It’s not every day two such divergent forms of exercise share a headline, but at Larry North Fitness in Preston Royal Village tomorrow, you’ll have the opportunity to do those, along with four other 15-minute, “total gym” circuit workouts, under the guidance by LNF personal trainers and accompanied by DJ Joe Ramirez. It’s a fundraising event for The Family Place. Participation costs $20. Preston Royal Village neighbors Purple Cow, Zinsky’s, Team Sports, Foot Solutions, Cantina Laredo, and Ken’s Man Shop (“Zen’s” according to the press release) will stop by with samples and coupons.

One of the first stories I wrote when I began at Preston Hollow People was about Gregory Owens, a 2002 graduate of Hillcrest High School killed in Afghanistan on July 20, 2009 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Owens was genuinely loved by everyone I talked to for his humor and integrity. As longtime family friend Rhonda Graham summed up when I spoke to her in the article, “He was used to giving, and he wanted to do whatever he could to help, so he went out there to help his country. He saw it as his responsibility.”

Hillcrest’s band boosters has since created the $250 Gregory Owens Memorial Scholarship, which was awarded to senior David Hernandez. They are also ordering a plaque to be permanently installed in the Hillcrest band hall featuring Owens’ picture, the circumstancces of his death, and the accolades he recieved from the U.S. Army, including a Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

All of which comes into sharper focus as Memorial Day approaches. Jim Arnold, outgoing chair of Hillcrest’s site-based decision making committee, sends along a missive asking all to honor Owens’ memory.

“Folks,
As my last communiqué, act or whatever as the chair, I wanted to end this year as we began it, honoring and praising Greg Owens. Greg Owens, Class of ’98, Drum Major, Eagle Scout, all around great Panther, Prairie View A&M grad, Sgt in the 10th Mountain, Fort Drum, NY died along with three other brave Americans on a dirt road in Af ghanistan by an improvised explosive device (IED).

So on Monday which is Memorial Day, whenever you are doing whatever you do; say a prayer, have a moment of silence, light a candle, raise a glass, hug your kids, but whatever you do remember that Greg Owens died so that we could be free.
Jim”

Well said, Jim.

So I was walking into the Preston Royal Library yesterday afternoon to return a couple of CDs I’d checked out, and I couldn’t help but notice this flier for the University of Texas at Dallas’ Center for Brain Health. Addressed to fourth through eighth grade students, the headline blares “Brain Science wants YOU.” Below, in smaller type: “to be part of an important research study”. Bits of text scattered across the page tell kids they will learn, have fun, and get paid (I’m game). And maybe, just maybe, they’ll get a DVD.

All of this is punctuated by the above image. Good choice. It immediately makes me think “Please, sir. Take my child! I am put at ease by your delightfully bulging eyes, jaundiced face, and comforting leer. I know his brain will be safe in your pale, corpse-like hands.

If you can get past the unfortunate flier, the Center for Brain Health (which is, in all seriousness, a top-notch institution) is performing the FDA-approved research in one or two-hour tests available by appointment between June 7 and July 30.

As a UTD grad, I can’t say I’m exactly surprised by the above picture. It is, after all, the same school that brought the world this. IJS.

In an earlier (and much more bloated) post, I mentioned a get-together this evening at City Hall. You should still g0 to that. But you should also check out this site, which allows you to map favorite routes, point out problem areas, and comment on things posted by others, all from your chosen location. Fun Stuff.

Valedictorian Peter Dysert and his sister, Katie Dysert, at Pepperdine’s graduation

Peter Dysert, son of Dr. and Mrs. Peter A. (Linda) Dysert of University Park, graduated summa cum laude from Pepperdine University during commencement exercises held May 1 in Malibu, Calif. He received a Bachelor of Science in finance and was valedictorian of the Pepperdine University Seaver College Class of 2010.
While a student at Pepperdine, Peter maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average. He was a recipient of the prestigious Wall Street Journal Award, the highest award given by their business division. Among his other accomplishments, Peter was vice president of the Investment and Finance Club and treasurer of his fraternity. He was also a member of the Student Programming Board. He served with Habitat for Humanity, United Friends of Cerebral Palsy, and other campus organizations. Peter spent his sophomore year at the International Program in Heidelberg, Germany, studying German language, history, and culture, as well as politics of the European Union. He has also traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa.

Back in high school, on boring summer days and weekends, I would grab my trusty Gary Fisher mountain bike and haul butt for downtown from the parents’ north-of-635 abode. I won’t go into the nitty gritty details of the route, but it involved going south on St. Michaels/Boedeker Drive and hurdling helmetless through the usually-red light at Northwest Highway and into the Park Cities after nearly getting flattened and often getting cursed at by swerving motorists in their Lexus and Mercedes SUVs.

That whole nearly-getting-myself-killed thing was fun back in the day, but I have a kid now and understand that most (all?) reasonable people prefer not to take the death-by-bicycle route. Which would make Bob Ikel a reasonable person.

Ikel, an architect by trade, has been trying to make streets safe for cyclists for several years, Boedeker in particular. He’s been working with the city (and county and the North Texas County of Governments and DART) on an overhaul of the Dallas Bike Plan. He is also the founder of Bike Friendly North Dallas, which is dedicated to building easily bikeable streets (with bike lanes) in the area. Ikel is especially pushing for the establishment of bike lanes to link NorthPark Center with the White Rock Trail (the tentatively named C-Trail) and one that will run along Boedeker (the N-Trail) and link with a growing bike system in the Park Cities. The Windsor Park resident is also an all-around interesting guy who I will write about eventually once the vision for a bike plan in North Dallas becomes a little clearer.

All of which is an incredibly long-winded way of getting to the point that Dallas is hosting a meeting at 5 p.m. this evening at City Hall. They want to know what you want to see in a bike plan. Chances are, there will be a lot of Oak Cliff types in the crowd but, if I know Ikel, he’ll get his two cents in and probably a bit more. So, if you’re interested, pedal (or drive) down to City Hall tonight. I won’t be able to make it as I’ve been in sunny Florida for four days learning how to be a journalist, leaving the wife handling the incredibly energetic 10-month-old alone and me doing penance. But Oak Cliff People colleague Josh Hixson should be there and can fill me (and you) on what the Bike Plan could look like for Preston Hollow.

Tucked into an unassuming strip center on Greenville, just south of Walnut Hill, Roma’s is surrounded by trees that shade the spacious outdoor patio. Complimentary baskets of glistening garlic rolls and a side of marinara prime your palate for homemade pasta. Order the sampler with lasagna, manicotti, and ravioli ($7.99). Roma’s Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant is a casual neighborhood place offering pizza and Italian Specialties, which are made fresh from scratch with the finest ingredients imported from Italy.

The Forest Lane location is BYOB – don’t forget that you can bring your favorite wine with no corkage fee. The Greenville Avenue location has a full bar with deck seating available and great happy hour specials.

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Adam Brian Smith, director of bands at Hillcrest High School, was named DISD 2010 – 2011 Teacher of the Year. Smith has served at Hillcrest since 2006, and is also the head coach of the girls softball team.

Under Smith’s direction, the band program has grown from 19 to 150 student members. Smith, a single parent of three children, said that giving students an exciting, quality music education is his vehicle of enticement for students to stay in school.  He said he believes that the arts can help students become tenacious, team-oriented problem solvers who are confident and able to think creatively.

Smith’s students perform yearly at the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Rally, National “Say No to Drugs” Red Ribbon Campaign, and Capital One Bank Adolphus Children’s Parade. He also performs with the Park Cities Baptist Church orchestra, the Metropolitan Winds organization, volunteers for the Women’s community crisis center holiday food drive, and for other community groups and events.

For his service, Smith was given an engraved award and $5,000 by Superintendent of Schools Michael Hinojosa and Stephen Butt, senior vice president of the Central Market Division of H-E-B. Congrats teach!

While Swoozie’s in the Plaza at Preston Center has lost its bankruptcy battle, there is still a few days left to take advantage of its 60 to 80 percent off EVERYTHING sale. If you’d like to get a jump on future gift giving, this is the place to go. I’m talking 50 percent off adorably printed wrapping and tissue papers, $4 cocktail glasses, 70 percent of stationary, holiday decorations, frames, jewelry, handbags, and the list goes on. If you spend more than $25 in the store, you’ll get an additional discount off your purchase. If you’ll be attending a ton of weddings and graduations this summer, this is definitely worth checking out.

Who could resist such a fine machine?

It’s not the most likely time or place for a car-jacking–broad daylight on a Thursday afternoon in Preston Center–but that didn’t matter much to the guy who stole James Gross’s car. (Bear with me ’til the end…  This gets awesome.)

Gross, a 24-year-old student at Sanford-Brown College, was walking to his car, enjoying a Jamba Juice on his way to class, when a man asked to talk to him. The man was clearly on something, Gross said, so he kept walking and got into his 1993 Honda Accord. The man proceeded to stand in the middle of the street behind the car, yelling while Gross tried to maneuver the Accord out of its parking space and around the man without hitting him. He managed to do so and pulled up behind a line of cars on Westchester Drive, waiting to turn into Douglas.

“He ran toward my car right when I’m pulling away –my windows were down because I don’t have any A/C–and he opened the door and yanked me into the street,” Gross said.

Except for the getting-pulled-out-of-my-car thing, I can relate so far: I too have a crappy car which has gone for long stretches without A/C. And I too enjoy Jamba Juice. But this is where he loses me. Instead of laying on the pavement, licking his wounds and mourning the loss of his vehicle, as I would have done, he gets up, runs back to his car, and tries to throw the carjacker out.

Unfortunately the carjacker knew how to drive a stick shift and got going quickly. So Gross, clinging to the car, punches the dude in the face several times before letting go once the car picks up too much speed. (“I’d rather not lose my life,” he explains. Of course not.) And he watches his only means of transportation speed away.

“My reaction was I couldn’t believe he got me out of my car,” Gross said. “I just shouldn’t have let happen. I mean, I’m a football player. It’s just a man thing.”

This story does have a happy ending, if not for Gross’s thigh, which suffered a pretty nasty asphalt burn, he says. But the thief was arrested last night in Euless for shoplifting, and the 1993 Accord is waiting for Gross in the Dallas Police Department Auto Pound.

I’m not saying that, if you get car-jacked, you should hang from a moving car while punching the thief in the face. In fact, it’s probably a very bad idea in most cases. I’m just saying it’s pretty awesome. Kudos to you, James Gross.

I have a call in to the Euless Police Department to get the name/mug shot of the alleged thief. Updates when/if they come.