2A July 16, 2010 News THE COMMUNITY NEWS

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), also known as acid reflux disease, is a condition in which food or liquid travels from the stomach back up into the esophagus often causing heartburn and other symptoms.

Take the Acid Reflux QuizThe self-evaluation test below will help you determine if you have symptoms that need medical attention.

If you answer yes to one or more of these questions, you may have GERD. To know for sure, see your doctor. If you need a doctor, call 1.800.4BAYLORto request a referral to a gastroenterologist.

.Physicians are members of the medical staff at one of Baylor Health Care System’s subsidiary, community, or affiliated medical centers and are neither employees nor agents of those medical centers, Baylor All Saints Medical Center at Fort Worth, or Baylor Health Care System. Photographs may include

models or actors and may not represent actual patients. © 2010 Baylor Health Care System BASMCFW_647 575 CE 7.10

For a physician referral or more information about digestive services at Baylor Fort Worth, please call 1.800.4BAYLOR or visit us online at BaylorHealth.com/AllSaintsDigestive.

1400 Eighth Avenue, Fort Worth, Texas 76104

“Feel the Burn”should apply to workouts,

not your meals.

Do you frequently experience an uncomfortable feeling behind the breastbone that seems to be moving upward from the stomach?

Do you frequently experience a burning sensation in the back of your throat?

Do you frequently experience a bitter, acid taste in your mouth?

Do you often experience the above problems after your meals?

Do you experience heartburn or acid indigestion two or more times per week?

Do you find that antacids only provide temporary relief from your symptoms?

Are you taking prescription medication to treat heartburn but you are still experiencing symptoms?

This test is not a substitute for professional medical diagnosis and treatment management. If you have any concerns regarding your health, seek professional medical advice.

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Florally Speaking The Garden

J u n e 1 1 - 1 7 , 2 0 1 0 · w w w . c o m m u

TTHHEE CCOOMMMMUUNServing Eastern Parker County, Texas: Aledo

PROUD M! 370 diplomas awarded

at AHS graduation

By Christine Hurd

The Community News

On Monday, Aledo High School

held commencement for the 370 grad-

uating students of the Class of 2010

at TCU’s Daniel Meyer Coliseum.

Valedictorian Mudrekh Goderya,

who will attend University of Texas-

Dallas, looked to the future and gave

his address over persistence being the

precursor to success. Drawing from

Greek mythology, such as the stories of

Icarus and Atlantis, Goderya implored

the Class to “remain confi dent and

steadfast in whatever you do.”

Goderya is excited to begin life

after high school, although he knows

the Class of 2010 has left behind

childhood.“This is really the moment when

we change from simple, dependent

children to complex, independent

adults with more stress, less time,

and more responsibility.”

He says he will look fondly back

on his time at Aledo High School.

“School, academics, athletics, I’ll

remember it all,” he said.

Salutatorian Zach Zambreski,

who will attend Duke University,

looked to the past and appreciated

those who had helped him succeed.

“Don’t miss the opportunity to

acknowledge [your parents] and t iven

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! Local resident living his dream of Texas music stardomBy Dominic GenettiThe Community News

Inside the hot and humid bar, patrons swig from beer bottles and eat dinner just as the man with the long milk-chocolate hair in the raffi a cowboy hat and pearl-button down blue shirt takes the stage.

“Hello everybody,” he says with the microphone pressed against his lips. “How do?”

A couple of adjustments on the soundboard and Randy Brown begins to play his song, “Ophelia.” The acoustic sounds of his guitar blare from the speakers and fi ll the evening air.

There’s not a huge crowd, no screaming fans are begging for an autograph from the Fort Worth native, but when the crowd applauds at song’s completion or claps along to the beat of the music, Brown is living his dream.

He got his fi rst guitar at the age of 13 and from then on, his dreams of becoming a Texas country music singer grew.

“I was just surrounded by it all the time,” Brown, 37, who now resides in Aledo, said. “My parents always had Hee Haw on TV.”

Learning to strum the strings of his newly acquired instrument was a slight obstacle. The introduc-tion to Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman” was the fi rst piece he mas-tered, and his aspirations took fl ight when he got to hang out backstage at a Willie Nelson concert and play the Redheaded Stranger’s guitar.

“This is what I wanna do right here, this is cool,” the then 16-year-old Brown said to himself. “That was really a big turning point for me.

“From that minute on, I went home and I started singing and I

ORGANIC COUNTRY

started doing country music.”He eventually earned a degree

from the University of Texas at Arlington in business management and started a career in fi nancing where he met his wife Melissa. Brown credits his talent with the guitar that won his wife over.

She tells a different story.“Between his personality and the

fact that he was an intelligent person and then he can pick the guitar and sing and entertain people, it amazed me,” said Melissa Brown, who is also Randy’s manger, Web site operator, and booking agent. “When I fi nally heard him sing, it brought it to a whole new level.”

But a career in the real world didn’t stop the young musician.

Randy continued to write songs and perform part-time. He even started his own independent music label and began recording his own tunes.

“When we do studio albums, I try to put in more songs I wrote, or my friends wrote, or songs that really mean something to me,” Randy said. “I always had that passion for that older stuff, that’s what I liked.

“When the traditionalist came back out, the Dwight Yoakams the Ricky Skaggses, the George Straits, I was all for that, and I still am to this day.”

Putting words to music and writ-ing new songs can propose a chal-lenge from time to time though.

“He is his biggest critic and he doesn’t let anyone really know that,” Melissa said. “He was always very good at (performing and writing) but as he grows and he’s exposed to the amazing musicians he gets to be around, he realizes that he does have a lot to offer and he’s not justa hack.”

Call it instinct. Call it something that just can’t be explained. But when Randy Brown knows he’s establisheda good product, he knows it’s going to be a success.

“I write a ton of songs and I justthrow them aside, don’t even look at it,” he said. “But when I write onethat I really believe in, it really takes wings and it goes in the show imme-diately and we start playing it and it’s going on my albums.”

Entertainment is the number one priority when he takes each stage whether it be the small spotlight of Railhead Smokehouse and Barbeque in Willow Park or the grand honkeytonk of Billy Bob’s Texas in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

At the end of the day, Randy said he wants to make sure everyone enjoyed the show.

“If they’re not having a good time, then I need to change something about what I’m doing,” he said.

“I have no grand scheme thatpeople are going to go home and go, ‘That Randy Brown was the best gui-tar player, (or) the best singer I ever heard,’ that will never happen.

“I want people to go home and say that was really fun, that wasreally a fun deal.”

DOMINIC GENETTI/THE COMMUNITY NEWS

Texas country singer Randy Brown performs at the Tumbleweed Barbeque restaurant in Cresson May 8. Brown was raised in Fort Worth and now resides in Aledo. Throughout his career, Brown has performed at several area venues including Billy Bob’s Texas in the Fort Worth Stockyards.