APRIL 2016
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Explore what's inside this issue!
10 From the Publisher 12 Calendar
Publisher Benjamin D. Schooley ben@hillcountryexplore.com
40 Spiritual
26 ART OF
THE ART OF GRIEVING
HELL
Operations Manager Michelle Hans michelle@smvtexas.vom
14 TROUBADOUR
Creative Director Benjamin N. Weber ben.weber@smvtexas.com
Montreal & dogs
17 Boerne Parade of artists
Assistant Creative Director Kayla Davisson kayla@smvtexas.com
22 History
You might be from boerne if...
ADVERTISING SALES 210-507-5250 sales@hillcountryexplore.com
46 Charity 30 LIFE
50 OLD TIMER
NO MORE EXCUSES
Doug’s liquor
36 AROUND TOWN
new businesses on main st. 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.
PUBLISHER DEAREST EXPLORE READER, When I was growing up in Boerne, the town was certainly a wee bit smaller. Cow pastures were everywhere, there wasn’t a lot of commerce outside of Main Street, and the roads were practically empty when compared with today. During those years (and I’m sure it’s similar to many of you in the over-40 crowd out there), times were a little different. My brother and I would strike out on a Saturday morning at daybreak, and we would do God-knows-what until sundown. We wandered all over town, meandering through Main Street, playing in the parks, and just generally doing whatever we wanted. I was 12-ish at the time. We talked to strangers. Other parents told us to “knock that off” if we were roughhousing, and we had no constrained borders as to how far we could or could not go. I remember once I rode my bike so far that I was physically exhausted, knocked on an unknown residence and borrowed their phone to beg my mom to come pick me up. I must have been 10 miles from home. Today I have a 10 year old son with a pretty strong penchant for doing what he pleases. He fears little, and he also disappears in the mornings and doesn’t reappear until sundown. 99% of his time, however, is spent in my little neighborhood. He has recently taken quite a shine to skateboarding, and with the skate park perhaps ¾ of a mile from my house, I have begun letting him go there on his own. I used to take him, but sitting in the parking lot watching a kid skateboard for 4 hours lost its luster pretty quick for me. As a single dad, I can’t exactly spend half of my weekend sitting in a hot parking lot, either. When talking with friends, some of them gasp audibly when I explain that my son goes to the skatepark for hours by himself. “But what if he gets hurt? What if some bad teenagers show up? What if….GASP….he gets kidnapped?” But what if he’s just fine? I have heard all of the rebuttals: “It’s just not the same world it was when we were growing up” or “There’s too many crazies nowadays”. The perceived notion that somehow the world is now more dangerous than ever is the universally accepted truth, and that without constant supervision, our children will be hurt or killed by some machete wielding maniac. Even in Boerne. But is it really more dangerous? Are there more dangers now than “when we were growing up?” Remember 1963? Fresh out of the ‘50s, America was probably at its peak in terms of “morals”, right? Did you know that our current violent crime stats are now down to the same levels they were then? (Source: Christian Science Monitor). Did you know that violent crime against children is down 43% since 2003? (Source: Univ of New Hampshire). There’s been a 46% drop in physical abuse of children since 1990. (Source: FBI). Still scared of just strangers overall, and their threat to your child? 67% of all juvenile murders since 1976 have been committed by relatives of the child. All of this adds up to a Connecticut Law Review piece, which found that 99.5% of ALL Americans will never experience ANY violent crime whatsoever. So is the world truly a more dangerous place? A place that requires our consistent worry and supervision of our rascals?
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Or have we simply been taught to be scared? Of EVERYTHING? I have touched on this before, but in our new world of 24/7 news cycles, I think that sometimes we know too much about what’s going on in the world. If every time there is a child abused somewhere, it is broadcast to the entire country, our news becomes filled with horrific stories. I’m not saying it’s unimportant, but I am saying that if you fill your mind and heart with a consistent message of how kids are being hurt in the world, then your perception begins to change. Kids desire growing independence. My 10 year old is not scared of anything at the skatepark. In fact, he’s probably pretty happy his dorky ol’ dad isn’t sitting in his car watching him the whole time. He wants to hang with his friends, listen to inappropriate jokes said by teenagers, and generally act as cool as he possibly can. He’s not scared – he’s learning how to handle situations in life. He’s learning how to solve problems by himself, how to handle new kids, and how to enjoy himself safely outside of my supervision. He’s learning how to be a man, quite frankly. What if, instead of teaching our kids to be so watchful for bad people, bad situations, and bad scenarios, what if we taught them how to be growing young people? Teach them what’s appropriate for them, what’s not, and how to handle situations that they need to avoid. What if we stopped teaching FEAR, and starting teaching faith? What would this next generation of kids grow up to look like? I suppose that I am frequently as guilty as the rest of you. I also have a 12 year old daughter who I can’t stand to have out of my sight, but that’s just because she’s my baby girl. I tend to check up on her a bit much, and I’m the first to admit it. However, I’m trying. I’m trying to allow her to grow into who she needs to be, full of confidence and conviction. It’s not an easy thing for us daddies, but choosing a life of fear can never be a decision with positive outcomes. Think about what we are scared of nowadays: Muslims, internet predators, ISIS, mass shootings, human trafficking, pedophiles, drunk drivers, and perhaps even government conspiracies. Everybody and everything is out to kill us and our children, and our only response is to unwittingly teach our children to fear it all. Even if we never encounter it. At that point, is it fear? Or is it paranoia? Welcome to April. This spring, throw off those shackles that bind you, and embrace the beauty of our world. Not the fear, not the bad, not the ugly. Just the beauty. Revel in it, EXPLORE it, and teach your children one of the most important lessons you can: That life is what you make of it and that it’s up to each of us to find the beauty in it all. Smiling, Benjamin D. Schooley
ben@hillcountryexplore.com
EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
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Get out and enjoy the great Texas Hill Country! The most comprehensive events calendar. Send submissions to info@hillcountryexplore.com BANDERA April 5 Cowboy Capital Opry Enjoy “Grand Ole Opry”-style entertainment hosted by Gerry and Harriet Payne. Begins at 7 p.m. Silver Sage, 803 Buck Creek. www.silversagecorral.org/music-happenings.html April 9-10 Mayhem on the Medina This national competition of the re-enactment guild of America includes living-history campsites, costumes, mock gunfights, live music, stagecoach rides, exhibits and food. Bandera City Park, 1102 Maple St. www. mayhemonthemedina.com
BOERNE April 8 “Pirates of Penzance” This New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players production brings together swashbuckling buccaneers, bumbling British bobbies, frolicsome Victorian maidens, and the delightfully dotty “model of a modern Major-General” for a rollicking romp over the rocky coast of Cornwall. Boerne Champion Auditorium, 201 Charger. www.visitboerne.org/ calendar/boerne-performing-arts-pirates-penzance April 9-10 Boerne Market Days On the second weekend of every month, Main Plaza is home to a magical outdoor market that blends the traditions of the Texas Hill Country with the creations of today’s culture. Main Plaza, 100 N. Main. www.visitboerne. org/calendar/boerne-market-days-82 April 9-10 Boerne Parade of Artists Hundreds of art enthusiasts from around the country visit various art venues in Boerne. It is a self-guided tour of local galleries, studios and other venues principally located along the Hill Country Mile in the Arts and Design and Historic districts of downtown Boerne. Various Galleries. www.visitboerne.org/calendar/boerne-parade-artists-3 April 9 Second Saturday Art and Wine Participating galleries go all out each month with complimentary beverages and a variety of hors d’oeuvres along with fantastic art. Travel to each gallery in the downtown area on foot or on the Shabby Bus. Downtown. www.visitboerne.org/calendar/second-saturday-art-andwine-15 April 16 Texas Corvette Association 24th Annual Open Car Show This show is expected to draw more than 350 entrants and hundreds of car enthusiasts. Downtown. www.visitboerne.org
COMFORT April 30-May 1 Comfort Village Spring Antiques Show Browse collections of Americana antiques for sale, including country furniture, textiles and linens, blue willow, majolica, antique tools, stoneware, baskets and more. Rain or shine. Comfort Park, 403 Texas 27. www.texasantiqueshows.com
FREDERICKSBURG April 1 First Friday Art Walk Tour fine art galleries offering special exhibits, demonstrations, refreshments and extended viewing hours the first Friday of every month. Participating fine art galleries in Fredericksburg. www.ffawf.com April 1-17 Texas Hill Country Wine and Wildflower Trail Enjoy the Texas Hill Country wineries and wildflowers. Self-guided tour includes special events, tastings and discounts. Participating Texas Hill Country wineries. www.texaswinetrail.com
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April 2-17 Wildflower Celebration at Wildseed Farms Celebrate spring’s arrival and Texas wildflowers with colorful fields, great shopping, butterfly gardens and special activities. Wildseed Farms. www.wildseedfarms.com April 15-17 Fredericksburg Trade Days Shop with more than 450 vendors or relax in the Biergarten while listening to live music. Trade Days at Sunday Farms. www.fbgtradedays.com April 28-May 1 Hill Country Film Festival This annual film festival screens the best of independent film from Texas and around the world. Fritztown Cinema, 2254 U.S. 87 S. www.hillcountryff.com
GRUENE April 16-17 Old Gruene Market Days Nearly 100 vendors offer uniquely crafted items and packaged Texas foods. Hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Gruene Historic District, 1724 Hunter Road. www.gruenemarketdays.com April 21 Come and Taste It A featured winemaker showcases three of their newly released, top-selling or hard-to-find wines, alongside a craft brew hand-picked by The Grapevine staff. Also enjoy live music and giveaways. Grapevine Texas Wine Bar. www.grapevineingruene.com
JOHNSON CITY April 30 Last Saturday Art Walk Find good Texas goods and great Texas art from 4–8 p.m. while enjoying complimentary beer, wine and appetizers. Each month features a different artist in the gallery to meet with visitors and show their work. Texcetera, 207 N. Nugent Ave. www.texcetera.net
KERRVILLE April 1 First Friday Wine Share Meet new people and try new wines at this fun and friendly event at a different location each month. Bring one bottle of wine per two people and your own wine glass. Begins at 6 p.m. www.storkcountry.com April 2 Hill Country Swap Meet This community garage sale and flea market offers all types of merchandise. Hours are 8 a.m.–3 p.m. Kerr County Hill Country Youth Event Center, 3705 Texas 27 E. www. kerrmarketdays.org April 23 Kerr County Market Days Old-fashioned market on the square features handmade crafts, artwork, and homegrown plants and produce. Kerr County Courthouse, 700 Main St. www.kerrmarketdays.org
NEW BRAUNFELS April 9 Folkfest This annual family heritage festival features living history re-enactments, pioneer craft demonstrations, free furniture museum tours, children’s activities, musical entertainment and delicious food. The Kindermasken Parade, dating back to the founding of New Braunfels, is held in conjunction with this event. Hours are 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Heritage Village, 1370 Church Hill Drive. www.nbheritagevillage.com April 9 Kindermasken Parade Take part in the only costumed children’s heritage parade of its type in the nation, which has been celebrated here since 1856. Begins at 10 a.m. Downtown. www.nbheritagevillage.com April 9-10 Train Show Hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Sunday. New Braunfels Civic Center, 375 Castell Ave. www.newbraunfelsrailroadmuseum.org/trainshow.htm
STONEWALL April 2 LBJ 100 Bicycle Ride This ninth annual ride begins and ends on the LBJ Ranch airstrip. Cyclists can choose from routes of 10, 30, 42, 62 or 85 miles, taking riders through the Hill Country past the historical landmarks that figured prominently in the LBJ presidency. LBJ National Historical Park. www.nps.gov/lyjo April 23 Spring Shindig The Lyndon Baines Johnson Museum of San Marcos hosts this event with performances by country singer Michael Martin Murphey, Ryan Scott Travis, Jan Seides and other special guests. In true LBJ style, there will also be delicious barbecue, as well as wine and beer tasting from Hill Country vineyards and breweries. LBJ National Historic Park. www.lbjmuseum.com April 30-May 1 Lavender Festival at Becker Vineyards Celebrate everything lavender, as well as vendors, cooking demonstrations, live music and more. Becker Vineyards. www.beckervineyards.com
WIMBERLEY April 2 Market Days Stroll along a shaded path to more than 475 booths filled with a wide variety of arts, crafts, antiques, gift items, clothing and more. Lions Field, 601 F.M. 2325. www.shopmarketdays.com April 9 Second Saturday Gallery Trail More than a dozen galleries offer wine, snacks and art displays from 4–7 p.m. Wimberley Square, 101 Wimberley Square. www.facebook.com/SecondSaturdayGalleryTrail April 23-24 Arts Fest This annual festival includes a juried selection of more than 75 artists, plus live music and food. Blue Hole Regional Park, 100 Blue Hole Lane. www.wimberleyartsfest.com
April 28 Symphony of the Hills Concert “A Night in Old Mexico” concert features favorites from south of the border. A wine and cheese reception precedes the show at 7:30 p.m. 910 Main St. www.symphonyofthehills.org
EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
APRIL 2016
www.hillcountryexplore.com
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TROUBADOUR
Montreal & Dogs By Rene Villanueva
“You shouldn’t go,” she laughed, “what is there for you out there?” She had an accent, a deep French-Canadian seriousness, that made everything she said feel like I’m back in high school talking to a teacher.
She reached behind the counter and pulled out a ten. I know cause it’s the purple one. “Make some choices,” she pointed to the jukebox, “Music man.” I hate this game. I was never good at choosing music for other people. But I agreed and smiled took the bill and began searching for anything 50’s. Elvis, The Imperials, Everly’s, The Champs, trying to burn through this.
“I don’t know.” “No, stay for another,” she said already filling another tumbler with ice, “I wanna know about you.” “I,” instinctively I went to grab my phone before remembering it was back on the bus, with the battery taken out, the way I usually travel when I cross the border. But that also means I don’t have a clock and I have no idea how much time is left until the show, “alright,” I conceded. The sun was still out... I should still have time. She set the drink in front of me, put her elbows on the counter around it and leaned in. Settling closer to talk. That was when I noticed how long her fore-arms are. I mean she was tall. And big, so maybe it stood out more to me, but I remember her arms looked like two of my arms. Still everything about her seemed gentle and friendly. “Do you want to see my baby?” she asked as I was mid-drink. And before I could answer she was scrolling through her phone showing me pictures of a small dog. I’m not one for knowing breeds, but it had that grey-short curled hair all over it, small face. She had a photo of the dog tucked in between her arm and all I could see was the end of his little face. “Do you?” she asked. “My wife does. She’s more the animal one,” I answered. She raised those pencil thin sculpted eyebrows with a look like, ‘Well?’ “Ah, yeah, no photos on me. She has... I forget what its called.” The bartender made a stern face. “The breed I mean. Looks like a little jumpy fox. Jack.”
And I was picking the songs, I cracked the knuckles on my left hand, tucking my thumb right underneath my wedding ring. Right where my hand has a callous from wearing the ring and playing bass. But a few weeks before I left on this tour my whole hand was busted. When Lucy passed we buried her in the yard, but everything in South Texas is hard Limestone. The shovels, the long metal pick, just strike after strike of cutting the rock back. Little pieces falling off at a time. Taking the earth out in handfuls. I don’t know why we didn’t have gloves. Soon my hands were filling up with blisters, and that metallic sting just kept spreading along my hands as we carved out a spot for Lucy. Oh Lucy. “Got to make sure it’s deep enough, she’s a pretty big girl...” my father in law said. “... and the width. Do you think it’s too narrow?” I stepped across the hole. “Looks pretty good. Maybe a couple more inches down.” And we went back to it. My Father in-law, was talking stories of Lucy and when they got her, and how crazy she was, and how sweet she was, and how she loved to lay on her belly, and how she would squeal as if she was telling you how good she felt. All as we kept pulling out more and more rocks. “Music man?” the bartender called me. “hmm?” “Did you pick?” “Just a few more.” I took another drink feeling the glass against my hand. “Almost done.” -rene
“A Sheltie?” “Sounds right,” and it does, I think Jack is a Sheltie, “The other was a hound dog, Lucy, she passed away, not too long ago.”
ps. You can check out more at my blog thewordisabell.blogspot.com
“Oh,” she sighed and looked like she was genuinely hurt by the news.
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
APRIL 2016
www.hillcountryexplore.com
15
Ambleside School of Boerne 210 Turner Ave. • Boerne, Texas 78006 • www.AmblesideBoerne.com • (830) 388-8865
IT’S THE 20TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF THE PARADE OF ARTISTS! BPA: Were you involved in the first “Parade of Artists”? Hester: Yes, but it started off quite differently from what it has become now. To trace that history for you, Mr. Patrick Heath was Mayor of Boerne in the mid 90’s and he went out of his way to encourage the arts in the local community. In about 1994 he asked if I would have a springtime Open House in my studio/ gallery which at the time was in the historic Kaiser House on South Main Street. We had quite a number of visitors that first year which got the attention of several other local artists and we spent the next several months organizing what we called the “Boerne Area Artists Association” which was the forerunner of Boerne Professional Artists (BPA). That new organization had roughly a dozen members and in 1996 we held what we called the “Studio Tour” which was just that… each participating artist held an open house at his or her studio and visitors would often drive several miles out of town to tour a studio and see the artist at work.
Jay Hester, moved to Boerne in 1988 as an established artist from Santa Fe, New Mexico via Lubbock, Texas. Early on, he opened his first studio/gallery near Boerne’s Main Plaza before moving to the historic Kaiser House on South Main Street. and then opening his Highland House Gallery on East Highland Street. Renowned for his paintings and bronze sculptures, Jay has been a leader in the Boerne art community for almost thirty years and has been intimately involved in its growth and development. We recently caught up with Jay as he was leaving a meeting of current leaders of Boerne Professional Artists (BPA) and asked him about Boerne’s “Art Scene” and especially about the upcoming ‘Parade of Artists’ event. BPA: First of all, why did you decide to move to Boerne after your obvious successes in Santa Fe and Lubbock? Hester: I decided I needed a change of venue for my art. Santa Fe and Lubbock were both fine markets for my paintings and sculptures, but I wanted to expand my opportunities and be more centrally located in Texas. I fell in love with the Hill Country and with Boerne in particular, and the decision was easy after that. BPA: Tell us about the Boerne” Art Scene” you found on your arrival here in Boerne? Hester: There were several artists around Boerne in the late 80’s but nothing like now. I believe mine was the first gallery in town, and with the window on Main Street, my art received quite a bit of exposure and I got to know quite a few of the townsfolk. Then in 1992, the VFW commissioned me to do the bronze sculpture cap on the memorial obelisk in Veteran’s Park.
During those early years, the “Studio Tour” concept was quite successful, as was our new artists’ organization; and both grew as a result. Perhaps the unexpected consequences were the growing pains that came from the success of what had become our annual art event. Our visitors wanted to see more art and artistry than could be accomplished by the long trips between studios. Additional art galleries began to open in Boerne and the Area Art Association began to attract more members. New names for the event and the association were developed to keep up with the aura of a growing artistic community. In the span of a very few years, Boerne Area Artists Association became Boerne Professional Artists with more than 50 active members, and our late 90’s “Studio Tour” of 10 -12 artists’ private studios grew into the annual “Parade of Artists” which this year will feature more than 75 local, regional and nationally recognized artists in the three established galleries and several business venues along the Hill Country Mile in the Arts & Design and Historic districts of downtown Boerne. BPA: The arts have become a rather significant contributor to the city of Boerne in the last thirty years, so do you envision its continued growth? Hester: Absolutely!! The Boerne Professional Artists organization (BPA) has grown to more than fifty members, some of whom are from the Coastal Bend region, Kerrville, Fredericksburg and Georgetown. Additionally, our annual fall fine art show and sale attracts artist participants from across the state and we have visitors and art lovers throughout the southwest. And now, in conjunction with the expanded efforts of our affiliate organization, the Hill Country Council for the Arts, we believe Boerne is truly becoming an arts destination. And, we believe that will only get better with time…
w w w. B o e r n e P r o f e s s i o n a l A r t i s t s . c o m SAT U R D AY, A P R I L 9 , 1 0 : 0 0 A M- 8 : 0 0 PM : : S UNDAY, A PRIL 10, 11:00AM-4:00P M
A self-guided gallery & studio tour SATURDAY APRIL 9, 10:00AM-8:00PM :: SUNDAY APRIL 10, 11:00AM-4:00PM
Thank you to our generous sponsors
BoerneProfessionalArtists.com
2016 Parade of Artists Participants CARRIAGE HOUSE GALLERY OF ARTISTS 110 Rosewood Ave. 830.248.1184 www.CarriageHousegGalleryofArtists.com
J.R. MOONEY GALLERIES OF FINE ART 305 S. Main St. Ste. 400 830.816.5106 www.jrmooneygalleries.com
Angie Carney Encaustics/Oils acarney2@me.com 210.269.9402 www.angelacarneystudio.com
Margie Barker Acrylics mbarkerart@satx.rr.com 210.695.8439 www.mbarkerart.com
Linda Chalberg Watercolor lindachalberg@gmail.com 210.862.2068 www.lindachalberg.com
Jay Hester Oils/Bronze Sculpture jayhester@gvtc.com 210.273.3477 www.jhestergallery.com
Donald & Linda P. Darst Oils/Ceramics/Rug Hooking donlindadarst@msn.com 210.274.5223 210.274.5203 www.donalddarst.com www.lindapdarst.com
Bill Scheidt Oils bscheidt@gvtc.com 210.846.1253 www.billscheidt.com
Pamela Gardner Oils/Graphite/Mixed Media pamelagardnerstudio@gvtc.com 210.685.1473 www.pgardnerstudio.com Bonnie Mann Oils bmannartist@gmail.com 325.370.3299 www.bonniemann.blogspot.com Becky Rogers Oils brogers@hctc.net 210.627.1438 www.beckyrogers.com Charles Schubert Reliefs/Bronze Sculpture/Acrylics cschubert@gvtc.com 830.249.9559 www.carriagehousegalleryofartists.com Dena Szymarek Oils/Bronze Sculpture denaszymarek@gmail.com 210.286.4488 www.denaszymarekstudio.com Nancy Yarborough Fused Glass/Watercolor nyarbrough@mac.com 210.718.4501 www.carriagehousegalleryofartists.com CYPRESS GRILLE Cathy Geib Encaustics/Pastels/Acrylics cegeib@yahoo.com 830.336.3800 www.yessy.com/cegeib Kim Felts Oils kimfelts2012@gmail.com 210.573.3456 www.kimfelts.com HUNTING AND GATHERING 101 S. Main St. 210.861.7333 www.huntingandgatheringforthehome.com Margaret Elizabeth Johnston Watercolor/Pastels mej@mejcreations.com 210.730.2084 www.mejcreations.com
Sidney Sinclair Mixed Media/Oils sidneysinclairlee@gmail.com 210.823.7253 www.sidneysinclairfineart.com MUDWORKS POTTERY Sherri Jo Adams Ceramics sj@mudworkspottery.com 281-989-6503 www.MudworksPottery.com SERENDIPITY ON MAIN 195 S Main St, Boerne, TX 78006 路 830.331.7227 Chad E. Keith Graphite chadekeith@gmail.com 719.201.1870 www.chadekeith.wix.com/chadekeithsketches TEXAS TREASURES FINE ART GALLERY & SCULPTURE GARDEN 605 S Main St, Boerne, TX 78006 830.816.5335 www.texastreasuresfineart.com Lenell Deane Bronze Sculpture lenelldeane@yahoo.com 830.370.2180 www.lenelldeane.com TEXAS TREASURES FINE ART GALLERY & SCULPTURE GARDEN All Media texastreasuresfineart@gmail.com 830.816.5335 www.texastreasuresfineart.com Bill Nebeker, C.A. James N. Muir Brigitte Woosley Andrea Alvin David Caton Robert McCoy John Bennett Barry McCuan Erik Christianson Curtis Wade THE DIENGER TRADING COMPANY 210 N Main St, Boerne, TX 78006 830.331.2225 www.thediengertradingco.com Amy Hillenbrand Oils amy@amyhillenbrand.com 513.567.5604 www.amyhillenbrand.com
Paula Lay Watercolor paulajlayart@gmail.com 907.598.8409 www.paulalay.weebly.com Dixie Lee Photography dixielee07@outlook.com 361.876.6795 www.dixielee.me Robert Lombardi Oils thelombardigallery@gmail.com 201.819.9448 www.thelombardigallery.com Joy Moore Oils douglessmoore@gmail.com 830.331.4103 www.joymoorart.com THE LEGENDARY TEXAS POLO CLUB AT PHILIP MANOR SQUARE 706 S Main St, Boerne, TX 78006 830.816.5114 www.phillipmanor.com Louis A. Garcia Oils louisgarcia2003@yahoo.com 361.232.3663 www.lagartstudio.com YE KENDALL INN 128 W. Blanco 830.249.2138 www.yekendallinn.com Bill Eichholtz Photography billeichholtzphotography@gmail.com 210.287.5916 www.billeichholtzphotography.zenfolio.com Deb Wight Glass & Copper dwstudios@gvtc.com 210.508.6750 www.debwightstudios.com
Rehabilitate in Boerne, One Step Closer to Home
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
HISTORY
By Marjorie Hagy
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
‘Where do you get your ideas?’ is a question I’m rarely, if ever, asked by my throngs of fans, since most of you know that I usually come up with my topics around midnight of the fourteenth of each month (my article is due on the 15th), and a frequent method I have is haunting a certain Boerne Facebook page where I, panic-stricken, desperately beg for whatever’s on someone else’s mind. But if someone were to ask me that, I might finally feel like a real writer and I’d have to respond, with a mysterious air, that they come from the dark and tortured inner workings of my visionary brain. Which, of course, they don’t. The inner machinations of my fertile mind most often run along this kind of line: We’re out of dog food again...mmm, sushi...dammit I forgot to thaw out something for supper...liberal plots to overthrow America...I gotta get some chocolate up in here before somebody gets hurt...ugh I need to lose five hundred pounds before my son’s wedding in a month...chicken fried steak… There it is, readers- the secret of this writer’s inner life. When you see me looking inattentive and vague, chances are that I’m not actually preoccupied with highbrow and erudite meanderings, I’m just thinking about how much I love cake. Or just possibly I am writing beautiful stories in my head- that happens quite a bit too, actually. But they never do manage to come out of my head and down through my arms and fingers onto the paper- they somehow fizzle out in that arduous transition. My big problem with writing, I always think, is that in my head I write these grandiloquent, stirring sentences that read like the first line of The Tale of Two Cities, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times- they’re sweeping and heart-swelling and I can hear faint strains of magnificent music in the background. But what ends up on my computer screen or scribbled down in my spiral notebook has more the feel of a Bazooka Joe riddle with a guy on the kazoo tooting out the theme from The Benny Hill Show. What’s so impassioned and inspirational while I’m vacuuming wafts away like smoke during the time it takes me to rush to the keyboard and what I’m left with is this bunch of prose that feels as awkward as when you try to get your chair to reproduce the fart sound it just made so that people will know you didn’t actually fart, but the chair refuses to cooperate. A writer friend shared this with me not long ago as I was lamenting all those wasted masterpieces in my head- Mark Twain once said that when people would tell him they loved something he’d written, he would reply, ‘Oh, but you should have seen it in my head.’ Oh, friends, in my head it’s so beautiful! But anyway, this month I got my idea from a Facebook post, and this article will just be a really long, ranting political rebuttal that wouldn’t fit in the comment section. Kidding. I have a feeling you all know my political leanings and choose to like me anyway, and that up to three of you even share them. No, what I saw on Facebook was this post called ‘28 Telltale Signs You’re Really From Boerne’- I read this post, from a nameless source, then composed a beautiful article in my head, sat down at the computer to write down the beautiful article and here’s what came out instead. Now the first of the twenty-eight signs, according to the post, is this one: ‘You know that I-10 drive like the back of your hand.’ Typically, what I thought of right off the bat was this exchange in The Muppet Christmas Carol:
APRIL 2016
Gonzo (as Charles Dickens): I know the story of A Christmas Carol like the back of my hand! Rizzo: Prove it! Gonzo: All right. [Averts his eyes and holds his hand out] Um, there’s a little mole on my thumb, and a scar on my wrist, from when I fell off my bicycle— Rizzo: [shaking his head] No, no, no, don’t tell us your hand, tell us the story! Anyway, the Facebook article goes on to describe the stretch between Boerne and San Antonio as ‘those 15-ish miles,’ and that’s one thing that’s very, very different now from what it was in the mythic ‘old days’. Some of us remember when that trip wasn’t fifteen miles or so but a distance of some thirty miles, forty-five minutes and maybe fifty years, when one left San Antonio behind along about where Fredericksburg Road goes through the medical center area and went through a time warp somewhere along the way, and came back to a town that wasn’t just another big city suburb but a dream a million miles off. When I was a kid, San Antonio began at about Colonies North, where my mom sometimes went to the HEB for a stock-up trip between more frequent visits to the Blue Tag here in town. When UTSA went up in the 70s I distinctly remember my dad gloomily prophesizing that this was the death knell for Boerne- that soon all I-10 would be full up between here and there. I remember so well because I thought he was nuts- there was no way all that farmland, all that time and distance would ever be replaced by city stuff, that Boerne would ever be connected to SA. I was wrong. Also, we old Boerneites really didn’t know that long stretch of the interstate all that well, because we tried to make sure that the trip into the big city was one we didn’t have to make very often. Sure, some of our parents (in those days, mostly dads) worked in San Antonio- many of them at the military bases- and they had no choice but to commute, but as for the rest of us, our lives were in Boerne. The ladies, some in flower-printed dresses and sturdy black shoes and some others in their pantsuits and sandals, got their groceries at the Blue Tag or at Buddy’s- they’d bitch about the prices, sure, but that’s where there was to get your groceries in town and that was that, and if the pantsuit crowd wanted to jet off to San Antonio every couple of months to HEB and Handy Andy, well that was their lookout. A trip to SA was a big deal for us kids, though. We’d watch out the window for that ranch with the big horse up over the gate and my brother and I would tease our sister on those rare occasions we drove that stretch after dark, by pointing out to her all the lights sparkling at the quarry- we’d tell her it was Disney World. Fast-forward forty-some years and the lights really are an amusement park and a mall and the space in between is nothing but car dealerships and mobile home sales lots and fast food joints, and that poor old piebald horse still stands atop his gate, surveying what used to be acre upon acre of unspoiled farmland.
www.hillcountryexplore.com
23
And Boerne, in those days, didn’t reach out a welcoming hand towards the city either. There used to be such a glorious sort of unveiling when your car drove down into the Cibolo Valley between the two sheltering hills and onto Main Street from the interstate, and the first lights you saw came from the old Buck’s Courts that stood where Frost Bank now stands. Now that whole corridor is more stuff, the hills covered with lovely progress, and coming soon, another retail mall with a Chik-Fil-A. Yippee! Item number two: ‘They may call it “Main Street” but you know it’s really “Hauptstrasse.”’ Wait- what? I’ve only ever heard the street that runs through town referred to as Main Street or Highway 87, and the only people calling it Hauptstrasse are developers, tourists and those who simply don’t know any better. It was the brainwave of some enterprising Parks & Rec employee, no doubt, to re-christen Main Street sometime in the 90s and to order new signs to make it official, but nobody actually calls it Hauptstrasse- nor did they, even, when lots of Boerneites still spoke German as their first language, and their English with heavy accents. Back in those days, Main Street was just plain old Main Street, and you actually went there to get and do stuff that needed getting and doing- there was a shoe repair shop along in there, and two drug stores, Bill’s Dollar Store and the eye doctor and NAPA and the Boerne Star office. What there wasn’t, that I recall, were ye olde shoppes and highend boutiques and fancy restaurants, although back in the day one could get a decent meal at the Elite (pronounced E-light) Cafe in the Carstanjen building next to Main (not Hauptstrasse) Plaza and a dress (or pantsuit) at the Surrey Village dress store next door to Roberts Drugs. I remember Surrey Village but the E-lite was before my time. ‘You’re a longtime fan of “ducky hour” at the Dodging Duck Brewhaus/ Your not-so-secret guilty pleasure is a kolache from Little Gretel.’ Now I’m not knocking either of these fine establishments at all, and the editor of this very magazine is an avowed addict of at least one of these restaurants- and Lord knows, I’ve never turned my nose up at a kolache or any other item of food, unless it’s lima beans. Both the Dodging Duck and Little Gretel are extremely popular and beloved places and good for them, too- it’s infamously hard to make a successful venture out of a restaurant in Boerne. But here’s the thing: some of us old Boerne folks remember back when one of our own ran for city council- and won!- on the campaign promise that she would thin out the anatine population along River Road. (Oh, and anatine means duck, I just looked it up.) And more old Boerneites can remember back even further, to when River Road park wasn’t such a family-friendly place, back when you could pull your car right up beside the picnic tables in the mud and a bunch of juvenile delinquents would do exactly that and sit around on the tables drinking beer and smoking funny cigarettes and generally loitering around and getting up to no good. Alas, everyone is dead now who might remember back to the very beginning, when one William Dietert had one of the first businesses in town, his saw and grist mill, at the River Road dam, or to when the spillway under that dam was called the Boerne Lake and a favorite picnic spot for locals as well as tourists who’d ride into town on the SA&AP excursion train from San Antonio for a day’s getaway in the hill country. The ice plant also used to live across the street from the dam, on River Road and Plant Street (the ‘Plant’ of Plant St actually referred to the ice plant), and plenty of us still fondly recall when our beloved Dr Herbst had his veterinary office in the old ice plant building. This was way back before River Road was a notorious traffic headache, back when Sheep Dip crossing was an actual thing, and when there used to be an awful stink along a stretch of the road arising from the sewer plant- a not-so-pleasant memory, actually, but one of those interesting things we do remember. I’m always longing for the full-throttle time travel experience, the total-immersion thing, and that reek along River Road- well, that was part of the whole old-Boerne experience, but I might skip that part when I do finally get my DeLorean. ‘To save time, sometimes you just say “San Antonio” when people ask you where you’re from.’ No way, Jose! I grew up in a time when Boerne was a whole ‘nother world, a thousand miles away from San Antonio, back when we kids would get all excited when we heard our town mentioned on the big city news, when people were a whole lot less likely to know what you were talking about when you told them where you were from, but we were still fiercely proud of being from this little one-horse burg and would never claim San Antonio just to save time. Another of the twenty-eight signs listed on this Facebook post, oddly enough, is ‘You wouldn’t want to claim anywhere else’, and that part is absolutely right, I wouldn’t. We just weren’t from San Antonio, and if someone didn’t know Boerne from Adam’s off ox well then, we’d tell ‘em. San Antonio is a wonderful city, I was born there at the Nix Hospital and I live there now, but I would never tell anyone it’s my hometown, because my real hometown is Boerne.
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‘You recall the days when the only stoplight was on Main Street. ‘You attended the “original” Boerne High School. ‘You’ve tapped your toes to the music of the Boerne Village Band. ‘You’ll do anything to keep that small town feel. ‘You feel like you live in a different town.’ Yes. All these things. These are the things they got right- I do remember when there was only one stoplight, and at times even that seemed superfluous. Main Street was a sleepy, lazy street where the weeds growing out of the cracks in the sidewalk seemed perpetually coated in summer dust and, as Garrison Keillor said of his Lake Wobegon, ‘It is a quiet town, where much of the day you could stand in the middle of Main Street and not be in anyone’s way- not forever, but for as long as a person would want to stand in the middle of a street.’ I did go to the one and only high school in town and I wore a purple woolen band uniform even in the dog days of August, fuzzy purple conehead hat and all, and I’ve heard the Village Band a million times, running in and out of the pavilion at the Kendall County Fair. And I would do anything to keep that small town feel- rather, I’d do anything to bring back that Boerne where I grew up, but the last of these twenty-eight things is so sadly, damnably true too: I feel like it’s a completely different town. I feel like I’ve been cheated out of that opportunity that people are always getting in the movies and on the Hallmark channel, that chance to go back to one’s childhood places and the scene of the best memories of your life and to stroll around there, to touch the seat of an old swing you used to play on and breathe in the old, familiar smell of the halls of your school, because those things are gone, not metaphorically or figuratively but actually, literally GONE, pulled down and redone and updated and disappeared, and all in the glorious name of progress. Oh, the people who wrote that Facebook piece, they meant well, and some of the things they got right, but it’s a tall order, trying to convey with words the sense of what it means to be from Boerne. It’s like catching smoke in your hands, or trying to hold onto water- it’s like trying to make all those beautiful, eloquent words come out of your head and get onto the page, this trying to capture the essence of this crazy, beloved Boerne. How are you supposed to translate a collage of a thousand different memories into words and paragraphs and make someone else see it like it looks in your head? Here’s a picture of me and my best friend, both of us ten years old, walking from her mom’s shop on a deserted Bandera Road near where HEB is today, down old San Antonio Road and across the Sheep Dip and up River Road, roaming all over a sleepy Boerne in the summertime. Here’s a snapshot of my own kids and nieces and nephews posing on the branch of a tree alongside the Cibolo near the dam, superimposed over another picture of my seventh grade Outdoor Ed class jumping out of our canoes into that old green-watered creek in our school clothes. The smell of a brush pile burning on a drizzly, cold winter day, that inexplicable sense of longing that blows in with the first cold front of the season, riding home in the back of a pickup truck, sunburnt, your eyes red with bleach from the old pool, through a long, sweet summer sunset with the fireflies just coming out. What are the real telltale signs that you’re from Boerne, whether you’ve always lived here or you just showed up last year? Does it make any difference whether you crave a kolache from Little Gretel or a Brainstorm from Bumdoodler’s, or whether you long for a chicken fried steak from the old Caverns restaurant? Does it matter that you went to Boerne High School back when it was on Johns Road or were at the ‘new’ campus when someone burned down the administration building, whether you had the privilege of having Sammy Champion as your principal or whether you graduated from the school bearing his name? Maybe you’ve lived the better part of your life somewhere entirely different, in some other state, even, or maybe you lost your foothold on your hometown when a serious illness put you out of a job and you just couldn’t afford to stay anymorebut the one telltale sign, the one dead giveaway, that you’re a real, true Boerneite ISN’T the amount of time you’ve been here. How you know is this: this little town got into your system, it got ahold of you and branded you some way. Whether you caught it like a disease or chased after it like a prize, Boerne got into your heart and there it is: You love it. For better or worse, it’s your hometown; it’s the place that tattooed its name on your heart. It’s the place where you belong, no matter where you end up.
EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
CONCERNED ABOUT RETIREMENT?
HUNGRY FOR AN EDUCATION?
Join us for a free educational dinner held weekly at Bob’s, Ruth’s Chris, or Maggianos. RSVP at 210-255-3040 Texas License Number 1490984
507 E. Blanco Rd.
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Boerne, TX
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210-255-3040
ART OF
By Misty McElhannon
Misty McElhannon has experienced something that most young women have not: the loss of her husband. Justin suffered for many years through his diagnosis, and in doing so, taught countless people some invaluable lessons. After his passing, Misty came to realize that she learned a few things, too. About life. About love. And ultimately, about grief. There is nothing easy about grief, and the navigation of it is unique to each of us. For this month’s feature, Misty unpacks a few of the lessons learned about grief, and the beauty she found on the other side. I have learned and experienced a thing or two in my 31 years of life. I have learned that I will never come close to knowing everything. I have learned that smiling is one of my favorite things to do. I have learned that being the mom of three boys is the existence of joy, laughter, fear and exhaustion all living in harmony. I have learned the importance of grace (especially the profound and limitless amount provided by God). I have learned that regret is a snore…and most importantly I have learned that life is for LIVING. Those little gems of knowledge have been delivered to me in all types of ways, including mistakes, humility, mentors, friendships, and The Bible. I am most grateful for the knowledge that life is for living. I have birthed three gorgeous little boys Bryce (10), Brody (7) and Braxton (6), and also married an incredible dude, Justin. One of our darling sons has Downs Syndrome. My parents divorced when I was in college. I lost my mom when I was 25 to cancer. I gave birth in a hurricane…and so on and so forth. I have gained much and lost much. The time in-between our birth and death is our life span, but the opportunities we take, the adventures we experience, the laughter and tears…that is our LIFE. I believe there is beauty in every bit of it. Yeah, there is even beauty in death. I mean, people seem to really love the fall season and find the shedding of dead leaves from our trees to be quite lovely. Or maybe it is just the celebration of the pumpkin spice latte that brings such beauty to the melancholy time when our luscious green grass turns brown? I am choosing to believe that we love the autumn because the cooler temperatures are calming and although we will experience some harsh and uncomfortable winter days…the spring WILL come.
Brody
One year ago I experienced a little more life as I watched my husband, Justin, take his final breath. The pain I felt in experiencing him slip away from the earth is tremendous, but the peace and hope that was created from that pain is truly profound. Now hear me out, I definitely did not have this same poetic attitude five years ago when Justin was diagnosed with a surplus amount of autoimmune diseases and was given a prognosis that felt unbearable to a young married couple with three small children. I didn’t care to think about the beauty that comes from ashes at that time and I certainly didn’t want to focus on the inevitable light that would shine through any amount of darkness. I believed those truths, but set them aside as I fought hard for Justin’s health. In fact, as I am able to now reflect, I believe I experienced some of my deepest grief during the time of his diagnosis. I was filled with hope and so was he, but the incredibly blunt hit of words the doctors were laying upon us were so very harsh. I went to sleep one night next to a perfectly healthy man…and woke up the next morning clueless to the fact that our lives would never ever be the same. Over a 4 month period in April – July 2011 we spent every waking moment in doctors’ offices, specialists’ offices, flying across the country for tests, more tests, and second, third and fourth opinions. The following 4 years were not much different, but rather filled with treatments, procedures, surgeries, infusions and consistent bad news. Justin was a fighter. In fact his optimism and ability to never doubt was overwhelming. For four years I watched a dying man live. I watched on as he celebrated every moment in his own way. I saw the reality of his priorities unfold as he felt the end of his life nearing. I witnessed the love he had for the Lord, for his boys and for others in significant ways, which would later be defined as his legacy. My grief journey was heavy and hard, but at the same time, it was a little unbeknownst to me. I had a husband to advocate for and children to take care of, and there was no time to sit around dwelling on loss! As his health slipped away, doctors’ appointments continued to fill our time and medications filled his body…leaves began to fall one by one, ever so subtly. Then I woke up one day and I was calling hospice and before I knew it I looked outside and the trees were bare. I loved him like there was no tomorrow. And then, one day there wasn’t a tomorrow.
26
EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
Grief and loss had been creeping their way into my life, but the beauty of living cast a shade over me that guarded my mind and heart from focusing on that inevitable last breath. The example that Justin set for that way of thinking was often exhausting for me, but such a testament to his faith and fight. Nobody was going to sit around feeling sad on JMac’s watch. He wouldn’t have anything to do with it. Even in his most vulnerable moments, he projected strength that was immeasurable.
Bryce
Braxton
In the months following his death my heart caught up on the grief that had been weaving its way in. It crashed over me like a wave as I took it all in and reflected on the journey. I spent most of the first three months curled up in my bed only getting up to love on my kids. I didn’t go anywhere “public” and I only spoke to or saw those in my very inner circle. My world had stopped, but the rest of the world had to continue on. So I hid in my own world until I was ready to face that reality. I hung close to scripture and held on tight to my boys. The haziness and privacy I was immersed in was uncharacteristic of my usual outgoing and open self. I had lived so much of this journey “publicly” as I blogged about Justin’s health updates, sharing our hopes, fears and prayer requests along the way. I felt like I was in hiding. But then without warning, the fog began to lift and I slowly emerged back into the world. However, the world had taken on a new form that I was extremely unfamiliar with. I had to relearn everything. I had spent four years immersed in a situation that no longer existed. Dedicated 12 years to a man that was gone. I wanted to feel hopeful, but I was too busy being frustrated with the grief chart because I was feeling confused when it clearly stated I was supposed to be feeling angry. I have always been a little eccentric, not necessarily a rule breaker…but surely not a rule follower. I prefer to make up my own rules as I go. With grief I wanted to just follow the guidelines that had been written for me while I crossed the steps off the grief chart like a nice young lady. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks…these recommendations weren’t rules and my grief journey was intended to be just as unique as I am. And then all my big life lessons that I have held tightly squeezed their way into my clouded brain to provide comfort and restore the hope that I was ignoring. I am never going to know everything – and that includes the fact that I can read every grief book and print out all the grief charts that there are in this world, but grief is to be EXPERIENCED and not learned. I will never know everything about grief, because just like a fingerprint, nobody’s grief journey can be duplicated. Smiling is my favorite (yeah – just like the Elf). I look back at pictures and see pain and exhaustion in my eyes from those months leading up to and following Justin’s death. I see new wrinkles continuously forming. I can see when my smile is real and when it is fake. I can see how I really felt in those moments by looking into my eyes. A real smile comes when joy is bursting from your heart. You can still be joyful and alive when you are hurting deep inside. I know and appreciate just how incredible a real smile feels. Grace. This word is just the ultimate. The grace my friends extended to me as I sat in dark times, the grace Justin extended me on my less patient days, the grace the boys extended as they had to miss out on having a healthy daddy and the fun that comes with that, the grace God extended when I was hurting and feeling selfish, the grace that poured from our community during the hardest times, it’s all overwhelming to relive. Receiving this love and mercy that we certainly were never owed is profound. Being a mom to three perfect boys. No explanation needed. Regret is a snore – and it really is. I could probably write a book on things I could have done differently in my life. There are always options and forks in the road, but I love to look back and see that when I may have taken the path less desired…it truly did lead me somewhere so great. And finally, life is for LIVING. The amount of relief I felt as I accepted the fact that grief is in fact an immaculately tailored suit and NOT “one size fits all” was extraordinary. I recognized that just as Justin’s “death journey” was distinctly his, my grief journey belonged to only me. This comprehension opened my heart, mind and soul in such a way that I was able to see just how beautiful death can be. The rawness of the tears that dripped off my face and onto Justin’s cheek as I kissed him for the very last time, the way his life was celebrated at his memorial service, the way the boys eyes light up when they talk about him…this is the beauty that is created from ashes. My appreciation for life took on a shape I didn’t know existed. I can’t change my story and I won’t try. I will value the path that God set me on and I will do my best to find the good wherever I can. I will fail and I will digress and I will forget what is important, but no matter what…spring will come.
APRIL 2016
www.hillcountryexplore.com
27
LICENSE SUSPENDED? WE CAN HELP.
L AW F I R M
507 E. Blanco Rd.
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Boerne, TX
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830-331-2772
APRIL 2016
www.hillcountryexplore.com
29
LIFE
NO MORE EXCUSES
All of us have a dream (or two); something we’ve always wanted to accomplish, to experience, or to become. You might use a word other than “dream.” Words like goal, Bucket-List, or “something I’ve always wanted to do before I die” also apply here. Whatever word you use, everybody has something they’ve always wanted to accomplish. What is it for you? What’s your dream? Start your own company or open a restaurant? Go back to school and get a different degree? Travel the world?
By Paul Wilson
“I don’t have a degree.” “I can’t come up with the money.” “I am too old.” “I don’t have any experience.” “I have four children under the age of 6.” “My spouse would never agree to it.” “Nobody will give me the chance.” “I can’t because of my illness.” “I’ve failed so many times I’ve lost my motivation to try anymore.” “It will never work.” “I am too…(fill in the blank)…shy, dumb, afraid, short, overweight, young.”
Run a marathon, sail a boat, fly an airplane, play baseball, coach hockey, hang-glide, scuba dive, or some other recreational adventure?
Ask anybody who really, really wants to accomplish something and they can describe a host of reasons for why they still haven’t achieved what they had always hoped to do.
Take an invention or product you created to market?
What’s your reason? What is it that’s standing in the path between where you are right now and where you’d like to be?
Become a standup comedian, professional musician, successful writer, or an accomplished actor? Shed that thirty-five pounds you’ve put on since you got married? Transform yourself from a shy and insecure person into a confident, and courageous individual? So, why don’t you? What’s standing in your way? What’s keeping you from pursuing your dream? There are all sorts of reasons for why people’s dreams often collect dust under the passing years of good intentions. See if any of these sound familiar to you?
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Money? Experience? Education? Age? Illness/Injury? Time? All of the above? SO LET ME ASK YOU, “ARE THOSE EXPLANATIONS OR EXCUSES?” Your answer to that one question makes all the difference in the world. One of the two is acceptable. The other is not. One will help you achieve your dreams. The other can ruin everything you have ever hoped for. Let me explain the difference.
EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
EXPLANATION OR EXCUSE? Anyone with a dream is going to run into obstacles along the way. Call them problems, challenges, setbacks, issues, unforeseen circumstances, or just plain bad-luck. “Stuff” is going to get in the way of accomplishing what you’ve always wanted to do. Life is like that. Stuff happens.
THE PROBLEM WITH PROBLEMS Most people look at the circumstance unfolding around them as “the problem.” Many get discouraged or overwhelmed by the sheer fact they have run into roadblocks along the way to their dream. Curiously, a few honestly believe “a dream” ought to come true without incident or inconvenience.
Your journey is not going to be the exception. You, too, are going to run into some roadblocks on the path to your dreams. You just have to be careful YOU aren’t that “thing” keeping you from accomplishing what you always wanted to do.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
I don’t want to diminish the challenges you face. Many times they can seem insurmountable. Explanations for why your journey has been so difficult are certainly acceptable. However, you need to make sure your explanations don’t become excuses. There is a difference, you know. Unfortunately, many people don’t know how to tell them apart. EXPLANATIONS ARE ABOUT UNDERSTANDING. They demonstrate an intellectual grasp as to why something is the way it is. Explanations are an extremely helpful part of our success. Every explanation you come up with for why you are not where you want to be simply represents an understanding of which obstacles stand between you and success. When you list reasons for why your efforts have stalled, you have identified the next steps you need to take to move forward. Your “To Do” list becomes the work you need to accomplish in order to eliminate every explanation for why you are not yet where you want to be. If there are five reasons for why you haven’t yet succeeded, you have five items on your “To-Do” list. Those are the top five things for which you need to come up with answers or solutions. Take, for instance, the person who is trying to lose weight. They can explain to you that late night boredom and a weakness for ice cream is why they have failed to reach their weight loss goal. That’s their explanation. Now they know at least two very specific steps they need to take toward their ideal weight. First, they must make sure eating does not continue to be one of the ways they deal with restlessness at the end of the day. They need to find something to keep them so occupied they don’t keep wandering into the kitchen to soothe their anxiety. (Hint: Television is not the answer. It loves to be enjoyed while you’re eating stuff that isn’t good for you.) Secondly, they must make every effort to avoid any proximity to ice cream until they have learned to control their choices about its place in their diet. Until ice cream can remain a treat they enjoy occasionally rather than a retreat they escape to for comfort, then it’s best not to stock it in their freezer. EXCUSES, ON THE OTHER HAND, ARE ABOUT DENIAL. We use excuses to defend ourselves from the failure to follow through with our ambitions. They are offered to shirk responsibility for our own failure to act. You can have a good explanation for why your progress has been stymied, but the moment you use it as permission to quit, it has become an excuse. The more thoroughly you understand what’s holding you back, the less of an excuse you have. If you can specifically identify what is standing in your way and why, you know enough to start brainstorming solutions for overcoming it. You know what you’re working up against. However, once you use explanation as permission to give up on your dream, it has become an excuse. Explanations give way to solutions. Excuses simply grant permission to avoid the hard work you need to do to overcome your next big challenge. Let’s say you want to be more active in order to lose weight and get into better shape. Of all the options out there, you choose bicycling as your exercise of choice. Everybody knows the first few weeks are a breeze. Other than being sore in the mornings, you enjoy your new adventure. You’re inspired about the prospect of being fit again. The scale registers the loss of a few pounds as a reward for your newfound efforts. Motivation is always high when we’re just getting started. And then the “stuff” happens. Your schedule at work changes. The weather turns cold and rainy. That old knee injury starts nagging at you to stop whatever you’re doing to it. Your weight-loss plateaus and you just can’t lose the rest of what stands between you and your goal. Your motivation wanes. So you head out for another long ride on an unseasonably hot day and the rear tire of your bike is flat. Not just out of air, but punctured and in need of repair. This is the moment of truth. This is where your next choice is either an explanation or an excuse. Understanding that a flat tire on your bike stands in the way of you going for ride is an explanation. It identifies the problem to be solved. The solution is to repair the tire and then get out there for a ride. However, once you resort to using the flat tire as the reason for why you didn’t work out at all, it becomes an excuse. You used the flat tire to a disguise your lack of discipline in doing the hard work exercise requires. An explanation identifies the problem to be solved. In this case, it is a tire to repair. An excuse grants you permission to go back into the house to watch more television while eating another bowl of ice cream.
“The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.” - Theodore Rubin “The problem is EXPECTING otherwise.” That part of Rubin’s observation is so crucial. Expectations often mess with our resolve because they set us up for disappointment. When something doesn’t go quite like we expected, we are let down. If we are not careful, our disappointment can lead to discouragement, which can be a deep hole to climb out of in the face of a difficult task. On the journey toward our dream, we do ourselves a big favor if we let loose of our naïve or idealistic expectations. They set us up for defeat. While we refer to our life’s great ambitions as “a dream,” we must be wide-awake to the harsh realities of what it takes to accomplish a worthwhile pursuit. Embrace problems. They can be helpful. Problems are what forge the proficiency, strength, and discipline you need to see your dream through to completion. When you start seeing problems as the enemy to what we’re doing rather than as a means to where we’re going, you are setting yourself up for the frustration that often leads to failure. “Failure is not the opposite of success. It is part of success.” -Unknown More times than not, the biggest obstacle standing in your path is no larger than the space between your two ears. Your mind can be an enormous roadblock between you and where you’re going. How you think and the choices you make either propel you forward or paralyze you. Thinking is everything! There isn’t a single thing you do that doesn’t begin with a thought. Thoughts influence choices, and choices determine actions. Every single time. Begin on the wrong foot in your thinking, and you set yourself up for failure before you even get started. Every time you encounter an obstacle in your path, you have an important choice to make. Will you accept the challenge in front of you as an obstacle to overcome or as a reason to quit? Until you develop a resolute determination to tackle WHATEVER opposes your progress, you will not see your dreams come to fruition. WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE? I think one of the greatest examples of what is possible if we “put our minds to it” is watching people with handicaps do incredibly difficult activities. My favorites are paraathletes. They inspire me every time. When they do things like finish Ironman triathlons on artificial limbs or climb fourteeners (a mountain that meets or exceeds elevations of 14,000 feet) when they are blind, it usually makes me cry. One look at amazing feats of determination like this, and it completely destroys whatever sorry excuses I come up with for why I can’t accomplish something. Years ago, I knew a gentleman who lost his eyesight in his early thirties due to diabetes. Along with his eyesight he lost his career as a police officer. To add insult to injury, his wife left him for his best friend after her husband went blind. None of that stopped him. He went back to school to get his law degree. He remarried and started a family. Talents and interests he had before losing his sight took on an even more impressive stature. He was an excellent carpenter whose craftsmanship was made more amazing knowing it was done by a blind man. The whitewater rafting trips he took down raging rivers in the U.S. would have been otherwise commonplace were it not for the fact he couldn’t see a single thing. When his infant son was required to wear a full-body cast for several months after a corrective surgery, this man was an amazing stay-at-home dad while his wife went off to work each day. The example of his life still inspires me to this day. Every time an amputee competes alongside me at a triathlon or obstacle course race, I am both inspired and confronted at the same time. If he can do a triathlon on a prosthetic leg, what’s my excuse? If she can complete a Tough Mudder without an arm, what makes me think I can’t? My sorry excuses of too hot, too cold, too wet, too early, too late, to hard, too steep, or too high suddenly pale in comparison to what they have overcome to reach that same finish line I’m striving for. It’s not because they are more physically capable than me. In some ways, they are less able by virtue of the complications they must compensate for as an athlete with a missing limb. Para-athletes will always have at least one additional obstacle to overcome in every race they do that I’ll never have to tackle. While we both may swim in the same cold water, bike up the exact same hills, or run in the same searing sun, a para-athlete will always do so at a disadvantage I don’t have to account for. So, if they’re not a better athlete than me, then what is it? The only answer I can come up with is they must be more mentally disciplined. Again and again and again, they have identified problems to be solved rather than reasons to quit. They have decided to make a list of the next thing to overcome rather than give up. In the face of an almost endless variety of obstacles in their path, they choose explanations over excuses. And so can you.
APRIL 2016
www.hillcountryexplore.com
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Friends and Neighbors, I would like to thank each and every one of you who voted in the primary election. Whether you voted for me or Mike Fincke, I want to acknowledge your patriotism and support of our mutual and strong voice in local government. I also want to thank and acknowledge Mike Fincke, an opponent only in the sense of a political race but a good friend otherwise. Mike ran a good campaign; free of the drama and mudslinging found in too many other campaigns. Thank you for your service to our county, Mike. I will work hard and do my best to build on your efforts. As a member of the Boerne City Council over the last four years, I have learned a lot about government, leadership, and more importantly, the value of listening. Please know I value your input and I strongly encourage you to engage me and participate in your county government. Thank you again for your vote and also for this opportunity to be of service to you and to our wonderful county. Sincerely, Christina Bergmann
Paid Political Ad, Christina Bergmann for Kendall County Commissioner, Robert Cisneros, Treasurer
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
Freshly prepared foods Personalized customer service FritzesBBQ.com
Weddings • Corporate Events • Social gatherings GRADUATION • COMPANY PARTIES • BOX LUNCHES Business Meetings • Conferences • Reunions Tastings by appointment (Dan) Catering Team: 210.867.5236 Email: eat@fritzesbbq.com
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
(FORMERLY LILLIAN’S)
New name, same great fashion! Don’t miss Customer Appreciation Day on April 2! Enjoy specials, drawings, and a gift with purchase! 107 E. San Antonio Ave | Boerne, TX 78006 | 830-446-2182
www.lilianaboerne.com
APRIL 2016
www.hillcountryexplore.com
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AROUND TOWN
Spring is here…a season that, for many, represents newness or a fresh start. In keeping with the newness-theme, we’d like to shine some light on a few local, small businesses here in Boerne that have recently opened their doors to our town:
Fresh Urban Flowers
A contemporary approach to your floral and gift needs “In December 2015 Fresh Urban Flowers opened its highly anticipated Boerne location. Housed in a fully refurbished 1800’s farmhouse, Fresh Urban Flowers Boerne will offer a fun take on the Urban Farm Stand with the freshest flowers and small batch, organic and artisanal candles, bath products and food items available.” www.freshurbanflowers.com ‘Highly anticipated’ may be a bit of an understatement in a town such as Boerne, where new changes can cause excitement and anxiety all at the same time. The store is located in the restored Schwarz family home, along Blanco Rd across from the Boerne PO. Inside you’ll find an open floor plan and exposed wooden beams that pays homage to the historic building, yet with a ‘fresh’ and modern twist. Tables display some of the unique and beautiful floral options, alongside some of their gift packages ready for purchase. Their gifts come packaged in a wooden box and can include candles, bath soaps and lotions, teas and honey, men’s grooming products and more, along with a small flower arrangement. Floral arrangements and gift boxes can be purchased pre-made in the store or customized to your specificity. Fresh Urban Flowers is a branch off of Viridian Design Group, an event planning company in Kerrville. As an extension of the event planning side, owner Tricia Hamil decided to branch out and create a flower shop for those only wanting to use their one-of-a-kind floral design services. For more information, ideas, and pricing, explore their website at www.freshurbanflowers.com or follow them on Instagram @freshurbanflowers.
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
Wander’n Calf Espresso Bar & Bakery
A place where you belong with exceptional custom-roasted coffee Boerne is no stranger to coffee shops, but don’t pass this one up! Nested within the same quaint shop as Sugar Belle’s Cake Shop (located behind Ye Kendall Inn), owner Wendy opened Wander’n Calf with a greater purpose than providing Boerne with a fantastic cup-of-Joe. As parents to their special needs daughter, they wanted to provide an experience where she could thrive beyond high school. Opening Wander’n Calf gave them a unique opportunity by providing an outlet to combine mom’s love of good coffee with their mutual love of baking together, and serving them alongside each other for the good folks of Boerne to enjoy! A recent addition is their lunch menu, offering lunch fare at extremely reasonable prices. Wander’n Calf’s coffee is specifically roasted for their store. After taste tasting different brews from a coffee grower out west, they found the perfect blend for the Wander’n Calf brand. You can purchase their brand of coffees for home-brewing while you stop by for a cup and homemade scone. Warm breakfast options include mini quiches, mini frittatas, or a breakfast sandwich. Be sure to visit www.wanderncalf.com for more on their story and menu.
G.Marie
A tastefully trendy clothing and jewelry boutique for the young ladies and the ‘young at heart’ G.Marie opened its doors to their beautifully stylish store on March 15th. Once the location of the now-closed Hip Dingo, the store was given a fresh, updated makeover from the walls to the flooring to the layout and décor. Owner Rose Weber, says “G.Marie is a fashion-forward, modern, cuttingedge young woman’s boutique. We cater to the young at heart not just the young. If you have fashion or a fun sense of style this is your stop. There is always more to come and we like to change our merchandise out frequently. We like to have every day attire, but we also like to add one of a kind unique pieces; whether it is a top, dress, short, pant, purse, jewelry piece, you name it…. we might have it. We don’t lack a need; we would just like to add more to the Boerne community. So don’t hesitate. Stop on by today, we would love to meet you.” The clothing really is cute. If you favorite a few clothing boutiques (as I do) on Main St, you’ll most likely add G.Marie to that list. As Rose mentioned, there isn’t a lack, but G.Marie is a perfect complement to Boerne’s downtown clothing stores. Follow them on Instagram @_g.marie for updates to their selection.
APRIL 2016
www.hillcountryexplore.com
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FOR SALE - $515,900 - 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 half baths, approx.3604 with amazing patio area and lots of storage. The Reserve at Old Fredericksburg Road.
FOR SALE - $695,000 – Prime Location. Investment opportunity. 3 houses on 2.816 acres on Scenic Loop.
FOR LEASE - $1850 - 3 bed, 2 bath on 0.47 ac fenced yard front and back, and 2 car garage with extra storage
FOR LEASE - $3000 - 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath in Herff Ranch with 2 patios overlooking wildlife area
FOR LEASE - $1400 - 3 bed, 2.5 bath in Villas of Hampton. Ready for immediate occupancy.
FOR SALE - $306,000 - 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths in The Trails of Herff Ranch, approx. 2892 s.f.
FOR LEASE - $1100 - 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo with covered parking and enclosed patio.
FOR LEASE - $1900 - 4 bed, 2.5 bath, approx. 2592 s.f. of living area, office/study in Boerne Heights.
FOR LEASE - $2800 - 5 Bedroom, 3 baths, approx. 3138 s.f., in Trails of Herff Ranch
FOR SALE - $170,000 - Historic Rock Home on 6.487 acres. Many outbuildings and barns.
FOR SALE - $275,000 - Sweet cottage in highly desirable area of Boerne: The Flats. 1 bed, 1 bath on deep lot.
Bluebonnet Realty
M O R E HOM E S AVA I LA BLE. CA LL FOR LISTINGS. 8 3 0 - 8 1 6 - 2 2 8 8 • w w w. b o e r n e t e x a s h o m e s . c o m
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L O C A L LY O W N E D & O P E R AT E D C AL L OR G O ONLINE TO SCH ED U L E Y O UR APPO I N TMEN T : : N O W ACCE P T I N G M E DI C A RE & BC BS OF T E X A S
NTIA DEME CARE & STIM VITAL ED FI CERTI 217 E BANDERA RD. STE #2 • BOERNE, TX, 78006 • 830.331.2083 • INFO@TRIORWS.COM • WWW.TRIORWS.COM
APRIL 2016
www.hillcountryexplore.com
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SPIRITUAL
HELL By Kendall D. Aaron
Sometimes I struggle with the concept of hell. As in, a place of eternal suffering with a lake of fire and demons tormenting you, pitchforks and the whole shooting match. It’s beyond horrifying, and I can’t quite understand why it exists. Created by a loving God that died for me? Huh? Many scholars have determined that Jesus Himself said more about hell than He did about heaven. It was a serious topic that He addressed time and again, and the descriptions are not good. He described it as a “fiery lake of burning sulphur”, “The realm of the dead”, “everlasting destruction”, “eternal fire and destruction”, “a blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”, and many, many more horrifying depictions. I read an account once of a guy that died in a drug overdose and claimed to go to hell. I had read stories of people that claimed to have gone to heaven, with the bright light and the feelings of peace, but had never read one about going to hell. It gave me goosebumps. An exerpt: “And I began going down and down and down like in a deep pit and I started smelling the stench of hell. It’s the most rotten thing that you could ever smell in your life. In fact, you can’t even imagine it. I began to feel a tugging and pulling like the Bible says the demons tug and nag at you. They were calling my name. ‘We got you. We got you. We got you. You belong to us now.’ I saw souls. Lost souls that were in torment in the lake of fire. They were crying and calling on God. Endless calling. They were hopeless. I was hopeless, and I knew it was eternal.” It goes on and on with his descriptions of demons cutting at him, people naked and writhing in the pit of fire, and about how they began his time in hell with his very own crucifixion. Yikes. I have no clue if his version of hell is accurate or a drug-induced oddity, but really, I don’t think it matters. With the ways that Jesus describes it, I want no part of it. The entire concept of hell is something that I think is really hard to grasp. Most of us don’t even really think about it, but if you spend some time really considering the reality of it, it’ll send a shiver up your spine. C.S. Lewis said of hell, “There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture and, specially, of Our Lord’s own words; it has always been held by Christendom; and it has the support of reason.” I’m with that guy – the concept of hell is
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a harshness that I cannot fathom, and wished that it had never been created. The concept of punishment is one that all humans can comprehend, however, punishment always has an end, even if it’s death. How can a punishment NEVER end? How can the human mind ever possibly endure an ETERNAL damnation? And perhaps most profoundly, how could my behaviors and rejection of God in one measly little lifetime warrant that destruction? I don’t suppose any of us on earth will ever be able to truly answer these questions until we get to heaven, and let me tell you, I’m certainly choosing heaven over hell. I suppose that the only knowledge I can take away from the horrors of hell is this: God really, REALLY loves us. Think about it – He came to earth to save us from this very place. He died to save us from it. He told us about it. His words were put into the Bible, the most widely read book in the history of human existence. He warned us about it. Again, He died so that you would never have to experience it….all you have to do is choose Him. The anguish that He must feel for lost souls has to be agonizing. Can you imagine warning your own child about not doing something lest they be eternally damned, and then watching them choose that very thing you warned them against? Or the love you would feel for your child if you died in attempt to ensure they never have to experience something truly awful? But as CS Lewis said, while we might want the entire place stricken from existence, it is still there and it is very, very real. You know that feeling when the cops pull in behind your car and you tense up, terrified that you might get pulled over? And then when they pull away and you breathe this big, silly sigh of relief and kinda laugh at yourself? That’s the best way that I can describe my thoughts as they pertain to hell: terrifying in a way that I cannot even begin to understand, but then I can remember that I’m saved. Eternally saved. And that brings about one giant sigh of relief. Life is short – sometimes it’s so short that you’re walking down the sidewalk one day and you are run over by a dump truck. Your life can end in 9 minutes or 90 years. Take the hand extended to you from God above and save yourself the eternal agony and instead enjoy the eternal happiness. The choice is simple, and it’s yours.
EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
Gentle, Caring, Family Practice, Courteous Professional Staff • State of the Art Procedures & Techniques
WE’ VE RECENTLY E XPANDED George E. Metz III, DDS • Michael Hoeppner, DDS
830-229-5581
Gentle, Caring, Family Practice, Courteous Professional Staff State of the Art Procedures & Techniques
NowRaccepting appointments for Kevin Beitchman, DDS, MS - Orthodontist WE’ VE ECENTLY E X PA N DED George E. Metz III, DDS • Michael Hoeppner, DDS
Kendall Woods Dental 830-229-5581
25 FM 3351 South Boerne, Texas 78006
Now accepting appointments for Kevin Beitchman, DDS, MS - Orthodontist
Kendall Woods Dental
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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
• Ken Nietenhoefer •
Premier Custom Home Builder in the Texas Hill Country For over 40 years, KCN has been building beautiful custom homes of all sizes in Boerne, Comfort, Bandera, Castroville and throughout the Texas Hill Country.
CLASSES • WORKSHOPS • EVENTS “building your practice from the ground up” OFFERING A WIDE VARIETY OF YOGA STYLES
hatha Iyengar yin
vinyasa power vinyasa gentle/adaptive
aerial conditioning aerial yoga crunch barre
830-816-5202
NEW STUDENT SPECIAL Unlimited yoga for 30 days for $100 37131 I-10 Frontage Rd. | Boerne, TX 78006 | 830.428.3022
www.aerialyogaboerne.com
Our reputation for honesty and integrity, combined with our commitment to deliver excellent quality, expert craftsmanship, and customer service, has afforded us the opportunity to build many long lasting relationships with our clients. In fact, we have constructed two or more jobs for 31 different customers.
920 East Blanco Road Boerne, TX 78006 www.kcnbuilders.com
Chet B. hawkins, dds Master in the Academy of General Dentistry, FACD, Pankey Graduate
MASTERFUL DENTISTRY 32 Years Experience
NEW LOCATION 1677 River Road, Suite 103
830-331-7355
www.drchethawkins.com
APRIL 2016
DENTAL RESTORATIONS IN ONE VISIT
With the new technology offered at our office, most dental crowns can be completed in one visit. The advantages for our patients are—only one visit to the office, one numbing injection, no messy impressions, no wearing a temporary crown for weeks, and high tech precision on your restoration. Please call our office at 830-331-7355 to learn more about this new technology to serve our patients.
www.hillcountryexplore.com
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r a B k c a J t o o B t a h t April 16 p m i r h S • e g a s u a S • h s i f s w e a o t Cr a t o P • n r o C • s m o o r h s u ! M e r o M d n A c i s u M Live
BOOT JACK BAR
MONDAY - THURSDAY 3PM-12AM • FRIDAY - SATURDAY 3PM-2AM SUNDAY 3PM-11PM • 21 & OVER
T E L : 210 - 8 61 - 0 0 74 1 F M 3 5 51, S T E . 10 0 • B E R G H E I M , T X • J U S T S O U T H O F 4 6 & B E H I N D T H E VA L E R O
CHARITY
VAULT
By Misty McElhannon
I have loved having the opportunity to sit down with some of Boerne’s most philanthropic souls to learn what drove them to dedicate their lives selflessly to advocate for others. There are 326 active registered nonprofit organizations in Kendall County. We are saturated with opportunity to love on others and I think that is over-the-top incredible. I adore living in a community where the position of benevolence, kindness and generosity is so prevalent. I have had the very sweet privilege of working for and with what I consider to be Boerne’s greatest nonprofit organizations, and I am beyond excited for the continuing opportunity to learn of what else our great city has to offer through this column. This month I get to write about my personal favorite - Vault: Fostering Community. Vault was developed in January 2014 over coffee at Freedom Cup in Boerne, Texas. I sat down with my dear friend Rachel Russo to just talk about life and as it usually goes with out time together, our casual coffee turned into a brainstorming session. We began discussing how excited we were to see the growth of orphan care in our community. We had already been given the opportunity to rally for several friends as they had taken a leap of faith into making a difference in our world by loving orphans the way God loves them. At that time, Rachel was in the process of foster parent certification and was able to share some of the fears she had in boldly opening her home. We both wanted to come alongside families in this beautiful but sometimes overwhelming process. We began to dream about the resources we could provide to families and if we could alleviate even a small amount of chaos to local foster families…then maybe more people would be inclined to open their homes. Then we took that dream and we kicked its butt right into a reality. Vault received official 501c3 non profit status at the end of 2014. Using only social media and word-of-mouth, we were able to provide resources to over 100 families in 2014 and we are on track to double that number in 2015. Our mission became to provide support for local foster families as they meet the need of foster children. We desire to help ease the burden by collecting necessities for families receiving placements with short notice. Foster care is a safe place for a child to be if he/she cannot live with his/her family or on their own. Children enter foster care because of neglect, abuse, or a family crisis. Foster parents help children grow by providing them with stability, affection, consistency, and nurturing. As we began to collect, sort and distribute items our passion grew for the greater needs that these families may encounter. When we stepped in and took a closer look, we saw people excited to change the life of a child, even if just for a
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short time. Foster care can be unpredictable and demanding at times and Vault wants to do more than drop off a car seat or crib. We cannot all be foster parents, but we can all be a part of ending the orphan crisis in some way. We act as a library with larger items (cribs, car seats, strollers, etc.) by providing families who have received a placement the ability to “check out” the things they need and we are able to gift the families with smaller items like clothes, books and diapers. We also host interest meetings to educate our community on the details of foster care, host quarterly parents night out events for foster parents, have two support groups (Strong Room and Stronger Room), assist in first aid training, an so much more. We are completely funded by like minded people in our community, local churches and The One Less Race. One Less Race was created by my favorite family in all the world, The Fickey’s, to help eliminate some of the financial stress on their journey to bring their son home from Africa. The race has grown tremendously each year and last year partnered with Vault, because we believed together we could create a larger impact. This years race will take place at the beautiful Joshua Springs Park and Preserve on May 14th and will not only provide financial support to Vault, but will also provide grants to two more families that are in the process of International adoption. Join us as we help speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. We just can’t do it without you. Ways YOU can be a part! - Is your birthday coming up and you can’t think of anything you “need”? Ask for new packages of diaper and wipes or visa gift cards to help Vault love on families! - REGISTER to RUN/WALK/VOLUNTEER/SPONSOR One Less Race 2016 - Make a monetary donation to Vault on our website. Become a monthly donor...all the cool kids are doing it! - Donate your gently used baby and children’s items to us! Visit our website or find us on Facebook for the most up to date information. Then stop by the One Less Race website to register for a FUN family friendly event that is sure to become a yearly tradition for you!
EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.
OLD TIMER
OLD TIMER Doug’s Liquor store just closed down. If you don’t know what/who Doug is, then I’m going to go out on a limb and say that you have moved here in the last 5 years. Plaza Package Store (Doug’s Liquor Store) is the beige liquor store right in the main shopping district of Main Street. It’s been in operation for the past 700 years or so, and Doug politely sells booze to the citizens of the area with wry smile and a wink. He’s been sick lately, and his kids don’t really want to get into the liquor store business, so Doug closed and retired. If ever there was a day that I will consider to be one of the final nails in the coffin for Boerne, it’s the day that Doug shut off his neon OPEN sign for the last time. You see, Doug is old school. He runs his shop diligently, and gets to know his customers. He chats with you while ringing you up, and asks how your kids are doing. He asks about your mother, because he also sells to her the occasional bottle of bourbon, even though the doctor has told her to cut it out. He shakes your hand, and you see him at the 4-H auction. He’s part of the town, and gives it a character and depth that can only be produced via a connection, an involvement, and decades of consistency. So the day that Doug’s Liquor Store closed down, Boerne lost yet another piece of our history, our uniqueness, and our local flavor. And I find that pretty damned depressing. We’ve got a Don’s & Ben’s franchise location on the South end of town, and we have a Twin Liquors where Blockbuster used to be, but I couldn’t tell you anything about the folks that work there. I know that both, however, are owned by out of towners. People with zero local connection that hire hourly folks to dawdle away the days, ringing up folks with their booze of choice. In my humble opinion, the slow methodical death of Boerne hasn’t necessarily been growth, though that’s been a large issue. More people isn’t always a terrible thing…but I do think that those new people need to decide very early on how things should work in this wonderful little small town that they just moved to, and act accordingly. No, they don’t need to join some “Good ‘ol Boy Network” that might exist, but rather, they should seek out and support the character that exists in the town that they moved to because it had character. We’ve got over one million square feet of new retail coming to the land behind Herbst Vet. ONE MILLION feet. Mayor Schultz is out there glad-handing anyone that will listen about how proud he is that this new development will bring in terms of tax dollars, and most of us are rolling our eyes that we are going to get a TJ Maxx, CVS, and a Gold’s Gym. All owned by out-of-towners via massive franchise networks. And I have absolutely no doubt that they will be heavily utilized, popular, and very, very shiny.
50
Veronica owns the Little Gretel, and her family has lived here in town for eons. She would love to pour you a beer after work and talk, but where is the busiest bar in town? Chili’s. Freaking Chili’s!! Celeste owns (aptly named) Celeste on Main Street and sells wonderfully crafted ladies’ clothing. She is a local resident and is a pretty fascinating woman. And while she might have 2 or 3 customers at a time perusing her wares, Bealls has 50 or 60. The Boerne Grill sells freshly roasted coffee. Really good coffee, actually. Locals abound inside having casual conversations and catching up. It’s locally owned and hires oodles of local kids to run the registers. He’ll have a dozen people in there chatting over coffee…. but then you drive by Starbucks and the drive-thru line literally wraps around the building. The inside has a line 20 deep. The money is sent back to Washington State, but you have your $4 cup of coffee. Doug’s Liquor Store is closed, and with it, closes yet another chapter on Boerne’s history and character. Growth is NOT the problem in Boerne. I know that goes contrary to the things that you hear every day around town, but it’s not growth. It’s CHOICE. Boerne seems to want, want, want every fancy, franchise-owned, corporate offering…and because of our demographics and population, we seem to be getting them. Then, in our joy, we stop frequenting our neighborhood stores, owned by our very neighbors, and instead ooh and aah at the shiny new stores we get. Then our neighborhood shop closes, and we shrug our shoulders and wonder if a Chick-Fil-A will open in their spot. You reap what you sow, I suppose. You wanted it, and now you have it. I’m going to go pour myself a nice bourbon and think about Doug. I’m going to think about all the really great people in town running these great little businesses full of history and character and spirit. Then I’m going to drive around and note all of you sipping your Starbucks, while you moan about the changes in Boerne. But not before you wonder when a free-standing McDonald’s will be built.
EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.