This is the fifth in my "Virtual Sitting Shiva" series of Blog postings of memories of Violet (Stark) Glickstein, my dear wife of 57 years, who sadly passed away November 27, 2021. [The first posting in this series is Here]
NOTE: If you are reading this on a cellphone, some of the text may extend over the edge of your screen. If that happens, turn your cellphone sideways, and all should fit. Also, if photos are too small, double click (or tap) and they should expand. Sorry for these issues, but my Facebook and Blogspot apps seems to have minds of their own. Ira
VIOLET'S RETIREMENT TO THE VILLAGES, FLORIDA
Violet and I have made many momentous decisions while raising our children and in our professional lives. Nearly all of them turned out very good, as if someone was watching over us and nudging us in the "right" direction.
In 2003, a couple years after retirement, we sold our home in Apalachin, NY and moved to The Villages, Florida. This turned out to be exactly the right thing to do at that time.
The Villages is known as "America's Favorite Retirement Hometown". There must be something in the water or the air, because, like almost all of our neighbors, we can't help saying "It's a beautiful day in The Villages" every chance we get.
The photo montage below depicts our active retirement.
OUR HOUSE IN THE VILLAGE OF CHATHAM
RIGHT: We built a house in a wonderful location on a golf course pond. We installed a hot tub for our grandchildren and other visitors to enjoy.
TOP LEFT and MIDDLE: I (Ira) joined the excellent bicycle club and participated in weekly rides. I also went on two bike/barge trips, the first to the Loire River area of France and the second from Brussels to Bruges in Belgium.
TOP: Vi was active in photography, giving talks about the then-new topic of digital photography to the photography and computer clubs. She also joined a knitting group.
BOTTOM LEFT: We were founding members of Temple Shalom, a Reform congregation.
We both enjoy other activities in The Villages, such as water aerobics and visiting the town centers, dining at restaurants, and going to the movies.
VIOLET HELPS FOUND A KNITTING CLUB
Violet met several fellow knitters, and they founded a very active knitting Club. The image above appeared in our local newspaper, The Daily Sun, on October 22, 2003.
OUR GRANDCHILDREN LOVE TO VISIT!
As our daughter Lisa suggested, choosing a retirement location near Disney would encourage visits by our children and grands.
During their first visit, in 2004, Alex, Samantha, and Michaela posed with their "Uncle Toffee" (our Golden Retriever) by our golf cart, a photo that was published in the Daily Sun, our local newspaper.
To the right is the ceramic dish Violet made for "Uncle Toffee". (After all these years it still exists!) Behind the dish is Violet's opinion of Toffee, which has adorned our refrigerator for many years, "My Golden Retriever is Smarter than Your Honor Student."
ACTIVE JEWISH COMMUNITY
One of the first groups we joined was "The New Jewish Congregation," a Reform Jewish group then meeting in various locations, particularly the Oxford United Methodist Church. Soon after we arrived, plans were under way to purchase land easily accessible by both road and The Villages golf cart paths.
The new building was ready for occupancy in November 2006. Violet and I participated in walking the Torah from the Oxford Church to our new "Temple Shalom". The local authorities provided horse-mounted police as well as squad cars to block road traffic and ensure our security.
The Temple Shalom lobby features a large plaque listing the Founding Members, including ours.
We have sponsored a number of Onegs (refreshments following the Friday Evening service) at Temple Shalom. The image below shows the Oneg to honor Violet on her 65th birthday. Our daughter Lisa and our triplet grands (Alex, Michaela, and Samantha) participated with Violet and me during that memorable Friday evening service.
VIOLET PADDLING WITH ME
Our good friends in The Villages (as well as those in New York) know I enjoy outdoor adventure quite a bit. Violet, not so much!
So, here is Violet on the beautiful Rainbow River (in Florida, August 2005) paddling with me in my kayak! (THANKS Joi for talking her into it! Also Joi's husband Tom, and our good friends who moved away to Georgia, Nancy and Bill, for joining us.)
SOME OF VIOLET'S ACTIVE NATURE PHOTOS
Most of Violet's photography tended towards impressively beautiful flowers. Nice, but not that exciting to me!
However, the following photos, taken right behind our home, are quite exciting to me.
Every year we got to see a family of Sand Hill Cranes behind our home. A male and female and their offspring walking and squawking around the golf course pond.
We had a real treat in November 2009 when a pair did their mating dance for us immediately behind our house. Fortunately, Violet was photographing them as they got into the dancing mood.
These are good sized birds, three to four feet tall with wingspans of five to seven feet! (For comparison, my height is five feet ten inches and, in the above photo, I'm further away from Violet's camera than they are.) These birds seem unconcerned as they walk around, often coming quite close.
If you walk towards them, they will back away or fly off. Several minutes after we went out to see them and take some photos, they began weaving their bills towards each other and jumping and charging in a very impressive mating dance! (Or perhaps it was merely a domestic dispute? :^) Quite exciting as well as impressive! [Click on photos to make them larger.]
MY PERSONAL BLOG
In 2007, I started my personal Blog. Although Violet was not directly involved in creating the Blog, she is a frequent topic. (Indeed, you are, right now, reading about Violet on the very Blog I referred to!)
Click https://tvpclub.blogspot.com/ for the latest ideas and opinions posted there.
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So, please join me in thinking about your good and eventful times with Violet. Read subsequent postings on this Blog about events I remember. If you'd like, you could put on some slippers, sit on your couch, and join me and others in a "virtual" Shiva for Violet.
Love to all, and specially elevated kisses and hugs to Violet, from her husband,
Ira Glickstein
NOTE: This is the fifth of our "Virtual Sitting Shiva", the traditional Jewish custom of relatives and friends devoting seven days to specially remembering the deceased.
Violet and Ira Glickstein were married in 1964. See our 50th Anniversary memories in the following postings include highlights of our life together.
CLICK THE HYPERTEXT BELOW TO JUMP TO YOUR TOPIC OF CHOICE
- Wedding and Farm Days
- Passing the Genes and Memes
- Computers R Us (Ira and Vi's careers)
- Retirement in The Villages, FL
- Our 50th Anniversary Baltic Cruise (Air Travel and Shipboard activities)
- Our 50th Anniversary Baltic Cruise (Land-Tours)
50th-0 CELEBRATING OUR 50th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY (tvpclub.blogspot.com)
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