…May 8^th and that is tonight. It is the yearly Villages Homeowner’s Association meeting where the Developer is the guest speaker and will update the residents on past and future happenings in The Villages.  It is fun to hear the statistics of growth, which are always staggering and to hear what we can expect in the future.  It is at a time like tonight that I wish I knew shorthand as I like to bring you all the good stuff I’m going to hear tonight.  However, I’ll try but what I miss I believe will be in the Daily Sun tomorrow and then the speech will be televised on The Village channel on Saturday. I find the history of The Villages and the Morse family fascinating, I am a great admirer of what they have achieved here. If you would like to hear from the three siblings, Mark, Tracy and Jennifer speak about their early years in Michigan and then eventually moving to Florida, and working at the restaurants waiting on tables and washing dishes, I suggest you go to www.youtube.com and type in Building of Brownwood – Episode 10 and Episode 11.  We have been the lucky recipients of their parents dream and the work ethics, the hard work, the risks taken, and determination they all share, to give us such an enriched retirement.  I am in awe of all they have accomplished and I thank them profusely. Looking forward to see what we’ll hear tonight.

…means I can’t always get my hands on the computer.  There is a new normal in our house and it’s called Sean.  If you are  wondering why I am not writing my blog as much, or not calling or seeing my friends as often, it is because of his recent retirement.  Actually he will be going back to work in four or five months when Tierra Del Sol’s golf course will again be open, however in the meantime both of our routines have been disrupted.  It’s amazing how easily that happens.  We don’t think of ourselves as such creatures of habit but boy we are, throw us off for 30 minutes and our whole day is upside down.  Sean is an Ambassador on the golf course at Tierra and works three 1/2 days a week.  The course will be temporarily closed for several months for maintenance purposes.  You’d think he would like the break but honestly he really enjoys being on the course whether playing or working as he loves being with the people, whether playing or working.   He does have a project going on in the garage that keeps him busy most of the day, and I think he loves when I go out as it gives him some alone time. He is always telling me to go shopping, or swimming, or out with my friends. You are probably wondering what could be the problem?  The problem is he would be up and out by 6 or 6:30 am six mornings a week, just about the time I am getting up.  I am a morning person, I do my writing in the morning and anything that needs my full attention. I am used to the quietness of the morning and I love it.  If I’m trying to do something  I am very easily distracted, even hearing noise from the TV in the next room or a call for help – what’s an eleven letter word for opinion? Years ago if I was distracted or interrupted when doing something, as soon as I was done I could go right back and complete the job.  Now if I am interrupted I forget what I was doing and I’m off doing something entirely different. It may be hours before going back to the original task at hand, and if it is not morning that is a problem. However with all that said I do love having him around and I  do enjoy sitting and having coffee, reading the paper and helping with the crossword puzzle, and I’m quite sure that when Tierra opens up again, I will miss him dearly and have to get used to the old normal once again.

…but something even better, Polo in The Villages.  Polo is a seasonal phenomena, much like snowbirds the players travel from all over the country and even the world to participate in our spring and fall seasons.  The Polo Club recently celebrated their 15th Year Anniversary calling it their best year ever!  They had more teams and more matches than ever with 30,000 dedicated fans and a Booster Club with over 1000 members.  I’ve attended a few Polo matches but unlike baseball and football I don’t understand the rules and therefore not sure who to cheer for or as far as that goes, when even to cheer.   It still was enjoyable as it is very exciting to see the horses with their riders running full tilt down the field and stopping almost on a dime, to race back just as fast in the other direction.  However  when I wanted to write about Polo I spent some time researching it and I am going to start being one of those enthusiastic fans.  I learned some fascinating things:  Horses used in Polo are referred to as ‘ponies’ but they are full grown horses – usually thoroughbreds because of their speed, endurance and intelligence.  I can understand they need speed as the ball travels 100 miles an hour after being hit by the side of the mallet, they do not hit the ball like you would in croquet on the front.  100 miles an hour!  The size of a Polo field is: four City blocks or nine football fields or 32 Olympic size pools or 720 tractor trailers end to end. And The Villages has two fields, that is certainly something to be proud of.  It takes 15 tons of sand to repair divots after one game on a field and if you were going to mow it with a standard push mower you would have to walk 55 miles.  They have a very active Booster Club and something more than that, that is not normal for Polo Clubs, is they have cheerleaders.  In order to be one you must be 55+ and backflips and pyramids are not part of any routine.  I had a hard time doing them in my heyday, can’t imagine trying to do them now.  It is not a normal occurrence to have cheerleaders so attendees from other clubs are very surprised when they come to The Villages.  Even the players that come for the first time,  are overwhelmed by the amount of fans in attendance and their unbridled enthusiasm.  The fans tailgate from their golf carts before the matches and that is another unbridled habit we all enjoy…eating and after stomping out divots in between matches the Boosters enjoy a glass of champagne, another enjoyable habit.  I highly recommend you go to the following websites and read more about the sport.  I’m sure it will peek your curiousity and maybe become an avid fan too.  The Booster Club gives classes so that you can be knowledgeable…Polo 101, 102, etc…what a great opportunity to really learn.  If you go to www.thevillagespoloclub.com you can read all about it and also you can navigate at the top menu to The Booster Club and on the left side menu to The Villages Polo Magazine. Enjoy and tally-ho.  Oh wait, I don’t think they say that for polo, just fox hunting….anyway, there’s two matches today, one at 12 noon and one at 2:00 pm, open to Villagers and general public.    Hurry.

…looks like this.   A few weeks ago I received a card in the mail wishing me a Happy Birthday and a gift of a free oil change.  I had to make the appointment the month of my birthday, so I did.  April 30th I drove into Jenkins Hyundai in Leesburg to get my gift, and as I sat down I knew maybe they would come back and tell me something else had to be done, but I said to myself, I am here only for an oil change.  I settled into my chair with about 10 other people, and proceeded to pull out my kindle and start reading.   All of a sudden I’m aware of someone sitting next to me and leaning towards me and when I turned towards him I realized it was Johnny Ingram, my favorite salesman.  When I had walked in I had told myself not to spend a dime as I was there only for my free service.  I had not told myself not to talk to Johnny, especially on the last day of the month.   We spent some time catching up and then started discussing my car.  What I liked about it, what I didn’t.  The next thing I know is Johnny wanted to show me something and I followed.  The rest is history.  I left four hours later with this Metallic Blue Hyundai Azera. I love it and the guilt is wearing off already.  You may think I made a very fast decision, or that Johnny really put a lot of pressure on me, but neither is true.  I had been thinking about doing something next year about my car, I just made the decision a year early and as far as pressure from Johnny there was none.  As a good salesman should, he listened to my concerns, he solved my problems and he gave me options. This is the third car I have bought from Jenkins, and would not go elsewhere as I have had great service from them and am happy with the Hyundai product.   If you want personal service I highly recommend Johnny and even if you just have a question you can call him on his cell phone at 407-928-6987 and  he will be more than happy to help you.  Good luck with your new car.

…atrocious, which means extremely bad, which it is when your A key falls off.  When it first happened I was able to snap it back on and go on about my business, then it happened again and again and became really annoying.  I then started typing without it, as I am doing right now, and that works as long as I don’t think about it, but if I do then I can’t position my hand properly and wind up with words that are not words.  Yesterday I had a real hard time concentrating on what I was typing as I kept thinking about the missing key, and by the end of the day my little finger was really sore from  hitting the little knob that is the A.  I wished that it was the Q or the X or Z key, as I know for sure I would not miss them at all, and I would tell myself that the lack of them gave character to my computer.  I don’t know why it happened, other than you probably use the A key more than any other one, except maybe the E.  I’m hoping computer keys are not like teeth, and as they get older they start falling out.  It could get to be an expensive proposition as I have many more computer keys than I do teeth.   However, unlike our teeth, we can replace the entire computer with its’ 100+ keys for a lot less than replacing all our teeth.  Well, it is off to MMD Computer Center, hopefully for a quick fix and will be back soon.

 …Special Speakers Series recently presented The Three Mrs. Flaglers, who were the three wives of Henry Flagler, the Industrialist who developed Florida.  His story is quite fascinating and it has been said that no other individual has had a greater or more lasting impact on a State than he has had on Florida through the building of transportation infrastructure and the railroad, tourism along the entire east coast of Florida to Key West, and the agricultural industries through land development. He was one of the wealthiest men in the world who had captivating wives; a very loyal wife, a very flamboyant wife and the a very vivacious wife.  Dianne Jacoby  from St. Augustine portrayed all three wives, each one dressed in the luxurious fashion of the day as they tell their own unique stories.    I will say no more, just if it is offered again I would highly recommend it. I’m mentioning this because this Saturday The Lifelong Learning College will be holding an Open House at the College from 9am to 1pm, where you will get to meet over 60 Instructors and where over 100 of the 480 classes will be showcased.  Besides being able to meet the instructors and finding out more about the classes they offer, the other great thing is being able to pick up the Catalog for classes July through December.  It does give you a jump start on registration and that is a good thing, as some classes fill up very quickly.  I have taken quite a few classes in a wide variety of subjects and have never been disappointed.  The instructors are terrific.  If you have questions you can go to www.thevillageslifelongcollege.com or you can call 753-3035.  The College is located in the The Villages High School complex. Perhaps I will see you at the Open House, or better yet maybe we will be classmates.

…banged into my window this morning and stayed long enough for me to get his picture.  Sorry it is not better, but I was amazed that I could sneak, get my camera and at least get this photo. He was examining the room through the window, and I’m not sure I know what he was looking at, but happy he stayed long enough for me to admire him.  I have seen them before, at my son’s house in New Jersey, and then again in the Pennsylvania mountains but never expected to see one in Central Florida.  Their habitat is forests, with older and dead trees.  We are on the preserve, but we are also across from a farm and beyond the farm is the woods.  Many creatures make their home in those woods and come out and visit from time to time..bobcats, cayotes, armadillas and now a pileated woodpecker. Their length is 19″ and they have a wingspan of 29.5 inches, that is almost Woody Woodpecker’s size.  I happened to be in the room when he hit the window and I actually jumped,  he hit so hard I probably would have heard him even if I had been in the other room. Their diet is 40% ants (which we have) and then berries.  I have a holly tree that  is brimming with berries right now, so will keep my eye on it as that may have been the attraction.  I have said it before and I will say it again, The Villages has everything, even pileated woodpeckers.

…you hear over and over again; at a sporting event, a Lifelong Learning class, an activity at the Recreation Center or just even sitting at any one of the Squares, or pools, or restaurants, is the talent and background that so many residents possess, and more than that,  the willingness to share their stellar abilities with us.  Peggy Seely is just one of those people. I first heard about a wonderful poetry workshop that Peggy had been a part of and that I had missed.  When I heard about it I was so disappointed, as the people that were raving had my total admiration.  If they say it’s good, it must be really really good, as I consider them really good.  I have never been a student of poetry, although was introduced to it at a very early age by my Mother, and then for several of my adult years received books of poetry for Christmas from her.  At that stage in my life I didn’t have a lot of leisure time to spend reading poetry after running after two rambunctious boys.  However I did read to them every night before they went to bed and I would scan one of those books for poetry they may like.  The Duel-The gingham dog and the calico cat, side by side on the table sat; ‘Twas half past twelve, and what do you think!-was one they enjoyed.   During those years that was my poetry reading experience.  My books have since become dog-eared, and I do enjoy reading them from time to time.   Back to Peggy, the other day she offered a Workshop at the Lady Lake Library and I made sure to attend. It was every bit as good, and even better than I had expected. She read poems from her book Teacups in The Mud, and as one attendee mentioned, she brought the poems alive.  Many of her poems are based on memories of her family and growing up on a farm.  They are delightful whether you yourself grew up in the country or the city as they are over flowing with youthful nostalgia that we all can identify with.  Peggy has a message for us in her title, Teacups in the Mud.  She dedicates her book to all who have gone before her into uncharted territory.  From them, she has learned that the “treaures” we choose to carry along can become a burden.  Life lightens when we leave some of them behind.  She goes on to explain that the Pioneer women lightened their loads by leaving their teacups behind. It certainly is something we all understand and many have been through, how difficult it is, when we reach the age that many of us are, to choose what to bring and what to leave, and how true it is when we make those decisions how much lighter and freer we feel.  I have to say, even if you don’t think you would enjoy poetry, if you have the opportunity to attend a Peggy Seely workshop, by all means do it.  You will come away feeling refreshed and happy.  Thanks Peggy for sharing your talent and poetry with us.  You have enriched my life, as I am sure you have enriched many others.

…Wedding…of a perfect couple…on a perfect day…in beautiful Charlottesville, Va.  My neice Mairi and her husband Leigh were united in marriage last Saturday at the Fat Cat Farm, located in the rolling countryside at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains   Although it had rained for a few days leading up to the wedding, the sun came out Saturday and as we waited for the bride to appear, we basked in its’ warmth.  Spring is so special as everything is coming alive again and brings its’ own color and scent, especially after a good country rain. I can’t begin to tell you how I felt when I saw Mairi walking to accept her new beginning with her soon to be husband. There was a gentle breeze that brought the scent of honeysuckle with it, as chamber music accompanied her down the isle.  This truly was a marriage made in Heaven and also a wedding day, made in Heaven. As vows were exchanged,  the love they have for each other was very apparent.  The reception started immediatley after the ceremony  with the Mother of the bride, my sister,  looking very relaxed that everything went so well and that the weather had co-operated.   Shortly after these pictures, the reception moved into the Barn, where the festivities continued.  Also, shortly after these pictures, the battery light on my camera blinked that it was empty, so I apologize for the lack of pictures of the continuing reception, but more so, that I do not have good pictures of the newlyweds to share.  It was a great day, a day where two families united as one, and it was a day I will always feel privileged to have been a part of that family. Congratulations Mairi and Leigh, may every spring breeze remind you of this memorable day.

…Winner, Gilbert King was an honored guest and speaker at our Bookworm Book Club meeting yesterday at the Bacall Rec. Center.  What a wonderful opportunity it was to meet him less than 24 hours after finding out he had won this coveted award.  His humble excitement really lit up the room, and you would have thought all of us attending had won the prize too.  It had been planned for many months that he would attend our April meeting and discuss his new book, Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a new America.  It is a chronicle of racial injustice that took place in 1949 Lake County, our back yard, a case of four black citrus workers accused of raping a 17 year old girl.  It was a very violent and sad story, but also a story about the bravery of a young NAACP Attorney from New York,  Thurgood Marshall, who despite horrific threats took the case to the Supreme Court. This was long before he himself became a Supreme Court Justice.   Our tireless Chairwoman Kathy always goes the extra mile to make our meetings interesting, but yesterday she provided a meeting with a cherry on top.  Kathy had reached out to Gilbert King many months ago and had numerous conversations with him.  He said he would be attending the Book Fair at the University of Central Florida in April and perhaps could come then. Once he said yes, she then asked him if he could stay and do another meeting at night, which he agreed to do.   On Monday, as many of us were finishing up reading the book, Gilbert King said he was having lunch with a friend he had had since 7th grade, when he got a text…Dude Pulitzer Prize.  He continued to read the text about his friend who had won for Non-fiction, and in his excitement for his friend did not realize his name was also there.  When he saw his name he thought this has to be a joke.  But it wasn’t.  As I mentioned earlier he was speaking to us less than 24 hours after learning this life changing news, and you could feel that he still was reeling from it.  He was asked what does it mean to you to win the Pulitzer, and he said he was not sure, but said he was reminded of a comment an actor made after winning the Oscar, and that was…maybe now I can get a job.  Congratulations Gilbert King, and congratulations Kathy, what a thrill it must have been for you to learn you had garnered a Pulitzer Prize winner for all of us to meet, and even have lunch with.   If there were Pulitzer Prizes for Book Club Chairwoman, Kathy would win hands down.  What a gift you gave us..thank you so much.