August 2016 - ftlprimetimers.org
Transcription
August 2016 - ftlprimetimers.org
Volume 13 No. 8 August 2016 A social club of mature men and those who enjoy their company President's Message by Henry Penas Last month’s dinner was our 13th Anniversary Dinner. It was at Tropical Acres, and the place was packed. We bid farewell to our Treasurer, Mike Trask, after 5 years of service in that position. We bestowed upon him the title of Treasurer Emeritus and presented him with a trophy commemorating his service to our organization. He will be replaced by our newest board member and treasurer, Robb Perry. We also had many door prizes. Special thanks go to Ted Verdone who sent letters to 60+ local businesses asking for their contribution to our annual anniversary dinner. He was assisted by Doug Kent, Richard Lefebvre, Eddie Green, Neil Clark, Buddy Berardi, and Jimmy Schill. Their hard work, determination and patience resulted in 80 gifts, from 26 vendors, totaling $1,250. We appreciate all that they did to achieve this amazing result. We also appreciate the businesses that supported us by contributing generously. They are: Miller’s Ale House, Ambry German Restaurant, Alibi, Andrews Diner, The Best Cellar, Bobby Rubino’s, The Bonnet House, Champp’s, Chuck’s Steakhouse, The Courtyard Café, The Empire Stage Theater, J. Mark’s, LIPS, Longhorn Steakhouse, Manor Lanes Bowling, Brunswick Bowling in Margate, Matty’s, The Outback Steakhouse, Rosie’s, Sea Watch, Tee Jay Sushi, Tropical Acres, Tropics, Umberto’s of Long Island, The Village Pub, Zuckerello’s. Now we need to show our appreciation and support for these businesses by giving them our business. Please save this list so that when you patronize one of these businesses you can let them know that you are a Prime Timer and you thank them for their contribution to our annual dinner. Fort Lauderdale Prime Timers Inc. PO Box 100666, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33310 ftlprimetimers@gmail.com www.ftlprimetimers.org © 2003 Page 1 Mr. August 2016 by Doug Kent How does one go from chronic alcohol abuse to sober, from homelessness to a high a rise condo in Fort Lauderdale? This journey in life makes for interesting reading. Mr. August (Mr. A) began life on August 22, 1959 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the youngest of 4 children. The family functioned well, and the early childhood was fairly typical. His half brother and sister, and his sister all made it through elementary, junior high and high school without major problems. Mr. A struggled and began his drinking at the tender age of 14 with his Grandfather being his major enabler. This relationship set into motion a life struggle with alcohol. By the age of 16, Mr. A’s grades fell, but he managed to graduate from Lincoln High School in 1977. By 1979, Mr. A had his first gay relationship and managed to acquire 2 DUI’s that landed him into his first alcohol treatment program. Sober now, Mr. A moved to Seattle, Washington where he met his second partner, and he secured a position as a records clerk. His partner was a legal secretary. Mr. A began drinking again but managed to keep his job. They moved to Washington D.C. in 1981 and stayed together till 1983 when they parted. Mr. A was forced to move back with family in Naperville, Illinois. His father passed in 1984, and his mother passed 6 months later. In 1984 ,Mr. A moved in with friends in Chicago and he found a gay recovery program that same year. He became very active in the program and remained sober for the next 10 years. In 1987, Mr. A met Randal and they stayed together until 2001 when Randal passed away. However, it was Randall’s influence during the latter part of the relationship that caused Mr. A’s decision to return to alcohol once again. It was also in 2001 that Mr. A’s sister was t ragically killed in the 9/11 twin tower terror attack. In February 2002 Mr. A once again entered a treatment program at the Gateway Westside Treatment Center, where he dealt with his dependence on alcohol and his newly diagnosed Bipolar condition. He was transferred from the inpatient unit to a half way house to continue to work on his recovery. And work he did. He took a position with Radio America as an Account Representative where he worked for the next three years. In 2005, Mr. A suffered a mini-stroke, and he went on disability from work. His chronic pain, Bipolar personality and his recovery were all hampering his ability to work. Later that year, an error in his disability paperwork caused payments to stop, and he became homeless in Oak Park, Illinois. In 2007, an organization called West Suburban PADS provided a disability attorney, that recovered his disability payments, and provided housing assistance for Mr. A. It was through this organization that Mr. A became involved in matters concerning the homeless, and with persons with mental issues. He sat on boards, became an advocate and worked tirelessly for these causes. (Continued on Page 3 ) Fort Lauderdale Prime Timers Inc. PO Box 100666, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33310 ftlprimetimers@gmail.com www.ftlprimetimers.org © 2003 Page 2 June Luncheon Mr. August (Continued from Previous Page) In 2014, Mr. A moved to Florida and continued to work on his recovery, as well as his other causes. He began volunteer work at the Pride Center. In February of 2015, he became involved with the Prime Timers, and in that same year met his now partner. Mr. A maintains his residence in Wilton Manors, but spends much of his time at his partner’s high rise condo in Fort Lauderdale. There you have it; that is how a person moves from homeless to high rise. With this information, can you identify Mr. August? (Answer on Page 5) Fort Lauderdale Prime Timers Inc. PO Box 100666, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33310 ftlprimetimers@gmail.com www.ftlprimetimers.org © 2003 Page 3 Fellow member Nick Chaparos passed away in John Knox Village at 11:00am on June 30, 2016. He had originally gone there 3 or 4 days a week for dialysis. Recently, he moved there full time. Nick had been a member since August of 2008. In 1955, he received a Fulbright Scholarship to study design in Germany. The famous “Kitchen Debate” between Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev took place at an exhibition which included works by Nick. Nick was Mr. Prime Timer in the September 2011 Surfer. You can read about his fascinating life by clicking on this link http:// www.ftlprimetimers.org/Hall%20of%20Fame/20.%20Nick% 20Chaparos.pdf Prime Timers at Marilyn Monroe Exhibit Some Prime Timers at Marilyn Exhibit Ed Witkowski speaking to the group Fort Lauderdale Prime Timers Inc. PO Box 100666, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33310 ftlprimetimers@gmail.com www.ftlprimetimers.org © 2003 Page 4 Mr. August 2016 Scott Jensen PTWW Newsletter Available Go to the PTWW website www.PrimeTimersWW.com and click on “Newsletters” on the home page, click on “Current Edition”, click on Download, then Open to view the newsletter. Alternatively, you may use the following link to go directly to the “Current Edition” download page of the website.http://primetimersww.com/index.php? option=com_remository&Itemid=579&func=select&id=133 Then click on Download for the preferred edition, then Open to view the newsletter. Fort Lauderdale Prime Timers Inc. PO Box 100666, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33310 ftlprimetimers@gmail.com www.ftlprimetimers.org © 2003 Page 5 It Ain’t What It Used To Be byJohn D. Siegfried I love alliteration. You know, the “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” sort of thing. So it’s no surprise that I enjoy reading Monday Morning Musings, a single sheet production that’s periodically slipped under my door by a retired neighbor who enjoys sharing his thoughts on life. As a lover of alliteration, however, I wish the author had a name like Milt or Mack or Mark and a German heritage. Then instead of 3 M s, Monday Morning Musings, we’d have 5 M s, Monday Morning Musings mit Mark. I like that. The copy I received a few months ago was my neighbor's “Oh, for the good old days,” lament – not uncommon for those of us with gray hair. The author had visited Plant City, FL, the winter strawberry capital of the world and found that strawberries are now big and red and beautiful – and tasteless. The ones he remembered from childhood were small and sweet and delicious. Likewise, he lamented, “…navel oranges are not what they used to be! … even insults are not what they used to be.” As proof of this assertion he offered Mark Twain’s quip that, “I didn’t attend his funeral but I sent a note saying that I approved of it.” And Abraham Lincoln’s famous put-down, “He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know” – a distinction many of our politicos seem to strive for. My neighbor concluded his musings with “Even Florida is not what it used to be. Neither am I.” While I share the sense of sadness at the loss of the flavor of the strawberries of the past – and I’d add to his list the taste of old fashioned beefsteak tomatoes ripened on the vine and apple cider that’s fresh pressed, not filtered, pasteurized and prettified – I’m really quite glad Florida’s not what it used to be. I’m glad I'm not what I used to be. All of us at times wish selectively for aspects of the old days that we recall with warmth and nostalgia and classify as good. But do I really want to bang around the Everglades without hip boots dodging alligators? Do I really want to be in South Florida without electricity, without air conditioning? Do I really want to return to the days when gays and lesbians were in the closet – and the door was locked? Florida is not what it used to be – it’s better. I’m not what I used to be. But even with two artificial knees, a titanium hip, a screw in my neck and five transplanted blood vessels feeding my heart – I’m better than I used to be. I reached adolescence in the forties when even the New York Times had an official editorial policy of not printing the word homosexual. In their Sunday Book Review internationally known homosexual authors, such as Andre Gide, Gunter Grass, Truman Capote were referred to as perverted and deviant. I hoped and prayed that those vile terms didn’t apply to me – but I wasn’t sure. Like most other gay men of that era, I masqueraded as straight – super straight in order to deflect suspicion. The overriding fear of my teens, my twenties, my thirties was that if my friends and family really knew who I was deep inside, they’d reject me. Society in those years was primed to reject gays and lesbians, and I was part of that society with my own strong streak of internalized homophobia. It wasn’t until Anita Bryant in 1977 mounted her infamous bigoted Save Our Children campaign in Miami-Dade that I forced my closet door open and began to acknowledge who I am – first to myself, which is the hardest “coming out”, and eventually to family and friends. Do I want to return to those closeted days for the sake of sweeter strawberries? Hell no! I think it must be hard for gays who have come of age post-Stonewall to understand, or even imagine, what life was like for the members of our “perverted and deviant” clan before a few drag queens in New York said, “Enough! We’re not taking this police brutality shit any longer.” But those of us who are gay and gray remember those years acutely. By the same token it’s hard for me to believe the progress that’s occurred post- Stonewall. I have to pinch myself at times to believe that same-sex marriage is now a reality and that gays and lesbians fill many prominent public positions in government and in the private sector. I’m an out gay senior with lots of out gay senior friends living in a community that is not only accepting of gays but courting gays to visit and to settle. The good old days? My neighbor is right; the strawberries aren’t what they used to be. Most of them taste like cardboard. But do I want to go back? No way – not me! Fort Lauderdale Prime Timers Inc. PO Box 100666, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33310 ftlprimetimers@gmail.com www.ftlprimetimers.org © 2003 Page 6 August Luncheon by Doug Kent As summer progresses, our August 25, 2016 luncheon will have us traveling to Kelly’s Landing, located at 1305 SE 17th Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida to sample some of their cherished New England Seafood dishes. As usual we will meet at 1pm. Kelly’s Landing has been synonymous with great seafood and a pleasant, inviting atmosphere for a long time in the Fort Lauderdale restaurant scene. It has always been their goal to preserve the tradition of South Boston and continue to serve the freshest New England Seafood in the same pleasant atmosphere since 1987. Their menu features traditional dishes along with new items guaranteed to please every palate. As testimony to their great service and products, they have served some three generations of regular customers and always strive to keep them coming back for more. Make sure you mark your calendar and join your fellow Prime Timers for this memorable experience. As always, to insure your seat e-mail Doug Kent at dutchwood@att.net or call him at 305-495-2978. You will not be disappointed. Fort Lauderdale Prime Timers Inc. PO Box 100666, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33310 ftlprimetimers@gmail.com www.ftlprimetimers.org © 2003 Page 7 Prime Timers, Inc. August Dinner Will be held at Outback Steakhouse 6201 N Fed. Hwy. Ft Lauderdale Thursday, August 18, 2016 Cut Off date for receipt of reservations is Aug 13 Cash Bar @ 5:00 PM – Dinner served at 6:00 PM A Cash Bar will be conveniently available at “Happy Hour” prices. **** Caesar Salad **** 1. Sirloin Steak (9 oz) 2. Grilled Chicken (8 oz) 3. Grilled Salmon Fillet *** Dessert will be Crème Brulee *** Choice of Coffee, Iced Tea or Soft Drinks Included $27 per Member or $32 per Guest (Soup, Salad, Entree, Dessert, 6% Tax % & Gratuity Included) Member Name _______________________________ Entrée _______ Member Name _______________________________ Entrée _______ Guest Name _______________________________ Entrée _______ Please complete the above information & send the bottom half with your payment to Fort Lauderdale Prime Timers ,Inc. - P. O. Box #100666, Fort Lauderdale 33310, or go to our web page (ftlprimetimers.org) and click on the Reservations Link to pay with a credit card. If you have to cancel, notify Richard Lefebvre (401-474-9242) or Eddie Green (954-557-5485) no later than 5 PM the day before the event or you will NOT get a refund. All dinners will be served at 6 P.M. . Fort Lauderdale Prime Timers Inc. PO Box 100666, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33310 ftlprimetimers@gmail.com www.ftlprimetimers.org © 2003 Page 8 Prime Timers, Inc. August Special Event Dinner Will be held at Tee Jay Thai Sushi 2254 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors (In same plaza as Georgie’s Alibi) Tuesday, August 30, 2016 (Cut Off Date for receipt of Reservations is August 25) Drinks 5:00 PM & Dinner @ 6:00 PM (Max 30) Choice of Miso Soup or Garden Salad Entree Choices are: 1) Beef Curry 2) Chicken Pad Thai 3) Fish Fillet with Chili Sauce Dessert is Thai Donuts The cash bar will be conveniently available at “Happy Hour” prices. $25 per Member ; $30 per Guest (Soup or small salad, Entree, Small Dessert, Tax & Tip Included) Member Name _______________________________ Entrée _______ Member Name _______________________________ Entrée _______ Guest Name _______________________________ Entrée _______ Please complete the above information & send the bottom half with your payment to Fort Lauderdale Prime Timers, Inc. - P. O. Box #100666, Fort Lauderdale 33310 or go to our web page (ftlprimetimers.org) and click on the Reservations Link to pay with a credit card. If you have to cancel notify Richard Lefebvre (401-474-9242) or Eddie Green (954-557-5485) no later than 5 PM the day before the event or you will NOT get a refund. All dinners will be served ON TIME!! Please try to arrive at least 15 minutes before dinner is scheduled to be served. Fort Lauderdale Prime Timers Inc. PO Box 100666, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33310 ftlprimetimers@gmail.com www.ftlprimetimers.org © 2003 Page 9 Members’ Page Birthdays C. Marley BrownJr. Charlie Kane Lorenz Muther Wayne Gibson Harold Simpson Richard Bohne William Greeves Charles Buckpitt Dennis Foley John Kraemer Roger Twinn Philip May Daniel Gibbons Robert Blount Charles Scarcella John Byerly Mark Erbe John Avery Wendall Cooke Harvey Chasser Jerry Russo Dennis Rock Paul Addison 8/1 8/1 8/1 8/2 8/2 8/3 8/3 8/3 8/4 8/4 8/4 8/4 8/4 8/4 8/4 8/5 8/5 8/5 8/5 8/6 8/6 8/7 8/11 Daniel Sasser 8/12 Jeremy Pierce 8/13 Patrick Noon 8/13 Peter Spivey 8/14 Peter Cowan 8/14 John Sorrell 8/14 Bennett Siu 8/14 Neal Clark 8/15 Mike Halton 8/17 Paul Stein 8/17 Larry Tinsley 8/17 John Vincell 8/18 Anthony Terrace 8/18 Pedro Pereira 8/19 Stephen Barnhart 8/19 Jeffrey Covey 8/19 Samuel Hendrick 8/20 Richard Lenzi 8/21 Scott Jensen 8/22 Phil Jackowski 8/22 Dean Robinson 8/25 Tom Dwyer 8/25 Anniversaries Frank Ferri & Tony Caparco 8/1/1981 35 years Rubin Kaplan & Michael Leventhal 8/30/2002 14 years John Lloyd & Andrew Cheng 8/22/2003 13 years Don Perkins & Wil Niebles 8/20/2005 11 years Anthony Terrace & Tom Olah 8/13/2010 6 years Rafa Suarez & Dick Angel 8/27/2015 1 year Birthdays (continued) Henry Smith Chuck McDermid Francis Buckley John McIntosh Michael Burwick Jim Wilson August Birthday Boys 8/26 8/26 8/27 8/27 8/28 8/28 Rafael Suarez Ted Devanski Jack Harrington Ralph Butchko Ray Drakoff David Hamrick 8/28 8/28 8/30 8/30 8/30 8/30 New Members June Don Domenico Dan Shanholtz Henry Pabian Jason Rawl July Wayne Biswurm James Deemer Edvaldo Viana Bruce Sobol David Rozenzweig Hector Vanegsa Fort Lauderdale Prime Timers Inc. PO Box 100666, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33310 ftlprimetimers@gmail.com www.ftlprimetimers.org © 2003 Page 10 Prime Timer, INC. Monthly Events Events— —August 2016 Sun Mon 1 Tennis Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 2 Card Games 3 Bowling 4 Bowling 5 Bocce Ball 6 9 Card Games 10 Bowling 11 Bowling 12 Bocce Ball 13 17 Bowling 18 Bowling 19 Bocce Ball 20 26 Bocce Ball 27 Mixer 7 Card Games 8 Tennis General Meeting 2:00 pm Pride Center Mixer 14 Card Games 15 Tennis 16 Card Games Mixer Board Meeting 4:00 pm Pride Center 22 Tennis 23 Card Games 21 Card Games Monthly Dinner Outback 6:00 pm 24 Bowling Luncheon Kelly’s Landing 1:00 pm Mixer 28 Haulover Beach 10:00 am Card Games 25 Bowling 29 Tennis 30 Card Games Mixer Monthly Special Event Tee Jays Dinner 6:00 P.M. 31 Bowling Weekly Events Card Games - Sundays at Noon and Tuesdays at 11:30 am - Pride Center Tennis - Mondays at 9:00 am - Palm Aire Mixer - Mondays at 5:30 pm - Tropics Bowling - Wednesdays at 11:00 am - Manor Lanes; Thursday 11:00 am Brunswick /Margate Lanes Bocce - Fridays at 10:00 am - Palm Aire After - Mixer Informal Dinner - Mondays at 7:00 pm - See weekly email for restaurant Fort Lauderdale Prime Timers Inc. PO Box 100666, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33310 ftlprimetimers@gmail.com www.ftlprimetimers.org © 2003 Page 11 June Anniversary Dinner Henry Penas gives Mike Trask ,Treasurer Emeritus, a plaque. History Group at Work ANNIVERSARY Pictures by Kaz Takahashi Fort Lauderdale Prime Timers Inc. PO Box 100666, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33310 ftlprimetimers@gmail.com www.ftlprimetimers.org © 2003 Page 12
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