We are going to do this in reverse order, on account of I just know you are dying to read about the Treasures from the Holidays exhibit at the Elk Rapid Historical Museum—and because I know you will read to the end to find out about the parallel universe.
Tea at the Museum
Today there was a tea for volunteers who will be working on the Treasures exhibit. It was a proper tea, complete with ladies in hats and a butler to protect them from the unseasonable rain.
There were excellent treats. I ate before going, as I was there in my capacity as Working Press and felt it would be unseemly to dive into the buffet. Then I saw the tiny lemon tarts and resolve fled.
Marcia Graham thanked everyone who had helped to pull the exhibit together and everyone who had signed up to be docents for the exhibit during December. She is very, very good at Volunteer Management, which is an art in itself.
The only thing I did, besides eating all the lemon tarts, was to take pictures. I want you to come to the exhibit, so I am not going to show you everything. Really, it is an astonishingly beautiful community celebration. I don’t see how you can go wrong.
The parallel universe at the other end of I-75
Such a busy season, and here, in the middle of it, comes Chris with another missive from Florida:
We visited “The Villages” yesterday. We have friends from Elk Rapids who winter there. They took us over to the newest development section of the Villages which is going to be called “Brownwood.” I took a picture of the street sign. They do “round-abouts” here. Check out the street names . . .
Those of you from Around Here are laughing really loud, and those of you from Away are mystified.* I am both. I wandered over to the website for The Villages and I wandered through the Talk of The Villages message boards and I concluded yet again that all of us have our own notions of The Good Life. I can see the appeal of the other end of I-75. I can see the appeal of Oz, too. However, I have staked my claim in Antrim County. Remind me of all this when I become morose during Mud Season and you are on vacation at Disney World.
*In the universe at this end of I-75, East Torch Lake Drive and West Torch Lake Drive are lovely two-lane roads that meander along the 17-mile length of Torch Lake. Brownwood is a summer destination—a cross between a miniature Greenfield Village and a flea market with homemade donuts. In the Parallel Universe, the names belong to streets and a shopping plaza an Adult Resort Community in the general vicinity of Orlando.
Torch Lake Views 
Joss
December 2, 2011
Those pictures from your end of I-75, from the Elk Rapids Museum, seem sooooo British! You seem to have more in common with the British than with the rest of the United States. Do you ever feel like a stranger in a foreign land?
Gerry
December 2, 2011
I promise you we are a very American bunch. (It is very American to occasionally go out to what we like to think of as a very British tea. I am gratified that this particular tea passed muster. We didn’t want to be a colony anymore, but we’ve always sort of missed having royalty around. They’re so decorative. We make do with movie stars.)
I always feel like a stranger in a foreign land, even when I’m tucked under a comforter on my own sofa. That is because no matter where I am, people–and animals and Mama Nature–are full of surprises. I spend my life thinking to myself, “Huh–will you look at that!”
Dawn
December 2, 2011
Looks like a great exhibit! And I’m sure you didn’t eat ALL the lemon tarts. Did you? The world down at the other end of 75? I think they are just imitating real life at THIS end of 75. Isn’t that what Orlando is all about anyway?
Gerry
December 2, 2011
The exhibit is very special. I ate all the lemon tarts I could without seeming greedy. They were disappearing at a great rate even before I discovered them.
I think Orlando is about taking a little vacation from real life. And I think resort communities are about being on vacation all the time. It’s interesting to read the comments: “I never had so many real friends in my life–I know it’s a bubble, but I like living in a bubble–there is so much to do.” It’s not my cup of coffee, but I can see the appeal.
Of course, in spite of all the retirees from Michigan and Ontario and Ohio living down there, Orlando is still full of people who go to work every day keeping the lights on and the stores stocked and the earthmoving equipment running.
P.j. grath
December 2, 2011
Request for clarification: Did you eat all the lemon tarts there were or only all the lemon tarts you ate? I’m guessing the latter.
Even here Up North there are enclaves of the Parallel Universe. Diff’r’nt strokes, eh?
Gerry
December 2, 2011
I confess I exaggerated just a little. All the lemon tarts were eaten, but I had a little help with the project.
There are indeed Up North enclaves of the Parallel Universe, which explains the street names. It took me awhile to realize that whole groups of friends spent their summers here and their winters clustered together at the other end of I-75. That seems a very convenient way to keep in touch with your friends. It is a policy I would adopt except that I like hockey and great big pine trees and blue lakes and snow and complaining about snow. I will stay here.
Heather
December 2, 2011
“I like…snow and complaining about snow.” Hahaha! That’s about as honest a statement about winter as one’s likely to hear 🙂 We are down in Atlanta, GA right now, and I would love to return to some snow. And some lemon tarts.
Gerry
December 2, 2011
If you were to return today, you would be disappointed on both counts. However, I expect we’ll get in a supply of each any day now. Enjoy Atlanta.
Sybil
December 2, 2011
I think your Torch Lake is a bit more “real” …A good real.
Molly
December 3, 2011
Boy, that’s almost scary. I used to live in Orlando (long story) and it might have killed me to see that sign, so deep was my longing for Antrim County. And now, here in another Parallel Universe, I-75 nowhere in sight. But one thing I love about California is that people here treat going to Hawaii like people in the township treat going to Northport.
Gerry
December 4, 2011
I think I’m going to give the real world a rest. I’m going to go to Hawaii. I’ve never been there, and I hear it’s very nice.
La Mirada Bob
December 22, 2011
If you stop by here either coming or going to Hawaii, I will insure that you have a great trip.
gary
December 27, 2011
Brownwood is the newest town square in The Villages and it’s going to be the biggest and best! Thanks for sharing!