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NORTEX Round Up & NTCA Callers Cavalcade 2014

WOW! 2014 ‘LIFE’S JUST A DANCE” Cavalcade and Round Up… What a weekend.   Thanks to all the dancers who came out and enjoyed 3 days of dance, fun, fellowship and shopping.

It was a weekend of color and excitement.  The floor was packed Saturday and the colorful outfits made a rainbow of color on the floor.  We kicked the weekend off Friday night with Callers Cavalcade and danced to the best callers in the area.

This was followed Saturday morning with Line Dancing, Clogging, Round Dancing, Mainstream and Plus dancing.  The students and new dancers were kicking up their heels on the floor and the High Energy squares where humming.    Thanks to our staff callers Ray Savell, Jon Jones and Bobby Willis and our cuer/line dance instructor Chris Farabaugh  for keeping the dancers moving all day long.  Award.   Drew Bramlett’s beautiful voice singing the  Star Spangled banner was the crowning glory.

International caller Ken Bower kicked of the  dance with 32 squares in  Grand Prize.  Ken continued all evening and what a fun caller he is.  He had us all moving and twirling.    Chris Farabaugh Cueing was  top notch.  Congratulations to the the Featured Prizes and the Grand Prize winners.  Thanks also to  the Cloggers for their exhibition, Now that is an energetic group of dancers.  Hopefully everyone won something with the door prizes or at least were able to get that new pair or shoes or just that special outfit they couldn’t live without.

Sunday morning Worship service was a real gift  for those who chose to participate with a special message on releasing our strongholds and following our Lord.  The All Gospel  Dance was lots of fun with surprises such as our NORTEX Presidents Ray and Vicki  and our Past President Kevin Hadley calling a tip.   What  fun it was and they were great sports for being pulled up on stage unexpected to preform.

Cant wait until next October and Round Up 2015.   We are already receiving registrations for the weekend.  Don’t get left out register early and come enjoying the fun.

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Today is a New Day.

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In The News Uncategorized

Square Dance Night by John Ward

Square Dance Night

By John Ward, Alton, Ks

I visited a Square Dance quite unexpected,
And the things I saw there I never suspected
I arrived at the hall and was happily greeted;
We talked for a while, then were finally seated
When outside the door there arose such a clatter
That I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.
And what to my wondering eyes should appear
T’was the Caller arriving with all of his gear
With boxes and satchels he was all loaded down,
And some of the things were dragging the ground.
He spoke not a word but to the stage he did race
And hung up big bird boxes all over the place
And when he had finished he turned to us there
And said, “Howdy, everybody, it’s time for a Square”
They rushed to the floor with a leap and a bound,
But I remained seated ‘cause my mind was still Sound
But they saw me a settin’ and grabbed me right there,
And before I knew it I was caught in that square
At first we would circle as we went ‘round the land,
Playing “Ring Around the Rosie” in time with the band
Then they would grab me and give me a fling
And spin me around like a top in the ring
Lake a big rubber ball they bounced me around
‘Till I didn’t know up or I didn’t know down
The caller went crazy before we got through
And the strangest things he asked us to do
He asked us to box with the gnats and the fleas
I looked all around but no bugs did I see
Now this is the part I can’t understand:
He said, “Chain your lady to the opposite man”
Now that is something I never would do
Would you want some lady chained to you?
Then things got much rougher and a bandage I wear.
For allowing myself to get caught in that square
The lady across seemed so friendly and gay
As she extended her hand across the way
But before I knew it with a Half Nelson twist
She twisted my arm and that snapped my wrist
I said, “Why, lady, did you ever do that?”
She said, “You galoot, I was Boxing the Gnat.”
And so, my dear friends, I left them right there
All people are crazy that go to a square;
And I heard them exclaim as I walked out of sight,
‘THERE WILL BE A DANCE AGAIN NEXT SATURDAY NIGHT”

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Square Dance Calling

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Empty Nesters Events In The News Uncategorized

Get into the Social Whirl

Stewart F. House / Special Contributor

Get into the social whirl: Newly single seniors find diversions that forge new bonds

By KATHLEEN GREEN
KATHLEEN GREEN The Dallas Morning News Special Contributor
Published: 12 November 2012 04:36 PM

Senior Living 2012: Resources for seniors in North Texas
These single folks may be old enough to be AARP members, but they’re not sitting at home watching the paint peel.

Some of these seniors have found themselves alone and with unexpected free time due to an empty nest, divorce or a spouse’s death, but whatever the reason, these 55- to 65-year-olds have more opportunities to socialize and stay active than hours in the day. There’s dancing, open-mike nights, musical productions, book clubs, travel groups, volunteer work, investment clubs and more.

By day, Nancy Barr is a legal secretary for the law firm Littler Mendelson in downtown Dallas. At night, she kicks up her heels in a way she never expected: square dancing.

“I would have never in one million years thought I’d enjoy square dancing,” says Barr, 55, of Lake Highlands, who is divorced. “I’m a rock-and-roller type of girl.”

But after Nancy’s friend persuaded her to go on a cruise with some square dance friends in 2009, she loved the group so much that she signed up for dance lessons. Now Nancy is part of the Rebel Rousers with the North Texas Square and Round Dance Association. Nancy gets great exercise and has made a ton of new friends.

“If single guys are looking for a way to meet single women, square dancing is where they should be,” she says. “There are numerous couples who have met through square dancing.”

Jerri Locke, director of the Senior Access Program at Methodist Health System, has seen firsthand how such gatherings and programs for seniors can lead to newfound happiness.

They may first start out in a grief support group after losing a spouse, she says. With time, people forge new bonds through fitness classes, language courses or social events at either of Methodist’s two campuses.

When Locke put together a recent semiformal dance, she was afraid no one would come, but about 300 people showed up.

“It was supposed to be over at 8 or 9. I finally did like at a club and I turned out all the lights and said, ‘This is the last dance. Y’all have got to go home.’”

Those Methodist programs have been a lifesaver for Pleasant Grove resident Roena MacKey, who got more involved after health issues forced her to retire as a warrant confirmation supervisor for the city of Dallas.

“There’s no reason for anyone to sit at home and say, ‘I don’t have anything to do.’ I need to keep busy as much as possible in order to keep my brain running, or otherwise it might collapse on me at any minute,” says MacKey, who is divorced and has five grown children and three grandchildren.

At first, she attended health and education seminars, but now she looks forward to open-mike night at Charlton Methodist.

“You’d be amazed with the people you meet in our age group and how talented we are,” says MacKey, 58. “Since I’ve become this beautiful age and with some limitations, I was looking to find me something to do and to help me to socialize with more people. I sure have made a lot of friends.”

Elexis Rice, a motivational, inspirational and educational speaker, taps into numerous groups around town for her social life.

“There’s a ton of stuff to do in this city that’s age appropriate,” says Rice, 57, of Addison. “I’ll pop in and out of various things,” which have included Meetup.com groups (a website where you can find local groups), an investment club, the blues music scene and dance lessons.

“Dancing is a great way to meet people because you rotate,” she says. “You dance with like 50 different people in the course of the night, even if it’s two minutes or one song.”

Rice — who recently co-wrote Life and Love Extraordinaire: Tales of How People Met Their Soul Mates, including 45 couples she introduced to each other — often coaches her clients on how to get out there and meet potential soul mates.

“Once people get married, have their kids and they’re grown, then they never get their mojo back. So then they just go into hiding,” she says.

For awhile now, Fred Musacchio, 62, has immersed himself in two things he’s always loved: musicals and police work. Musacchio, a retired family lawyer, wanted to be a police officer in his youth but was turned away because of his eyesight. Now he volunteers with the Duncanville Police Department.

Musacchio, who is divorced, also often spends time at the Hopkins Senior Center in Duncanville where he just wrapped a musical production of Virgil’s Wedding. Being in a musical is not such a stretch for Musacchio, who performed in them in high school. His love for guitar has landed him in Billy’s Buckaroos, a group of friends at the senior center who share music together.
“I’ve met a lot of people that I really enjoy conversing with,” Musacchio says.
“Loneliness is a choice,” says Rice. “There are plenty of opportunities here.”

Kathleen Green is a Plano freelance writer.