This is a story of love, of faith, of hope; the power of prayer and positive thinking. It is a story of never giving up and a lesson that cannot be emphasized enough—microchip, microchip, microchip!

Last Fourth of July Elissa De Maria Battista and her husband, Matt, along with their new baby and 2-year-old Boston terrier, named Fisher (aka Fishy Pup), were enjoying a long holiday weekend in Ocean City, Maryland when Fisher went missing. 

They believe that he had learned to open the screen door of the rental property and let himself out.  He was wearing a harness and a bandana, but no collar with an ID tag. However, Fisher was microchipped.

The family immediately began looking for him and extended their stay in Ocean City to search. They put up signs, notified the police, lifeguards, fire department and searched on foot, on bicycles and in cars. They hired a dog tracker and Fisher’s picture appeared on the city’s famous floating billboard, The Seaboard.

You name it, they did it! But eventually the family had to return home without Fisher. Elissa started a group Facebook page, “Find Fisher.” 

“We will never give up until we find him,” Elissa posted.

The posts went viral and thousands and thousand of people responded with well wishes and pictures of Boston terriers each time one was found. Unfortunately, for nine long months, 290 days, Elissa’s response was always the same, “Thank you for sharing, but it’s not Fisher.”

Until yesterday! Goose bumps and tears filled the internet when in response to the picture of a found dog, the post read, “I think it is Fisher.”

A male Boston terrier had been found roaming the streets of Baltimore.  He was picked up, scanned and confirmed to be Fisher.

Elissa made the five-hour drive from her Connecticut home to Maryland yesterday afternoon and through tears, laughter and repeated exclamations of “Oh, my god,” she and Fisher were re-united, making the family whole again.

Elissa commented this morning that she would like to turn the “Find Fisher” Facebook group page into a place to post all lost dogs in an attempt to get them back home with their family.

For those of us who followed the story and prayed for Fisher’s safe return, we are ecstatic about this happy ending and once again, encourage everyone to microchip their pets.

Shelia Huffman, former Dallas resident, contributes this story congratulating Fisher and the Battista family and in memory of her Boston Terrier, Wheels, (2008-2018).

As we continue to experience the pandemic more folks are borrowing traditions from the past to entertain themselves and their family. Evening walks through the neighborhood, lawn games and outdoor gatherings among family members are being enjoyed like we have not seen for some time.

What could be more symbolic of simple fun than an old timey picnic? Not grilling burgers or hot dogs on your fancy grill or cooking on your Big Green Egg, but just throwing a blanket under a shade tree and opening a basket of all-time favorite picnic foods.

Historically, fried chicken, cold salads and lemonade are listed as typical picnic fare. 

At some point in time I realized that I loved “cold fried chicken,” preferring it over the “hot from the pot version.” But I think I first became aware that it was a staple on its own, and not just a refrigerated left-over when I heard Miss Kitty tell a pensive Matt Dillon that tomorrow she would pack them a picnic lunch of “cold fried chicken.”

According to Fan Fiction writer Lady KRedzz, author of “Precious Moments, Forever Kitty and Matt” that cold fried chicken picnic may have played out something like this:

“It was a quite Sunday afternoon in May of 1893 and it found Matt and Kitty creek side, enjoying a picnic lunch.  Kitty had fried up some chicken, cooked some biscuits, made potato salad and a cherry pie, an indulgence that had won her a first- place ribbon at the county fair.” 

Following lunch, the conversation took on a romantic tone and Matt told Kitty that there had not been a day gone by since he met her that he hadn’t wanted a future with her, but that his badge had come first, and that she had her business at The Long Branch  to run. But now that the country was getting calmer and quieter, maybe they could finally give their relationship a chance.  

“Oh, Cowboy, I do love you so.  And, I will help you give us a chance," Miss Kitty replied.

Um’, cold fried chicken!

Why does cold friend chicken taste so good?  Usually cold fried foods are unappetizing to say the least.  Cold French fries, anyone?

Chef Jeffery Gardner says when fried chicken starts to cool down, the skin contracts and bonds itself to the meat. This process causes the top part of the skin to separate slightly from the crust, which prevents moisture absorption and sogginess, allowing the breading to maintain its satisfying chomp. Also, as the steam escapes the chicken, the moisture loss results in meat with greater density and a more pronounced “chicken-y” flavor. 

This discovery likely came about before refrigeration when chicken was fried and left on the counter- top.  When folks realized that the dish was not only edible, but also desirable, several hours after leaving the hot oil, fried chicken started to become a popular mainstay of picnics and church gathering throughout the South. 

However good the fried chicken, as time went by and we became more and more health conscious, it still got a bad rap. That is until the 1990’s when Oprah Winfrey proclaimed that her personal chef Rosie Daley’s “unfried chicken” could run a neck to neck race with real fried chicken sans the fat and calories.

Rosie marinated the chicken in yogurt, rolled it in seasoned breading and baked it in a high- temp oven, turning the chicken every twenty minutes while it browned.

Today the healthier version of fried chicken is easier than ever with the help of an Air Fryer. I know, I said put away the Green Egg, but there is room for both!

Just this week Guy Fieri “fried” up some breaded chicken tenders on TV with Rachel Ray using the popular appliance. Kids love fried chicken tenders.

Try this easy recipe using chicken drumettes.

A blanket, a shade tree and those you love are all you will need to enjoy an old-timey picnic during the pandemic.  And who knows! Maybe our country will become quieter and calmer.

Ingredients:

1 package of chicken drumettes

For marinade:

1 pint of buttermilk

Brine from almost empty jar of pickles (any kind, I used home-made)

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

For breading:

Combination of flour, corn meal and Panko Bread Crumbs and corn starch(enough to coat the chicken pieces) seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder (your choice of seasonings) in bowl or large plastic baggie

Non-stick spray such as Pam

Instructions:

Put buttermilk, pickle juice and Worcestershire in bowl.  Add drumettes and marinate in refrigerator for several hours.

Spray Air Fryer Basket with non-stick spray.

Pre-heat Air Fryer to 390 degrees and set to cook for 20 minutes. 

Dredge half of the drumettes in breading. Shake off excess. Place in air fryer basket in single layer not touching and spray generously with non-stick spray.

Turn chicken halfway through cooking time, spray generously with non-stick spray and continue cooking. Check for golden color after 8 additional minutes.

When browned, remove from basket to paper towel lined plate

Dredge and cook remaining drumettes.

Disciples Women’s Ministry is celebrating their 145th birthday in 2019. This celebration marks October 21,1874 as the day that Caroline Neville Pearre organized the women of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to address the mission and ministry that was then lacking in the church. The Christian Women’s Board of Missions (CWBM) was organized, and uncommon for the era, was to be managed exclusively by women.

The name may have changed through the years (today the organization is known as International Disciples Women’s Ministry), but the mission empowering women remains the same: to provide opportunities for spiritual growth, enrichment, education and creative ministries, enabling women to develop a sense of personal responsibility for the whole mission of the church.

In 1886, a group of women in St. Louis, led by Mattie Younkin, recognizing a need to assist poor and orphaned children began what is now the National Benevolent Association, the social services ministry of the church.

In 1895, Nancy E Atkinson, a founding member of the CWBM, and her husband received news of the death of a pastor who left behind a nearly blind widow and several children with no means of support. Establishing a fund to provide support for this family was the beginning of the Pension Fund for ministers in the Christian Church.

The list of achievements by women and often for women, continued through the years, encompassing many races and cultures.

This year, the Disciples Women of Central Christian Church kicked-off their September meeting (the group meets monthly September through May) exploring new charitable possibilities to expand their outreach.

At that meeting, five winners from The Ms. Texas Senior America pageant shared the charities of their passions with the group.  Their outreach included a broad list of community services that included helping the homeless, abused and neglected animals, children with special needs and more.

At the October meeting of Disciples Women of Central, it was decided that a “warm outer wear drive,” collecting coats, sweaters and jackets for the women and children who have found refuge in Genesis Women’s Shelter would be one of their Christmas projects.  

Since victims of domestic violence and abuse come in all ages and sizes, along with their children, donors will have the opportunity to purchase whatever piece of warm clothing they like for all size adult women and all age boys and girls. If you would like to contribute to the project, just drop your item by the church Monday thru Friday, asking for Laura, Scott or Jayne in the church office.

Genesis Women’s Shelter exists to provide safety, shelter and support for women who have experienced domestic violence, and to raise awareness regarding its cause, prevalence and impact.

You don’t have to be a member of Central, or any church for that matter, to be a part of the wonderful group of women who meet monthly to help make the world a better place. Call the church office for more information.

The beautiful pipe organ located in the sanctuary of the Mid-Century Modern church building at 4711 Westside Dr. will be re-dedicated three-decades after the generous gift was presented to the church.

The re-dedication ceremony will be held on Sunday morning, October 13, at the 11:00 am service.   Faith Manning will be the guest organist.

Manning, a native of Dallas, began studying piano at the early age of seven years old. She began her career in music ministry at age ten and added the pipe organ to her instrumental accomplishments when she was 18 years old.

A graduate of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Manning received a Bachelor of Music degree in Pipe Organ Performance from Fisk University in 2007 and a master’s degree in Education from Middle Tennessee State in 2012. She is the elementary music and middle school choir teacher at the International Leadership of Texas School in Lancaster Texas.

Manning currently serves as the minister of music at Faithful Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, The Gathering: A Womanist Church, and New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. 

During the re-dedication ceremony Manning will perform a variety of pieces including classical, religious and secular music that highlight the beautiful instrument that was donated to the church by the late Maurice and Ebby Halliday Acers.

Dallas real estate icon, Ebby Halliday, was brought up a Baptist and later became an Episcopalian.

“But, it was Maurice who made me a ‘Christian,’” she often joked, referring to her husband, Maurice Acers and the church she joined and grew to love, Central Christian Church. 

Ebby Halliday Acers joined Central (Disciples of Christ) on December 19, 1965. 

Maurice Acers, as well as his mother, Effie Acers, had been a member of Central since 1915 when the church was still located in downtown Dallas at St. Paul and Patterson Streets. In 1953, the church moved to its current location at 4711 Westside Dr. It was there that Ebby Halliday married Maurice Acers on Easter Sunday, April 18, 1965. 

The couple were wed in a small and simple ceremony at 10 a.m. between Easter Sunday services by Central’s pastor at the time, the late Rev. Dr. E.C. Rowand. 

The pipe organ was installed by Dan Garland and the original dedication ceremony was held in October of 1992.

Current Music Director of Central Christian Church, Tim Caffee, has original documents and drawings of the organ and plans for installation from the church archives that will be displayed during the re-dedication ceremony.  

The public is invited to this special service.  A reception will follow in the church fellowship hall.