I met Alice Whistler in 2006, when she was the
program assistant for the College of the Mainland Continuing Education
Department at the League City campus. We both attended a class called “Writing
Small Booklets for Fun and Profit”. That class inspired me to start my book
publishing career. Immediately following that class, she recruited me to teach
interior decorating and wedding planning classes for COM, and later on,
self-publishing classes, as well.
We’ve stayed in touch over the years, so when she called to
invite me to a YMCA outing to the American Bodhi Center in Hempstead for their
Chinese New Year celebration in February, it sounded like fun, so I signed up
to go.
This is the Lunar New Year of the Green Wood Horse, which is year 4712
on the Chinese calendar. The event was held at the Buddhist Association’s 515
acre Center in Waller County, with many fascinating exhibitions and
entertainment groups, including the traditional Dragon and Lion Dance, shown in
the photos above and below.
There were two men inside the costume, sometimes running
through the audience on four legs, and other times standing on each other’s
shoulders to rear up and form a creature ten feet tall!
We also toured the meditation center featuring beautiful
original artwork, sampled a variety of Chinese food, and visited the crafts
center, where Alice and I cut out symbols for the word “Spring” (new
beginnings), shown in the photo at right.
My friend Marilyn (Chica) Zapata and her husband, Art, also joined our group on the bus trip.
Chica and I couldn't resist dressing up in
Empress costumes for the photo at left.
She purchased each of us a traditional headdress to complete our royal Chinese outfits.
She purchased each of us a traditional headdress to complete our royal Chinese outfits.
As a finishing touch, I bought a New Year’s card, signed
with my name written in Chinese.
It was a fun day that was filled with many wonderful surprises,
as we celebrated the New Year again, this time with a new cultural twist!
Thank you, Alice and Chica, for a great day of celebrating!
(Chinese Style)
