Parks

On Feb. 28, about 90 people had a great breakfast of pancakes, sausage and French toast to start the day. I wasn’t there, but I heard only good things about it. People were saying that the pancakes were fluffy and so tasty. I can just visualize them.

Later that night, our community center had a comedy night. Cheryl Leone was hosted it and she brought in two videos of a live performance with Jeff Dunham and his friends, in addition to some delicious popcorn. I never saw Jeff Dunham before, and my husband and I, plus the rest of the audience, were in for a treat. The show was so funny, and there were plenty of laughs circulating throughout the center. He did a fine job at ventriloquism and comedy.  The weather kept many people away, but the ones who attended were glad they came.

On March 1, we had our second Volunteer Appreciation Day. It started last year, and they hope to have it annually.

As we entered the community center, we found a salad bowl with fresh crispy salad to put in the bowl. We then had either lasagna or spaghetti, whichever we wanted. Along with the main course, we had delicious garlic bread and meatballs.

Cheryl Leone and many helpers hosted this special day. The helpers consisted of Bill and Donna Quinn, Diane Keefe, Chuck Carlson, Carol Wilcox, Ken Leone, Clayton and Carol George, and quite a bit of additional help. They did a great job, and we thank them. Without the volunteers, our community would not be as wonderful as it is. There was a tremendous turnout of about 85 people who attended this function.

On March 3, there was a luncheon for the men where they went to Hooter’s. There was much conversation and all had a very good time. I don’t know what transpired there, but the guys came back in a very good mood.

On the same day, several women were at O’ Brien’s. The ride to Plant City, where the restaurant is located, was a lovely ride on a beautiful day. The menu was quite varied, and the food was delicious.

By Helene Rubenstein

Published March 11, 2015

A crowd of 120 people was at the community center at Grand Horizons to see a terrific show. Rich Wilson performed a variety of talents and kept everyone laughing in their seats. He sang several hit tunes, intermingled with a variety of jokes. He had the knack of using people’s names that lived in or visited Grand Horizons that he had met.

As mentioned, the well-attended show started when Terry Gardner introduced Rich Wilson. Rich made a great entrance as he showed up in a tuxedo. Yes, this was a class act, and we were in for a delightful experience. A treat is what we experienced as he sang oldies, country, plus some gospel.

Rich started the show by singing “Let Me Be There” with such enthusiasm and emotion that he had everyone singing and clapping along. This was followed by a great performance of a Conway Twitty song entitled “It’s Only Make Believe” done in a faster version, and Rich did a remarkable job.

He then performed a medley of “At the Hop,” “All Shook Up,” “Ain’t That a Shame,” “Blueberry Hill,” and more. There was a variety of music as he then performed some country hits such as “Folsom Prison Blues.” “Ring of Fire.” ”From a Jack to a Queen,” ”Take These Chains From My Heart,” and many others.

At one point during the show, Rich introduced Terry Gardner and proceeded to sing the song “I Don’t Have a Wooden Heart.” He sang this song to Mim Gardner as Terry gave her some roses for their 55th anniversary and a giant poster of the two of them cutting their wedding cake. Needless to say, I think Mim was surprised. At least, she sure looked it.

Rich then did a very cute rendition of “Rindercella” that Archie Campbell made famous. I must say that Rich did a fantastic job of it, and the entire audience was laughing.

He also was up on stage with Kermit the Frog, and they both sang “What a Wonderful World.“ Rich changed his voice when it came to Kermit’s part, and again everyone was hysterical. He sang “Little Bitty Pretty One” with all the meaningful phrases like “Ah, Ah” and others.

During the evening, he told jokes, stories and little quips that had everyone in stitches. Everyone had a smile on his or her face.

He then performed a medley of Elvis songs like “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Teddy Bear,” and more, with some shaking going on.

Now to the end of the show. But first, there was a salute to all the veterans that were in the audience with our thanks. It was an honor to be in their presence.  We closed the show with everyone singing “America the Beautiful.”

We all left knowing we saw a high-quality show.

On Feb. 22, our community center had a Daytona 500 Bash. I understand that it was quite successful as about 35 people attended to cheer on their favorite driver.

I spoke to Gary Wilcox, and he was more than delighted with the turnout, and they hope to have more next year as this will be an annual occasion.

There were several door prizes that were given out during every break at this event. Between Gary and others, they went to several vendors who made donations. It was definitely a joint effort, and our thanks go out to all who participated. There were also hot dogs, fries, Hooter’s wings and coleslaw available for purchase. I was told from Annmarie Shackewyc that Cheryl and Ken Leone, along with Chuck Carlson, did all the cooking, while Donna Quinn made the coleslaw.

From what I understand, it was a lovely afternoon, especially if your driver won.

By Helene Rubenstein

Published March 4, 2015

On Feb. 13, about 60 residents showed up at Shells to enjoy a lovely lunch. There was so much conversing going on as the company was delightful. The waitresses were very nice and explained things if we needed to know. There were several cars, and while some people went directly back home after a big meal, a few others went shopping.

Almost 100 residents were at the community center for a sweetheart dance on Feb. 14. Gary Wilcox was the disc jockey, and from what I was told, he outdid himself. He varied the music being played and took dedications.

Before the dance, he put a paper in the community center for people to write down their dedications, and he tried really hard to accommodate all. Gary also took requests where someone would ask for a favorite song. He definitely kept the dance floor full of dancers. He did a splendid job.

There were ballots for king and queen, and Rich and Jean Lydecker won the honor.

The dance was hosted by Cheryl Leone, and she did a fine job. Our thanks go out to her.

On Feb. 18, in addition to a fun game of shuffleboard in the morning, we had a writing group at Nancy Lay’s house. We didn’t have one for quite some time because of the summer months and the fact that the holiday season kept us busy.

It is a small group, but all of us are interested in writing. Here we read what we wrote from a prompt that was given to us previously, and we picked a prompt for the next month.

I look forward to these meetings, as we all enjoy writing, and we mention some other thoughts that may have occurred to us on the subject.

By Helene Rubenstein

Published February 25, 2015

Activities continue with several new things going on.

First, we have Colleen Crandall starting up a group to do paper crafting on Wednesdays at the community center. Here, people will work on their own projects such as card making, scrapbooking, journal writing, recipe collections and more. Colleen mentions that they would love new ideas, so if anyone has any, just mention it. The main idea of this class is to have fun.

Another new and exciting game that we play is cribbage. This is hosted by Bill Quinn and Linda Rogers. Our first game was on Feb. 5, and it sure was fun. You really have to keep on your toes. Even beginners can enjoy this game as there are other players, who are well versed in playing, willing to teach. I just know that as time goes on, the amount of people looking to learn this fun game will grow.

On Feb. 1, we had a Super Bowl party at the community center. There was chili and cornbread and more. The kickoff started at 6:30 p.m., and about 35 attended. If some people decided not to watch the football game, they created their own game of Mexican Train or Rummikube, and all had a fun time.

On Feb. 3, several women attended the Lunch Bunch and had a very good time at A Matter of Taste restaurant located in Dade City. There were 18 women who attended. A group picture was taken by one of the girls. This lunch was hosted by Rosie Semian, and our thanks go out to her for arranging this get-together.

We have also added to our library DVDs. Brian Heidman was nice enough to undertake this project and build a cabinet for the community center. In addition to this, Linda Tutin is taking care of the books. We now have much reading material and DVDs to borrow and watch or read at our leisure. Our sincere thanks go out to Linda and Brian who take care of the books and DVDs that are in the library.

On Feb. 7, Jim and Judi Leitzke, along with their helpers, put on the monthly egg n’ bag.  The helpers were Galen and Sue Parker, Colleen Crandall, Clayton and Carol George, Jane and Maurice Thayer, Fred and Sam Sage, Doris Sutfin, Ken and Cheryl Leone, and Jim and Dora Mae Sinner. They served over a hundred people. As usual it was done to perfection, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.  Our sincere thanks go out to all who worked on making this breakfast.

By Helene Rubenstein

Published February 18, 2015