Living Well - March 2014

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22 MARCH 2014

L I V I N G W E L L

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Baking Soda Has Many Uses

Hello again. I hope you are ready for

this column, because I am about to

drop some revelatory Dear Heloise Steph

stuff on you. Its no secret Im all about

clean food. But food isnt the only thing

we are constantly exposed to that con-

tains not-so-great ingredients.

Have a look at the back of your house-hold cleaners even the greenest,

most natural ones have chemical in-

gredients. What is all that stuff? Mind in-

haling those vapors, or your kids and pets

crawling all over it on household surfac-

es? I do.

We are marketed so many unneces-

sary products when we have very af-

fordable, extremely effective cleaning

materials right in our kitchens. For me,this discovery started with the back of

a box of baking soda, and now most of

my household cleaning is done with just

these two products:

nDistilled white vinegar ($2.50 per

gallon)

nBaking soda (60 cents per box)

Heres how it happened: I noticed

a message on my box of baking soda.

Hundreds of uses, it read. I began in-

nocently with laundry. A load that had

made it through a wash cycle, only to be

forgotten for a day, was frumpily frown-

ing at me from the machine. Musty!

I placed the damp pile in the dryer,

sprinkled a little baking soda directly

on top, and started her up. It worked! Itworked! The must was gone; no trace of

baking soda on the clothes.

When I posted about this on Face-

book, other skeptics expressed joy at

a possible solution to a common laun-

dry annoyance and all reported back, It

works! It works!

Not only does this baking-soda solu-

tion save water and energy by eliminat-

ing a second wash, the amount of baking

soda used costs about .04 cents. Sold!

But I didnt stop there. I now use bak-

ing soda for lots of things: scrubbing

dishes (a fine, gentle scrub), scouring the

bathtub, sprinkling on rugs before vacu-

uming or on top of pet stains to eliminate

odor and stain. I even use it as a shampoo

and face wash sometimes.

Around the same time, when googling

ideas to freshen up a trash can, white vin-

egar entered my scene. I had a gallon un-

der the sink and an almost-empty spray

cleaner. I dumped the cleaner and filledthe spray bottle with a one-to-one mix of

vinegar to filtered water. That trash can

was freshened!

Then I took my new, two-ingredient

cleaner to all my surfaces porcelain

mirrors, floors, kitchen, bathroom, toug

cooking stains on bakeware. And what a

amazing cleaner it is. No streaking. Vin

egar smell dissipates quickly. Its basica

ly a very mild, natural acid. Gentle, effec

tive, and DIRT CHEAP. Why had I bee

buying chemicals to spread throughou

my living spaces my whole life?

After this change, the couple of na

ural cleaners I had in the house didn

smell so fresh, and my thinking ha

changed if I wipe something dow

with a chemical, is it really clean? Givthese alternatives a try!

Read more of Stephanies helpfu

hints at frugalfoodiedallas.com.

S T E P H A N I E C A S E Y

White vinegar and baking soda are safe, inexpensive cleaners. JEAN-PAUL CHASSENE


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MARCH 2014 23

By Todd Jorgenson

Although his 90-year-old legs donthave the rhythm or the dexterity they

once did, Buster Cooper cant help him-

self.

He still teaches adult tap dance class-

es twice a week at Preston Center Dance,

and Cooper isnt content to sit back and

watch. He would rather lead by example.

Lets try it with music, Cooper

says before motioning toward one of

his students in charge of the CD player.

Change it to No. 14 this time.

He has heard No. 14 countless times

before, yet once the upbeat piano num-

ber starts, Coopers feet start moving,

and he works up a sweat alongside his

pupils.

Lets see if I can stay in time, he saysto about a dozen students, some of which

are less than half his age. The soft-spo-

ken Cooper commands the room with a

voice that is raspy yet authoritative, bare-

ly pausing for rest between one routine

and the next.

The lesson teaches not only the finer

points of tap dance, but also conveys a

continuing passion for the art form that

has led to Cooper teaching dance in some

capacity for 75 years.

He has taught so many people over

the years. He just keeps going, said Car-

ol Pearson, who has been taking Coopers

classes for 15 years. He does an excel-

lent job.

Cooper is an Arkansas native who wasintroduced to dance as a small child. A

nursemaid taught him the Charleston

and the Black Bottom, then took him to

the market or the town square for an im-

promptu public performance, where she

would pass the hat for donations.

Then my mother would find out

about it, and she put a stop to it, Coo-

per said.

Still, Cooper was hooked. He began

taking dance classes and even began

teaching others as a teenager. He wound

up performing as a tumbler and an acro-

bat, and as part of various nightclub acts.

But his skills as a performer often

took a backseat to his abilities as an in-

structor and choreographer with every

major dance organization in the coun-

try. His roster of famous students in-

cludes Tommy Tune, Sandy Duncan, and

Nanette Fabray. At one point during the

1970s, six of his students were perform-

ing on Broadway.

Cooper moved to Dallas in 1952, when

he was hired to choreograph an opera

at Hockaday. He taught there for many

years and has been based in the area ever

since.

Then there are his shoes, which Coo-

per has worn for decades. They have au-

thentic wooden heels which arent

made anymore and are customized

to fit his wide feet. Whenever he has a

problem with them, Cooper sends th

shoes to Chicago for repairs.

Theyre still tapping along with Coo

per, whose 90th birthday festivities la

summer included a gala celebration a

Fair Park Music Hall. He has no plans t

give up dancing as long as his body a

lows it.

Its his creative outlet. It keeps h

mind sharp, said his daughter, Les

lie Cooper. He just lives and breathe

dance. He makes it fun.

Email todd.jorgenson@

peoplenewspapers.co

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As His Toes Keep Tapping, Buster Cooper Will Keep Teaching

Buster Cooper, 90, still teaches adult tap dance classes twice each week at Preston Center Dance. CHRIS MCGATHEY

IT KEEPS H IS MIND

SHARP.

LESLIE COOPER


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Living Well - March 2014