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bazmichaels · 2 years

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Ping Pong Fury

When I was 10, the summer after I finished 5th grade, I started going to a Recreation Center near me for a summer recreation program. I suppose it was fairly close to our new house on Newcome Drive. From what I remember it was a large open indoor area – maybe a school cafeteria or a YMCA open space. At first, I just kind of hung out, reading Mad or Highlights magazines, playing board games like Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, Checkers, or Chinese Checkers. I think I may have been introduced to chess here, but I didn’t get much farther than learning how each kind of piece was allowed to move. We did some activities like boxing, which I thought was kind of strange for kids our age. I tried it, but it seemed like the kid with the longest arms always won. Then, one fateful day, I wandered down to the far end of the great room where there were two ping pong tables that were the center of attention for at least a dozen kids my age and a little older.

The rule of thumb was that, whenever anyone was waiting for a table, the people on it would have to play a 2-out-of-3 game match. The winner would stay, the loser sat down, and the next kid stepped up to the table. That was very intimidating to me because I had never played before. I finally found an opportunity to get on a table when no one was waiting, and the other kid was willing to let me just get a feel for hitting the ball. I had been watching for a while, so I knew how I wanted to hold the paddle. The rec center provided balls and sandpaper paddles, which literally had sandpaper on the hitting surface rather than rubber. You could get some spin on the ball with the sandpaper paddles, but I was just trying to block the ball back onto the table at first. I used a grip where I had my thumb and my pointer finger on the backside of the paddle. I was able to place the ball with my forehand using this grip, and my backhand was just a defensive block back onto the table. From what I can remember, it didn’t take me long to get the hang of getting the ball back in play onto the table, and I think I was able to get in the mix of playing games by the time other people started showing up and waiting for their turn at the tables. I was hooked. It felt like I was born to do this. Once I started playing ping pong, that was pretty much all I did at the rec center. One of the tables was considered to be the beginners’ table, where I started out, and the other was the advanced players’ table, where I wanted to be. It didn’t take long before I got kicked off the beginners’ table. The best player my age was named Pengo. He was also one of the nicest kids I ever met, and we became ping pong buddies. He had an offensive game that was much more advanced than mine, so I liked to play against him and watch him play other kids. I eventually started to try to be more forceful with my forehand – hit into different parts of the table and create openings, and then hit it hard through the opening. I slowly figured out how to place the ball to create openings with my backhand, but I could only hit my put away shot with my forehand. By the end of the summer, I could give Pengo a run for his money and beat him on occasion, although he maintained the upper hand, overall.

As the Summer was winding down, I found out that players from our rec center could enter the San Antonio city table tennis championship tournament. I had never played in a tournament, but Pengo told me it was fun, so I filled out the form and signed up. On the big day, we had a bus take us downtown to some huge arena. The entire floor seemed to be filled with ping pong tables. I suddenly got very nervous. I had no idea what I was doing there. I had just started playing a couple of months earlier. Suddenly, I heard a grown up call my name. I hopped up and went over to the tournament official. He led my opponent and I to our table, upon which sat two pristine sandpaper paddles. One of us was handed a ball, and we were told to warm up. At that point, I forgot about all the unfamiliar surroundings and all the things I didn’t know about playing in a tournament, and I just focused on the ball and the table. Soon, we started playing and it was so comforting to just be playing the game. It didn’t matter where I was, what was going on around me, or even who I was playing. I just know I wanted to win the point I was playing. Suddenly, the match was over, and I was the winner. I was aware of the vast arena once more, and the seemingly thousands of other players in it. But I had a win under my belt, Soon I had another, and another. So did Pengo and some of the other guys from our rec center. Pengo was right – this was fun. I don’t remember how many rounds there were, but Pengo and I kept winning. Then, suddenly, Pengo lost. I was a little shocked, but I didn’t necessarily know what to expect, and I figured there had to be kids better than us. But I kept winning, and I found myself in the finals. In the finals, it turned out, you are the only match going on in the entire arena. I was sort of intimidated, but I also knew I was about to play a ping pong match, so I ignored all that. Once we started our warmup, I noticed that the other guy in the finals was nothing special. The game started, I found my focus, and I won. I got a big trophy, I had to do a little interview on the microphone, and all my friends from the rec center were super excited for me, especially Pengo. I was 10 years old and had experienced the high point of my life. Just kidding, but it was really cool. The following summer, I switched my grip to a single finger, which allowed my backhand to become an offensive weapon like my forehand. I got a fancy-ish rubber paddle, with a cover, and started putting a lot more spin on the ball so I could back away from the table and take huge swings, like the high-level players you see in the Olympics.

We had a girl at the rec center that competed in national tournaments, and I started getting some wins against her. Pengo and I had better and better daily battles, but I now had the upper hand. That summer was filled with the music of Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. We listened to all the songs on that album every day as we played ping pong. It was a great summer. When the tournament came around that year, I needed to move up from the 10 and under division to the 12 and under division. The quality of competition rose dramatically, but my game had also improved by leaps and bounds.

The tournament was still a sandpaper paddle tournament, so none of us could use our fancy/fancy-ish paddles, and that was an adjustment for all of us. I got into my zone and battled my way to the finals, where I met the defending champ in the 12U division. The kid was good, and he won the back-and-forth battle. Even though I lost, it was thrilling to play at that high level, and I even kind of liked that the whole arena was watching our match. I got another nice trophy. I felt good about how I played and figured I had next year to take the 12U championship. I did not, but that’s another story.

#memoir

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popolitiko · 3 years

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MacKenzie Scott’s Money Bombs Are Single Handedly Reshaping America

A Bloomberg News survey accounting for $4.3 billion in 375 grants to nonprofits reveals for the first time how the philanthropist is directing her charitable might.

By Sophie Alexander, Szu Yu Chen and Shera Avi-Yonah

August 12, 2021

One email about a $15 million gift, suspected of phishing, sat unopened for a month. Several others about a $20 million pledge went ignored by an assistant, who thought the nondescript sender was fake. The recipient of another memo, promising millions more, turned to their lawyer, who said it was likely a scam.

All of those big-fortune messages, and hundreds more like them, were not only legitimate, they came from the same source: a team working on behalf of MacKenzie Scott, fourth richest woman in the world — and, increasingly, the most powerful and mysterious force in philanthropy today.

With almost $8.6 billion in gifts announced in just 12 months, Scott has vaulted to the tippy top of philanthropic giving, outspending the behemoth Gates and Ford Foundations’ annual grants — combined. But, for someone who is single handedly reshaping nonprofits, Scott, who declined to comment for this story, has only given the public glimpses into the thinking driving her decisions. These days, she shares little more than the list of lucky organizations and an inspirational quote.

To get a better sense of which causes are benefiting from Scott’s coffers — and where she might turn her attention to next — Bloomberg categorized, by location and type, all 786 gifts she has given so far. We then tracked the money, using a survey and reporting, and found at least $4.3 billion distributed in 375 grants. The recipients of the remaining 411 haven’t disclosed the size of Scott’s gifts.

The groups that shared information are largely representative of the cross section of overall recipients. Education and arts and culture organizations were more likely to disclose the size of their gifts.

Organization Type Breakdown

Overall Pool: 786 Grants

The data collected — the largest accounting of Scott’s giving to date — reveals that she’s focused on propping up needy individuals and the nonprofit industry itself through historic donations to organizations that didn’t see it coming.

More than $1.6 billion has gone to education nonprofits and colleges and universities, with historically Black institutions, two year colleges and Hispanic Serving Institutions fielding most of the contributions. Social assistance organizations, which feed, house and support those in need, like Goodwill and YMCA, got about $1 billion and another $1.2 billion went to philanthropy and grantmaking infrastructure nonprofits that focus on the business of fundraising, advocacy and philanthropy itself. At least two of those, the Bridgespan Group and Lever For Change, have worked directly with Scott on her giving.

The vast majority of her gifts went to groups based in the U.S., but some of those distribute funds globally.

At Least $4.3B Was Given in 375 Grants

For nearly 90% of organizations that responded to a Bloomberg survey, Scott’s gift was the largest they’ve ever received, with donations ranging from $750,000 to $60 million. “Transformational” was the word used over and over by recipients. “You dream about these things, right?,” said San Antonio College president Robert Vela, who found out about a $15 million gift in May after initially ignoring an email he’d thought was a scam for a month. “You don’t really think they’re going to happen.”

👇 👇 KEEP READING 👇 👇

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-mackenzie-scott-donations/?utm_source=pocket_mylist

#MacKenzie Scott

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naturecoaster · 7 months

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Group of Exemplary Students Honored by East Pasco Chamber Foundation

The East Pasco Chamber Foundation in partnership with the Greater ZephyrhillsChamber of Commerce recognized 10 students from local Zephyrhills schools. Group of Exemplary Students Honored by East Pasco Chamber Foundation The students were honored as the Greater Zephyrhills Student Citizen of the Month for February. The ceremony took place at Chick-fil-A in Zephyrhills on the morning of February 21 st This month’s special guest was Melonie Monson, Mayor of the City of Zephyrhills. Students are chosen by the teachers and administration of their individual schools for exemplaryeffort, achievement and contribution to their school, family, and community. The students receiving honors were: - Luke Gagnon (11th grade, Academy of Spectrum Diversity) - Parker Lucciano (3rd Grade, Children’s Educational Services Elementary Campus ) - Yuridia Vega (7th grade, Children’s Educational Services Secondary Campus) - Faith Gut (5th grade, Chester W. Taylor Elementary School) - Morgan Hahn (5th grade, Heritage Academy) - Jacoby Ellis (6th grade, Raymond B. Stewart Middle School) - Aliya Farrell (4th grade, West Zephyrhills Elementary School) - Aurora Robinson (Kindergarten, Woodland Elementary) - Anthony Moon (6th grade, Zephyrhills Christian Academy) - Lizandro Alzugaray (11th grade, Zephyrhills High School) Sponsors and supporters of this year’s program are as follows: - AdventHealth Zephyrhills - The City of Zephyrhills - Chick-fil-A of Zephyrhills - IR Staffing - San Antonio Citizens Federal Credit Union Spotlight sponsor of month Suncoast Credit Union. The event is supported by: - U.S. Congresswoman, Laurel Lee - Senator Danny Burgess, District 23 - Florida House of Representatives Randy Maggard, District 38 - Pasco County Clerk of Court, Nikki Alvarez - Zephyrhills Mayor, Melonie Monson - Pasco County - Sheriff, Chris Nocco - Bahr’s Propane Gas & AC; BGE, Inc - Culver’s - East Pasco YMCA - Faithful Friends Pet - Cremation; Jarrett Ford of Dade City - Kona Ice; Pasco-Hernando State College - Pin Chasers Zephyrhills - Pioneer Florida Museum & Village - Sonny’s Bar-B-Q - SouthState Bank - The Zephyrhills/Wesley Chapel - Ministerial Association - Trax Credit Union - VITIS Realty. If you are an area business and would like to support this impactful program, please contact VickiWiggins at the Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce at 813-782-1913. The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce advances economic growth and prosperity for thecommunity. The Chamber of Commerce is incorporated in the State of Florida as a 501(c)6 nonprofitorganization. Membership is comprised of businesses, government agencies, public-private corporations,nonprofit organizations, and individuals with a shared interest in preserving and enhancing the quality oflife in Zephyrhills. The Chamber seeks to promote a vibrant and active business climate supporting economic growth through leadership and active involvement by the membership. The East Pasco Chamber Foundation is incorporated in the State of Florida as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. The East Pasco Chamber Foundation is dedicated to advancing the quality of life in EastPasco through education, leadership, economic development, and community enhancement. Read the full article

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brookstonalmanac · 2 years

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Events 12.9

536 – Gothic War: The Byzantine general Belisarius enters Rome unopposed; the Gothic garrison flees the capital. 730 – Battle of Marj Ardabil: The Khazars annihilate an Umayyad army and kill its commander, al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah al-Hakami. 1531 – The Virgin of Guadalupe first appears to Juan Diego at Tepeyac, Mexico City. 1688 – Glorious Revolution: Williamite forces defeat Jacobites at Battle of Reading, forcing James II to flee England. (Date is Old Style; the date in the New Style modern calendar is 19 December.) 1775 – American Revolutionary War: British troops and Loyalists, misinformed about Patriot militia strength, lose the Battle of Great Bridge, ending British rule in Virginia. 1822 – French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel, in a memoir read to the Academy of Sciences, coins the terms linear polarization, circular polarization, and elliptical polarization, and reports a direct refraction experiment verifying his theory that optical rotation is a form of birefringence. 1824 – Patriot forces led by General Antonio José de Sucre defeat a Royalist army in the Battle of Ayacucho, putting an end to the Peruvian War of Independence. 1835 – Texas Revolution: The Texian Army captures San Antonio following the Siege of Béxar. 1851 – The first YMCA in North America is established in Montreal. 1856 – The Iranian city of Bushehr surrenders to occupying British forces. 1861 – American Civil War: The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War is established by Congress. 1868 – The first traffic lights are installed, outside the Palace of Westminster in London. Resembling railway signals, they use semaphore arms and are illuminated at night by red and green gas lamps. 1872 – In Louisiana, P. B. S. Pinchback becomes the first African American governor of a U.S. state following the impeachment of Henry C. Warmoth. 1905 – In France, a law separating church and state is passed. 1911 – A mine explosion near Briceville, Tennessee, kills 84 miners despite rescue efforts led by the United States Bureau of Mines. 1917 – World War I: Field Marshal Allenby captures Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire. 1922 – Gabriel Narutowicz is elected the first president of Poland. 1931 – The Constituent Cortes approves a constitution which establishes the Second Spanish Republic. 1935 – Student protests occur in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, and are subsequently dispersed by government authorities. 1935 – Walter Liggett, an American newspaper editor and muckraker, is killed in a gangland murder. 1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanking: Japanese troops under the command of Lt. Gen. Yasuhiko Asaka launch an assault on the Chinese city of Nanking. 1940 – World War II: Operation Compass: British and Indian troops under the command of Major-General Richard O'Connor attack Italian forces near Sidi Barrani in Egypt. 1941 – World War II: China, Cuba, Guatemala, and the Philippine Commonwealth declare war on Germany and Japan. 1941 – World War II: The American 19th Bombardment Group attacks Japanese ships off the coast of Vigan, Luzon. 1946 – The subsequent Nuremberg trials begin with the Doctors' Trial, prosecuting physicians and officers alleged to be involved in Nazi human experimentation and mass murder under the guise of euthanasia. 1946 – The Constituent Assembly of India meets for the first time to write the Constitution of India. 1948 – The Genocide Convention is adopted. 1950 – Cold War: Harry Gold is sentenced to 30 years in jail for helping Klaus Fuchs pass information about the Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union. His testimony is later instrumental in the prosecution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. 1953 – Red Scare: General Electric announces that all communist employees will be discharged from the company. 1956 – Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, a Canadair North Star, crashes near Hope, British Columbia, Canada, killing all 62 people on board. 1960 – The first episode of Coronation Street, the world's longest-running television soap opera, is broadcast in the United Kingdom. 1961 – Tanganyika becomes independent from Britain. 1965 – Kecksburg UFO incident: A fireball is seen from Michigan to Pennsylvania; with witnesses reporting something crashing in the woods near Pittsburgh. 1968 – Douglas Engelbart gave what became known as "The Mother of All Demos", publicly debuting the computer mouse, hypertext, and the bit-mapped graphical user interface using the oN-Line System (NLS). 1969 – U.S. Secretary of State William P. Rogers proposes his plan for a ceasefire in the War of Attrition; Egypt and Jordan accept it over the objections of the PLO, which leads to civil war in Jordan in September 1970. 1971 – Indo-Pakistani War: The Indian Air Force executes an airdrop of Indian Army units, bypassing Pakistani defences. 1973 – British and Irish authorities sign the Sunningdale Agreement in an attempt to establish a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland. 1979 – The eradication of the smallpox virus is certified, making smallpox the first of only two diseases that have been driven to extinction (with rinderpest in 2011 being the other). 1987 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: The First Intifada begins in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. 1992 – American troops land in Somalia for Operation Restore Hope. 1996 – Gwen Jacob is acquitted of committing an indecent act, giving women the right to be topless in Ontario, Canada. 2003 – A blast in the center of Moscow kills six people and wounds several more. 2008 – Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich is arrested by federal officials for crimes including attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. 2012 – A plane crash in Mexico kills seven people. 2013 – At least seven are dead and 63 are injured following a train accident near Bintaro, Indonesia. 2016 – President Park Geun-hye of South Korea is impeached by the country's National Assembly in response to a major political scandal. 2016 – At least 57 people are killed and a further 177 injured when two schoolgirl suicide bombers attack a market area in Madagali, Adamawa, Nigeria in the Madagali suicide bombings. 2017 – The Marriage Amendment Bill receives royal assent and comes into effect, making Australia the 26th country to legalize same-sex marriage. 2019 – A volcano on Whakaari / White Island, New Zealand, kills 22 people after it erupts. 2021 – 55 people were killed and more than 100 injured when a truck with 160 migrants from Central America overturned in Chiapas, Mexico.

#Events

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sa2020org · 5 years

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YMCA of Greater San Antonio

The YMCA is offering virtual exercise group classes via Youtube. 🏋️‍♀️

#nonprofits #sa2020partner

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naturecoaster · 8 months

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First Students of the New Year Honored by East Pasco Chamber Foundation

The East Pasco Chamber Foundation in partnership with the Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce recognized 10 students from local Zephyrhills schools. First Students of the New Year Honored by East Pasco Chamber Foundation The students were honored as the Greater Zephyrhills Student Citizen of the Month for January. The ceremony took place at Chick-fil-A in Zephyrhills on January 17 th , at 8:00 am. This month’s spotlight sponsor was San Antonio Citizens Federal Credit Union, and the special guest of the month was Peggy Panak, Director of the Zephyrhills Public Library. Students are chosen by the teachers and administration of their individual schools for exemplaryeffort, achievement and contribution to their school, family, and community. The students receivinghonors were: - Michael Barnes (7 th grade, Academy of Spectrum Diversity) - Chase Sheffler (Kindergarten, Children’s Educational Services Elementary Campus ) - Kayleigh Skinner (7 th grade, Children’s Educational Services Secondary Campus) - Rosalinda Sosa (1 st grade, Chester W. Taylor Elementary School) - London du Mont (3 rd grade, Heritage Academy) - Cheyanna Warren (6 th grade, Raymond B. Stewart Middle School) - Gabriel Rivera (3 rd grade, West Zephyrhills Elementary School) - Ava Robinson (3 rd grade, Woodland Elementary) - Michael Smith (1 st grade, Zephyrhills Christian Academy) - Joseph Stosh (12 th grade, Zephyrhills High School) Sponsors and supporters of this year’s program are as follows: - AdventHealth Zephyrhills, the City of Zephyrhills - Chick-fil-A of Zephyrhills - IR Staffing - San Antonio Citizens Federal Credit Union - Spotlight sponsor of month Suncoast Credit Union - The event is supported by U.S. Congresswoman, Laurel Lee; Senator Danny Burgess, District 23; Florida House of Representatives Randy Maggard, District 38 - Pasco County Clerk of Court, Nikki Alvarez; Zephyrhills Mayor, Melonie Monson - Pasco County Sheriff, Chris Nocco - Bahr’s Propane Gas & AC - BGE, Inc - Culver’s - East Pasco YMCA - Faithful Friends Pet Cremation - Jarrett Ford of Dade City - Kona Ice; Pasco-Hernando State College - Pin Chasers Zephyrhills - Pioneer Florida Museum & Village - Sonny’s Bar-B-Q; SouthState Bank - The Zephyrhills/Wesley Chapel - Ministerial Association - Trax Credit Union - VITIS Realty. If you are an area business and would like to support this impactful program, please contact Vicki Wiggins at the Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce at 813-782-1913. The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce advances economic growth and prosperity for thecommunity. The Chamber of Commerce is incorporated in the State of Florida as a 501(c)6 nonprofitorganization. Membership is comprised of businesses, government agencies, public-private corporations,nonprofit organizations, and individuals with a shared interest in preserving and enhancing the quality oflife in Zephyrhills. The Chamber seeks to promote a vibrant and active business climate supportingeconomic growth through leadership and active involvement by the membership. The East Pasco Chamber Foundation is incorporated in the State of Florida as a 501(c)3 nonprofitorganization. The East Pasco Chamber Foundation is dedicated to advancing the quality of life in EastPasco through education, leadership, economic development, and community enhancement. Read the full article

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brookstonalmanac · 3 years

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Events 12.9

536 – Gothic War: The Byzantine general Belisarius enters Rome unopposed; the Gothic garrison flees the capital. 730 – Battle of Marj Ardabil: The Khazars annihilate an Umayyad army and kill its commander, al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah al-Hakami. 1531 – The Virgin of Guadalupe first appears to Juan Diego at Tepeyac, Mexico City. 1688 – Glorious Revolution: Williamite forces defeat Jacobites at Battle of Reading, forcing James II to flee England. 1775 – American Revolutionary War: British troops lose the Battle of Great Bridge, and leave Virginia soon afterward. 1824 – Patriot forces led by General Antonio José de Sucre defeat a Royalist army in the Battle of Ayacucho, putting an end to the Peruvian War of Independence. 1835 – Texas Revolution: The Texian Army captures San Antonio. 1851 – The first YMCA in North America is established in Montreal. 1856 – The Iranian city of Bushehr surrenders to occupying British forces. 1861 – American Civil War: The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War is established by Congress. 1868 – The first traffic lights are installed, outside the Palace of Westminster in London. Resembling railway signals, they use semaphore arms and are illuminated at night by red and green gas lamps. 1872 – In Louisiana, P. B. S. Pinchback becomes the first African-American governor of a U.S. state. 1905 – In France, a law separating church and state is passed. 1911 – A mine explosion near Briceville, Tennessee, kills 84 miners despite rescue efforts led by the United States Bureau of Mines. 1917 – World War I: Field Marshal Allenby captures Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire. 1922 – Gabriel Narutowicz is elected the first president of Poland. 1931 – The Constituent Cortes approves a constitution which establishes the Second Spanish Republic. 1935 – Student protests occur in Beiping's Tiananmen Square, and are subsequently dispersed by government authorities. 1935 – Walter Liggett, an American newspaper editor and muckraker, is killed in a gangland murder. 1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanking: Japanese troops under the command of Lt. Gen. Yasuhiko Asaka launch an assault on the Chinese city of Nanking. 1940 – World War II: Operation Compass: British and Indian troops under the command of Major-General Richard O'Connor attack Italian forces near Sidi Barrani in Egypt. 1941 – World War II: China, Cuba, Guatemala, and the Philippine Commonwealth declare war on Germany and Japan. 1941 – World War II: The American 19th Bombardment Group attacks Japanese ships off the coast of Vigan, Luzon. 1946 – The subsequent Nuremberg trials begin with the Doctors' Trial, prosecuting physicians and officers alleged to be involved in Nazi human experimentation and mass murder under the guise of euthanasia. 1946 – The Constituent Assembly of India meets for the first time to write the Constitution of India. 1948 – The Genocide Convention is adopted. 1950 – Cold War: Harry Gold is sentenced to 30 years in jail for helping Klaus Fuchs pass information about the Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union. His testimony is later instrumental in the prosecution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. 1953 – Red Scare: General Electric announces that all communist employees will be discharged from the company. 1956 – Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, a Canadair North Star, crashes near Hope, British Columbia, Canada, killing all 62 people on board. 1960 – The first episode of Coronation Street, the world's longest-running television soap opera, is broadcast in the United Kingdom. 1961 – Tanganyika becomes independent from Britain. 1965 – Kecksburg UFO incident: A fireball is seen from Michigan to Pennsylvania; with witnesses reporting something crashing in the woods near Pittsburgh. 1968 – Douglas Engelbart gave what became known as "The Mother of All Demos", publicly debuting the computer mouse, hypertext, and the bit-mapped graphical user interface using the oN-Line System (NLS). 1969 – U.S. Secretary of State William P. Rogers proposes his plan for a ceasefire in the War of Attrition; Egypt and Jordan accept it over the objections of the PLO, which leads to civil war in Jordan in September 1970. 1971 – Indo-Pakistani War: The Indian Air Force executes an airdrop of Indian Army units, bypassing Pakistani defences. 1973 – British and Irish authorities sign the Sunningdale Agreement in an attempt to establish a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland. 1979 – The eradication of the smallpox virus is certified, making smallpox the first of only two diseases that have been driven to extinction (with rinderpest in 2011 being the other). 1987 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: The First Intifada begins in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. 1992 – American troops land in Somalia for Operation Restore Hope. 1996 – Gwen Jacob is acquitted of committing an indecent act, giving women the right to be topless in Ontario, Canada. 2003 – A blast in the center of Moscow kills six people and wounds several more. 2008 – Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich is arrested by federal officials for crimes including attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. 2012 – A plane crash in Mexico kills seven people. 2013 – At least seven are dead and 63 are injured following a train accident near Bintaro, Indonesia. 2016 – President Park Geun-hye of South Korea is impeached by the country's National Assembly in response to a major political scandal. 2016 – At least 57 people are killed and a further 177 injured when two schoolgirl suicide bombers attack a market area in Madagali, Adamawa, Nigeria in the Madagali suicide bombings. 2017 – The Marriage Amendment Bill receives royal assent and comes into effect, making Australia the 26th country to legalize same-sex marriage. 2019 – A volcano on Whakaari / White Island, New Zealand, kills 22 people after it erupts.

#Events

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dnowit41 · 5 years

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The many stories of Mavs icon Dirk Nowitzki as told by Donnie Nelson, Rick Carlisle, and Mark Cuban

Brad Townsend

Donnie Nelson met then-19-year-old Dirk Nowitzki in the lobby of Dallas' Hyatt Regency late one night in March 1998.

A most likely drunk Mark Cuban briefly met Nowitzki and Steve Nash in Dallas' Starck Club in early January 2000, with the players not realizing that Cuban would become their boss the next day.

Rick Carlisle met Nowitzki at the 2004 NBA All-Star game in Los Angeles, then, more formally in May 2008, when Carlisle came to Dallas to interview for the Mavericks' coaching job.

The 2008 meeting was the merger - Cuban, Nelson, Carlisle and Nowitzki, gathered in Cuban's Preston Hollow home - that laid the groundwork to the Mavericks' 2011 NBA championship and the final 11 seasons of Nowitzki's 21-year career.

Cuban and Carlisle have unique perspectives of the Nowitzki Era. Here are their oral accounts of a 22-year timeline, from the Mavericks' great fortune of landing Nowitzki, to his retirement this week: Meetings, first impressions, pivotal moments and lasting takeways.

When Dirk met Donnie

Q: When did you first hear of Dirk?

Donnie Nelson: "The first time I heard the name, I was working for the Phoenix Suns and I was working on our draft board and I overheard Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen talking about a kid that they played against and they couldn't pronounce his name - Numinski, Rumanski.

"It was just a pregame conversation and they were talking about this guy in Germany that was good. That was the first time I heard the name being attempted."

Pippen, Barkley, Michael Jordan, Jason Kidd and other top NBA players had faced teenager Nowitzki in 1997, when the Nike Hoops Heroes exhibition tour stopped in Berlin.

"The next time I recognized his name was when the list came out for the 1998 Nike Hoops Summit and I said, 'Man, that's got to be the same kid from Germany.”

Q: When and how did you meet Dirk?

Nelson: "In the lobby of the Hyatt Regency. I was the assistant coach of the [Hoops Summit] international team. I was the assistant coach for the event's first three years because I was the 'international guy' and was familiar with a lot of the players and worked the Euro camp overseas and was the Lithuanian [Olympic team] assistant.

"I just kind of donated my time, with permission of course from my team, the Suns. And then ironically -- this was very serendipitous because as you can remember I came to the Mavericks halfway through the season. If I still was with the Suns I would not have been able to help with the Hoops Summit because the Suns were playoff-bound and the Summit was moved [to late March] because they wanted to couple it with the Final Four in San Antonio.

"So all of a sudden, halfway through the season, I go from the Suns to the Mavericks and I find out that they're going to have the international team training camp in Dallas. And it just happens that I called and I said, 'Hey, listen, now that I'm with the Mavericks we're obviously not going to be playoff-bound, so I'm free to help again if you guys need me to help.'

"I think we can thank DFW Airport for having this be the training camp site because the players came from all over the world and DFW Airport is DFW Airport. Largely for logistical reasons, training camp would be in Dallas and that we would jump on a Southwest flight and go down and play in San Antonio."

Q: And that first Dirk meeting?

Nelson: "The first time I saw him, my first reaction was, 'Well, holy crap, he really is close to 7-feet.' Because a lot of these guys, you hear about them and then by the time they show up on American shores they've shrunk by six inches.

"I had really very little background. Him and Holger [Geschwindner] show up in the middle of the night, literally they were the last ones in, he and Holger. Because Holger thought it was very important for Dirk, he had to sneak him out in the middle of the night from his team over there, get him on a plane and bring him over here.

"It was so late, the team was already in the spaceball in the Hyatt having dinner. The Nike guy leans over to me and says, 'Hey, the German kid has shown up. Go get him and bring him up here.'

"I go down into the lobby, I guess they'd had some hellacious flight that had a couple of redirects. I didn't know Holger was going to be there. I called up to the spaceball and said, 'Hey, Dirk is here, his coach is here, should I bring him up?' The Nike guy was like, 'Dirk can come but his coach can't.'

"I took Dirk up to the spaceball up there and did like anyone would from the friendship state and that was went back down and there's Holger sitting on a chair in the same flannel shirt and jeans that he wears today, and the leather jacket that's like out of some movie. ... I bought him dinner and beer and just kind of made him feel welcome.

"And that's basically how our relationship started, which was just extending the hand of goodwill. Any red-blooded American would have done that, but I did it and that just happened to be how Holger and I kicked off our relationship."

When Dirk met Cuban

Q: When did you and Dirk meet?

Mark Cuban: "It was the night before I took over the team, at the Starck Club, and he was there with Steve. And I knew I was going to take over the team the next day, so I was out celebrating with my buddies and we were looking stupid and acting stupid.

"And I tried to buy him and Steve beers and they looked at me like, 'Uh, no.' I'm like, 'OK, I'll see you tomorrow,' and walked off. They just thought I was some idiot trying to buy the drink, and if you saw the picture you'd think I was an idiot, too.

"Then I saw them the next day when I got introduced to the team."

Q: How did Dirk react?

Cuban: "Dirk and his 20-year-old face, I'm sure he's was thinking, 'What a [expletive] circus. This is what we're getting?'"

When Dirk met Carlisle

Q: When and where did you meet Dirk?

Rick Carlisle: "The first time I met him was at the 2004 All-Star Game in L.A. I was coaching the East. There was an organizational meeting of both teams and coaching staffs. I ended up sitting near him. We struck up a conversation, talked for five or ten minutes about things.

"He had known that I had played with Larry Bird back in the day. We talked a little bit about that. For me, I could tell from that conversation the purity of who he was as a person and a player and a competitor.

"The next time I met him, officially, was when I came down here to talk to these guys about the job in the spring of 2008. It was a meeting at Mark's house and I just remember, when I said 'Hello' again it struck me, 'Wow, I can't believe how tall this guy is. He's taller than I even thought from coaching against him.

"We had a three-hour meeting at Mark's house with me, Mark, Dirk, Donnie. Just talked about a lot of things, philosophically, competitively. I just got the same vibe that I did in L.A., that the guy was a sincere competitor that was only interested in winning a championship."

First impressions

Q: In those Hoops Summit international practices, at the Dallas YMCA, what stood out about Dirk?

Nelson: "I actually didn't know what to expect. The first day in practice and then you're just seeing a 7-foot fluid athlete. And then when he started shooting I was like, 'Man, that's not bad.'

"You'll hear this adage in scouting: One look can be dangerous. ... But about the second, third day, I was like, 'Boy, that wasn't a mirage and that second day wasn't a mirage. He sure looks like he could be a player.'"

Q: When did you alert your father [Mavs coach and GM Don Nelson] and put Dirk on the Mavs' radar?

Nelson: "I would say it was probably a couple of practices in. We in the NBA, it's like a pretty girl walking into the room. You can't not notice those things. Especially if you're in coaching, you definitely understand that success is 90-percent Jimmys and Joes and 10-percent X's and O's.

"We get through training camp, go to San Antone, the first half, we had a challenged backcourt and the U.S. team in the first half literally was putting on the full-court press. Dirk, we just couldn't get the ball to halfcourt.

"After halftime, Dirk, on his own, starts coming over halfcourt. If you're one of these poor guys trying to get the ball in and you see this 7-foot target and you can just lob it up there and go over the press.

"It just shows the software of Dirk and the problem-solving and team player is he just starts, on his own volition, going to the backcourt and they hit him with the ball and he just does what he's been taught by Holger to do since Holger started coaching him and that's going coast-to-coast and shooting threes.

"Every NBA team was there in droves. The first half was, let's call it less than stellar on the part of the international team. But I think once Dirk started being Dirk and kind of taking the bull by the horns."

Nowitzki finished with 33 points and 14 rebounds as the international team rallied for a 104-99 victory over the USA Team.

"There again is the adage of one look being dangerous. Other GMs, they're literally going off a half a game. They didn't have the luxury of seeing him at additional times like we did."

Q: What did you think when you first saw Dirk play, as a Mavs fan, before you bought the team in January 2000?

Cuban: "Back then it was hard to know. Because our track record wasn't very good at picking international guys. Like every Mavs fan I had high hopes, but I really didn't know. All I knew is he did really stupid commercials about being tall and pulling things out of trees."

Q: Donnie Nelson has said he and his father are fortunate because when you bought the team, you could have cleaned out, brought in your own basketball people. It's not like the team was winning.

Cuban: "Yeah, but I didn't know any better. What was I going to do? How was I going to pick anybody? I didn't know (expletive). I figured I was just going to take time to learn and there was no downside. I mean, it wasn't like the pressure was on to keep winning games. There was no downside to me just keeping it as it was and learning."

Q: When did you notice the tide turn for Dirk?

Cuban: "The first year when I bought the team and was there and I got to pay attention. From the time I took over, for the rest of the year we had a winning record. You saw progress from Dirk and everybody. Teams weren't really taking us seriously because when I bought them we were like 9-23, but you could just see it from all three of those guys [Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Michael Finley]."

Q: What was it like coaching against Dirk when you were with the Pacers and Pistons?

Carlisle: "It was him, Finley and Nash together. And then their team changed. They became more defensive-oriented and changed their style when Avery [Johnson] got here. They presented different challenges then. But you have a 7-foot-1 guy that can score from any point on the floor, I mean, that's a big problem, trying to find someone to guard him.

"How are you going to deal with him in the post if he goes in there? How are you going to find him in transition? All those things. He sets a screen, it's like a double-screen on your guys because you've gotta hug him. It was a myriad of problems to deal with. It was very difficult."

Q: What was your perception of Dirk before you took over as coach in 2008?

Carlisle: "He was a perennial All-Star and a great player, a guy that I had really felt at that point of time had redefined the power forward position, for sure. I watched the 2006 series with Miami very closely. And I knew how close they had been and how painful that was.

"When I got here in 2008, we were fortunate to make some really critical moves to get the team in position and then get on a historic run, at the exact right time. He had everything to do with that.

"Dirk, one of his real legacies is going to be the way that he has helped this game evolve to what it is today.

"In the 90s and early 2000s, there was a real crisis. Scoring was down. It was, people in decision-making positions were trying to figure out what to do. But the way Dirk approached the game and the way Nellie converted him from a 3 to a 4, helped nudge the game along, open up space. Eventually the value of the 3-point shot to open up space became a reality.

"So the game today now, you don't hear anybody talking about how there's not enough scoring, or it's not exciting, those kind of things."

Q: What do you remember about your first game of coaching Dirk?

Carlisle: "The first game was an exhibition game. I do remember that. I think we were playing against Washington. He had a very short-hair thing going at the time. I was just trying to get the lay of the land around here. Dallas, I was so new. We had a new coaching staff, still getting used to what Mark was all about.

"But in that summer leading up to the first particular game, [Dirk] had established he was going to be on an even keel all the time, unwavering, all those kinds of things. I know he played well in that game. He was coming off of the Olympic appearance by Germany that year. We had kind of watched his reps in training camp and stuff. But it was pretty clear to me at that time that this guy was an absolute rock in terms of being that guy."

Pivotal moments

Q: What do you remember from the draft night of 1998 trade with Milwaukee that brought Dirk here and sent Robert Traylor to the Bucks?

Nelson: "That trade was contingent upon Dirk being there and available. And then we traded down and rolled the bones on Nash. So, yes, it was agreed to before, but if Dirk would have gone 3 or 4 or 5, the deal would have been off.

"When it got to 9 and he and Paul Pierce were still there. We had them both in the top three of that draft. We were floored.

"It's funny because when that happened, my dad looked at me and said, 'What are you going to do now, son?' It was tongue in cheek, but it was also, I think, in his mind, he knew the challenges that we were going to go through with Dirk. He also knew that Paul Pierce was plug and play.

"We're at the conference table and I think he knew we were going to do what we were going to do. But I think he wanted me to understand the weight of the decision of what we were about to do.

"When you're a guy like my dad and you've coached a lot, the difference between Paul Pierce that is a plug and play, he's going to come in his rookie year and he's going to put up 20, 8 and 6 and you've got Dirk and he's going to put up 5 fouls and three points. It's a much steeper learning curve.

"Even after we got him on draft night, we still had to convince him that we were the best option. Honestly, we were about two years ahead of Holger's plan. Holger's plan was to take him to the Hoops Summit and then give him a couple of years, whether overseas at Benetton or a Real Madrid or Barcelona, or go to colleges. He had Cal and Kentucky and I think it was Kansas. He had three full rides.

"In Holger's mind Dirk wasn't quite ready for the NBA. It became Nellie and myself, going to Germany, sitting down with Holger, mom, dad, Dirk, and a big part of it was playing time. We had to commit to, 'Look, Dirk's not just going to come sit the bench. We're going to take Dirk in like he's our own. We're going to put the ball in his hands. We're understand we're going to lose, to develop Dirk, that's part of the rebuilding plan.'

"Then, look, when Mark came in as owner, he really embraced us in our darkest hour. We had everyone who wasn't happy with the win-loss record at the time. Mark had every right to come in and say, 'Hey, I'll take the keys from here in, boys. I appreciate it.' And he embraced us and Dirk and Nash and the whole program."

Q: How has your relationship with Dirk evolved during the 19 seasons you've owned the team?

Cuban: "I don't how many players and owners have gotten drunk as many times together as Dirk and I have. Or sat for 10 hours together at a blackjack table. Or gotten kicked out of places.

"The good and the bad and everything. It's more off-the-court, really where you connect with Dirk. He's in his own little world when he's working out and when the game starts. The rest of the time, it's been an adventure, to say the least.

"We've been through a lot of hassles. A lot of sorrow, on the court and off. And we were always there for each other. That bonds you. You just can't help it. It bonds you.

"It's not like we're best friends, but it's like where we have a really, really strong relationship that we both know we can go to each other any time and we're always there for each other.

"We usually make sure we spent a couple of times over the summer just to hang out and have fun. Up until last year, we went to Vegas together 15 out of 16 years or something ridiculous."

Q: Is he a good gambler?

Cuban: (laughing) "No, he's horrible. He plays like $25 hands so he can sit there and drink. His drinks have evolved over the years, I guess. Being at his sister's wedding in Vegas was a treat, too."

Q: What were your impressions as you got to know Dirk, the player and person?

Carlisle: "One of the special things about Dirk is he is a guy who has never looked for attention, never wanted to be in the spotlight, other than to serve his teammates, fans and certainly ownership, because he and Mark certainly have a special relationship.

"The points were obvious. That's never going to go away. But for those of us who have had the great privilege to be in the trenches with him for a long time, the competitive integrity, the way he prepares on a daily basis, the way he gives of himself to his teammates, to the franchise, to the community in such a humble way, those are the things that, for me, really are big-time things about who he is."

Q: What did winning the championship mean to you personally, in terms of your relationship with Dirk?

Carlsile: "That moment obviously was a very emotional moment for him, but very gratifying for me and Mark and Donnie, too, because being able to get this team in a position to have that kind of success for guys like Dirk, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion, was very special."

Biggest takeaways

Q: It's one thing to have your face of the franchise be a uniquely talented player. It's another thing for him to have an NBA-record 21-season career, all with one team. But it's still another to have that player be humble and self-deprecating and community-minded. How do you place a value in having all of these things in one player?

Nelson: "In this business, it's so easy to get big-head. With Dirk, he's in a lot of respects the same guy that had the Scottie Pippen poster his room and living in mom and dad's flat. He just never let any of that outside stuff get to him. He always saw himself as part of a team that wanted to win a championship.

"He didn't see himself as a brand. He could have had millions and millions of dollars of endorsements, his 'own this and that,' TV shows. He could have gone in so many directions, but his entire career saw himself as a basketball player that wanted to be the best that he possibly could be. And he let nothing else distract him. Nothing.

"One big reason is Holger. From day one, Holger was the one who saw him playing pickup and saw promise and wanted him to be what he's become and showed him, both on the court and off the court how to get there. Dirk's dad is an absolutely hard-working competitive former athlete, as is mom. They understand the value of athletics and staying humble.

"Things like power and money and fame and fortune, all that stuff that generally takes a young mind and twists it and warps it, it never happened. The only thing I can do is credit mom and dad and Holger and the people who surrounded him. When you're sitting there with a guy like Steve Nash and Michael Finley, Nellie back in the formative days, these are people that are honest, straight-shooting and are workaholics and passionate about the sport and winning. That's it.

"It's a very, very special human being who has occupied that locker and that uniform that's got 41 on it."

Q: What's next for Dirk?

Cuban: "Dirk's family. I'm happy for him in a lot of respects because the best part of his life comes afterwards. You think in any career that, 'OK, this is what you've done and this is who you are,' but Dirk's so much more than just being a basketball player.

"It's going to be hard for him to adjust initially, but the best part of his life is yet to come.

"Twenty years on the court here, plus when he was a kid. But he's got a lot longer off the court. I think that's where he'll continue to be the guy we all know and really blossom. Because I think everybody will get to know him better because he doesn't have to focus on being so disciplined. He doesn't have to have that same discipline.

"It wouldn't shock me if we saw him at 280, 290 with a pot belly."

Q: You're kidding, right?

Cuban: (laughing) "No, no, no. I'd be willing to bet. He already knows he has any job with us that he wants. He'll probably spend most of his time designing his statue."

Q: What will you miss most?

Carlisle: "I'll miss everything, but the way Dirk approached things, each day was a set of challenges. There was almost a checklist of things he would do to prepare. It was so meticulous. It was so precise, and yet it was so workmanlike. You could set an atomic watch to it.

"When it came time to throw the ball up, he was going to be ready to play. If he wasn't a hundred percent, you weren't gonna know it, really, because he was going to slug through it and he was going to find a way to make a major impact on that game."

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epacer · 5 years

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Water Safety

Prevent Drowning Foundation Wants Every San Diego Student to Have Life-Saving Swim Skills

Sometimes the answer is right in front of you. That was the case for Antonio Villar, principal at Logan K-8 School in Logan Heights. He wanted to expand the school’s physical education offerings. The solution was right next door: the city’s Memorial Pool, a 10-lane community pool with an inviting and colorful “spray ground.”

“The kids are excited to do P.E.,” Villar said. “Instead of doing regular P.E. activities, the students are able to focus on swimming and be really active.”

For a month each school year, about 300 students in grades 3 through 8 walk to Memorial Pool to take lessons that teach both water safety and basic swim skills. Logan has offered a swim program for about seven years, Villar said, but recently began receiving support from the nonprofit Prevent Drowning Foundation of San Diego through its “Learn to Swim 4 Free” initiative.

The Prevent Drowning Foundation of San Diego – formerly known as The San Diego Junior Lifeguard Foundation, a name that reflected one of its flagship educational programs – has offered aquatic safety programs since 2009, with the goal of teaching every child in San Diego how to swim. The foundation has led the charge in local swim safety education, and is working to expand its reach even further. It focuses much of its outreach on underserved communities.

The Logan swim program has evolved as instructors learn more about the skills and needs of the students. Some school years, many of the students are proficient swimmers from the first day; other years, it’s clear that as many as half haven’t had much exposure to the water, according to Villar. The school has also fundraised to have a cache of extra goggles, swimwear, and towels for any students who might need them.

“It really makes me feel like we’re making a difference,” Villar said. “We want them to learn how to not drown, but also to enjoy San Diego and all it has to offer.”

The Prevent Drowning Foundation would like to see swim programs like that at Logan replicated at schools throughout San Diego. By identifying schools within a mile of publicly accessible pools — like those operated by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department and YMCA of San Diego County — the foundation hopes to eliminate school officials’ concerns about pricey bus transportation.

To make their case, the foundation has enlisted the help of high school students savvy with ArcGIS mapping and analytics software. Corri-Anne Burgess, who teaches computer science and geographic information systems at Kearny High’s School of Science, Connections & Technology, instructed her students on how to use multiple data points to build a “schools to pools” online map to visually demonstrate which area schools are within a mile of a public pool.

The research collaboration lets Burgess’ students see how technology can help their community. “This is real-world experience. They’re not just accountable to themselves. I teach them that data drives change,” she said.

Based on mapping data compiled by Kearny student Candan Xiao, there are 36 public elementary schools, nine middle schools, and eight high schools within easy walking distance of a publicly accessible San Diego swimming public.

Prevent Drowning Foundation president Greg “Buc” Buchanan said incorporating swim lessons into school curriculum is about more than a fun day at the pool. “Our ability to partner with local schools and teaching kids to swim in local pools equals saved lives,” he said.

Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 1 to 14 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More than half of those children treated for drowning in an emergency department require hospitalization or further care. A child who survives drowning may suffer lasting consequences including brain damage, according to the CDC.

Meanwhile, research suggests that formal swim lessons reduce the likelihood of childhood drowning by 88 percent, according to the USA Swimming Foundation.

Buchanan said that while educators are starting to see the value of swim programs like those offered through the Prevent Drowning Foundation, more widespread implementation is key.

Hage Elementary School in Mira Mesa has offered its 3rd- through 5th-grade students swim lessons for about 16 years. The students walk a little more than a mile to Ned Baumer Aquatic Center for a half-hour class three days a week over a period of five weeks.

“We wanted to see how many lives we could save by offering this opportunity to become proficient swimmers,” said Hage P.E. teacher Keith Kaneko, who developed the school’s swim program with P.E. resource teacher Lynn Barnes-Wallace. “We wanted to see the doors it could open for them to learn these basic skills.”

Many Hage students can’t swim when they begin the program, and most aren’t adept at swim strokes or back floats. “If we threw them in a 13-foot pool, it wouldn’t be a safe situation,” said Kaneko, explaining that the swim program offers these students both practical techniques and new confidence. “The self-esteem piece is huge. They go from putting their toes in the water and being kind of nervous, to jumping in on the deep end.”

Hage fifth graders who complete the swim lessons can participate in the Prevent Drowning Foundation’s Bridge to Beach field trip to a local beach. Lifeguards give the students beach and ocean safety instruction, like how to recognize rip currents.

Kaneko said the swim lessons afford his students lifelong skills while making them more mentally focused for their schoolwork. “I couldn’t ask for them to be more prepared to go back to the classroom after a swim lesson,” said Kaneko. “We know the brain and body work together. A healthy life is a happy life and a long life. *Reposted article from the VOSD by Jennifer McEntee

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newstfionline · 7 years

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When the Prescription Is a Recipe

By Donna De La Cruz, NY Times, Aug. 9, 2017

The doctor’s office is moving into the kitchen.

After years of telling patients to skip junk food and prepare homemade meals, a growing number of doctors and medical groups are now going a step further and teaching them how to cook. Some are building teaching kitchens or creating food pantries right next to their practices. Others are prescribing culinary education programs in hopes of improving their patients’ nutrition and overall health. Some medical schools have even introduced culinary curriculums to train more doctors to talk to patients about food.

Dr. Nimali Fernando, a pediatrician in Spotsylvania, Va., noticed that many of her patients’ concerns could be traced to poor diet--even problems that may not seem connected, like bed-wetting. She started a food blog, and soon began offering cooking classes out of a church basement kitchen. In 2014 she opened Yum Pediatrics, a nutrition-based pediatrics practice that included a 600-square-foot teaching kitchen. She also created the Dr. Yum Project, a nonprofit with a preschool nutrition curriculum now taught in several Virginia schools.

“I needed to do more than just give patients a pamphlet. I had to have a kitchen in my office,” Dr. Fernando said. “I try to give a lot of prescriptions that are just recipes to see if we can fix an issue with food.”

Dr. Fernando said she has learned that poor food choices can be the root of many seemingly unrelated issues.

“Sometimes parents say their kids have symptoms of anxiety and are wetting the bed and they feel their child needs to see a counselor or needs medication,” Dr. Fernando said. But when she asks about diet, it may be that the child is not eating enough fiber, which leads to constipation. And constipation, in turn, can aggravate the bladder, causing bed-wetting. “That’s when you can connect the dots and see how food is often intertwined in their symptoms.”

A perk of having a kitchen right next to her office, Dr. Fernando said, is that she can take patients right in and demonstrate something she wants them to try, such as how to grind flaxseed. That costs the patients nothing. But patients pay out-of-pocket for cooking classes, which vary in cost depending on the length. For example, a five-day “food adventure” camp for 7- to 12-year-olds costs $125. A popular class on how to make nutritious baby food costs $17.50.

Claudia Castro of Stafford, Va., and her daughter Michelle, 14, began taking lessons in Dr. Fernando’s kitchen after a blood test showed that Michelle was prediabetic.

One of the first recipes Michelle and her mother learned to make in Dr. Fernando’s kitchen was for bean burgers.

“Dr. Fernando took the time to tell us and then show us how to make the food she wants Michelle to eat to be healthy,” Mrs. Castro said. “We also now drink almond milk, we have vegetables and salads, very little red meat. Even when we eat out, we eat healthier.”

Michelle lost 10 pounds in a month and is down one dress size.

At the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, the Culinary Health Education for Families, or CHEF, program teaches parents and children how to shop, prep and make nutritious meals. Patients must be referred to the program by their doctors, but satellite programs at places like the YMCA are open to the community.

Dharti Patel enrolled her 10-year-old son, Rishi, in the program.

“Most doctors would just hand me some paperwork with advice on what to eat and what not to eat,” Mrs. Patel said. “They would tell me to just follow what’s on the chart. But it did not help.”

In the CHEF program, her son learned how to cut up vegetables and fruit and how to make simple chicken and fish dishes, salads with homemade dressing, tostadas and yogurt parfaits for dessert.

Ms. Patel said her son now reads nutrition labels when they shop at the supermarket. “Whenever Rishi eats, now he looks for how many colors we added to the plate,” she said. “Now he wants to help us at home when we cook. He was surprised that he liked vegetables after all.”

Dr. Julie La Barba, CHEF’s medical director and also a pediatrician, said the program was formed out of the concept that “food could be seen as medicine,” especially in children.

Despite success stories like these, many doctors don’t focus on nutrition when they see patients. Only 27 percent of medical schools in the United States offer students the recommended 25 hours of nutritional training, according to the medical journal Academic Medicine. And in a recent study in the American Journal of Medicine involving 930 cardiologists, less than a third described their nutrition knowledge as “mostly up-to-date” or better.

Dr. Timothy Harlan, executive director of the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University, hopes that future doctors see the benefits of adding nutritional education to their treatment arsenal.

“What we teach here is how to have a discussion with one’s patient about food that can have a substantive impact,” Dr. Harlan said. “Physicians will tell you that they have never gotten enough nutrition education. So we sometimes feel underprepared when it comes to nutrition.”

Doctors are on the front lines when it comes to helping patients change their eating habits, and they should take advantage of that at all levels of medical care, said Dr. Warren Ross, whose primary care practice in Ellicott City, Md., also has a teaching kitchen.

“One would hope that on any medical visit, a doctor would look for an opportunity to see what people are doing around their diet and whether they want additional support in making dietary changes,” Dr. Ross said.

#nutrition #nutritional education #teaching kitchens #poor diet #healthy eating #doctors and diet

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