I haven’t actually read a Reader’s Digest for quite some time now, probably in years, but when I had a subscription,  it was a good day each month when it arrived. One of the first articles I would immediately search for and read was “Most Unforgettable Person I’ve Known”.   Over the years I have met many people that I felt should have an article in Reader’s Digest written about them and I am still meeting more, especially being here in The Villages.  I’m not sure that Reader’s Digest still writes those articles, but if they do I have an unforgettable person I would like to tell them about.  Betty Eich.  Betty and I are fellow members of the Bookworm Book Club and being a relatively new member I remember my first impression of Betty.  It was the month we read Molokai and to celebrate the book we had a luncheon meeting with all the Hawaiian trimmings.  We even had Hawaiian dancers to entertain us.   After the meeting and before lunch,  it was announced to come to the front of the room for a group picture.  I looked around the room and groaned to myself as there were about 60 of us, and in the past having  to organize group pictures of sales associates it was always a tedious job to get everyone in;  whose tall, whose short, who doesn’t want to be seen, who wants to be seen, who wants to sit, who wants to stand, and  who are the unlucky ones that are asked to get down on the floor in front.  Betty stepped forward as the photographer and she placed us in a matter of seconds.  She would check the camera, move us around a bit, and after just a few checks she set the camera to take the picture,  she stepped into the picture,  sat on the floor with the other unlucky ones,  and the picture was taken.   I was surprised how effortlessly Betty placed us and how quickly,  this normally tedious task,  was accomplished.  As I attended more meetings I got to enjoy Betty’s input regarding our current book selection, that when it was announced that she was going to be facilitating a poetry workshop,  I immediately wrote the date in my calendar.    I enjoy poetry, but I am not a student of poetry, and by that I mean I know very little other than the poems I like rhyme  every other line.  But I figured it would be good if Betty had anything to do with.  And it was more than good, it was excellent and by the end of the workshop, everyone was excited about poetry.  Her enthusiasm for the poems were contagious and she had you really thinking about what the poet might have been trying to convey.  She had a second workshop which was even better, and she is having two in the Fall, which I plan on attending.  There are many art shows in The Villages, and I always try to stop by them as it just bowls me over as to the talent  of some of the residents.  I happened to see a Photography show advertised in the paper, and decided to run through it, as there are some fantastic photographer’s.  I came around the corner and there was Betty with a display of photographa  she had taken, many of scenes around the Villages.    They were beautiful, and one thing that Betty has done is she will mount any picture on canvas, so it almost looks like an oil painting.  She now has her pictures on the fine art america site which you can take a look at.   betty-eich.fineartamerica.com is her web address.  I know these attributes make Betty special, but why unforgettable?  Well she also, along with her siblings have written a book..”Growing Up In Mom’s Kitchen”.   It is a delightful book of family memories, many of which we all have and can identify with.   Being young in the 40’s and 50’s gives us a different perspective on life, and Betty stirs  memories with her own family reminescents.  There are many good recipes,  and while reading her book I turned the page and there was the recipe for my all time favorite dessert…prune whip.  That was a special dessert that I had forgotten  all about.  Thanks Betty for sharing so many good things with us:  your knowledge of poetry,  showing us our world through your camera lense,  arousing not only our taste buds but  stirring fond memories in all of us.   You are unforgettable.

For the window washer. Why is it we clean before the cleaners come, we vacuum good before the carpets get cleaned, and we make sure the tracks and the windowsills are cleaned for the window washer. Sometimes the amount of work we put into getting ready is the tough part, we might as well go ahead and just clean. Anyway, the window washer is coming at 11:00am today, and the windows are looking pretty good for him. I consider myself a so-so housekeeper. I feel very guilty when I hear what some people go through, or what they do, to keep their houses immaculate, but  then on the other hand, I can be condescending to those who are not good housekeepers. I think that rationale puts me in the middle, not so good not so bad. If you come into my home it looks pretty good, but you won’t have to look too hard for dust, and then there are those homes that are not as neat, but when you look, underneath they are scrubbed to a nubbin. There are no germs lurking anywhere. I’ve been preparing for the window washer for a few days. I ask myself, why…why so long. Well, take yesterday, I decided to thouroughly dust the bookcase and all the books on it.  (The bookcase has a window next to it.)  I came across a section of 15 Artist magazines I had forgotten all about. Seeing as I have been taking art lessons, and am looking forward to more in the fall, I started reading them. Now, I discover an artist supply ad which looks interesting, and just happens to have a web address, so I go to the computer, and it actually gets much worse. There are many artist supply websites to browse.   I finally get back to the bookcase and the next shelf up has all my diet books from the fall of man. Diet books have pictures, and what better to do then look at all those delicious calorie free meals.  Makes a person hungry, so off to the kitchen for something to eat.    When Sean gets in and asks me what I’ve been doing, I say  I’ve been cleaning all day.   I should really have admitted  to a productive day of  procrastination.   Anyway Sean and I will enjoy sparkly windows this afternoon, in spite of my procrastinating and having to finish my window preparation at 6:00 am this morning.  When we were working it never bothered me to have someone come in and do all the household chores, however being retired I sometimes feel guilty, as I have all the time in the world but still have people come and do some things for me.  Some things don’t change though…as the men no longer want to do outdoor work, there are those of us who don’t want to do indoor work.  The prices are so reasonable, especially coming from the New York Metropolitan area, that it makes no sense to burden ourselves with those chores.  Harold Schwartz said it all in some of the earliest ads…”Live like a millionaire on a retirement budget.” And I am.

I don’t know where it came from, but the other day at Water Aerobics, someone exercising behind me was explaining the moves to a newcomer. Someone next to me asked what’s that noise, as it sounded more like an echo rather then someone actually speaking. It just came out…it’s coming from the peanut gallery. I surprised myself and started thinking, that expression was used a lot when I was young, and it sometimes was used lovingly but other times could be a negative comment. I picked up a magazine that same day, and there in front of me was an article,  and in it the comment, ” noise from the peanut gallery”.   I remembered somehow that Howdy Doody was involved in the phrase but not sure how.  Also, my memory does tricks on me and it could have had nothing to do at all with Howdy Doody.  Off I went to Google, to get the low down.   It is a vaudeville term from the late 19th Century Theatres.  The seating was Orchestra, Balcony or Gallery, with the gallery being the cheap seats.  Patrons in the gallery would show their displeasure with onstage performers by pelting them with peanut shells… my memory of it being negative,  then in the 1950’s Buffalo Bob Smith dubbed the kid audience of the Howdy Doody Show – The Peanut Gallery. Local live TV kids shows adopted the  term to identify the children who sat in live TV audiences.  Hence, the loving memory.  And also hence, we are the 1950’s  audience,  all grown up  and still  attending  live performances at the Savannah Center, Church on the Square, the Recreation Centers or Katie Belles. All the seats are gallery seats;  in other words no cost at all  or not very  expensive, (cheap).  We loved those live performances then, and we love them now, and we don’t throw peanuts.

Every once in awhile some one will tell you a very amazing story about connecting with long lost friends, or relatives in The Villages. One such story was a friend of ours went to play cards one night at one of the Recreation Centers. He sat down and introductions were made and then the inevitable question, “where are you from?” Turns out they were from the same town on Long Island, went to the same schools, lived two blocks away, and the one actually knew the others’ sister very well. It turns out that the others’ sister lives in The Villages and of course they enjoyed a get together a few weeks later. My story is not quite as amazing as that, but almost. I’ve written in the past about my good friend Kathy Porter. Kathy is not only a neighbor across the Pontono, but I enjoy other activities with her. Today we were going to a neighborhood luncheon (Polly’s Pantry in Wildwood, really good) and we got talking about “where are you from?”. I knew she was from Staten Island, but she was unaware I was from New Jersey. Kathy was talking about jobs she had in NJ, and she said she also came to NJ to square dance. Here’s the story. I told her I had square danced in the late 70’s. She asked me what was the name of the club I belonged to and even after 35 years, I said the West Milford Flutterwheels. Kathy exclaimed..we danced with the Flutterwheels. Turns out she was familiar with our club, and asked me if I remember the Newsletter..either the Four Square or Square Four, not sure which, but I did remember having it. Turns out Kathy wrote it. Imagine 35 or 40 years ago I was reading articles written by my good friend and present neighbor.  To think we were do-si-doing then,  and we are  do-si-doing (in other activities)  now.   I think that is something to really flutter about.

Many years ago I was at a Seminar for Realtors and the guest speaker was Alan Dalton. In my opinion, he was a Marketing guru and any time I had the opportunity to hear him speak, I would arrive early to get a front row seat. I never wanted to miss a word, and sometimes that was hard,as Alan could talk in circles and use unfamiliar words and in some cases non-words. I think he did this to see if his audiences were paying attention. When we all looked totally confused, and he knew we were listening, he would say something very profound that would make us sit up and listen. One such time, when we were looking especially puzzled, he said…some times I become very worried about the real estate sales person because when I go to a cocktail party, or a gathering where people are talking about what they do, if they say they are in any type of sales, people will usually steer clear of them unless they are in immediate need of their services such as insurance or a phone etc., but if they say they are in real estate people run towards them, they stand in line to talk to them. That could mean one of two things…we are so timid and laid back that we don’t threaten them as sales people,(which is not good, after all that is what we are suppose to be doing) or it could mean that everyone wants what we have, and that is information. He concluded that he felt it was the second reason and proceeded with his speech regarding the role information plays in the success of an agent. With that thought in mind and knowing my real estate background, you are probably anxious to hear what I have to say. Here’s some real estate information you might find interesting. Properties of The Villages reported 3,669 homes sold this past year, of which 1398 were pre-owned homes. That means not quite half the homes sold were pre-owned. So far the first quarter of this year there have been 862 new homes sold and 545 pre-owned homes sold.   South of Rt.#466A they have already sold 585 homes, there are 224 under construction and 489 home sites are already reserved. As of last Wednesday night only 208 new homes are available north of Rt#466A. At the rate the homes are being reserved, built and sold it won’t be long until there will only be pre-owned homes to sell, and it is my personal opinion, that our home values will escalate considerably, as I’m sure you will agree, there is no other place like the Villages anywhere.  I hope I did Alan proud with my statistical knowledge, and you are left thinking two things…what a great investment I have,  and  there’s a  recession, where?  Not here, that’s for sure.

Last night,  when our Developer  Mark Morse got up in front of a packed house at the Savannah Center, he did not come to dazzle us with song and dance, rather he did something much better, he wowed us with new statistics regarding our community and what it means to many.  In his annual address to the VHA members,  he spoke humbly of being part of a dynamic team-you as residents, us as the developers.  Constructively, collaboratively – we are The Villages.  And we are, and I think that is what makes us different, and let’s never change that.  I sat in the next to the last row in the Balcony, (and I had gone immediately the day after the announcement of ticket availability, and there were just a few seats left) and as the Villagers started arriving the room was electric.  It was fun to sit and observe and it struck me how upbeat and happy everyone was, not like many of the town meetings I had attended in my previous home.  No grumpy faces, no crossed arms, no posturing for battle.  There are many statistics I will include in future blogs, but I want to leave this blog today on a very appropriate note for most of us.  At the end of  Mark Morse’s address,  he and his sister Tracy introduced several of their children and their spouses.  These young members are a symbol of our future.  Our children, our heir’s.  I’m hoping that part of my legacy will be that my children will get the same enjoyment out of the Villages as I do…that they will be a part of a future team that will continue to ensure that this remains the  Friendliest- Healthiest and most  Unique hometown.

Have received the Audubon International’s Silver Certified Sanctuary Designation in The Villages. I ran across this statement recently and thought it would be interesting to find out what exactly that meant. When looking into it I found that roughly 12 years ago The Villages endorsed the Audubon International’s Silver Certified Sanctuary designation and since that time, 315 holes of golf have been built and certified making The Villages the world leader in this comprehensive environmental program that promotes cooperation between development and sustainability practices that enhance landscapes and improve water quality. Based on program requirements, this plan addresses a wide variety of planning events such as watershed drainage, wildlife protection areas, special management zones for habitat, pesticide selections, fertilizer/nutrient recommendations, and water quality considerations. Whew, that’s a lot of things. As The Villages develops it always seems so easy, one day it is barren land, the next day houses, lawns and trees are in place, recreation centers, pools and golf courses spring up over night, and look like they have been there forever. As I said, it looks so easy…but when I read an article such as this, it reminds me of the amount of thought and planning that goes into everything that happens here and that quality planning is what makes it look easy. We call ourselves the Friendliest Hometown and I think that the 32 varieties of birds, including protected American Bald Eagles, Southeastern Kestrels and Burrowning Owls will thank the Audubon Society and agree that The Villages is a very thoughtful and friendly environment to reside in, even though they don’t play golf.

I’m happy, my computer is up and running again.  That wasn’t too bad…took it to MMD Computers one day and got it back the next.  When the technician called regarding the problems, he enthusiastically told me  my hard drive was good.  By the tone of his voice, I figured I was really lucky and breathed a sigh of relief, not sure what for,  but felt a sigh would be the appropriate reaction.    Actually had it been a  bad hard drive my sigh probably would have been a lot deeper, only because any sentence with bad in it is not good.  Your hard drive is bad, ugh.. I have bad news, oh no… your brakes are bad, so soon… your dog was bad, again… your boys were bad, not mine…so you see,  good is good.  I found it amazing how much a part of my life the computer is.  I caught myself many times going to the empty space on my desk, and feeling lost.  Now what do I do?  I did go  to Ken and Lory’s and used their computer for a little bit.   Not having a computer is like not having the car for a day.  You think of all the places you should go, or could go.  Well, I had a car and Lory and I decided to do some shopping and wound up in the wrong shopping center.  So many shopping centers it is easy to get confused.  However it was meant to be.  I think we both saw it at the same time,  “The Original Brooklyn Water Bagels”.   Brooklyn Bagels!!!  You have to be from the Northeast Metropolitan area to realize what it is like to move south, where the bagels and  breads are different.   They are  good, but not the same.  It has always been said that the water is different and that is the reason.   Well like any problem you have in the Villages,  it is solved.  Brooklyn water is available, not only for bagels and muffins, they even sell bottled water.     We made a beeline into the store and were not disappointed…if you closed your eyes you would have sworn you were in Brooklyn,  and if you closed them real tight you might even think you saw the Brooklyn Bridge.  They sell bagels and muffins, but the menu of bagel sandwiches was the highlight for us.  Although it was lunch time and the place was hopping, we were really surprised that they said they had been open for eight months.  We couldn’t even call this a best kept secret because it was so busy.  I have to thank a wrong turn and a sick computer for our find, and it just goes to say, once again, there is always something to be happy about.

I’m sorry that I am unable to write my blog, as the computer needs a little help. It is so frustrating that we can’t figure things out and hoping that the problems will be easy to correct. I should get it back in a few days so stay tuned, nothing happened to me just the computer.