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F e at u r i n g
8 A good cigar and wine Does it get any better? Plus
2 Meet a Villager Traveling well just got easier.
4 In The Villages The little black box fits The Villages just fine.
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Travel agent gives inside scoop STORY: THERESA CAMPBELL // PHOTO: FRED LOPEZ
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When two people are traveling together, always put one outfit in the other person’s suitcase, and put one of their outfits in your suitcase, just in case luggage is lost. Place a return address label inside luggage. Check to see if the airline charges for assigned seats. In general, you can save money by not paying for an assigned seat. “You are going to get there anyway,” Sharon says, regardless of whether you pay or let the airline assign your seat. Cruises to Alaska are popular in May for sightings of baby animals. “But the first week of September is usually the cheapest, and there’s also a lot of animal activity because they are getting ready to hibernate.’
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Villages resident since 2013, Sharon Kenner travels for pleasure and through her business, ABC Cruises & Travel, so it’s not unusual for her to share travel tips to inquiring minds. “I love helping other people to travel,” she says. “To this day, I still get excited to help somebody make the best of their trip.” She also delights in helping travelers save money when fares go down on cruise trips. “I have saved $800 per person on my group that went to Alaska,” Sharon happily noted. “The price had fallen down from the time they had booked until the time their final payment was due.” When it comes to airfares, she has found the best days to find lower rates are Tuesday through Thursday, particularly during the hours of 11pm1am. She usually can help travelers get better airline rates when packaged with hotel accommodations. Sharon has found many of her Villages neighbors want to go to Alaska and Europe, and go on cruises. “You can still see Europe from your balcony,” she says of travelers in wheelchairs who may not want to depart the cruise ships. Sharon believes a travel agent’s expertise is most vital when traveling out of the country; she can help travelers obtain needed documents. “Agents have the insider knowledge on the latest information that the general public doesn’t know, and we can have direct contact with the company rather than going through the third-party
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person,” Sharon says. “I hear a lot of ‘Oh, thank you so much! I didn’t know that.’” She says most travel agents do not charge a fee. “For example, if I was booking a trip, Royal Caribbean is going to pay me for bringing them customers,” Sharon says.
To this day, I still get excited to help somebody make the best of their trip. — SHARON KENNER
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For location, hours of operation and further details about our award-winning communities throughout Florida, visit MintoFla.com. Best Floor Plans for 50+ *Costs of trip including airfare and expenses will be reimbursed up to $500 after the buyer closes on a Minto home. Purchase must be made within 90 days of Stay & Play visit. Receipts for airfare and expenses must be submitted in order to be reimbursed for exact expenditures. The reimbursement cost is not to exceed $500. © Minto Communities, LLC 2017. All rights reserved. Content may not be reproduced, copied, altered, distributed, stored or transferred in any form or by any means without express written permission. Artist’s renderings, dimensions, specifications, prices and features are approximate and subject to change without notice. Minto, the Minto logo, LakePark, the LakePark logo, Sun City Center and the Sun City Center logo are trademarks of Minto Communities, LLC and/or its affiliates. CGC1519880 6/2017
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The Studio Theatre A small, intimate theater offers experimental plays and innovative acting. STORY: LEIGH NEELY
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The response has been overwhelmingly positive, not only from The Villages residents but also people from all over Central Florida. We sold out every single show in our first season. —WHITNEY MORSE
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he Villages often has led the way with new and exciting ventures in this area, and one of the most popular of late is The Studio Theatre. The building was formerly a country club, and that’s the beauty of a black box theater: they can be built almost anywhere. A popular concept in the 1960s and ’70s, the black box theater is thought by many to be “pure” theater because it relies more on the human element and less on the technical side of a performance. However, it actually dates back to 1921, when Swiss designer Adolphe Appia introduced the flexible staging techniques that make this type of theater unique. A black box theater is normally a simple, unadorned space. The walls of The Studio Theatre are black, and there’s very little room for staging and setting. In the recent production of “Proof,” the entire performance took place on the back porch of a small house. Though the set was minimal, the play’s message about dealing with the overwhelming family issues of aging parents and memory loss dominated the performances. The theater seats 99. “The Studio Theatre Tierra del Sol began when Jason Goedken (my husband and our operations manager) and I started here at The Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center,” says Whitney Morse, artistic director. “We noticed a tiny little gap in the entertainment offerings in The Villages and surrounding communities. There was no regional theatre doing new work like dramas, heavier musicals, or classics. So, we thought, let’s do it. This is what we did before moving here, so why not bring this theatre style we love with us? That was that, and now we have a
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professional urban-style theatre added to our hometown.” The theater opened in November 2016 and has become more popular with each performance.
“The response has been overwhelmingly positive, not only from The Villages residents but also people from all over Central Florida. We sold out every single show in our first season,” Whitney says. “People actually stop me in the street or come up to me in restaurants to thank me for opening The Studio. It’s been a stupendous first year. We’re on the cusp of announcing our second season, and we are so excited to bring the community many more years of theatre to come.” For information about the theatre and to purchase tickets, visit thevillagesentertainment.com or thesharonstudio.com.
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Enjoying a smooth cigar or a special drink easily can become a favorite pastime. STORY: CHRIS GERBASI
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or many men, life doesn’t get much better than when they grab their favorite beverage, sit back in a recliner, click on the TV, light up a cigar, and get lost in a swirl of smoke. Cigar smoking can be a time for guys to escape pressures of the day, enjoy some “me time” away from the family, or socialize with like-minded aficionados, whether it’s in the garage, the country club, or the cigar bar. Cigars bring people together at shops, too. You may not know it by looking at these unassuming storefronts, but inside, men are getting away from it all. “Guys are chilling, relaxing, smoking a cigar, drinking a beer, watching golf,” says Jennifer Withington, manager of Low Ball Louie’s Cigars & Tobacco in Lady Lake. “They enjoy cigars. We get a good bunch in here.”
The shop at 870 N. U.S. Highway 27/441, Suite E, is home sweet home for cigar smokers: seating for 23, a walk-in humidor, a lounge with a TV, beer and wine, and availability for parties, club meetings, and special events featuring representatives from cigar companies. Louie’s offers 500 cigars, with Drew Estate, Perdomo, My Father, Low Ball Louie’s, La Famosa, Arturo Fuente, and Liga Privada among the most popular brands, owner Tammi Siegfried says. One day recently, Mike Holland was checking on his order of Perdomo cigars. He also likes Oliva V and Padron brands. The Summerfield resident has been smoking cigars for 20 years after giving up cigarettes some years earlier. “For me, it’s relaxation time,” he says. “I usually smoke in the evening, sit away from everybody,
Photo: Fred Lopez
Low Ball Louie’s Cigars & Tobacco
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like in the garage. I read a book and smoke a cigar, and it sort of keeps everyone at bay.” Mike and his friends usually smoke on specific occasions, such as after a round of golf or during a get-together for food and drinks. Naturally, he hangs out and meets fellow smokers at Louie’s. “For a lot of people, it’s a social thing,” he says. And it’s not just a guy thing. While many men retreat to a cigar lounge because their wives don’t want to be around the odor, Kris Snell and his partner, Kallen Kneeland, smoke at the shop because they’d rather not smoke in their house. The Wildwood couple, stretched out in comfy recliners, are regulars in the lounge, which Kris calls an “oasis.” Kallen found a fondness for cigars through a grandfather and an uncle who were smokers. She tends to smoke the Arturo Fuente line, but on this day, she’s enjoying a Drew Estate Undercrown. Regular customers become well-known acquaintances, Kallen says. “The atmosphere is really great here,” she says. “There are always good people to talk to in here. If I want to dive into a book, he’s not bored because he’s got people to talk to.” Low Ball Louie’s stands out among many cigar bars the couple have visited, Kris says.
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Guys are chilling, relaxing, smoking a cigar, drinking a beer, watching golf. — JENNIFER WITHINGTON
“Traditional cigar smokers don’t like flavored cigars,” Bob adds. “I think it brings in a whole new breed of smokers. With the infusion process, they’re top-notch cigars.” Bob takes all of these factors into consideration when helping customers choose a brand at the store, 10601 U.S. Hwy 441, Suite A 3-4, in the Publix shopping center. Established in 1998 inside
Good Ol’ Times Cigar Lounge
Photo: Fred Lopez
“I think because this is family-owned, it just has a better atmosphere,” he says. “The owners are here regularly. They really cherish their customers. We’re important to them.” Tammi’s family has been in the cigar industry for four generations. Her father, John Watson, and his brother owned 17 stores at one point. In 2007, Tammi purchased eight of the stores around Central Florida. She operates them with the help of her father, who remains the company’s buyer, and her mother, Bonnie, who works at the corporate office in Winter Garden. Tammi’s great-grandfather, Martin Noriega, was born in Cuba and moved to Tampa, where he created his signature cigar, La Famosa Fumadora. His wife, Nunciada Scagleone, was a Sicilian-born cigar roller in Tampa, and a portrait of her graces the company logo. John later developed the company’s full line of cigars. All cigars consist of a wrapper, a filler, and a binder, and tastes range from mild to medium to full-bodied. La Famosa Fumadora consists of a wrapper of Connecticut Shade Honduran tobacco leaves, a filler of Honduran and Nicaraguan leaves, and a binder of Honduran. The cigar has a taste of mild to medium, Tammi says. In addition to Connecticut, named for the state where the leaf is grown, the other three major wrapper leaves are Corojo from Honduras, Habano from Nicaragua, and Maduro, says Bob Pizzini, manager of Good Ol’ Times Cigar Lounge in Leesburg. They vary widely in color, nicotine level, and taste. Cigar maker Drew Estate infuses flavors, such as coffee beans, into its cigars, and the infusion becomes part of the cigar, Bob says. The aroma is more likely to be acceptable to women.
Lake Square Mall and now owned by Steve Light, Good Ol’ Times bills itself as Leesburg’s only premium cigar retailer. Ron English and his wife drove from Bushnell to buy a box of Oliva V. That’s Ron’s favorite, along with Monte Cristo. “I like top quality, something smooth. I like a light cigar,” Ron says. His wife, Carol, has Alzheimer’s disease, and Ron says a cigar a day keeps tension away. “My demeanor is a lot smoother,” he says. “I smoke a cigar, drink a beer, and
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enjoys smoking because it’s relaxing. The store’s walk-in humidor has more than 200 different types of cigars, Bob says, and private humidors are available. The premium best sellers are the Padron Anniversary series, followed by Arturo Fuente and Drew Estate. Mostly, Bob says, cigars create camaraderie. “We have a saying in the business: ‘When you buy a cigar, you’re a member of the club,’” he says.
Photo: Fred Lopez
read a Clive Cussler book. That’s how I mellow out.” Customers also can mellow out in the store’s lounge, which has TVs for viewing and video games, leather chairs, and light refreshments. The lounge also is available for events and parties, and the store hosts manufacturer events with food about once a month. “It’s a relaxing, airconditioned place where you can sit and smoke a cigar and watch TV,”
Maggie’s Attic
says Dan Bowden, who works part-time at Good Ol’ Times. About 25 years ago, someone handed Dan a Fuente 858 and asked him to try his first cigar. He made the mistake of inhaling, so the experience didn’t go well, but he was hooked nonetheless. He still favors a Fuente, and
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Maggie’s Attic in Mount Dora is best known for its selection of 300 to 400 craft beers and 500 to 600 wines. But cigars have become a “profit center” as well, says Terry Abbott, who owns the business with his wife, Stephanie. The store keeps several different brands on hand in a humidor, and refills the stock every couple
of weeks based on what customers like, he says. Smokers enjoy their cigars in the courtyard outside the Attic, which has been in business for 14 years at 237 W. 4th Ave. The inside has leather chairs and sofas, and an atmosphere many customers compare to the TV show “Cheers,” Terry says. The “guy thing” that really attracts male customers, though, is the beer, says Jerome Brouhard, sommelier and cellar manager, and son of the owners. Maggie’s Attic has beer and wine clubs for customers, and hosts beer tastings every second Saturday of the month, and wine tastings the first and third Saturdays of each month. Jerome shows off seasonal brews and new brands you’re not likely to find at Publix, he says. He tries to promote Florida breweries, such as Cigar City of Tampa, Funky Buddha of Oakland Park, and Tomoka Brewing Co. of Port Orange. The store’s shelves are lined with hundreds of brands, with names such as White Rascal, Sneak Attack, and Bell Cow, and other beers are on tap. He highlights about 25 new wines at the tastings. The most popular wineries are Caymus Vineyards, Cakebread, and Silver Oak. A chalkboard above the bar lists “Maggie’s Favorites,” such
Photo: Fred Lopez
Two Old Hags Wine Shoppe
as Hogue Riesling, Butter Chardonnay, and Freak Show Cabernet Sauvignon. “The beer tastings are popular with the guys,” Jerome says. “The wine tastings are for men and women, but the guys really enjoy the beer tastings. You get some women, but it’s more of a guy crowd.” Smoking, drinking, and gabbing are the norm for men and women at Two Old Hags Wine Shoppe, 410 W. Main St., Leesburg. Inside, this well-known neighborhood spot features a small bar and a selection of 300 to 400 wines and about 35 domestic and craft beers, owner Joyce Huey says. Outside, customers are welcome to bring their own cigars to smoke at the sidewalk tables, enjoy a light lunch, or hang out after work with a glass of wine while catching up on the day’s events, she says. The shop also hosts occasional wine tastings. Best-selling wineries include Caymus Vineyards, Nickel & Nickel, Etude, and Rombauer. Favorite beers include Victory HopDevil, Fat Tire, and Tucher, a German brand with dark, light, and white varieties. “That’s real popular with all the guys,” Joyce says. Two Old Hags also is known for its off-beat décor, such as a “Star Wars” stormtrooper figure atop the beer cooler, pink flamingos, colorful lamps, and, in the restroom, a space alien figure holding the toilet paper roll, and a photo of Joyce above the toilet, staring at the customer. It’s all part of a comfortable vibe at another place where men, as well as women, can “wind down” with a beverage or a smoke, Joyce says. “For guys, they feel safe coming here, and girls feel really safe coming here on their own,” she says. “The guys are respectful, but having a good time. And the guys, too, are not being swarmed by a bunch of women. It’s a two-way street.”
Special ideas for Father’s Day gifts Cigar stores and wine shops just might be the perfect places to find Father’s Day gifts for connoisseurs or that hard-to-buy-for man. Low Ball Louie’s Cigars & Tobacco in Lady Lake regularly offers gift packs that include lighters, cups, and cutters. Specially for Father’s Day, staff has been saving My Father cigar brand boxes. The store is taking 20 percent off whatever customers can fit inside the box, whether it’s cigars, ties, shirts—if it fits, it’s 20 percent off. At Good Ol’ Times Cigar Lounge in Leesburg, women and children often come in looking for gifts for their husbands or fathers, manager Bob Pizzini says. They may have no idea what brand their men smoke, so Bob usually guides them to a mild cigar, reasoning that any cigar smoker would enjoy a mild one but not necessarily a full-strength stogie. The store always has Father’s Day specials, such as buy two cigars, get one free. Other gift ideas include accessories such as humidors, ashtrays, mugs, and cigar snuffers, along with pipes, hookahs, tobacco, and gift certificates. Gift certificates also are available at Two Old Hags Wine Shoppe in Leesburg. The wine bar also has its own label on a table wine, Blanco Da Tavola, for $20 a bottle, and wine accessories, such as corkscrews and aerators. At Maggie’s Attic, cigars, a six-pack of beer, or a nice bottle of wine would make great gifts for Dad, sommelier Jerome Brouhard says. The Attic also offers a variety of beer and wine club packages, starting as low as $33 plus tax, and gift cards online at shopmaggiesattic.us. Also for sale is the artwork that adorns the walls and shelves of the Attic: wooden wall art with “Mount Dora” travel slogans, metalframe model cars, bicycles, and motorcycles, some of which are wine bottle holders, and sailing ship models. The store also sells specially made jars of preserves, and novelty items such as a miniflask keychain with a “Super Dad” logo on it. “That’s the whole concept of the attic,” Jerome says. “You never know what you’re going to find in an attic.”
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* BVOSOtK yClL UeB
Learn More:
Club chairwoman Kathy Porter can be contacted at 352.259.8196 or kathymporter@comcast.net.
‘My Father’s Ashes’
By Bruce Jenvey. A young man’s journey through his father’s life STORY: DIANE DEAN
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his novel by Bruce Jenvey felt like “old home week” for many in the Bookworm Book Club. The author, who was born and raised in Michigan and is a Michigan State University graduate, visited our book club for a discussion of his latest novel. Bruce says the town names are real, and the actual names and addresses of the characters are those of real people the author has known. A book club member even knew one of the people he mentioned. Small world! The main character, Daniel, never knew his father, Robert Peterson, during his lifetime, but he learned who his father was after the older man’s death. As the beneficiary of his father’s estate, Daniel was required to visit different locations his father enjoyed
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and distribute his ashes with people who loved him and shared his enthusiasm for life. Peterson was a prolific children’s author known as “Professor Poppyseed,” but the innocence of that name did not reflect the depth of the charismatic writer who earned the loyalty of his friends. These friends revealed to Daniel the many sides of his father’s personality. Daniel’s travels took him from a nursing home in California to a serene lakeside cottage in New York, with stops in the Tennessee hills and a bar filled with characters on the shores of Mississippi. The story was sprinkled with the mention of Michigan sites such as Grand Rapids, Selfridge Air Base, and Whitefish Point. Daniel’s mother deprived him of contact with his father and effectively controlled Daniel’s life. Next, the family of his fiancée—and the plans they had for how his life was to be lived— controlled his future. Daniel followed their lead, even as his discomfort with the direction grew. As he “found” himself and who he really could be, he learned several things. He realized that both writers and artists create from what they see and the way they see it. Daniel said the most important thing he learned was that despite everything, “There’s always a chance you can still turn out to
Fiction Bestsellers As of May 18
be your father’s son, and that’s not such a bad thing.” Subsequently, he canceled his engagement and pursued writing the story of his journey to learn about his father. The book’s characters were interesting, the concept intriguing, and the love of writing and books evident. Kathy Porter, the leader of the book club, interviewed Bruce, and we learned his favorite authors are Clive Cussler and Stephen King. He mentioned King’s “On Writing” book as an inspiration for authors, and urged aspiring writers not to get discouraged. Bruce wrote a fictionalized saga called “Cabbottown Witches,” with titles of “Angela’s Coven,” “The Great Northern Coven,” and “The Ragtime Coven,” all tales of the paranormal. He also started
his own publishing company in order to self-publish. Bruce says he cast the characters in his book with real-life actors and pictured them as he wrote the story. Book club members were invited to cast the book as a movie themselves. We offered our casting suggestions and visualized the characters coming to life on our imagined movie screen. Do any of us know who our parents were before they were our parents? Do we know the stories of their fears and comedic episodes? Do we know the depth of the friendships they cherished throughout their life? Do our children know those things about us? These concepts made us consider our personal history and the legacy we leave.
1 Into the
Water
BY PAULA HAWKINS
2 16th
Seduction BY JAMES PATTERSON, MAXINE PAETRO
3 The Fix BY DAVID BALDACCI
4 Golden Prey BY JOHN SANDFORD
5 Against
All Odds BY DANIELLE STEEL
6 The Women
in the Castle BY JESSICA SHATTUCK
Member Comments I’ve lived in Michigan my entire life (except the past four years), so I found it very enjoyable to revisit all the places mentioned in the book that were so familiar to me. This story was the journey of a son who never knew his father, but through the quest to spread his father’s ashes, he was able to know his father through the people associated with his father’s life. I particularly liked one character’s philosophy on life which basically stated that our past is just baggage and describes who we were; it is not who we are today. This was a great read and got me thinking about my ashes! —Carole La Pine, Hemingway I enjoyed this book. It saddened me and made me laugh at the same time. It is a bittersweet tale:
bitter because a son grew up thinking his father abandoned him as a young child, and sweet because the son comes to love and respect the father he never knew. At the end of his journey, and because of the lessons taught to him along that journey, the son finds the courage to change his old, structured life and embrace his own dreams. A thoroughly good read! —Jean Setaro, Woodbury This novel reads like a treasured family recipe: Several cups of mystery with a dash or two of intrigue, a liberal sprinkling of love, wellmixed with humor, and then frosted with the contentment of self-discovery. A truly enjoyable book with a unique story line! —Kathy Porter, Rio Ponderosa
7 Milk and
Honey
BY RUPI KAUR
8 Since We Fell BY DENNIS LEHANE
9 The Black
Book
BY JAMES PATTERSON, DAVID ELLIS
10 The Thirst
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