It’s a Wonderful Life – La Comedia

This play at La Comedia was also a Wonderful Musical! We took our Young at Heart Day Trip to La Comedia to catch this great Christmas program. Everything about this was perfect!

• For starters, our seating was great!
• The Buffet was outstanding
• The Musical was one of the best plays that I recall ever seeing at La Comedia.

We had a good group of Young at Heart people go with us for this special event. La Comedia always does a very good job for us. Therefore, La Comedia has become one of our favorite destinations for our Day Trips. Good thing; because we will go three times in 2013!

Our seating has improved significantly since we moved up to the section above the floor level. We can see better and the seating is more comfortable. All tables seat 2 or 4 people rather than the 8 people that we had down on the floor level, last year.

But, it isn’t about the seating; it is a about OUR people!

Of course, a big attraction to La Comedia is also the food! I personally thought the food was even better than normal.

… and service!

But of course, we also came to see the play/musical. “It’s a Wonderful Life!” Good overcame evil once again. The actor/singers did a great job. The finale with the singing of “O Holy Night” was outstanding and received a standing ovation.

For copyright purposes, we were not allowed to photograph of take video  during the program. However, we always get to meet the players after the play. This is a shot that I took of the lineup.

Well done, La Comedia!

Young @ Heart – Christmas Luncheon Program

This month we celebrated Christmas a little early with a very special program and special menu for lunch. I think everyone was very pleased with both the program and the food.

Our program started with a Piano / Organ duet Prelude by Grace Averitt at the Piano and Nancy Jensen at the Organ. Their music was well done but I’ll let you hear it here, too! 

Following this music, I did our normal opening material and jokes.

THEN! We were pleased to be entertained by the Carillon Brass. This group will be doing a similar program this weekend (Friday Afternoon) at the Loft downtown. All five of these brass musicians are also part of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, in addition to other duties and jobs such as teaching, etc. Our own Pastor of Worship and Music, Charlie Pagnard did most of the talking and played Trumpet.

Oh, that’s right, they are a Quintet, that means 5.  So here are the other 4. These included a French Horn, another Trumpet, at Trombone, and a Tuba!

I’ll include a couple of YouTube links so you can actually see and hear these men in action:

Carillon Brass at YAH

Carillon Brass at YAH - Dec. 11, 2012 (More Video)

Now, you can also listen to the entire concert HERE.

Finally, if this isn’t enough, we had a fantastic lunch! Last month we had everyone vote on their choice for meals and the winner was – Ham, Potatoes, Fruit Salad, and Pie. Lisa chose the pie and I thought it was great, even though I had never had anything like it before. Egg Nog Pie!  Thank you Lisa and the kitchen and dining room staff for a fantastic Christmas meal!

Dayton Ballet @ the Mid-Day Arts Café - Schuster Performing Arts Center

Today, our Young at Heart Group attended an excellent program at the Schuster!  I never thought I would enjoy the ballet but this program was a lot of fun.

We started with a nice box lunch. Then, as we continued to eat, two ballerinas from the Dayton Ballet provided a very good ballet demonstration. The ballet was performed by Marcia Hetrick and Annalise Woller. The ballet was "Two Sisters”, in honor of Miss Josephine and Hermene Schwarz. These sisters were pioneers of ballet in Dayton.

Following the performance, the girls and Karen Russo Burke, Artistic Director Dayton Ballet answered questions. I found this to be very educational and informative.  For example, a typical ballerina retires from performing around the age of 35. Then, they take up a second career, perhaps still involved in ballet, as is Karen.

Both Marcia and Annalise have college educations that they can use after their ballerina careers, if they choose.  They go through very rigorous exercises via activities such as Judo, Zumba, Swimming, Elliptical, etc. This is to keep all muscles exercised and joints limber. Both girls are 24 years old so they still have a few performing years ahead of them. They do a small number of programs a year (4 to 6) and about 4 performances each, except for the Nutcracker, which is 6.

After the program, one of the ladies took us on a short tour of the Mead Theater where the Nutcracker will be performed! I learned several interesting facts about the theater. There is a Star Field at the top of the huge room which is what was in the sky at the time the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk.  Also the distance from the back of the Upper Balcony to the back of the Stage is the same length as the First Flight.  I really like the way they incorporated some of our local history into the design. The Schuster will be celebrating their 10th Anniversary in 2013.

This was a very good program and we will certainly be planning similar programs involving the Schuster Performing Arts Center in the future.  Actually, the Carillon Brass (Dayton Philharmonic Brass Quintet) will be performing at our Luncheon program next month on December 11th at 11AM. Don’t miss it. This will be a great way to begin celebrating Christmas.

Young at Heart Luncheon – 13, 2012

This month we had a good turnout as we move toward Thanksgiving and Christmas with a special program highlighting “Elizabeth: A Time for Truth”. We also featured had more than our normal amount of special music along with the very special dramatic presentation by Geri Campbell.

Our music included a piano by Fred Scheffler and special vocal music with a Duet by Marlene Williams and Sandy Hayward (left photo below). Later, Alison Misere sang a solo to her son, Jacob (right photo). Actually, I think you can hear him helping, occasionally. This was a perfect segue to the dramatic presentation with Elizabeth and Baby John.

Geri Campbell played the part of Elizabeth. She wrote this dramatic presentation based on the Scriptural account of Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary and mother of John – The Baptist, from Luke chapter 1. She will also be performing this at the Creation Museum during their Christmas Season. However, this is the first performance of their season, a season premier!  You can hear her presentation HERE. However, just hearing doesn’t do it the justice that it deserves and what you would see with her in the proper dress, etc.  Geri did a very nice job and we’ll be having her back for other programs in the future. If you missed this, be sure to catch it around Christmas at the Creation Museum south of Cincinnati in Kentucky. Better yet, bring your family for a fun evening, there.

Of course, our luncheon program would not be finished without the great meals provided by Lisa Poe and our kitchen staff, servers, setup and decorating staff and other kitchen help. Thank you all for a fantastic job.

Next month, we will have another very special program on December 11, 2012 at 11AM. We will enjoy the music of Carillon Brass. This is a brass quintet by performers from the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. I had the privilege of hearing them as they did their rehearsal in our auditorium on Monday. We are in for a real treat! They will be performing a program that is about the same as they will be doing at The Loft, downtown. This performance will be sure to get everyone into the Christmas spirit. Be sure to join us and bring your friends.

Carillon Brass during Rehearsal

October Mystery Trip–October 11, 2012

Well, it isn’t a mystery anymore, is it!   Forty eight us took a very nice three hour drive to what is known as Scioto Furnace, Ohio. Folks, I didn’t make this up. Actually there is a town/village by that name nearby! We took a very scenic drive to Scioto Hills Baptist Camp grounds. They had prepared a great program and meal for us and the ambiance of the site was perfect for a cool fall day.

Now, isn’t this pretty! Very serene, too.
(Remember: Double click on the photos to see them full size)

Our program started with Camp Director Scott Bruns introducing us to the camp and what they do. Then, we enjoyed a nice meal served by the camp staff. After this, Scott had arranged for two singing groups to sing for us.  These were Joy Jones & the Jones Boys and also GOOD NEWS!

There were a total of 150 people there and we were a third of them!

Check the above photos out and see if you know anyone. That is Pat Warren above left in the maroon jacket. Above right is one of our tables, featuring several of our people including Rich McGhee and Allen Oaks!

Joy Jones and her sons

Joy is the sister of Mark Bales and Nancy Bales McGinnis, below. I believe she originally sang with the Good News, too.

Good News

Mark Bales – Nancy Bales McGinnis – Ray McGinnis

Good News of Portsmouth, Ohio have been singing Southern Gospel music since their inception in 1978. In September of 2003 they won the National Quartet Convention Talent Search. The group is comprised of three vocalists. Mark Bales plays lead guitar and shares a lot of the lead singing responsibilities with his sister Nancy Bales McGinnis. Ray McGinnis (Nancy's Husband) sings baritone and plays bass guitar.

Nancy writes most of the group's songs with Mark putting the music to them. Nancy has written over 125 songs some of which have been recorded by many well-known groups over the last 25 years.

Scott Bruns is also enjoying the music. I like the “All to the Glory of God” on the back of his shirt, too! Maybe that should be added to our “Team Shirts”!

All it all, this was a fantastic ending to a great day trip. We will definitely be planning another (not mystery) trip there.

Young at Heart Luncheon–October 9, 2012

This month we heard about Medicare and Affordable Health Care, ObamaCare, from David Darkow. David is an Independent Consultant who works with government and business organizations to help employees with the retirement decision processes.  We always enjoy one of David’s programs about Social Security and Security. This time he is focusing on healthcare in 2012. This is changing, even if the presidency doesn’t change hands this year.  We will have healthcare changes!

I have a copy of his PowerPoint presentation in Portable Document Format (PDF) which can be played on any modern computer. Click HERE to open it.

Dave also provided a handout with some notes and phone numbers plus websites that can provide further assistance. Click HERE for a printable document, also in PDF format.

Of course, these documents aren’t meaningful without Dave’s comments. So we recorded his program. Here is the audio for his program in MP3 format. Click HERE for the audio.

Young at Heart Fall Trip – Washington DC – Day 4

Monday was primarily a driving day as we returned home to Dayton from Washington DC. However, Donna, our driver, decided it would be nice to return via I-68 rather than the way we came on I-70. Although the road was a lot more hilly it was certainly much more picturesque! There is already a lot of color in the hills!

As we travelled, Rick Bowersox recalled a nice place along the way that would be a great stop. It worked well for lunch and a pleasant break. We stopped for lunch at the Penn Alps Restaurant and Craft Shop in Grantsville, Maryland. The restaurant features Amish and German food and has an excellent Soup and Salad Bar. Also, on the same property there is a great attraction called the Spruce Forest Artisan Village. This place provides a great outlet for local artisans to show their talents and market their work. One building is also restored from Germany. There are a number of log homes, used as workshops and stores.

Penn Alps Restaurant and Crafts Shop

 

Spruce Forest Artisan Village

 

We also saw the Casselman Bridge which was erected in 1813, and is still standing as a picturesque relic of Maryland's early transportation history.  The Casselman River Bridge, with its 80 foot span, was the longest single span stone arch bridge in the world during the era of the National Road (Route 40).

Finally, we returned to the bus to continue homeward.

I believe everyone enjoyed this trip!

Remember: You can double click any photo to see a larger image. Also there are a couple of links for Penn Alps and Spruce Forest that you may want to visit for more information about them. The link to Spruce Forest also provides more information about the Casselman Bridge.

Young at Heart Fall Trip – Washington DC – Day 3

Because it is Sunday, we began the day with a short devotional time aboard the bus, including singing some old favorite choruses.

Then, we continued our touring of Washington DC with Justin, our guide. We started our tours at the Arlington National Cemetery. This was certainly a time of quiet respect for those who served our Country in the military.

All of us know men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Over 300,000 men and women are buried at this location.  We were able to visit the grave sites of the Kennedy’s including John, Jackie and two children, plus his brother.

The cemetery is on the site of the original Ulysses Grant home. Ulysses never returned to the home following the Civil War because it was used as this cemetery and two Union Generals were buried on the front lawn. His wife did return but never even reentered the home.

One location that everyone visits at Arlington is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We were there to see the changing of the guard.

After this ceremony we used this amphitheater site for our Annual Fall Trip group photo. See who you recognize!

We also saw the mast of the Maine. A number of the men who lost their lives during the Spanish American War (where the Maine was sunk) are buried on this site.

Another must see site is the statue of Iwo Jima also known as the Marine Monument.

Following Iwo Jima, we went to the Smithsonian. Unfortunately, we really didn’t have time or energy (speaking for myself) to see all of the museums. Actually, I think it would take several days to do this justice. We ate there then viewed the exhibits. Nancy and I chose to do the Air and Space Museum.  So, for now, you are stuck with my photos from that experience. I know others visited other museums and sites, so maybe we can cover some of those in another blog post.

I think it is fitting that the first photo be of the Wright Brothers airplane. They had a nice exhibit but I think ours here in the Air Force Museum and also Carillon Park are superior. Still, I have to admit to seeing and learning things that I did not know. For example did you know that a number of songs were written about the Wright Brothers and their wonderful flying machine! One was called “Song of the Wright Boys”.

Rather than give further narrative of the museum, here are additional photos:

We ended the day with a fun dinner and entertainment by Efi Tovia Xperience. Some of our people took this opportunity to dance with the music. I won’t explain what dance they were doing because I don’t have a clue. We also used this opportunity to make friends with people from other tour groups.

All it all, this has been a great time in Washington. We leave in the morning and may not have reason for additional photos, but if we do have more, we will add a Day 4.