January 2014

ALASKAN FISHING G NIG GHTM MARE | CHARITY OF THE MONTH | EVENT CALENDAR

Slow-Pitch Softball Gainesville Ball Club Offers Major-League Fun

JJANUARY JA AN NU UAR ARY 2014 20 2 0 014 114 4

seniortimesmagazine.com sen en e nior io ortim rti tim iim mesm smaga sm gazzin ga ziine e...cco e.c om m

INSIDE

SHARING YOUR STORY

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

The Multi-Generational Gift of a Memoir

Volunteers Building More than Houses

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CONTENTS JANUARY 2014 • VOL. 14 ISSUE 01

ON THE COVER – Ralph Bowden with the slow-pitch softball club he put together last year. He found his players through bumper stickers and a newspaper ad seeking enthusiastic softball players 55 and up. The club now boasts about 40 players.

PHOTO BY TJ MORRISSEY for LOTUS STUDIOS

departments 8 14 42

Tapas Charity of the Month Calendar of Events

columns 46 47 50

Crossword Puzzle Theatre Listings Reading Corner

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Tinseltown Talks

by Nick Thomas

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Healthy Edge

by Kendra Siler-Marsiglio

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by Donna Bonnell

features 16

Sharing Your Story

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The Greatest Gift

BY RICK SAPP

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BY FELICIA LEE

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January 2014

Habitat for Humanity

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Enjoying Act Three

by Ellis Amburn

Volunteers Building More Than Houses

Build It and They Will Come The Gainesville Slow-Pitch Softball Club Offers Major-League Fun

Embracing Life

BY DARLA KINNEY SCOLES

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Horror Movie Nightmare on an Alaskan Fishing Boat

BY RICHARD DENNISON

WINNER! Congratulations to the winner from our DECEMBER 2013 issue…

Frances Frey from Gainesville, Florida

seniortimesmagazine.com

When it comes to rehab, you have a choice.

Our mission is to return you or your loved one back home.

UF HEALTH SHANDS REHAB HOSPITAL We bring together a multidisciplinary team to provide individual treatment plans for each person in our care.

Our team approach helps rehab patients achieve better results faster. doctors who specialize in rehabilitative medicine • physical, occupational and recreational therapists • speech language pathologists • rehabilitation psychologists • case managers • dietitians • rehabilitation nurses Our team is dedicated to helping people improve the quality of their lives while dealing with the effects of trauma or disease.

For more information or to schedule a tour, call 352.265.8938 or visit UFHealth.org/rehab.

January 2014

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FROM THE EDITOR œ ALBERT ISAAC

Published monthly by Tower Publications, Inc.

www.seniortimesmagazine.com

Happy New Year!

Yes, it’s actually 2014.

I’ve now sat in the editor’s chair here at Tower Publications for seven years.

Sure doesn’t seem that long. It makes me think of my first job, delivering newspapers as a teenager. I have no idea how long I did that, but it wasn’t very long, and I saved enough money to buy a super-8 movie camera and projector.

Then, when I was 16, I bagged groceries for one summer (seemed like forever) -- long enough to save sufficient money to pay for some car insurance.

In college I had a couple of shortlived jobs, until I landed at gig in the ER at Alachua General Hospital. Stayed five years -- long enough to graduate college (and then some). That’s when time really started speeding up.

Moved on to the Medical Examiner’s Office (which was then managed by AGH) and figured I’d stay another five years. Instead, I was there 20 -- long enough to write my first novel, which had nothing to do with working at the hospital (that will come later).

My time at Alachua General Hospital, counting the time in the ER? 25 years.

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS? That kind of blows my mind, now. I hadn’t planned on staying that long. I was going to be a novelist. But, as John Lennon said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

A lot of life happened in those decades; got married, bought a house, raised a family (still raising a family), bought another house, became a writer -- the list goes on. Some of it is pretty interesting (at least to me) and some of it I’ve written about.

We all have a story to tell, but most of us don’t ever get around to it. I wish that my grandparents had written their memoirs. What a wealth of information that would be. My mom is working on hers. She even includes old photos of family members, many now long gone.

If not preserved in photos and words, it doesn’t take long for those identities to be lost forever. I have hundreds of old negatives that had belonged to my grandfather, but I’ll never know who many of these people are because those who could identify them are gone now.

To that end, freelance writer Rick Sapp brings us a story about memoir writing. Your memoir may never be a bestseller, but it could be a priceless family heirloom for generations to come.

If I weren’t so busy making other plans I’d start writing mine.

We also continue with our volunteer for a day series and visit with a Gainesville softball team.

Take care!

PUBLISHER

Charlie Delatorre charlie@towerpublications.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Albert Isaac editor@towerpublications.com Fax: 352-416-0175 ART DIRECTOR

Hank McAfee hank@towerpublications.com GRAPHIC DESIGN

Neil McKinney neil@towerpublications.com EDITORIAL INTERNS

Courtney Lindwall Natanya Spies ADVERTISING SALES

Melissa Morris melissa@towerpublications.com direct: 352-416-0212 For more advertising information including rates, coverage area, distribution and more – contact Melissa Morris or visit our website at: www.seniortimesmagazine.com ADVERTISING OFFICE

4400 NW 36th Avenue Gainesville, FL 32606 352-372-5468 352-373-9178 fax The articles printed in Senior Times Magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Tower Publications, Inc. or their editorial staff. Senior Times Magazine endeavors to accept reliable advertising; however, we can not be held responsible by the public for advertising claims.

Senior Times Magazine reserves the right to refuse or discontinue any advertisement. If you would like to discontinue receiving Senior Times Magazine please call 352-372-5468 for assistance. © 2014 Tower Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.

If you would like us to publicize an event in Alachua or Marion counties, send information by the 13th day of the month prior.

All submissions will be reviewed and every effort will be made to run qualified submissions if page space is available.

352-416-0175 (fax) or email: editor@towerpublications.com

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Get out of the snow!

New Year Specials!

STAFF œ CONTRIBUTORS

All of the fun of winter.

None of the stress!

Winter Move-in Special clockwise from top left DARLA KINNEY SCOLES remembers taking a high school journalism class and falling in love with the process. Oodles of years, one husband, three daughters and multitudinous stories later, she’s still in love with it all. That, and dark chocolate. darlakinneyscoles@gmail.com RICK SAPP is a freelance writer who lives in Gainesville. His goal is to sail around the world — obviously alone — and end his days eating truffles and chocolate, and drinking too much red wine in the south of France. rsa5@cox.net FELICIA LEE is a freelance writer and editor. Her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and Salon.com. She loves birds, cooking and the Florida outdoors. leefa99@earthlink.net RICHARD DENNISON is a 72-year-old semi-retired businessman. He is married to Kim, his lovely wife of 45 years, and has traveled extensively throughout his career. Writing credits include various freelance articles and the novelty golf book “Just Fore Laughs.” rideninc@aol.com

It’s the season of giving, and The Atrium at Gainesville wants to give YOU the opportunity to make your dreams come true!

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352.275.5188 | holidaytouch.com January 2014 7 7

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TAPAS œ JANUARY

Happy New Year!

Curing the Hiccups A post-Christmas bloated belly can trigger hiccups. As can exercise and stress. However, most often the reflex has no apparent cause. One theory, according to livescience. com, is that hiccups may be a remnant of a primitive sucking reflex. Whatever the cause, hiccups are merely an annoyance to be rid of. There are a variety of creative remedies – here is a sampling.

• Hold your breath.

• Give yourself a good scare.

• Take a spoonful of sugar.

• Drink water upside down.

• ‘Swallow’ your hiccups by drinking water through a straw while plugging your ears.

IF YOU’RE COLD ENOUGH, YOU WILL LIKELY

GET NAKED & DIG Winter is here so this is a good time to review the risks – and bizarre effects — of hypothermia, compliments of LiveScience.com.

Hypothermia occurs when your body core temperature drops to 95 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.

Symptoms include stumbling, poor coordination and slurred speech as if under the influence of drugs. When severe, people lose consciousness and die. But just prior to this, victims have been known to exhibit bizarre behaviors, including terminal burrowing and paradoxical undressing.

It is theorized that, just as warm-blooded hibernating animals will often dig or burrow into a small, enclosed den to spend the winter, HUMANS, IN THE FINAL THROES OF SEVERE HYPOTHERMIA, EXHIBIT A SOMEWHAT SIMILAR BEHAVIOR. In a 1995 article in the International Journal of Legal Medicine, researchers from Germany described it as “obviously an autonomous process of the brainstem, which is triggered in the final state of hypothermia and produces a primitive and burrowing-like behavior of protection, as seen in hibernating animals.”

Paradoxical undressing describes the behavior among many victims of extreme hypothermia of peeling off most or all of their clothing.

But why would a freezing person strip off clothing? The body, in order to shut down the loss of heat from the extremities, induces vasoconstriction -- the reflexive contraction of blood vessels.

But when the muscles necessary for inducing vasoconstriction become exhausted and fail, warm blood rushes from the core to the extremities. Victims suffering from severe hypothermia – already confused and disoriented – feel as though they’re burning up. Off come the clothes.

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January 2014

• January is named after Janus, the god with two faces, one looking forward and one looking backward.

• The earliest known New Year celebrations were in Mesopotamia and date back to 2000 B.C. • Ancient Persians gave New Year’s gifts of eggs, which symbolized productiveness.

• The early Romans used March 1 as New Year’s Day. Other cultures used the autumn equinox or the winter solstice to mark the beginning of the new year.

• Most New Year’s traditions are believed to ensure good luck for the coming year such as eating blackeyed peas on New Year’s Day for good luck.

• The original New Year’s Eve Ball weighed 700 pounds and was five feet in diameter. It was made of iron and wood and was decorated with 100 25watt light bulbs.

• On November 11, 2008 a “new” New Years Eve ball was introduced; a geodesic sphere, 12 feet in diameter and weighing 11,875 pounds. It is built to withstand high winds and fluctuating temperatures.

Waterford Crystal introduces a different pattern for each New Years celebration.

SOURCE: CNN.COM

seniortimesmagazine.com

Canadians in Florida can find a TD Bank as easy as they can find a beach.

Great service and convenience for Canadians at nearly 1,300 TD Bank locations in the U.S. •

No-fee wire transfers of up to $100,000 daily between your Canadian and U.S. based TD accounts over the phone.1

•

View your Canadian and U.S. based TD accounts on the same webpage or mobile device.

•

Pay your U.S. bills online or on your mobile device.

•

Use your Canadian and U.S. assets,2 income and credit history to apply for a U.S. mortgage3 or a U.S. credit card.4

To open an account, visit a TD Bank Store near you or call 1-877-700-2913 anytime.5 TD Bank is TD Bank, N.A., a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank. Member FDIC. Accounts issued by TD Bank, N.A. are not insured by Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation. 1 Money transferred by wire transfer only. Incoming wire fees may apply and will be rebated the next business day. Foreign exchange conversion rates may apply. 2 Assets are only considered for mortgage applications. 3 Subject to credit approval and other conditions. Mortgages limited to property located in U.S. state where TD Bank, N.A. has locations. Equal Housing Lender . 4 Credit cards issued by TD Canada Trust or TD Bank, N.A. Subject to credit approval. Applicants for a TD Bank, N.A. issued card must have a U.S. address within the TD Bank, NA footprint (PA, NY, NJ, CT, NH, ME, MA, FL, VT, DE, MD, DC, NC, SC, VA or RI). Other restrictions apply. 5 TD Bank, N.A. is located in the United States and its support line, Stores, products and services are primarily serviced in English. ® The TD logo and other trade-marks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank.

January 2014

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TAPAS œ JANUARY

George Foreman BORN JANUARY 10, 1949

65 Years Old

Heavyweight boxing champion George Edward ‘Big George’ Foreman won Olympic gold in 1968, and became world champion in 1973. Foreman’s reign ended on October 30, 1974 with a loss to Muhammad Ali in the legendary “Rumble in the Jungle” title bout in Kinshasa, Zaire.

His quest for another title shot was squashed as he lost a decision to Jimmy Young in 1977. Foreman became ill after the fight and had a near-death experience, resulting in a religious awakening and subsequent retirement.

A decade later, Foreman announced his comeback at age 38. In the years that followed he knocked out a string of opponents before losing to Evander Holyfield in 1991. No longer the aloof, sneering boxer, he now used his celebrity status to sell everything from grills to mufflers.

Then, on November 5, 1994, clad in the same red trunks he wore during his bout against Ali, the 45-year-old Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer in the 10th round, becoming the oldest heavyweight champ in history. He went back to his corner and knelt in prayer as the arena erupted in cheers.

A FEW OTHER NOTABLE

Birthdays this Month Shelley Fabares

Mikhail Baryshnikov

January 19, 1944 (70)

January 27, 1948 (66)

Edwin Buzz Aldrin

Aaron Neville

January 20, 1930 (84)

January 24, 1941 (73)

“I’m a big cockeyed optimist. I try to accentuate the positive as opposed to the negative.”

— BETTY WHITE Comedic actress Betty Marion White Ludden was born on January 17, 1922, in Oak Park, Illinois. As one of the first women producers in Hollywood in the early 1950s, she launched her first television series,, “Life with Elizabeth.” Her list of television appearances is nearly unending: “The United States Steel Hour,” “Petticoat Junction,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Golden Girls,” and “Hot in Cleveland.”

Years Old She also hosts “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers.” Now in her 90s, White became the oldest person to host “Saturday Night Live,” thanks largely to a Facebook campaign.

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January 2014

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COMMUNITY œ EVENT

Living the Gospel in Downtown Gainesville!

The Rev. Louanne Loch, Rector Dr. John T. Lowe, Dir. of Music

Sunday Services 8:00am 10:30am 6:00pm

Wednesday Service 12:15pm

100 NE 1st Street Downtown Gainesville (352) 372-4721 www.HolyTrinityGNV.org The Episcopal Church welcomes you ...and we do mean YOU!

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January 2014

Camellia Show On Saturday, January 25, the Ocala Camellia Society will present its Annual Camellia Show offering hundreds of dazzling blooms. The society invites people to bring blooms to the Ocala Golf Club between 7:00 and 9:30 am. Ocala Camellia Society members will be on hand to help you identify blooms and fill out the entry cards. It’s not necessary to be a member and the club encourages everyone who grows camellias to enter the competition. After competing for awards, blooms will be on display at the one-day show. There is no charge to see the show, there is plenty of free parking and the building is wheelchair accessible.

American Camellia Society certified judges begin judging at 10:30 a.m. The various categories of blooms, and the “weighted” judging system approved by the ACS, along with local classes, enable

you as an amateur grower to compete on an even basis with experienced and professional growers.

The show opens at 1 p.m. and the plant sale runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. This sale gives camellia lovers and growers an opportunity to expand their camellia gardens with new varieties and colors at reasonable prices, but supplies are limited. The proceeds are used by the Ocala Camellia Society to provide education and information about the camellia plant to flower lovers in the Ocala area.

For more information, call Show Chairman Patrick Andrews at 352-595-3365 or email him at patrickandrews@att.net.

Annual Camellia Show Saturday, January 25, 1 - 6 p.m.

Ocala Golf Club 3130 E. Silver Springs Blvd. seniortimesmagazine.com

SunState Federal Credit Union has been serving its members for more than 55 years. Visit us today to see the difference it makes to do your banking at the place where Joe and Cathy work.

Meet Cathy Ratliff…

“I try to mirror what SunState Federal Credit Union strives to be – a place where people and service really matter. For over 27 years I have tried each day to do everything I can to make our members happy.”

CAT CA THY RA THY TH RATL TLIF TL IF FF SSF SS FCU El FCU Elec ectr ec t on tr onic ic Serv Se rvic rv icces Sup upe ervi viso vi sorr so

…and Joe Akins “When I see one of the big banks, I just see a building.

When I look at SunState Federal Credit Union, I see the people that make us unique.”

JO OE AK AKIN INS IN S SS SFC FCU Pr P essid dentt & CE EO

352-381-5200 • www.sunstatefcu.org January 2014

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CHARITY OF THE MONTH

Alpha Phi Omega NOVEMBER 2013 WINNER – 3,255 VOTES

El Trapiche sits in the heart of Central America — a Nicaraguan village of less than 200 people. Basic needs are barely met.

F

amilies have to travel to nearby villages to collect an entire week’s worth of clean water at one time. There is no school to speak of in El Trapiche, although dedicated community members will sometimes create makeshift classrooms inside homes. And Nicaragua in general ranks as the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere.

But change is coming.

With the help of international aid and the dedication of locals, challenges are being overcome.

Alpha Phi Omega, a coed service fraternity at the University of Florida, has spent this fall raising money for the village. It has won SunState Federal Credit Union’s November Charity of the Month Contest with 3,255 votes on Facebook.

Including the $1,000 prize, they have raised $3,800 so far.

Alpha Phi Omega works in partnership with a separate international development program, Free the Children, whose goal is to improve access to education, water, food, healthcare, and sustainable income in impoverished areas.

Sammy Felman is Alpha Phi Omega’s philanthropy cochair alongside Alicia Leva at the fraternity. Through Free the Children’s “Adopt a Village” program, they chose El Trapiche as their service project for this semester. Felman was familiar with the area, having taken a two-week trip to Nicaragua last summer.

Alpha Phi Omega’s donation has helped build new classrooms and a water reservoir that gives direct access to all the homes in the village. Families no longer have to walk to outside villages weekly.

Free the Children has also built sidewalks that give better access to the new classrooms, helping to avoid the dense mud during the rainy season, and planted gardens and trees to

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prevent erosion of the new buildings.

The classroom’s new mural, painted in the colors of the Nicaraguan flag, brings brightness and hope.

Ultimately, Free the Children states on its website, the program is about freeing children from poverty, from exploitation, and “from the notion that they are powerless to effect change.”

In spring semester, Felman said Alpha Phi Omega will continue its work with Free the Children in El Trapiche. Felman and Leva both plan to make trips to Nicaragua, Felman said, hopefully to see the progress they have helped create.

Felman recalled from her previous trip to Nicaragua, where she worked to build a school on an island off the coast, how grateful the locals were.

“All the kids wanted was to learn so badly and to be in school,” she said. “It was incredible to see how much they appreciated it.” s Learn more at www.facebook.com/ufalphaphiomega.

TO NOMINATE A CHARITY OF YOUR CHOICE OR TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE NOMINEES, VISIT:

www.facebook.com/SunStateFCU and click on “Charity of the Month”.

seniortimesmagazine.com

SunState Federal Credit Union has been serving its members for more than 55 years. Visit us today to see the difference it makes to do your banking at the place where Joe and Tannia work.

Meet Tannia Weaver…

“At SunState, we are a member er sservice ervice tteam. eam.

My primary responsibility is to o work work k directly with our employees to o ensure ensure they provide the highest levell off service to our members. Whatt we do really matters and I witnesss the results every day. That’s the he best part of my job here.”

TANNIA WEAVE ER SSFCU Internal Audittor

…and Joe Akins “When I see one off the big banks, I just see a building. g.

When I look at SunState Federal Credit Union, I see e the people that make us unique.”

AK KIN INS S SS SFC CU Pr P essid den entt & C CE EO

352-381-5200 • www.sunstatefcu.org January 2014

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WRITE ON

Sharing Your Story The Greatest Gift

by Rick Sapp

H

ave you walked on the moon?

Did you work two jobs to send the children to college?

Perhaps you spent time in jail or earned millions in stocks and bonds.

Few people lead glamorous celebrity lives, yet each of us has a unique story.

Sharing your uniqueness is what memoir writing is all about.

A memoir is a multi-generational gift of self-discovery. It is a record of your moment in history. It is your clay tablet, your handprint on the cave wall. And it is as personal and distinctive as the place and time, the actions and events that define your life.

You ask, “Who would be interested in my story?”

A stone dropped in a still pond, your family will come first in a widening circle of interest as you explore your past. After all, you are genetically and behaviorally related. Your experiences may not predict their outcomes, but your thoughtful efforts will provide the border for a family portrait.

Consider that your story, your memoir, is a gift. Whether you captured bank

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robbers or robbed banks, you played a role in the immense span of history.

Your story grounds you and your loved ones in the tide of human events. It says, “I belonged here.”

No less than the great philosophers, your story is immortal. Your life connects directly to thousands of generations, even to those distant eons before humans walked the earth, back to the beginning of time.

Your story is only a microcosm, one piece of a vast puzzle, but without it the puzzle is unfinished. You are stardust and dinosaur bone, one link in a vast genetic chain. Part of you was present at the Big Bang, when the Universe bubbled into being, and will be present when the Universe ends.

Who would not be interested in such a story?

Begin your story at the beginning… or the end. Make it easy to talk about your wonderful life.

You could start at one heroic moment, your “Teacher of the Year” award or Olympic gold medal. But your peeps know about this shining moment. They

have heard this tale over Thanksgiving dinner for years.

Heartfelt stories are intimate tales of community. As the first female director, did the men still expect you to make coffee — and did you?

To begin, recall that 2,500 years ago a Chinese scribe named Lao Tzu said the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

If the idea of writing “a memoir” seniortimesmagazine.com

seems daunting, imagine that you are talking to the grandchildren. Be gentle with yourself. If the writing becomes work, chances are that watching “The View” or folding your socks will always come first.

No one may ever read your memoirs, but they could outlive you by thousands of years. Link your narrative to the sweep of centuries and you can discuss your moment honestly and thoughtfully. Your

story might live forever. Written 2,000 years ago, the commentaries of Julius Caesar will forever be studied by historians. Mark Twain considered U.S. Grant’s memoirs, written by hand as he was dying of throat cancer, a literary masterpiece.

You may have modest ambitions, but it is not just the terrible battles of antiquity that intrigue us. How did Caesar’s foot soldiers cope with fear when they walked into battle with a sword? What

PHOTO PROVIDED BY RICK SAPP The author’s father, Houston (standing in white tee shirt) served as an officer in the U.S. Navy’s “Splinter Fleet,” the small, fast wooden hull ships that swept harbors for mines and conducted anti-submarine patrols in World War II. For years, before cancer swept him away, the former swabbie promised to put his experiences down on paper, but never “got around to it.”

What a wonderful gift it would have been for children, grandchildren and now, great grandchildren, to have read his stories of the South Pacific.

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Easy Breezy Sources Orlando’s Patricia Charpentier has penned an inspirational guide for memoir writers. Titled “Eating an Elephant: Writing Your Life One Bite at a Time,” Charpentier argues that writing your life story should be easy, fun and fascinating. She designed her book to help prospective memoir writers walk through the scenes of their lives one step at a time.

“Eating an Elephant” is available through WritingYourLife.org, and numerous other guides are available through Amazon.com.

An enjoyable way to begin a memoir is to participate in a small writing group. The Writer’s Alliance of Gainesville (WritersAlliance.org) sponsors several groups (called “pods”) and is a welcoming crowd of novices and professionals, all of whom are challenged by the craft of storytelling. The opportunity to participate in an intimate critique group specifically focused on memoir writing is a benefit of membership.

did Grant’s troops eat for dinner?

Because your story belongs to you, you have permission to write about your entire life, or only the college years, or your Paris vacation or the heartache of losing a child. Connect with what interests you.

But what about telling the truth? We make few earth-shaking decisions and yet we understand that small actions may ultimately result in great consequences. Edward Lorenz called this the “Butterfly Effect,” and we are individu-

18

January 2014

ally as helpless in the immense sweep of history as any poet or president.

And what is truth? In your memoir, it is the effort to convey a compelling and thoughtful image. Remember the ghost that appeared when your mother died?

Does it matter that few people believe in ghosts? Faithfully describe and interpret the ghost you experienced — “I saw this.

It felt… It meant…” — and your story becomes a credible message, whether or not your readers believe in ghosts.

There are no memoir-writing rules.

Rules depend on intention. If you only want to explain your life choices for the children, forget the bondage of rules.

Write directly to the people you most want to reach.

If your story develops a message or theme, then worry about syntax and spelling, because clear writing means clear understanding. Fluid — and yes, disciplined — writing will draw readers into your world because your care reflects your intention.

Besides, your story touches lives the seniortimesmagazine.com

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world over. The banana on your cereal was harvested in Honduras. The car you drive was built in Japan and powered by oil from Saudi Arabia.

So be true to the facts or risk having your work ignored.

PHOTOS BY RICK SAPP Gainesville resident ABOVE: Orange Lake’s Carol Ray SkipSusie Baxter distributed per combined her personal passions for writing with a broad theme, animal her memoir, “C.G. & welfare, and recently penned “Coco Ethel: A Family HisThe Homeless Labradoodle.” Carol said tory,” to her Florida Coco is the story of a real dog whose brother was rescued already and now family and it is available Coco needs a home. Carol donates on Amazon.com. Susie 20 percent of the book sales price to animal rescue and animal shelters. believes a memoir — as TOP LEFT: Memoir writing is an opposed to a series of opportunity to relive -- and reconsider anecdotes — needs a -- your experiences, to bring family and friends to life. Your memoir could thread of continuity, cover the entire span of your life or must follow the rules of perhaps focus only on one moment, perhaps your amazing wilderness good writing. guide. Minnesota outdoor adventure “Write every day,” specialist Patty Brady out-fished the author, erected tents in the driving she said. “Begin with rain, thoroughly organized a canoe the end in mind and expedition and proved a jolly and indefatigable guide when hordes of get involved with other mosquitoes made simple acts such as writers who can give breathing or paddling laborious. you feedback about your OPPOSITE: The Writer’s Alliance of Gainesville (WritersAlliance.org) work. Check your facts encourages and supports area writers. and be specific.”

It promotes monthly readings and “A memoir is perongoing small critique groups such as this memoir-writing pod led by Susie sonal,” Susie warned, Baxter which meets regularly at Fran“and the more personal, cesca’s Trattoria in Gainesville: (left to right) Cynthia Shiver, Wendy Thornton, the more interesting it Joan Carter, Susie Baxter and Mary will be.”

Bridgman.

So illustrate your failures and bad days as well as your brilliant moments, because these make your story more believable. Understanding that you are human and make mistakes creates empathy with readers.

“Don’t preach!” she said. “Write in story format and limit the number of characters introduced.”

When writing about a high school reunion with a potential cast of hundreds, limit your story to those who made a difference in your life. Above all, she said, don’t reveal facts about others that could cause you to get sued.

In the end, whether you are simply telling a story or two for your children or are embarking on a memoir that places your life in its true, astonishing perspective, writing is an act of love.

Your memoir is a great gift and you will be its first recipient. s

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Tinseltown Talks Here’s to You, Mrs. Robinson

by Nick Thomas

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January 2014

PHOTO COURTESY OF NASA/JPL-CALTECH

W

hen NASA honored June Lockhart last October, it would have been quite fitting to borrow the above lyrics from a popular Simon and Garfunkel song to salute the 88-year-old actress! Best remembered by sci-fi fans for her role of TV space mom Maureen Robinson in the ‘60s series “Lost in Space,” June told me recently that the NASA recognition was a highlight of her long career, which includes a Tony Award, an Emmy nomination and a couple of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“I was presented with the Exceptional Public Achievement Medal for my work with the space agency,” she explained. “I’ve been to two space shuttle launches and worked with NASA since the 1970s, addressing their employees and traveling on NASA’s behalf to promote the agency. So I’m absolutely thrilled by this recognition. No other actress has received this honor.”

One of her memorable experiences occurred during a Space Shuttle mission in 1992.

“I called NASA one day and spoke with astronaut Ken Reightler and told him I had a good wake-up song for them to use,” recalled June, referring to “The World is Waiting for the Sunrise,” a catchy ‘50s hit by Les Paul and Mary Ford. The song held special significance because the

lyrics were written by her father, beloved character actor Gene Lockhart.

“So, I went to Mission Control in Houston and at around 2 am they played the song for the crew of the Columbia mission,” she said. “Then a voice from space came over the speaker: ‘Some of us up here want to know what Lassie’s mother is doing in Mission Control at 2 o’clock in the morning!’”

“Lassie,” one of the TV’s longestrunning shows (1954-1973), was June’s other big hit in which she dispensed ma-

ternal wisdom, this time for six seasons as a farm mom. Later, she morphed from matriarch to medic as Dr. Janet Craig for three seasons on “Petticoat Junction.”

“Petticoat Junction was a delight to do with wonderful scripts,” June said.

“It was great playing comedy after ‘Lost in Space,’ which was more dramatic, and ‘Lassie,’ which didn’t have many laughs.”

On the big screen, 12-year-old June made her debut in the 1938 holiday classic, “A Christmas Carol,” alongside both her parents, Gene and Kathleen Lockseniortimesmagazine.com

hart, who played the Cratchits. While she went on to costar with greats such as Gary Cooper in “Sergeant York” and Judy Garland in “Meet me in St. Louis,” “A Christmas Carol” is special since it was the only time she appeared with her parents in a motion picture.

But it was memorable for other reasons, too.

“My daughter, Junie, and granddaughter, Christianna, have never let me forget that the first words I ever spoke in movies were: ‘I know, I know — sausages!’” June said, referring to her on-screen guess for the contents of a food package Mr. Crachit

brings home. “We all shriek with laugher when we watch it now.”

In addition to being an advocate for NASA and many other causes, June continues to work and costarred in the comedy spoof “Zombie Hamlet,” which had its world premiere at the 2012 Palm Beach International Film Festival and was just released on DVD in December.

In 2013, she appeared in the interactive movie series “Tex Murphy,” a gaming platform that combines animation with full-motion video of real actors.

“That was a new experience and I really enjoyed it. And in December, I

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also celebrated my 80th year as a paid performer in the business! I made my debut at the age of 8 in ‘Peter Ibbetson’ at the Metropolitan Opera House.”

While actors are used to receiving accolades for career milestones, June admits to still being quite overwhelmed by the NASA recognition and is, she says, “over the Moon about it!”

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BATTER UP!

Build It and They Will Come The Gainesville Slow-Pitch Softball Club Offers Major-League Fun

by Felicia Lee

R

alph Bowden loves playing softball — so much so that for a while, he drove regularly to Ocala to get his fix with a team of Seniors there.

“They used to have a Senior league here in Gainesville, run by city parks and recreation, I believe,” Bowden said. “But it closed down.”

Then it occurred to him that this was a void he could easily fill. All he needed to start a local team was a place to play and a sufficient number of like-minded athletes.

“I got tired of driving to Ocala,” he said.

He found his teammates through oldfashioned promotion — bumper stickers and an ad in the Gainesville Sun seeking enthusiastic softball players 55 and up. A conversation with an acquaintance (about softball, no less) suggested a promising option for a home field: This acquaintance was a longtime member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Gainesville and mentioned that the church had several playing fields that may be available.

This confluence of personal initiative and luck paid off. The club now boasts about 40 players who gather at Trin-

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January 2014

ity’s softball diamond on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for nine innings of sweat and good-natured ribbing. Team members range in age from just over 55 through their mid-70s — with one loyal booster and occasional player nowhere close to his AARP years: Trinity’s athletic director Ben Haines.

“A lot of them are feeling better, being in better shape. They all play hard, all at their own respective pace.”

“Ralph reached out to me about two years ago,” Haines recalled. “We finally got stuff going last September. They started out small. Ralph actually ran some ads in the paper, so I started getting calls about it. The group has really filled out on its own.”

One of the first people to respond to Ralph Bowden’s ad was Ted Lapides, who is now the team’s “commissioner.”

Among his duties are keeping the team

roster and writing up brief reports on every game — a natural set of tasks for the former sports writer. While he relishes the friendly competition and athleticism of the games (“Everyone’s gotten much better physically,” he said), the most valuable benefit of the team has been the deep friendships that have flourished among its members.

“Men don’t usually have great friendships, but we’ve developed them,” he said.

His affection for his teammates is obvious. On a recent Tuesday morning before the game, he pointed out and introduced them with almost parental pride.

“That guy there, that’s the Duke of Earl, he’s our best player,” he said, pointing to Earl Robbins. “He’s a very experienced player.”

“That means I’m old!” Earl said.

“And Anita,” Ted said, pointing to Anita Nemeth, one of the team’s two women, “she’s a tiger.”

As he spoke, she was carefully helping her wheelchair-bound husband — a regular spectator — from their van.

“I think she needs to be here,” her husband said, “to have a little time for seniortimesmagazine.com

January 2014

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PHOTO BY TJ MORRISSEY

24

PHOTOS BY TJ MORRISSEY

her own life.”

While the game was not scheduled to start until 8:30, players started trickling in by 8:00, and by 8:15, most had arrived.

The earlier arrivals were busy sweeping the field and setting up equipment, which Haines said was typical.

“They really help with keeping the fields up,” he said. “For me, it’s a great help because they’re just tremendous

24

January 2014

volunteers.”

Not only do team members maintain the field before and after their own games, he said, they lend a hand (or more precisely, multiple pairs of hands) at the church’s other sporting events.

“They help with a lot of the larger events we do with our kids’ leagues,” Haines said. “They came and cooked hundreds of hotdogs for me once.

They’re great. All of them just jump when I ask –‘tell me when and where.’”

So enthusiastic is Haines about the team that he even got his father, Roger Haines, to join the team after he retired last year.

The players take advantage of other opportunities to get together off the field as well. Robbins is a singer-songwriter and when he performs, four to 12 of the team members will go out and see him. seniortimesmagazine.com

“But the best part is when I get Tedric the Entertainer here to come up to the mic and sing!” Robbins said, pointing at Lapides.

Once the field was ready, players wandered out and started warming up, while two team captains stood to the side, mulling over the roster and picking teams. While players generally keep the same positions from game to game, the

composition of the “Home” and “Visitors” teams varies.

At 8:30, the first pitch was thrown.

The game moved quickly — a combination of generous umpires and strong hitters. Every inning brought several hard, fast hits into the outfield resulting in a high-scoring game. By the end of the first inning, the “Home” and “Visitors” were tied, 3-3.

The players were also uniformly drenched in sweat, since temperatures were already in the 80s and the field was in direct sunlight on this day. This did not seem to discourage any of them.

“Even through the heat of summer, they’ve been playing — we’ve moved up the game half an hour to 8:30 from 9:00,” Haines said. “It’s hot out here!”

While the level of enthusiasm among January 2014

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the players is uniformly high, their levels of athletic finesse are not. But in this league, they do not have to be. Every player is cheered on at bat and heartily congratulated for both heroic outfield catches and equally heroic, but unsuccessful, attempts.

“A lot of them have played sports their whole entire lives growing up;

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January 2014

they like having a way to find a little competition,” Haines said. “Some haven’t picked up a bat in 30 years. But just watching them since last year, the level of play has improved tremendously.

A lot of them are feeling better, being in better shape. They all play hard, all at their own respective pace.”

Earl Robbins is among those who fall

into the first group.

“Want to hear an interesting bit of trivia?” he asked, “I’ve played on championship teams in Gainesville every decade for the past five decades.”

“I haven’t played since I was 10,” said Pam Monaco, the team’s other female athlete. “I came because I heard about it in the church bulletin and thought I’d seniortimesmagazine.com

PHOTOS BY GLENN PRICE

know most of the players. It turned out I didn’t know anyone, but it’s a great group of people. I hate to miss it.”

Still, life’s other obligations sometimes keep players away. Loyal as they are, not all players can play in all the games. Family obligations or occasional injuries may sideline them for a week or two. In addition, several of the players, Haines said, are still working and have to squeeze the games into their work schedules.

Chic Hinton is among these working warriors.

“I’ve been kind of sporadic lately because I’m hunting alligators during the week,” he said.

The competition during play is fierce but friendly. Players on first base habitually chat with those sitting on the sidelines or waiting for their turn at bat, and batters and pitchers exchange goodnatured insults as a matter of course.

But once the ball is in play, it’s all business — except for the hoots and claps of

encouragement from the sidelines.

At 10:30 – just as scheduled – the ninth inning wound down: 24-14, Visitors. The field cleared with a round of high-fives.

While a few of the players got into their cars and took off, most lingered, sipping the remaining bottles of Gatorade and

water from the cooler provided by one of the players. Of course, they will all see each other again at their next game in just two days. And they will have plenty of opportunities to socialize off the field as well. But there is never any hurry to say good-bye to good friends. s GY T T ER IEN EN EN IC EM S F EF LAC DOW P N RE WI Built in Florida, for or Florida o ida Hom Homes, es, B By Florida workers. Fi Financing i A Available il b bl (W.A.C) Easy terms & Low monthly payments to fit your budget.

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COLUMN œ KENDRA SILER-MARSIGLIO

Healthy Edge Sleep to Your Health

E

ver tell people, “I don’t need much sleep?” You may want to reassess that. Evidence is piling up that shows that sleeping less than seven to nine hours a night damages the body and your ability to reason. Read on to learn more about why zzzs are important and how to get them.

Although you may THINK that you don’t need much sleep, Dr. Nate Watson, Co-Director of the University of Washington Medicine Sleep Center, says that the more sleep deprived we become the less capable we are at determining how the deprivation impairs us. Dr. Allan Pack, Director of the University of Pennsylvania Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology, asserts that

sleep deprivation leads to unhealthy changes in the heart, lungs and brain.

Inadequate sleep can also contribute to the development of obesity and diabetes.

Sleep is essential for our bodies to repair and improve. Physical repair (e.g., torn muscles, organ cleansing) occurs

Therefore, eight hours of sleep provides five opportunities to repair and support our bodies and mind.

You know how it seems like you dream more in the morning? At the beginning of the night, the bulk of the 90-minute cycles predominantly address physical needs. By morning time, the bulk of sleep time is for psychological repair. For many Seniors, more sleep time is dedicated to physical repair.

Here are sleep hygiene tips from the University of Michigan to keep your body and mind in top shape: • If your sleep pattern is off, the timing of your sleep is everything. To get your sleep pattern back on track, go to bed at the same time each day. Set the alarm and get up at the same time everyday (regardless of how much you slept), and don’t nap.

Eight hours of sleep provides five opportunities to repair and support our bodies and mind. during forms of sleep during which our brain patterns are slow. Psychological repair (e.g., memory creation, processing through emotions or anxiety) is believed to be associated with active dream states.

A healthy adult cycles through every form of sleep about every 90 minutes.

• To avoid restless nights, associate your bedroom with sleep. Go to bed only when sleepy. Don’t read, eat or watch TV in bed. If you can’t sleep, get out of bed and engage in calm, quiet activities.

Then, go back to bed when you get sleepy again. Restrict the amount of

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seniortimesmagazine.com

•

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•

•

•

time you spend in bed to your usual amount of sleep (hopefully, seven to nine hours!) even if you did not sleep as soundly as you would have liked.

Manage your body temperature to get sleepy. Sleeping is associated with a decline in core body temperature from a state of relative warmth. Raise your body temperature by exercising three to four hours before bed or by taking a warm bath 20 minutes before bed.

Manage your bedroom temperature.

Do your best to maintain a steady temperature in the room throughout the night because fluctuations in room temperature disrupt your dream states.

Lights out. Keep the room dark and keep bright lights (e.g., cell phones, alarm clocks) out of your point of sight.

Watch what you eat and drink.

Discontinue ingesting caffeine four to six hours before bedtime. Avoid nicotine. Although alcohol initially promotes falling asleep, it wakes you up later; so, avoid that before bedtime as well. A light snack may help you sleep, but avoid heavy meals close to bedtime.

Mind your mind. Don’t “try” to fall asleep because that doesn’t work for most people. Don’t stimulate your brain right before bed — try the matinee for action movies and avoid stimulating conversations. To sleep better, try listening to music and relaxing before bedtime.

For more information about Seniors and sleep, go to HelpGuide.org, a nonprofit resource, at: www.helpguide. org/life/sleep_aging.htm. Or, try the American Psychological Association at: www.apa.org/pi/aging/resources/ guides/insomnia.aspx.

Sleep soundly to get that healthy edge!

Kendra Siler-Marsiglio, Ph.D. is the Director of Rural Health Partnership at WellFlorida Council.

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HANDS ON

Habitat for Humanity Building More Than Houses

by Darla Kinney Scoles

Each month Darla Kinney Scoles participates firsthand in, and then shares with readers, a local volunteer experience opportunity. The needs are great. The rewards, even greater.

If your organization would like to be featured in an upcoming column, contact Senior Times Magazine.

THE NEED: Whenever an organization is run almost entirely by volunteers, need is a constant. With only six regular staff members, Alachua Habitat for Humanity is one such entity — and their call for volunteers is never ending. Often, community members think this non-profit’s greatest want is for people to swing a hammer, but the opportunities to serve go far beyond that.

THE WORK: Helping hands are put to good use in many ways at Alachua Habitat, including: working at the construction site, being involved in family selection, helping with family nurture, performing office and computer work, assisting in resource development, and working in

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January 2014

the ReStore. (Donating to, and shopping at the ReStore are helpful too!).

“We need more people who are able to work in the ReStore on a consistent, long-term basis,” said Jan LeDuc, Alachua Habitat board member. “We need more help marking merchandise and setting up displays. We even need people who can ride along in the truck and help pick up donated items.”

LeDuc has been with Alachua Habitat since 2000 when she retired from fulltime work. Having served as a Habitat volunteer since 1986, her experience helps her better coordinate efforts now.

With six active building sites going at the time we talked, LeDuc said perhaps the greatest urgency — and one that the general public often knows nothing about — is for site managers to give direction and seniortimesmagazine.com

ALL PHOTOS BY DARLA KINNEY SCOLES Workers at a recent Women Build site included students, neighbors, single mothers interested in learning home repair skills, construction professionals and curious reporters writing about volunteerism. The mission of the Women Build chapter of Habitat for Humanity is to work to nurture, recruit and train women to build simple, decent, healthy and affordable houses.

January 2014

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instruction at every home build.

“We need people with construction knowledge and skills to oversee the work and keep things running smoothly,” LeDuc said. “Each site needs a manager and each manager needs to be there every Saturday to consistently coordinate the work.”

Recently, I spent some time helping out at the Alachua Habitat office and found it quite easy — and rewarding. Everyone I met along the way was happy,

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January 2014

helpful and grateful for my service. I answered phones, did filing, updated computer documents and helped with other small projects. Often, it is the busy work that is put off for larger more deadline-intense projects, so these easy, but routine tasks are a great way for a volunteer to help others catch up on the most needful things.

Everything was explained to me carefully and with the needed details,

increasing my comfort level with tasks and helping me accomplish them more efficiently. The organization was also more than willing to work with my personal schedule to help me find an easy way to fit in helping there.

The same was true when I spent part of a Saturday at the Women Build construction site in Gainesville. Construction Volunteer Coordinator, Jill Carter, met me as I arrived at the property, givseniortimesmagazine.com

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”

— RABINDRANATH TAGORE

ing me a tour and explaining the ins and outs (and ups and downs) of building a home with volunteer workers.

“Women Build is a part of the Habitat organization,” Carter said. “The Women Build experience is an empowering one, with everything taught and done by women only. Here women get to do things they might not get to do otherwise — and it’s fun. This is a great group of women from all walks of life.”

As one of those women, I heard some of the same sounds as at a traditional home construction site — drills, saws, hammers — but also caught occasional shouts of, “You go, girl!” and “Move that booty!” While pitching in there, I learned to do a few things in my own way and by my own means of figuring it out. If I asked for direction, it was respectively given. The camaraderie was like no other workplace I had experi-

enced. I went home tired and dusty, but enthused and joyful.

THE REWARDS: Any need to feel needed that I may have had was met during my experiences with Alachua Habitat. While volunteering both in the office and at the build site I was always made to feel appreciated and valued. The cause here is also one that is inarguably a feel-good January 2014

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effort. To know that what you are doing is helping a family gain independence and stability through housing — and that they contribute themselves to that end in a significant way — leaves no doubt that you have done a valuable thing. The ability to talk with the new homeowner as they work alongside volunteers confirms this fact.

“It’s been a very exciting experience,” said prospective homeowner Karen Lewis, of Gainesville. “Seeing our house rise from the ground has been great for us as a family. I bring the kids out the day after a workday and they are always amazed at the progress. After 17 years renting, I applied one year ago and look where we are now. This is such a blessing.”

THE FIT: With such a range of ways to serve, Alachua Habitat is a good choice for people in a variety of life situations. The store and office work require little to no physical labor. The job site experience can be as mild or as intense as the volunteer desires. Flexibility was an overriding theme with everyone coordinating the efforts at this organization. Simply tell them what you can or cannot do and accommodations are made. Even a one-time effort in bringing a lunch to a Saturday work site is a big help. Groups as well as individuals can also join the effort in just about any area of operation.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED: Helping is as easy as picking up the phone. Alachua Habitat for Humanity offices are open Monday through Friday from 9:00 to 5:00 and can be reached at 352-378-4663. To learn more first, visit www.alachuahabitat.org or check out Alachua Habitat for Humanity and Alachua Women Build on Facebook. (Did I mention how flexible these folks are in working to see that volunteers find a good fit there?)

Thanks to you! -Darla

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seniortimesmagazine.com

COLUMN œ DONNA BONNELL

Embracing Life Life’s Shock Absorbers

O

n my lifeline, 2013 will be marked as the year I discovered:

1 The necessity for regular maintenance of mental and emotional shock absorbers.

2 The value of putting the brakes on life, long enough to take a break and refuel my soul.

Failing to restore spiritual energy levels that power my external engines is no longer an option.

First, I had to learn how not to be a shock absorber. Sounds crazy, I admit.

Unfortunately, it is common for one person in the household to bear that responsibility. Without realizing it, that became my role as the first-born child in a family with two alcoholic parents.

Distressing tales shared with me were secrets, as silence is golden in a dysfunctional setting. My job was to calmly hear the heartbreaking horror stories and cover up the negative results. Fabricating this smokescreen provided a twisted imaginary functional family.

Our subliminal goal was to perpetuate the illusion of living in harmony. By me being an emotional comfort cushion, I reduced everyone’s tension. For years,

we successfully portrayed the image of an ideal family.

This perceived responsibility carried into my adult life. I thrived on being a good listener and problem solver.

Truthfully, I did not do anyone a favor, especially myself. Eventually, nothing surprised me. Emotional numbness from lack of feeling anything and adverse physical symptoms resulted. I began longing for enthusiasm to embrace life. Regular readers know that when I achieve those moments of clarity I must search for answers.

“Wisdom Is the Best Shock Absorber,” written by a humanitarian leader, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, provoked a lot of thought.

Shankar states, “We usually use coconut as an example of how life should be. A coconut has a husk around it, and when it falls from a high level it doesn’t break.

It has a shock absorber or cushion. So if our behavior is friendly, wise, and if we live a life where we are free from stress, it acts like a shock absorber. Wisdom is the best shock absorber. Our body should be like the coconut shell — strong, and our mind like the kernel inside — white and soft. And our feelings like the water deep inside — sweet. If it is the other way around then it is a problem. If the body is soft and weak, mind is harsh like a shell

and there are no feelings, they are all dried up then life becomes a burden.”

I love the coconut analogy, but can humans live a stress-free life? My quest continued.

Sigurd W. Hystad, University of Bergen, offered a solution. Some excel at tackling stress. Mental robustness is the psychological shock absorber that makes the difference. Hystad explained, “Mental hardiness is the way you interpret what we can call stressful incidents. If you view them as something frightening, they will probably have a negative influence on you. But, if you perceive stressful incidents as challenges you can control…stress can be a motivational factor. We found that those who scored highest on mental hardiness reported fewer ailments when they were stressed...Hardiness functions like a kind of shock absorber.”

I found another interesting fact to share. A woodpecker’s head experiences decelerations of 1200g as it drums on a tree at up to 22 times per second. Concussion occurs in humans when they experience 80 to 100g.

This column briefly summarized my decades-old journey. Retaining lessons learned continues a challenge. My desires include: (1) possess sweet inner feelings, like the water deep inside the coconut (2) consider stress as a positive challenge (3) achieve mental strength like the woodpecker (4) refrain from being everyone’s shock absorber.

Rebuilding one’s shock absorbers is personal. Practicing my faith, travelling and allowing myself adequate time to write (without feeling guilty) is my key for a smoother ride over life’s bumpy roads. Remembering to give those gifts to myself is my goal for 2014. s Donna Bonnell is a freelance writer who moved to Newberry in 1983. She enjoys living and working in the town she now calls home. dbnewberry@aol.com

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FRONTIER FISHIN’

Horror Movie Nightmare on an Alaskan Fishing Boat

by Richard Dennison

A

t the end of our fishing trip to Gustavus, Alaska we thought we could make a movie about our experience. If we couldn’t get financing for a feature film, surely a documentary was possible. An obvious title might have been “The Old Men and the Sea.” But this was to be a horror movie along the lines of “Scream,” or “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” We ultimately decided that we could call it “Nightmare on Fishing Boat.”

Our ensemble cast includes, Richard, a 74-year-old retired novice fisherman whose sole purpose for being on the trip is to fulfill a bucket list item to one day fish with the big boys in pristine Alaska waters.

Our main star is 60-year-old David, a marine biologist by education who moved to Santa Barbara, California to get his degree at UCSB and never left.

Dave’s life has been filled with tragedy, first losing the love of his life to cancer and then raising their three children on his own. One of those children, Casey, had obtained his Master’s License and was preparing for his 2nd year as a

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fishing Captain in Alaska when he lost his life in a diving accident near Santa Barbara. Dave owns and pilots his own boat — a Parker 25-20 — and previously had a Radon 24 for 15 years. Dave is a big, strapping man’s man of Danish heritage and a fitting star for our film’s leader who organizes the trip.

and ours is our boat’s captain, a cross between James Cagney’s Captain Morton in “Mr. Roberts” and Humphrey Bogart’s Captain Queeg in “The Caine Mutiny.”

In order to minimize royalty payments we must keep the real Captain’s name and photo removed from our movie. In various scenes we see our evil captain

Heading out to the ocean on the first day, Richard laughs off any use of Dramamine explaining that he had shipped in the Merchant Marine as a young man and he could handle anything the ocean had to offer.

The supporting cast includes 70-yearold Tom, who also pilots his own boat, a 21-foot Triton, and flies his own airplane, a 1939 L2M Taylorcraft, and 65-year-old Terry, a cancer survivor who has only two loves in his life — women and fishing, and not necessarily in that order. Taken together this group approximates Lee Marvin’s “Dirty Dozen.”

Of course every film needs a villain

dismissing our experienced fishermen like the urchins from “Les Miserables,” serving them lunches with food from “Papillion,” making up outrageous fabrications as in “Liar, Liar” and otherwise treating his passengers like the Japanese Colonel treated his prisoners in “Bridge on the River Kwai.” Having already paid our hard-earned dollars for the trip, we reluctantly follow his precise orders and seniortimesmagazine.com

January 2014

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PHOTO FROM FISHINGTRIPTOALASKA.COM

OPPOSITE: All’s well that ends well.

The intrepid cast, from left to right: Tom, Dave, Terry and Richard.

RIGHT: Back at camp after a trying day, Richard is not an especially happy camper.

FAR RIGHT: Happier times with Richard and one of his halibut.

speak in whispered tones of our loss of funds and possible floggings back at camp if we fail to abide by his numerous demands. We will be on a tight budget for this film but I’m sure we can afford a background audio providing the sound of little steel balls being manipulated over and over.

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Our film will begin with our intrepid group laughing, drinking and enjoying the magnificent views of the awesome Glacier Bay scenery as the cast completes their mid-June journey from Santa Barbara to Gustavus to begin four days of fishing for salmon and halibut.

Then the horror begins.

Heading out to the ocean on the first day, Richard laughs off any use of Dramamine explaining that he had shipped in the Merchant Marine as a young man and he could handle anything the ocean had to offer. Thirty minutes out to sea, the old man is beginning to turn green.

Fifteen minutes after that, the fish are seniortimesmagazine.com

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY RICHARD DENNISON

being fed a mixture of regurgitated breakfast and kegs of day old beer. They get fed a lot.

As the horror music from this disgusting event begins to subside to normal levels we suddenly experience a wild, violent scene in which Tom brings a large salmon to heel. As our villainous

captain frantically attempts to net the 20-pounder into the boat, Richard — in his haste to get his sick big butt out of the way — slips and cracks his head on the steel cabin bulkhead. The blood is gushing everywhere (think the Quentin Tarantino movie, “Kill Bill”) as all gather around to see the severity of the wound.

With the music building to another crescendo we do a close-up of the cut, which is about 4 x 1 inches.

Dave says, “Holy crap, this is bad. We have to get him to a hospital.”

“The nearest hospital is in Juno, 91 air miles away” says the Captain, panicking over his future insurance premiums.

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As the scene ends, all actors are discussing this trip-threatening situation as we cut away to Richard, who is gesturing wildly and insisting he is perfectly

of the cabin. The immediate result is a significant bruising that instantly blackens the right side of Richard’s face to the color of soot. As the scene ends we do

With all the blood on both sides of the head, Dave says he was concerned about what was going on in between.

OK. He fails to realize he is talking to a fishing pole.

As in all horror movies, things must get worse before they get better. Richard sits by the side of the boat as it heads back to shore. The boat has no first aid kit (naturally) so the old man is sopping up his blood with some rags that smell like fish and holding it together with duct tape. As he glances around the edge of the cabin to better see the distance to shore, the boat hits a three-foot swell that tosses our bloody, dazed, seasick warrior hard into the other frame edge

a close-up of our bloody and beaten up old-timer’s face. The make-up people will have it appear much like Rocky Balboa’s did at the end of round 15 in the original “Rocky.”

As the boat makes its way to shore, David goes out to observe Richard and sees for the first time his overall condition. Later, at the cabin, Dave explains that when he checked out Richard he had blood dripping down the left side of his face, black and blue on the right side and a completely bloodshot right eye.

With all the blood on both sides of the

head, Dave says he was concerned about what was going on in between.

Upon returning to the camp, all concerned drink long and hard and speak of how much fun they had that day. Richard does not participate in the conversation.

At our film’s finale, all’s well that ends well. As the credits roll we insert a screen explaining that no one was seriously injured in the making of the film and that the Captain should at least be given his just due as a knowledgeable fisherman since all participants did catch their limit on most days. The cast generously over-tips him.

Would we recommend this adventure for everyone?

You bet. We expect our film to be a big hit. The entire cast is going back to film a sequel next year. s Richard Dennison is a semi-retired freelance writer and author of the novelty golf book “Just Fore Laughs.”

Families

Live colorfully…

Call today to schedule your family portraits — on location or at our studio.

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January 2014

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COLUMN œ ELLIS AMBURN

Enjoying Act Three Celebrity Biographer; Stroke Survivor

“W

hat was Jack Kerouac like?” my neurosurgeon, Dr. Joshua Billingsley, asked after running a camera from my groin into my brain at Shands Hospital following a stroke.

Surprised that this medical wunderkind, who looked all of 18, was intrigued by my relationship with the renowned author of “On the Road” — I was Kerouac’s friend, editor, and biographer — I blurted, “When I called Jack and reminded him his novel was overdue, he said he was going to come down to New York and shove a pineapple up my ass.”

The OR, steeped in silence the past three hours, erupted in laughter.

Glancing up at Dr. Billingsley’s rodeo-star visage — a little bit Gary Cooper, a little bit Ryan Gosling — I asked, “Where are you from?”

“Kentucky,” he replied, “the flyover state.”

Noting my blood clot, an emblem of the stint I’d received earlier in the week after a heart attack, he remarked, “We don’t do hematomas in neurosurgery.”

His cockiness contrasted nicely with his gentle, painless touch during the angiogram, during which, apart from a momentary sensation of warmth when the dye reached my brain, I’d felt only a light, precise tapping along my pubic area, where I imagined he was inserting a fiber optics camera in an artery.

“How did you get that lead in the back of your head?” he asked.

“Gunshot wound,” I replied, explaining the nonstop party in my apartment in Greenwich Village in the disco-driven ‘70s had got out of hand one night.

“Leading ultimately to brain hemorrhage,” he quipped.

As he started to leave, I said, “Thanks for saving my life today, doc.”

“Aww, it was nothing — all in a day’s work.”

Two days later I found myself recovering in Shands Rehab Hospital on 39th, where therapists taught me how to survive at home after a stroke.

Four hours earlier, as I’d been wheeled out of ICU on a gurney, rocker Mike Horton had sung, at my request, “Sea of Love.”

My last words to Mike and Donna Marks, owner of Sprinkles Palm Beach, were: “I’m ecstatic. I got everything I wanted in my 80 years. Now, if God wants me, it’s just one tiny step into Jesus’s arms.”

In my room upon my return were Donna; my brother Bill and wife Joyce; Bill Carter, currently renovating Smathers Library at the University of Florida; Greg Norman, Buchholz High’s baseball coach; and best friend Steven Cope.

Donna later said my blood pressure was spiking, but I never felt a moment’s pain from either the heart attack or stroke.

Two days later I found myself recovering in Shands Rehab Hospital on 39th, where therapists taught me how to survive at home after a stroke.

In the gym one morning I met an aide named Lee McCray, who later told me, “I was drawn to you because of the joy you radiated. I knew it came from Christ.”

I asked him to pray with me, and felt a surge of healing energy. Lee became part of my morning routine, and we made a date to attend his church after discharge.

He showed up at my house in his silver truck my first Sunday back in High Springs, and we headed for Christ Central Alachua, a huge cutting-edge congregation oozing friendliness and spirituality.

“How you doing?” Lee asked.

“Physically I’m stronger every day, but for some reason my channel to God is closed. I do my usual morning prayers and meditation, but nothing happens.”

Once the service started, the sermon seemed tailor-made for my malaise.

“Never mistake God’s silence for God’s absence,” pastor J. Mark Johns said. “He always loved you, He loves you now, and He will love you forever.

When He seems distant or inaccessible, it’s because He’s busy behind the scenes arranging things for your benefit.”

My portal to God sprang open, and every cell in my body responded, swelling with power.

All I’d needed to reconnect with God was to be with those who activate His presence: other people. God had wanted me to get back to church. At home alone I’d missed Him, but He’d missed me more. s Ellis Amburn’s “Subterranean Kerouac,” published by St. Martin’s Press, was hailed as “definitive” by the Los Angeles Times Book Review. The same periodical called his biography of Janis Joplin, “Pearl,” published

by Warner Books, “The definitive account, written by an expert celebrity biographer.”

January 2014

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CALENDAR UPCOMING EVENTS IN ALACHUA & MARION HIGH SPRINGS MUSIC IN THE PARK

CAMELLIA SHOW

Third Sunday of Every Month

Times Vary GAINESVILLE - Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, 4700 SW 58th Dr. This two-day event features prize-winning camellias of all sizes, shapes, and colors. This show is geared toward educating the public about the care, culture, and appreciation of camellias, both in the greenhouse and in the landscape. Regular admission price for non-members and members are admitted free of charge. Info: www. americancamellias.org. 352-372-4981.

2:00pm - 4:00pm HIGH SPRINGS - James Paul Park and Community Garden, 200 North Main St. Every third Sunday, come enjoy local music and fresh air out in the park. Bring lawn chairs, refreshments, and blankets. Admission is free. 352-275-4190.

ARTWALK GAINESVILLE Last Friday of Every Month 7:00pm - 10:00pm GAINESVILLE - Bo Diddley Plaza. Self-guided tour of downtown’s galleries, eateries and businesses.

Pick up a map near Bo Diddley Plaza, visit more than a dozen spots, including local landmarks like the Hippodrome and The Sequential Artists Workshop. Watch live performances throughout the night, as well. www.artwalkgainesville.com.

A 10,000-MILE JOURNEY Through April 13 Times Vary GAINESVILLE - The Florida Museum of Natural History, 3215 Hull Rd. Art joins science to reveal the wonders and perils of the Swallow-tailed Kite’s migration in a six-month installation at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, Florida. The paintings, poetry, and photography of Margo McKnight, Chris Cock, and Jim Gray bring to life Avian Research and Conservation Institute’s exciting discoveries about the year-round ecology of this alluring raptor. 352-846-2000.

CHILDREN’S BOOK ILLUSTRATOR CHRISTIE February Through April 27 Times Vary OCALA - The Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd. Appleton to display the work of award-winning children’s book illustrator and Artist-in-Residence R. Gregory Christie Feb. 1 through April 27. Christie has illustrated more than 40 books in the past 17 years. He is participating in the museum’s Artist-in-Residency program this spring. As part of his residency with the museum, Christie will present a workshop on bookmaking and illustration to students at Howard Middle School Jan. 30 and 31.

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January 2014

January 4 - 5

PRIMETIME INSTITUTE CLASS Thursday, January 9 2:30pm - 4:00pm GAINESVILLE - Senior Recreation Center, 5701 NW 34th Blvd. PTI presents: Exercise, Health, and Wellness Tips for the New Year. Rachelle Studer, PT, DPT, NCS, Primary Stroke Therapist from UF Health’s Shands Rehabilitation Hospital, will provide tips for how to have a happier, healthier you in the New Year. 352-332-6917.

ROCK OF AGES Friday, January 10 7:30pm GAINESVILLE - Phillips Center. Set in 1987 on the Sunset Strip, “Rock of Ages” tells the story of a small-town girl who meets a big-city dreamer — and in L.A.’s most famous rock club, they fall in love to the greatest songs of the ‘80s.

This feel-good love story is told through the vintage hits of icon rockers Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Pat Benatar, Whitesnake and many more. www.performingarts. ufl.edu. www.rockofagesontour.com.

ART QUILT EXHIBITION RECEPTION Friday, January 17 6:00pm GAINESVILLE - The Thomas Center. The community is invited to the opening reception for the “A Bare Thread, Art Quilts by Amy Vigilante” exhibition. The reception will be followed by a concert at 7 p.m. featuring popular local singer-songwriter Ricky Kendall and his friends. Both events are free and open to the public. The exhibit will be on display in the Main Gallery Jan. 10-Mar. 22, 2014.

352-393-8532, www.gvlculturalaffairs.org.

BILL DEYOUNG AUTHOR VISIT January 11 & January 12 Times Vary GAINESVILLE - Library. Journalist and Florida native Bill DeYoung discusses and signs his book “Skyway: The True Story of Tampa’s Signature Bridge and the Man Who Brought it Down” on two days: January 11 at 1 p.m. at the Tower Road Branch and on January 12, 3 p.m. at Headquarters Library. DeYoung’s visits offer the opportunity to learn more about this detailed portrait of the rise and fall of a Florida landmark. 352-334-3909, www.aclib.us.

FARM-TO-TABLE DINNER Saturday, January 11 4:30pm ALACHUA - Swallowtail Farm, 17603 NW 276 Ln. As part of the 2013-2014 Farm to Table Dinner Series, Amanda Bisson of The Jones Eastside will be preparing dinner. The series highlights delicious food from Swallowtail Farm and surrounding local farms that is artfully prepared by Gainesville area celebrity chefs, celebrating the wonderful local food culture. Tickets are $80 and will go toward sustaining Swallowtail Farm. 352-840-7170.

DUDLEY KIDS PROGRAM Saturday, January 11 10:00am - 2:00pm NEWBERRY - Dudley Farm Historic State Park. 18730 West Newberry Rd. As part of the “Kids Fun on the Farm” every second Saturday October through May at Dudley Farm Historic State Park, this month’s theme will be “Have an Orange.” 352-472-1142.

WAG EVENT Sunday, January 12 2:30pm – 3:30 or later GAINESVILLE - Millhopper Branch Library, 3145 NW 43rd Ave. “Following Your Creative Heart in the New Year.” Melissa Lee — artist, author, chef, blogger, agent, and now publisher on her own, will speak at the meeting of the Writers Alliance of Gainesville. Resident of St. Simon Island, Georgia, her blog, “The Permanent Tourist,” is booming, and she’s actually making money off it with paid advertising. WAG meetings are free and open to anyone interested in the written word. www.writersalliance.org.

PRIMETIME INSTITUTE CLASS Tuesday, January 14 2:30pm - 4:00pm GAINESVILLE - Senior Recreation Center, 5701 NW 34th Blvd. PTI presents: Relationships with Those Living with Memory Loss. Carol Lukert, founder of the Center for Dementia Education, will discuss a strategy employing seven areas of

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focus (Domains of Well-Being) to help individuals living with dementia and those who care for them. This strategy was developed by the “Eden Alternative,” a non-profit involved with improving the living environments of Elders. 352-332-6917.

PRIMETIME INSTITUTE CLASS Thursday, January 16 2:30pm - 4:00pm GAINESVILLE - Senior Recreation Center, 5701 NW 34th Blvd. PTI presents: Do We Become More Sensitive to Pain with Aging? Joseph L. Riley III, PhD, Professor Director of UF’s CTSI Pain Clinical Research Unit in the UF College of Dentistry, will present the UF Institute on Aging’s program for the month of January. 352-332-6917.

GAINESVILLE ORCHESTRA Friday, January 17 7:30pm GAINESVILLE - Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall, 3000 NW 83rd St. The concert’s theme “Of Rivers and Oceans” will include works

by Bedrich Smetana and Tan Dun’s Water Concerto. Dun is noted for his orchestral compositions but also his film scores.

CASHORE MARIONETTES January 18 & January 19 Times Vary OCALA - Dassance Fine Arts Center, CF Ocala Campus, 3001 S.W. College RD. The College of Central Florida Performing Art Series presents two shows by the Cashore Marionettes. “Life in Motion” combines virtuoso manipulation, humor, classical music and poetic insight for viewers age 8 and older — Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 pm. “Simple Gifts,” on Sunday, Jan. 19 at 3 p.m. features scenes from every-day life set to stunning music by composers such as Vivaldi, Strauss, Beethoven and Copland. Following the show, children can participate in a free craft activity in the Dassance Fine Arts Center lobby.

Cost: $12. Visit Tickets.CF.edu, or call 352-8735810 or 352-746-6721, ext. 1416. www.CF.edu.

‘Quartet’ Tuesday, January 14

2:00pm and 7:00pm

OCALA - Appleton Museum of Art and CF Ocala Campus. The College of Central Florida International Film Series will present “Quartet,” a 2012 mix of comedy and drama. The Great Britain film will be shown at 2 p.m. at the Appleton Museum of Art, College of Central Florida, 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., and at 7 p.m. in Building 8, Room 110, at the CF Ocala Campus, 3001 S.W. College Road. At the Appleton, viewers pay museum admission unless they are a museum member or a patron of the CF International Film Series. For membership info: 352-873-5808. The viewing is free at CF. International Film Series info: contact Joe Zimmerman at 352-854-2322, ext. 1233, or visit www.cf.edu/foundation/events/events.

DENIM & DIAMOND GALA Tuesday, January 21 6:00pm – 10:00pm OCALA - HILTON, 3600 SW 36th Ave. “The Florida Equine Champions Charity is dedicated to the care and celebration of the lives of equine champions through advocacy, education and information, promoting equine entrepreneurship. Just wear your favorite Denim with a little BLING.” Event includes dinner, silent auction, cash bar and live music in support of this important cause. All proceeds will go towards the construction of a showplace for the Champions. For more information, please contact Helen Barbazon: Helen.fecc@gmail.com.

The Summer of Love Concert Saturday, January 18

7:30pm

GAINESVILLE - Phillips Center. Celebrate the music and spirit of the Woodstock generation. Led by former Styx and Beatlemania bassist/vocalist Glen Burtnik, the all-star cast of musicians includes vocalists, keyboards, percussion, guitars, horns and strings. The band re-creates, note for note, the music of The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dylan, The Doors, Hendrix, Joplin, Cream, CSN&Y, Jefferson Airplane, Mamas and the Papas, Creedence, Santana and more, while also featuring the famous, psychedelic Pig Light Show. 352-392-2787.

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PRIMETIME INSTITUTE CLASS Tuesday, January 28 2:30pm - 4:00pm GAINESVILLE - Senior Recreation Center, 5701 NW 34th Blvd. PTI presents: Mt. St. Helens: Volcanic Eruption and Aftermath. A slideshow will focus on the eruption of Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980, and its effects on the landscape and the nearby rivers. The speaker, John Ritter, spent over 30 years as a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and made several trips to the area after the eruptions. 352-332-6917.

DUDLEY FARM PLOW DAY Jan. 31 - Feb. 1 10:00am - 2:00pm NEWBERRY - Dudley Farm Historic State Park, 18730 W. Newberry Rd. View farming as it was a century ago as draft horses plow the Dudley Farm fields. A fun and educational experience for the entire family with ‘old time’ music, demonstrations and more. Admission is $5.00 per vehicle up to 8 occupants. 352472-1142. www.friendsofdudleyfarm.org.

Hoggetowne Medieval Faire Jan. 25 - 26; Jan. 31 - Feb. 2 Times Vary GAINESVILLE - Alachua County Fairgrounds, 3100 NE 39th Ave. The previous Faire brought in 52,000 visitors, and this year they are hoping for more. More than 160 artisans and craft makers will join a troupe of actors, musicians and street performers for a journey back to the days of brave knights and fair maidens.

Admission price varies. www.gvlculturalaffairs.org. 352-393-8536.

THREE-ORGAN SPECTACULAR! Sunday, January 19 3:00pm GAINESVILLE - Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.

Organists John T. Lowe, Jr., John Bradford Bohl, Timothy Denton and Peter Kinzie present this concert with musical guests The Holy Trinity Choir, presenting Louis Vierne’s Messe Solennelle for Two Organs and Choir. The concert is free and a reception (wine and hors d’oeuvres) follows the concert. A spaghetti dinner and old-fashioned hymn sing is offered Saturday, January 18 at 6 p.m. Tickets for the Saturday event are $18, and are available by calling 352-372-4721. www.holytrinitygnv.org.

PRIMETIME INSTITUTE FIELD TRIP Thursday, January 23 Times Vary GAINESVILLE - Harn Museum of Art. Field trip and optional Café Lunch. Signup deadline has passed but limited availability may be

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possible after this date. Call Charity Blomeley at 352-332-6917 or email primetime.inst@ gmail.com. 11:30 a.m. - Optional lunch (at your own expense) in the Camellia Court Café on the lower level of the museum. 1:00 p.m.

- Docent-led tour of three exhibitions in the museum. Museum admission is free, although donations are welcome. www.harn.ufl.edu.

UFPA ANNUAL GALA Saturday, January 25 6:00pm GAINESVILLE - Phillips Center. UFPA Annual Gala: An Evening in Tuscany. Enjoy an enchanting evening as the Phillips Center is transformed into an old world Italian village. Guests are invited to relish in a savory gourmet Tuscaninspired meal and enjoy live music to heat up the dance floor. More than just a night of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, dinner and dancing, proceeds will benefit the live performing arts in our community. Tickets are $200 per person.

STARGAZING AT PAYNES PRAIRIE Saturday, February 1 Time TBA MICANOPY - Paynes Prairie State Park, 100 Savannah Blvd. Come learn more about the stars and planets thanks to the Alachua Astronomy Club. Enjoy sitting around a campfire while sipping hot chocolate and making s’mores. Take a hayride around Hickory Ranch. 352-466-4966.

MARDI GRAS FIRST FRIDAY Friday, February 7 5:00pm - 10:00pm GAINESVILLE - Downtown. Mardi Gras First Friday features live music, Mardi Gras-themed live street art, King Cake provided by Sarkara Sweets, a Mardi Gras mask decorating contest, multiple bead drops throughout the night with a prize for the person with the most beads, and balcony parties at Union Street Station. www.pledge5.org.

If you would like us to publicize an event in Alachua or Marion counties, send information by the 13th day of the month prior.

All submissions will be reviewed and every effort will be made to run qualified submissions if page space is available.

352-416-0175 (fax) or email: editor@towerpublications.com

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“More people” claim based on a comparison of Q3 2011 Centris market share data report for consumers with a bundle of TV, phone and Internet in Cox service areas. © 2012 Cox Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. *Offer expires 06/30/12 and is available to residential customers in Cox FL/GA service areas. $75/month is only available for new subscriptions to all of Phone Premier, Internet Essential, and Cox TV Economy with 1 digital receiver, and HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, and Starz free for months 1-3. Other equipment options available and prices may vary. After promotion period, regular rates apply. See www.cox.com for pricing. All 4 premium channels are $20/mo. in months 4-6; regular rates thereafter. Free install limited to standard pro install on up to 1 prewired outlet. Phone Premier includes Primary Phone line, features, voicemail, and unlimited domestic long distance. Unlimited plan long distance minutes are limited to direct dialed long distance calls within the United States, U.S. Virgin Island &amp; Puerto Rico and may be used only for residential, non-commercial voice calls. Usage that is not consistent with such use may subject your account to review and/or suspension or termination of your service. Prices exclude additional installation/activation fees, additional equipment charges, inside wiring fees, additional jacks, taxes, surcharges and other fees. Telephone modem may be required for Telephone service. Telephonemodemuses household electrical power to operate and has backup battery power provided by Cox if electricity is interrupted. Telephone service, including access to e911 service, will not be available during an extended power outage or if themodemismoved or inoperable. Telephone service provided by an affiliated Cox entity. STARZ and related channels and service marks are the property of Starz Entertainment, LLC. SHOWTIME® and related marks are trademarks of Showtime Networks Inc., a CBS company. HBO® and related channels and service marks are the property of Home Box Office, Inc. Cinemax® and related channels and service marks are the property of Home Box Office, Inc.©2011 Home Box Office, Inc. All rights reserved. Digital receiver rental not required to view broadcast channels. To receive broadcast signals in digital quality, paid subscription to a minimum of Starter/limited basic and a digital receiver rental required. If you own a One-way Digital Cable Ready (DCR) TV or other display device that is CableCARD™ compatible, you may rent either a CableCARD or a digital set top receiver in order to receive digital broadcast signals. In order to receive Interactive TV services offered by Cox, such as the Interactive Programming Guide (IPG), OnDemand, and Pay-Per-View, youmust rent a digital set top receiver. If you wish to lease a CableCARD in lieu of a digital receiver, youmust obtain the CableCARD fromCox. CableCard is a registered trademark of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (CableLabs®) and is used with permission. Installation fees, taxes, franchise fees and other surcharges are additional. Other restrictionsmay apply. Cable modem required for Internet services. For best performance, use of Cox approved cable modem is recommended. Uninterrupted or error-free Internet service, or the speed of your service, is not guaranteed. Actual speeds vary. Not all services and features available everywhere. A credit check and/or depositmay be required. Other restrictionsmay apply. © 2012 Cox Florida/Georgia All rights reserved.

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THEATRE Acrosstown Repertory Theatre.....................619 S. Main Street, Gainesville Curtis M. Phillips Center ........................................... 315 Hull Road, Gainesville Fine Arts Hall Theatre - SFC ........................... 3000 NW 83rd St., Gainesville Gainesville Community Playhouse ....... 4039 N.W. 16th Blvd., Gainesville Hippodrome State Theatre................................. 25 SE 2nd Place, Gainesville UF Constans Theatre ................................................. Museum Road, Gainesville Nadine McGuire Blackbox Theatre ................... Museum Road, Gainesville Insomniac Theatre Company ............................E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala Ocala Civic Theatre ..................................4337 East Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala High Springs Community Theater .......... 130 NE 1st Avenue, High Springs

ACROSSTOWN REPERTORY THEATRE

The Peppermint King January 24 - February 9 Join Acrosstown in the world premier of this delightful Voyage and Return story. It begins in the Ukraine in the 1920s, but soon whisks us away to a magical land where everything is redand-white. As with “Alice in Wonderland” and ”The Wizard of Oz,” before it, you’ll discover themes of family, war, peace, history, power and the supernatural as our reluctant heroine discovers a surprising secret about herself. www.acrosstown.org.

GAINESVILLE COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSE

Aida January 31- February 23 Elton John and Tim Rice’s AIDA is a contemporary musical take on a grand classic tale of the timeless bond between an enslaved Nubian princess and an Egyptian soldier. As forbidden love blossoms between them, the young lovers are forced to face death or part forever. Together, they set a shining example of true devotion that ultimately transcends the vast cultural differences between their warring nations, heralding a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity.

352-371-1234 352-392-ARTS 352-395-4181 352-376-4949 352-375-4477 352-273-0526 352-392-1653 352-897-0477 352-236-2274 386-454-3525

CURTIS M. PHILLIPS CENTER

Rock of Ages January 10, 2014 at 7:30 pm The worldwide party musical “Rock Of Ages” features dozens of classic ’80s rock tunes including Don’t Stop Believin’, We Built This City, The Final Countdown, Wanted Dead Or Alive, Here I Go Again, Can’t Fight This Feeling and I Want To Know What Love Is. In 1987 on the Sunset Strip, a small town girl met a big city rocker – and in L.A.’s most famous rock club, they fell in love to the greatest songs of the ’80s. This arena-rock love story — nominated for five Tony Awards in 2009 — is told through the vintage hits of Journey, Night Ranger, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake and many more.

old fling who’s made it might be her ticket to a fresh new start. But is this self-made man — now a successful doctor — secure enough to face his humble beginnings? As Margie risks all for a new start, will her luck finally change for the better? www.thehipp. org.

OCALA CIVIC THEATRE

I Do! I Do! January 9 – January 19 This heart-warming Broadway favorite, originally written years ago for Mary Martin and Robert Preston, takes a musical look at the marriage of Michael and Agnes Snow and their life together over a period of 50 years. We watch as they go through wedding-night jitters, raise a family, negotiate mid-life crises, quarrel, separate, reconcile and grow old together, all lovingly to the charming

HIPPODROME STATE THEATRE

Good People January 8 - February 2 This recent Broadway hit is dramatically funny and surprisingly touching.

Welcome to Southie, a Boston neighborhood where a night on the town means a few rounds of bingo, where this month’s paycheck covers last month’s bills, and where Margie Walsh has just been let go from yet another job. Facing eviction, Margie thinks an

score that includes “My Cup Runneth Over.” Ocala audiences are in for a unique experience as the original creators, Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, have reconceived the show to include a separate couple for each of the six episodes in the long marriage of Michael and Agnes. This will be the first production of the new show, which, if all goes well, will move on to an all-star version on Broadway! www. ocalacivictheatre.com.

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BOOK REVIEW BY

TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

Princesses Behaving Badly LINDA RODRIGUEZ MCROBBIE c.2013, Quirk Books $19.95 U.S. and Canada 288 pages

T

here are no ugly princes in fairy tales.

The princesses are all very beautiful, too. Nobody has bad skin or bad breath, everybody wears ďŹ ne clothing, and there are no Bad Hair Days in fairy tales. Kings are benevolent, even dragons and ogres are kinda cute.

But Once Upon a Time, real life

wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t so nice for your average royal.

In the new book â&#x20AC;&#x153;Princesses Behaving Badlyâ&#x20AC;? by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see that every-day existence couldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been a royal pain.

Ask a gaggle of 6-year-old girls how they dressed for Halloween and chances are that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be in the presence of many a little princess wanna-be. That fascination doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fade, either: years after weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve outgrown the sparkle-pink ball-gown stage, some of us are still rather captivated by beautiful royalty â&#x20AC;&#x201D; although princesses like Kate Middleton are, historically speaking, deďŹ nite anomalies.

Take, for instance, Khutulun Khan.

Born in central Asia somewhere around 1260, Princess Khutulun was an only daughter with 14 brothers. As you might expect, this meant a bit of scrapping amongst siblings, and Khutulun grew to love wrestling. Yeah, WWE-type stuff. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That was a problem,â&#x20AC;? writes McRobbie, since Princess Khutulun vowed to remain single until she could ďŹ nd a man who could defeat her. (She didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, but she eventually married anyhow).

Princess Pingyang of Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tang Dynasty was married already when her father went to war, followed by Pingyangâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brother and her husband. Rather than retreat to safety, the well-loved princess gathered her own army, which was larger than the one her father com-

manded. And yes, they won the war.

Then there was the â&#x20AC;&#x153;princessâ&#x20AC;? who really wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t royalty at all: for several months, Mary Baker convinced an entire town that she was a Javasuvian princess named Caraboo. She spun a good story ďŹ lled with adversity and adventure, and she did it for fun â&#x20AC;&#x201D; until she was caught in her elaborate lie.

In this book, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll learn about a North American princess, and the â&#x20AC;&#x153;dollar princesses.â&#x20AC;? Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll read about princesses who sympathized with the Nazis and one who had a â&#x20AC;&#x153;weird habit of collecting babies.â&#x20AC;?

Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll learn about a princess who became a saint, and one who chose an insane asylum instead of a husband. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll ďŹ nd out about princesses who took lovers (men and women) and three who gave up their crowns for romance.

Looking for a personal antidote to royal pink overload? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Princesses Behaving Badlyâ&#x20AC;? gleefully offers it â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not all.

In addition to a good look at feminine tail-kicking through the ages, author Linda Rodriguez McRobbie also sneaks humor into this fun history book with snide side comments. Those laughs come when you least expect them because theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re hidden inside the stories of strong, determined women who did things that most people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think princesses should do.

A few of the stories in this book may be familiar to some readers but, overall, McRobbie includes a good mix that will satisfy anyone who loves tales of history and audacity. If thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s you, then â&#x20AC;&#x153;Princesses Behaving Badlyâ&#x20AC;? will make you happily ever after. s Terri Schlichenmeyer never goes anywhere without a book. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s read over 11,000 of them.

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January 2014

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GUESS WHO ELSE SAYS

FASTER IS BETTER? The Federal Government, that’s who. Its Hospital Compare website has introduced new measures for Timely & Effective Care in Emergency Rooms across the nation. The time it reports patients waited to be seen by a healthcare professional in the ER at North Florida Regional is 18 minutes – the shortest in our community.

We are also faster than state and national averages.

Long waiting times in hospital ERs can increase risks for patients, especially those who have serious illnesses.

That’s why North Florida Regional Medical Center has been working for years to deliver award-winning, quality care as fast as possible.

Get our current wait times online at NFRMC.com or text ER to 23000.

FASTER IS DEFINITELY BETTER.

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