On Jan. 24, there was a show at the community center in Grand Horizons and more than 160 residents, guests and other visitors got to see a terrific show that had everyone laughing in their seats.
When the doors first opened and we entered the center, almost every seat was taken as it was a packed house. Everyone anticipated a great show, and they certainly weren’t disappointed.
(Courtesy of Marty Rubenstein)
Willie (a dummy) started off the show with a few jokes that got everyone in good spirits and then went on to sing “The Grundy County Auction.”
While singing this particular song, Willie made small gestures to the people in the audience and raised and lowered his eyebrows to the women. They all loved it, and it was so cute.
He also made some introductions and introduced Bill, the husband of Peggy Miller, who is the voice behind Willie and the rest of his family.
After completing of this song, he had Terry Gardner, Cheryl Leone and Karen Donlon come up to the stage. Willie then sang a song naming all the states and capitals while Terry pointed out each individual state on the map that Cheryl and Karen were holding. When the song, “I’ve Been Everywhere” was performed, it ended with “I’ve been to Grand Horizons.” It was a nice touch.
Willie then went on to introduce his little brother, Dougie (also a dummy). The two boys sang the song “Elvira,” and after several lines of the song, Dougie stated that he was a star. He was so adorable, and Peggy Miller did a fabulous job with distinguishing both voices.
Dougie left the stage to a big round of applause, and Willie entertained us by singing “Have I Told You Lately.” Here again, he did a great job.
Willie also had his Great Great Grandma Gardner (another dummy) perform, before she did, Willie told a few more jokes and incorporated the names of some of the people that he already met into the jokes. He also had John Mauk, a resident of Grand Horizons, on stage and John took some ribbing from Willie. He was then told by Peggy to put on Willie’s hat, and she also put fake lips on John.
The song “On the Road Again” was performed by Peggy and she pulled the string so the fake lips that were on John moved. He then got into the rhythm and circled his arm and did other antics while “supposedly” singing.
Great great grandma came on stage and, she too, had everyone in stitches. She started off by telling a few jokes, and she did it so well. Some of the jokes were “My back goes out more than I do,” “Teeth are like stars, as they come out at night,” and others. She also said, “It’s great to be anywhere at my age,” in response to “Good to see you here.”
Willie, great great grandma and Peggy performed the song “Amazing Grace.”
Ernie Rice, also a resident of our park, came on stage as his birthday was the very next day. He donned a hat with candles on it and everyone sang “Happy Birthday.”
The closing to the show was superb as Terry Gardner, Bill Donlon, Galen Parker, Tom Carter, Don Jennings and Jim Leitzke, residents of our park, come on stage holding flags of all divisions of the military service while we paid tribute. It was a way to say thanks for making us free.
We ended the show with “America the Beautiful,” and people stood and sang.
By Helene Rubenstein
Published February 4, 2015
