| |
Chase
Shoeshine Parlor
By Edward E. Turner
 New
and innovative high-tech business enterprises pop up on the horizon
almost daily in an attempt to carve out their unfair share of specific
target markets. Very seldom, however, do we find time honored professions,
where labor intensive service is the mainstay, enter the business
mix of a major city. One such business here in Houston is the Chase
Shoeshine Parlor located at 2117 Chenevert Street.
The proprietor, Mike Straughter,
is a highly adept practitioner of the dieing business of shinning
shoes. Seldom are you able to find today a comfortable environment
such as his where the total focus is on one facet and one facet
only; shinning shoes. The casual and athletic shoe industry has
blasted its way through an entire field of footwear where at one
time, leather was the dominate fabric of the industry. Footwear
today is totally proliferated with numerous synthetic fabrics and
a full array of colors. Mr. Straughter says that “just keeping
on top of the necessary treatments for both elements used in the
construction of a shoe is challenging. You really have to love doing
this if you want to be successful at it!” He further adds,
“I have been shinning shoes since I was eight and now I'm
51... I guess I've been doing it for a good while.”
Mike gives his mentor, an elderly
gentleman known as Edward Bones the credit for teaching him how
to give a good shine. “For a full nine months all I could
do was watch him shine each pair of shoes to perfection. He would
not let me put a rag or a brush to a shoe for a full nine months...can
you believe that? And when he finally let me shine my first pair
of shoes, he stood over me watching like a hawk! He thought so much
of me that he gave me his secret liquid formula called “Knock”.
Where it's applied the shine really stands up.”
Although a native of New Orleans,
Mike, now retired from another industry, has called Houston home
for more than 30 years. His parlor is comfortable and neat. Stop
by the Chase Shoeshine Parlor. Grab a cup of coffee, a donut and
get a good shoe shine. It will help make your day a little better.
Family
And Friends – Keeping It Real
Advice from Eva
Dear Eva,
My cousin came for a visit at the
beginning of the summer. Growing up, we were very close. I hadn’t
seen her in a while so when she called to ask if she could come
I was delighted. I know that things haven’t been going well
with her so I had hoped to talk to her and help her out while she
was visiting. Problem is, it’s 5 months later and she hasn’t
left. She’s eating me out of house and home, she comes and
goes at all hours of the day and night, she doesn’t have a
job and hasn’t offered to pay for a thing. My husband and
I are fighting because he says she has to go. I don’t want
to be mean because she doesn’t have anywhere to go, but she
is working my last nerve. What should I do?
Signed,
Fed Up
Dear Fed Up,
There is a saying that both fish
and house guests go bad after three days. Your cousin has more than
overstayed her welcome. She has completely taken advantage of your
generosity and you’ve let her! Not only that, she is disrespecting
your house and your husband. He should not feel uncomfortable in
his own home and he shouldn’t be bustin’ his butt to
support a freeloader. Your obligation is to him, not your cousin.
You need to be blunt with your cousin and give her a deadline to
get her act together. Tell her you will help her job and apartment
hunt, but on a date certain in the very near future, she’s
got to go!! It may sound cliché, but it’s true that
it’s for her own good! (and yours..)
Eva
If you would like advice from our columnist, Eva,
mail her a letter or postcard to: Eva, c/o The Houston Insider •
P.O. Box 88240 • Houston, TX 77288, or email to: eva@thehoustoninsider.com.
“Mental
Health is Everything,” The University of Texas Harris County
Psychiatric Center Celebrates 20 Years!
By Edward E. Turner
The University of Texas Harris
County Psychiatric Center celebrated its 20th anniversary in grand
style evoking the theme... “Mental Health is Everything.”
In attendance were several speakers comprising key mental health
professionals and civic leaders who expounded on the critical necessity
of growing the awareness and importance of mental health on both
a local and national levels. It was also made abundantly clear how
a psychiatric medical facility such as UTHCPC plays a key role in
the State of Texas and the Houston community. Each of the speakers
spoke very highly of HCPC's Chief Administrator, Dr. Lois J. Moore,
and her dedication to exposing the importance of mental health awareness
and the necessity of providing care for those who are diagnosed
with an illness.
Yates
High School Coronation
 This
year’s Coronation theme was “Caught in the Moment. “This
year’s Mr. Yates is DeMarcus Joseph Albert Woods, a senior
and Britney Michelle Brass, also a senior. The Coronation was held
on October 7 and was organized by LaShonda Willis, a special education
teacher at Yates. The Royal Coronation group shot from left to right:
Carl Smith, count; Patrick Dorsey, marquise; Cortney Johnson, marquise;
Britney Brass, Miss Yates; Demarcus Woods, Mr. Yates; Natalee Tadesse,
princess; Steven Stokenberry, prince; Neyla Cantu, duchess; Stacy
Smith, duke.Photos taken by Photography Instructor Ray Carrington
III.
Out
of the Ashes
By Pastor James Langston
True Biblical faith says, “I
can’t see it, but I trust the Lord!”
My wife is adept at putting “feet”
to faith. I can’t count the number of times that we’d
be down to our last and she’d say, “Pray for me, I’ll
be back in a little while.” With that, off she’d go
only to return a little while later with the prize in hand! Folks,
I’m telling you the healing is in you, the blessing is in
you, the breakthrough is in you. By faith extend your hand toward
the Cross and receive it!
I smile when I hear people say, “Don’t worry, the Lord
will provide.” Of course, He will, His Word tells us so. He,
however, might send you over the barbed wire fence, under the cactus
bush or through the mud to get what He has for you!
In Genesis, we have an account of
the Lord telling Noah to build an ark. However, there is no mention
that the materials he needed were already laid out before him. Yes,
the materials were available, but Noah, his wife, his sons and their
wives had to go out and get them. “And God said unto Noah,
The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled
with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with
the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make
in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And
this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the
ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits,
and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to
the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door
of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second,
and third stories shalt thou make it” (Genesis 6:13-16).
Thankfully, Noah’s family not
only believed God, but they also had the spiritual sense to know
that what Noah was telling them was from the Lord. Otherwise it
would have been impossible for Noah to build this ark alone, regardless
of the time allotted.
I’ll hurriedly say this, when
the Lord gives the pastor a vision (Proverbs 29:18), He also will
touch the hearts of the necessary laborers to support this vision.
Yet, if these laborers do not stay “plugged” and “tuned”
into the Lord, then they will more than likely “unplug”
themselves from the pastor, especially when the going gets rough.
And if they do, the vision will not happen and souls will needlessly
perish, even though the pastors’ vision was from the Lord.
The Church should take note of the
spirit of agreement that was in Noah’s family. Murmurers,
complainers or disgruntled folks will never build an ark, but they
certainly will do their best to stop one from being built, and boldly
do so in the name of Jesus!
SunFired Foods
Open House
Sunfired Foods PSA
You are invited to the Second Open House & Wellness
Fair at Sunfired Foods, Saturday October 28, 2006
Please come out and enjoy the lecture on preventing
Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Weight loss and more. We will also
have product demos, food samples and more.
Schedule
of Events:
8:00 a.m. Tour de Hood Bike Ride begins
9:00 a.m. Demo-Breakfast Smoothie
10:00 a.m. The Importance of juice fasting
11:00 a.m. Demo of Chiropractic Science
12:00 a.m. Demo of Natural Massages
1:00 p.m. Raw Food Demo
2:00 p.m. The Importance of Cleansing
3:00 p.m. Demo-Natural Sweets Without Sugar
4:00 p.m. Fresh Squeezed Juices
There will be storewide items on sale and door Prizes!
Contact:
Sunfired Foods
4915 Martin Luther King Blvd.
Houston, Texas 77021
713-643-2884
www.sunfiredhealthfoods.com
|
|
