?” get lunch. I think I know a spot. You dudes want burg ers?” His idea got a much better response.
Lunch Break Part 2 [Laughing] We might be at the end of the story... The sounds of the restaurant digesting, the mouths, the talking, the eating, and I leave the table for a refill. Whenever I hit a songwriting problem, I like to get out into the public, back into the world and let my mind ramble... something like this. Everyone else and the real problems of life are so much more important than a song. But a song can be all the difference when you have a problem. It can lift you up or throw you deeper. Any song at the right moment. How tragic it would be to hear the wrong one. Or do we only get what we need? I know it’s strange to think so much, but my mind has to do these flips; I can’t turn it off and it won’t stop. I make music for other people, maybe even these people. I wonder how many of them even listen to rock n’ roll. How many have sat down with headphones to a full album? How many hear what the writer is telling them? The line for the coke machine is four deep, and I wish I had noticed that before I got here. That’s one danger of a busy mind, always missing the obvious. But I’ve got a good way to pass the time; a game I invented when I was in high school. Trying to guess what music strangers listen to. There’s a young couple, 30’s, at a high table. He’s in jeans, work boots and a trucker hat. Hands cut and dirty. Textbook blue collar. Her hair’s stripped blond and black, skirt tight, not a lot of makeup but she didn’t forget her blood red lipstick. I would have’em as Springsteen fans, but they’ve been ignoring the classic rock playing. They’re straight modern country: Rascal Flatts and Miranda Lambert. The guy in front of me at the coke machine, in his 40’s, dress shirt and fuzzy vest, bald, and well off. He’s been rocking out to everything from the eighties. I don’t know why, but he’s putting off a Phil Collins vibe. A curly headed kid taps his foot against the metal legs of his chair; red chucks, and his unlaced strings flapping out of time. He hits the heel so hard one shoe falls to the floor. He’s a real mid-west rocker, even if he doesn’t know it yet. A future Uncle Doug. And that’s when I hear it for the first time. Chuck Berry’s Almost Grown starts playing overhead and it comes to me. The table’s quiet again.
A Song Is Born
Bella runs through the playback room. Her tail hitting against the legs of everyone on the couch as she gets chased away by Dan’s daughter. It didn’t take long for the guitar to find its place, and after a few takes, the song had found a whole new position. We’re listening to the playback; the speakers are loud enough for the sound to push into your chest. Dan’s back to being a madman on his console, but this time I can tell he’s really into it. Like he’s been hit by a jolt of adrenaline and every movement is sharp and inspired. “This is sounding a lot better. This,” I said getting closer to the center of the sound, where the stereo speaker’s direction meet together in a beautiful sweet spot above Dan’s chair, “is where we need to be. I can feel this.” Dan nods his head, but he’s lost in some thought far away. The track reaches to me, to some deep place of understanding and I haven’t said it yet, but I start to get a feeling to cut all of the vocals completely. This song needs to be an instrumental. Abe’s standing next to me, studying quietly. His face is serious and I can’t help but wonder if he’s knowing it too. Feeling the movement. The song’s better this way. And I’m over the pain of my failed vocal take ‘cause the song’s feeling right. It’s everything fifties: Chuck Berry, Everlys, sugar, burgers and car hops. And the taste of Big Red comes into my mind. The atomic red soda of my hometown. The fuel of my youth. Being a kid, running at my grandparents’ ranch, summer, the lake, and a lot of beautiful things. I don’t think my words could cover that. It’s all a big landscape. A wordless vision. I want to be in those moments. That dream. The sun. The lake. Home. Family. Me. And the curly haired kid I saw at the soda fountain. From his Ohio. And my Texas. Tastes that make a memory. The nostalgia. It’s not always real. It’s never as perfect. Colored in halftruth, sweetening away any contradictions. But that’s what all this was. Rock and Roll... History the way we want to remember it.
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15
WINE
hang a right in
San Francisco A little adventure to Wente vineyards in the beautiful Livermore Valley, just 45 minutes east of San Francisco. By Tom Geoghegan TGeoghegan@boernewineco.com
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
B
efore GPS and sophisticated navigation devices, you would ask a total stranger for directions on how to get to a particular destination. And generally the directions were clear cut and very precise. “Well you head down this here road for about 4 miles, and then where the old gas station used to be, you hang a right. Just mosey on down that road a ways, and you can’t miss it.” Gratefully those are pretty much bygone days, but recently I heard a variation on this by friends returning from the wine country in northern California. They were looking forward to visiting a winery I had recommended in the shop, and asked the Hertz counterman at the airport for the local version of directions to this area. And his response was a classic response. “Oh that winery. It’s a great one to visit and very easy to get to. Just head into the city from the airport location here, and when you’re in San Francisco, instead of heading north to the Golden Gate, just hang a right.” Well, maybe just a bit too simplified. They were heading to the Wente vineyards, located on the other side of the bay across the Oakland Bay Bridge, in the beautiful Livermore Valley, just 45 minutes east of San Francisco. The history of the wine country goes back to George Yount, who started growing grapes in 1839. Others followed, including Charles Krug, who founded his winery in
nay in 1936, utilizing the Wente clone they had developed. Post-war interest by a few pioneers included the McCrea’s (Stony Hill), Louis Martini Jr, and James Zellerbach of Hanzell winery, who planted in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s. Interest continued to grow, literally and figuratively, with more acreage planted with an increasing variety of clones. The modern highlight was the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, which used the Wente clones and was the white varietal winner in the famous Judgment of Paris in 1976, beating the best of the French selections. Today, almost every major Chardonnay producer utilizes the Wente clone. Maybe Charlie Barra, a California grower for 66 years, sums it up best. He still works the weathered and wizened block of vines he planted back in the late 1950s. “When I wanted to plant new vineyards back in the 1950s, the Wentes, Bob Mondavi, Louis Martini, and the Christian Brothers all paid me more money per ton to work with the high quality Wente clone. As a farmer, one of the smartest things I ever did was to follow their lead!” Livermore Valley has a way of repeating itself. We talked about Robert Livermore planting grapes, but skipped over Charles Wetmore, California’s first agricultural commissioner, and the founder of Cresta Blanca vineyards in 1882. Guess where the first wine was produced that won the 1889 Paris Exposition….the Livermore Valley. By the early 1960s, Livermore Valley had as much area planted to
Finally, the wine industry is all about relationships. And you folks know the special place that family run wineries have in my heart. So, it was a special treat when I received a copy of the Wente family’s favorite recipes, complete with wine pairings, and done in collaboration with the folks at America’s Test Kitchen. Here is a listing of the items: • Baked Eggs Florentine, served with Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay • Broiled Pork Tenderloins, served with Wente Southern Hills Cabernet Sauvignon • Oven-Steamed Mussels, served with Wente Louis Mel Sauvignon Blanc • Burgundy Pot Roast, served with Wente Sandstone Merlot • Red Wine Risotto, served with Wente Charles Wetmore Cabernet Sauvignon • Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes, served with Wente Reliz Creek Pinot Noir • Best Almond Cake, served with Wente Riverbank Riesling Kathy was psyched about several of the recipes, and has already scanned them into her recipe file. If anyone is interested in these, please drop me a quick e-mail and I’ll be happy to send it out. As to the wines, we’ve carried several of the wines in the shop, and would be happy to special order any of their wines for you.
Now if I can just get Coach Popovich into the shop, we’d have the “official wine” of the Spurs all set to go. 1861. He employed a number of apprentices, among them a pair of brothers named Beringer, and a young man by the name of Carl Wente. The Beringer brothers went on to found their namesake winery in 1876, while Carl looked for an alternative to the Sonoma/Napa planting regions. South east of San Francisco, he discovered the Livermore Valley, named for Robert Livermore who first planted grapes in 1840. Carl bought 47 acres and established Wente vineyards in 1883. About the same time, there was a natural artesian spring in a remote area of the valley that was popular with the local cowboys, including a vaquero by the name of Joaquin Murrieta, but we’ll come back to him later. The rest of their story is literally history, as Carl founded the oldest, continuously operating, family owned winery in the state of California, now spanning 5 generations. Most multi-generational family operations run into a variety of problems, and winery families are generally no exception. But this family continues to innovate and re-invent themselves. After over 130 years, they have some pretty interesting stories to share…so many stories, so little space. Where do we begin? Do we start with Zorro, clones, Arroyo Seco, Karl D. Wente, the Greg Norman designed golf course, or the myriad of other stories? Here are just a few of their highlights. A perfect example is the Chardonnay grape. Today, Chardonnay is arguably the most popular white varietal grown in California. But in 1948, there were less than 200 acres under cultivation, compared to 100,000+ acres currently. The main white grapes grown then were Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion. But Ernest, studying at UC Davis in 1912, had started to do research on the Chardonnay varietal, and persuaded his father Carl to import cuttings from France. With help from UC Davis, they worked on developing a better mousetrap utilizing native budwood. After experimenting with the best examples over 40 years, they created the Wente clone. Shortly before WWII, they had successfully harvested the first varietally labeled Chardon-
January 2015
vine as Napa, but we know how that story ended. But Livermore continued to re-invent itself, utilizing cuttings from Chateau Margaux and d’Yquem. Louis Mel is the French immigrant who felt he could utilize these cuttings to produce great wines, and in the 1880s, purchased a 92 acre property he christened Murrieta’s well. He planted Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion, and constructed one of the early gravity flow wineries. And did we mention the vaquero that the well was named for? Joaquin was the legendary figure that roamed the surrounding hills as a bandito or Robin Hood, depending which side of the fence you were on. He was the literal inspiration for the Zorro series of TV shows, books, and movies we enjoy today. The Wente family purchased the property from Louis Mel in the 1930s, but it wasn’t till the ‘90s that they had the inspiration to produce a red and a white blend, and name them appropriately the “Spur” and the “Whip”. The “Spur “is a powerful blend of Petite Sirah, Petite Verdot, Cab, Malbec and Cab Franc, while the “Whip” is a blend of Semillion, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Orange Muscat, Viognier, Gewürztraminer and Riesling. As our regular customers know, we have a real weakness in the shop for blends that are well executed, and these two have consistently over delivered. Now if I can just get Coach Popovich into the shop, we’d have the “official wine” of the Spurs all set to go.
Update, and hot off the presses…as I was finishing up this article, the December/January issue of Beverage Dynamics, a trade publication, hit the news stand. They listed the top wines reviewed by the magazine in 2014 that were rated 94 points or better. Out of the 54 wines, 2 of the Wente wines were listed…The “N” Degree Cabernet, and the Charles Wetmore Cabernet. Congratulations! Lastly, the end of the holiday season gives us all that opportunity to reflect on the year past, and set our goals for the next year. The trinity of holiday meals offers us that perfect venue to celebrate great friends and families, with great food and great wine. And so to all that I know…may your paths be straight, may smiles surround your table, may the wines be chilled, may you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings, slow to make enemies and quick to make friends. And may you know nothing but happiness from this day forward. Sla’inte
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
HISTORY
STANLEY SIDNEY STEIN LEVYSON A B O E R N E M A N ’ S C O U R A G E , C H A N G E S T H E FA C E O F A D I S E A S E By Marjorie Hagy | thefam2001@yahoo.com
‘Each time someone stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.’ - Robert F. Kennedy
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
Previous page: Sidney Levyson/Stanley Stein in his later years Left: Entrance to Marine Hospital 66 Above: Indian Camp Plantation
Boerne resident Sidney Levyson took on leprosy, changed his name, had his health deteriorate, and somehow managed to live out every dream he ever had. Like so many of us, the young man had it all planned out. He could look down the long vista of his years at the careful, peaceful life he'd planned. He was a pharmacist like his father before him, he would get married, have children, a home and a quiet respectability in this mountain town that had come to finally accept his family. And, like many of us, he would see the reins of his well-ordered future yanked from his hands and his life would end up millions of miles and, in some ways, centuries away from where he'd thought he was going. But like those few who choose to thrive where they land in spite of their well-laid plans, those who know that hope more than bravery makes up the better part of courage, this young man bowed to those forces. He allowed fate, accident, and God swept over his life, instead of standing immovable in their path with fists clenched refusing to relinquish his own will. This young man like the very few heroes laid down his weapons and gathered up tools instead with which to build a new future. 'Instead of bemoaning the things that I have lost,' said the man at the end of his life, 'I try to make the most of what I have left...for everything you have missed, you have gained something else.' And in the end, not only the man but the world itself, gained something extraordinary. He was born Sidney Maurice Levyson in 1899. His family was from Gonzalez, Texas, but their wagon might've boasted a bumper sticker that said that though they hadn't been born in Boerne they got here as quickly as they could. Sidney's grandfather Paul Levyson was an 'old-school patriarch, and only-partially-reconstructed Confederate, a deep-in-the-heart-of Texan and a successful businessman,' who'd served with the Confederacy and fought at the siege of Vicksburg in the Civil War, and now owned the general store in Gonzalez. He lived in a rambling colonial-style house there with six of his nine children- five of his unmarried daughters, and his son Albert and Albert's wife and little son Sidney. Sidney was spoiled rotten in the bosom of this big family until his fifth year, when his father left the management of the old man's store and moved briefly to Shiner, Texas, before settling finally in Boerne. Albert Levyson was a registered pharmacist, and he opened up his drugstore in the then almost-new Rud, Carstanjen building on the southwest corner of the Square right in the middle of town. I think it's an easy trap to fall into, this romanticizing of the past in a rosy, idyllic light, a history softened with the patina of nostalgia until the past seems like a kinder, gentler world. But the truth is that Boerne in the early years of the 20th century wasn't filled with the capering carolers of Dickens on Main. Victorian England was a long way away from the isolated farming village in the hills above San Antonio peopled with hard-shelled, insular German stock, and a Jewish family like the Levysons didn't arrive to a thundering welcome. Germans haven't always been famed for their acceptance of Jews anyway, and by the time Sidney was born, Boerne had already fifty years to close in on itself, for its Ammanns and Vogts and Wollschlaegers to intermarry and intermingle and close ranks. So that when the Levysons rolled into town they weren't exactly met on the Square with a laurel and hearty handshake and a big banner proclaiming 'Welcome Jews!' Sidney's mother was a native-born German and since, as Sidney pointed out, 'many of the townspeople were first-generation Germans, my mother was delighted to be among them,' but the feeling was by no means mutual. 'My mother,' Sidney wrote, 'had cried herself in secret over the refusal of her supposed fellow-countrymen to make friends with the Juden.' But the year the Levysons arrived to set up shop in Boerne, 1904, was during the boom years of the town's resort years, and people suffering from tuberculosis and other lung and breathing disorders were pouring into town in droves, overwhelming Wilke's, Boerne's only other drugstore. The arrival of a new pharmacist provided a much-needed service. The family lived in an apartment in the back of the drugstore, and a doctor who also happened to be the mayor, also had his office in the building and became a good friend, no doubt
January 2015
helping to establish the family's goodwill with the Boerne folks. 'Old Dr. WT Reeve was a great friend of mine,' Sidney recalled, 'And often took me with him on house calls, at first in his horse and buggy and later in his Model T.' The boy and his family began slowly to make inroads, but slowly; there were still issues, age-old mistrust and suspicion of the Juden in their midst. 'We were the only Jewish family in town, and the close-knit German community was slow to accept us...the neighborhood boys often sent me home in tears with their taunts of "sheeny" and "Jew boy."' The result was that instead of public school, Sidney's parents made the decision to send him to the Holy Angel's Academy, operated by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word (it used to stand, along with Dr. Herff's St. Mary's Sanitarium, on the site of the new city campus.) 'I suppose my parents,' recalled Sidney, 'reasoned that the Good Sisters could not be overtly anti-Semitic.' Over the next seven years Sidney and his family did become more or less grudgingly accepted into their adopted community, so much so that for Sidney, some of his former tormentors became his closest friends. In 1914 he was assistance to the manager- a kind of gopher- of the Boerne White Sox, and later transferred to Boerne High School, where he graduated in 1915. He was interested in two possible careers: along with fellow BHS student Pauline Luckenbach, he wrote a weekly column for the Boerne Star, and was a frequent contributor to the Comfort News, and thought of going into writing full-time. When sent out on deliveries, he said, he could often be found instead hanging around the Star office. Sidney also confessed to being stagestruck, a devotee of all the tent shows that came through town in those days, and he always hoped for rain so they would be driven into the shelter of Ort's Opera House where he could pick up four bits ushering and catch the shows for free. When Dr. Reeve, as mayor, ran a medicine show out of town, Sidney said, 'he almost lost my friendship.' So in his senior year he sent away for literature from both journalism and theater schools, but his dad nixed both ideas. 'I'm not getting any younger,' lectured the old man, 'And I've got a going concern here that will have to be taken over one of these days. You'd better study pharmacy.' So he did. He graduated from the University Of Texas School Of Pharmacy in Galveston in 1919, but his education was interrupted for a time when he was drafted into service in WWI. Finally after graduating, he came back to Boerne to tend the family store. Sidney worked hard and he played hard. He loved to dance at the Boerne Dance Club, whose members he once talked into staging an ambitious musical. He thought of nothing but driving his car into San Antonio and dancing the night away on the roof of the Gunter Hotel, driving home in the wee hours and getting up again to go to work in the store. It was a good life, a happy, carefree life, and it seemed to stretch before him, unbroken, down into the far-distant future. But around this time, Sidney began to have some mysterious symptoms. His face would often swell up, and his eyes would become red and puffy, and a strange red welt appeared on his wrist. Dr. Reeve, puzzled, sent him to a specialist in San Antonio, who diagnosed hyperacidity- a popular diagnosis at the time- and sent him on his way with a bottle of Robert's Antacid Tablets. And that was the end of that. Albert Levyson eventually sold his drugstore in Boerne, and the family moved to San Antonio where Sidney took a job at Wagner's Drugstore with Boerne friends Max Theis and Charlie Saunders. He had been, he said, having 'a gay time in Boerne,' and his mother 'was at last happy in Boerne. She had made her peace with the German colonists and had been accepted as a member of the Royal Neighbors and the Sisters of Hermann'. She had also performed as a soloist at the annual Saengerfest, but Albert's health was failing, and his wife and son talked him into accepting the offer for the store and retiring to San Antonio. Then it was in 1920, while Sidney was working at Wagner's, that a Dr. McGlasson happened to notice that persistent red spot on Sidney's wrist and asked the young man to drop by his office. By now, Sidney also sported another welt on his knee and after a short course of radium treatment Dr.
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McGlasson took skin scrapings from the welts for analysis. Sidney went back to the doctor's office the following day: '"What is it, Doctor," I blurted. "Have I got cancer?" '"No, no. Nothing like that." The doctor smiled reassuringly and I immediately grew more apprehensive. "You have leprosy," he said.' Leprosy. As a kid in his father's drugstore, Sidney remembered a mysterious woman who, he said, 'had haunted my early years like a recurring nightmare.' He said she'd come from an aristocratic old German family from San Antonio and lived in seclusion in the hills of Boerne. Rumor had it that she had once been a famous beauty, an actress or an opera singer, but now she came to town only rarely and in a closed carriage, dressed heavily in black and with her face covered in veils. 'Every Hausfrau in town knew that the disfigurement mercifully hidden behind the veil was certainly brought on by the wicked use of cosmetics, a practice abhorrent to the decent burgers of Boerne.' When Sidney's parents discussed this mysterious patient of Dr. Reeves' in his presence, they spoke in German, but Sidney recognized the German word, Aussatz: leprosy. Leprosy! 'Leprosy,' Sidney wrote, 'was something out of the Bible, or, at best, the Middle Ages. But leprosy today in Boerne, Texas was unthinkable!' And now, this doctor stood in front of him and told Sidney Levyson that he was a leper. Dr. McGlasson, who, according to Sidney, was 'at least twenty years ahead of his time in his approach to the disease', tried to reassure the devastated young man. He told Sidney that he was to go on working, go on with his social life and that leprosy wasn't as contagious as measles or whooping cough and that nobody would catch the disease from casual contact. Sidney barely heard what the doctor said. 'Leprosy! The word was not a diagnosis - it was a pronouncement of doom. My hopes and ambitions were collapsing about me. My future was in ruins. My present? A great, cold emptiness...' He told his parents, who were naturally worried but took the news calmly enough. Their concern for Sidney's condition was overshadowed just then by Albert's health. He died at Christmas time in 1921. Sidney's mother fell apart, and Sidney quit his job to take her back to Boerne, 'where she slowly regained composure amid the sympathy, the lieder, the sauerbraten and mandelshnitten of old friends.' On Sidney's return to San Antonio and to a new job at a new drugstore, he threw himself into his work and into a wild social life, active at Temple Beth-El and with the San Antonio Little Theater. Friends told him he'd never looked better. He determinedly put his diagnosis to the back of his mind and he felt like he was on top of the world. But his 'secret bacteria,' he wrote, 'were not to be denied for long.' In a matter of years, patches began to appear with increasing frequency, and on his face, where they couldn't be hidden. He hid from his friends, going to work only at night and hiding in his bathroom when people came to call. He became a stranger to his friends, one of whom didn't even recognize him when they spoke face to face. And finally he and his mother fled San Antonio, secretly, and went to New York. Once there, the doctor he saw reported Sidney to the Department of Health. American quarantine laws of the time dictated that sufferers of leprosy be locked up and isolated without recourse to legal protest. He was swept away, almost immediately, and Sidney Maurice Levyson disappeared into the night and off the face of the earth. 'I had arrived at US Marine Hospital No. 66, Carville, Louisiana,' he wrote, 'at ten o'clock on that Sunday morning, March 1, 1931, I became an exile in my own country.' In 1894, an abandoned sugar plantation on the banks of the Mississippi River deep in Louisiana, Carville had first become home to five men and two women suffering from leprosy and the mandatory quarantine laws which restricted their every movement. The Louisiana Leper Home's motto was 'a place of refuge, not reproach; a place of treatment and research, not detention,’ but many of the patients who entered the leprosarium never left. In 1921, the US Public Health Service took over and the place became US Marine Hospital 66, the National Leprosarium of the United States. Sidney's first view of the place was of the high fences topped with barbed wire, and of the uniformed guards ensuring the lepers didn't escape into the outside world. When Sidney entered Carville, he was immediately stripped of his right to vote, forbidden to use the telephone or to mix with anyone outside the hospital. He even had to leave his beloved Boston Terrier, Michael Dugan, behind. And he left something else behind as well. He left Sidney Maurice Levyson at the front gate of the leper colony. He chose, in order to save his family the shame and stigma attached to the condition that many people still looked on less as a medical diagnosis than a scourge of God, to become a new person. In the few seconds he was given to state his name, he became Stanley Stein case number 746, at Carville Leprosarium. On his first day in Marine Hospital 66 he was told of another patient, a smart man and a philosopher, a man whom he would have liked, but who was no longer there- he had killed himself by drinking a bottle of Lysol. It would have been so easy for Stanley, nee Sidney, to have fallen apart like that, locked away in this foreign place - in this no-man's-land within his own country that had stripped him of all his rights, his very personhood and his dignity. It would have been the simplest thing of all, to lay down
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and quit fighting. 'How long, I wondered, must a man cower under the humiliation of being thrust beyond the pale before he could muster the courage to destroy himself?’ he mused. 'To what depths of despair and hopelessness must he sink to prefer the slow, excruciating torture of death by Lysol? Was this a hint, on my first night at the leprosarium, of what might be in store for me? Wasn't it enough that I had to fight the ravages of the disease without confronting the strictures of society, emasculation of the ego, and disintegration of the soul? Was this the beginning of the end? Was there no future for me?' There is a time, I believe, for many of us, perhaps all, when we stand naked in front of the mirror wearing only our souls, and look face to face at God. My moment came on a deck looking into an Iowa autumn. Someone else has looked into the abyss from the window of an airplane, or from a battle field or a trench, and some in their own bedrooms or on the sofa or on the altar of a church- at some point we all find ourselves in that dark night of the soul. Stanley Stein, so lately Sidney Levyson, lay in his room in the cottage in a leper colony in Carville, Louisiana, his future derailed, his dreams of writing, of acting, even his education in pharmacy gone. His life as he knew it was over. He would never leave Carville. He would die there, in fact. And when he died, he would be famous all over the world and would have changed the perception of leprosy and brought about widespread compassion and understanding for its victims. In addition to Case #746, to Stanley Stein, he would also become known as the Carville Crusader for his campaigns to change the perception of leprosy, lobbying to promote the label 'Hansen's disease' for the condition with which he and his people suffered. This was his most passionate project, and one to which he devoted his life. Two months after Stein arrived at Carville he began publishing the Sixty-Six Star (named for his beloved Boerne Star) on mimeograph paper, putting his dreams of being a journalist back into action even as he slowly lost his sight due to his disease. The Sixty-Six Star ceased publishing in 1934 because of Stanley's illness, but was reborn as simply The Star in 1941 with the mission 'Radiating the Light of Truth on Hansen's disease', a new printing press, and eventually an international audience. It had readers behind the Iron Curtain and in many foreign countries where Hansen's disease was prevalent. It became a respected semi-medical journal sometimes used as a teaching manual. Stein remained its editor until his death. By this time, Stanley was totally blind, but his light was undimmed. He was instrumental in organizing an American Legion Post within the hospital for veteran sufferers of HD and got the endorsement of several veteran's groups who sponsored the paper, contributing to the cost of equipment, postage and supplies and even selling subscriptions. Stanley Stein also saw his dreams of the stage come true at Carville, organizing a Little Theater program for the residents of Carville which was much beloved and enjoyed some critical acclaim. He was the first recipient of the Damien-Dutton Award, 'for outstanding contribution to public knowledge of Hansen's disease', which has also been presented to Mother Teresa and President John Kennedy. He was a powerful force in the elimination of many of the rules, born of superstition, fear and ignorance, which kept HD patients isolated as prisoners, such as the removal of their right to vote and the practice of sterilizing their outgoing mail. He interviewed people from all over the world and counted many as his friends, including actress Tallulah Bankhead who 'wined and dined' him whenever he was in New York- yes, in New York, because the Carville Crusader had made people realize that people with Hansen's disease weren't dangerous and didn't have to be shut off from the world. But he lived at what had become his beloved Carville, in the cottage he called 'Wit's End', until the end of his life, going to work at the Star each morning promptly at 8:30. He never married and never earned a cent in his job as editor. Towards the end of his life he settled in and finally wrote the book he'd been promising everyone he'd write someday. What he turned out was Alone No Longer: The Story of a Man Who Refused to Be One of the Living Dead. Stanley Stein, Case #746, the Carville Crusader died in 1967 and was buried alongside his parents in Temple Beth-El's old Palmetto Street Cemetery in San Antonio, under a stone that says Stanley Maurice Levyson. He'd dreamed of being a writer, a journalist, of going on the stage, but fell in with grace to his father's wishes and pictured a happy, peaceful, anonymous future compounding his prescriptions over a counter in Boerne. And when that future was destroyed in one devastating blow, when the young man from Boerne, with his future all mapped out, was handed news worse than he ever imagined possible (diagnosed with a disease he thought had only existed in another time and in another world) he was bowed but not broken. And he did become a writer, and he did go on the stage. Because he lived- because he chose to live, and because of the way he chose to live- he changed the face of a disease, and made the lives of thoughts of people living with a disease better and happier. 'I try to make the best of each day,' mused Stanley Stein at the end of his life. 'Not grieving over yesterday, and not being too concerned over what may happen tomorrow.' And that, it strikes me, is a pretty fine definition of courage.
EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
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Our beautiful Cellar is located across from Cibolo Creek on River Road in Boerne, Texas. Tingo Vino is all about bringing a unique Texas wine selection to this wonderful community. As Tingo Vino grows, so does the wine list. With newly added wines ranging from Chile to California there is a little something for everyone. With an outdoor patio facing the creek we have created a casual atmosphere for everyone to enjoy. Just two blocks from downtown Boerne, Tingo Vino is the perfect spot to sit down and unwind for the day.
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January 2015
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MUSICAL arts
MASTERS OF MUSICAL PRESENTATIONS With numerous television appearances, live performances, seemingly unlimited musical genres, and worldwide praise, The Canadian Brass bring their unique flavor to Boerne Performing Arts
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
The Canadian Brass is the ultimate “numbers” music as well as popular songs and standards. In black tuxedos and white running shoes, this performing arts ensemble dresses with international flair, tailored to their hallmark of game. What other brass quintet can boast over pure entertainment! 60,000 online followers, 7,000 live appearances, Location, Location, Location 132 releases and millions of television viewers? Television appearances include The Tonight Show, Today and Entertainment Tonight. They are featured guest artists of Evening at the Pops with John Williams and the Boston If you have ever heard a recording of a brass Pops, Beverly Sills’ Music Around the World and numerous PBS specials. For forty years, quintet performing Christmas Carols then you they have spanned the globe, presenting performances that have a uniquely engaging stage presence and rapport with audiences. Most recently finishing their 4-week tour of have heard The Canadian Brass. Meet the Artists Legendary Chuck Daellenbach, co-founder of Canadian Brass in 1970, continues to play a key role in all the group’s groundbreaking projects as he plays on his gold-plated and carbon bell tuba. Trumpeters Caleb Hudson and Christopher Coletti perform on their 24-karat gold-plated Bach trumpets. Bernhard Scully (horn) and Achilles Liarmakopoulos (trombone) round out the Fab Five. All with exclusive agreements with the Conn-Selmer Corporation. They are the “Kings of Brass” as described by the Ottawa Citizen. “The world’s leading brass ensemble” by The Washington Post. “The rock stars of the classical music world!” as stated in the Telegraph-Journal (New Brunswick). “The Canadian Brass brings its usual polish and panache…that leaves you with no words, just the impression that you’re in the presence of superhuman musicianship,” exudes ClassicToday.com.
Infinite Musical Styles A traditional composition can transition into a Dixieland tune with the record breaking 600+ works that have been transcribed, arranged and commissioned specifically for The Canadian Brass. Their musical genre includes works of Renaissance and Baroque masters, Classical works, marches, ragtime, Dixieland, Latin, jazz, big band, Broadway and Christian
January 2015
Asia, CB commemorated their historical cultural mission of 1977. Selected by then Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the ensemble was chosen and sent on a cultural mission as the first Western musicians allowed into China after the Cultural Revolution had suppressed Western art and music. Their newest album, Great Wall of China breaks into new territory, both musically and culturally.
Local Opportunity Boerne Performing Arts will open their fourth season with The Canadian Brass on Friday, January 30. Showtime is at 7:30pm at Boerne Champion Auditorium. At the time of publication, 222 seats remain for the event. Single ticket prices are $30-$40-$60 and $20 for students. Online ticket purchases (that you can print at home!) are available at BoernePerformingArts.com. Prefer to pick them up in person? Visit Boerne Convention and Visitors Bureau and/or Greater Boerne Chamber of Commerce. Additional questions? Call 830-331-9079. What’s next for Boerne Performing Arts? The 2015 season will continue with The New Shanghai Circus on February 26, 2015 (family fun for everyone!) and Neil Berg’s 102 Years of Broadway on March 15, 2015. Boerne Performing Arts continues their tradition of presenting entertainment for everyone in the convenience of our own small town!
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25
SPIRITUAL
By Kendall D. Aaron :: kendall@hillcountryexplore.com
G
rocery shopping for this man happens only between the hours of 7-8am. If I blow that time slot, then grocery shopping does not happen that day. I cannot STAND the crowded aisles throughout a typical day at the local HEB. My blood pressure rises, I get terribly impatient with the grandma reading the ingredients on the back of the cereal box while standing right in the middle of the aisle, you’re blocking EVERYONE, c’mon MOVE IT LADY! Needless to say, the best parts of me are not on display when I have to shop on a busy afternoon. Thus, I go early. Very early. Early in the mornings the overnight crew is still there and is stocking the shelves for the coming day. Yeah, they block the aisles a bit, but they’re normally quick to get out of the way and are generally very aware of the customers trying to get by. I like them. This morning I went shopping. I was doing my thing, zooming up and down each aisle, and eventually came across a guy stocking the bread aisle. I paused as I looked at him. He was young-ish (mid-20s), wearing headphones and was busy keeping to himself. He had tattoos poking out from his shirt on his arms as well as his neck. One eyebrow was pierced and his clothes were ill-fitting. I looked at him, and for some reason he looked familiar. I gawked at him for a few moments; he politely smiled at me and resumed his stocking. Awkwardly, I continued my stroll, racking my brain as to where I might know him. I finished my jaunt through the local HEB, but couldn’t figure out why that young man looked so familiar to me. Eventually, several hours later, it dawned on me: he looked like a dead-ringer for my first boss. The haircut, the jawline, everything…he was a clone of a highly successful young man who took yours truly under his wing and taught him a thing or two about the “real world” when I first started out. I smiled at finally figuring out why he looked so familiar,
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but eventually, I got to thinking a little deeper about the visual similarities between that young overnight grocery stocker and my highly successful boss from years gone by. I watch the show LOCKUP sometimes. I think that it airs on MSNBC, and is essentially a behind the scenes look at our prison system. We meet the inmates, see their struggles, and get to know them as people, and not just inmates. Invariably, when watching this, I try to imagine the particular inmate as a CEO. Or an accountant. Or a banker. Or a small business owner, smiling while talking about their successes. But no, they are sitting in a jail cell, sometimes for the rest of their lives. They’re just people, whose life has taken a wrong turn somewhere. They have all the same potential and all the similar dreams, but for whatever reason, they find themselves in the prison system. And yet, they sit there and hope and dream and pray. I also think about my friend, Mr. Overnight-Stocker-Man, and I think about all of those millions of men and women locked up in our prison system, and I just marvel at the possibilities of our lives. I don’t judge these people; that’s not my job. I don’t think to myself, “Hey, Mr. Overnight-StockerMan, you could probably do much better than this job if you only applied yourself!” What an arrogant position to be in. Yes, I want them to succeed, but what is success? I knew a senior citizen while I was in college that mowed lawns for a living, yet he had multiple degrees from multiple Ivy League schools. Why did he mow lawns? He told me that it made him happy. Isn’t that the true pursuit of life anyway? I suppose the larger message isn’t one of the pursuit of happiness, but rather the recognition and understanding that your definition of happiness isn’t necessarily the same
for someone else. Mr. Overnight-Stocker-Man might be absolutely thrilled with his job, and have no desire for much else. For that, I’m grateful. There are so many people walking on this earth in the pursuit of that which fulfills them, and it’s rarely what you or I would qualify as success. Sure, most of us might want a ton of money in the bank, a huge house, and a fiery red sportscar, but maybe we should step back and look around. Maybe we should observe our friends on this journey through life and understand that there’s a hellu-
The haircut, the jawline, everything…he was a clone of a highly successful young man who took yours truly under his wing
va lot more to happiness than material blessings. Oh, you’ve heard this sermon before? Well, then maybe the alternate ending is to remember that the thug you see in prison is capable of ANYTHING. With the right tools, the right knowledge, and the right amount of support, that convict could be anything and everything – just as God designed him. People are inherently fascinating. Each of us has equal potential and unique dreams to become what we seek. What do YOU seek? Are you on the path to finding it? And most importantly, is it a pure and holy pursuit of that which will truly satisfy you?
EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
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ART
Perspective on the Future Four art professionals lend their expertiese on the future of the art world here in Boerne for 2015.
By Gabriel Delgado
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
As we welcome in 2015, the New Year is always abuzz with the obligatory New Year’s resolutions, predictions and forecasts. With the eclectic mix of art professionals living and exhibiting in Boerne, many of these artists and art professionals have various perspectives on what the New Year is going to bring to the local, regional and international art communities and market. The quotes below are from a range of fine art professionals affiliated with Boerne through their gallery representations. Each person provided a unique perspective on the New Year, based on their role in the art world; from previous president of the Boerne Professional Artist, to artists who have representation in Texas and New Mexico, to artists gaining a foothold in the local art market. The professionals that gave us their perspective include Donald Darst of Carriage House Gallery, Sidney Sinclair of J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art, Jim LaPaso of Texas Fine Art Treasures and Mark Holly of Texas Treasures Gallery of Art & Artisans. The conversations with these individuals focused on a variety of topics and issues, pertaining to the following questions: • What is your personal art world perspective for 2015? • What art trends do you hope would continue into 2015? • Is the economic climate in Texas driving a pessimistic or optimistic perspective outlook? • How do you see the Boerne and Texas art community / economy growing or shrinking?
Donald Darst B.P.A. Member, Professional Artist Carriage House Gallery “From an art business perspective, both as an artist and a gallery partner/owner, I am very optimistic. There have been some hard times for art with the economy stalling but I believe we are well on the mend. The Carriage House Gallery was even able to grow its patron base with creative marketing and utilizing more e-commerce and social media. Continued investment and hard work paid off, with sales this year substantially over last year. I predict an even higher increase in art sales now that we have higher employment, great jobs in the energy sectors, increasing home sales and more new home building. Collectors always bought, but in my opinion, were a bit more cautious with economic concerns. They now have the green light. We should see an increase in collector buying of original work, especially of that by emerging artists. There are and will continue to be a lot of new buyers entering the market. Many are younger who have always liked art but are now feeling they can buy. For the new buyers, a friendly and educational environment will go a long way in building their loyalty. These new buyers, ardent users of social media, will spread the word of their experiences. Smart artists will look for an opportunity to demonstrate their work and to spread art knowledge. From an art community perspective, art will continue to be a draw. This is due to sustained good news in the economy. Businesses will up their sponsorship of art endeavors to market to the younger patrons entering the art market. Savvy chambers of commerce and the visitor bureaus will recognize the draw of art for tourism, work more closely with members of the art community, and start contributing to advertisement of art even hosting their own art shows. I predict more collaboration among the members of the art community, recognizing that they can draw more patrons, create a more recognizable art presence, and be a bigger boon for the community by working together.” Sidney Sinclair B.P.A. Member, Professional Artist J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art “I see the economy growing. Boerne can do nothing but get better, economically. With all the new homes being built, the influx of residences moving here from other parts of Texas and San Antonio, there will be a steady stream of economic stimulus, which should positively affect the art market. The new generations who are starting families and moving to Boerne for the nationally rated school districts, I hope are the next generation of art collectors. Based on a certain demographic of spending, we already know they have cultivated tastes and are, in most cases, art appreciators. Once they see the dynamic and vibrant art community, they will enviably want to support it and plug in, whether it is through collectorship, business sponsorship, or in-kind generosity. There is a certain romanticism that drives people to the Hill Country – nature, hills, and quality of life, which will continue to drive people to this area. This makes me very optimistic. As a fine art professional and art teacher, a positive economic indicator for me is that potential students are continuing to inquire about studying with me. However, we have to acknowledge the downtimes and valleys in the art market, by which are always followed with the upturns. I think the art market, if in a slump, always seems to pull out of any recession, and I believe this is true here locally in Boerne too. I feel Texas is economically strong and will continue to be so through 2015. The Eagle Ford Shale and Natural Gas productions in Texas have improved the financial structure that has allowed Texas and Boerne to weather some rough economic storms that other parts of the country have struggled with. The artists in Boerne are truly blessed. There is a solid foundation of artistic support that has steady grown over the last 20 to 30 years with the Boerne Professional Artist. Here in Boerne, the artists like to help each other out and want see each other succeed.
January 2015
I think we will continue to see the growth of artist based community initiatives with the City of Boerne, Hill Country Council for the Arts, and other non-art affiliated organizations. For 2015, I am hopeful that the people coming to Boerne will love what (we) the artists do, and want to invest in helping develop careers, projects and collections. As an artist, I feel very optimistic going into the New Year.
Jim LaPaso Professional Artist Texas Treasure Fine Art Gallery I have been an artist all of my life; first with furniture building and wood sculpture then metal sculpture, maturing into kinetic metal sculpture. I have been sculpting kinetics for 18 years. At one time, I had my work in 14 galleries all over the country. However, in the past 8 years I have gotten several commercial clients, and now have 32 major installations in the United States and abroad. I’m now in four great galleries and find it much more manageable. I have great hope for the 2015 art market. As far as the future, I plan to keep doing what I have been doing: designing high quality pieces that I love. I am very fortunate to have the success I have and don’t take it for granted.
Mark Holly Professional Artist Texas Treasures Art & Artisans Gallery So, as we near the end of 2014, I sit here asking myself how the market for fine art photography has been in 2014 and what is likely to happen in the next few years. This last year, in my opinion, has been one of slow but steady improvement….Having said that, I must qualify it by saying that this is true mostly for photographers who have begun to master the “three legged stool” of success. First, an artistic vision especially for the subject matter that is desirable in your market area, second, the technical skills to bring a quality product to life and third, an understanding of how to effectively market your artwork. If you visit the various galleries and art shows in your area, you will get an idea of the popular subject matter, then you must apply your unique style and vision. The second leg on the stool can take time, and these skills include not only post processing software, but knowledge of the materials used to present your art both digitally and in print. The third leg, marketing, requires face time with prospective buyers as well as an effective and efficient use of email, and social media such as Facebook, Twitter, your website, etc. On a personal level, I have been lucky enough to be able to show in the Texas Treasures Art & Artisans Gallery in Boerne, the Kerrville Arts and Cultural Center (KACC), various commercial buildings as well as an occasional art show. This has afforded me the opportunity to get the much needed face time with art lovers, which often results in a visit to my website. I have the good fortune of a background in computer science, previous ownership of a small gallery, printing, framing and showing my artwork, and an early start in analog/film photography, allowing me to develop my own style. The future for fine art photographers who have begun to master the “three legged stool” looks good, in my opinion. Since there are not many, if any, accurate records of sales in this price tier, one is left to speculate. So, given my personal experience and conversations with dozens of other photographers, I see a continuously improving market. The high end market also shows increasing sales in the million dollars plus range, giving us all something to dream about. Digital photography is now widely accepted as fine art and is available in major museums, galleries, and in the hands of connoisseurs and collectors. I have seen reports of many younger people entering the market, which also gives us hope for the future. In addition, the global economy will bring new avenues in which to market. The Chinese ever increasing middle class and thousands of new multi-millionaires, in particular, are currently driving a large part of this market. If our economy continues to improve as expected and we suffer no global catastrophes, the future looks bright indeed!
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FITNESS
THE EXPLORE
FITNESS CHALLENGE
CONCLUDES By Cathy De La Rosa
Happy awesome, amazing New Year and welcome to 2015. I can’t believe our 90 Day Fitness Challenge has come to an end. Even though the official “challenge” period is over, our challengers will be continuing on into 2015, pursuing their goals and continuing on their journey of a healthy and fit lifestyle. I’m excited they are setting goals and not plotting resolutions. Let’s take a look at each one and see how they’ve done, where they are, and where they want to continue to go in this upcoming year. A special thanks, again, to our Boerne YMCA for aligning with us and allowing our challenge group access to all that their facilities had to offer. We greatly appreciate it!
Ron Cisneros
Elizabeth Archilla
THE VICTIMS BEFORE
Lara Johndrow
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Stuart Chapman
EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
Stuart Chapman : Gained 2 lbs.
I have to say Stuart was fun, engaging and a joy to be around and work with. He was willing to do what he had to do and was game for anything. He will need to keep on with intentional workouts to build the muscle he wants AND for his own personal sanity. He will also need to eat a lot of food to build that muscle. Not just any foods, but nutrient-dense, good carb foods and protein to build muscle and not fat. With a family history of heart issues he will need to schedule cardio into his weekly agenda too. Stuart already leads a very active lifestyle, which is awesome, but to build muscle he will need to continue to be fiercely intense about lifting heavy things. 2015 goals: To keep building on his current max in the six specific areas he’s worked during challenge and to add more cardio and free weights. What physical results are you most proud of? Not one time did I throw up at a workout. (If that response doesn’t count, I would probably say my abs. They have more definition… if only Boerne was closer to the beach.) What new habits will you continue practicing now that the challenge is over? Routines are funny. If you are in a routine (in my case, that doesn’t include a workout), they can be hard to break, but once a new routine is established (that does include a workout), new habits become the norm. Working out is a new habit. I did not work out consistently or intentionally before. This has changed. What did you learn about yourself during the process? I learned that old dogs can learn new tricks. How have you changed mentally? I used to hate lifting weights. The thought of me doing a workout by solely pumping iron was foreign to me because I have never lifted. I have always run, played sports or hiked/biked. Although there was the desire to build muscle, there was no part of me willing to put in the work. This has changed. Lifting weights is no longer the enemy. It is now a means to achieve my goals. In what areas do you hope to improve going forward? The older I get the more important portion control, healthy food choices and staying active will be key to my health. Not that my diet is bad, but I really hope to improve my diet. This will be a big area to tackle in achieving my goals moving forward. What are you looking forward to now that the challenge is over? Not having to weigh in every Monday. Do you see any other fitness challenges in your future? Absolutely. There has been talk of participating in a Tough Mudder this spring… I guess I’m a sucker for punishment.
Elizabeth Archilla : 19 lb. loss.
Elizabeth had an eagerness to get started on this journey. Developing a habit of positive thinking will be crucial to her continued long-term success, as well as scheduling her workouts as an important part of her busy days. She will need to continue on with the cardio she has been doing through running, classes at the Y and her favorite Arc machine to burn fat. Strength training will also help tone her and develop muscle as she loses weight. Being disciplined with food and eating moderate and nutritionally balanced meals and snacks while maintaining a reasonable daily caloric intake to lose weight will be important to her long term success. 2015 goals: Keep doing what she’s doing and a 6 month goal of dropping the remaining 30 lbs. She wants to continue to make good choices in her food and activities. She’s learned to not make excuses and to get her workouts in. Her biggest victory is “having noticeably less of me for people to notice.” What physical results are you most proud of? I love that I can now lift heavier and run longer without feeling that I “need to walk.” Wearing a smaller size is a wonderful feeling! What new habits will you continue practicing now that the challenge is over? I will continue participating in activities that challenge my body and my mind. Powering through an exercise or workout that I once thought impossible is a great confidence booster. Group exercise at the Boerne YMCA is something I will continue to enjoy, as well as Nicole’s boot camps. What did you learn about yourself during the process? I learned that I really do have what it takes, mentally and physically, to accomplish something I really, truly want to do. How have you changed mentally? Mentally. Well, sometimes I thought I must be crazy to be doing some of the things I was getting myself into to further challenge my body.... Really, though. I’ve become so much more positive about myself and what I am truly capable of doing. How have your family and friends reacted to your progress? It is so refreshing to hear a loved one point out the results of your hard work. I was able to enjoy that over Thanksgiving with family and friends I hadn’t seen in quite some time. In what areas do you hope to improve going forward? I hope to continue improving in all of the areas that I’ve been working on over the past few months. I have set some goals for the next six months, which include getting to my goal weight, toning up my body and working harder on getting ab work done. What are you looking forward to now that the challenge is over? I’m waiting until January, but I can’t wait to go shopping for new clothing! I’m looking forward to actually enjoying the shopping.
January 2015
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Lara Johndrow: 16 lb. loss
Lara’s bright smile and quick witty sense of humor made her engaging from the minute I met her. Like most of us with families and activities, her challenge has been making time for workouts and being committed to them. Lara has been walking a few miles and challenging herself to run parts of it too. She plans to continue her walking/running and I hope she will work towards an official 5k. Lara will need to continue on with regimented cardio workouts in her week to help burn fat, as well as some strength training to build and tone muscle as she loses weight. Nutritionally, she will need to continue to eat moderate and healthy meals with a caloric intake suitable to support her future weight loss goals, and also minimize nutritionally empty foods. 2015 goals : A spring 5k which she hopes to run more than walk, and to lose 100 lbs using the “5lb at a time increments” to hit her goal. Her biggest victory is finishing this process and not quitting! What new habits will you continue practicing now that the challenge is over? Hopefully all of them! I know that I will continue to make better, healthier, food choices because that has become so easy and my body tells me when I make a bad choice. What did you learn about yourself during the process? That I am stronger than I thought, physically and mentally. How have you changed mentally? I never would have walked into a restaurant before and looked for the healthier things, even craved the healthier things. I feel better about myself and am happier for it! How have your family and friends reacted to your progress? I have the BEST family and friends! They have supported me through this, motivated me, listened to me vent, listened to me complain and showed me grace when I needed it. They have coached me, they have confided in me their struggles, they have cheered me on, they have been motivated to make some changes and they all continue to want me to succeed! In what areas do you hope to improve going forward? Weight loss, obviously, but I would also like to see an endurance improvement. What are you looking forward to now that the challenge is over? Nothing really, things won’t change much. The workouts won’t stop, the food choices won’t change and the friendships won’t end. Do you see any other fitness challenges in your future? For sure! The accountability and the community in a fitness challenge is worth all the 5Ks Cathie could make me run!
Ron Cisneros: 12 lb. loss.
Coming into the challenge with 89 lbs lost on his own, he had figured out the things that were necessary for success. He understood this was a daily process of a lifestyle change and not a diet or quick fix routine. He had new goals set for himself and it really made my job easy to keep reminding him of those and encouraging him to push for them. He’s lost the weight he desired but he will really need to hit the weights to build and develop more muscle in his body. He will also need to continue on as he’s done, eating well the majority of the time while allowing his occasional treats. Ron has been so faithful showing up at the Y at 5:30 each morning to work out, and also continuing with his walking/running. To accomplish his running goals he will need to target a race and begin to train intentionally for that goal. 2015 goals: Continue running and working on a 5k, with plans to do a 10k by summer. Specific work to slim his belly and drop the last few pounds as well as build muscle in his arms.
What physical results are you most proud of? I had a lot of loose, droopy skin on the inside of legs and back of my arms from weight loss prior to the challenge. Since the challenge, I’ve been able to firm that up. What new habits will you continue practicing now that the challenge is over? I think Cathie may have made a runner out of me. What did you learn about yourself during the process? I don’t quite hate running like I thought I did. How have you changed mentally? I used to have strong urges to eat anytime food was in sight. I’ve been able to achieve better self-control. Christmas parties have not tripped me up. How have your family and friends reacted to your progress? My family and friends have been very positive and generous in praise. It never gets old. In what areas do you hope to improve going forward? I want to improve my stamina so that I can run longer. I also want to continue to work on my belly. I figure I have another 20 pounds to lose. What are you looking forward to now that the challenge is over? More self-imposed challenges. Do you see any other fitness challenges in your future? I think it would be cool to run a half marathon.
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
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Mary Mellard, DDS
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• American Dental Association
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Important Awards: Fellow, Academy of General Dentistry - Dr. Mary & Dr. Randy Mellard Master, Academy of General Dentistry - Dr. Mary Mellard Lifelong Learning and Service Recognition Award - Dr. Mary Mellard (one of 10 dentists in the state)
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120 Roadrunner Trail • $230,000
Charming Hill Country home, sitting on over a 1/2 acre, in sought after Boerne, TX. This is a must see! New roof, paint, floors, windows, bathrooms, A/C... There are too many upgrades to list. Property includes a greenhouse, shed, garden, and a fabulous deck. Garage has been converted adding additional square footage.
angela@smvtexas.com www.boernetexashomes.com
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C 210.912.8221 | P 830.816.2288 F 830.816.5903
Bluebonnet Realty
COOKING
Don't be chicken
For some reason, cooking chicken scares a lot of home cooks. It’s easy to get wrong, but it’s just as easy to get it right. This simple and straightforward recipe from Chef Denise will remove any doubt you may have about conquering the mighty yet humble chicken. Compliments of and to the chef.
Many thanks to the staff and chefs at Little Gretel for assisting with the production of this special section.
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
INGREDIENTS: 4 pc chicken breast 8 oz. each 1 small onion chopped 3 Tbsp. oil 4 Tbsp. Hungarian Paprika 2 Qt chicken stock 250 ml Half+Half Âź -1/2 cup flour Salt
CHICKEN PAPRIKA
Directions:
Sprinkle salt over chicken pieces one hour prior to cooking In large pot sautĂŠ onion in oil until translucent Stir in Paprika Slowly add chicken broth (home made broth is the best), bring it to a part-boil and reduce the heat to simmer Immediately, add salted chicken pieces Cook for 20-30 minutes, (inner temperature 165F) Remove the chicken, set aside Add mixture of Half+Half with flour to the sauce and generously whisk it Season it with salt if needed Pass the sauce through the sieve Serve the chicken with dumplings, spatzle or rice Dobrou chut Denise
Chef Dame Denise Mazal Member of Czech Culinary Associations, WACS and LDEI Honored by Best Chefs America BCA
January 2015
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SHADES of VAPE Your Resolution Headquarters Shades of Vape offers personal vapor electronic cigarettes, E-juices/E-liquids, and Vaping accessories. If you want to put the cigarettes down and transition your life style, we can help. Whether you smoke socially, have a heavy habit, smoked for decades, dip snuff, chew tobacco or simply want something to help curb that sweet tooth, we have a flavor and device to help.
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518 East Blanco, Boerne TX 830-331-2433 www.shadesofvape.com
BEHIND MARY’S TACOS
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
Customized Solutions
From start to finish we want you to be comfortable with your Performance Land Cruisers experience. We can tailor our services to meet the level of input you want. As early as guiding you during the initial purchase of your vehicle, transport, suggestions for customization or conversion options we will be there every step of the way. Your Performance Land Cruiser might be your every day driver, your ranch/utility or your conversation piece vehicle. But rest assured it will continue to perform for years to come and we want you to enjoy your vehicle for whatever purpose you have for it.
Cr eate or Convert
We have the ability to create your vehicle into any road legal (or not) vehicle you have in mind. With our years of experience we can troubleshoot to solve most conversion or customization requests. If you have something special in mind then you have come to the right place. We install & distribute ICON, Rigid Light Industries, ARB, Warn, Rotopax & Auto Meter in addition to our customized parts and solutions. Our personal hobby is hot rods, road racing, hunting & fishing. So feel free to contact us if you share the same interests or visit us on facebook to watch us roll!
Speed Shop
Wether your vehicle is in need of an upgrade or perhaps it’s been sitting in your garage and in need of a complete overhaul or you have one that needs some fine tuning to restore it or turn it into a mega motor machine we have the expertise to create, convert or modify the vehicle of your dreams.
Fr ee Estimates
Cur r ent Specials 20% OFF hot rod service. $300 Minimum
20% OFF light bar installation. A $200 Savings
830-623 -0530 Come see us at our new shop:
115 Pleasant Valley - Boerne, Texas 78006
www.pcass-tx.com
LIFE
By Paul Wilson
Two years ago, my wife and I went to one of our favorite restaurants to celebrate Valentine’s Day. You know, one of those upscale places with white linen tablecloths, lots of forks, sparkling stemware and penguins as waiters. In anticipation of a larger crowd than usual, the restaurant had set up quite a few extra two-tops uncomfortably close to each other. It was one of those situations where you find yourself so close to the other tables that you can’t help but make eye contact with the folks seated next to you. This leaves you to wonder all kinds of questions about proper etiquette. Do you greet them? Give them a head nod? Ignore them in some code of silence out of respect for their privacy? It ranks right up there with all the social awkwardness of an elevator. During our meal, the table next to us remained empty. However, we couldn’t help but notice a couple seated two tables away. By their attire, it was obvious they too were there for Valentine’s Day. And yet, throughout the entire meal, he was fixated on his smartphone. She sat across from him obviously annoyed, drinking her wine and glanc-
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ing around the restaurant trying to look as if she could care less about being ignored. Or was she just use to it? Was he reviewing that day’s market activity on the bluechip stocks upon which their early retirement depended? Keeping up with crucial text messages regarding a crisis at work? For all I know, he could have been a surgeon receiving time-sensitive updates on a struggling patient’s vitals. I don’t know exactly what he was doing. My impression was that he was looking at box scores, trolling Facebook or playing a round of Angry Birds. Whatever he was doing, it didn’t quite seem to fit with Valentine’s Day. Two people sitting so close together, yet so far apart. While there may be numerous explanations for his behavior, the truth could be that he had an addiction to social
media. It was so controlling in his life that he either didn’t know or didn’t care that he was rudely ignoring his partner at their Valentine’s Day dinner.
Is it possible to become addicted to the use of social media? I started using Facebook a few years ago. I quickly discovered that it was, in fact, a remarkable platform from which I could catch up with friends I hadn’t been in touch with for years. Since family and friends are my greatest treasure in life, I really liked the portal Facebook offered to stay connected to this valuable relational network. However, it was just a matter of time before my insatiable curiosity about human behavior kicked into gear. I became intrigued with the dynamics surrounding a person’s use of social media. I have concluded that just like with drugs or alcohol, there are “casual users” and there are “habitual abusers” of social media. Some people are high-functioning social media addicts. They successfully disguise their dependency in a life full of exemplary performance with responsible activities like raising kids, holding down jobs and maintaining relationships. And others? Well, others have a more
EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
difficult time hiding their problem. They’re just not getting their stuff done because of hours spent trolling social media sites. You know, stuff like homework, housework and, um, work-work. Social media can become a real problem in our lives if we are not careful. Unfortunately, the seduction can be so sinister you don’t even know it is happening until you wake up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and have to check the latest on Facebook before getting back into bed. I have adopted a working definition of addiction that may be a bit broader than a strict medical one. I define an addiction as “ANY COMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR that we use to COPE with or to AVOID things we don’t like.” It is more utilitarian than scientific, I admit. Compulsive behavior is any initial or habitual response to a negative or uncomfortable situation; that very first thing we do when we don’t like how we are feeling. Eat, smoke, drink, sleep, watch television, play video games, shop, view porn, gamble, chew fingernails, workout, procrastinate or troll social media are all typical ways that people “deal with” what they don’t like. Psychologists call it “escapist behavior.” An apt term for describing what one is doing. Unfortunately, it is never a productive route. As innocent as the behaviors may seem, when they are compulsive escapes we use to cope with unwanted feelings, they are still an addiction. And addictions are never harmless! They always hurt somebody. Here are a couple of telltale signs that you might have a social media problem.
You might have a problem if… The urge to check your favorite social media is so strong that it leaves you feeling restless (or agitated) until the desire is satisfied. When you actually start feeling like you HAVE TO check social media, you’re in the danger zone. If it seems like you just can’t help yourself when it comes to the impulse to check Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat, it might be time to admit you have a problem. If checking social media activity is the very first thing you do when you have even the slightest opening in your schedule, you need to pay serious attention to that. When every spare moment becomes the perfect opportunity for you to reach for your phone, tablet or laptop to see what you’ve missed, you are bordering on a compulsive behavior.
You might have a problem if…. You essentially ignore other people in the same room while socializing with people on the other side of your screen. Look around you these days. In restaurants, parks, meetings at work, social gatherings or other places where you find groups of people, notice how many of them are reading their cellphones. They are standing in the same room, yet isolated from each other in their own little social media world. This may make sense in a roomful of strangers. But when you are ignoring family and friends sitting in the same room with you to socialize with people on the other end of your virtual world, you are sending a dangerous message about the value of the people right next to you.
January 2015
You might have a problem if…. You make posts with the ambition of garnering other people’s admiration or approval. Check your motives here. They don’t lie. Do you secretly hope that your latest update will be affirmed with numerous “likes”, “shares” and “comments”? When the number of responses you receive serve as tokens of approval for your self-esteem, social media has become a drug that helps get you high. If you find yourself frequently checking the latest tally of affirmations to your posts because of the satisfaction it brings about what other people think of you, social media has become more of an enemy than a friend. This kind of approval is neither sustainable nor sufficient for the needs of the human soul.
You might have a problem if… You have you developed an online “personality” that isn’t really the truth about you or your lifestyle. Your social media circle thinks you are one of the happiest, laid-back, industrious, adventurous, creative, courageous, wise or witty people on the planet. The people who live with you…well, they know that’s not like you at all. It is possible to create an image of yourself on social media that isn’t really you. Addictions are often disguised under a facade of lies.
You might have a problem if… The social media activity you find most interesting is your very own. What motivates you to share every experience of your life with those who follow you on social media is the stuff that keeps psychologists in business. Can you say “narcissism”? Psych Central defines narcissism as “the egotistical preoccupation with self, personal preferences, aspirations, needs, success, and how he/she is perceived by others.” Remember that Greek myth about Narcissus? He was the guy who caught sight of his own reflection in a pond and could not break his admiring gaze. Unable to leave the beauty of his own reflection, he drowned in an infatuation with himself. If your Facebook page were a mirror, just exactly how much time do you spend staring at yourself in it? Frequently reviewing your own posts could be a dead giveaway that you are addicted to the admiration of yourself.
Help for Social Media Addicts So what’s one to do if any of these things ring true? These four helpful suggestions for limiting your risk of a social media addiction may help. 1. Turn off notifications. Most computers, tablets and smartphones offer a feature where you can set your device to automatically notify you of any activity on your favorite social media sites. If you receive notifications on your devices, go ahead and turn off this feature. You’re just asking for an addiction if you respond to this constant stimulation to stop what you are doing to check your latest updates.
2. Set some boundaries. Establish some rules for yourself and ask a friend or two to keep you accountable. • Limit the number of times a day you will check your social media activity. • Limit the number of posts you will make in a day. Limiting yourself to two posts a day will really force you to share only the most valuable contributions. • Limit the amount of time you will spend on social media each day. Thirty to sixty minutes a day ought to be more than enough. You’re probably insisting that your children limit their time playing video games or scrolling Instagram each day. Don’t be a hypocrite. Children parented by hypocrites often have a difficult time respecting and obeying people in authority. Let them see you practice the self-control you want to see in them. 3. Force yourself to keep it to yourself. Try dissecting the motives that drive your decision to post what you are about to share. Ask yourself, “Why am I posting this….honestly?” If you think that a particular post is really about promoting yourself in the eyes of other people, then force yourself not to post it at all. Don’t find another less self-serving way to compose the post. Don’t wait a few days to make it sound like old news. Don’t come right out and admit your self-centered motive as some self-deprecating way to diffuse your self-promoting ambitions. Just don’t make that post at all. Force yourself to savor that great insight, that witty observation or that enviable experience all by yourself for no other reason than the sheer discipline of self-control. 4. Take a social media sabbatical. Another healthy exercise is to take an occasional social media sabbatical. Choose a period of time that you swear off the use of your favorite sites. In the spirit of a good cleanse, deny yourself the pleasure of social media for a period of time and then use that time for other important relational or personal activities. Make it hurt a little. I am talking months, not days or weeks. 5. STOP. USING. SOCIAL. MEDIA. If after a long sabbatical you find yourself immediately immersed right back into the same old habits of social media abuse, it is time for drastic measures. If you can’t control your use of social media, stop using it altogether. Every recovering alcoholic understands that if they want to stay healthy, they just can’t touch the stuff ever again. The same goes for a social media addict. When it comes right down to it, there really are more important things in life than what goes on in places like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. There are the relationships you have right there in front of you, the moments you are living right now, the conversations that are unfolding in your presence all the time. Put down that phone, set aside that tablet, walk away from that computer and be present with those who are present. And whatever you do, don’t let me catch you ignoring your date sitting across the table from you on Valentine’s Day. I’ll pull together a few waiters and initiate an intervention right then and there if I have to. For your own good, of course!
www.hillcountryexplore.com
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The Yoga House, located in Boerne, TX, offers beginner friendly yoga classes and workshops. Here at The Yoga House, there are no contracts, no memberships. We provide an environment free of marketing and sales reps – no hustling or hassling – just yoga and a growing community of yoga students who love to learn, practice and relax with others who love yoga and good company. Our house rule is simple, “keep yoga simple”. We offer restorative, challenging and fun yoga classes in an affordable way; in a basic space where the main focus of the space is yoga. Come try a class. No experience necessary.
Rachel Villanueva
(210) 625-0280
9417 Aqua Dr., Boerne, TX
Rehabilitate in Boerne, One Step Closer to Home
Cibolo Creek provides accommodations
in the heart of Boerne, with individualized therapy programs that enable one to return home quickly. By receiving rehabilitation services close to home, family and friends are able to visit often and with ease.
Cibolo Creek stands apart by:
• Being the most contemporary rehabilitation facility in Boerne • Providing physical, occupational, speech, and vital stim therapy in a modern and innovative setting under the guidance of highly trained and experienced therapists • Offering both inpatient and outpatient therapy services to improve one’s overall strength and mobility • Facilitating admissions 24/7
1440 River Road • Boerne, Texas 78006 • 830.816.5095
C ibolo C reek H ealtH . org
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
Old Timer is our resident cranky old guy. We all know one or love one, and we’ve become quite fond of Old Timer, and enjoy letting him spout off about stuff that he sees happening around town.
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
January
July
“Old Timer for Mayor” campaign is announced. The Herff Road Project is complete. And by “complete,” I mean that it stretches from River to Old San Antonio. But we have 3 new stoplights on it, so that’s good.
February
The bridge over the river comes apart and falls into the river. Apparently it was supported by zip ties and bubblegum. Repairs begin. Scheduled completion date: September 2022 A duck is run over and killed on River Rd. Giant statue erected in the middle of the river in his honor. A poem is penned, and the entire park is renamed “Flat Duck Park.”
4th of July Fireworks display goes haywire. Entire east side burns. Stoned trigger man to blame. Buccee’s opens new and largest location on the north side. Moves world headquarters to the burned old library building. Remodel includes giant beaver head overlooking Town Square.
August
Chili’s remodels its current location. Now features 7000 sq. ft. of dining space and a playground for the kids. Frontage road and 46 clogs every weekday at happy hour. Schlitterbahn buys the Ye Kendall Inn. Waterpark designed and built. Problems abound, though, when they realize that the river has been drained. Again.
March
September
The old Library burns down. The new bakery in there might not have been the best idea.
Drunk man falls to his death off ferris wheel at the Kendall County Fair. The event is sued, disbands, and is renamed “Kendall County Good-Time Festival” by new Chinese investment company.
A pril
October
Man gets drunk, crawls into a bulldozer and carves his own path from San Antonio Road to Main Street to complete the “Herff Road Project.” After his arrest, an ancient Indian burial ground is found in the wreckage. Entire site deemed historical and closed forever to any traffic.
Wild Bill statue disappears from Town Square. Found at the top of Kronkosky Tower. The nuns thought he was one of their residents, until they checked his pulse.
Twin Peaks’ newest location opens at the old Bergmann Plumbing location. Citizens revolt. The place is packed 7 days a week with customers. Waiting line out the door.
The river is drained accidentally. Again.
Oil boom causes population to explode. Ground breaking for 3rd high school.
November
May
Chilito’s stolen tamale truck is found. It was behind the Kronkosky Senior Center, where they were bootlegging their own tamales. Old Timer and Mayor Schultz have an election debate. Event descends into chaos when Old Timer gets irritated and slaps Schultz in the face. Populace gives standing ovation.
June
Old Timer wins Mayoral Election by 99% landslide. Immediately resigns position citing never really wanting to be Mayor anyway. Default position given to a duck as outlined in the town charter. Boerne’s first sex store (adult novelties) opens on 2nd story of Boerne City Centre. B-Town Love is a hit. Hours of operation are 9pm-4am. Monday-Saturday. Closed Sunday for church.
January 2015
Oil found by Boerne Lake. RANDOM has kids simply ride on the pump jacks for fun. Charges $10 per ride.
IKEA opens location behind Herbst Vet. Sells nachos and cheap enchiladas instead of Swedish meatballs in cafeteria. Bill Miller’s location at Scenic Loop finally opens. Fritze’s closes, and then reopens as La Fritze’s Mexican Cantina.
December
Dog & Pony Grill closes, and then re-opens as a biker bar. Visiting Angels (next door) becomes a tattoo parlor. Polar vortex strikes South Texas settling directly over Boerne. 35 inches of snow in 12 hours. City confused as to how to handle it, sends employees out to shovel Main St. crosswalks. River remains unfrozen. Why? Because it was drained... AGAIN.
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