EXPLORE November 2015

NOVEMBER 2015

Elegant Ranch Designs at Affordable Prices

31300 IH-10 West (exit 543 across from Toyota) • Boerne, Texas 78006

830.755.6355 • 210.535.3070

www.CatrinasRanchInteriors.com • catrina@catrinasranchinteriors.com

Welcome to Boerne

Scan Code With Your Smart Phone

Bluebonnet Realty

FOR SALE - $179,900 - Comfort Historical home built c. 1900 on 6+ acres with several barns and outbuildings.

To Be Sold As Is Where Is!

FOR LEASE - $2400 - GREAT VIEW! 8 Acres. 3 bed, 2 bath home in Friendly Hills. Also for sale, $385,000

FOR LEASE - $2750- NEW CONSTRUCTION - 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath with game/media room in Champion Heights

FOR LEASE - $2800 - 3 bed, 2 bath on 3 acres with views an old barn and 1800 s.f. metal building

FOR LEASE - $1500 - 3 bed, 2 bath. Fresh paint new floors updated kitchen and more with large fenced yard convenient to Main Street.

FOR LEASE - $3000 - 5 bedroom, 3.5 bath plus large game/family room in Trails of Herff Ranch.

FOR LEASE - $2475 - 5 bedroom! 2 master areas, 3 bath in Woods of Frederick Creek. New tile flooring, open plan, approx. 2600 s.f. of living area.

FOR LEASE - $1500 - 4 bedroom, 3 bath home on 0.46 ac fenced with carport, in Walnut Hills Estates off Sisterdale road. Approx. 1821 s.f. of living area.

MORE HOMES AVAILABLE. CALL FOR LISTINGS.

830-816-2288 • www.boernetexashomes.com

Rob McDaniel General Manager, The Dominion HOA

styling for the discerning gentleman™

IT’S GOOD TO BE A GUY, BUT IT’S GREAT TO BE A MAN.

$10 OFF YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE 930 E. BLANCO, BOERNE TX

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830.443.4500

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w w w. c o m p l e t e g e n t . c o m

NOVEMBER

Explore what's inside this issue!

10 From the Publisher 12 Calendar

28 LIFE

YOUR HONOR CODE

38 Spiritual

Publisher Benjamin D. Schooley ben@hillcountryexplore.com

42 OLD TIMER

Operations Manager Michelle Hans michelle@smvtexas.vom

quiet

14 TROUBADOUR

OLD TIMER has a license to do whatever he wants.

600 MILES FROM HOME

Creative Director Benjamin N. Weber ben.weber@smvtexas.com

18 The art of GIVING

Taking It To The Streets is making a huge impact.

Assistant Creative Director Kayla Davisson kayla@smvtexas.com ADVERTISING SALES 210-507-5250 sales@hillcountryexplore.com

30 THANKSGIVING

Not yo’ mamma’s thanksgiving dinner

34 Veterans

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

VFW POST 688

22 History HOW GREAT THOU ART

Being the second oldest post in Texas, VFW Post 688 is a proud fixture in Boerne.

Contributing Writers

8

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, As often happens, this is the 11th draft of this letter. Typically when this happens it’s because I just cannot seem to craft the proper words to convey the thought I’m wrestling. No matter how I twist and wrestle the words, the end result is just not quite what I had intended. It’s frustrating - like when you just can’t seem to remember someone’s name, though it is on the tip of your tongue – no amount of smacking your forehead with the palm of your hand seems to bring the name to your mind. That’s kind of how I feel with these letters sometimes.

I know that there are an endless number of reasons for marriages and relationships to fail. I know that people cheat, addictions tear them apart, violence, abuse, and countless other reasons. However, I know that for the vast majority of relationships, it boils down to just plain ol’ fashioned “I don’t like you anymore.” A person might say “I thought he was so nice but then he changed and became a different person.” Is that possible? Sure. However, odds are, the person didn’t really change all that much, but your perspective of him and his quirkiness sure did.

I’m not sure why I’m struggling so much with what I’m trying to say, as it is beyond simple. Here’s the point I’m trying to make: We are all broken. That’s it. Nothing too complicated, right? This simple truth was one that I was using to unpack some thoughts about relationships and why they fail. That was my original avenue to simply talk about people. I’m recently divorced, so I always laugh that the divorced guy should be the one dishing out relationship advice, but every angle I have tried to talk about the issue just seems like it’s falling flat. In frustration, I delete the draft and begin anew.

This is not a personal essay on anything that I feel has or is impacting me currently, but maybe my recent experiences have had me watching myself and others as they attempt to navigate their own heart. Because really, every relationship is a dance of the heart itself. In our desire for both self-protection and self-fulfillment, we stumble and bumble through a dance with another heart and sometimes we lose the rhythm.

I suppose that all I really want to say is that the breakdown of relationships is an unfortunate and often unnecessary side effect of our ever-present inability to remember that each of us is broken and imperfect. We understand that we have issues, but we stop allowing the other person the same latitude. Let me explain.

My friend “Scott” is really lonely despite having approximately 27 dates a week. The women are a distraction to the fact that, in his heart, he’s really just looking for someone to help fulfill his life and share it with him. He can’t seem to figure out how to say that, so he just goes from woman to woman, aimlessly looking for something beyond a surface connection. My friend “Diane” is coming off of a horrific marriage, and has so many scars. She is terrified of letting anyone new into her heart, and guards it like the treasure that it is. My friend “Rebecca” has really fallen for a guy, but can’t seem to decide if she’s willing to let herself go completely over the ledge for him. She moves toward him, and then retreats back into her safe place. Round and round she goes, confused and scared. My friend “Jessica” recently lost her husband at a young age, and is coming out of the fog thankfully. She wrestles with whether she is honoring her late husband, yet her heart misses LOVE. Her children provide love, but she yearns for a connection and for someone to share her heart with.

Dance as much as you can. Love as hard as you know how. Take a moment and inventory your own heart, your imperfections, and the steps to your dance. Now look across the room at your significant other. Think about his/her imperfections, and just know that they are simply doing the best that they can right now.

Just like you. I will trust that you can relate. If you can, enjoy your relationship.

Welcome to November. The month of THANKS. Be thankful you’re alive on this imperfect world with your imperfect heart and your imperfect relationships. Hug someone, laugh at yourself, and live the greatest life you can. That’s all we can really do.

Smiling, Benjamin D. Schooley

ben@hillcountryexplore.com

I could go on and on, and so could you. We all carry so many fears and so much collateral damage in our imperfect hearts from past wounds, and we are so very, very careful with our navigation of relationships. We have been hurt, and are wounded with scars that criss-cross all over our souls like band-aids. We understand this about ourselves, and we want to believe that we understand it about the other person in our relationship.

And maybe we do for a while. Maybe we enter a relationship and give the other person the space and freedom to be a little confused and imperfect. We are patient with each other, respect each other’s faults and fears, and we smile because we think they are adorable. We promise to not hurt them, we hold their hands, and we whisper the things that they want to hear in their ears. While we worry about our own imperfections and understand that they are respectful of your issues, you are simultaneously very aware of THEIR imperfections and allow them the latitude to be a little fearful. I suppose we cherish their hearts in the earliest days and understand that their “issues” are what make them unique and we enjoy that component.

And then something changes. It obviously doesn’t happen to my friends that are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, but let’s be real: human beings have an extraordinary ability to take something they cherish (a relationship) and absolutely nuke it to hell. So what happens to cause that? Where do we get it so wrong? Again, as the recently divorced guy, I’m not going to claim to be an expert on how to have a happy marriage, but I do understand a little about people, so I’ll add this: I think that it’s because we forget we’re all imperfect and we decide that instead, the other person is tragically flawed.

Why do we do this? I have no clue. The very things that we respect and cherish about the other person early on are the things that can ultimately unravel our relationships.

We decide that a person isn’t scarred and imperfect, they are selfish and impatient.

They aren’t worried or scared, they are controlling and cold. Our vision ceases to be on a person’s heart and instead moves to focus on their sins. This is where I think it jumps the rails. Once your focus is no longer on your needs and issues and instead you begin to critique and become impatient with the other person’s issues, it can become very hard to save. There’s a lot of religious sentiment in this concept (that I’ll spare you), but friends, no matter how good you think you are or how you think the “blame” might fall on your spouse...we are ALL broken people with issues.

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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

NOVEMBER

Get out and enjoy the great Texas Hill Country!

The most comprehensive events calendar. Send submissions to info@hillcountryexplore.com BANDERA Nov. 6 Hunters Barbecue and Musicfest ncludes live music, food, exhibits, a gun raffle and other activities. Antler Oaks Lodge, 3862 Texas 16 N. www.banderatexasbusiness.com Nov. 7 Hunters’ Game Dinner and Dance Includes a washers tournament starting at 2 p.m., barbecue, dance and concert. The Farm Country Club, 475 Pue Road. www.banderacowboycapital.com Nov. 7 Market Days Features local arts and crafts. Courthouse Lawn. www.banderatexasbusiness.com/market-days

FREDERICKSBURG Nov 1-Nov. 19 Fredericksburg Fall Farmers Market Enjoy Live music, prepared foods, cooking demonstrations, wine tasting and more. Hours are 4–7 p.m. Pioneer Museum, 325 W. Main. www.fbgfarmersmarket.com Nov. 6 First Friday Art Walk Fredericksburg Tour fine art galleries offering special exhibits, demonstrations, refreshments and extended viewing hours. Various locations. www.ffawf.com Nov. 11 Veterans Day Observance On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, this ceremony honors all veterans of all conflicts. Memorial Courtyard at the National Museum of the Pacific War. www.pacificwarmuseum.org Nov. 13-15 Die Kunstler Fine Art Show and Sale Event represents more than 40 member artists and 300 original works of art. St. Mary’s Family Center, 306 W. San Antonio. www.diekunstler.com Nov. 14-15 Fredericksburg Fall Antiques Show Browse a wide variety of antiques from dealers offering furniture, architectural items and select collectibles.

Gillespie County Fairgrounds, 530 Fair Drive. www.texasantiqueshows.com Nov. 14-15 Pacific Combat Living History Program Living-history demonstration covers WWII weaponry, clothing, training and tactics of U.S. and Japanese military complete with tank and flame thrower. National Museum of the Pacific War Combat Zone. www.pacificwarmuseum.org Nov. 20-22, 27-29 Fredericksburg Trade Days Shop with more than 350 vendors in six barns, acres of antiques, biergarten, live music and more. Sunday Farms, Seven miles east of town off U.S. 290, across from Wildseed Farms. www.fbgtradedays.com

GRUENE Nov. 26 Turkey Trot Includes a 5K run/walk and quarter-mile children’s Turkey Chase race (chasing a turkey mascot). Gruene Historic District. www.gruenehall.com

Nov. 19 Come and Taste It A featured winemaker showcases three of their newest 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, 1612 Hunter Road. www.grapevineingruene.com Nov. 21-22 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

HONDO Nov. 1-Nov. 15 South Texas Maize See if you can find your way in and out of the 7-acre puzzle carved into stalks or corn. South Texas Maize, 911 U.S. 90 E. www.southtexasmaize.com

JOHNSON CITY Nov. 28 Christmas at the LBJ Boyhood Home National Park Rangers offer an open house of the historic home where President Lyndon B. Johnson grew up as it’s decked out for a 1920s-style Christmas celebration. Hours are 6–9 p.m. LBJ National Historical Park, 200 E. Elm St. www.nps.gov/lyjo

JUNCTION Nov. 28 Wild Game Dinner Enjoy food, prizes and raffles at this festive affair for hunters. Coke Stevenson Center. www.junctiontexas.com

KERRVILLE Nov. 6 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. Depot Square. www.storkcountry.com Nov. 7 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 Nov. 13-15 James Avery Hill Country Golf Classic Scott Schreiner, Comanche Trace and Riverhill Golf Courses. www.kerrvilletx.com Nov. 27-28 Kerr County Market Days Old-fashioned market on the square features handmade crafts, artwork and homegrown plants and produce.

Hours are 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Kerr County Courthouse, 700 Main St. www.kerrmarketdays.org

LUCKENBACH Nov. 28 Luckenbach Thanksgiving Dance Come work off that turkey dinner and dance the night away to live music in Luckenbach’s legendary dance hall. Luckenbach Texas. www.luckenbachtexas.com

MARBLE FALLS Nov. 20 Christmas Light-Up Parade Main Street between First and Sixth streets. www.walkwayoflightstx.com Nov. 20-Jan. 1 Walkway of Lights Enjoy a self-paced walk through a winter wonderland with more than 250 lighted displays on the banks of Lake Marble Falls. The walk is approximately a quarter-mile long and is handicap friendly. Open from 6–10 p.m. nightly, weather permitting. Santa is available for pictures on the weekends. Lakeside Park. www.walkwayoflightstx.com

MASON Nov. 14 Wild Game Dinner Enjoy all-you-can-eat wild game, giveaways and a dance afterward. Fort Mason Park Community Building.

NEW BRAUNFELS Oct. 31-Nov. 1 Train Show Features many large model train layout exhibits, a “kids run the train” layout and more than 350 tables with train items for sale. Hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Sunday. New Braunfels Civic Center, 375 S. Castell Ave. www.nbrrm.org Nov. 6-15 Wurstfest Join the fun at this 10-day celebration to sausage and beer, which includes live music on multiple stages, dancing, a carnival and lots of German-Texan hospitality.

Wurstfest Grounds, 120 Landa St. www.wurstfest.com Nov. 20-22 Weinachtsmarkt Browse a Christmas market and book fair. New Braunfels Civic and Convention Center, 375 S. Castell Ave. www.sophienburg.com

WIMBERLEY Nov. 7 Wimberley Lions Market Day Stroll along a shaded path to more than 475 booths filled with a wide variety of arts, crafts, antiques, gift items, clothing and more. Wimberley Lions field, 601 F.M. 1325. www.ShopMarketDays.com Nov. 14 Second Saturday Gallery Trail More than a dozen galleries offer wine, snacks and art displays from 4–7 p.m. Wimberley Square. www.wimberleyarts.org

Nov. 8 Gospel Brunch with a Texas Twist Serves awe-inspiring gospel music coupled with a mouthwatering buffet from 10:30 a.m.–noon. Advance tickets recommended. Gruene Hall, 1281 Gruene Road. www.gruenehall.com

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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

Cy Torgerson, Proprietor/Instructor

At the Bohemian Guitar Player, we are dedicated to educating and encouraging the development of aspiring young musicians. Choosing to learn to play will become one of the best decisions you’ll ever make and the rewards will last a lifetime whether you play for fun or choose to have a career in the music industry.

We provide professional one on one personalized guitar and bass instruction.

ROCK • BLUES • FOLK, COUNTRY • AMERICANA Learn to play what you enjoy!

Teaching over 1,400 students since 2001!

265 N. Main #C • Boerne, Texas 78006

830.249.9931

www.thebohemianguitarplayer.com “When you encourage the love of music, you are giving a gift that will last a lifetime!”

You love our breakfast.

Discover our dinners!

518 River Road, Boerne, TX www.littlegretel.com

830-331-1368

November 2015

www.hillcountryexplore.com

13

TROUBADOUR

600 MILES FROM HOME: Part 1

14

By Rene Villanueva

EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

I’m at the end of the tour. Hovering just under 4 weeks out, in Little Rock.

“You got a lot of stuff hun... looks like you got kicked out of your apartment.”

The other musicians are in and out of a hotel day room. Showering. Resting.

Calling loved ones at home. Lounging on the bus. Getting ready for tomorrow’s flights. Everyone’s a little edgy, a little somber, and more than a little hungry.

“No... I’m playing tomorrow,” I said kicking my bass case, but she starts laughing, deep and husky.

I’ve spent the afternoon on a walk around town with our drummer Fred and Lindsay, after a big lunch of course. Pretty much how it’s been every day, except that today is a mix of excitement, melancholy, and homesick desperation. Last days are heavy.

Sam, the guitar tech and all around great guy, is setting up gear on stage. After lunch we had load-in, which is why I’m taking a breather; I won’t have something to do until sound-check in a few hours.

She’s messing with me.

“I know, I know hun,” she laughs more then turns away, taking another drag…leaving me feeling strange.

Should I leave? Where would I go? Does she want to talk or just tell me that joke? That was a joke, right?

Then she snubs out the butt under a heel, and sits next to me.

The driver, Sean, is working on the bus. The generator has been tricky for the last few days, but it was able to make it to the lot behind the club overlooking the Arkansas River. Nothing as bad as when the brakes went out in Montreal almost making Heartless late for a festival in Toronto. That’s just par for the course, when you put that many miles on anything, the small things start to give out.

“Who ya waiting for?”

Walking, sitting, waiting, and writing. Thinking about everything that’s happened to me on this run. Wild thoughts. Strange dreams and epiphanies. A string of days where everything felt dark. Nihilistic comedy. Jubilant performances.

“Yeah.”

And now.

“They are... uh... coming from New York, I think,”

A handful of giant fist-sized crickets passing by my head, and a grandmother pushing two toddlers in a stroller. I listen to the river.

“You don’t know?”

There are a million little things I could tell you about: strange people, inside jokes, tensions and arguments...the dark stuff that makes for easy stories...but I’ll try to write something about gratitude, a word rarely used in this business. Though it might take me a second to get there.

I feel it’s important, ‘cause I feel really grateful. Now…on this very bench…as I’m writing to you…so close to home. And from day one, from the moment I had landed in New Orleans...or actually a little after that.

“Thanks for flying with us.”

I nodded back weakly, not because the flight was bad, but I’m just not a morning person.

I was getting an unusual amount of hospitality from the attendants. I’m not used to First Class, and the only reason I’m there is because of some fluke about the number of bags I can carry, and how many musical instruments it was cheaper for me to fly first class.

Anyways...

It was 9:00 in the morning, and I already had enough snacks and diet cola to last me till lunch, but that still doesn’t mean I was ready to talk to people.

Baggage claim’s next on my list, I think to myself as I’m turning on my phone, following the herd off of the plane.

Baggage claim, I think to myself as my phone loads up the regular amount of programs and updates. I get an email from Mgmt. I read it as I collect my bags ahead of everyone else (one of the perks of first class).

‘Rene. You’ll be landing first. The guys should be a couple of hours behind. It’ll probably be easier for you to wait at the airport until they arrive. Then you can go to the rehearsal together.’

“The rest of my group.”

“By yourself? Hmm…”

“Why ain’t they here? The rest of your band? Shouldn’t a band be together?”

“I’ve never played with these guys before,” I said trying to explain this situation, but I don’t know how interested she really is.

She’s getting to the end of the smoke.

“But you’re playing tomorrow?”

“That’s right...”

She says something else, but it was lost in the roar of a bus pulling away from the stop, and I don’t really feel like asking her to repeat. She starts looking through her iPhone with one hand, grabs the cigarette pack off the bench between us, and without another word walks away.

There’s a weird moment when I’m alone. I notice a breeze hadn’t come by in a while.

I notice New Orleans is warm, but not the kinda warm that I have in Texas. The air is heavy and wet. The warmth is hovering all over me. I could feel it sitting in my chest. Why hadn’t I noticed this before?

I try to distract myself, pulling out my phone, playing a quick game. Then I check my emails as a new group of passengers comes thru.

I look over the schedule.

Show after show.

Only a few days off.

Why hadn’t I noticed this?

And all I can think of thru the woman and her cigarettes: Everything’s different.

The people unloading from planes, grabbing their bags, getting into taxis. New Orleans: Everything’s different.

Only a couple of hours at the New Orleans airport... I think as I’m passing the last restaurants and shops, heading through security.

And I think about the last bus tour I did, the smallness of a bus bunk. Buses are small: Everything’s different.

And now it’s too late to go back.

My family back at home, my son, my wife.

Everything’s different.

The waiting area for rentals and taxis is small. Real small. Two vending machines, an empty help desk, and a rack of pamphlets...and nowhere good to kill two hours.

And soon I’m waiting outside on the smoking bench, with my gear and bag, next to a fifty-something women burning through a second cigarette.

“You get kicked out?” she asked.

I’ve got a month on a bus with a band of guys I don’t know. Everything’s different and anything could happen.

Then my phone buzzed.

“Rene. We landed. Where are you?”

“What?” I was in too much of a daze to understand her, until she points at all my things with a deep violet polished finger.

November 2015

www.hillcountryexplore.com

15

Rehabilitate in Boerne, One Step Closer to Home

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in the heart of Boerne, with individualized therapy programs that enable one to return home quickly. By receiving rehabilitation services close to home, family and friends are able to visit often and with ease.

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• Being the most contemporary rehabilitation facility in Boerne • Providing physical, occupational, speech, and vital stim therapy in a modern and innovative setting under the guidance of highly trained and experienced therapists • Offering both inpatient and outpatient therapy services to improve one’s overall strength and mobility • Facilitating admissions 24/7

1440 River Road • Boerne, Texas 78006 • 830.816.5095

C ibolo C reek H ealtH . org

16

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.

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.

830-816-5202 920 East Blanco Road Boerne, TX 78006 www.kcnbuilders.com

November 2015

www.hillcountryexplore.com

17

ART OF

By Ben Schooley

Sometimes helping others begins with simply identifying the need. What began with a group of people simply trying to help San Antonio’s homeless in any way they could has since grown to become one of Kendall County’s most well known and well supported outreach ministries. Every Friday and Saturday night, large groups of volunteers head to downtown San Antonio and minister via hot meals and strong handshakes to countless people that are truly in need of help.

Taking it to the Streets has now been in operation for 6 years and has grown from 3 people feeding the homeless under a bridge in San Antonio to a full ministry operation.

Brooke House, Director of Community Relations for the organization, begins, “Three men had been going down town and had been looking for ways to help. It grew bigger and bigger, and they have since stepped out and began to grow the ministry. Katie [Fickey] was the first to come on staff just because we knew we really needed somebody to give direction and get communication with the community to build our volunteer base.” As the ministry grew, so did the schedule. “We were feeding every other week on Fridays, to then every Friday, and now last year we added Saturdays. It started off as just feeding them and has now developed in to more of a support role, relationship building, and all kinds of other outreach opportunities.”

As a group whose central mission is that of GIVING and of SERVICE, Taking it to the Streets looks for virtually any way they can help a person and enact a plan to accomplish that.

While it begins with a simple meal, the purpose is much deeper. “We always talk about Time, Talent, and Treasure in terms of giving. So you can give your Time in volunteering in a number of ways. We have lots of ways you can volunteer on Friday and Saturday nights. You can also be giving of your Talent…everybody has spiritual gifts, so figure out what your spiritual gifts are and find a way to plug that into the ministry. For example, if you are blessed with a musical ability, come lead worship one night, if you are blessed by being a really fantastic cook, come and get your group together and you guys make food that’s homemade meals for our people, and we even have people that come and give haircuts. If your spiritual gift is evangelism, then you come and relationship build with people and share the love of Jesus with them on a one-on-one basis. Then your Treasure is obviously financial as in the Bible it tells you to give to take care of the least of these and give to other people even if it’s not Taking It 2 The Streets. I feel like you have to be giving somewhere, and it’s got to be intentional and purposeful based on what God has called you to do. Going back to Talent, it may not be in relation to going downtown Friday and Saturday nights, because that makes a lot of people nervous to be with the homeless population, as it’s just unpredictable, and we would have people say ‘Hey, I’m

18

a mechanic, can I service your vehicles/shuttles for free?’ Things like that that are more outside the box. Or ‘talents’ like printed materials for us, or videos. So you’re identifying what are you good at, and finding where you can make that fit.”

Those outreach opportunities have truly benefited countless people in dire need of help.

While they may help many temporarily by providing a hot meal, the ultimate goal is always to help transform lives. She continues, “We had a guy named “Fred” that was homeless, and we served him for a significant amount of time. He would come every Friday and Saturday, and eventually “Fred” became enrolled in a culinary program through Haven for Hope. He was staying there, but he really wasn’t happy. He ended up graduating, and still coming to serve with us, and built a great relationship with us. When he finished school, he got on staff with Haven for Hope, and now he comes and serves on Fridays and Saturdays with us. He’s giving back to a ministry that was very supportive of him during a time when he felt like he didn’t have much. It was the collaborative effort of the ministry and what we strive for everyday. I think it was the consistency of us being there, him knowing he could count on us, having a support system where he could ask for prayer, for guidance, and lots of people invested in him along the way.”

Katie Fickey, Programming Director, adds, “We believe that loving our neighbor and serving the poor is a biblical mandate. The Bible calls us to seek justice for the oppressed, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked (Isaiah 58). Because we take God’s word literally, this leads to some hard, messy and HOLY work. We believe we are called to go beyond our church walls and enter into some difficult and dark places where we may not always feel comfortable, but where God chooses to grow us. While often times people are intimidated the first time they serve, meeting the homeless where they are (on the streets) is always a humbling and growing experience. Hearing the stories of why our friends are living homeless (most due to abusive situations, neglect, or mental health issues) softens hearts and reminds us that we are no better and no more deserving of love than our homeless friends are. We are all broken people and we ALL need a Savior. We all long to be valued and treated with dignity. And we are all called to love each other as Christ loves us. The sweetest moments that happen with Taking it to the Streets are when volunteers are just hanging out and doing life with a new friend (who just happens to be homeless).

No judgment, no condemnation, no social statuses. Just sharing Jesus’ love with each other over dinner. This is what we strive for every week. Honest, genuine God-honoring relationships. Because God commands it and because we love it.

For more information on you can volunteer or donate, please visit www.ti2ts.com

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HISTORY

By Marjorie Hagy

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I want to tell you a different kind of story this month. The history of someone who grew up in Boerne and loves this town. A person who studies its history, and the other people who have grown up here and lived here and loved it. This person is someone who can’t pass a crumbling rock fence, a weed-choked graveyard, or the ‘hope’s skeletons’ of old foundations and outbuildings moldering in fields beside country roads, without dreaming of those who built those walls and houses. Those who buried their folks in those forgotten cemeteries and who now lie there themselves in the country they loved.

This is my own history.

Bugs Bunny, in an old episode, was a guest on “This Is Your Life,” and the emcee told him to just start at the beginning. So BB, obviously an adherent of the evolutionary school of thought, went way back to the Big Bang, and when he got to the part about the primordial ooze that covered the earth, from which crawled “two tiny amoeba”, the host stopped him and suggested, er, maybe not THAT far back. Don’t worry- I won’t start with some ancient Hagy or Weinburger emerging from the wilds of Darkest Scotland- or wherever we came from- nor even with the bouncing baby girl (the most adorable, incidentally, ever seen in the newborn nursery) born at the Nix Hospital on the same day as The Munsters first premiered on television. Our story opens outside a gas station in a November rainstorm that was ushering in one of those cold snaps they warn you about on those crawlers during your favorite tv shows. The kind that makes kids sleepless with excitement hoping school will be closed tomorrow in the ice storm.

It was fifteen years ago now, and I was standing outside that gas station, falling apart. Two weeks earlier my husband had left -for good- and I had been busy telling everyone I was going to handle this divorce so well that people who knew me would comment on it; “Man, Marj handled that divorce better than anyone I’ve ever seen!

She is an inspiration to womankind.” Who needs a man?! So with the northerner coming, I had some vague idea that a car needed anti-freeze, and although my husband had always been the one to take care of the cars, I was woman and people were going hear me roar.

So I set out to find some anti-freeze and do it my damn self. And so I ended up at this gas station after looking for it everywhere else in town, and finding everywhere else was sold out. It was about eleven at night and the cold front was blowing in with freezing rain. I had five kids at home in bed, counting on me to keep it all together, to suddenly do everything, all the things that I’d always thought there would be two of us to share.

I’d been a stay-at-home mother for the last 14 years. I got married straight out of high school and I had no job and no skills and no money. I had just gotten a repossession notice for the car I was trying to protect with anti-freeze I couldn’t find, and our landlord had sent me a registered notice of eviction the day after my husband drove away; just the night before our cat died.

This really happened.

So I stood there in front of that gas station, out of options, out of hope, out of antfreeze, and the outside lights went off. The store was closed. And I just stood out there in the rain and cried, just fell apart. When I finally crawled back into my soon-to-be-excar, that Guns n Roses song November Rain was on. Nothin’ lasts forever, and we both know hearts can change.

Ever since then, this time of year has been tricky for me. Every year, when October comes around I start to get down. I start to worry, depression sneaks up on me and bites me in the butt and it’s funny, I never even remember it IS this time of year till I bawl out “What’s WRONG with me?!” and then it hits me. That cold November rain.

Everything that smacks me seems to happen in October and November, these beautiful autumn months that I always look forward to with their short, soft, golden days.

One November I thought I was having a heart attack. I rushed to the emergency room with pains shooting through my chest and down my arm, and when the tests showed that my heart was perfectly fine, the doctor asked me, ‘Has anything bad ever happened around this time of year?’ and I actually burst into tears. I swear to you, I hadn’t even been thinking about that stuff, and before that moment I don’t even know if I believed in panic attacks. But I do now.

I married again, briefly, and that was so disastrous that I don’t even want to write about it, here, where I’m baring my heart to you, reader. It left me so bitter, not just with him but with myself, and with God. I made so many mistakes and so many bad decisions. I put my kids at risk and in actual danger and I couldn’t stop hating and berating myself for it. I couldn’t forgive myself. And like Forrest Gump said when things were too painful to talk any more about, that’s all I have to say about that.

So this was Marj in 2007. I had a job I loved at Bumdoodler’s, my kids were all doing well, but my heart was breaking again as they all graduated, one by one, and left home to begin their own lives. Ever since I became a mother, in 1983, my life was my children, and I wasn’t doing too well letting them go. I remember in a psychology class once, hearing something about stagnation versus...something-or-other, having to do with what direction one’s life would take once the kids left home and you were on your own once again. I kept thinking about that, and about how it looked like I was definitely headed down the stagnation road. I thought I was holding up then - remember the chick who was going to show the world how to do divorce with grace and panache? I guess I had this amazing ability to fool myself into thinking that I was doing pretty good.

On a Wednesday afternoon in October I had finished my day slinging sandwiches at Bum’s and was chilling at home on the sofa waiting for my sister to come over, when I was hit all in a moment by the most horrible stomach pains. I’ve never been one of

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those people who runs off to the doctor at the first sign of trouble, preferring instead- maybe from laziness, or denial, or just because I’m cheap- to wait until a limb is about to actually separate itself from my body before asking for a professional opinion. But this day the pain was so bad and so sudden I thought my appendix had burst (or whatever they do) and so I went right away to the minor emergency clinic up the street from where we lived.

The last thing I remember was seeing my sister’s face as I was loaded into an ambulance, and wondering what she was doing there.

I woke up a little while later, with my dad leaning over me and asking if I knew what day it was. I think I hazarded, “Thursday?” I know I was thinking, fuzzily, what the hell kind of question is that? And, this doesn’t sound good.

It was, what else, but November, nearly six weeks later. I had had pancreatitis, brought on by very high triglycerides and undiagnosed, untreated diabetes, and I had been in a coma, and hovering somewhere between life and death for 38 days. On the Friday after I first became sick, the doctors and nurses in the ICU had called my family to get my kids out of school and to gather them to say their goodbyes. All of my systems- respiratory, kidneys, etc. were shutting down, and I was dying. I survived that night, but my family was told I had about a five percent chance of living through the weekend. For six weeks my folks, my kids, my sister and brother and all the people who loved me, held vigil in the ICU waiting room and took turns sitting by my side. I had a feeding tube and my breathing tube was, at some point, replaced by a tracheostomy. My father burst into helpless sobs.

My brother read me our favorite book, Vonnegut’s Slapstick. My mother and sister took shifts at my bedside, organizing the prayers and the news and the visitors. And my children held my hands by the hour, day after day after day. At some point in there, my family and friends at Bumdoodler’s had a fundraiser for me at the restaurant, and it was something like the biggest day Bum’s ever had. Five years later I am still hearing from someone new and unexpected, that they were there that day at Marj Madness.

And then one day I woke up, and I was alive.

Because of some damage to my trachea, the tracheostomy was reinserted some weeks after I awoke and I have it to this day. It is a hole in my neck, with a plastic tube in place through which I breathe, and in order to speak I have to cover the opening with my finger. In the year following my illness, I had thirteen different surgeries and procedures to try to repair the damage, and instead of being thankful to be alive and humbled by what my family had gone through on my behalf, I was bitter. I was so, so bitter. I lay on the sofa that year, between surgeries, unable to work, at one point having to use a walker to get around, frequently calling 911 because of difficulty breathing- and I sunk deeper into that bitterness, and I felt I deserved it. One month after I woke up from that coma, I picked a horrible fight with my sister, out of that bitterness. I yelled at my mom as she drove me home from the hospital. I was hateful, and the memory of who I was in those days still brings me to my knees. Almost exactly one year after I first got sick, I was on my one last chance to get rid of this tracheostomy, and my mom gave me the money to go to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

I went alone, because we could only afford the one plane ticket. In between appointments and surgeries and being at the hospital, I drove my little rental car all over the countryside up there. It was in October- the old tricky time of year- and October in Minnesota is unspeakably beautiful. I had never seen the leaves change, and now I know what people from up north mean when they say they miss the changing of the seasons. I just drove and drove and drove, I drove along the cliffs above the Mississippi River and I drove dirt roads between corn fields, I drove through little towns with clapboard churches and parks ankle-deep in leaves in colors that hurt your eyes.

And as I drove, I began to talk to God. I opened up to him all along those roads in Minnesota, in Wisconsin and Iowa, and I talked to him like he was sitting next to me in the car, riding shotgun. I wasn’t happy with him. On the last day of that trip, with my trake still firmly in place and my last hope exhausted, I stopped at a rest area alongside the highway, and behind the restroom building I noticed a marked trail snaking off into the trees, and I took it. It lead way back, and it ended in a deck stuck out over a kind of bluff looking down onto a river, from Minnesota into Iowa beyond. As it turned out, this was kind of the bookend to that scene outside the gas station in that November years before, because I fell apart again. But this time it wasn’t the same person who climbed back into the car afterward.

I was all alone, and many, many miles away from anyone in the world who knew me, and I talked to God out loud.

I was mad at him, not only about my trake, but about having been sick, and some other stuff too; about my kids going off and leaving me alone, and about not being able to work at Bum’s anymore, about my husband leaving, for that matter, and for that night in the cold November rain. For the time I tried to start the lawn mower and ended up sitting down in the long grass to cry, for that whole god-awful mess of a second marriage and for every time my kids had ever cried for their dad. I was mad because I didn’t have a house or a car or any money and because I was lonely and because of EVERYTHING that had ever gone wrong in my life. Because of everything, God, everything, and it doesn’t feel like you even care and I don’t know where you are and why, God, WHY??

By this time I was on my knees on that deck hanging out over the river, sobbing, alone with my God on the Minnesota-Iowa border in the autumn of 2008. God then spoke to me.

God spoke to me. I heard him speak to my heart and I heard him clearly, and he said this: Trust me, Marjorie. As I knelt there in the autumn above the river, he spoke to my soul and told me that nothing that had ever happened to me had come as a surprise to him and that nothing was a mistake. That he had begun a work in me that he would finish and that he would work his will in my life if I let him. I knew all this as I knelt there, and when I got to my feet I was a new person. I was God’s child whom he had saved from death. I got in the car and I came back home to Texas with a trake and my life has not been the same life since.

I stumble and I fall and I mess up every single day, but the bitterness is gone, and the regrets and the sadness and the sorrow and the what-might-have-beens. What’s changed in me is just like one of those optical illusions where you can’t see the word that’s written plainly in front of you because you’re looking at the dark spaces instead of the white spaces? Do you know those? I was looking at all the bad things that happened and I couldn’t see what was right in front of me- so many, many beautiful, amazing things in my life to be grateful for. I’m as close to my kids as any mother of adults can be, we all live within an hour of each other, and all of the things we went through in those lean years has made them stronger, funnier, more compassionate, wonderful people. I have a baby grandson whom I would have never met if I had died five years ago- to my Axle I would’ve been no more than a headstone to visit and a character in some of his mama’s and aunts’ and uncles’ stories.

Instead today he grabs both sides of my face and kisses me with a loud smack on the nose. I have that whole family who kept vigil beside what might’ve been my deathbed- I have my sister who is my best, best friend and I have the copy of Slapstick my brother read to me. Even my trake has become, at times, a blessing and a miracle, and just as much a part of me as my blue eyes and my flat feet. I have discovered that the true gifts in this life of ours are love, kindness and gratefulness, and that nothing really matters but those.

And now these days, when October and November roll around, the song in my heart is not about how nothing lasts forever. I’m no longer a bewildered, bitter, hard-luck case standing crying in the cold November rain. I’m a triumphant woman raising her arms to heaven in love and gratitude, a smile on my face and a trake in my neck, and the song in my heart is about How Great Thou Art. How Great Thou Art!

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LIFE

YOUR NOBLE CODE

By Paul Wilson

Everybody has one.

Men and women have one. Children and adults have one too.

Every American has one, Asians and Africans too. Every person in Europe and all those Down Under have one just like every other human being on planet earth.

Atheists have one. Agnostics do too. The person who has never darkened the door of a church, synagogue, or mosque has one.

Muslims and Methodists, Buddhists and Baptists, Christians and Krishnas, Jews and Jehovah Witnesses, they all have one. New Agers, Scientologists, Wiccans, and Satanists have one too. Nuns, priests, pastors, rabbis, and missionaries have one. So do serial killers, pedophiles, addicts, and prostitutes.

Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Conservatives, Liberals, Progressives, and Socialists have one. Anarchists too.

There isn’t a human being that doesn’t have one. Including you. Regardless of your spiritual beliefs or your religious experience, you have one too.

Like every other human being on planet earth, you have a “code” - some kind of moral and ethical foundation upon which you live your life every day. I’m not here to debate either the substance or the merit of one code over another. All I want to do is establish for the rest of our discussion that we all have some kind of internal constitution upon which we govern ourselves.

For the sake of our conversation, let’s give it a name. Let’s call it your “Noble Code.”

Your Noble Code is the collection of beliefs that constitute the moral and ethical gridwork upon which you make the choices that determine how you live your life.

Making calculations in seemingly indiscernible increments of time – millionths of a second - the microprocessors of your mind continually synchronize billions of bits of moral data that determine every action of your life. Every choice. Every motive. Every intention. Every word. Every inclination. Every emotion. Every interest. Every courtesy.

Every posture. Every desire. Every resolve.

If there is some moral or ethical nuance to what you are doing at the moment – and there always is - your Noble Code is at work. From what you choose to watch on television late at night while trying to fall asleep, to what you report on your taxes as charitable donations. From how you respond to your spouse when they have made you angry, to what you decide to do in the moment you have dented the door of the car next to you when nobody else was around to see it. The decisions you make in moments like these are the work of your Noble Code.

Everything we do in our life is driven by some moral or ethical impulse sourced in our Noble Code. Even if you don’t have a clue as to what exactly defines your Noble Code, it still influences your every move.

Your Noble Code is the product of a lifetime of inputs, experiences, people, and thoughts that have contributed to your value system.

The influences which have shaped our Noble Code are numerous; some significant, others trivial. Our family of origin (dad, mom, siblings, grandparents) shapes our Code. Things we learn from admired professors in college mold our Code. Books we’ve read, mentors we respect, and cherished friends we trust educate our Code.

Our faith of choice has a profound influence on our Code. Sometimes, “something we heard somebody say one time” or a “strange thing happened when I was a kid” holds enormous sway over what we believe about right or wrong, good or bad, important or trivial.

Many people place their trust in a particular influence to establish important aspects of their Noble Code. Mormons have the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price.

Muslims have the Koran. Christians have the Bible. Scientologists have the works of L. Ron Hubbard. Buddhists look to multiple sources of wisdom from the human experience. Humanists and secularists - all of them - have a favorite author, body of research or library of literature that inform their Code. For others, their influences range anywhere from Oprah to Dr. Phil, from the Pope to CNN, from TED Talks to the voices they hear inside their heads.

My point here is not to debate the credibility or sufficiency of any of these sources, but to acknowledge the spectrum of influences that inform the moral and ethical grid-work through which we process our life.

We speak of these things when we say: “My dad used to always say….”

“Well, in the family I grew up in you were never allowed to…”

“I remember my mom would…”

“I had this incredible professor in college who taught….”

“I read in the Bible….”

“This one researcher who I really respect has shown that….”

“One of the thing I’ve always admired about my best friend is...”

“I stumbled upon this quote the other day.”

“The Koran teaches….”

“I don’t care what the law says, I think…”

“I have always felt like....”

“I will never be able to forget that day when…”

“I watched my grandparents...”

“I don’t know why, but it just never really sits well with me when I see...”

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THE KEY TO A HAPPIER YOU Your Noble Code is an integral part of every minute of your life!

And why is that important to know?

(Pay attention here. This next part is crucial.)

Our happiness is ultimately the product of our Noble Code.

Because of its enormous influence on everything that happens in our life, our Noble Code creates expectations and desires while at the same time influencing our reactions and responses to life as it unfolds in front of us.

You are happy to the extent your life is working in harmony with your Noble Code.

If your Noble Code operates on the belief there is a direct correlation between the amount of money you have and the happiness you enjoy, you set yourself up for diverging emotions. On payday you are giddy with a fresh supply of dollars at your disposal. Come about the twentieth of the month, you are resentful and stressed about how you’re going to cover your expenses until the first of the next month.

If we value sexual intimacy as a powerful way to connect with our partner, our mood is influenced by the frequency of lovemaking. (This is especially challenging when partners have very different sets of expectations about sexual intimacy.) Couples go round and round with arguments, hurt feelings, and days of an awkward distance between them all because their Noble Codes operate on very different principles. For many couples, the pattern is virtually predictable. He’s thoughtful and helpful for a day or two following sex, but distant and moody the longer he waits for another encounter.

She’s playful and amorous when her sexual desires seek fulfillment, and then abruptly

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returns to her driven, self-sufficient intensity when satisfied. And the days, weeks, or months of passive-aggressive tension resumes until their next mutually satisfying sexual experience. Different expectations create different desires resulting in different needs.

The proximity of our experience to our expectations determines if we are feeling fulfilled or frustrated.

If our Noble Code places value on telling the truth, we become angry with others when we find they have lied to us or disappointed in ourselves when we do not honor our own standard. That ethical grid through which we view life insists on truthfulness as a priority in all situations. When it is violated we feel offended, hurt, disappointed, and treated unjustly. It’s hard to feel happy with negative emotions clouding your attitude.

In the same way an automobile’s engine runs best when everything is working properly, our Noble Code grants us peace of mind when we live in harmony with what we believe. In contrast, our inner-tranquility is disturbed when we violate our core commitments.

Think of it this way: our conscience gets annoyed with us when we violate it. We say it like, “Oh, I am so angry with myself for letting that happen.” Our Noble Code insisted on one thing; we did another.

Experience would tell us that personal integrity is the single most important key to how our Noble Code works. The truer we are to our Code in the various situations of our life, the better we feel about ourselves.

The decisions we make in a given moment – based on the supersonic calculations of our Noble Code – leave us feeling good or bad, happy or sad, guilty or satisfied, pleased or disappointed, fulfilled or regretful. This, in turn, has a profound impact on the extent of our happiness.

We say stuff like “I feel just awful about what I said to her.”

“I am so proud of how I reacted when he did that.”

“I really wish I hadn’t done that.”

“I couldn’t be happier with my part in how it all turned out.”

“I still regret I didn’t do more.”

“I’d give anything to have that moment back.”

This crucial relationship between our Noble Code and our happiness raises a very important question. Is there any way to increase the likelihood of being happy more frequently?

The answer is a resounding yes!

The more consistently we live out our Noble Code, the more likely our inner-compass will point in the direction of positive energy and emotions. When we follow the dictates of our Noble Code, we are rewarded with feelings of peace, satisfaction, and contentment.

It is when we do or say something incompatible with our Code that our conscience accuses us of hypocrisy and wrong. This often always results in negative feelings that rob us of happiness.

We use words like “clear conscience” or “guilty conscience.” When our conscience – that inner moral guide – is free from accusation of hypocrisy, we are at peace with ourselves. When our conscience “bothers us” with accusations that create guilt, fear, or shame, it’s really difficult to feel happy.

KNOW YOUR CODE Because our conscience is so responsive to the influence of our Noble Code, it is imperative that we be extremely alert to the inner-workings of the moral compass inside of us.

What five priorities most influence your thinking about the purpose for life on earth?

These are just a few questions to get you started. There are more, of course, but you’ll probably happen upon them as you mull over your answers to these.

With a working awareness of our Code, the second priority is essential to our happiness.

2. We must OBEY our Noble Code.

While you and I might debate whether one Code is wiser, truer, or better than another, the most important issue is that we consistently honor the Noble Code we adopt. (We’d all do well to spend a little less time judging another person’s Code while spending more time really understanding our own!)

Consistency in obeying our Noble Code is the essence of integrity. Integrity fills our inner-world with a healthy pride, confidence, and peace of mind. Hypocrisy creates just the opposite. When we act in opposition to our Noble Code, we are filled with guilt, shame, embarrassment, and frustration. None of which nurture happiness!

One essential practice for creating peace in your life is to keep the promises you make to yourself. When you determine to live your life dedicated to certain values and beliefs, you are establishing an obligation to yourself. Your conscience latches on to this kind of moral determination and rewards you when you’re consistent to it.

When you break the promises you make to yourself, your conscience is bothered; put out with your hypocrisy or failure. The resulting tension distracts our energies and disturbs our soul. The inner-turmoil created by the violation of our own Code threatens our happiness. You can’t be happy when you’re carrying around the burden of anger, guilt, shame, frustration, discontentment, and defeat.

Think of your inner-world as a garden. The kinds of seeds you plant and the habits you cultivate determine what you harvest. Plant positive, healthy, and upright seeds, then you will reap a harvest of joy. Sow negative, unhealthy, or immoral ones, and you will know a famine of sorrow.

THE ROAD TO HAPPINESS BEGINS HERE So why does any of this even matter?

The failure to understand the inner-workings of your conscience may explain why you find happiness so elusive. If you keep scratching your head over why you aren’t quite as happy as you wish, it may have something to do with what’s going on inside of you more than what is happening around you.

So many people continue to search for happiness by looking outside of themselves.

The pursuits of possessions, pleasure, power, privilege, and permissiveness (“I’ll do as I damn well please”) in the hope of “finding what they’re looking for” leaves them empty in spite of their best efforts.

What they’re looking for is peace, joy, contentment, fulfillment, passion, purpose, and significance. None of which is found outside of ourselves. Cars, houses, toys, titles, accomplishments, accolades, trophies, sex, status, and even unbridled freedom to do whatever you want will never ultimately grant you an abiding contentment in life.

Contentment comes from deep down inside of you in a place where the very foundations of your life originate. Some call it your center; others, your soul. Whatever you call it, it’s where the road to happiness begins.

The joy, peace, contentment, and fulfillment we are looking for originates from within us. It is spiritual in nature. I use the word “spiritual” here not in a religious sense, but in a soul-ish sense; in a “your-center” kind of way. Because the “spirit” of our life as human beings is immaterial and intangible, happiness is not found in things, but in thoughts. It is discovered and enjoyed in how you think about life.

1. We must KNOW our Noble Code.

This is what we often refer to as “perspective.” At other times, we call it “attitude.”

We use phrases like, “It’s all a matter of perspective” or “It’s all about your attitude.”

What we mean by them is how we “see” things – how we frame our thoughts about a situation or circumstance. Perspective ultimately determines the feelings we associate with our experiences.

Granted, our Noble Code is a complex and intricate web of moral data that will never be completely understood, let alone, fully comprehended. Such a prospect would be like being an expert on every topic contained in the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Why does one person finds great peace with even the simplest things of life while another wrestles with disappointment and discontentment in the exact same situation?

The answer is perspective.

In spite of how imposing such a prospect might be, we owe it to ourselves – and to others – to define our Noble Code as best we can. We must have, at least, a working knowledge of the most important beliefs which shape our moral compass.

Perspective is thoughts we attach to what we are doing at any given moment. And that is exactly where our Noble Code comes into play.

To do so, we must honor two important priorities.

Few people stop long enough to really think through the essential components of their Noble Code. Don’t be one of them.

Try this for starters. Grab a notebook and jot down your answers to the following questions. Give yourself some time to really think this through. We’re talking about something extremely vital to how you live your life here. No sense in rushing through it. I also recommend you give yourself the time to mull over your answers. Don’t worry about getting it all done in a single session or exactly right the first time. Write down your initial thoughts and then come back later to shape, add, or edit your responses.

Happiness is found deep down inside the human spirit where attitude, motivation, perspective, and values are formed. In other words, down in the Core of your being; where the essential intangibles of life exercise their influence on how we think, feel and see.

And right smack dab in the middle of your Core resides your Noble Code. Right there where all of life begins. Perhaps it’s time to pay more attention to your Noble Code.

Your happiness depends on it.

What do you say are the five most important character qualities a person should possess?

What do you think are the five most important values that ought to govern one’s life?

What are the top five things you’d never do for all the money in the world?

What are the five most important, non-negotiable “rules” you live by?

What are the five qualities you want to be most remembered for?

What five traits do you believe ought to define your behavior regardless of the people you are with or the situation you’re in?

What five “beliefs” do you deeply hold to regarding other human beings regardless of race or religion?

November 2015

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Break out the basters and the pop up timers. IT’S THANKSGIVING! Everyone has their own definition of what Thanksgiving is and how it should be done, but in general, there isn’t a lot of variation. Turkey, maybe ham, bread, mashed potatoes, yams, dressing, cranberry sauce and mountains of desserts.

However, there is an unfortunate trend these days to reinvent things for the sake of nonconformity. To that we say BAH!! The only nonconformity we will accept during this season is our clothes to our bodies after gorging at the altar of calories. But that’s why God invented man to invent sweatpants. Here are some new fangled takes on Thanksgiving and what we think of them.

THE LEFT OVER ROLL Basically you take what would be your traditional turkey dinner and Hippie-fy it. Smoked turkey breast, traditional stuffing, dried cranberries, green beans, cream cheese, tempura battered and fried, served with cranberry wasabi and red wine soy demiglace. Yeah, we know sushi is popular and we like a good California roll as much as the next person. But let’s leave sushi where it belongs. In a Benihana.

TURBACONDUCKEN That’s right, a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey, all wrapped in bacon. Fifty-seven vegetarians just died of a stroke reading that. Which is just about every vegetarian in Kendall county.

Other than looking like it belongs in the starring roll of a horror movie it’s probably pretty tasty. Though we get meat sweats just looking at it. You’re welcome CrossFitters.

STUFF IN JELL-O The year is 1972. Putting stuff in Jell-O is all the rage.

Everything. We mean EVERY. THING. Yes, that’s shrimp in that lime jell-o. Let us pray to the Lord on high that every single one of these cook books are, found and burned. Then the ashes burned, put into a large concrete container and sent to the deepest depths of the ocean. Or into space. We’d be happy with both.

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TURKEY CAKE At first glance this looks like it might be a yummy cake. But then you realize those layers are meat, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, marshmallows and sweet potatoes. It’s said people eat with their eyes. And right now my eyes want to vomit.

PUMPKIN SPICE TACOS This one actually doesn’t look too bad. It jumps on the pumpkin flavoring bandwagon and it’s a pretty simple taco. Our beef with this one is obvious.

Thanksgiving is about eating your body weight in food. Then sitting in a La-Z-Boy and slipping into a coma until December 23rd. This screams of dainty tapas and raised pinky fingers.

What good is Thanksgiving if you don’t have to go put on sweatpants after the meal?

THANKSGIVING DOG Again with the bleeding eyes.

This actually doesn’t sound too terrible. Instead of using the traditional fancy shmancy plate to put your food on, just throw it on a hot dog.

It might actually be a pretty good idea for those who have 37 different houses to visit on Thanksgiving. If you want to go the EXTRA authentic route you can make sure it’s a turkey hot dog. But then, that wouldn’t be very American of you now would it?

EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

NOVEMBER 14 LIVE MUSIC EVERY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

Kendall County’s own Christina Bergmann has announced she is running for Kendall County Commissioner Precinct 1. For over 20 years Christina has gone the extra mile to offer the highest level of professionalism and public service to our community.

As a local business woman and public servant, Christina is a highly qualified candidate for County Commissioner. Christina’s public service includes serving as a District 5 Councilmember for the City of Boerne; a position she has held since 2012. Prior to her service as a councilmember, Christina served on the City of Boerne Historic Landmark Commission. Additionally, Christina has served on the Boerne Volunteer Fire Department for 24 years, making history as the first female firefighter for the department.

Christina holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration, majoring in management, from Southwest Texas State University. In her work life, Christina manages the family business, Bergmann Lumber, both an iconic and historic downtown Boerne business serving the Kendall County community since 1957.

As a life-long Boerne resident and business woman, Bergmann is cognizant of our county’s history but also invested in its future. Maintaining a good quality of life, ensuring public safety, and improving roadways are among Christina’s main concerns as the community continues to grow. Christina is married to Michael Peese, owner of MAP Water Well Service. They have been married for over 10 years and have two children, daughter Ember and son Kastin.

Christina is both delighted and excited to enter this campaign and provide you with further information about her background, her experience, and her desire to serve as Precinct 1 Commissioner on Kendall County Commissioners Court. Contact Christina Bergmann at her web site, www.votebergmann.com or find her on Facebook at www. facebook.com/BergmannforCommissioner. You can also stop by to talk with her at Bergmann Lumber on Main Street or call (830) 249-2712.

Pd Pol Adv Robert Cisneros, Treasurer 236 South Main, Boerne, TX

November 2015

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VETERANS

Those who have served We at EXPLORE are always looking for opportunities to highlight our military heroes, and with Veteran’s Day upon us this month, what better time to shine the spotlight on our local VFW? Most won’t know this, but our local VFW Post 688 is the 2nd oldest in the state, and is a vibrant and growing community of Veterans that do a tremendous amount of service in our community.

To learn more about the Post, and to see the many events that they support, please visit their website at www.vfwpost688.org

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 688 VFW MISSION: To foster camaraderie among United States veterans of foreign wars. To serve veterans, the military, and our communities. To advocate on behalf of all veterans.

VFW VISION: Ensure that veterans are respected for their service, always receive their earned entitlements, and are recognized for the sacrifices they and their loved ones have made on behalf of the United States of America.

VFW Post 688, located in Boerne, Texas, is the second oldest VFW Post in the State of Texas. VFW Post 688 received it’s Charter in 1936 and now has over 155 members who represent every war dating back to World War 2. VFW Post 688 has a dedicated Honor Guard which provides graveside honors for approximately 30 deceased Veterans a year.

VFW Post 688 installs recognition markers on Veteran graves including for those that were not provided at internment.

VFW Post 688 hosts more than forty events throughout the year to honor, serve, and educate the community about important dates related to prior military actions that have given us all the freedoms we enjoy today. VFW Post 688 supports the VFW National Home for Children in Eaton Rapids, Michigan where the children of deceased or incapacitated Veterans can live quality lives despite the loss of a Veteran parent. The Post participates in many programs to assist widows and orphans of Veterans.

VFW Post 688 distributes Buddy Poppies throughout the year, a program that provides compensation to the veterans who assemble the poppies, provides financial assistance in maintaining state and national veterans’ rehabilitation and service programs and supports the VFW National Home for Children. VFW Post 688 participates and organizes numerous community specific recognition events or activities including: the Boy Scout of the Year program; the JROTC Cadet of the Year award; the Patriot’s Pen essay competition (for students in grades 6-8); the Voice of Democracy speech competition (for students in grades 9-12); the Smart/Maher VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher Award; and the separate Police Officer, EMS Technician, Deputy, and Firefighter of the Year awards.

VFW Post 688 participates in the Veterans in the Classroom program and provides direct support to veterans through the Military Assistance Program, the Homeless Veterans Program, and by facilitating bingo at the Kerrville Veterans Administration Hospital. The Post assists Veterans in need by providing food, Veterans Administration assistance, financial counseling, and benefits coordination. The Post assists disabled Veterans by providing transportation to hospital appointments, grocery stores, and assistance with home improvement / quality of life projects. VFW Post 688 visits Veterans in nursing homes and reminds them they are not forgotten. VFW Post 688 provides a Color Guard at many community events throughout the year such as Boerne Independent School District sports events, historical marker placements, awards ceremonies, Bergesfest, Boerne Concert band and Boerne Village band, Warrior golf tournaments, and different Veteran fundraisers. The Post has officially adopted Boerne Lake and conducts regular trash pick-up as a community service. The Post has adopted the 338th Military Intelligence Battalion and supports the unit during deployments with personal items, care packages, and “Welcome Home” events.

VFW Post 688 hosts an annual Christmas party for the 338th Military Intelligence Battalion and conducts a toy drive for the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office. VFW Post 688 was recently recognized as an Honor Roll Post and an All-State Post. The All State Award means that VFW Post 688 ranked in the top 10% of all VFW Posts in Texas.

VFW Post 688 does all of these things and more and needs your support to continue to do them. When considering a donation to a non-profit organization this year and every year please consider donating to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 688 in Boerne, Texas and help us serve those who have sacrificed so much for us all. No member or officer of the VFW receives any form of compensation. The full 100% of each donation is tax deductible, used to aid Veterans, and is very appreciated. Please contact VFW Post 688 through their facebook page, website, or by email at afc2324@gmail.com and help them serve Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Andrew Camplen Commander VFW Post 688 Boerne, Texas

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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

November 2015

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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

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November 2015

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EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

OLD TIMER

OLD TIMER

I like to go fishing occasionally. Just an old man, with his grandkids in tow, catching perch in the Guadalupe. We sit around, swap stories, and catch hordes of little perch that we throw back. Sure enough, this past weekend, the Game Warden happened upon us and decided that we needed to be frisked down for our fishing licenses. This instantly pissed me off. Really? We need a “license” to put a worm on a hook and put our toes in a river? Many of you are going to scream that the fees from the licenses help protect our lakes and rivers, and I scoff at this notion. That’s what our tax dollars should be for, as they are already being used to fund the TPWD. This is double-taxation if you ask me.

But it got me thinking. If I have to have a license in order to fish, what other things DON’T require a license, but should? Here goes nothing.

CHILDREN The most obvious of them all. 99% of us out there are good parents, and we try our best. However, how many of us will also admit that when we have our first child, we are just winging it? I know I sure was, as was my wife. I think that when you get pregnant, you and your significant other should have to take an online course that runs you through the basics. Teething, when to call the Doc, and how much whiskey you should have after a long day of fussy children.

GUN OWNERSHIP Don’t freak out. Back in the day, everybody had guns and we all learned proper gun control, cleaning, and storage. I’m not sure that’s so true anymore. Yes, here in Texas the vast majority of us have guns in the home, but for a civilized society, I think that we could teach proper gun safety…and confiscate guns from those that don’t follow the rules. I don’t know if that’s an anti-NRA statement or not, but guess how much I care.

RESTAURANT ETIQUETTE Yes, I’m serious. I hit up the local Chili’s (most popular restaurant in town. Sigh) and am appalled at what passes for etiquette. Guys wearing tank tops. Kids screaming.

Cell phones everywhere. STOP IT. You should be taught how to dress, how to properly threaten your child’s life under your breath if they don’t shut up, and how to smack someone’s cell phone across the room if they don’t put it away. You could whip out your license when you arrive that says you are licensed to eat at establishments that don’t have a drive-thru window. All of society would benefit.

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ONLINE POSTING What is it about the internet that causes people to behave like mouth-breathing Neanderthals? All citizens should have to take a course that teaches you how to remain a functioning, intelligent person while posting online. In fact, if you post stupid crap enough, you should then be forced to reveal your true identity online so that the rest of us can come to your house and throw your computer across your lawn and then shoot it with our fully licensed guns. (for teens) TALKING Listening to kids talk nowadays makes me cringe. Sometimes I think that they have developed a new language that only they understand. We should drag all teens into the auditorium at school and license them as actual English-Speaking humans. Old farts like myself, upon hearing stupid speech, could demand to see their “I Speak English Like an Intelligent Person” license, or we could drag ‘em home by their ears and demand their fully licensed parents do something about ‘em.

GROCERY SHOPPING People, there are rules while grocery shopping. Dress like you have more than 3 teeth. Teach your children how to behave. Understand how to navigate the aisles without blocking the whole damn thing. This should be a methodical experience where people are taught how to get in and get out without wandering aimlessly around, blocking carts everywhere, and staring at the back of a box of Cheerios for 5 minutes without annoying the hell out of everyone around you. Also, if you require the electric cart, it better be because you can’t walk well, and NOT because your ass alone blocks an entire aisle. I want security guards at the door checking your “I Am Licensed to Shop somewhere Better Than a Gas Station” license, and if you don’t have it, they point at the Valero for you.

Many of you are going to be thinking I’m just snarky with my suggestions, and you might be sorta correct. I know that we all have the freedom to behave in virtually any way we choose, but I think that many of you would agree with me that we have abused this privilege and now need to be grounded for a while.

Except Old Timers. We know everything.

EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

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