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Principal Office 8834 N. Capital of Texas Hwy., Suite 304, Austin, TX 78759 888-314-6671 OUR LOCATIONS OCTOBER 2019
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TEXAS Austin Downtown Office: 1601 Rio Grande St. Suite 450 Austin, TX 78701 Arlington Office: 3901 Arlington Highlands Blvd. Suite 200 Arlington, TX 76018 Carrollton Office: 2340 E. Trinity Mills Suite 300 Carrollton, TX 75006 Corpus Christi Office: 3205 Rodd Field Rd. Corpus Christi, TX 78414 Dallas Office: 3131 McKinney Ave. Suite 600 Dallas, TX 75204 El Paso Office: 2300 George Dieter Drive El Paso, TX 79936 Fort Worth Office: 201 Main Street Suite 600 Fort Worth, TX 76102 Houston Office: 1700 Post Oak Boulevard, 2 BLVD. Place Suite 600 Houston, TX 77056 Midland Office: 6 Desta Drive Suite 4600 Midland, TX 79705 Plano Office: 6860 North Dallas Pkwy. Suite 200 Plano, TX 75024 Round Rock Office: 1000 Heritage Center Circle Round Rock, TX 78664 San Antonio Office: 18756 Stone Oak Parkway Suite 200 San Antonio, TX 78258
Temple Office: 319 South First Temple, TX 76504 Waco Office: 7215 Bosque Blvd. Suite 107 Waco, TX 76710 COLORADO Aurora Office: 3190 S. VaughnWay Suite 550 Aurora, CO 80014 Boulder Office: 1434 Spruce Street Suite 100 Boulder, CO 80302
KEEP YOUR NIGHT OF FRIGHT SAFE
With These Trick-or-Treating Safety Tips
If you think the greatest danger your child will face trick-or-treating this Halloween is candy that has been tampered with, you’re wrong. According to the National Safety Council, “Children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a vehicle and killed than any other day of the year.”
direction as traffic. Don’t let your kids dart out into the street, and, when you do have to cross the street, do so at corners and designated crosswalks. Trick-or-treating is a time for parents to be vigilant, so keep your cell phones in your pockets. If your older children are going out without you, they should always go with a group on a route that has been planned beforehand. Give them a curfew, and tell them to stay in well-lit areas and out of any unfamiliar houses or vehicles. DRIVING ON HALLOWEEN Parents and children can only do so much to stay safe on Halloween night. If you’re driving through residential areas or along any street children might use to get from house to house, extra caution is the name of the game. Anticipate lots of pedestrian traffic in residential areas between the times of 5:30–9:30 p.m. Take extra care when backing out of driveways, parking lots, or alleys, and take extra time to
Colorado Springs Office: 102 S. Tejon Street Suite 1100 Colorado Springs, CO 80903
While Halloween should absolutely be a time for kids to dress up, walk the neighborhood, and enjoy some sweet treats, parents should not ignore some of the very real dangers as they accompany their children. So, if you want to keep your little monsters safe on their prowl for chocolate and sugar, there are some ways you can make sure the night is scary for all the right reasons. PREPPING THEIR COSTUMES Halloween safety begins with preparing your child’s costume. For starters, you should help them make sure the costume fits properly to prevent any tripping. Try to avoid masks, as they can obstruct your child’s vision. Instead, try to use nontoxic face paint. If possible, incorporate bright colors into what your child will be wearing, but at least put reflective tape and stickers on their clothes and bags so that cars will see them along the road more clearly. Kids should also carry glow sticks or flashlights, so they can better see where they’re going. WALKING THE NEIGHBORHOOD Parents should always accompany younger children when they go trick-or-treating. Always keep your kids walking on the sidewalks or on the far side of the road, moving in the same
Denver Office: 600 17th Street Suite 2625S Denver, CO 80202
Fort Collins Office: 155 E. Boardwalk Drive Suite 455 Fort Collins, CO 80525 ARIZONA Phoenix Office: 4742 N. 24th Street Suite 300 Phoenix, AZ 85016 Tucson Office: 2 E. Congress Suite 900 Tucson, AZ 85701 NEWMEXICO Albuquerque Office: 6565 Americas Parkway, NE Suite 200 Albuquerque, NM 87110 Las Cruces Office: 1990 E. Lohman Avenue Las Cruces, NM 88001
look for trick-or-treaters. Keep distractions in your vehicle at a minimum, and always keep your eyes on the road — kids don’t always move predictably.
Trick-or-treating should be an evening of fun for kids all over the city, where the biggest danger they might face is a stomach ache the following morning. While the dangers are very real, they shouldn’t be a reason to worry about going out around their neighborhood in the evening. So long as parents, children, and drivers keep these safety tips in mind, every ghoul, cowboy, princess, and firefighter should get home without a fright.
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WHY IS OCTOBER NOT DECEMBER ? HOW THE 8TH MONTH BECAME THE 10TH MONTH
month seven, eight, nine, and ten. The calendar was based on lunar cycles, and, while it may have seemed like an accurate way to record a calendar year at the time, it left around 61 days of winter unaccounted for each year. Roman ruler Numa Pompilius, who supposedly succeeded Romulus as ruler of Rome, added the months we now know as January and February to the beginning of the calendar to account for that 61 days and to more accurately reflect the time it takes for the earth to revolve once around the sun. Through a rather convoluted process that accounted for the Romans’ abhorrence to even numbers — odd numbers were considered good luck to Ancient Romans — Pompilius came up with a calendar year that had 355 days. Eventually, the Romans moved to a calendar that was 365 days long and didn’t require an extra month every other year. However, despite all the changes, the month of October remained a steadfast part of the fall season, now as the 10th month.
Octopuses have eight tentacles. Octagons have eight sides. An octet is a group of eight people. October is the … 10th month of the year? All of these words are derived in part from the Latin word for the number eight, octo . So that means any word that starts with “oct,” “octo,” “octa,” or anything similar should have something to do with the number eight, right? This was once true for the month of October as well, but now the name of the month is a relic of humanity’s desire to record history and keep time. As the legend goes, the first ruler of Rome, Romulus, instituted a 10-month calendar that was about 304 days long. Whether this is true or not, the origin of the 10-month calendar probably came from the ancient Greeks. The last four months of the Greek’s 10-month year were called September, October, November, and December, meaning
In 1790, a school teacher named Ichabod Crane was riding home alone from a harvest festival in the village of Sleepy Hollow when he encountered a mysterious rider on horseback. Crane, horrified by the horseman’s missing head, turned and ran in the opposite direction. The Headless Horseman gave chase, hurling his own decapitated head at the terrified teacher. Ichabod Crane was never heard from again ... or so goes “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. This story, first published in 1820, has become a Halloween favorite. The legend is so beloved that in 1997, the village of North Tarrytown, New York, where many events of the story take place, officially changed its name to Sleepy Hollow. Today, the town becomes one big Halloween party during the month of October. Sleepy Hollow is home to many historic landmarks, including the Headless Horseman Bridge and the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where Washington Irving himself was laid to rest. Evening lantern tours of the cemetery are a popular attraction, and Irving isn’t the only spooky celebrity buried there. Fans of the Gothic soap opera HAYRIDES AND HEADLESS HORSEMEN Halloween Celebrations in Sleepy Hollow
“Dark Shadows” will be delighted to enter the crypt of famed vampire Barnabas Collins. Another highly anticipated stop for many guests is Sleepy Hollow’s premier annual attraction, Horseman’s Hollow, an experience not for the faint of heart. During the event, the 300-year-old Philipsburg Manor is transformed into a living nightmare, where vampires, witches, ghouls, and undead soldiers lurk in the shadows. They all serve the dreaded Headless Horseman and are determined to make sure guests don’t leave alive! But it’s not all scares in Sleepy Hollow. There’s plenty of Halloween fun for all ages. Sleepy Hollow boasts relaxing hayrides, tours of Irving’s home, live readings of famous Halloween stories, performances of a brand-new musical based on Irving’s spooky tale, and the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, an incredible exhibition of over 7,000 hand-carved pumpkins. If you want a real Halloween experience, you can’t go wrong in Sleepy Hollow. Just be careful not to lose your head!
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YOU’RE IN FOR A FRIGHT! If You Don’t Heed These Pumpkin Carving Safety Tips
Just because some parts of Halloween are scary doesn’t mean your pumpkin carving experience has to be. Every year at the end of October, people show up at the hospital with hand and finger injuries, and it’s not from the teeth of their new jack-o’- lanterns. If you and your family want these All Hallows’ Eve essentials on your porch for this year’s batch of trick-or- treaters to admire, here are a few safety tips to keep in mind.
All it takes is one slip of the finger, and any moisture can put your pumpkin carving hand out of commission until it’s time to carve the Thanksgiving turkey. You also need to clearly see what you’re carving, so make sure your space has proper lighting. DON’T LET KIDS CARVE Use your best judgment on the exact age to let your kids actually carve the pumpkin. But until then, there are still some fun ways to keep your youngest kiddos in on the Halloween fun. Let them pick out their pumpkins, and they can draw whatever pattern they want you to carve on its face with a marker. While you’re carving their design, make sure to model safe carving techniques, holding the pumpkin steady and cutting in small, controlled strokes. DON’T USE YOUR KITCHEN KNIVES Pumpkin carving kits, which contain small, serrated pumpkin saws, are specially designed for cutting into the rind of a pumpkin and minimizing the risk of injury. While a kitchen knife can get stuck and is sharp enough to cause some serious injuries, using a pumpkin saw will ensure that all your digits make it through the night of fright in one piece. Don’t let a fun night of showing off your artistic flare turn into a trip to the emergency room. Be smart when you’re carving this year’s jack-o’-lanterns so that the only things that scare you are their spooky expressions when you light them on the porch.
CARVE IN A DRY, WELL-LIT AREA Pumpkin carving tools that are still wet after they’ve been cleaned pose a danger for even the most experienced pumpkin carving veterans.
WORD SEARCH
This recipe from Momofuku Milk Bar chef and “Master Chef” judge Christina Tosi makes great use of those extra Halloween goodies. It’s a quick and easy way to both elevate and get rid of unwanted leftovers. LEFTOVER CANDY SNACK MIX
• 2 cups mini pretzels, coarsely broken ingredients
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar • 2 tbsp granulated sugar • 1/3 cup dry milk powder • 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted • 12 oz mini candy bars, such as Snickers, chopped into 1/2- inch pieces
instructions
Autumn Candy Carve Costume
Scarecrow Halloween October Orange
Pumpkin Football Harvest Leaves
1. Heat oven to 275 F. 2. In a large mixing bowl, fold together pretzels, sugars, milk powder, and butter. 3. Spread mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes. 4. Let cool for at least 30 minutes and mix in candy bar pieces before serving.
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8834 N. Capital of Texas Highway Suite 304 Austin, TX 78759
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inside this issue
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T rick - or -T reating S afety T ips
T he M onth of O ctober : A H istory
T he R eal L egend of S leepy H ollow
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P umpkin C arving S afety T ips
L eftover C andy S nack M ix
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A bout U s
ABOUT US
Zinda Law Group is a nationally recognized personal injury law firm that serves clients across Texas, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and throughout the United States. Our accident lawyers have extensive experience handling a wide range of personal injury claims, including car accidents, 18-wheeler wrecks, wrongful death, motorcycle accidents, dog bites and animal attacks, drunk driver crashes, and much more. Our firm is devoted to providing each client with all the resources of a large firm but with the individualized attention of a small practice. Unlike many other injury firms, we have the ability to conduct investigations, hire expert witnesses, and utilize cutting-edge technology to help you build the strongest case possible. The personal injury lawyers at Zinda Law Group can help you seek the full and fair recovery you deserve. With offices located in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona, Zinda Law Group has Nationwide reach.
Visit www.ZDFirm.com or call us at 888-314-6671 to schedule your free consultation today.
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