Statistics is an all encompassing word.  It just doesn’t seem like something I might want or need to know,  maybe because  it sometimes is referred to as the cold hard facts, or another way to say the low down. A statistic proves something, could be good or could be not so good.  Do we need, or want to hear the cold hard facts? Could we be too young to understand the low down, or too old to care? If a statistic were a person, I think he or she would be a bully.  See, I told you so.   Perhaps I should not be so harsh and judgemental, as there are also some good statistics. I bet you’re thinking, oh here it comes. What’s a good statistic? I just knew you wanted to know. A good statistic is that The Villages has between 1800 to 2000 activities. How could that be? I look in the Recreation News each week, and I check what is going on at the different Recreation Centers, I hop back and forth from page to page, sometimes spending just minutes, other times much longer. It’s like looking something up in the phone book, have you ever felt the guilt of reading the phone book? On more than one occasion I have been ashamed of myself for spending a half an hour or longer just reading the phone book. (The Village phone book is gooood) Back to the activity statistic. My research shows there are not actually 2000 activities, there may be one activity with many different groups, categorized as beginner to advanced.  A level for every ability. Besides level, for convenience, we have duplicate activities going on at a Recreation Center in  your neighborhood. Also convenience of day and time. Wouldn’t you think we would all be slim and trim, with 17 Walk Away The Pounds groups, 81 Excercise groups, 51 Dance clubs plus 37 Line Dance clubs, and how about 16 Clogging clubs and many more Zumba clubs. Well there is another side to this statistic, there are 52 Bridge groups, 94 Card groups not counting Pinocle and Hand & Foot clubs, 35 Mah-jongg clubs, plus Art groups, Book clubs and Writing clubs. In being a part of a club we are all exercising some part of our body…however some forms of exercise burn more calories than others. There are some clubs that I’m not sure what they do, like the Aqua Nuts Social..do you stand in the water, while eating nuts and socializing? or the Dipper Loopers? 26ers Club, don’t we have to be 55 or older? How bout the Banjolele, I know exactly what I have to bring to that club. You would think you would be overwhelmed by so many things to do, but believe it or  not you do not get overwhelmed.  There is something for everyone, no matter what speed you are at.  You want large, you want small, you want beginner, you want advanced, how about expert? I agree the Villages seems very large, but when you live here you realize how very small and friendly a place it is to live, and how easy it is made for us.   For our convenience  all the activities are  listed in alphabetical order for us.   Just go to www.districtgov.org, click on Department at top, click on Recreation, on Quick Links  click on Resident Lifestyle Volunteer Information,  (no you don’t have to volunteer) click on Club Contacts, and there you have it.  For reading purposes, this just might replace the phone book.