Nigerian Gems:  Expatriate Tales of       Adventure

Co-authored & Edited by:
       Jo Demmer and Gail Collins

Excerpt:   Groundhog Day

Press Releases:

“A Child of Immigrants” Wins Pennwriters Slogan Writing Contest 

PHILADELPHIA, PA (2/28/2010) - When Pennwriters held a contest in January to find a new slogan for its highly-rated online courses, writers from nearly every continent flooded the organization with entries. After careful consideration, the winning slogan is “Building Careers, One Course At A Time.”

Gail G. Collins, a journalist for the Arizona Daily Sun and co-author of the book, NIGERIAN GEMS: EXPATRIATE TALES OF ADVENTURE, was the contest winner of the $100 credit for any Pennwriters online course in 2010. She resides in Houston, TX. A child of immigrants, winning is nothing foreign to this well-traveled journalist. Gail has won a short story writing contest before. Her Web site is http://www.gailgcollins.com.

Contest rules called for slogans ideally no longer than seven words. The slogans had to speak to students’ needs for knowledgeable helpful instructors and ways to improve their writing careers--which are strengths of Pennwriters.

ABOUT PENNWRITERS ONLINE COURSES: Pennwriters has a high satisfaction rating for its online courses and workshops, with 95% of its students learning "new information" and 92% indicating great value for the price. Most of its students become repeat customers. For more information about its courses on, among other subjects, marketing for writers, plotting stories that get published, and crafting queries that sell books to agents and editors, visit http://tinyurl.com/PennwritersOnlineCourse.

ABOUT PENNWRITERS, INC: Pennwriters is a sharing family of hundreds of authors, editors, and booksellers. Originally started in Pennsylvania, its membership now spans the United States and around the world. Pennwriters mission is to help writers of all levels--from the novice to the award-winning and multi-published--improve and succeed in their craft. It runs an annual writers conference that will be held in Lancaster, PA on May 14-16, featuring bestselling thriller writer James Rollins and instructors of its online courses. For more information, visit http://www.Pennwriters.org.


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Novel Beginnings

Written by: Gail Gallifant Collins

This is the story of a story and why it came to be.

It’s the story of a quiet, fatherless girl growing up in Germany during World War II. She was bombed twice and walked for three weeks with her mother, following the rail lines to locate relatives and shelter. Some harrowing things happened to her before and after that, but she likes to remember the kindnesses people showed to her.

It took the girl a long time to tell me any of this though. She is old, and I am growing old. When finally she shared it with me, she said, “It wasn’t a beautiful life.”

I’d waited all of mine to hear it and said, “Your life wasn’t perfect, but your courage in the face of it is beautiful to me.” That girl is my mother.

The story also involves a boy, as the best ones do. He was the youngest male of six siblings and was evacuated from London before, and again during, the Blitz. Such a life is insecure and tumultuous, and as someone said to me recently, not beautiful. And it unflinchingly shapes a child. Instead of clamming up like the girl, this boy acted up.

“A scamp,” said those charmed by the boy’s smile and dancing blue eyes.

“A hellion,” said others who tried to tame him. That boy was my father.

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Getting to the Core

Power in Principle Pilates

Written by Gail Collins

Mountain Living Magazine, November 2011

Roll forward with the head heavy. Let the vertebrae connect with the mat like a string of pearls, one at a time. Lengthen the leg as if to write on the ceiling. Scoop your belly.

The verbal cues Bonnie Berger offered during a range of Pilates exercises created pictures that translated into bodily responses. The guided imagery helps a client perform the motions neatly, accurately and effectively. The certified instructor and manager at Full Circle Pilates, Berger helps people regain awareness of specific muscle groups while getting a full-body workout.

“The goal is efficient movement—so posture, of course—and the best way to move to guard against injury,” said Berger who discovered Pilates in an effort to rehabilitate a dancing injury.

Pilates is a complete exercise system using a mat or an apparatus fitted with spring resistance called the reformer. The routine focuses on strengthening the core to create flexibility in the arms, legs and supporting muscle group as they increase kinesthetic awareness. That’s a lot to take in as a concept. It’s even more to put into practice, so the verbal cues remind and focus clients during a session.

This method of exercise was invented by Joseph Pilates. German born, the boxer and gymnast had moved to England, and during World War I, was ordered to an internment camp. While in camp, Pilates developed the mat work, and soon, began rehabilitating detainees.


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Outside the Box

The “Ammo Box” Art and Other Works of Simone Stephenson

Story and Photos by Gail Collins

Mountain Living Magazine, November 2011

Twenty-two years ago, Simone Stephenson didn’t expect to move to a remote parcel of land at the bottom of the Kaibab Plateau. After she did, the painter planned to practice her art during the off season from river work.  So recently, when Stephenson’s husband, Tim, went to the Post Office, perhaps he should’ve expected to come home to a vivid, tri-colored door. 

hocked by the red, teal and gold panels, Tim said, “Do you think just because you’re an artist, you can paint anything you want?” Equally shocked by the question, Stephenson said, “Yes! Don’t you like it?” He did. Stephenson chuckled, retelling the anecdote and wondered aloud, “So, what’s the problem?”

he amiable artist stumbled into the remote existence near the Kaibab Plateau and Vermillion Cliffs by chance. A friend hosting school children on a river trip needed another chaperone, so Stephenson hitched along. She fell for the dramatic beauty of the place and soon bought a 134-year old home there, which was then in ruins.  “I always wanted an outdoor job in a beautiful place,” the Alaska native said, pointing through the window at the cliffs. “Here, I’d have time in the winter to practice my art.”

Always an artist, Stephenson took classes in high school and received an art degree from Humbodlt State University. The northernmost California climate mirrors her present location.

Still, gravitating back to painting waited until Stephenson had raised two daughters and visited a long list of travel destinations. Those stops included Polynesia and Australia, Europe and Mexico.  The influence is obvious. Wood trim in the house and several forms of self-expression on the wall—ranging from water colors to punched tin to block prints—boast bright hues reminiscent of the islands and South America.


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In Search of the Profound

Artist Williamson Tapia is a Plein Air Purist

Written by Gail Collins

Northern AZ Mountain Living Magazine, September 2011

Meeting Williamson Tapia, the bit of gray in his hair came as a surprise. The plein air painter’s enthusiastic, happy spirit had made him sound young. Chalk it up to a child’s energy walking around in a middle-aged man. “I want to work outside instead of a studio – to get out of the classroom. I get bored, and like a little boy, want to go out and play,” Tapia said, pointing through his window at the Red Rock scenery of Sedona.

 Tapia was studying engineering before his love affair with plein air began in 1978, at age 19. He was attending Glendale Community College, and a few months after leaning to paint, his European-trained professor introduced Tapia to painting outdoors.  The artist continued training at Arizona State University, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1983, with post-graduate work at ASU West, focused on outdoor landscape painting.

The farms around Glendale were Tapia’s first subjects before embracing his Native American ties to paint tribal objects. He expanded his color palette with a move to Sedona in 1995. “I see perfect compositions everywhere, but I don’t want to just make pretty pictures,” Tapia said. “I respect the sanctity of the place, the precious opportunity to be there.”

Tapia’s style is direct study. Think of a still life. “Direct study is perceptual. The idea is to look at a thing and let the subject teach you how to understand it.”

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The Stress Managers

Taming Tensions in Modern, Everyday Life

Written by Gail G. Collins,

Mountain Living Magazine, July 2011

With all of the titles we claim for all the jobs we perform, many of us should add one more: Stress Manager. One local life coach teaches that taking a good five-minute break will make us better at everything else we do in a day.

Grace Marks is a certified performance coach and holistic stress management instructor as well as a speaker and facilitator. She optimizes health and harmony in the workplace. She knows about being overwhelmed and remembering to breathe. Like others she has helped, Marks has benefitted best from her own advice.

 Soon after divorcing, she lost her job in a downsizing effort, and then, her dog died. Her world exploded. “It was complete fear—I flat-lined,” Marks said. “I taught self-care at evening classes at NAU at the time, and did I need it.” Fortunately another coaching friend said to Marks, “It’s not the economy, it’s your inner economy,” reminding her not to be a victim, but a victor.

“All stress—physical, mental, spiritual and emotional—causes the body to react the same way,” Marks said. She explained there is good stress and bad stress. Bodies react to good stressors—like the highs of getting married or going a vacation—by releasing cortisol which dissipates as the event wanes. Chaos and emotional pain are bad stresses and tend to build up cortisol in the system.  Secreted by the adrenal gland into the bloodstream, cortisol is called the “stress hormone” because it elicits the fight or flight burst of energy necessary to handle the unexpected.

Getting Back the Back

When Ed Smaglik finished up his practice games before the U.S. Bowling Congress Open Championship in June 2009, he sensed something was amiss. He’d suffered lower back issues a couple of times a year from overuse.

“I’m a guy, so I just lived with it,” he said, though he usually took time out from marathon running, cross training, and, of course, bowling to nurse it. This was a big event, so Smaglik pushed through. Several days and 120 games later, his back rebelled.  He limped away from the competition–one in which he regularly won thousands of dollars–to seek urgent care for the sharp pain.

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Quilt to Last

Textile Artist Joan Scott and Her Love of Fabric

Written by Gail G. Collins,

Mountain Living Magazine, April 2011

When asked how she began quilting 20 years ago, Joan Scott laughs and says, “I took a class, and it took over my life.” Looking around her Cliff Rose studio, it is easy to understand how the patterns, textures and palettes could mesmerize a soul.

They beckon with possibility. Spools of variegated, coiled thread shimmer with hues that capture a sunset, a river’s depths and floral fantasies. Quilt blocks tacked to a board in wheels of lavender and green harbor dragonflies and butterflies likening a summer meadow. Nearby, kaleidoscopic works spin and tease the eye in azure whimsy. And these are just the raw materials and latest works in progress. I laugh with Scott and sit down to let the quilting fever pass.

Scott moved to Flagstaff and began her fiber adventures as a weaver three decades ago. The lengthy process generally creates a material that requires further effort instead of an end product. After fiddling with pieced jackets, Scott was hooked on quilting.

Traditional quilting involves three layers:  an ornamental, pieced top; batting and backing. The layers are held fast with decorative stitches, known as quilting. Quilting can be done by hand or by machine. Scott uses a long arm sewing machine offering an enormous free space for maneuvering on blocked quilts. But there is no computerized design plate for her. Scott’s quilting is done freehand. “It takes practice, practice, practice,” she says as I admire the lovely, looping lines of a floral pattern traced over her angled piecework. Instinct and trial guide Scott’s unique concept for each quilt.

Good Vibrations

 Grown from the Ground

Artist Redwing Nez Feeds from the Roots of his Reservation Life

Story and photos by Gail Collins

Arriving at the defunct Bita Hochee Trading Post on the Navajo reservation, it was impossible to miss its striking butte. Bita Hochee means “red rock runs through it.” The trading post — north of Holbrook and about a two-hour drive from Flagstaff — serves as the studio for celebrated Navajo artist Redwing Nez.

Inside the studio, Nez pulled out two mugs. His cup came from Costa Rica like his coffee beans, and the artist chatted while setting up the brewer. “This used to be the old wool storage. I climbed around in the rafters when I was a boy. Wool was the biggest — and the only — income here when Bita Hochee was built around 1870. And finally, we’re at the phase of having electricity.” He flipped the switch on the Mr. Coffee.

Jazz played on a boom box in the corner, and Nez relentlessly turned the conversation to Pepe Masis, whom he first met 15 years ago. “He was from Costa Rica and had this fantastic accent and loved art. Pepe invited Native American artists over for coffee regularly, Costa Rican coffee of course. There were a handful of painters like me — all men — and we brought our babies. They climbed all over the place. Pepe is the one that had the vision for this studio,” Nez said.

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Capturing the Light Show

The Landscape Art of Cody DeLong

Written by:  Gail Collins

When entering the Merchants Gathering in Jerome—an old filling station complete with pump—visitors often find Cody DeLong, brush in hand.  On a Friday, he carefully daubed drab olive paint on a canvas to bring a relic truck to life. Whether he is mixing oils for a still life or a landscape, his subjects are often right around the corner.

“I drove an RV around the US for four years, and I kept coming back to the West, Arizona in particular, because there’s so much public land,” said DeLong who settled in Cottonwood a dozen years ago. “I can go ten minutes in any direction from my house and be on a trail where I can paint.”

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A User's Manual for the Brain

 
Getting Personal (Time)

Seeking Solitude and Finding One’s Inner Self

Written by: Gail Collins

Mountain Living Magazine, December 2009

               Steven Kalas went to the wilderness because he was feeling alone. Life is nothing if not ironic. He was hardly alone as a single father with three children, a psychology practice and a newspaper column. “Alone,” he journaled of his trip, “is a very ordinary experience. But for most of my life, when aloneness came to visit, I would promptly vacate the premises. I was, and still can be, the master of distraction when it comes to the deeper work of being human. But this weekend, I went camping. And I invited Aloneness to come camping with me.”

                With personal and professional connections to Flagstaff as a behavioral therapist, Kalas is still just human and faces the same dilemma as everyone else. How do I find time for myself? Being alone is pre-meditated and purposeful, if it’s done right. And it takes practice.

                “The inner life is the road less traveled,” said Kalas. And we’re not doing our children any favors as we perpetuate the problem. “Today’s parents,” Kalas continued, “rush to entertain. Their solutions tend to teach children to dodge the contemplative life at all costs.” And it’s not about directing all our energies towards ourselves. He said, “Your inner life must direct your ability to love and serve others. No exceptions. If you value meeting the demands/needs of important relationships, you will tend, then, to your own garden on a regular basis. Without time spent with our inner life, people tend to have a variable grip on their core.”

Need for No Speed
                In a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week world, there seems to be no breaking away to nap, playing the guitar, reading a classic or lingering over coffee, let alone making time for prayer or yoga or collecting one’s thoughts on the back porch. We’re proud of multi-tasking. But the great apes rest approximately four times a day, obeying their circadian rhythms to eat, work, play and rest. And Kalas confirmed, “The soul needs tending.”

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Finding a Stable Life:

Utilizing Horses in Therapy

 Signs of Life: 

One Class Teaches Baby Talk with Hand Signals

By Gail Collins
Mountain Living Magazine, November 2008

Any mother will tell you how smart her baby is. But some babies can tell you as well.

Emerging photographer Dawn Kish’s style, with pigtails and jade Thai wrap-trousers, balanced her soft-spoken passion. Spanish guitar music played while she clicked on her computer, showing me photographs. The 36-year-old Kish has repelled from an arch in Canyonlands, run the Colorado River as a boatman and found herself the unexpected guest at an Oaxacan funeral. “That is the serendipity of my job.”

An avid river runner, climber and snowboarder, Kish prefers to go and play outdoors. But she finds her passion and work in recording others interacting with nature. “Whether it’s climbing or science in the Grand Canyon, I get into what people are about — their essence — and capture it. I get to play with light. That’s my job.”

At 6 years old, Kish’s early interest in other cultures led her to a shelf of old National Geographic magazines. “I’d think, ‘I want to be traveling around the world exploring like that.’” She tried painting, but it didn’t work out. “I don’t have a paintbrush, but I use different things — light, angles and energy — to get my creative across.” The self-taught Kish interned at 17 with Flagstaff photographers John Running and the late Sue Bennett. They had different methods, and she learned the business from the dark room to the licking of stamps to promote exhibits. At 23, she shot her first professional essay for Transworld Snowboard Magazine.

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It’s a startling statistic:  One in five people will suffer from a serious mental disorder at some point in their life. Anxiety, depression, bipoar disorder, and attention deficit disorder are prevalent conditions. Children probably aren’t the first age group you think of as dealing with these issues, but 4 million children and adolescents in the U.S. suffer from a serious mental disorder that causes a significant impact on their quality of life.

Watching for Warning Signs

With half of all lifetime cases of mental disorders beginning by age 14, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), it is important to pay attention to sudden changes in your child’s behavior that could signify the onset of a disorder. AS your child’s primary caregiver and role model, parents are best suited to identify these changes and decide if it’s just a mood swing or something more.

Denise Pfister, a licensed marriage and family therapist at Cypress Family Guidance Counseling, deals regularly with the mental and emotional health of children and identifies signs a problem might be brewing. “Their academic performance may slip, they may become withdrawn socially, they may not show interest in their extra-curricular activities or they may become more emotionally volatile,” she says.

Mental and emotional disorders can quietly grow over time and seem to come out of left field, leaving many parents to ask why and wondering if it will pass or if their child needs professional help. Your child may need counseling to work through a difficult period in their development,” advises Pfister, “and if therapy is needed, counselors count on parents participating in the process. As your child’s main support system, you play a vital role in creating and managing his or her emotional and mental health.


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Biggest Hearts

Like any teenager, Jordan Merecka did what he loved most in his free time: hunt during the season and fish all through the summer. Cy-Fair mom Brandy Parker was happily caring for her family and working s a bank teller. Bothe were born with heart defects, but managed to lead normal lives, until heart failure turned their worlds upside down. Merecka had to trade his Wranglers for a hospital gown, and Parked traded her role taking care of others for taking care of herself. Both also received life-changed operations that saved their lives and have allowed them to continue to thrive in our community.

Reversed Heart

Merecka was born with multiple heart defects, including dextrocardia or a “reversed heart,” meaning his heart is located on the wrong side of his chest with the vessels facing backwards. After two open chest surgeries as a child and several surgical revisions, Merecka had a defibrillator implanted. Despite the doctor’s best efforts, his heart began to fail in September 2010, and he was placed on a waiting list for transplant surgery. With medical treatment, Merecka continued to attend Cy Wood High School.

Unfortunately, his condition progressed, and by April 2011, Merecka was admitted to Texas Children’s Hospital and quickly put on a ventilator before his major systems began shut down as well. Because both his ventricles had failed, he became a candidate for an artificial heart. “I had no other option, and it saved my life,” Merecka says. On May 22, 2011, Merecka became the first teen in the U.S. to have an artificial heart implanted in his chest at a pediatric hospital and one of three congenital patients in the nation to get such a device.

Artificial Heart, Real Lifesaver

The 15-hour surgery required Merecka’s native heart to be completely removed and replaced with the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart. The pneumatically driven heart precisely calibrates pulses of air and vacuum. Designed for advanced heart failure patients who might die before a transplant becomes available, the long term device serves as a bridge to transplant.


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Cy-Fair’s search and rescue volunteers recall the devastation

Written by Gail G. Collins | Select Photography by Suzi Issa

Cy-Fair Magazine, Fall 2011

When Cy-Fair resident Denise Corliss began training a golden retriever named Bretagne for search and rescue, she had no idea his first deployment would be Ground Zero in New York City. Shortly after the second tower fell, Corliss received word that she and Bretagne would be searching for survivors. “When I received the call, I was honored, but nervous, because I didn’t know if there was more to come,” says Corliss. “But our training is in place, so as we respond we’re thinking and planning. There are strategies of what to do.” Corliss is a canine search specialist and member of Texas Task Force 1 (TX-TFI), a group of search and rescue volunteer who were deployed to New York City following the terrorist attacks.

Unearthing Survivors

One of about 28 national teams, the Texas group made camp at the Javits Center with crews divided into day and night shifts. “Twelve hours on the pile,” Corliss says. “Then decontamination. It was important to decontaminate the dog, then [we headed] back to the [base of operation] for some food, meetings, and a few hours of sleep.”

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Cy-FairSkydiver

STACEY CARL

Teaching thrill seekers that the sky’s the limit

Written by Gail G. Collins, Cy-Fair Magazine Fall 2011

Grandmothers do it. Doctors do it. Lawyers, pilots, and oil rig mechanics do it. Servicemen do it.  Gymnasts do it. Wedding couples, graduates, and birthday girls do it. Over a weekend of bright, still days, 200 or so people will jump out of perfectly good airplanes at Skydive Houston. From over 10,000 feet in the heavens, they leap and smile as they ride the wind at 120 miles per hour to catch up with the ground far below them. It is the rush of a lifetime.

At 18, you’re old enough to make the jump, and on her birthday, Stacey Carl did just that. The tandem jump in 1998 was a gift from her father. Three days later, she began the path to being a certified skydiver, enrolling in the Accelerated Free Fall (AFF) jump course.

A Legacy of Flight

Raised in Colorado by a 33-year veteran airline pilot and lifelong flight attendant, the skies held only opportunity for Carl. She finished out her senior year juggling demands, but kept her hand in the skydiving game. “I learned from the ground up,” she says. “I packed parachutes and worked the drop zone.” Carl stayed connected to that skydiving company, learning videography along the way. She moved to Houston in 2007 and joined up with Skydive Houston as a videographer and coach.

Training for a Triathlon

Cy-Fair athletes test the limits with swimming, biking and running races

Cy-Fair Magazine, Fall 2011

Written by Gail G. Collins/Photography by Travis Robertson

When Patrick Timmons’s best friend challenged him to compete in an Ironman triathlon, he signed up and began training. On race day – a cloudy, summer morning – Timmons swam 2.4 miles before mounting his bike. The sun burned through as Timmons cycled 112 miles. Heat flared off the pavement, so he took advantage of nutrition and hydration offered at the halfway point. By the time Timmons kicked off on three nearly nine-mile running loops to complete the race, his stomach hurt. He felt sick by mile 10 and drank a cola with ice to settle his stomach. His worst fear was throwing up the fuel needed to continue or upsetting his chemical balance. Timmons lost it all anyway, but felt better. More cola and ice with more running, and in the 11^th hour, Timmons crossed the finish line.

“My goal was to finish - to come in smiling with my family all there,” says the 26-year-old chemical engineer. Under punishing conditions, Ironman triathletes face both mental and physical challenges. Timmons confesses, “Ironman or any triathlon is one big, long conversation with yourself all day. And the training beforehand is 24/7, getting ready for workouts for months just to make it to the event.”

Hot Firefighters

Meet Local Heroes Helping Their

Neighbors When They Need it Most

Written by Gail G. Collins

Cy-Fair Magazine, Summer 2011

While a variety of skills are needed to fight fires, but these courageous Cy-Fair firefighters have one thing in common:  They are dedicated to help others in their worst moments.  Their commitment to their community makes them some of Cy-Fair’s hottest firefighters.

A Big Red Truck

“It’s every guy’s dream to grow up and drive a big, red truck,” says Sam Dyson, captain with Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department (Cy-Fair VFD). A diagnosis of diabetes at age four, coupled with an emergency response to his home, helped nurture the notion of helping others as a career. His father was a paramedic, and Dyson’s twin brother joined the department while in high school. Then, Dyson applied in 2004 after attending Thursday meetings that include continuing education courses and fire safety drills.

 It takes about six months to complete the cadet classes and become certified by the State Fireman’s and Fire Marshals’ Association. “Anyone, 16 years old to 65, can complete the course and assist in some way, as long as you have the time to commit,” Dyson says. “I wish I’d joined earlier.”

As a volunteer, Dyson covers nights, weekends, and holidays when the paid staff is off. He also works a 10-hour day job in commodities trading. His presence at global Web conferences can be required at any moment, just like the fire calls. “In either case, I have to respond to a crisis, but between the two jobs, there’s rarely a good time to sleep,” Dyson says and laughs. He looks forward to challenges and enjoys problem solving.

Dogged Determination

Denise Corliss manages projects for a natural gas company and volunteers for Cy-Fair’s VFD’s Station 7. When it first opened in Fairfield in 1995, her husband Randy joined. Corliss jumped in a few years later and approached the Fire Chief about adding a canine department.

As part of the state’s search and rescue team, Texas Task Force One, Corliss wanted to extend her expertise as a dog handler. Enter Aid’N—or officially Aid’N the Search—the Golden Retriever Corliss trains with several times a week. “Most departments can’t afford to have dogs,” but why waste a resource I already have?” Corliss says. In any instance when people are missing, Aid’N searches for live human scent and barks to indicate a find. 

Corliss coordinates a liaison to respond to other organizations, mainly fire and police. Sometimes, she may be deployed farther afield as when she traveled to New York after the Sept. 11 attacks. “It was an honor to be able to go,” Corliss says. “We enter at a traumatic point in people’s lives—accidents or fire—and it’s a privilege to help make it better.”

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I’m a French Knight

Professor Honored for Promoting

French Culture in Cy-Fair

Written by Gail G. Collins

Cy-Fair Magazine, Summer 2011

The evening the French Consulate’s cultural attaché to Houston, Patrice Vanoni, graciously spoke the customary prose to bestow the honor of chevalier and pin the ruban violet to Georges Detiveaux’s left breast, Detiveaux was nervous. Such an emotion seems an appropriate and reverent appreciation to being knighted. “They were beautiful words, and then, as is expected, I gave a speech to welcome and thank everyone for coming,” says Detiveaux, the awe of the night reflecting on his face.

It is tradition to organize one’s own ceremony whether it be a private party, or a business or community event. Detiveaux, a French professor at lone Star College-Cy-Fair, had his exclusive soiree on December 17, hosted by good friend, Sid Moorhead. “I invited 70 or so people, a smattering of contacts—students, teachers, friends—and Sid went all out,” Detiveaux says. “Decorations, catering, bartenders, flowers everywhere—it was a grand affair.” The continental elegance of the setting and ceremony made presenting one of the oldest orders of knighthood still in existence under France’s flag everything it should be.

An Eminent Honor

L’ Ordre des Palmes Académiques (Order of Academic Palms) inducted Detiveaux into an elite rank of scholars educators, and cultural figures, who have made major contributions to French society. This Order of Chivalry includes the awarding of a royal purple ribbon from which hangs silver, arching palm branches and an official certificate.  Three ranks exist: 

“It’s quite an honor to receive the award, because usually it’s given at the culmination of a career, and my life has just begun,” Detiveaux says. “I still have so many ideas and ways to help people.” Emperor Napoléon originally established the decoration to honor eminent members of the University of Paris, so it is fitting to recognize this Lone Star College Cy-Fair French professor who has made a host of personal contributions to education.

Surviving Stroke

Cy-Fairians and Physicians Offer

Tips for Preventative Care

Written by Gail G. Collins

Cy-Fair Magazine, Summer 2011

The Emergency Room doors whoosh open, welcoming a middle-aged couple. One side of the man’s face droops and his slurred words try to quiet his wife’s worst fears. The triage nurse, trained to recognize these symptoms, alerts the team that a possible stroke victim needs diagnosis and immediate attention.

“When stroke happens, time is brain tissue,” says Dr. Mounang Desai, co-medical director of the emergency room at North Cypress Medical Center (NCMC). Stroke is the third-leading cause of death and foremost cause of disability. When a "brain attack" occurs, brain cells are deprived of blood, which carries oxygen and nutrients, so it begins to die. Reacting quickly is vital.

“It’s important, especially for family members with risk factors, to know stroke’s symptoms, so they can act fast to assist others,” says Dr. Desai. Typical signals are numbness or weakness on one side of the body, a drooping smile or a drifting arm when both are raised, partial loss of vision or balance, and confusion or slurred speech. “Don’t second guess the situation, call your doctor ASAP if any dysfunction can be seen or visit the ER,” advises Dr. Desai.

Every minute counts in the crucial three-hour window needed to preserve optimum brain function.  In laymen’s terms, Dr. Desai says, “The brain is like a computer, and when there is damage in one area, there are ramifications in other parts of the body.” When brain cells die during a stroke, abilities like speech, movement, and memory can be lost. Getting a proper diagnosis and rapid treatment improves a person’s outcome dramatically. “If a family member has risk factors, push for preventative care and know how to act,” he says.

Women may show unique symptoms during a stroke which occur suddenly: face or limb pain, hiccups, nausea, general weakness, shortness of breath, palpitations, or chest pain. Using the acronym FAST, developed by the National Stroke Association, can help those around a stroke victim to identify the symptoms. FAST stands for face, arms, speech, and time. If a smile droops, arms can’t be held above the head, or speech is slurred or confused, these can all signify a stroke has occurred. Because time is valuable, call 911 as soon as possible if you suspect someone has had a stroke.

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Kleb Woods NATURE PRESERVE
 

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Baby’s First Photos 

Holocaust Survivor, Walter Kase, Shares His Inspirational

Story with Cy-Fair Students to Help Change Lives

 

Cy-Fair Magazine, Winter 2010

Written by: Gail G. Collins

Do not forget me. Do not forget my story. At the age of 81, this is a reasonable concern for Walter Kase, who is still robust after all he has seen and been through. Born in 1929, Kase survived the Holocaust, and now, shares his story with the comunity in hopes of promoting love and ending hate. Kase focuses on reaching out to children, giving more than 50 speeches every year in schools and colleges throughout Texas. "I just tell my story," he says. "Children's minds are still open; you can make an impression." In Cy-Fair, the impact of this message can be readily seen among students, and Hamilton Middle School has even dedicated the Walter Kase Commons to him.
 

Telling His Tragic Story for a Better Future

When students enter an assembly where Kase is speaking, one can hear a pin drop. This silent walk of dignity honors the congenial speaker, who always begins his presentations this way: “God decides who we are – what nationality, what race, what religion – and to hate someone for any of these reasons is prejudice.”

 

Kase strives to relate the dehumanization process of his early years, sharing with students about the confiscation of his family home and business, how Jews were ordered to wear yellow armbands and

move to ghettos, the liquidation of those ghettos by sending people to work camps, and the mounting death at every turn. “I was a little boy when the war started, too young to know that being Jewish was

a crime punishable by death in a gas chamber,” says Kase. “My sister was shot in front of my eyes – she was 8 years old.”

 

Though this tragic and horrific time seems unimaginable to today’s teens, it is recent history - as fresh and raw as the tears that roll down Kase’s cheeks, matched by his listeners. As a young man, Kase was stripped naked and made to stand on a selection field where officers decided who lived and died. Kase’s father placed him on a brick to look taller, and another time, changed his son’s birth date to save him from the machine gun. “Who could imagine a civilized country like Germany could do these things?” says Kase. “I feel compelled to tell the story or history will repeat itself.”

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Draws on Imagination

Emmy Award Winning Cy-Fair Cartoonist Inspires Kids with 3-D Art Lessons

What do ninja eggs, space  hamsters, and mighty mini-marshmallows have in common? They are fantasy and any one is the beginning of a great adventure. As a professional cartoonist for three decades, Mark Kistler of Cy-Fair has shared his love of drawing through an energetic teaching style with more than 7,000 school assembly workshops worldwide. “With a powerful imagination and a pencil, anyone can spend the afternoon in the jungle or on the lunar surface,” he shares.

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Bond Daddy 

Set in the Bayou City in 1974, the financial thriller, Bond Daddy, takes readers into the inner workings of a bond market boiler room. Attorney turned author, Jason Fowell, and securities broker turned author, John Bott, give readers a rare glimpse into the high-pressure, deceptive, and coercive sales tactics used to lure investors into purchasing stocks and securities.

The writing duo from Cy-Fair recently celebrated the release of their lengthy endeavor with a local book signing. Greeting guests, Bott says, “The worst complaint I’ve had about the book is that it isn’t long enough.” Fowell pipes up, sharing, “Five years in the making—it was brutal coming home each night and opening a bottle of wine to work on a book that wrote itself.” The sophisticated atmosphere and the coauthors’ playful attitudes take a gentle swipe at the over-indulgence that permeates Bond Daddy.

Plotting a Big Payoff
The plot is best summed up on its Facebook page where the authors write, “The lure of fast money pulls two best friends, Aaron and Jack, into a world driven by high-pressure commission sales where morals and ethics take a backseat to big payday... Surviving the firm's grueling interview process, harsh cold-calling and aggressive tactics, each takes a different path in an attempt to endure the shark-infested trading floor.”

Fowell, who works with Essmyer, Tritico & Rainey LLP, is the lawyer and pin-striped suit of the author duo and says, “I wrote most of the book with John feeding me the stories.” Bott began to write the tale 15 years ago, but more recently when Fowell expressed an interest, he handed off the first five chapters.

“John stopped writing because he was having too difficult a time putting it together,” says Fowell, adding, “However, his stories were captivating, and it gave me a great start. He originally had about 25 characters, but that’s a movie, not a book.” They trimmed the line-up and created hybrid players to carry on the outrageous behavior found within the book’s pages.

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Coping with Autumn Allergies

Ahhhchhhooooo! It’s a sound that’s all too familiar at this time of year. If you suffer from fall allergies, chances are you’re not the only one. Residents all over Cy-Fair are sneezing and wheezing, too.

“Twenty to thirty percent of the general population has some allergy problems,” says Douglas K. Schreiber, M.D. of Copperfield Allergy & Asthma. “And there’s a lot of bad information and home remedies out there.” The number takes into account food, seasonal, and topical allergies. And though over-the-counter medications help people cope, he advised caution in self-diagnosis and treatment.

Spotting the Symptoms
“If you suffer a lot of ‘wet symptoms’ – runny nose and eyes – you have allergies,” explains Dr. Schreiber. “Based on a history and physical exam, we can generally offer a good diagnosis.” If family members suffer, the chances are increased exponentially that you’ll suffer too. Children with two parents who are allergic have a seventy-percent chance of inheriting the problem. “No one is born with allergies,” says Dr. Schreiber. “They’re developed throughout our lives and run in families, but it’s genetics plus exposure. If you feel bad on crisp days, it’s pollen, and if you notice post-nasal drip and headache related to the rains, it’s mold.” In autumn, we generally react to weeds and fungus spores.

Knowing the Common Causes
So, what brings on the itchy eyes, drippy noses, sneezes, and wheezes? The symptoms are caused by triggers. A trigger can be anything that threatens and alerts our body’s defense system. An allergy is the abnormal response from our immune system to a harmless substance or allergen such as pollen, mold, latex, pet dander, or seafood. Repeated exposures worsen that reaction. When the body is exposed to an allergen, white blood cells produce antibodies specific to the trigger. This is called sensitization. It’s the job of antibodies to detect and destroy substances that cause disease and sickness. In order to defend the body, they produce histamines to counter the invasion. Noses swell to ward off harmful invaders and eyes water to flush them out. Three quarters of those who react with allergic rhinitis to spring blooms also find themselves in the perennial category and also find themselves sniffling in the fall when ragweed scatters its pollen.

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The Importance of BEING DAD

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Sky High Fun

Cy-Fair Couples Find Romance in the Skies


Cy-Fair Magzine, Spring 2010

Written & Photographed by: Gail Collins


Holding a compass in one hand, Doug Watson releases a purple helium balloon with the other, noting the currents at various altitudes as it floats away. As Chief Pilot and owner of Air Texas Balloon Adventures, he will use this information to steer his craft – a hot air balloon – and plot the direction of an upcoming trip. “The whole idea is to get us airborne in a safe manner,” he says. He then unrolls a map to check angles. “When flying in an urban area, we look for places to land in an hour’s time, so the crew can pick us up,” he says, noting the crew as myself, Watson’s wife, Kathryn, and Dixie Turner.  We will chase the balloon, and welcome Watson and his passengers back to Earth upon landing.

A weight off their shoulders

Recent talk has centered on rising food and fuel prices, but health insurance premiums have ratcheted up 10 times faster. And while these health costs hiked 30 percent from 2001-2005, salaries grew only 3 percent. The average policy for family coverage now totals $12,106. This makes it tough for employers to offer health care benefits and maintain a healthy bottom line, too.

In a 2007 survey, Kaiser and the Health Research and Education Trust noted a growing awareness in preventative care for controlling these escalating costs.

But how do care and costs affect one another? The obesity epidemic, for example, if left unchecked, seeds a host of other diseases like hypertension, heart disease and Type II Diabetes. These compromise work performance while conversely upping the price tag to treat this medical tornado.

At Armstrong McCall, a beauty supplier, heavy lifting is the issue. Pawlicki designed eating and workout plans that resulted in weight loss and muscle gain to prevent strain injuries. Their workers and workplace got leaner with her passionate support.

Stress is a huge factor in many settings. When employees are under pressure, they might cope with destructive behaviors like smoking, drinking and drugs.

"People run on such high levels of stress that the cortisol never drops, and their bodies run on overtime. All the time!" Pawlicki said. "We teach them how to recognize stress -- mental and physical -- and bring those levels down."

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Food is life for supper clubs

Tribes of 'foodie friends' gather regularly to share their passion for food.

By GAIL COLLINS
Special to the Sun
Sunday, January 11, 2009

 
Willie and Terry Schick hoisted their wassail cups with eight longtime friends as they celebrated Hanukkah in Italy. The festive table held an appetizer of artichoke and fennel ravioli, and the menu promised beef brisket with marsala and mushroom sauce as well as happy conversation.

In an era of fast times and fast food, a supper club is the antithesis. Dishing with friends values quality of food and time over speed. And that is its allure. This is the height of party season. Only Scrooge didn't find himself at a party for the holidays -- wait, even he had an invitation! But why shouldn't folks indulge in food and fellowship throughout the year?

PASSION FOR FOOD

Supper clubs have been growing in popularity over the last decade, but some have been at it for decades like the Schicks. Truth be told, most groups start out as like-minded strangers who become a tribe of foodie friends.

Willie Schick said, "After 34 years, we are very much a family."

Groups can be formed from gym associations, Mothers' Nights Out programs, work and more. The passion for food is key.

The Schicks' five senior citizen couples call themselves the Foreign Food Group, taking up a different nationality's fare for each gathering.


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Making the leap to midlife fulfillment

Changing careers has meant life makeovers for several Flagstaff residents.

By GAIL COLLINS
Special to the Daily Sun
Sunday, September 07, 2008, Front Page

Stacey Wittig believed in her destiny. She left a six-figure pay-check and 21 years as an advertising consultant with Dex Media Yellow Pages behind. Wittig had only 2Ãn years until retirement when her company wouldn't give her time off without pay for a mission trip.

"I had to keep my commitment to the mission team," Wittig said, "If I had to quit my job, so be it."

Today, as a writer and marketing consultant, she doesn't come close to her previous corporate earnings, but said, "After spending three weeks immersed in poverty in Africa, it's difficult for me to spend money the way I did."

She traded working late nights and buying services for cooking her own meals, cleaning her own home and spending time with family.

"My life certainly changed. I'm at a slower pace, my blood pressure is down ... and I'm developing a coffee import business that will connect impoverished farming families in Third World countries with Mom and Pop coffee shops that are looking for exotic Fair Trade coffees."

'IT HAD TO MATTER TO ME'

Jim Anderson, another high-salary earner, took a two-step transition in midlife. He moved from marketing and sales for companies such as Nielsen to work for Public Radio at KNAU, before forming a partnership with Alice Ferris at Goalbusters.

Anderson faced life's priorities and asked, "Do I sacrifice quality of life and my children's stability for my career or do I quit my job?"

Then, he added the clincher, "I'm not going to shovel coal into someone else's machine again. It has to matter to me."

Before, Anderson built stock portfolios. But now, at 44, he said about fundraising for nonprofits at Goalbuster: "We empower individuals and organizations -- making the world a better place. We develop and nurture relationships and community stories with infectious passion."


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Senior citizens contribute to workforce

Sandy Abbajay, at 70 years young, helped set up and establish Linens 'n Things at the Flagstaff Mall Marketplace last October. It took 10 days and untold truckloads of goods, but fortunately, she had the dedicated assistance of another senior, Verna Johnson.

"I just can't sit," said Abbajay. "And besides, you can never retire from life," she added, laughing. A few years ago, Abbajay made the decision to move across the country. The fact that her children objected to her driving off to explore future options just steeled her resolve. She put her life in storage and her retirement from 20 years as a manager on hold.

"I hate to use the word 'retire.' It creates a mindset that no one will hire you, and retirees are an untapped resource."

She obviously found the right fit, because Andy Western, general manager for Linens 'n Things, said, "I'd never thought of Sandy and Verna as seniors. You see through the ages because everyone just jumps in and off-loads the trucks when they come in."

Verna Johnson echoed her co-worker's story. After retiring from a housekeeping job at Flagstaff Medical Center, she spontaneously applied for the new store opening.

"I'm not the type to just sit there and let the time go by."

And there is respect with age.

"When the younger employees need help, they look for me."

Meg Gonzalez, a third senior, works nearly full-time with commensurate benefits.

"I don't care how old you are, stay up with the times."



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A literary legacy on bark

Illiterate Basque sheepherders told of their lonely, dangerous work with carvings on Inner Basin aspens.

By GAIL COLLINS
Special to the Daily Sun
Monday, August 25, 2008

When Santiago Parra carved his name and the date, 1970, into an aspen tree on the Inner Basin Trail, he marked the end of an era. Parra made his lines thin and neat. As the tree grew and stretched, his marker would remain attractive, legible and a witness to his having herded sheep near Lockett Meadow.

The carvings, made solely on aspens, are called dendroglyphs. This historical graffiti mingles with contemporary proclamations of love. Though there are scores of significant carvings, one wouldn't notice them for the sheer number of marks on the trees along this popular trail. Forest Ranger Heidi Strickfaden, who led an interpretive hike Saturday as a partnership event between the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service, said, "The carvings are important to ethnologists because we can track the Basque life in this area. They are like a ledger for a hotel."

The etchings give names, dates, home territory and even pictures to tell us who passed this way. Who were these Basque sheepherders and how did they end up in Northern Arizona?

DISPERSED TO THE NEW WORLD

The Basque are thought to be the original European peoples. This ethnic group chiefly inhabits a region that covers north central Spain and southwestern France. Their language resembles no other European language, and their ethnic ties and culture are as fiercely defended today as throughout their past.

Tradition gave all property to the eldest son, leaving the other males in a family to find land as they could. By the 1700's, there was no available land left in France or Spain. This forced men to seek their fortunes elsewhere in the world. They joined the Merchant Marines in large numbers, but their history of migration had begun two centuries earlier -- a Basque crew sailed Columbus to the New World.


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4,000-Strong Walk for a Cancer Cure

Ann Eagan is an inspirational co-chair for Saturday's Climb to Conquer Cancer, but she didn't do it alone.

By GAIL COLLINS
Special to the Daily Sun
Sunday, August 17, 2008

The American Cancer Society reminds us in its ads that cancer touches everyone.

Even me. We all saw the commercial. A woman trudges uphill to the narration, "I can do this, I can do this ..."

I'd seen the ad 50 times and wondered -- something was familiar about her.

The woman is Ann Eagan. She was also co-chair for Saturday's 20th anniversary Climb to Conquer Cancer, a cancer survivor and -- come to find out -- an old college friend.

"Until 2007, I climbed simply for friends, family and co-workers," Eagan said. "Then, I was diagnosed with intravascular lymphoma."

She explained that the rare, aggressive cancer is dubbed the "Great Impostor" for its difficult diagnosis and, too often, confirmation only by autopsy.

Eagan received her final chemotherapy treatment only days before last year's climb. But she walked the first mile, then husband Tony and two friends pushed her wheelchair up the balance of Snowbowl Road.

Despite her struggle, Eagan emerged last year as the climb's highest individual fundraiser.

RAISING MORE THAN $230,000

American Cancer Society officials said they expected to raise more than $230,000 from Saturday's event.

"This event is planned and logistically run by volunteers." said Debbie Cook, district executive director for the Great West Division of the ACS.

In fact, 3 million volunteers nationwide set Cancer Society priorities and carry out their mission.

Flagstaff's Climb succeeds through individual participation. This year, Unisource Energy's team collected nearly $10,500 for top honors, while Eric Yellen topped out at over $3,000 for most individual funds raised.

The Climb physically represents the often heroic measures needed to confront cancer. Still, a positive vibe throbbed Saturday as the maxed-out mountain swarmed with 4,000 walkers. An "all in this together" feeling prevailed as groups, like ADOT's Road Warriors, took photos before they turned uphill. United Flagstaff Firefighters waited with a gurney to transport a cancer patient who couldn't walk, but wanted to go the 7-mile route.


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In the money
Even a novice can spend a fun day at the track - especially when the winners come in

By GAIL COLLINS
Special to the Daily Sun
Sunday, July 06, 2008

In the movie "Seabiscuit: An American Legend," jockey John "Red" Pollard is asked to breeze a horse.

What on Earth is that, I wondered? I soon found out that breezing means to let a horse run easily with little encouragement -- in Red's case, it could nearly kill a guy.

After that, I wanted to see a real race.

There is nothing like hands-on experience, so my brother-in-law, Kevin, and I headed out to Coconino County's 53rd Annual Horse Races at Fort Tuthill Saturday. More than 15,000 people attend the event from July 4-7, which boasts the only live horse racing in Arizona on Independence Day weekend. Monday is Family Fun Day, with free admission and activities for kids.

Kevin and I arrived early to familiarize ourselves with the horses and make our picks for the first three races. We bought a Racing Program -- it's more chicken scratch than a newbie needs, but it lists the day's sponsored races plus key racing history on each horse.

Each page contains a numbered race and distance, plus the horses running in it. Suggested winners are listed in the corner under boxes for marking one's choices to win, place and show. We banked on the tried-and-true adage, "Winners keep on winning, losers keep on losing," and selected our favorites for the Third Race.

Kevin and I gave marginal attention to statistics and slightly more to horses with appealing names. We worked backward from there.

Next, we graduated to considering a Trifecta wager in the Second Race. For $12, we picked a winning horse and three others, of which two need to be winners. Proud of himself, Kevin left to buy lemonade.

I eyed a man at our table who looked to be engaging data and logic to choose winners. His upright posture and tally of numbers on a legal pad looked like code, so I was sure it was important. I introduced myself and asked his advice.

"Have a set amount of money you're willing to spend," said Dave, "and then, look for a happy horse. That's a good sign, but just have fun."

"OK, but who should I bet on in the first race?" I pressed him.

"These are maidens -- babies -- and they'll bump coming out of the chute. Bet on No. 3," he said. So, I braved it and bet a thick'un -- a big bet -- for me, anyway.


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Parkinson's sufferers 'Think Big'

Although there is no known cure for the disease, a new program at FMC helps to restore muscle control and stability

By GAIL COLLINS
Special to the Daily Sun
Friday, July 25, 2008

Larry Gold stretched his arms wide and reached to the left, mimicking Cindy Thomann, a physical therapist at Flagstaff Medical Center.

"What kind of effort is that on a 1-to-10 basis?" Thomann asked him. "An 8," Gold answered.

"What can you do to make your movements bigger?" Thomann asked, then watched.

"That's right, hold your chin up and extend your hand. Catch those raindrops," she encouraged in a loud, firm voice with a positive bent. "Are you tired or thirsty?"

"Yeah, thirsty," said Larry and smiled, "but I'll have to get it."

This is the point of Think Big, the new program to bring Parkinson's Disease sufferers back into the world they knew before diagnosis. It's not the dramatic things that cut the deepest with compromised health; it's the frustrations they bring to simple pleasures.

Think Big builds confidence through exercises for stability in functional activities. For Gold to stand without falling, stride across a room and pour water into a glass is a hierarchy of tasks. One skill builds upon another, incorporating social and community interaction.

Gold practiced rising and moving forward next.

"Larry needs to be able to stand up and shake people's hands," Thomann said.

The lean 90-year old, dressed in black sweatpants and a long-sleeve T-shirt, took a large step, spread his arms and announced, "Ta da!"

Thomann retrains patients to speak louder, use bold movements and interact. Parkinson's tends to make people shrink and go quiet because they experience a disconnect between intended action and actual performance. In small ways, a stride turns into a shuffle. And too soon, a life is relegated to the couch.


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Botanist buzzing with excitement over wildflowers

The Arboretum's wildflower walk becomes a talk about 'the birds and the bees' for the plant kingdom.

By GAIL COLLINS
Special to the Sun
Monday, July 28, 2008

They ranged from novice earth-diggers to experienced gardeners and they studiously scribbled notes on steno pads and raised their hands to ask questions.

"It's a matter of stewardship," botanist Gwen Waring said to the 25 enthusiasts gathered for the annual Wildflower Walk at the Flagstaff Arboretum on Saturday. "As our ecosystems are disturbed and changed, we need to provide a refuge for our native plants that also welcomes animals into our garden. "I take an evolutionary approach," Waring said. "There are 110 conifers, and they are ancient creatures. But flowering plants are so much more diverse. They developed strategies for pollination as they evolved. These exploded in the Cretaceous Period, evidenced by fossils from that time."

Billed as a "Celebration of the Evolution of Flowering Plants," Waring's talk quickly focused on the birds and the bees. And moths and butterflies. And hummers -- the tiny, zipping, territorial kind. Attention turned to these pollinators as Waring reached over to pluck a Golden Columbine. She noticed a bee, rolling in the anthers of a nearby flower to gather pollen and drew our eyes to the unsuspecting buzzer.

Delightedly, Waring giggled and said, "Ah, sex. It's just the way of the world, and we just need to relax and let it happen." She means we need pollinators to continue the life cycle.

Waring explained about endosperm, the part of the plant that is our nutrition in the world. An example is the corn kernel. Back to pines, Waring compared their lengthy three-year cycle of development to the seasonal speed of flowering plants' maturity which transports nutrition to their roots through improved vascular systems with incredible efficiency .

"It's just an amazing story," she said and would say so many times thereafter, plugging her passion.


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Pick a Card, any Card

At training camp in Flagstaff, the players compare jerseys with the fans, who show solidarity by booing the refs

By GAIL COLLINS
Special to the Daily Sun
Sunday, August 03, 2008

A man in wrap-around sunglasses and a Cardinals' jersey stood on the sidelines of the practice field. He was close enough to hear the pro players pant as they executed a drill.

Suddenly, a kicker walked up and asked, "Hey, where'd you get that jersey, man? T.J. Maxx?" Caught off guard, the fan said, "No, I got it for Christmas."

Both men wore No. 1 and grinned at each other.

Then, in characteristic good humor, Neil Rackers laughed and slapped the man on the back as he said, "You got ripped off."

Welcome to Cardinals training camp at NAU in Flagstaff, where "It's all about the kids" and it's easy for every adult to become one again. You're close enough to reach out to a player or have them reach out to you. Throughout 30 practices and games over four weeks, players indulge fans with autographs and a sneak-peek at upcoming season action.

ROCK MUSIC WELCOME

Serious autograph hounds converged Saturday morning, toting every kind of Cardinal paraphernalia. Rock music welcomed the streaming river of red jerseys to the 50-yard line, where the players furiously scrawled on anything that could handle a Sharpie.

Don Curry of Glendale carried his son, Blake, on his shoulders. They arrived at 8:30 a.m. to be at the front of the most important line -- Larry Fitzgerald's.

"After that, we don't have a game plan. We're gonna' take them one at a time."

The lines moved nearly as quickly as Anquan Boldin going out for a pass, so it was possible to get around to countless players.

Regular camp attendees Jason and Jillian March drove up from Tucson. They showed off a bag of signable gear as Jason explained, "We have a Sports Room, and I'm a diehard Cardinals fan."

Little daughter Jillian piped up, "I love the Cardinals, and it's his birthday." They celebrate every year with the team.

Mascot Big Red, with his furry head and tail, posed for a photo with Jillian. Then, another child stuck his head inside the bird's beak to whisper, "Good luck."

Nearby, "110 percent fan-tastic fan" Brett Anderson, from Mesa, competes for attention by sporting red-dyed head plus a gold and black beak-painted face.


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