And stuffed it in the box until it stopped screaming.
R. I. P poem
Alas, it will return tomorrow.
Photo Credit Pixabay
DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn. She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”
Just a random memory – As we were doing the cool down in one class (it was always done on the floor, to a relatively slow song and involved stretching), I asked one of the students if she liked that particular workout and song. Her response: “Yes, but I’m still waiting for Perry Como!” I’ve had a good laugh from that through the years. I think my favorite cool down song was Lady by Kenny Rogers – and I’m not a huge fan of Country/Western music!
Credit Pixabay
Related to aerobic dancing, but not directly to the classes – between sessions, my partner and I would print up flyers with our logo and the dates and venues for the next session’s classes. Our sessions usually were 12-weeks long, with an occasional 9-week session thrown in, if the longer one would have run into either summer or a major holiday. The two of us would go to both housing developments and pass out the flyers by putting them on the “bulletin boards” in each stairwell, or in the doors of the individual houses for upper ranking personnel. During one of those times, we were standing in front of one of the single units, when I felt such a horrible pain in my foot that I began groaning loudly – essentially screaming! – and jumping up and down! Looking down at my foot, I realized there was a bumble bee on my foot – and it had stung me!
Credit Pixabay
C
Oh the pain!! I was ready to hand my partner my set of flyers and head home, but she insisted that I help her complete the mission! It took me a while, but I finally made it home and made a poultice of baking soda to cover the sting. I am just thankful that I was not allergic to bee stings!
One thing I tried very hard to do, was to recognize/remember my students by name. I didn’t want to be the kind of instructor who only smiled and said “hello” as they came into the gym for class. I wanted them to know that I was actually interested in who they were and that I knew them! In that way, we had made attendance cards for each session. The card held our logo, a place for their name, and a number of squares for how many classes we would have in that particular session. We marked the squares off each class. And so, I would mark the square, hold the card up to them, and repeat their name – matching name and face – until I had it firmly in mind. I would like to think my students enjoyed the fact that their teacher made the effort to remember them as individuals!
And along that line, if I were to see one of my students outside of class, I would greet them by name and say something like “do you recognize me with clothes on?” And then we would both laugh – because they usually saw me in shorts and T-shirt! I’m sure that my question gave pause to anyone my student was with – until we explained the situation to them.
~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~
Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .
Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.
After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.
That means there are thousands of new Florida residents and some may have questions about what to expect. A local Facebook group had these questions:
Will my car be ok?
What should I do to protect my plants?
Should I cover landscape bushes and small trees?
Do I need to buy special materials to cover my plants?
Is there anything I need to do with running water to protect pipes?
Answers ranged from helpful to flippant. I decided to throw in my 2¢ of advise based on living all but my two first years of life in Florida.
Yes, your car will be ok. In Florida we mix water with antifreeze in the car’s coolant system. Not to prevent freezing but to assist with keeping the car’s engine cool during our long, hot summers.(Which I might add seem to go from April through December.) So if your car has antifreeze, no worries.
The need to protect plants and how to protect them is a matter of preference. My rule of thumb is if I have a plant or plants that would be greatly missed, I cover them or if possible bring them inside. I have three hanging baskets of mandevilla flowers that are very sensitive to cold and frost. It’s not very pretty at the moment but in the spring and summer it is lush with flowers
They spend half the year with me in North Carolina and the other half in Florida. I will move them into my daughter’s storage building until the cold passes. We will also be protecting the plumeria, coleus, geranium and poinsettia flowers. Except for the plumeria, they are in pots which we will move close to the house and group snugly together then probably toss a sheet over them.
Big box home improvement stores sell special clothes for covering plants but I think an old sheet or light blanket works just as well. We also use our old beach towels. This might not be aesthetically pleasing but it works. According to the local news station, the trick is to make sure the cover reaches all the way to the ground to retain the days heat. Be sure to put the cover on the plants before sunset so you lose less heat.
I’m not sure about covering landscape bushes. I think it would depend on what one calls a landscape bush. I remember one year we had a nice grouping of crotons.
We didn’t cover them and they froze. After the cold passed we cut them back and they survived. I often think the occasional freeze in Florida is nature’s way to maintain order. Otherwise, some plants grow to unmanageable size unless one prunes regularly.
It’s not a bad idea to give plants a nice watering before a freeze. It is supposed to help with maintaining heat plus, our cold fronts tend to be accompanied by wind which is particularly drying.
In my whole lifetime in Florida, I have not known anyone whose indoor pipes froze. I am not familiar with north west Florida, so that may be an issue there. The only pipe we had freeze was our outdoor water hose pipe. I remember wanting to turn the water on for some reason and the water wouldn’t flow out. Thinking it had some ice on the inside near the opening, I gave it a few bangs on the sidewalk. To my amazement, the metal fitting on the hose bent. It was Christmas and the year our children received new bicycles. They about froze but were determined to give them a ride.
Freezing temperatures in Florida did bring some fun things. People would leave their yard sprinklers on so that they would wake up to icy fences. The non fun side is the damage to winter crops. At one time Central Florida had vast orange groves and a hard freeze was a disaster. Not far from us is a farm that grows ferns which are very sensitive. They run water sprinklers to incase the ferns in ice which protects them from the lower temperature.
The bottom line for me is don’t put complete trust in the weather forecast. So far in our area, the cold snaps have been colder than the forecasts. But, this one could also be warmer. Who knows? It’s the weather and the weather does what it wants.
And yes, falling Iguanas are real. From a news station a few days ago. Weather is supposed to be even colder starting tonight.
After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience. Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites, Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix
In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books
My 2021 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.
In another 20 miles south on US-17 I visited the Barberville Pioneer Village located on the grounds of the Barberville Central Highschool in Barberville, FL. This settlement is the culmination of years of work to move a number of restored historic buildings to this location, to help visitors visualize and understand the way pioneers, to this area, lived and worked. Some of the 11 structures include an 1875 log cabin, an 1885 Post Office, an 1885 Depot, an 1890 church, and an early 1900s country store.
It was only another 5 miles to the Lake George State Forestry Station located on US-17 at the edge of the Lake George Forest. At one time in his young life our son, Billy, had wanted to be a Forest Ranger and he was lucky enough to climb one of the Ranger Station towers with a Ranger during a tour of their facility. After that experience, forestry stations had always interested my too. I really didn’t want to interrupt the folks at the station, so I just stopped long enough to give my back a rest and to take this photo. Then I continued south.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
My next stop was just down the road on US-17, to visit one of my favorite family campgrounds, now known as DeLeon Springs State Park located in DeLeon Springs, FL. From the early 1970s to around 2000 our family fell in love with camping. Most of our camping took place up and down the central part of Florida at the many fresh-water springs. One of our favorites was DeLeon Springs campgrounds, with its 1930s Old Sugar Mill Restaurant. In the 1970s the property was privately owned, and we got to know the owners quite well. Now every time I pass thru DeLeon Springs, a family camping memory pops into my head. Oh, what fun we all had camping at the springs!
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
It was another 10 miles south on US-17 & east on US-92 to where I visited the Deland Naval Air Station (DNAS) Museum located on the southern end of the Deland Municipal Airport. This small museum is housed in the former Chief Master-at-Arms house and is dedicated to the honor of the men and women who have served our country in U.S. Naval Aviation. The museum displays U.S. Naval military training artifacts and memorabilia dating from 1942, when the Naval Station was in operation.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
I drove around to the north end of the Deland Municipal Airport, where I was hoping to visit the Commemorative Air Force Museum (Florida Wing) and get photos of their restored (flying) AT-6 Texan and restored (flying) T-34 Mentor, and talk airplanes with CAF members that might be there. However, that part of the airport was closed off and Greta (my Garmin) couldn’t find the hanger. I had to be satisfied with the photo below.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
Now I got back on US-17 and drove 20 miles south to visit the last museum on this road trip. This last stop was to visit the Florida Postal Museum located in Orange City, FL. This small museum is housed in the old restored 1876 Heritage Inn, which just happens to be the very same building where the first Orange City Post Office was established in 1876. Yep, the post office was moved several times over the years, but the museum ended up in the very same building where it had all started. The museum has a variety of postal artifacts, along with a collection of framed envelopes, lining both sides of a long hallway, with dates from the inception of the U.S. Postal Service to the present.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
Now it was finally time to head southeast the last 50 miles on I-4 & SR-46 to my home in Titusville, FL. I had called DiVoran to let her know about what time I thought I would be home, and she had a great ‘Welcome Home’ meal ready for me when I got to the house. It was great to eat a home-cooked meal for a change and sleep in my own bed. As much fun as these road trips are, I always look forward to getting home and relaxing in familiar surroundings with someone I
love and appreciate.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
I hope you have enjoyed reading about my adventures on this road trip as much as I have writing about them. Putting these museum visits and traveling experiences into words always brings back visions of all the amazing things I have seen during this trip. Thank you for riding along with me on this road trip, and I hope you will join me on the next trip for some more new and exciting museum adventures. Be safe out there!
Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 64 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing. He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville. Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.
DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn. She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”
Another fun thing was that the high school coach learned that I was teaching aerobic dancing, and asked that I come to several of his classes and demonstrate the program. Our Karen was NOT impressed! When I asked why she didn’t want me to do that, she replied, “Mom, you are in your SHORTS!!” Most embarrassing to a high school student! But I went anyway. I was in pretty good shape at that time of my life, and during the demonstration, I mentioned that the kids could still be in good shape, as I was, at age 40! They were astounded! Karen later told me that one of her classmates asked her if her mother was 40? So that classmate had been in one of those classes. We had one dance that was relatively repetitive, and quite easy to learn. I had the students line up and we danced it back and forth. Then I had them dance it turning on each repeat. Then I had them form a large circle (facing each other) and dance it around. So much fun! Later, the coach said that he wished he could get his basketball players to dance like we were doing. It would give them rhythm and make them lighter on their feet, which some of them needed to be better basketball players.
One thing sort-of related to those classes, was that I had to walk from our apartment (just outside the base gate) to the classes on the base – summer or winter, rain or shine, sometimes in the snow. And I carried my big boom box with me. In warm weather, I was in my shorts and T-shirt. In winter, I wore boots and my heavy coat – all the while, carrying my boom box.
Somewhere along the line, I was asked to demonstrate our program to a joint German/American group. I thought it would be something that appeal to the Germans. So when it was my turn, I started with “ich habe nur ein bisschen Deutsch” (I only have a little German). That brought some laughs – so then I stated that “and so I will speak in English.” More laughs. I described our program, our steps, what we were doing was exercise, but was made more fun with the dance. I then asked for volunteers from the audience to join me on stage and performed our easiest routine. Later, as I watched a square dancing group,
Credit Bill Lites – Bill and DiVoran on the right, in their square dancing finery
I realized that all the “instruction” was done in German, but the dance calls were in English! WOW! Why couldn’t our program reach the German community the same way – instruct the teaching of the steps in German, but “call” the actual dance routines in English. We left Germany before we could suggest that to the teachers who followed us. I think it would have been a great connector between the two countries.
Credit Pixabay
We usually had one week off between sessions, to find new music and perhaps some new steps to those songs. After a few sessions where the dedicated students were bored with my teaching the old, standard steps to the new students, I decided to use those between-session weeks to teach the old steps to the new students. That way, when the official session began, only any new steps to teach were taught to all the students, and we could proceed with the routines. That worked out quite well.
~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~
Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .
Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.
After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.
I have found the use of masks in my Florida town to be interesting. For those who don’t live here, you may not know that Florida is a mask mandate free zone. You would think that would mean mask wearing would be slight, but from my observations, that is not the case. During our October road trip we traveled in many areas with the mandate. With the exception of the Memphis, Tennessee area, I didn’t observe extensive mask use.
As Omicron began to make its presence felt in our community in early January, mask use ballooned.
I found that to be curious as during the height of the dreaded Delta, masking while present was not prevalent.
Two weeks later on my weekly shopping trip to Publix supermarket, masking levels seemed back to normal. I pondered this. Then I pondered again mentally collecting data reports and personal stories of infection. But it wasn’t until I factored in the CDC suggestions of quarantining for 5 days then wearing a mask for another 5 days that I reached my conclusion.
Data and personal stories told me that our county had been hit hard with probably Omicron. I think our county for the week ending January 13 was 31% positive. The explosion of mask use in early January may have been due to people coming out of quarantine while following the CDC guidelines.
I’m hoping the numbers for last week will be lower. I think Omicron was active in Florida before it was officially recognized and I am hoping we have summited the curve and are on the way down. Maybe my weekly trip to Publix today will give me a hint.
For the record, I am thankful for my community. To mask or not mask is not an issue for harassment (well except on Facebook and I’m not sure who those people are.)
Now to the bread making. We follow a low carb life style and we have missed good bread. I have made various recipes and they are ok but they weren’t wow. Well, I have discovered wow bread!
I am a member of a paid subscription low carb cooking group. I joined as I want to change up my meals to a slightly higher protein and I need help navigating the change. A month ago the leader of the group posted a recipe for white bread followed by a recipe for cinnamon bread to rave reviews.
I decided to give the recipes a try. My first loaf of the white bread didn’t cook through in the middle even though it appeared done. The rest of the bread was delicious and the closest to conventional bread texture I had eaten. Eventually I figured out that the glass loaf pan I was using was smaller than the suggested metal pan, making the loaf thicker. So far all my loaves have come out perfect since. The cinnamon bread is absolutely delicious and would make a fantastic french toast breakfast casserole.
I have also baked the bread in a muffin top pan to make round sandwich rolls. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed eating a burger patty on a bun. I need to make more sandwich buns for the weekend I can’t decide if I want to make a full recipe this week and divide it between rolls and mini loaves, or a half recipe of just rolls.
I almost forgot to share this discovery. Last Sunday I put butter and garlic on some bread slices and put them under the broiler to make garlic toast It was ok but not oh my gosh good. We had one piece left over that lingered in the fridge for several days. I found it when I was scrounging for something to tide me over until supper. I heated it in the microwave for about 15 seconds and took a bite, not expecting much flavor. Woohoo! It tasted like I was eating buttery, garlic Texas toast. So good! The time in the fridge marinated the garlic into the bread. I will be marinating some more bread for the weekend!
Disclaimer: Anything Covid related are just my observations and thoughts.
PS… The Space X launch on Tuesday night was beautiful. The moon was full, the sky almost cloudless and the rocket appeared to be heading directly to the moon. My daughter captured this photo with her cell phone which does not do it justice at all.
A local photographer, Richard Gallagher captured some fantastic photos. Wish I could share them but they are copyrighted. Here is a link to his site.
After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience. Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites, Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix
In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books
My 2021 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.
After breakfast this morning, I headed south, out of Jacksonville, 20 miles on I-295 & US-17 to visit the Military Museum of North Florida located in the Reynolds Industrial Park, adjacent to the former US Naval Air Station, in Green Cove Springs, FL. This museum has a large collection of military jeeps, trucks, and amphibious landing craft, as well as military artifacts, weapons, and equipment honoring all U.S Military personnel from WWI to the present.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
To my surprise, the North Florida Railway Museum is also located in the Reynolds Industrial Park, there in Green Cove Springs, so I just checked out that museum while I was there. The museum displays railroad exhibits, artifacts and memorabilia telling the history of the railroad’s influence on northern Florida dating from the mid-1800s. They have several pieces of rolling stock which they are restoring, including a GE 44 Tonner locomotive.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
Continuing south 25 miles on US-17, I was absently heading for the David Browning Railroad Museum in Palatka, FL when suddenly Greta (My Garmin) said, “In ¼-mile turn right.” I said out loud, “What?”
Now let me tell you how it is with Greta. She normally takes me on the shortest route to my destination. Sometimes that is not always the best route. More than once, she has taken me thru back streets or thru residential neighborhoods, finally delivering me to my destination. Well, this time it was onto a dirt road. “Why?” Was my question, but I kept on going. Then she had me turn onto a well-rutted dirt road. The next turn was onto a barely visible rutted muddy dirt road. I said, “Come on Greta, where are you taking me?” There was nothing around me but a deep pine forest and a muddy dirt track with potholes. It had been raining and the potholes were full of water. I was afraid I was going to get stuck! The next time she said, “Turn left.” I said, “NO!” And kept going straight. I finally came out of that mess onto US-17 (the hiway I had been on before turning off onto the first dirt road) and eventually made it to the museum there in Palatka. Whooo! That was not a fun experience.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
At the museum I discovered that it was situated in the old 1908 Florida Coast Line (FCL) Union Depot and displays antique railroad exhibits, artifacts, and memorabilia about the history of the railroad in Palatka and the surrounding Putnum county area dating from the early 1800s to the present. The museum also houses a large model railroad layout depicting the city of Palatka in its early railroad days.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
It was only a few blocks to where I checked out the Mariner’s Museum located on the banks of the St. Johns River there in Palatka. This large museum was closed, so I took a stroll over to the Riverfront Park to take a short break and watch the river traffic. The center piece of the park is an impressive 40-foot-high Millennium Clock Tower. What a relaxing few minute that was.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
After my short rest, I continued south, across the St. Johns River, 10 miles on US-17 to check out the Georgia Boys Fish Camp located on the banks of Dunns Creek in Satsuma, FL. I discovered the camp was off US-17 (their sign didn’t say how many miles), so I decided since I didn’t have time to do any fishing, I’d just be on my way.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
I went 15-miles out of my way to visit the Welaka Maritime Museum located in Welaka, FL. Greta (my Garmin) took me to the correct internet address, but either the museum was in a boat repair shop at that address (that was closed), or it no longer existed, as there was nothing there but the boat shop. That turned out to be a big waste of time and gas!
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
So, I found my way back to US-17 and headed another 25 miles south to visit the Barberville Pioneer Settlement. A few miles down the road the internet had told me there was a Biker Bar in Crescent City, and I had planned to stop for a photo. When I got to the address, I found that the business had changed hands, and was now The Farmhouse Bar & Grill. Good thing I wasn’t hungry, as the place was closed.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
—–To Be Continued—–
Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 64 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing. He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville. Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.
DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn. She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”
When either Joanne or I went on a vacation, the other partner took over all the classes. I remember one day I instructed and danced four classes – I usually only danced two classes per day! After the third class, I wasn’t sure I had the energy left to do one more class – but I must have gotten a second wind, and flew through it!
At one point Joanne told me that her students didn’t like me – the way I did the routines. Joanne and I had a very different way of instructing the dances. As it turned out, my students didn’t like Joanne, either! So the next time I taught one of her classes, I told them that, because Joanne and I were so different – I asked her students to “listen with your good ear, and I’ll try to be clearer with my instructions.” By the end of the time I filled in for Joanne, we were all okay with each other.
I remember one of Joanne’s students – who was a friend of mine from our church – dancing with a cast on her foot! She’d had bone spur on her heel and had surgery to remove it. She said the cast just gave her extra weight to pull around, and she thought it just gave her more intense exercise! Never saw anything like it! She was able to keep up with the class, too.
In this particular type of aerobic dancing, we always started the routine on the right foot. I didn’t find anything unusual about that. However, there was one student of mine who just really had a hard time with the steps. I couldn’t figure out what the problem was, nor how to help her…until she approached me one time with “were you ever in the marching band?” That solved the problem – marching bands always start on the left foot. You know…”left…left…left right left…”
There was one time when I was holding a class in the gym – and the power went out. I had my boom box plugged into the wall unit, so that was a problem. However, There was a door from the gym into a small “store” within the same building. So I just yelled for the ladies to keep either jogging in place or doing some of the steps, and I ran to the store and purchased some batteries for my box. I was able to get them into the box and start up the routine essentially where I left off.
And along that vein – Joanne taught one of her classes in a small gym in another part of the base. She said she thought the gym manager didn’t want her classes held there, so she was convinced he turned off the power every single class. So when I filled in for her there, I was ready! I had the batteries in my boom box, and when the power went off, I just unplugged the power cord from the box and continued on with the batteries. I don’t think the manager was very happy with me!
~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~
Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .
Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.
After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.
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