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My aunt — my mom’s sister — lived with us when I was little, and although I was devoted to her, and she was my favorite aunt of all, when it came right down to it, I wanted to

be with Mommy. I made this clear while we were Christmas shopping. It was a wet night, and my parents, my

aunt, and I were at the big shopping center near our home. Going there this time of year was magic. I couldn’t get enough of it. The three wise men, complete with camels, encamped beside JCPenneys. Toy soldiers marched through an arbor of candy canes at Taylor’s Department Store, and the star of Bethlehem shone from atop the store’s second story.

We got out of Dad’s car near the three kings and headed into Penneys. But inside the store the adults stopped to consider their plans. My mother bent down to me. “Stay with Aunt Aggie,” she said. She and my father would be right back.

I don’t know how small I was, but I hadn’t started school yet. I was at an age where my dreams were so vivid, I confused them with waking life.

I did not wait long before deciding to follow my mother. I saw a lady in a babushka — my mother wore babushkas then — walking into the rain, so I followed her into the night.

When I think about it now, it frightens me. A child in red rubber boots wandering into a parking lot in the dark, following a stranger.

My next memory has me sitting on a counter in Penneys. Two women and a man try to talk to me. I know they work there because they don’t wear coats. They have given me chocolate, which I clutched in hot little fists. It melts over my hands and, wiping my tears, I smear it on my face. I know my name, and my address, and my phone number, but I cannot stop wailing long enough to tell them.

Then out of nowhere my parents appear. I actually remember them surrounded by light, the way medieval painters depict Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. It was, I think, a trick of attention, because nothing else in Penneys mattered as much as those two people, my dad so young, in his fuzzy white jacket, my mother, pretty, in her babushka. My poor abandoned aunt was there too, a little behind them.

So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. You’re busy and maybe even harassed by all the holiday preparations. I know how it goes. But don’t let the people who love you out of your sight. Embrace them while they’re still here. It’s a dark, cold night without them, and not even chocolate can fill the void.

As I climbed into the car to go home, one red boot slipped off and landed on the wet pavement. I didn’t say anything about it. I didn’t care. I was with people who loved me. Who cares about a silly boot?

Would that I always had such good sense.

4 LEE MAGAZINE

contentsDecember 2009/ January 2010

COVER DESIGN BY BETH SNIPES- PHOTO ISTOCK

6 Food� ������������� The tasty party 8 Garden������������������� Winter at Hills & Dales

10 Brain� Out-of-body experience

12 Fashion Give her the boot! 14 Momitude Mommy & Daddy wanna go out and play

16 Brawn

18 Smarts A little too wired?

22 Cover Story Telling tales — The magic of memoirs

29 Calendar What's up in Lee Land?

12

8

6

22

Photo by John Lawrence

LEE MAGAZINE 5

Published by Pickwick Papers Publishing, LLC. Copyright ©2008 Lee Magazine. All rights reserved. Reproduction and redistribution prohibited without approval. For more information, contact editor@lee-magazine.com.

Publisher: Beth Snipes

Editor: Jenni Laidman

Sales manager: Meg Callahan

Sales reps: Betsy McLure Blake

Jodi Harris

Copy Editor: Joey Harrison

Web Designer: Brock BurgessDistribution: John Snipes

Contributors

Food: Heida Olin

Smarts: Debbie Smelley

Fashion: Taylor Dungjen

Fitness: Lisa Gallagher

Garden: Connie Cottingham

Momitude: Kelly Frick

LEEM A G A Z I N E

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6 LEE MAGAZINE

By Heida Olin

Party food is fun food. Tidbits of different flavors artfully arranged on platters and loaded onto tables is the reason

to get together. Really, how often do you hear partygoers say, “I can’t wait to see if they play music from Wings, or Red Hot Chili Peppers”?

Hey! Did you notice that? They even name bands after food. This is a sign. If you’re planning a party, put food first.

I love trying new foods at parties, but this time of year, it’s the tried-and-true that calls to me. I can’t help thinking of the crowd drawn to the Christmas parties of Lee Evans, dean of the Harrison School of Pharmacy at Auburn University. He deep-fries a couple of turkeys, and those birds are soon picked clean.

There are several recipes people often ask me to make. I started making Meatball Poppers a couple of years ago for a theater party and they were such a hit, I always get requests for them. Stuffed Mushrooms have been showing up on party tables as long as I can remember. I gave them a little twist, adding crabmeat, and they were an instant success. Simple veggie crudités tucked into a shot glass that’s half-full of ranch dip makes the mundane “sweet,” or so says my son. Crostini is so versatile. I loved taking these little toasted wonders a step further and putting them on tiny crisp rounds of cornbread.

Oh yes, party food is definitely as fun to make as it is to eat.

MEATBALL POPPERSI love this recipe. It’s so fun to have a pile of these ready for a

football gathering or an afternoon social.

1 package (10.2 ounce or 5 count) Pillsbury or other refrigerated buttermilk biscuits½ cup grated Italian-style cheese10 frozen Italian meatballs, thawed1 stick butter, melted1 cup Italian-style dry breadcrumbsPasta sauce for dipping (this can be your own pasta sauce or your favorite store-bought sauce)

Preheat oven to 375°.Grease a jellyroll pan or line with parchment paper. Separate

the biscuit dough into five biscuits then separate these into halves, and finally cut the 10 halves in half. Using your fingers, press the 20 halves into rounds. Cut each meatball in half. Place about a

teaspoon of grated cheese in the middle of biscuit and add a half meatball. Gather the edges and pinch together. Roll the popper in melted butter then in breadcrumbs and place, pinched side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Place poppers about 2 inches apart and bake for about 8 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with heated pasta sauce.

MMMM MUSHROOMSI know not everybody likes mushrooms, but I can’t resist these

delectable bites. Each is a little edible bowl of flavor.

Cooking spray1 pound white mushrooms, wiped clean with a damp cloth, stemmed, with stems reserved1/2 pound lump crabmeat 1 (6 ounce) package Stove Top Stuffing mix, herb flavored1 ½ tablespoon butter (for stuffing mix)1 stick of butter

Party timeIt’s all about the yummies

LEE MAGAZINE 7

Heida Olin is a local caterer and educator. You can reach her atheida@lee-magazine.com.

F O O D

-LM

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese3 cloves garlic mincedExtra parmesan for topping

Preheat oven to 350° and spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Prepare the Stove Top stuffing according to the package directions. Place the mushroom stems, crabmeat, garlic, parmesan, and 3/4ths of the stuffing into a food processor. (You won’t use the rest of the stuffing in this recipe. I top it with a fried egg and make it lunch.) Process the mixture, pulsing until all is well chopped. No chunks of mushrooms or crab should remain.

Heap the stuffing into each mushroom cap and place into baking dish. Top each mushroom cap with a pat of butter. Bake uncovered in the center of the oven about 20 minutes or until mushrooms are tender when pricked with the tip of a knife. Sprinkle with extra parmesan immediately when you remove from the oven.

BAKED CHICKEN GOUJONS WITH RED PEPPER AIOLI

Goujons is a fancy French word for crispy strips of meat, usually referring to fish, generally deep-fried. But they keep better for parties — and are easier on the arteries — if you bake them.

Cooking spray1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into finger-size strips1 ¼ cup buttermilk1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme, parsley, sage, or a combination of all1 teaspoon hot paprika¼ cup flourSea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste1 cup mayonnaise2 roasted peppers from a jar of roasted red peppers2 cloves garlic, smashedJuice of a half lemon

Preheat oven to 400° and spray a jellyroll pan with cooking spray

In a medium bowl, place the chicken pieces into the buttermilk. In another bowl, mix flour, chopped herbs, hot paprika, salt, and pepper. Remove strips one at a time from buttermilk and dredge in the flour mixture. Place on jellyroll pan. Bake in top half of the oven for 15 minutes; should be golden brown and tender when pierced with a knife.

In a food processor pulse the mayonnaise, roasted peppers, garlic, and lemon juice until peppers are finely chopped. Serve as a dip for the chicken.

DIXIELAND CROSTINIIf you’re fortunate enough to have a cast iron muffin tin that is

nicely seasoned from much use, this recipe will come out of that pan

wonderfully crispy. But a regular muffin tin works also. Just be sure to grease the bottoms well.

1 cup flour1 cup white cornmeal4 tablespoons sugar1 tablespoon baking powder½ teaspoon salt¼ cup of butter, melted2 eggs1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425°Grease the bottom of muffin tins. Just before filling, stick the

muffin tin in the oven to heat. This will create a nice crispy crust on your crostini.

Mix the dry ingredients. In another bowl beat the milk, eggs, and butter. Stir the milk mixture into the dry ingredients just until the flour disappears.

Take the muffin tin from the oven and quickly spoon a tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup. Bake about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Turn out onto a rack and start another batch. Add grease to the pan before each new batch.

The crostini can be made ahead and frozen in a zip-lock freezer bag for up to a month. Reheat in a 350° oven for 5 minutes before serving.

TOPPINGS FOR CROSTINIUse your imagination; remember the texture and taste will be

different from crostini made with a baguette. Here are some of my favorites to spread onto the crostini:

A teaspoon or 2 of Boursin pepper cheese and top with diced cucumber.

A teaspoon or 2 of whipped cream cheese topped with a dollop of hot pepper jelly.

A teaspoon or 2 of whipped cream cheese topped with Vidalia onion chutney or any favorite chutney.

Sliced grape tomatoes in a daisy pattern with a pretty squirt of mayonnaise mixture made with 3/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons sour cream, 2 tablespoons grated onion, and 1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt.

Mix dry ingredients just until the flour disappears.Take the muffin tin from the oven and quickly spoon a

tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup. Bake about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Turn out onto a rack and start another batch. This will need to be done in batches so be sure and add some grease to the pan each time you get ready to bake a new batch.

The crostini can be made ahead and frozen, sealed in a zip-lock freezer bag for up to a month. Reheat in a 350° for 5 minutes to serve.

8 LEE MAGAZINE

By Connie Cottingham

Presenting the best of winterHills & Dales reveals nature’s subtle gifts

I consider myself very lucky to garden in the Southeast, where there are four very distinct seasons, yet gardens grow and bloom year-round. Winter in a Southern garden is quiet, but far from silent. Colors are more muted, the sky a brighter blue, and the birds more evident and lyrical.

Your own garden should have that feeling in winter — a feeling of discovery, welcome, and subtle beauty. One garden that exemplifies this is Hills & Dales Estate, a short drive from Lee County in LaGrange, Georgia. A century and a half ago Ferrell Gardens in LaGrange was known as one of the finest in the South. A few decades earlier, in 1841, Sarah Farrell and her husband moved to terraced cotton fields owned by her family. (The terraces are still visible today on the property.) By the turn of the century Sarah Ferrell’s home garden was seen as a park. She welcomed visitors to enjoy the terraced gardens, including “Lovers Lane,” a long narrow walkway bordered by tall boxwood. Later, an aging Sarah asked friend and frequent visitor Fuller Callaway to buy the property when she died. Her family was not interested in it, and he so obviously loved the gardens.

He did buy the gardens in 1911 and began clearing weeds and edging the extensive boxwood, both neglected during the estate settlement.

In 1916 Ida and Fuller Callaway and their two sons moved

into a new Italianate home on the crest of the hill. The Callaways’ changes to the gardens were subtle, mainly adding statuary and benches that complemented the architecture of their new home, and creating the herb garden and greenhouse —a beautiful piece of architecture in itself, filled with orchids and ferns. Ida Callaway renamed their home Hills & Dales.

When Ida Callaway died in 1932, several years after her husband, sons Cason and Fuller bid against each other for the family home. Fuller Jr. won and moved into Hills & Dales with

Orchids, ferns, and tropical plants fill the nearly century-old greenhouse.

The garden terraces down the hillside from the Italianate home.

Photo by Lee Cathey

Connie Cottingham is licensed in three Southern states as a landscape architect. You can reach her at connie@lee-magazine.com.

Presenting the best of winterHills & Dales reveals nature’s subtle gifts

Hills & Dales Estate, 1916 Hills & Dales Drive, LaGrange, 30240. Phone 706-882-3242. More information: www.hillsanddales.org.

-LM

his wife Alice. Cason and his wife Virginia later created the 13,000-acre Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, naming it after Ida Callaway.

Alice Callaway became a loving caretaker of Hills & Dales and lived there for the next six decades with Fuller Jr. In 1997, she met with the Garden Conservancy to assure the preservation her home and historic garden. She died a year later. Hills & Dales Estate, now operated by the Fuller E. Callaway Foundation, opened to the public in 2004.

Hills & Dales Estate, only a 45 minute drive, offers a wonderful opportunity to tour a historic garden and home, and that opportunity will soon improve. Although open for renovation tours this winter, in May 2010 all three floors of the Italianate home will be furnished and open for tours for the first time.

Although the gardens are ever changing and always beautiful, the quiet, meditative mood and rich history seems more evident in winter. Pansies, winter hazel, and camellias add color, but winter is when the garden and the trees show their structure, especially the large China-fir framing a curved bench and the allée of magnolias planted from seed at the end of the Civil War.

The China-fir shows how structure and details such as bark patterns are more noticeable in the winter garden.

LEE MAGAZINE 9

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10 LEE MAGAZINE

B R A I N

His wife was no longer the woman he married. He wasn’t leaving her. He still loved her. But he

seemed a little lost, a little bewildered, by what had happened to her, to them. She used to laugh easily. It first drew him to her. Her crazy sense of humor complemented his quick and grinning wit. He made her laugh. She made him funnier.

Then she developed a benign tumor in her brain’s frontal lobe, he explained. Even “benign” is bad word when a tumor is in the brain. Just the presence of an invader crowds the busy circuitry, disrupting normal function. By the time surgeons successfully carved the tumor away, she was a different person. Her sense

of humor diminished, replaced, it seemed, by irritability.

A brain tumor illustrates, as little else can, that the behaviors that make us “us” are as much a product of biology as the color of our eyes. It’s disarming to realize there is no immutable “me,” that this thing inside my skull is vulnerable to change, that the me-ness of me is up for grabs, subject to severe and careless editing by stroke, or tumor, or injury, or drugs and alcohol.

We’ve all been told that alcoholism and other addictions are diseases. But understanding what that means is tough, especially when you watch someone repeat senseless, self-destructive behavior. The most compassionate find themselves

thinking, “I wish he’d grow a backbone,” or, “Why is she so weak?”

In fact, some forty percent to sixty percent of recovering addicts fall back into alcohol or drug abuse — roughly the same relapse rate shown by people with what we immediately recognize as “physical” diseases, such as diabetes and asthma, the National Institute for Drug Abuse reports. Addiction is, I’ll wager, one of the few — if not the only — disease where people must rely entirely on the diseased organ to grope their way to recovery. It’s their addicted brain — a brain refashioned by

alcohol or drugs — that must deliver the self-control, the perspective, the fortitude to free them from disease. That’s a heck of an order. Viewed that way, it seems I’ve paid inadequate respect to those who fight their way to recovery. It’s a monumental achievement.

Accumulated research shows that addiction arises due to a combination of genes and environment. Of course, the No. 1 environmental factor is exposure to alcohol, drugs, or nicotine. But exposure is far from enough. If that were all it took, a few glasses of wine would undo us all. Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine demonstrated the strong pull of genes when they raised more

By Jenni Laidman

Brain, heal thyselfThe�vulnerable�‘me’�and�the�power�of�biology

LEE MAGAZINE 11

B R A I N

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than twenty generations of alcoholic mice, with each generation more addicted than the last. At the same time, they raised another line of mice that refused alcohol. They didn’t like it. They wouldn’t drink it.

Their temperance was in their genes. They didn’t just say “no.” They didn’t attend abstinence lectures. They simply didn’t like the stuff.

Alcohol and drugs do their work in the parts of the brain wired for pleasure and reward. Jaak Panksepp, a researcher at Washington State University, refers to the brain circuits driven by the neurochemical dopamine as the “seeking system.” When not co-opted by addiction, these circuits send us to the fridge when we’re hungry and to our sweetie when we’re in the mood. They make us feel good. They make us enjoy the chase. And they’re crucial for addiction.

Research by Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute

for Drug Abuse, tells part of the story. Her work showed that the number of dopamine receptors we are born with plays a role in our susceptibility to addiction. Receptors are the intake valves for brain chemicals. People with a smaller number of one type of dopamine receptor simply enjoy drugs more than the rest of us, her research shows. The greater the pleasure, the fewer the receptors. Those with lots of these receptors find drugs unpleasant.

These addictive substances remodel the brain. The dopamine neurons become more responsive in the presence of drugs or alcohol. Neuron structures change. The area in charge of the brain’s so-called executive function — the prefrontal cortex, right behind your forehead — alters. This part of the brain helps us exercise self-control. It helps us to ignore our impulses and do the right thing. In cocaine addiction, researchers note, this part of the brain remodels to look like

the brain of someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

In short, the drug rewrote the addict’s “me-ness.”

That people do recover, and every day, is a tribute not only to them,

but to the people who work with them, and groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. On the horizon is promising research for new drugs to treat addictions, including findings that one common blood pressure medication reduced cocaine cravings in rodents. Some physicians are already making use of pharmaceutical treatments for alcoholism.

We need to let go of the notion that our brains are somehow divorced from our bodies, that biology obeys different rules between our ears. It’s a little humbling. It sort of kicks us off the throne in our own life; but for a lot of people, this way lies hope.

Brain, heal thyselfThe�vulnerable�‘me’�and�the�power�of�biology

12 LEE MAGAZINE

F A S H I O N

By Taylor Dungjen

The single biggest annoyance when you travel is not having all your clothes. After ten weeks in Portland, Oregon, this summer, I came home excited to re-immerse myself in my wardrobe. I was looking forward to slipping my feet into my brown leather boots with the perfect wedge heel; they were ideal for any outfit.

But I couldn’t find them. I searched everywhere: the basement, the attic. Then I learned the ugly truth: Someone threw them away.

They were the perfect boots — not easy to find. The perfect boots come with a price. You can’t spend fifty dollars and hope for a miracle. Small price tags usually

mean poor quality and extreme discomfort. Only perfect boots transition well from season to season, year to year. Good luck finding that in a hurry.

That got me thinking, what boot would be most flattering? I bet you never thought a boot could be unflattering, but, oh,

they can be. Based on your height and calf width, what you think might be the perfect boot might make your leg look like a stump.

Here are some things to consider for this season and beyond:

Flattery will get you everywhere

Finding the right boot — not necessarily made for walking

LEE MAGAZINE 13

Taylor Dungjen is a freelance writer who often covers fashion. Write to her at taylor@lee-magazine.com

F A S H I O N

Height and width. Boots should hit your leg at the right spot. Mid-calf boots sometimes hit at the widest part of your calf, and if you have big calves, I hope you want them to look bigger. This season, boots at, or slightly above, the knee are ideal. But why stop there? If you have long legs, look for thigh-high boots. Women with short legs — stay away — unless you want your legs to look shorter. Make sure the boots fit comfortably around your legs. Depending on the size of your calves, you might consider looking for boots with adjustable buckles to make them more or less spacious.

They’ve got to have sole. Flat boots are always perfect if you’re doing a lot of walking. There are times, though, when you want to look and feel sexy or sassy. For this, a boot with a heel – high or low – will do the trick. For comfort, a lower heel or wedge is ideal, but if you don’t need to be practical, take it as high as you can without losing balance or breaking an ankle.

Embellishments. Studs, buckles, exposed zippers — as long as they’re in moderation and not all happening at once, they can make an ordinary boot extraordinary. They can jazz up a simple outfit or add toughness to a soft floral. An exposed zipper, on the outside or on the back of a boot, is unusual and surprisingly refined.

Color. For taller boots I prefer black or brown leather, but for ankle boots, any color will do. Perhaps not any color, but red, blue, purple, emerald – think jewel tones – can liven up a simple outfit of muted or neutral tones.

The guilty boot tossers in my family made a mistake. All they’ve accomplished is igniting a drive to do more shopping, to spend more money, to put me on the quest for the best boot for all seasons.

If you find the perfect pair, clue me in. I’m still on the prowl.

Flattery will get you everywhere

Finding the right boot — not necessarily made for walking

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14 LEE MAGAZINE

M O M I T U D E

By Kelly Frick

I am attempting one of the all-time greatest feats of motherhood — greater than giving birth, greater

than letting them go at kindergarten, even greater than enduring a second-grade music recital.

I’m seeking a babysitter for New Year’s Eve.

Have you tried this? Finding a babysitter for New Year’s is like winning the lottery. You know someone will win, but it’s probably not going to be you. Not now. Not ever.

In my ten years of motherhood, my husband and I have gone out exactly once on New Year’s Eve. Emma was two, my nephew was one, and my sister-in-law and I wrangled her teenage cousins to watch

the toddlers for a few hours. I remember it well.

We ran out to a bar, drank a gallon of beer and were home just as Dick Clark was saying “3-2-1. Happy New Year!”

OK, it wasn’t a stellar night, but we were young and stupid. We figured we had plenty of other New Year’s Eves to party in style. The next year, every girl from here to Tacoma was busy — including the cousins.

The year after, my husband and I gave up looking by December 15. We had two kids by then and my son had a reputation as “the baby who would not sleep.” I even offered one of our regulars $200 for four hours of work (which by the way is WAY more than what I make an hour). She said,

“Gee, I’d love to help but I already have plans.”

Plans? You’re fifteen! What on earth could you possibly be doing at 11 p.m. December 31?

The next few years we convinced ourselves that it was more fun just sitting at home with the kids. And it was for awhile. It was sweet as they dozed off in our arms waiting for the big ball to drop in Times Square.

But last year, the kids were wide awake and hitting us with the Nerf long-range missile shooters my idiot brother got them for Christmas. My husband looked at me and said “Next year, we go out. Alone.”

It wasn’t an idea. It was an order. Of course, we’d forgotten that planning

DESPERATELY SEEKING SITTERWait, I thought it was my turn to do something grownup!

LEE MAGAZINE 15

M O M I T U D E

Kelly Frick is a writer and mother of two.

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for New Year’s Eve when you have kids is Mission: Don’t Even Think About It.

I thought back to my days as a kid and what I did on New Year’s Eve. Which gave me a great idea. My parents!

But Mom and Dad have rediscovered their carefree days, despite the fact that when my grandparents were drawing Social Security, they were asleep by 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. (Why, oh why did my parents have to be baby boomers? Why, oh why do baby boomers have to be so darn active in their old age?)

“Oh sweetie,” my mother said, when I casually asked her to stay home with my darlings who will be no problem at all, I promise. “We’re going out with friends for dinner, then to the casino, and then who knows? I’m sorry. Did you ask Kayla? She’s such a nice girl.”

Yep. I’ve asked Kayla, and Abby, and Maddie, and Ann, and Ann’s

little sister, and the girl in church who sings every other Sunday but I don’t know her name. Yes, I’m down to girls I don’t even really know.

We probably shouldn’t make such a big deal out of it. It would be nice though, to pretend for a little while that we aren’t haggard working parents, to feel glamorous for a few hours. To be out with the carefree souls who have no problem partying past midnight.

To be Cinderella, at least until the clock strikes twelve and I go back to dirty dishes, unmade beds and floors that need sweeping.

Oh, what a night it could be. So I haven’t given up hope yet. The list

of available sitters is growing shorter and shorter, but I still have a few names to call upon. I’m willing to pay big bucks, and I promise to lock up the Nerf guns. The kids will be no problem at all.

And if all else fails, I ain’t too proud to beg. -LM

16 LEE MAGAZINE

By Lisa Gallagher

Country music artists sing about heartache, horses, soldiers, illness, drinking, horses

drinking, trains, and having a baby on a Greyhound bus. The lyrics reflect life here in the US better than CNN does. But I was still surprised when I heard the new hit by a band called Trailer Choir. In its latest song, “Rockin’ the Beer Gut,” we meet a woman at a bar who has “just some extra love around her waist” and who “isn’t ashamed.” This was the first time I heard the term “beer gut” used to describe a woman. Times they are a changin’.

(Although I don’t think Bob Dylan had beer guts in mind.)

Why are more and more women, “Rockin’ the Beer Gut”?

It could be stress, or more accurately distress.

Stress is our body’s response to demands. At optimal levels it’s called eustress — pronounced U-stress — and has a positive impact on our productivity and attitude. When stress is prolonged, and we have trouble coping, we experience distress.

Distress triggers the adrenal gland to release the hormone cortisol, which

increases lipogenesis, a fancy term for fat creation. It also elevates deep abdominal obesity, tissue breakdown and suppression of the immune system. Cortisol increases appetite, sugar cravings, and weight gain, a study published in 2001 by Elissa Epel of the University of California, San Francisco, demonstrated. Cortisol also regulates other chemicals released during distress, and these also stimulate appetite.

Prolonged stress and high cortisol may cause high blood pressure, elevated fats — which means higher cholesterol — and increased blood sugar. In women, when

Does this stress make me look fat?

BELLY BLUES

LEE MAGAZINE 17

Lisa Gallagher, director of the Fitness Center at the Opelika Sportsplex, is a wellness coach, personal trainer, and group fitness instructor. You can contact her at lisa@lee-magazine.com.

-LM

Does this stress make me look fat?waist size starts to gain on hip size, the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke all increase.

Not sure if you have too much stress in your life? Some warning signs are neck or back pain, headaches, jitters,

upset stomach, dry mouth, lack of focus, anxiety, forgetfulness, or difficulty sleeping. You may even break out in a rash, like the crazy ex-boyfriend in the movie, Something About Mary.

If you want to stay healthy, you need to keep your waist, or find the waist you lost. It’s imperative that you include some stress-reducing activities in your fitness program. Add meditation, tai chi, or yoga, and you will not only significantly improve your chance of successful weight loss, but you’ll be nicer to be around.

Waiting for distress to subside won’t work. The result of doing nothing was published by researchers from Duke University

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Medical Center in 2005. A control group kept its old diet and exercise habits while other groups altered exercise levels. In six months, the control group experienced significant gains in deep abdominal fat. A group told to follow the guidelines for moderate exercise recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine saw no increase in abdominal fat. A third group, whose members exercised vigorously, saw significant decreases in fat of all kinds, not just the deep belly fat, but of the fat just under the skin as well. And none of the group members changed diets.

The good news is we can stop “Rockin’ the Beer Gut.” It will involve fairly vigorous strength training and fairly intense cardiovascular exercise of some sort. And don’t forget your yoga mat if you want to prevent that stress-induced belly fat from forming.

Please visit your doctor before embarking on an exercise program.

18 LEE MAGAZINE

By Debbie Smelley

Schools in my district begin the day with the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a moment of silence — 60 seconds for students and faculty to reflect quietly.

In recent years I’ve noticed it’s harder for my students to remain quiet for a full minute. It’s not because they are high school kids purposely trying to buck the system. It’s because they don’t know what to do with that silence.

Generation M – today’s multitasking,

media-using youth — so dubbed by a 2005 Kaiser Family Foundation survey — may be too wired to technology for their own good, and there are plenty of studies that tell us that. On the positive side, kids today are technologically savvy and well on their way to racing through life at miles-per-nanosecond speed. They can listen to music, watch TV, text on a cell phones, surf the net, and Instant Message while

doing homework; just ask them. A few years ago, a Time Magazine article took a sneak peak at 14-year-old Piers Cox doing his homework. Piers, his parents and twin sister, are participating in a four-year study of modern life conducted by UCLA’s Center on Everyday Lives of Families. Piers has an essay to write for English class. He first opens iTunes on his computer and jams to his favorite song while he calls up a Word file. “While the computer is loading,

Unplugging electron-bedazzled Generation MFOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!

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LEE MAGAZINE 19

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I’ll do a problem or write a sentence. Then, while mail is loading, I do more. I get it done a little bit at a time.” And that is the negative side. It boils down to one central argument: All this multitasking erodes focus, making a lost art of in-depth attention.

Ask any teacher who’s just graded a test. “Did you study?” asks the teacher. Yes, the student says, while he watched TV and talked on the phone.

Consider some study findings: Young people, on average, spend six-and-a-half hours per day

using media, often more than one type at a time.Eighty-one percent watch television, seventy-four percent listen

to radio, and sixty-eight percent listen to CDs or MP3 players.Fifty-four percent use a computer.Forty-seven percent read magazines and books. Forty-one percent play video games.Thirty-nine percent watch videos or DVDs.The American home is a media mecca, and kids’ bedrooms

are stuffed with electronics. The biggest time gobbler is TV, with eight- to fourteen-year olds watching the most — more than three hours a day. Statistics show that heavy TV watchers skimp on homework time by about twenty minutes a night. Remember, that’s an average. That means a number of kids do a great deal less to prepare for school.

If you don’t have a handle on your child’s TV viewing, you’re not alone. The study found only thirty-six percent of parents limited television. But — and here’s the kicker — only twenty percent said they enforced the rules.

Technology is great. We love it and we couldn’t live without it. And who hasn’t given into the urge to take a cell phone call in the wrong setting or to sneak away from dinner to check email? But isn’t it time to put on the brakes? For us, and for our children?

Let’s take a moment of silence to think about it.

Debbie Smelley is a teacher and mother of two. You can reach her at debbie@lee-magazine.

The American home is

a media mecca, and kids’ bedrooms are stuffed with

electronics.

20 LEE MAGAZINE

Erlene Lingle vividly recalls making teacakes with her grandmother. She can almost smell the nutmeg, and remembers how her grandmother would roll out the dough for each cake.

“Her name was Isabelle Walters Moore,” Lingle says. “We used to pick huckleberries every summer together.”

The Writing Our Lives class turns such moments into stories, memories that can soothe, bring riotous laughter, or unsettle both the memory holder and her audience.

The members of the Writing Our Lives class, part of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Auburn University, can vouch for that. This unique group of habitual, and sometimes not-so-habitual, journal and diary keepers meets in a small conference room at the Lexington Hotel on College Street each Tuesday morning to uncover memories like buried treasure. Then one by one, they share the wealth by reading aloud to the class, like a support group for the memoir addict.

Class members would be the first to say their gathering does function as a type of support group, as storytellers travel time together through moments joyous, momentous or difficult that may have happened yesterday or 50 years ago.

“Nothing is more interesting than a person’s biography,” said Helene Burkhart, a fourth-year veteran of the class. “No two are the same.”

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Ellen Sherling

LEE MAGAZINE 21

Burkhart felt a great push to record her life experiences for her grandchildren. Her German accent thickens as she recollects her past. Her biography begins in the village of Brüchermühle in the hills near Cologne, Germany where she grew up.

I t was April 1945, as World War II was

ending, American soldiers occupied her family home.

“I recall vividly every detail of those most d r e a d f u l t h i r t y - s i x hours,” she said.

“It all s t a r t e d when my mother and

we children — my two sisters and my brother and myself — heard the terrible noise of bombing at sundown on that horrible April day. Grenades fell to the left and right of our home. Some windows broke with a big noise and a cool wind came like a ghost into our home.

“We grabbed some blankets and rushed to our shelter in the dark basement. I was 12 at the time. I felt my heart beating in my throat. I could not bring out a single word. My thoughts were with my father, who was on the Russian front. He had been in Russia for the past three years. With the deepest longing, I now wanted my dad home. When I looked into my mother’s face, I recognized that she was as full of fear as I. …

“The night hours passed as if they were years instead of hours. In the darkness of our shelter, it was hard to imagine that the sun was shining.”

In time, “frightening rumbling noises filled the air” and the house shook from passing armored tanks.

“Suddenly, we all were exposed to the most panicking experience of all. Wild looking soldiers, their eyes filled with hate and, maybe, fear too, gesticulating with their guns, stood before us. … It was the first time I had seen black-skinned people. I felt as if I were a block of ice. I could not move. I could not speak. And I was trembling. Our mother put her arms around the four of us, so we were standing as close together as possible. I assumed our last minute had arrived.”

The soldiers ordered them to stay in the basement, “like strangers,” she wrote, “like beggars in our own house.”

“Unexpectedly, the situation changed suddenly. A soldier came down to us in the basement. … He was a warm-hearted human being. He talked to us, and showed my mother pictures of his wife and children. He even gave us chocolate to eat. This experience was for me comparable to the sun breaking through the clouds after a prolonged, heavy storm where the clouds hang deep and dark. Hope rose in me that the world was not always cruel and inhuman. Human love had not died out.”Some class sessions are grueling.

Difficult memories bring tears to the hearers and the teller, but this is where other stories begin.

While Burkhart’s experiences are unlike those of her mostly

Southern classmates, she says the class hangs in a harmonious balance.

“New ideas trigger another idea,”

Burkhart said. “We learn to open up to new possibilities by working together. Our friends in the class encourage us, and our teachers’ ideas and enthusiasm are contagious.”

Each 90-minute class opens with sharing and storytelling time: A type of show-and-tell comprised of ink on paper and a dose of courage.

Terry Ley, class coordinator, wants everyone to participate, but forces no one.

The class’s greatest benefit, he says, is “discovering the common patterns that define our lives and sharing our unique stories with others.”

Sharon Nielsen, a self-professed Wisconsin “Yankee,” who today lives in Dadeville, agreed. She finds the diversity of the class inspiring.

“I’m learning about the South,” Nielsen said. “Sharing time can get really interesting. It’s been a wonderful experience.”

Nielson’s husband of 48 years, Tom, serves on the OLLI board of directors. She began tagging along to the Writing Our Lives class two years ago.

“I never realized that I had that much in me to think about,” she said.

Her favorite story is about her mother and father. She and her family were

packing her mother’s apartment shortly after placing her in a nursing home.

“We were dividing up her things, and all I wanted was her old mattress and box springs,” Nielsen recalled. “When I was a little girl, I crawled into that bed with my mom and dad during a storm. Being there made me feel cozy and safe.”

She had the bed shipped to Birmingham, where she was living at the time, and slept on it “forever.” She bed now occupies her guest bedroom.

Her next project will record her experiences during the six-day Watts riots in 1965 in Los

Angeles. She saw buildings crumbling, fires, and looting as she drove through Watts daily on her way to the veteran’s affairs office where she worked.

“I look back, and didn’t seem scared,”

Peggy Stelpflug

Helene Burkhart,

22 LEE MAGAZINE

she said. “Now I think, ‘dummy!’”Memoir writing and short stories are

not the only forms of expression in the Writing Our Lives class.

Peggy Stelpflug is a retired Auburn University English professor and co-author of a book entitled, “Home of the Infantry: A History of Fort Benning.” She is married to a former Air Force fighter pilot. She records her thoughts and memories in poetry that Nielsen says is “moving and beautiful.”

Nielsen remembers a poem Stelpflug wrote about her son, Lance Cpl. Bill Stelpflug, a Marine who was killed when a truck filled with explosives rammed into the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut killing 241 Marines, soldiers and sailors. It was one of the first suicide bombings.

The words brought tears to Nielsen’s eyes, reminding her of her own two brothers who served during World War II.

Not all of the resurfaced memories are so gut-wrenching.

Stelpflug recently had one of her most celebrated poems, “Old Men,”

published in the fall 2009 edition of “The LLI Review: The Annual Journal of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.” The poem also received an honorable mention in the free-verse poetry category in the 2008 Alabama Writer’s Conclave competition.

Stelpflug said “Old Men” is one of her favorite poems. “It’s taken a life of its own,” she said.

I love old men,Their deliberateness,Their quiet charm.I love old menWho hold their humorin their eyes, andTheir wisdom in their thoughts,Willing to let others learnThe way they did Trial and errorThe hard way.

I love old menWho look aheadCarefully consideringEach step: Closing the curtainsAt dusk,Turning off the lights

At bedtime,Checking the locksOn the doors.

I love old men Who face deathMatter-of-factlyLike preparing for bad weather, Knowing there’s not muchTo do about itBut batten down the hatches,just in case ... Zipping their jackets tightlyAbout their throats.

Stelpflug enjoys the writing of others as much as her own, and that’s kept her attending Writing Our Lives for several years now.

“The class has many fine writers,” she said. “It’s like a family. Cathy, the class instructor, is very inspiring and sincere.”

Cathy Buckhalt, the Writing Our Lives class leader and instructor for nearly every session since its inception in 2004, encourages the class to always keep up their writer’s notebook and write the stories that demand to be told.

Nielson credits Buckhalt, an English teacher at Opelika Middle School and this year’s acting director of Auburn University’s Sun Belt Writing Project, with getting her into the habit of writing.

In true teacher fashion, Buckhalt watches silently as members of the class share their work, then moves onto instructor mode. She reads aloud, leads the discussion on the day’s topic, and assigns “class work” for 30 minutes. Members may then share what they’ve written, and for those who haven’t finished, well, they have homework.

Lingle, another class veteran, keeps coming back for the “marvelous content” Buckhalt and Ley put together voluntarily over the past five years.

“It’s an outlet for me,” said Lingle, a southern Mississippi native and Auburn resident for four-four years. “I jot things down, but I never let a little truth get in the way of a good story.”

For other members of the Writing Our Lives class, the weekly meetings provide accountability.

Ellen Sherling, a born letter writer who

says she inherited the ability to write from her mother, falls into this category. She comes each week, begins writing about the chosen prompt, but says the prompt is just a starting point, not where her mind stays.

She visited three summer sessions in 2005 before she finally decided to sign up for the Writing Our Lives class. Sherling has been writing her memories in spurts ever since, finishing each story when the perfect opportunity presents itself.

“It’s like being on a train and jumping from station to station,” Sherling said. “My mother wrote very well, but never pursued it. Every Christmas I try to send a few typed pages to friends and family with updates on my family, but my real deadline is Groundhog Day.”

Although Sherling — the mother of two grown women and married thirty-six years — says she’s never been good at keeping a journal, her annual family highlights are more like a journal than anything else.

“I use them to keep my hand in, but it’s not an occasion for bragging. You have to be yourself in your writing — warts and all.”

Sherling knows that certain stories demand to be told, and she takes it to heart.

Sharing her childhood love of horses was one of those stories. Sherling wrote her cowgirl memoir, “A Little Girl’s Passion,” during last winter’s class session, but it remains one of her most cherished pieces.

When I was a little girl, I fixated on horses, dreaming

of one day being a cowgirl. A Pony for Linda and Old Bones the Wonder Horse were my favorite books.”

Every visit to the Carnegie Library a mile from her home in Selma sent her straight to a high, narrow shelf in the children’s reading room. It’s where the horse books were kept.

“On Sunday afternoons during

Ellen Sherling

LEE MAGAZINE 23

we older girls got to ride Bess, Frank’s tall hunting horse. She was not a jumper, just a saddle horse calm enough not to flinch when he fired his shotgun from her back. Those nerves of steel and patience stood her in good stead when we mounted up. Unskilled and eager, we probably did everything wrong, but we didn’t know it. She invariably left us feeling proud and grown up. She was actually easier to ride than the intractable, stubborn ponies.

“Eventually I resolved to save up to buy my own horse. I

had heard that a decent horse could be bought at the livestock auction in Montgomery for $25. Even in the 1950s, when cold drinks cost a nickel before the price rose to six cents, that wasn’t a lot of money. Nevertheless, at a quarter a week allowance, it was a lofty goal. Saturday movies cost 10 or 15 cents at the Walton or the Wilby Theater respectively. Punishment for biting my nails was to forego that customary Saturday activity with friends. My bad habit resulted in many weeks of savings.

“I also made regular trips to Sears Roebuck. The store was just a short walk from home. The tack

room was at its side entrance. I rarely even ran into grown-ups on my visits. I would quietly slip in, inhale the leather aroma of bridles, harnesses and saddles, then choose one or two saddles to mount for an imaginary gallop on the wooden slatted racks.”

The price tags told her she’d have to learn to ride bareback “like the Indians in the Saturday morning Westerns starring the Cisco Kid, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.”

“Moving slowly toward my goal, I asked for Acme boots for my ninth birthday. No one has ever been prouder of a pair of boots. I kept them clean and shiny as new, even washing the soles to preserve their pristine appearance.”

She went to the Boston Bargain — which sold farm supplies

and hardware — to buy spurs. But she only had money for one.

“Undeterred, I bought it, agreeing with the salesman’s statement that if you kicked a horse on one side, both sides would go. I never intended to spur a horse anyway. They were just part of the outfit I thought I needed to be ready to be a cowgirl.

“During the years since, I’ve thought about that little tomboy and her equine dreams,” she wrote. “In my mind at least, I rode like an Indian.”

No classroom would be complete without a class clown.

Jim Warman, a professional pianist with a Cheshire cat grin, was the first to stand and share a story about his father’s

pre-Jim days one Tuesday morning during the weekly class meeting.

Picture this. Setting: A rowdy boys’ night out at a county fair some 30 miles

the school year Mom would drive us out to her cousin’s farm, several miles outside of Selma. It was a special place to us because Frank Hardy raised purebred Shetland ponies there. He and Georgia, his sweet wife, had issued an open invitation to all the children in their large family connection to come often to ride the ponies. The Hardys said that our riding helped accustom [the ponies] to being around children. We took our assignment very seriously.

“En route from home we would decide which of the

ponies we would ride that day. I usually chose the tallest, Eve. Marge chose Debe. Hallie and Jack rode Becky, who was very gentle. We would take turns if other cousins were there riding too. All of the ponies we rode were mares, usually with whinnying foals awaiting their return to the paddock. It was a struggle for us to keep them turned away from the barn, because once en route, they would sideswipe or balk us out of the saddle to race back to their babies. Otherwise they would walk along lazily.

“On very rare, but special days,

Jim Warman

Dottie McKissac, Helene Burkhart, and Peggy Stelpflug .

24 LEE MAGAZINE

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north of their hometown, Point Marion, Pennsylvania.

Cast of Characters: Warman’s father, three of his high school buddies otherwise known as Tom, Dick and Harry, a gullible

drummer, and Mrs. Elizabeth Worthington. Warman moved through the short story of the night his father and a few friends drove north to a nearby county fair in a black Model T, drank a few beers, crashed a band’s on-stage performance, and managed to offend the president of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. The details unfolded melodiously, just as if Warman was playing the ivory keys of a grand piano — a stark contrast to the “erratic tempo” of the drum beat played by Harry, the bravest and, perhaps, drunkest high school buddy, who smooth talked his way onto stage and took up the drumsticks.

Warman read: “The three on the ground shouted encouragement to Harry

until one of them lowered his sight and looked through the drummer’s legs and the music stands. Walking straight toward the bandstand was staid Mrs. Elizabeth Worthington, president of the Women’s Temperance Union, dressed, as was her bent, one notch finer than the occasion would warrant.

“My dad reached up to tug on Harry’s pant leg and announce the oncoming wrath. “ Get down, get down. Here comes Mrs. Worthington.”

A smile widens across Warman’s face as he delivers the punch line to the class:

“Harry never missed a beat as he shouted down, ‘I may care tomorrow, but I don’t give a damn tonight.’”

A burst of laughter filled the room — the sound of old friends sharing a joke. And they are old friends now, members of a storytelling society, knit together by shared memories.

The eight-week spring term of Writing Our Lives begins in late March. A general information meeting takes place 10 a.m., March 22, at the Lexington Hotel. For registration information, go to the OLLI website, www.olliatauburn.org, or call 844-5165.

Lindsay Wood is a local freelance writer and a graduate of Auburn University.

Class members Lee Cannon, Jim Warman and Erlene Lingle

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28 LEE MAGAZINE

A Tree of

Memories

The Twelve Ornaments

of Christmas

In 1997, Southern Crossing began a series of Christmas

ornaments featuring sites and events in Opelika. Our

fi rst was South Railroad Avenue, symbolizing the re-birth

of downtown stores. The courthouse, Chamber of Com-

merce, Gingerbread House, a skyline of churches, Darden

House, Brownfi eld House, Rocky Brook Rocket, Victorian

Christmas, Shotwell Covered Bridge and the Collinwood

Luminaries followed.

This year’s ornament features The Opelika Hospital,

once at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 9th Street, Lee

County, and East Alabama Medical Center.

Every ornament brings special memories, a wedding,

fi rst kiss, riding the Rocky Brook Rocket with your child

and, this year, a birth of a child.

Don’t miss bringing home your memories!

In 1997, Southern Crossing began a series of Christmas ornaments featur-ing sites and events in Opelika. Our fi rst was South Railroad Avenue, symboliz-ing the re-birth of downtown stores. Th e courthouse, Chamber of Commerce, Gin-gerbread House, a skyline of churches, Darden House, Brownfi eld House, Rocky Brook Rocket, Victorian Christmas, Shot-well Covered Bridge and the Collinwood Luminaries followed. Th is year’s ornament features Th e Ope-lika Hospital, once at the corner of 3rd Av-enue and 9th Street, Lee County, and East Alabama Medical Center. Every ornament brings special memo-ries, a wedding, fi rst kiss, riding the Rocky Brook Rocket with your child and, this year, a birth of a child. Don’t miss bringing home your memo-

rossingouthernSC

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• Swallowing ribbons or tinsel can catch in the GI tract, possibly leading to surgery. • Chewing on electrical light cords can cause severe burns to the tongue, which could cause the lungs to fi ll with fl uid. • Chocolate can be poisonous. Normal milk chocolate can be dangerous, but semi-sweet chocolate, dark chocolate and un-sweetened chocolate contain more amounts of theobromine that can lead to severe ill-ness and even death. • Poinsettias are not specifi cally toxic to pets, but can irritate a pets mouth or stomach. • Mistletoe is a hazardous substance to pets and can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea while others can lead to liver fail-ure or seizing.

KEEP THEM SAFE!

229�Columbus�Parkway�•�Opelika745 • 2541

THORNTONANIMAL�HOSPITAL

• Swallowing ribbons or tinsel can become foreign bodies in the GI tract, possibly lead-ing to surgery. • Chewing on electrical light cords can cause severe burns to the tongue and can lead to respiratory distress. • Be cautious with chocolate. Normal milk chocolate can be dangerous, but semi-sweet, dark and unsweetened chocolates can be more of a threat which can lead to severe ill-ness and even death. • Avoid feeding leftovers and be sure gar-bage containers are secure. Sudden rich diet changes can cause vomiting and diarrhea. • Always consult with your veterinarian if you are unsure about holiday dangers.

Some of the best furniture money can buy is already in your living

room. Before you spend a lot on new furniture, take a look at the cra� s-manship that goes into an old piece. Improving these gems is an invest-ment in the future of your home. Southern Upholstery’s fabrics and foam are more durable than you’ll generally � nd on the market. Our upholsterers are artists, and their work will make your classic furniture beautiful, comfortable, and unique. Also, look to us to renew your car, truck, or boat seats.

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For happy feet, shoe buyers must embrace more than

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TO YOUR HEALTH

LEE LEE MAGAZINE 29

Selections from Advancing American Art. Paintings by Arthur Dove, Jacob Lawrence, John Marin, Georgia O’Keeffe and Ben Shahn are among the featured works in an exhibition at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, 901 South College Street, Auburn. Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Admission is free.

ONGOING THROUGH JANUARY 23:1072 Society Exhibition, a collection of paintings, sculpture, works on paper, and hand-blown glass, at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, 901 South College Street, Auburn. Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Admission is free.

ONGOING: Third Thursday Late Nights, 5 to 8 p.m., at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, 901 South College Street, Auburn, offers gallery visits and a wine tasting by Fine Wine and Beer by Gus.

ONGOING THROUGH DECEMBER 23: They’re called ArTrees, and you can see these holiday-themed trees for free, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center, 222 East Drake Avenue, Auburn. Information: 501-2963.

December 11: Christmas in a Railroad Town, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., includes a visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus, train rides, a children’s village, live entertainment, a gingerbread house contest, and wagon and trolley rides through the Victorian Front

calendarDECEMBER & JANUARY

• When taking photos of kids, get down on their level instead of shooting from above. Also, to get natural pictures, capture them when they are having fun; doing what they like; playing with their new Christmas toys. Try for natural window light.

• When taking babies, if they are very young and can’t sit up, let a parent hold the baby and shoot close-ups. You can crop out the parent and just get facial shots of the child. Even if the baby is not in a good mood at that time, you can take photos of just the feet or the hands.

• For family photos outside choose a shady location for the best lighting. With today’s digital cameras you don’t even have to use a fl ash, so you don’t have to worry about glasses refl ections.

TIPS�FOR�GREAT

Q

QInƒinityPHOTOGRAPHERS

www.infi nity-photographers.com

HOLIDAY PHOTOS

Infinity Photographers334 • 737 • 0200

ONGOING THROUGH DECEMBER 15: Be a Santa to a Senior this season. Lee County businesses have the names of shut-in or needy seniors and their gift requests. Pick up an ornament with a name, buy a gift, and bring it to gift wrapping day 7 a.m. December 15 at the Opelika SportsPlex and Aquatics Center, 1001 Andrews Road. Wrapping volunteers are also needed. Information: www.beasantatoasenior.com or call 321-1050.

ONGOING: To celebrate that there’s nothing so nice as formal wear, the Lee County Humane Society, 1140 Ware Drive, Auburn, launches Tuxedo Tuesday discounts for “tuxedo” wearing pets. All adoptions of black and white cats and dogs, as well as solid black cats and dogs will cost $50. Information: 821-3222 or lchs@leecountyhumane.org. ONGOING THROUGH JANUARY 9: Elvis at 21, New York to Memphis: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, 901 South College Street, Auburn. Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Admission is free.

ONGOING THROUGH JANUARY 19: Elvis & Friends, Recent Work by Georgia artist Joni Mabe, at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, 901 South College Street, Auburn. Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Admission is free.

ONGOING THROUGH JANUARY 23: ©2009 Kumon North America, Inc.

n Read aloud daily.n Master the basics.n Improve study habits.n Strengthen concentration.n Work toward your child’s

potential.

Kumon has a complete and carefully planned curriculumfrom preschool all the way up to college.

©2009 Kumon North America, Inc.

TIPS TO HELP YOURCHILD LEARN

Porch Tour. Information: 745-0466

DECEMBER 9 THROUGH 13: The seventeenth Victorian Front Porch Christmas Tour includes more than sixty turn-of-the-century homes on ten city blocks decorated for the holiday. The self-directed driving or walking tour includes live entertainment, carolers, costumed homeowners, and other festivities. On Saturday streets close and touring is limited to walkers — weather permitting. Information: 745-4861 or 332-6966. Also reserve group tours at that number.

DECEMBER 11: Chanukah begins.

DECEMBER 11: Five bucks gets you into Round Three auditions for the first Auburn Idol competition 7 p.m. Tickets available at the front desk of The Hotel at Auburn University & Dixon Conference Center, 241 South College Street. The hotel and MIX 96.7 FM cosponsor the competition for a $10,000 prize. Information: 821-8200 or on the web at www.mix967online.com.

DECEMBER 12: Holiday Wreath Workshop and an ornament workshop for children with Ginger Purvis of Blooming Colors Market, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve, 3100 Alabama Highway 147, Auburn. Cost: $15 to make a wreath; no charge for the children’s ornament. To register: 844-8091 or 707-6512 or preserve@auburn.edu.

DECEMBER 12: Holiday art sale, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center, 222 East Drake Avenue, Auburn, sponsored by the Auburn Arts Association and Auburn Parks & Recreation Department. Information: 501-2944 or cphilen@auburnalabama.org.

DECEMBER 12, JANUARY 23, and FEB 6: Parents can bring kids for the free Saturday Art Club anytime between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Arts, 901 South College Street, Auburn.

DECEMBER 12 AND 13: The Loveliest Village Christmas Tour of Homes, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday is $20. Tickets available through the Auburn Chamber of Commerce, 714 East Glenn Avenue, or at each of the homes, including the homes of George and Susan Konstant, 232 Chadwick Lane; Mike and Tina Rabren, 1547 Lakewood Place; Shane and Pheza Sumners, 566 East Samford Avenue; John and Leigh Hudon, 718 Burke Place; Lucy Little, 554 Berkeley Avenue; Ronnie and Rosemary Anders, 2487 Danbury Drive; Rick and Kelly Davidson, Camelia Drive; and, Peter and Peg Weiss, 105 Prathers Lake Drive. There is a discount for those who join the Auburn Preservation League, sponsoring the tour for the third year. Also from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday are free cider stops at Auburn City Hall, 144 Tichenor Avenue; Jan Dempsey Community Center, 222 East Drake Avenue; Crenshaw Bread and Breakfast, 371 North College Street; Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, 901 South College Street, the Lee County Historical Society, 6500 Stage Road, Loachapoka. Information: 887-7011 or 501-2963.

DECEMBER 14: Free Heather Meadows! Meadows, executive director of the Lee County Humane Society, will be locked inside a dog kennel outside of Kroger on Dean Road in Auburn at noon in the organization’s No More Wasted Lives annual fundraiser. She will remain caged until the humane society reaches its fundraising goal of $25,000.

DECEMBER 18: Have your blood pressure and weight checked and stop by for a little health education 9 a.m. to noon at the J.W. Darden Wellness Center, 1323 Auburn Street, Opelika. Information: 528-1438.

DECEMBER 18: The final competition of Auburn Idol, 7 p.m., The Hotel at Auburn University & Dixon Conference Center, 241 South College Street. Tickets $5, available at the hotel. Information: 821-8200 or www.mix967online.com.

DECEMBER 26: Keep Opelika Beautiful Christmas Tree Recycling program takes place at the Opelika Chamber of Commerce, 601 Avenue A, Opelika.

JANUARY 1THROUGH 8: Free downtown parking in Auburn.

JANUARY 8: The Sundilla Acoustic Concert Series presents folk singer Joe Crookston, 7:30 p.m., Auburn Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 508 Auburn Drive. Cost: $10; students, $8; children 12 and younger, free. Information: 741-7169 or baileyjones@mindspring.com.

JANUARY 9: Leave the kids at the Frank Brown Recreation Center, 235 Opelika Road, Auburn, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and enjoy Parents Night Out. The program accepts children age six through twelve. Cost: $25. Pre-register at the Dean Road Recreation Center, 307 South Dean Road. Information: 501-2962.

JANUARY 11: The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Auburn holds its general membership meeting, beginning with coffee at 9 a.m., at the Lexington Hotel-University Convention Center, 1577 South College Street, Auburn. Guest speaker Kathyrn Tucker Wyndham, author of Thirteen Alabama Ghosts and Spit, Scarey Ann, and Sweat Bees. Information: 844-5100 or www.olliatauburn.org.

JANUARY 16: The Auburn Classic Half Marathon begins at 7:30 a.m. at Moores Mill Fitness & Racquet, 2272 Moores Mill Road, Auburn. The run benefits the Cancer Center of East Alabama Medical Center. Entries before December 16 are $40, and go up $10 after that date. Information: traceybuckingham@att.net.

JANUARY 18: Martin Luther King Day

JANUARY 22: The Sundilla Acoustic Concert Series presents troubadour Greg Klyma, 7:30 p.m., Auburn Unitarian

30 LEE MAGAZINE

People are searching for a hormone replacement therapy regimen that provides a resurgence of energy. You don’t have to have headaches,

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Universalist Fellowship, 508 Auburn Drive. Cost: $10; students, $8; children 12 and younger, free. Information: 741-7169, or baileyjones@mindspring.com.

JANUARY 23 THROUGH MAY 15: Tradition/Innovation: American Masterpieces of Southern Craft and Traditional Art, featuring the work of fifty-eight of the region’s master artists, at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Arts, 901 South College Street, Auburn. Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Admission is free.

JANUARY 26: Steve Miller lectures on the “Alabama-Cuba Connection: Collaboration in the Art of the Book,” at 4 p.m. at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, 901 South College Street, Auburn.

FEBRUARY 6 THROUGH APRIL 17: The contemporary photographs of Chris Mottalini, After You Left, They Took it Apart: Demolished Paul Rudolph Homes, will be exhibited at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, 901 South College Street, Auburn. Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Admission is free.

FEBRUARY 6: Leave the kids at the Frank Brown Recreation Center, 235 Opelika Road, Auburn, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and enjoy Parents Night Out. The program accepts children six through twelve. Cost: $25. Pre-register at the Dean Road Recreation Center, 307 South Dean Road. Information: 501-2962.

February 6: The 21st Annual Love Your Heart Run & Crank Your Heart Ride, 7 a.m., Chewacla State Park, is the premier fundraising event for children and adults in the Lee County Special Olympics. Information: 501-2930, ahall@auburnalabama.org

February 9: The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Film Makers brings Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman to the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, 901 South College Street, Auburn, at 6 p.m.

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