“When I retired in 2001, I had taught school for 33 years. My very first year was the start of integration. They moved white teachers into Carver Elementary School, which had all black students at the time. I was young and confident, and I thought … Continue readingTeacher learns lesson from integration experience
“I’m a person who likes to play a lot. I enjoy doing a lot of different things. Until about three years ago I trained for marathons. I’ve done 40 of them. At one time, I was in the top 2 percent of runners in the … Continue readingMarathon runner had to hang up his shoes
“I don’t usually start writing the beginning of a poem. I start in the middle and build around it. No matter how you approach it, you want every line to be impactful. You want to say something that will move someone. “I feel like my … Continue readingCreating poetry helps her deal with change
“I started writing poetry in third grade. There was this writing competition at school, and I won first in state. But growing up, I didn’t think there were other poets around here because there really wasn’t a place in Baytown where we could get together. … Continue readingLocal poetry community making itself heard
“I grew up in Michigan but spent many of my summers here in Texas. I knew that one day I would make it my home. As much as I love the people of Michigan, it is just not the place for me. The last winter … Continue readingSnowy Michigan finally sends dentist to Texas
“I started the garden in 2006 as an effort to help beautify Texas Avenue and its surrounding community, and to educate others about growing organically. It was my belief that if the community could see a living example of what could be done on a … Continue readingOrganic garden provides personal connections
“I’m one of the lay pastors with the Community of Hope at our church. We visit our sick people, and sometimes we get names of others who just need someone to come see them. “Some of them get very few visitors or none at all. … Continue readingLay pastor lends an ear to those in need
“About two months ago they found a malignant lump on my breast. I had surgery, but I’ve had an issue that keeps coming up that keeps me from starting my radiation. So right now that’s my biggest challenge, trying to be patient. “I was just … Continue readingPatience in the face of breast cancer treatment
“I worked in health care for 12 or 13 years doing hyperbaric medicine. I finally got tired of that, and I decided it was time for a change. I went back to school, thinking I’d get a nursing degree. When I learned that my earlier … Continue readingTaking a positive approach to life’s twists, turns