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Superheroes for Kids VII — Child Advocates Houston

October 20, 2019 by admin | Comments Off

This was Year 7  for the Child Advocates Superheroes Run, and it was the best ever!   We had at least 1200 runners, parents and volunteers out at CityCentre, and raised over $150,000 to support Child Advocates’ work helping abused and neglected kids in Harris County.  A sincere thanks to everyone that made this happen.

Child Advocates serves kids who have been taken from their homes due to suspected abuse or neglect.  The volunteer Advocates guide, support, and comfort the kids, gather the facts, and work with the courts and the State to find permanent, safe solutions.  CA Inc. recruits, trains and supports those volunteers. 

My consistent pitch for Child Advocates as Houston’s best charity:

  1. CAI helps kids in our own hometown who are in desperate situations through no conceivable fault of their own.
  2. CAI’s one-time intervention seeks to permanently and efficiently solve problems and affect the kids’ entire lives, without creating dependency or requiring permanent or ongoing assistance.
  3. CAI’s cause is financially undersupported, largely because few potential large donors have close personal experience with, or risks of, this kind of extreme child neglect or abuse. There’s nothing wrong with donating to your own alma mater or church, or to charities addressing diseases that affect you or your family, but that can leave a huge gap for charities like Child Advocates.  I think this is true philanthropy.
  4. They do need the money:  Stunningly, there are thousands of kids removed from their homes each year, and CAI has the money and manpower to serve only about half of them.

Our seven-year fundraising total is now at almost $1 million.

All our sponsors were recognized at the event, but this year I need to give a special ‘shout-out’ to some personal friends of mine who have generously and patiently supported Child Advocates (and me) in this event.  Shane Merz, Mike Short, and Dru Neikirk at MRE Consulting are Founding title sponsors who have been with me all seven years.  This event would never have gotten off the ground without them.  Other “Amazing” Superhero sponsors (most of them also for all 7 years) are my friends Ned Barnett, Scott & Stacy Humphries, Jeff Kubin, Kim David (for Baylor College of Medicine), Reynolds Frizzell LLP, Gibbs & Bruns LLP, Sixfoot Studios, John Eddie & Sheridan Williams, and Grant & Elizabeth Harvey.  I’m proud of that sponsor list.

Hayley Jaska (CAI Events Director) and Angie Henderson Parker (Race Director) are the true Superheroes of the Superheroes Run.  I’m the ‘Chairman’ of the event, and in earlier years this meant I had a million things to do and lots of fires to put out.  This year I was a little uneasy all morning because everything was going so smoothly I didn’t have much to do!!   

Our top 3 racers. I’m personally pleased to say that the winner (Mark Speets, center) was from the Men’s 50+ age group. Second and third place were Rylee Board (left) and Joshua Fong (right).

Big Bjorn Hagelmanm was our lead-out guide rider, showing the runners which way to go. Bjorn is the COO of Founding/Presenting Sponsor MRE Consulting.

Croatian Sailing and Slovenian Cycling

April 20, 2019 by Jeff C | Comments Off

This wasn’t a ‘serious’ photo expedition like some of my trips.  This one was about sailing, biking and general sightseeing with a handful of friends, old and new.  Just a few thoughts and a few pretty pictures to share . . . .

Lake Bled, Slovenia was a highlight of the trip.

Sunset over the Adriatic Sea, from a hotel balcony in Rovinj, Croatia.

I always tended to think of Croatia and Slovenia as a lot more exotic and far away than European destinations like Italy or Austria or Greece.  But it turns out that the foreign-sounding capital city of Ljubljana, Slovenia is just a couple of hours’ drive from either Venice, Italy or southern Austria.  And the Croatian coast is just a hundred miles across the Adriatic from the east side of the “boot” of Italy.  That geographic proximity gives a pretty good hint of what you’ll see when you’re sightseeing: pretty coastlines, tree-covered mountains, hillside vineyards, Mediterranean islands, and towns that are a couple of thousand years old.

Somehow the people of both countries (very similar to each other but with different languages) seemed familiar.  Few would stand out in any American town, and I could imagine myself blending in almost entirely (lots of people with blue-green light eyes and Mediterranean skin).   Though tourism is definitely getting more popular here, it’s new and small enough that the people are happy to see and welcome visitors.

I spent one week on a sailboat off the Croatian Coast near Split, and the next on a bicycle going in and out of Slovenia, Italy, and Croatia.  Both were great trips with the good company of mostly new friends and my long-time colleague and law firm partner Grant Harvey.  Grant and I worked together then retired from the same Houston law firm, and he rides bikes, flies airplanes, and enjoys travel photography, so we’ve always got lots to talk about.  And we occasionally agree on something political!  Occasionally.

Split, Croatia, is a major cruise and boating port

 

 

 

This was a little gravel landing strip on the island of Hvar, Croatia. (No, I did not fly there! and yes, I resisted the strong temptation to steal that sign.)

Grant Harvey, my very good friend for the last 25 years or so. Grant organized this trip, so I’m in his debt. This is him on our chartered sailboat, somewhere between Split and Hvar Croatia.

 

Rovinj, from the sea, on a ferry back from Pula.

A quaint old lounge area at a hotel in Bled, Slovenia.

The biking went in and out of Slovenia, Italy, and Croatia. Croatia is a member of the EU, but somehow I still needed my passport even for a bike ride.

 

 

Sailboats off the Croatian Coast, near Split. Croatia is an extremely popular sailing destination. Even in the ‘off’ season when I was there, I could sometimes see 100s of other sailboats at sea.

The gallery here includes a shot of an old Russian submarine “garage” and hideout – a reminder of my Cold War youth and of times when we had a different view of this part of the world.  That horse in the bad selfie with me is one of the Lipizzaner stallions at their home in Lipica, Slovenia.  Almost all of them are white; the handful of black ones are genetic celebrities.  The ancient Roman looking stuff is ancient Roman stuff: at the fourth-century “palace” of Roman emperor Diocletian, and (with me) the colosseum at Pula.  That odd statue in the last image is a truffle, in the Istrian truffle region of Slovenia.

Child Advocates Superheroes Run VI 2018

October 21, 2018 by Jeff C | Comments Off

CLICK HERE FOR A MUCH LARGER BATCH OF PICTURES. 

This “Incredible” group was one of the hundreds of families who came out to run and to support Child Advocates of Houston.

Another successful year for the Child Advocates of Houston Superheroes Run!   We had 1,000 runners and raised about $150,000 for the best charity in town.  And the rain held off until the exact moment everyone was already headed home!   This was year 6 of the event.  I’ve threatened to step down as Chairman and turn it over to someone else once we’ve raised a cumulative $1 million (which we’re creeping up on!)…but we’ll see.

I’m forever in the debt of our Race Director Angie Parker (who has done this race with me all six years), and the Child Advocates Events director Hayley Jaska.  Both are efficient, expert professionals who do their work with the spirit of dedicated charitable volunteers.  The event would have fallen apart without them.  I am similarly in debt to our sponsors, a great many of whom are my own dear friends.  I worry that sane people will avoid befriending me since most every Houston friend of mine gets their arm twisted to support this event.  

If you’re from Houston, take a look at these pictures and make plans to join us in October 2019.   It’s for a great cause.  Child Advocates’ volunteers serve kids who have been taken from their homes due to suspected abuse or neglect.  The volunteers guide and support the kids, gather the facts, and work with the courts and the State to find permanent, safe solutions.  CA recruits, trains and supports those volunteers.  My consistent pitch for Child Advocates as Houston’s best charity is this:

  1. CAI helps kids in our own hometown who are in desperate situations through no conceivable fault of their own.
  2. CAI’s one-time intervention seeks to permanently and efficiently solve problems and affect the kids’ entire lives, without creating dependency or requiring permanent or ongoing assistance.
  3. CAI’s cause is financially undersupported, largely because few potential large donors have close personal experience with, or risks of, this kind of extreme child neglect or abuse. There’s nothing wrong with donating to your own alma mater or church, or to charities addressing diseases that affect you or your family, but that can leave a huge gap for charities like Child Advocates.  I think this is true philanthropy.

These few pictures are just the tip of the Superhero iceberg:  CLICK HERE FOR A MUCH LARGER BATCH OF PICTURES. 

See prior years’ writeups on the Superheroes Run here:  2016, 2015, 2014, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

Iran: Kashan

November 12, 2017 by Jeff C | Comments Off

My trip through Iran included a little bit of everything: from ancient ruins and nomadic shepherds to a ride on the Tehran subway and a weird visit to the former U.S. Embassy.  Lots of blue tiled buildings, lots of desert, and lots of eggplant and chicken kebabs with rice. Some fun and lovely sites and stories; some wacky experiences. I even came home with a couple of real Persian rugs. The small city of Kashan was actually the last stop of my trip around Iran, but the pictures are handiest so I’ll start at the end.

Agha Bozorgh Mosque and school. From the back (near the volleyball court!).

Agha Bozorgh Mosque and school. From the back (near the volleyball court!).

People have lived in what’s now the Iranian city of Kashan for 8,000 years, making it one of the oldest known human settlements. It’s been a hub for royals and merchants for at least 2,000. By some accounts, it’s where one or more of the biblical “three wise men” of the nativity came from. Kashan’s location on the historical Silk Road network allowed the merging of Asian silk with Persian wool rug-making skill.  Lots of VIPs have come through Kashan.  Now I have, too.

Unfortunately, a 1778 earthquake mostly leveled the place, so most of the structures you see around town are “only” a couple of hundred years old.  That photogenic two-level mosque is Agha Bozorg, built shortly after the earthquake.During the 1800s, the local mega-merchants built some sprawling, luxurious private homes so they could host their travelling merchant business associates in grand style. One of those old houses had been remade into my very snazzy hotel, which was a welcome respite after a couple of weeks that had included multiple nights on a mat on the floor — or in an open-sided tent in the desert.  More on that later.

Like most Iranian men, this guy's name was Ali. He's wearing black to commemorate the two-month mourning period for Imam Hussain, a descendant of Muhammed who died a hero 1300 years ago. Ali spoke perfect English and was eager to give this American a quick tour of the shrine of Sultan Amir Ahmad, another descendant of Muhammed.

Like most Iranian men (half-kidding), this guy’s name was Ali. He’s wearing black to commemorate the two-month mourning period for Imam Hussain, a descendant of Muhammed who died a hero 1300 years ago. Ali spoke perfect English and was eager to give this American a quick tour of the shrine of Sultan Amir Ahmad, another descendant of Muhammed.  He also asked if I’d pose with him for a selfy (so I got one, too).

 

Agha Bozorg at night

Agha Bozorgh, just after dark

 

Abbas told me about his family in the U.S. and said his neighbor in Kashan was somehow related to the Sultan Amir Amad (whose neon-lit shrine is in the background). Abbas insisted that I join him for hot tea. That led to meeting the other elderly gentlemen shown in some of the pictures below.

Abbas told me about his family in the U.S. and said his neighbor in Kashan was somehow related to the Sultan Amir Amad (whose neon-lit shrine is in the background). Abbas insisted that I join him for hot tea. That led to meeting the other elderly gentlemen shown in some of the pictures below.

 

The old Hamam (bathhouse).

Inside the Amir Ahmad  Hamam (bathhouse).

 

Artsy, huh? This is the pond atop a natural spring well at Fin Garden in Kashan.

Artsy, huh? This is the pond atop a natural spring well at Fin Garden in Kashan.

 

Seriously, this is the courtyard of my hotel.

This is the courtyard of my hotel.  I’ll bet you weren’t expecting something this nice in a small Iranian town.

 

 

 

Tsomoriri, Ladakh: Nomads, Altitude and Yaks

July 1, 2017 by Jeff C | Comments Off

I’ve been terribly delinquent at organizing my pictures from last fall’s trip to the Ladakh region of India. The trip was originally intended to include Kashmir, but last summer’s rioting and stonings convinced my group to stay east of there in Ladakh. The upside was a more in-depth tour of Ladakh.

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Our local driver convinced this nomad lady to put on her ceremonial formalwear for us to see. She wasn’t eager to have her picture taken, so she wouldn’t come fully out of her tent, and I only had a minute.

 

Compared with the U.S., India has 4 times as many people on 1/3 as many square miles.  But Ladakh — the very mountainous far-north region near the Pakistan border — is mostly isolated small towns and villages.  The mountains were bare and stark — not simply like mountains above a tree line, but like a mostly barren desert that happened to have 23,000 foot peaks.  I spent a few nights in tent camps at 13,000 to 15,000 feet.

The sparse villages of the various areas within Ladakh have very distinctive and varied tribal cultures and ethnicities.  One of the more interesting stops visited a nomad camp near the remote village of Korzok on Lake Tsomoriri, a long day’s drive southeast of Leh. These nomadic people move a couple of times a year – taking their herds of sheep, goats, and yaks to better grazing   Their tent homes are made of yak-wool, and when it’s time to move, the yaks themselves carry the tents (and everything else).

We camped just one night at the lake; it’s at 15,000 feet elevation and chilly even in the fancy tents they had set up for us. One of our drivers was from the area, so he knew their dialect and convinced them to let us into their tents to really see how they lived. They were surprisingly roomy and full of rugs. My brief curiosity about where the rugs came from was immediately satisfied when I saw one of the women patiently weaving a yak wool rug.

 

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Those pictures of the young mother and her kids around their tent make me think of the Dorothea Lange iconic depression-era photograph of the “Migrant Mother,” Florence Thompson. Lange’s work was famous for showing the world the startling struggles of 1930s American nomads. The living conditions of these Ladakhis may appear to be surprisingly similar, but that’s probably deceptive. Lange photographed people in a crisis, but this is a way of life for the Ladakhi nomads, and they seem very capable of providing food and shelter much as their ancestors have for centuries.

 

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