East Dallas - grace grits and gardening

Lakewood Advocate

August 23, 2012 By Talya Tate Boerner

Yes! That’s my Lucy on the cover…. (July 2010)

I will soon be blogging for the Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate! The Advocate has been a local news source for Dallas neighborhoods for 20 years with a monthly magazine, daily website and social media covering dining, schools, business, history, nonprofits, development and stories of interesting people.

My weekly or bi-monthly pieces will feature neighborhood history mixed with my personal experiences.

I hope you will read, follow, like, share, tweet, comment, pin, and/or digg my blog posts:) Even if you don’t live in East Dallas….

Thanks!

talya

Musical Pairings:

Paperback Writer – The Beatles

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier

Evolution of a Neighborhood

August 10, 2012 By Talya Tate Boerner

I walk Lucy and Annabelle several times each day. No matter the weather. They sniff and strain on their leashes, never pulling in the same direction while I study the houses and trees and yards. Munger Place was developed over 100 years ago. We have lived here ten years. In ten years things change. The cute neighbor boy who was kicking around a soccer ball ‘yesterday’ ran down the steps from his front porch this morning and drove off behind the wheel of his dad’s SUV.StoppingMeColdInMyTracks! In ten years things change.

Trees grow, babies are born, people move, new families settle into the neighborhood. Marian is no longer sitting on the swing with Harry.

Kids go off to college in the fall and a collegiate flag proudly pops up in the yard to signify the final choice. LSU, University of Texas, Arkansas, Texas Tech.

Our son was a 3rd grader when we moved into this house. Playing with legos and struggling with spelling words. Now he’s a sophomore Razorback and speaks of change management.

Our daughter was a 7th grader. Now she’s preparing for law school. Preparing to change the world.

In June, a huge hail storm pelted the neighborhood wreaking havoc across landscapes and rooftops and windows. The sound of roofers pounding in the heat has become commonplace, drowning out the city traffic noise. The houses will continue to stand strong.

Soon, children will return back to school wearing matching uniforms. Number 2 pencils were long ago replaced with iPads. Families will be buzzing with fall activities, football, cheerleading, homework.

The neighborhood continues to evolve. Things change in ten years. Things change in one hundred years. We are only caretakers.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Musical Pairings:

Temporary Home – Carrie Underwood

Don’t buy the house, buy the neighborhood – Russian Proverb

Where the Sidewalk Ends

May 11, 2012 By Talya Tate Boerner

Once there was a tree. . .

I love trees. I would hate to live in a place with no trees. I couldn’t breathe or think or sleep at night. I imagine it would be like living in a very high altitude spot where the oxygen is thin. The huge trees in our corner of Dallas are one of the best things about Munger Place. The trees and the porches, of course. They kinda go hand in hand.

My good friend Harry Gibson has one of the best trees and porches in Munger Place. Both are rich with history and provide shade from the Texas heat. And both selflessly give something to all who take the time to slow down and enjoy, whether it’s for a glass of wine on the swing, a chat on the old wooden pew beside the front door, or a peaceful stroll underneath his 100+ year old gnarly Vitek tree, currently loaded with aromatic purple blooms.

This amazing tree is the gateway to Harry’s porch. Twinkle lights underneath the canopy light the sidewalk in the night making his house seem like a constant gathering spot, which it is. He adjusts the lights from time to time, making sure the strands are positioned and working properly, trimming branches when the city insists the limbs are too low. Never would he think of cutting it down. Not even if he needed wood “to make a boat to sail away and be happy”.

The view from Harry’s Porch

Lucy and Annabelle and I walk underneath Harry’s tree several times a day, always stopping to sniff and look at the branches that form a natural arbor. (They sniff, I look.) And straining on their leashes, the dogs always make a bee-line for Harry’s porch, where the water in his old birdbath is their favorite watering hole on a blazing hot day. In the afternoons, his porch is often overrun with friends – both the two legged and four legged variety. Sometimes we stop and sit even when Harry isn’t outside. You can always find what you need there.

Clyde

Clyde, his adorable grandson, often plays around that tree, with his Tonka trucks and sidewalk chalk, while neighbors discuss Munger happenings and news. Harry regales everyone with stories from his past whether as a young man working in the union business, or the time he awoke to find a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader in his bed, or simply the details of his prior day’s lunch. He is a great cook at 81 years old. And he’s in good health, which he attributes to good bourbon on the porch with good ‘acquaintances’ near his favorite tree.

And the tree is happy.

talya

Musical Pairings:

George Strait, “Where the Sidewalk Ends”
Randy Newman, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”

“And the tree was happy.” The Giving Tree, Shel Silverstein