Events at Joey’s Outback Adventures for November, 2014
November, 2014 – Bootz Culture Camp
AW Spotlight
Bootz Culture Camp – Traveling the World through Art
By Krista Martinelli
Bootz Culture Camp has an original idea – you enter the workshop, receive a passport and immerse yourself in artwork from a different part of the world. Each time you visit Bootz Culture Camp, you will travel to a new place through art. Jeanne Bootz makes it an all-encompassing experience by playing music, playing games, watching short videos, looking at pictures and sometimes having food related to the destination at hand.
There are a couple of things that make Bootz Culture Camp different from any art workshop around – the travel theme and also that, as Jeanne explains, “Whatever souvenir you’re making is truly an expression of your own.” So instead of following a teacher’s lead and doing step-by-step painting, you are creating your own work of art, using a technique that is introduced to you. “It’s not a paint-by-numbers method. Part of art is making your own choices.”
“I wanted to open my own teaching studio for a long time,” says Bootz. “I thought the travel theme fit very well because art can take us to places we’ve never been before.” Going to Bootz Culture Camp for a two-hour class is like going on a little trip across the world and being totally engaged in that culture. Plus you always have a souvenir to take home with you.
At Bootz, they use a variety of materials to create art souvenirs. They do a lot of acrylic and watercolor painting. They also do polymer clay sculpting, collage and mixed media projects. It just depends upon the country at hand and what their traditions are.
Bootz Culture Camp is new; it just opened in January of 2014. Jeanne Bootz has been teaching art in various school settings for the past twenty years. She’s taught all ages, after school workshops, at public schools and private schools. From this experience, she has honed in on exactly how she wants to teach art.
One of the things that differ from a school setting is having a longer time to be able to focus on an activity. At Bootz Culture Camp, there’s time for an in-depth study and time for reflection. “We tap into their creativity in a new way and bring an understanding of various cultures,” says Bootz.
When it comes to parties, Bootz Culture Camp offers many different fun options. There are Dr. Seuss, Eric Carle, underwater creatures and other art-inspired parties. Bootz’ favorite party is based on the book “The Dot” by Peter Reynolds, a book about creativity. Also, whether it be princesses or dinosaurs or another place or time, “you are welcome to create your own theme,” says Bootz.
Bootz also offers “Adult Art Adventures,” where grown ups are encourage to come paint and bring their own wine and appetizers, if they would like.
One of the most rewarding comments Jeanne Bootz hears from her art students is, “Can I come back?” She gets this often. Another one of the intangible rewards is seeing children gain an understanding of another culture that’s very different from their own.
For example, she embarked on a Maori art day, showing the children the tattooed faces of Maori people at the beginning of the class. Most of the kids did not like seeing tattoos directly on people’s faces and commented negatively at first. After spending some time creating their own tattoos and learning about symmetry, they changed their tune. By the end of the class, when the kids were shown the Maori faces again, they truly appreciated the art of these tattoos. “It’s rewarding to see the change,” says Bootz.
Another rewarding aspect of focusing on culture is finding that their artwork is being noticed around the world. After posting photos of Koru art they created on Facebook, Bootz noticed that the National Park Service of the PacificIslands was now following them on Facebook. “It’s interesting because as we take our virtual trips around the world, the world is reacting to what we do.”
It’s hard to choose, but Jeanne Bootz says that her favorite place they have traveled to via artwork so far has been Southeast Asia. She does a lot of research to totally immerse her students in the destination of choice and truly enjoys traveling in this virtual way.
As far as Jeanne Bootz’ roots, her father’s parents came from Germany and her mother’s grandparents came from Sweden. Her father spoke German in his home while growing up. When her parents were first married, father was stationed in Germany and worked on military intelligence. Her parents traveled all around Europe, bringing back artifacts and art. Bootz gained an appreciation for art and culture from her parents and from the things they brought back from their travels.
Art runs in the family, as Jeanne has three brothers who are all very talented as artists. Meanwhile, her son just moved to Japan for a teaching job. Her daughter is very accomplished in art and went on a paid trip to Turkey, along with her high school art teacher, thanks to her art work. She’s now at LeslieUniversity and Art Institute of Boston in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Special classes at Bootz Culture Camp
Open Studio – usually takes place the 3rd Wednesday of the month. No instruction, but please bring your own piece of artwork to work on. Please register in advance.
Artist’s Way Group – takes place Wed. nights, designed for people with “blocked creativity.” Based on the book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron.
Family Artist’s Trading Card Night – the 3rd Tuesday of the month, open to all ages. Bring the whole family!
Adult Art Adventures – usually takes place on Saturday nights. A great date night idea. Bring your own wine and food.
Soon to come – art classes taught in Spanish by the local artist and author Sandra Barbieri, a Wellington Art Society member.
Parties – just call Bootz Culture Camp to make reservations.
To find Bootz Culture Camp, go to the new location of Toys R Us along 441 in Wellington and just go to the office park North of it, in the same parking lot. See our “AW Coupon” this month for a Buy One, Get One FREE class at Bootz Culture Camp! Another way to get a free class at Bootz? Get your passport stamped each time you visit and when your passport is full, you get a FREE class!
Another “VIP Travel tip” – Go to the website www.bootzculturecamp.com and sign up for the email newsletter to receive special offers.
Parents! Check out the Little Elf Workshop event happening at Bootz Culture Camp on Friday, Nov. 28th and get your black Friday shopping done while the kids have fun!
Bootz Culture Camp
420 South State Rd. 7, Suite 120
Royal Palm Beach, FL
(561) 290-2753
Bootzculturecamp@gmail.com
November, 2014 – Thelma & Louise, the Sequel
Travel with Terri
Thelma & Louise: The Sequel
Story and Photos by Terri Marshall
As Thanksgiving nears, many of us reflect on all the things we are thankful for in our lives. I know I do. I also know I could write 5,000 words about all the things I have to be thankful for – which include health, extensive travel, laughter, love, friends and family. As I reflect on my dream come true life, I can’t help but look back to the people who have hung in there with me for adventures no one could have predicted. One of those people is my BFF, Nancy a/k/a Thelma.
Nancy and I have known each other since we were in our twenties. We met in a dorm at the University of Florida where we were staying while attending Florida Trust School. We’ve seen each other through the child rearing years, graduations, weddings, divorces and a host of other things I won’t even try to explain. Through it all we’ve kept our friendship strong – despite living over a thousand miles apart.
Seven years ago we embarked on a cross country Thelma and Louise road trip. We flew to Seattle, rented a red convertible and drove to New York. Along the way we met cowboys, detoured through corn fields and checked out roadside attractions like the CornPalace in South Dakota. The most memorable event on the trip was the birth of my first grandchild, Katherine, which occurred at the exact moment we watched a herd of buffalo crossing a snowy river in YellowstoneNational Park.
This past July we decided to embark on the long overdue Thelma and Louise sequel. We flew into Las Vegas – me from New York, Nancy from Orlando. We spent one night gilded in gold at the Trump Hotel where we were most impressed with the television screen set into the bathroom mirror. After a night of luxurious sleep, we set out to conquer the road.
Despite being the best of friends, Nancy and I have distinctly different personalities. She’s cautious, reasonable and prefers to be in control – as in driving. I’m an eternal optimist, unreasonable at times and constantly pushing the limits – which is probably why she prefers to drive. Our personality differences were visible immediately upon arrival at the rental car counter when we were informed there were no cars available. Nancy showed the unfeeling man who delivered this disturbing news a copy of her reservation which had been booked weeks ahead. Unmoved, he repeated the no wheels deal. On the verge of a panic, she walked away from the counter and attempted to reach AAA on the phone.
I wasn’t moving from that counter. We reserved a car and we were going to get one. I explained to this moron that we were embarking on a road trip which, by definition, requires a car. I further explained that we hadn’t reserved just any car, we had reserved a convertible because that is how we travel. Apparently I had found the magic words. Turns out Mr. Bad News did have cars available – all convertibles. It seems no one wants to rent a convertible in the blazing July heat…no one but us. We went from having no car to having a smorgasbord of Mustang convertibles in every imaginable color at our disposal.
Crisis averted, we headed north out of Las Vegas toward Utah where we planned to see all five National Parks, cruise along Scenic Byway 12 and check out that big Salt Lake. It was 100 degrees when we left Las Vegas but we had the top down breathing in the hot dry air as we rolled along. As we entered Zion National Park in the Southwestern part of Utah we were immediately moved by the grandeur of the towering monoliths and deep canyons. The road led us through tunnels carved into the mountains and around the rim of the dramatic plunging canyons. Each turn brought yet another jaw dropping sight. It was hard to imagine anything more beautiful existed – yet we had four more parks to see!
Our next park, Bryce Canyon, with its trademark towers called “hoodoos” beckoned us for a hike. As we made our way down the steep descent to the floor of the canyon we marveled at the massive boulders teetering at the top of spikes looking as if they could break loose at any moment. Standing at the bottom of the canyon looking up at the surrounding wonder is one of those moments when you realize just how small we are compared to nature’s grandeur. It’s also one of those moments when you realize the hike down was the easy part. The saying goes “what goes up must come down” but when you’ve hiked to the bottom of a canyon the reality is what goes down must come up and that included us. It wasn’t easy but it was worth every drop of sweat.
In south-central Utah in the heart of red rock country, Capital Reef National Park is filled with cliffs, canyons, comes and bridges in the Waterpocket Fold, a wrinkle on the earth (geologic monocline) that extends 100 miles. We stopped for the night at the edge of the park and took advantage of the hotel’s hot tub. As the sunset illuminated the surrounding red rocks, it seemed as if we had been dropped into a movie set – Thelma and Louise of course.
Three hundred million years of patient erosion has resulted in Arches National Park’s unbelievably dramatic landscape. More than 2,000 arches give the park its name, but the park also contains fields of spires, pinnacles, domes and ridiculously balanced formations that defy the laws of physics. We hiked among the sandstone spans to the world-famous Delicate Arch in the scorching 112 degree midday temperature where we were rewarded with a view through a window into time. Granted we would have been rewarded the same view later in the day when the temperatures were a chilly 90 degrees, but that approach is for wimps.
The largest of the five Utah parks, Canyonlands National Park resides toward the eastern edge of the state. The convergence of the powerful Colorado and Green rivers, combined with millions of years of uplift and erosion, have created this giant expanse of impossibly epic views. As we wound our way along the road gasping at every turn we knew we had found the perfect place to stage our Thelma and Louise over the cliff scene – without actually going over the cliff.
Our drive between the parks took us along Scenic Byway 12…one of the most beautiful drives on Earth. We felt the wind in our hair, stopped for impossibly bad selfies, baked our skin in the brilliant sunshine and sang along to the Dixie Chicks. I am thankful for every moment.
***
Terri is a freelance writer with regular columns on travel, chocolate and bar reviews. She is busy each month visiting new places to bring unique travel destinations and events to you. Yes, it is a sacrifice – but she is willing to do that for her readers! You can see more of Terri’s writing at www.examiner.com where she is the National Chocolate Examiner and at www.barzz.net. Also, check out her blog at www.trippingwithterri.com. You can contact Terri at terri.marshall60@gmail.com.
November, 2014 – Café Chardonnay
The Florida Foodie
Café Chardonnay: A Palm Beach County Fine Dining Institution
4533 PGA Blvd. (In the Gardens Square Shoppes), Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 561.627.2662
By Saucy Sarah
Since opening its doors in 1986, Café Chardonnay has been serving up some of Palm Beach County’s finest American cuisine. Anyone who has lived here long enough will equate fine dining with Café Chardonnay. I grew up knowing that eating a meal at Café Chardonnay was a very special thing, indeed. Tucked in the corner of the Gardens Square Shoppes, just west of I-95, off PGA Blvd, the restaurant is rather deceptive at first glance. As you approach you will find the shopping center’s walkway transformed into a lush grotto with water fountains and candle light. Though Café Chardonnay is, technically, in a strip mall, this restaurant is light years beyond any stereotypical strip-mall eatery. As you enter through its doors into the main dining room you are transported to a realm of rich pallets of warm dark woods and deep golden tones. Everything at Café Chardonnay is a delightful event of surprises.
My dining companions and I visited during September and participated in their Flavor Palm Beach Pre fix menu which consisted of four courses for a fixed price of $35.00. The menu offered several options for each of the four courses that included: appetizer, salad, main entrée, and dessert. Café Chardonnay also offers an extensive daily menu with hints of French influence. Their wine list is also vast and impressive. Our server was very knowledgeable of wines and answered all of our questions competently.
The highlight of the meal was the Bouillabaisse. The steaming bowl of seafood cloaked in a rich tomato-based broth was intense, slightly sweet, and infused with all the goodness of the sea. I ate the entire giant bowl with a child-like glee. The Australian Lamb chops were cooked to perfection with a rosy pink center. The escargots in puff pastry were also divine. Meaty, tender, and swimming in a rich garlic sauce, we could have eaten seconds. Even the bread basket that was brought to our table was a dazzling array of warm, fresh-baked rolls and flatbreads, served with a punchy Baba ghanoush rather than butter.
Another true highlight of the evening was the service. I am a big sucker for great service when I dine out and Café Chardonnay has it down to a science. An unobtrusive yet attentive server and assistant doted on us, yet we were not overwhelmed by their presence. Our utensils where changed for each new course of the meal with the quick deft hand of a magician. We wanted for nothing, never had to ask for a thing. This is the service I expect in a five-star restaurant.
If you are looking for an indulgent dining experience where food and service will exceed your expectations, try Café Chardonnay. Where most restaurant fail in the first five years, Café Chardonnay’s long-standing presence in the county is a testament to their excellence. There is nothing tired about it. Café Chardonnay is a true dinning institution.
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In her previous life, Sarah, a Palm Beach County Native, spent ten years working in various high-end eating establishments around South Florida. She is currently a fiction thesis candidate in the MFA program at Florida International University where she also teaches creative writing and rhetoric. If that is not enough, Sarah is also the owner of Cakes by Sarah, a local custom cake shop. Sarah lives in Lake Worth with her husband and two beautiful boys. “Food, fiction, and family are my life.”
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Note: The Florida Foodie is looking to highlight Holiday Green Markets and Bazaars happening in the month of December that feature food! Please submit your event to the Florida Foodie no later than November 16th to be featured in the December issue of foodie holiday shopping! Craft fairs, Bazaars, Holiday Shopping events, Green Markets, Toy drives, and more! As long as there are food vendors, food trucks, treat stalls, produce markets, it can be featured on the list!
November, 2014 – An Ounce of Prevention
Living Green
An Ounce Of Prevention Is Worth A Pound Of Cure
–Benjamin Franklin
By Jathy Garcia
Thanksgiving weekend tends to be one of the busiest weekends for plumbing service and emergencies. The reason is quite simple, over usage in homes. With houseguests, whether for a big meal or the weekend, the plumbing gets more use than it’s used to. And, if there are already signs of potential concerns or problems, the over usage can trigger problems at the most inopportune time, the holidays.
Take a closer look to notice for potential problems now before the holidays quickly approach. If your drains are draining slower than usual, that is a sign that they are prone to clogs. Try a plunger and avoid household chemicals to unclog. If you notice the slow drain is in more than one location or throughout the house, then that is a sign that the clog is a larger potential problem.
With over usage of the garbage disposal for Thanksgiving or the shower and washing machine for houseguests, the partially clogged drains will become very apparent during their stay. Here are a few helpful tips to help avoid holiday clogs:
- Wait 15 minutes between showers to give the drains a fair chance to drain and the water heater to be ready to perform.
- Only flush toilet paper. Never flush tissues, cotton balls, feminine products, hair or facial products.
- Run garbage disposal while disposing of food, rather than waiting until it is full. Ideally dispose all leftovers in garbage, disposal is not a trash can.
- Dispose of fats and cooking oils in trash rather than garbage disposal.
- Dispose of stringy waste, such as poultry skins, celery, potato peels, etc. in trash rather than garbage disposal.
Preventative maintenance is a smart & sustainable way that can make the key difference for the holidays being a disaster or completely mastered.
Hi-Tech Plumbing is considered the expert in preventative plumbing maintenance. They are a licensed and insured plumbing service that has been serving residential and commercial customers throughout Palm BeachCounty since 2000. They understand the needs of their customers and because of that, offer same day service, 24/7 emergency service with up front pricing and they guarantee your satisfaction.
Hi-Tech Plumbing works hard to earn your business and goes the extra mile to keep it. They can be reached by phone at (561) 790-6966 or on the web at http://www.hitechplumbingandair.com.
November, 2014 – Mama Yoga and the Story of Namaste
Mommy Moments
Mama Yoga and the Story of Namaste
A Great Introduction to Yoga for Kids
By Krista Martinelli
This month I was introduced to a beautiful book, which introduces yoga to kids and explains the meaning of “Namaste.” Mama Yoga and the Story of Namaste by Susanna Stratford is an wonderful introduction to yoga, the first part as an illustrated story and the second part with photos of kids doing yoga poses.
If you’re not familiar with yoga, yoga poses lend themselves well to children and a child’s imagination. You’ve probably heard of “downward dog,” but there are many other animal poses and poses that tickle the imagination like “rock the baby,” tree pose and warrior pose.
As brought to light in Stratford’s book, yoga is all about balance. And “Namaste,” the way all yoga classes end, is about seeing the light inside of each other’s hearts. With fun illustrations by Alex Langenstein, the book brings yoga to children in a way they can understand and treasure.
The second half of the book can serve as a useful guide for teachers and parents. There are a variety of photos, clearly showing different poses. Some of the poses are “chair poses,” which might be helpful for anyone who has trouble with the regular poses or for doing yoga in a classroom setting.
In the yoga photos, they have used a true diversity of children, ranging from 4 to 12 years old. It’s refreshing to see children from all different backgrounds, coming together to do yoga poses. The diversity of children, both in the story and the how-to photos, is refreshing, bringing a cultural awareness that is much-needed in today’s children’s books.
The story part of the book is told from the point of view of Maansi, a school girl who looks forward to her Tuesday sessions with “Mama Yoga.” Maansi is based on a real five-year-old girl, who is curious about the outside world and enjoys being active. Kids can definitely relate to her.
Another thing this book captures is how you can “travel the world” through yoga poses. One page is about becoming an elephant in Africa and swinging your “trunk.”
Author Susanna Stratford is a former school teacher and yogini. She’s the mother of two boys and has been teaching yoga to kids since 2005. This is her first book.
Looking for a local kids’ yoga class? Check out Kidding Around Yoga with Bobbie! See our “AW Spotlight” story about Kidding Around Yoga.
Just as parents enjoy the discipline that comes from karate, they love the calmness and inner peace that comes from their kids participating in yoga. In other words, yoga isn’t just for adults – it’s actually perfect for kids.
To order “Mama Yoga and the Story of Namaste,” visit MamaYogasKids.com. I’m thinking that it will make a few nice holiday gifts this year!
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Krista Martinelli is the editor of AroundWellington.com. For full disclosure, she is happy to say that she was college roommates with Susanna, the author of this wonderful book!
November, 2014 – Tis the Season . . .
Health & Fitness
‘Tis The Season To Be . . . Stressed?
By Cheryl Alker
‘Tis the season to be merry and gather those you love around to soak up quality time together. We really should be doing this all year round but it would seem that these days we are even too busy to spend time with our own family. I am sure this is why we look forward to the forthcoming holiday season so much. Sure, the food and presents are wonderful but if you really analyze why you look forward to this time of year, spending time with your loved ones would be top of the list and, believe it or not, it is actually good for our health.
Decreasing loneliness, helping with quitting smoking to making a difference in healthy eating habits, it is actually healthy to spend time with people you love. Your friends and family are highly influential when it comes to the kind of lifestyle you lead.
So with all this positive energy and love surrounding you why do we get so stressed at this time of year?
We tend to blame worsening traffic, crowded malls, and incessant commercials pushing holiday consumption, but a key culprit is our own memories, according to Ronald Nathan, PhD, clinical professor at Albany Medical College in New York. “When we think about the holidays, we dwell on the past and what went wrong, or we romanticize it and make it impossible to re-create,” he says. He tells people to examine their thoughts and expectations and not drive themselves crazy planning the perfect Thanksgiving dinner or finding the perfect gift. “Instead,” he says, “lower your expectations, and overestimate — rather than underestimate — your time.”
Stress and the Immune System
Easing up on yourself over the holidays is important because the connection between stress and illness is real, says Simon A. Rego, PsyD, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and associate director of psychology training at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, N.Y.
Continue reading below…
“The controversy that stress causes disease is pretty much over. We’re now testing out how stress does it,” he says. In fact, a new study explains how stress may weaken the immune system. Each cell contains a tiny “clock” called a telomere, which shortens each time the cell divides. To counter this effect, the body also produces an enzyme, telomerase, which protects the cell and prevents further shortening by adding more DNA to the end of the telomere.
So far, so good — but under stress, the body pumps out cortisol, a hormone that suppresses this protective enzyme. The study found that people under chronic stress have shorter telomeres, which, researchers say, means they are more vulnerable to a host of ailments.
So what can we do to stop ourselves feeling overwhelmed by a stressful situation?
Listen to music – try taking a break and listening to relaxing classical music. Playing calm music has a positive effect on the brain and body, can lower blood pressure, and reduce our levels of cortisol.
Call a friend or family member – talk about your problems. A reassuring voice, even for a minute, can put everything in perspective.
Exercise – you don’t have to run to your local gym or take a 40 minute walk, a short walk around the office or simply standing up to stretch during a break at work can offer immediate relief in a stressful situation. Getting your blood moving releases endorphins and can improve your mood almost instantaneously.
Take a deep breath – we have already featured several articles on the power of the breath and it certainly holds true when it comes to stress. While shallow breathing causes stress, deep breathing oxygenates your blood, helps center your body, and clears your mind.
Eat well – Stress levels and a proper diet are closely related. When time is limited and we have more to do we forget to eat well, try and keep healthy snacks available at all times during this time of year.
Laugh loud and often – Laughter releases endorphins that improve mood and decrease levels of the stress-causing hormones cortisol and adrenaline. Laughing tricks your nervous system into making you happy.
So this year invite as many of your friends and family to join you for the holiday celebrations, don’t stress the small stuff, just enjoy the healthy benefits that being with your friends and family will give you.
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Cheryl Alker specializes in flexibility training, facial exercises and postural alignment. Her 30 year career started as a group fitness and personal trainer, she has lectured and directed fitness training programs in both Europe and the USA and was an advisor for a Governmental health promotion program. Alker and her company Stretch Results International continues to work with a select clientele from a base in Palm Beach County, Florida, certifying health professionals in her results based stretching program, educating consumers through public speaking and offering consultation to clients who wish to lose their muscular pain and gain flexibility to achieve full and active lifestyles. Alker has a proven totally natural program that alleviates back pain visit www.secretbackpaincure.com. For more information about professional continuing education and consultation options, e:books or DVD’s please call Cheryl on 561 889 3738 or visit www.stretchresults.com.
November, 2014 – 50 Shades of Gray Hair
Cantankerously Yours
50 Shades of Gray Hair
By Wendell Abern
Dear Readers,
About six years ago, I wrote a column bemoaning the fact that I had reached the dreaded age of less: my son considered me hopeless; my daughter considered me helpless, and all other women considered me harmless.
Now that I have been a widower for five years, I think to myself … who the hell wants to be harmless?
Refusing to accept the fact that I am no longer a threat to some woman’s virtue, I decided to make a list of women that I will avidly pursue, with nothing but salacious thoughts in mind. Having made a decision, I called my daughter, Amy, for advice.
“Honey,” I said, “how would I go about getting in touch with HalleBerry?”
Silence.
“I’ve decided she would be perfect for me. But how will she know I’m perfect for her if she doesn’t even know me?”
“Dad.”
“I figure I send her a funny greeting card, or write her a short letter or something. You know, just to get the ball rolling.”
“Dad.”
“I think we’d be perfect together. I can teach her to play bridge!”
“Da-ad.”
Conversation went nowhere. She had no helpful advice for me at all. Three minutes later, the phone rang. My son, Joel. So. My daughter had ratted me out.
“We’re coming down to Florida,” Joel said.
“You’re not coming down to Florida!”
“We are if you start stalking HalleBerry!”
“What, stalk? A letter is stalking?”
Joel and Amy extracted a promise from me that I would not try to contact HalleBerry. I crossed her name off my list and decided not to mention a word about Jennifer Lopez.
But this subject continued to nag at me. I wondered if romance really does happen to octogenarians, and others who have reached their dotage.
Then, a recent newspaper article stopped me. The headline of this article announced that seniors (for which I qualify) have sex more frequently than we suspect (for which I plead the Fifth).
The article, beneath the sub-head, “We still get frisky,” the reporter wrote, “It may come as a shock to younger generations, but nearly three in four men and about half of women age 57 to 72 report that they are sexually active, having sex an average of about four times a month, according to a 2011 study in The Journals of Gerontology.”
Shocked? If I had read such a statement when I was a teen-ager, I would have barfed. The idea of someone my grandparents’ age having sex was unthinkable. In fact, if we even considered anyone over the age of 40 having sex, it was always in terms of, “Ew-w-w!”
While once again pleading the Fifth, I have decided to do my own investigating. Truthfully, I had hoped to appeal to your prurient needs with some juicy bits of porn. Sadly, what most people confessed to me was too bland to report. There were, however, a few chuckleworthy exceptions. (And yes, these actually happened; names have been changed to protect the guilty.)
Ned, a frequent bridge partner I have known for about ten years, is about 70. He has met several women through dating sites. Just prior to a recent game, I asked how his latest venture had gone.
“Not so good,” he said.
“You didn’t hit it off?”
“I thought we did. Met for coffee. Talked for about 45 minutes. Then I asked her to dinner at my house. She was a little reluctant at first, but she finally agreed.”
“So what happened? You insist on a little momby-palomby as an appetizer?”
“Hell, no! Never got that far! She got up and left, right in the middle of dinner!”
“What? What’d you make?”
“Didn’t make anything.”
“So … what? You ordered in pizza or something?”
“Nope.”
“So what’d you serve?”
“Leftovers.”
“Leftovers?”
“Yeah. I had some Chinese left over from Szechuwan Panda; a Greek salad from Lester’s Diner; you know, good stuff. I figure, why spend money on dinner when I’ve got good stuff like that? She got up and left just as I was bringing some two-day-old chicken piccata from Carabbas.”
“Imagine that,” I said, at a genuine loss for words.
I changed the subject to bridge conventions.
And then there’s Larry, a great old friend I’ve known since grammar school. Larry has been divorced twice, and about a year ago resurrected a romance with Susan, a woman he had gone steady with as a sophomore in high school. (Does anyone “go steady” any more? Does the phrase even exist?)
Anyway, Larry brought Susan down to Florida for a week and I had dinner with them one night. She looks great. Fred could lose 40 pounds.
After he’d had two drinks, Larry said, “Susan gave me permission to tell you this great story.” I looked at Susan. She winced.
“My grandson, Andrew, is a sophomore at the U. of Illinois in Champaign,” Fred said. “Susan’s grandson, Mickey, just started there. She asked if I would have Andrew call Mickey and invite him to his fraternity. Andrew said, ‘Sure.’
“A few days later, Andrew calls me. He says, ‘Hey, dad, I’m sending Mickey an e-mail. What do you think of this? Dear Mickey. Hi. My name is Andrew. My grandpa is boffing your grandma.’”
Fred roared. I chuckled. Susan blushed. Then changed the subject.
There have been a few others. Nick, a computer whiz who is older than I am, told me had placed a video of himself on one of the dating sites.
“No one even responded,” he said. “Not one single hit.”
“What’d you say?”
“I didn’t say anything. I danced.”
“You danced? By yourself.”
“Well. Sort of. I twerked.”
“Oh.”
“Not one single response.”
“Imagine that.”
There were a few other anecdotes of a very graphic nature, but I’m sure my editors would never publish them. If I reach Jennifer Lopez, you’ll hear about it in my next column.
Cantankerously Yours,
Wendell Abern
Wendell Abern can be reached at dendyabern@gmail.com.
November, 2014 – The Importance of E-Mail Process
Legal Intelligence
The Importance of E-Mail Process and Management to Business Success
By Blanca Greenstein, Esq. & Nadia Hoosien, Esq. with Greenstein & Associates
Technology has vastly evolved in today’s world, with communications primarily involving the exchange of email correspondence. With many email platforms to choose from, it is critical for a company’s business success to be able to swiftly obtain, organize, and recover email communications. While email servers allow you to search for certain communications via name, keyword, or by date, greater organization and permanence is necessary for true business success. Permanence of email communication is vital in today’s world; however, emails can easily be deleted, not only from either your inbox or outgoing mail, but also permanently from your account. Most companies conduct business via email and generally allow several, if not most employees to handle matters via email. Therefore, this notion of permanence is essential to a company’s success to manage and effectively review outgoing or incoming business communications.
In today’s market however, businesses struggle to collect, manage, and store emails in a safe and efficient way. As a result, important emails are often lost and deleted, or even worse, not given a proper response. The demands of email communication have changed, and in order to be truly successful, businesses can no longer rely on the basic email to deliver excellent customer service.
Blanca Greenstein, recognized the importance of managing and reviewing email communications within her Law Firm. Understanding the importance of email process and management to business success, Mrs. Greenstein created “INGATE”, an email management software she designed to provide email traffic control. INGATE was created to effectively meet the challenges associated with managing high volumes of email as well as to create accountability in ingoing and outgoing email communications. INGATE has the ability to link a company’s centralized email box to INGATE thereby allowing it to manage high volumes of email within a centralized platform. INGATE allows every employee or issue to have its own email station or queue, and permits email collection and classification categories to create various custom reports.
INGATE ensures permanency of email communications by permanently storing communications and allowing the company a quick view history of the precise date and time the email entered the system. INGATE enables a company to track all email communications and easily search prior email records amongst cross-users to prevent inconsistent results. In today’s affluent technological world of communication, there are limitless contacts company’s conduct business with. Rather than searching for a name in the generic “contacts” section of email platforms, INGATE provides a pre-populated email contact list to ensure that information is sent to the right people. The software even provides the ability to create pre-drafted language for reoccurring scenarios to ensure accurate and consistent responses. The importance of email process and management to business success is crucial in a world primarily corresponding via emails. Organization, management, consistency, and the ability to review employee’s email communications is one of the greatest tools a company can use to effectively measure its own success in today’s technological world.
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Disclaimer: This column is not intended to provide legal information or advice. All data and information provided on this column is for informational purposes only as well as to give general information and a general understanding of the law, and not to provide specific legal advice. By reading this column you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the publisher. This column should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.
November, 2014 – Bore Me . . . Please!
Cultural Corner
Bore Me… Please!
By Lori Hope Baumel
Before there were bleachers… we watched the horse jumping events from the side of the fence!
I have been a resident of Wellington since July of 1991. Prior to moving here my husband and I lived in the “Big Apple.” We loved New York City (NYC). As a young couple, very little was affordable for us there, yet, we always had something to see and do. We’re New Yorkers at heart and always will be. Fortunately, we lived in a subsidized apartment owned by the grad school my husband was attending. But, during the (Mayor) Dinkins era, NYC was a difficult place to raise children. Early on, our car was stolen and we didn’t bother to replace it. It was dirty, dangerous and too expensive for us to remain in the city after my husband’s training was complete. We had to decide whether or not we wanted to continue to struggle or find a place to live that was more child-friendly. We chose the latter.
For us, one of the biggest problems with “the city that never sleeps” was that the ongoing sirens and car alarms were so loud that my first-born son couldn’t sleep either. After five years, and the birth of another baby, my nerves were shot. Tired of dragging the stroller up and down subway steps, I was ready to live in a place that was welcoming, had excellent schools and provided space for our children to run and play.
While we were in NYC, my cousin and her family moved to Wellington. Although, at the time, it felt like it was in the boondocks, my husband and I decided to check it out when visiting Florida. Wellington was pioneer territory. Most of the main roads were unpaved. In 1990, there were only two supermarkets. Major shopping and dining required driving an exit north or south on the turnpike. In spite of all that, like Lewis and Clark, we packed up our family of four and set off to Wellington for a trial expedition.
Wellington was clean and the housing was affordable. There were plenty of parks for our little ones to roam. Fortunately, our children were accepted into the public school’s gifted program. We found the synagogue to be friendly and welcoming. My cousins were active there and I felt an instant connection. Our third child was born at Palms West Hospital in 1992. After five years of renting homes, we finally built our own.
Much has changed since we arrived here in our little Village of Wellington. It has more than doubled its size, has an “official” large-scale mall and the international equestrian community embraced our town as the epicenter of winter events. Over the years, NYC changed as well, for the better. Manhattan and neighboring Brooklyn and Queens are crawling with baby strollers and hipsters. If I were to be given the opportunity to raise a family there now, I wouldn’t hesitate to do so. But then was then and now is now.
As an admitted cultural snob, in the pioneering days, my husband and I made an effort to find venues for entertainment. The Kravis Center and Norton Museum provided a plethora of opportunities. We had season tickets to all the touring Broadway shows and exposed our children to the symphony, ballet, opera, puppetry and modern dance. Wellington’s proximity to cultural venues was perfect for us. We explored space and science at the West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale Science Museums and hopped up to Cape Kennedy and Disney World as they grew. Over the years, we traveled with our children to other parts of the country as well. Living in Wellington was affordable and, therefore, it allowed us to use our expendable income to take family vacations. My husband and I made a deal when we left New York City. “When we can afford it, one day we’ll come back as tourists.” And so we did!
The social climate in Wellington tends to instill a philosophy of giving back to the community. I have boxes of newspaper clippings of community-oriented events that we all participated in. We built Tiger Shark Cove (the first time) and voted for the first Village Council members. We marched in the parades, judged the debate matches, were active in cub scouts, girl scouts and, as “Hockey Mom,” I endured the smell of hockey bags in the back of the SUV. We, along with many other parents, volunteered our various talents to schools in the area. Lifelong friendships have been made and our children remain in touch with many of their childhood friends that they have known since preschool.
Recently, the writers on the website Movoto.com wrote an article listing Wellington as the sixth most boring town in Florida. They gathered up all of the places in the state whose borders have populations of 40,000 or more. Then, they used the Census and business listings to find information about each town in the following categories: nightlife (bars, clubs, comedy, etc.), live music venues, active life options (parks, outdoor activities, etc.), and arts and entertainment offerings (movie theaters, festivals, galleries, theaters, etc.).
In addition, Movoto based their “boredom ratings” on food venues: fast food restaurants (the more the more boring), percentage of restaurants that are not fast food (the lower the more boring), percentage of young residents ages 18 to 34 (the lower the more boring), and population density (the lower the better). For a good laugh, here’s the article: www.movoto.com/fl/most-boring-places-in-florida/
Statistics, statistics. Ho-hum. Perfect way to size up a town, eh? If you scroll down while perusing the article, you’ll read that Movoto underestimated our resident’s interest in the equestrian community. I do not know one neighbor who is not proud of how unique and exciting it is when the “horses come to town.” I’m sure every town in Florida has customers in Publix wearing their riding boots, right? NOT!
Does the photo below look boring to you? Unfortunately, I was never trained to ride horses, but I count the days until the Winter Equestrian Festival arrives from January to the end of March, especially, the Saturday Night Lights events.
Take a few minutes to watch this incredible video featuring our Winter Equestrian Festival. For fun, you can count the 18 – 34 years olds in attendance:
2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival from REPUBLICA Studio on Vimeo.
Here’s my rebuttal to the folks over at Movoto. The key word here is proximity. Besides wonderful Wellington restaurants like Oli’s, Kontiki, the Grille (and at least 30 more right here in town) with outstanding menus, our twenty-minute proximity to world- class nightlife, theaters, festivals, restaurants, galleries, green markets and a multitude of entertainment venues is incomparable. I didn’t move to Wellington to live above a bar or grocery store. That is why we left NYC in the first place. Also, our parks and recreational facilities have always been a priority here. Very few towns in the state or even the country can match the quality of our outdoor amenities.
“Mr. Movoto’s” statistics can’t possibly measure the excitement of Clematis Street on a Saturday Night or the beauty of a short drive east ‘till we hit the beaches ALL YEAR ROUND. If we’re up to traveling a little further south, in forty-five minutes we can be in Fort Lauderdale (the spring break capital of the world) or in just over an hour we can catch the flavors of Miami Beach. Oh, and yes, I admit, our population of 18 – 34 year olds is 16.69 percent. No surprise there… our children received a great education here and moved on to colleges all over the state or to other parts of the country (as my own children did). It would be interesting to find out how many of those 18-year-olds return to the Western Communities to raise their families later on. I know my cousin’s sons did.
So, move over Movoto. Wellington is a great place to live, raise your kids and meet people from all cultures and walks of life. No one knows what the future brings. I cannot promise that I will remain here for the rest of my days. But I do know one thing, no matter where my children end up settling… they will always call Wellington home.
Live… Go… Do!
Top 5 List for November
1) So I did some digging… lyrics, even silly ones, sometimes “hit home.” Watch these two YouTube videos:
Two versions of The Things I Will Not Miss from the 1973 film Lost Horizon.
As a child, this was a scene from one of my favorite films, Lost Horizon. A New York City girl, played by Sally Kellerman and a resident of Shangri-La, played by Olivia Hussey, compare notes on what they want out of life based on where they live. This Portuguese subtitled segment was the only YouTube source available. If you’re in a hurry, the song begins two minutes into the scene. The music is by Burt Bacharach and the lyrics are by Hal David. See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTEqgn2SiOM
The Things I Will Not Miss
Performed by the stars of Broadway’s Wicked
Here’s a more contemporary version: Julie Reiber and Katie Adams of Wicked, performing the Bacharach and David song The Things I Will Not Miss. This video segment is from the Bacharach To The Future BC/EFA and Poz benefit. See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xms5fTceSM8
Proximity, Proximity, Proximity!
Here’s a list of things to do that are a 20 – 30 minute drive!
2) For the 18-35 year olds:
Need a laugh?
Head over to the IMPROV in West Palm Beach
Straight from the comedy stages in NY and LA, the IMPROV has always presented top-tier talent. I’ve laughed myself to tears there many times.
For tickets and more info go to: palmbeach.improv.com
The IMPROV also offers comedy classes (5 week sessions) on Monday nights for an affordable fee.
Check it out at: improvstandupclasses.com
3) Laughs for all ages:
SARGE and Vanessa Hollingshead at the Lake Worth Playhouse.
Mark your calendars in advance.
(Sorry you missed Judy Tenuta, I’ve seen her twice and she’s amazingly funny. Perhaps you’ll catch her next time.)
For more info see: www.lakeworthplayhouse.org
4) The Kravis Center Presents Comedy, Dance, World Music, Broadway and more…
Last Comic Standing Live Tour
November 2 at 8 pm (Sunday)
Season 8 of Last Comic Standing premiered May 22 on NBC. The Emmy-nominated laugh-fest returns with an all-new group of the world’s funniest comics. Watch the series this summer on NBC, then see the finalists perform live as the Last Comic Standing Live Tour appears at the Kravis Center on November 2. (For Mature Audiences.)
Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. Concert Hall Tickets start at $15
Diavolo – Architecture in Motion
Jacques Heim, Artistic Director
November 7 at 8 pm (Friday)
Diavolo reinvents dance, re-images theater, and redefines thrills. Performers take movement, athletics and daring to the extreme, creating abstract narratives through surreal architectural landscapes. Under the Artistic Director Jacques Heim, the company creates an almost cinematic experience of powerful images that develop conceptual accounts of the human condition, utilizing unique architectural creations, to provide the backdrop for an evening of dramatic movement. Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. Concert Hall
Tickets start at $25 ∙ Only Orchestra and Grand Tier sections available
Beyond the Stage: A free pre-performance discussion by Steven Caras at 6:45 pm.
DakhaBrakha
November 9 at 7:30 pm (Sunday)
DakhaBrakha is a quartet from Kiev whose sound is at once mesmerizing and mystical, melding soulful Ukrainian folk melodies with jazz and trance sounds. Aptly named, DakhaBrakha means “give/take” in the Ukrainian language. Mixing the fundamental structure of folk music with free-form improvisation and minimalist influences, this theatrical quartet of multi-instrumentalist singers creates a magical world of unexpected and engaging new music with Indian, Arabic, African, Russian and Australian instruments. Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Playhouse – Tickets $28
Don McLean and Judy Collins
November 9 at 8 pm (Sunday)
Few performers have stood the test of time as well as Don McLean and Judy Collins. Don McLean has had a long and successful songwriting and performing career. In fact, “American Pie” is widely considered one of the top songs of the 20th century. A virtuoso of a variety of vocal styles, Don can – and does – inspire a range of emotions with his singing. Judy, too, began inspiring audiences with her sublime vocals, vulnerable songwriting and commitment to social activism. Five decades and 50 albums later, Judy, who began her impressive career at 13 as a piano prodigy, remains a vigorous writer and performer of songs that create hope and healing and heart. She also stays active in social causes. Don and Judy will ensure that audiences enjoy a “starry, starry night.”
Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. Concert Hall – Tickets start at $25
For the kid in all of us:
Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella
November 11-16
Rodgers + Hammerstein’s CINDERELLA is the Tony Award®– winning Broadway musical from the creators of The Sound of Music and South Pacific that’s delighting audiences with its contemporary take on the classic tale. This lush production features an incredible orchestra, jaw-dropping transformations and all the moments you love – the pumpkin, the glass slipper, the masked ball and more – plus some surprising new twists. Be transported back to childhood and rediscover some of Rodgers + Hammerstein’s most beloved songs, including “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible/It’s Possible” and “Ten Minutes Ago,” in this hilarious and romantic Broadway experience for anyone who’s ever had a wish, a dream… or a really great pair of shoes.
Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. Concert Hall – Tickets start at $25
And there’s so much more… See the full November 2014 calendar at
5) On view at the Norton Museum
Master Prints: Dürer to Matisse
The Norton Museum of Art is thrilled to present Master Prints: Dürer to Matisse, featuring astonishing works on paper including woodcuts, etchings, engravings, aquatints, and lithographs that range from the 15th to 20th centuries. This not-to-be-missed exhibition brings together several of the earliest as well as later examples of the golden age of printmaking. Works by old masters Dürer, Rembrandt, Goya, and Canaletto, will be displayed alongside those of modern masters Degas, Matisse, Picasso, and Cezanne. The exhibition is on view Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014 through Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015, and is accompanied by a video demonstrating printmaking processes, and texts describing the role prints held in society before the advent of photography.
“Each and every work in this exhibition is rare, and of a breathtaking quality that is no longer available on the market,” says Jerry Dobrick, the Norton’s Curatorial Associate for European Art. “They are the best of the best – a virtual tour de force of the world’s finest prints ranging from portraits, landscapes, mythological and biblical subjects to scenes of everyday life – all created by the most famous artists of their time. “ He adds that, “This unique exhibition is the only opportunity to see these works, the NortonMuseum of Art is their only venue.”
World-class works such as German painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer’s engravings Knight, Death, and the Devil and Saint Jerome in His Study from 1513–1514 (two of 10 etchings by this master in the exhibition) are examples of the stellar works on display. A century later, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) created etchings with remarkable and subtle tonal ranges, evident in his Self-Portrait Leaning on a Window Sill from 1639, one of seven works by Rembrandt in the exhibition. In this etching, Rembrandt portrays himself in Renaissance attire, taking inspiration from two 16th-century works, Raphael’s Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione, and Titian’s so-called Portrait of Ariosto. By referencing such esteemed artists and looking confidently at the viewer, the artist claims his position in society.
Of the modern masters on exhibit, Post-Impressionist artist Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) is represented by a color lithograph, Les Baigneurs (Grande Planche) from 1896-1898. Primarily a painter and draftsman, Cézanne was not a prolific printmaker. His print output consists of nine works in both etching and lithography. In 1895, Parisian art dealer Ambroise Vollard gave Cézanne an exhibition that was instrumental in promoting his work and establishing his reputation. This show coincided with the revival of color lithography in France in the 1890s, and Vollard was among those art entrepreneurs who commissioned and published prints for portfolios. Cézanne created several lithographs for one of Vollard’s early portfolios. One of them, The Large Bathers, was based on one of his favorite subjects – and his most popular painting at the time.
Henri Matisse (1869-1954) painter, sculptor, designer, and graphic artist, employed the technique of aquatint for the 1948 portrait, Nadia au Visage Rond, in the exhibition. One of the most economic works in its use of line, it is, at the same time, one of the most visually striking pieces in the exhibition.
For more info: www.norton.org.
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Lori Hope Baumel and her husband Eric live in Wellington and have three children.
Their eldest, Sam, 27, is a media producer and conceptual artist who currently resides in (extremely hipster) Brooklyn, NY. Her younger children, Evan and Rachel, wrote the Around Wellington “Teen Talk” column in previous years. Rachel, 24, lives and works in Boston, MA and Evan, 21, is a senior at American University in Washington DC. Eric has practiced radiology in Wellington since 1991. His many talents include artist, cook, photographer and, recently, medical app developer. You can learn more about Lori at www.loribaumel.com or read her blog:www.grownupcamp.tumblr.com