Voice|

  • October 8 (Tuesday) VRA meeting and board elections
  • October 11 and 12 (Friday and Saturday) 6:30pm to 9:30pm Ghost Walk
  • October 27 (Sunday) 2pm – 5pm Pumpkins and Hayrides in Lions Park
  • October 29 (Tuesday) 5pm to 8pm Trick or Treat in Boone Village
  • October 31 (Thursday) Halloween 5:30pm – 8pm Trick or Treat hours

Even a week later I keep hearing from people about how much fun the Annual VRA Old Fashioned Block Party Pitch-in Picnic on the Bricks was this year. Everyone had a great time from the little one to the ones who shut it down at near 11pm!!! Thanks to all those who helped set up and clean up and cooked! As always special thanks to Brad Monique Schnabel and the North Main St. crew for sharing their exceptional Block Party Skills with the rest of us! Photos and story below.

The next VRA meeting is coming up fast! In just a week, October 8th, we are having our annual board elections and Congresswoman Susan Brooks will be speaking and answering questions. Due to her relatively short time with us, we have decided to keep questions to only submitted questions. You can either email questions to me at president@zvra.com and I will respond to you that I received your question, or we will have note cards available for you to submit your question at that time. Please plan to attend this special evening.

There is a lot going on this month, so I recommend that you take time to go through all the fun and important things that are happening that are listed in the Village Voice below so that you can be part of it.

A couple special things that we need to work on now to make sure that all goes well is that we are going to offer the outdoor Christmas trees for people to put outside their homes. This is such a beautiful and festive way to share the holiday season with all our neighbors and is a great way for the VRA to raise a little money to help us do what we do. Please read the note below from Jane Forbes and order your tree or trees as soon as possible.

Another new thing that the VRA is working on for the holidays this year is bound to be hit and a great new tradition is a “Village Tree” in Lincoln Park for anyone in our neighborhood to help decorate and put special ornaments for your family to share with our Village. Casalini Portraits is sponsoring this project and there will be a special day for decorating the tree and a time to bring a children’s toy that we can make a donation from the Village to the Kids at Riley’s Children’s Hospital.

Enough of me! Take some time to read through all the great info below and have a great October!

See you at the Ghost Walk!!!
Chris Bucher

Ghost Walk

Ghost Walk is a 45-minute guided walking tour of the historic village of Zionsville, where guests stop at up to 7 different vignettes to experience re-enacted ghost stories from Zionsville’s past. GhostWalk tours run every 15 minutes from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. both nights.  Tours leave from the front lawn of SullivanMunce Cultural Center.

Halloween

Yes, it is just around the corner!  Those little hobgoblins are going to be appearing at your front door.  The official Village haunting hours are from 5:30pm to 8pm.  Remember, leaving your porch light on lets those trick or treaters know that they are welcome.  Start stockpiling your candy.  We had reports last year of over 200 hooligans!

Zionsville Historical Society Pitch-In

The Zionsville Historical Society will be hosting a Pitch- In Luncheon on Sunday, November 17 at Noon at the Zionsville Lions Club Community Building on Elm Street. We will have a guest speaker John Bower a noted photographer and writer.

John ‘s “compelling black and white photographs have been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout Indiana. Powerful and moving, his images honor a bygone era of individualism and pride.”

We have not finalized his specific power point program but I enjoy all his photography books on different themes.
Please check out his website www.studioindiana.com and let us know, 873-3792 or email by Nov. 14 if you will attend. Please bring your own table service, your favorite side dish and/ or dessert, the Society will provide meat and drinks, thanks!

Holiday Magic in the Village

Join in and place a Scotch Pine Tree in front of your home/business
Fresh Cut Indiana Scotch Pines, 5½ to 7 feet tall

Trees will be available for pick up or delivery after 1:00 pm on the

Saturday before Thanksgiving ~ November 23th

Pricing:

$18.00/tree ~ Pick up your tree at Brown’s on Fifth, 315 N Fifth Street

$30.00/ tree ~ Your tree and stake are delivered to your home and set up

Orders need to be received by October 28, 2013

Make checks payable to VRA and send to:

Jane Forbes, 410 W Poplar Street

Contact Information:
Jane Forbes
417.8492

janeforbes01@gmail.com

Profits benefit the Village Residents’ Association ~ Be sure to tell all of your neighbors!

Newsletter Signup

Signing up to receive an email notification for the Village Voice just got easier! You will find the link on the front page of the ZVRA website.

Oktoberfest

Carol of Homes
We are in need a few more homes for our 2nd Annual Carol of Homes, Holiday Home Tour benefiting the Zionsville High School Show Choirs.  The tour this year will be on Saturday, December 7th from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and will feature 6-8 decorated homes with talented students entertaining attendees with their favorite Holiday carols.  We have 4 home committed to be on the tour, but they are all in the neighborhoods of Zionsville.  We truly would love to have 1 or 2 homes located in the charming Zionsville Village.  As a resident of the village, I know how important the Village charm is to the community and it is one of the unique things that draws people to Zionsville.  Not having a home from the Village on the tour would be disappointing to a lot of attendees.  Last year our tour had 3 village homes and they were all very well received. 
 
Specifics for anyone considering:
1. The home should be decorated for the holidays.  (We have some local businesses that can help any homeowner that would like assistance with décor)
2. The homeowner decides what areas of the home are open to visitors, last year most homes had their main level open.
3. We will have students and parents in each home to serve as hosts throughout the entire day. 
4.  We have booties for guests to use if the homeowner requests.
5.  Students will be entertaining by singing their favorite carols in all of the homes.
6. The time is from 10 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, 12/7
7. Homeowners will receive two tickets to the home tour and the Show Choir Finale Show in May
 
Thank you for helping us out in this endeavor.  Last year we had over 200 attendees and it was such a well received event.  We look to have an even bigger and better tour this year.  If anyone is interested in volunteering their home or would like to attend the event they can contact us.
 

Progressive Dinner
5th Annual VRA Progressive Dinner

Fall is here and when we start enjoying the beautiful colors and crisp cool air, it’s time for our favorite Holiday Dinner. We have 3 beautiful homes set to go, and now we are looking for VOLUNTEERS for the this popular event! 
Volunteers are needed in several areas:
-Food Prep
-Luminaries
-Transportation
-Host Helpers
-Clean up
Please send an email to rsvp@zvra.com or jrhands@hotmail.com to sign up, or even if you just want to know what is involved with each position. This is a very fun event, and most everyone who attends will need to help out in some way to make the whole thing be the great success that it always is.
Thanks in advance for helping out. 
Jill Ridge, Progressive Dinner Chair


Summer…Had Me a Blast


French Polynesia

by Todd and Colleen Rech

We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary with a trip to French Polynesia in September. The trip was amazing. The country is absolutely beautiful – so worth the journey!

We spent our days relaxing by the ocean and our evenings enjoying crepes! We could snorkel right from our room. We were so excited to see such incredible ocean life, including sharks, stingrays, starfish and the highlight – an octopus!

On The Road in New England
by Kathy Scales Brown

David and I recently spent eight glorious days driving through New England. All along the way we had three goals: have a great time, make memories, eat/sleep in places our dollars would make a difference.

On Nantucket, while sitting on the verandah of our inn, we met two couples from Boston who were super-excited to hear everything David could share about our Brad Stevens, now coach of their home team, the Celtics. When he saw they had lots of wine and cheese for happy hour, he turned that rocker in their direction and had his own happy hour.

Random acts of kindness can be rare these days, but we found ourselves the recipients while navigating the three WAVE buses that drove us to different areas of Nantucket. Preparing to pay our $2/person, a Jamaican employee of the inn who recognized us was so upset to learn we had never been given free passes courtesy of the inn she insisted (no, demanded!) we use her monthly pass for the remainder of the day. A random act of kindness that still touches me deeply from one who had left her family behind to work high season on the island so she could better provide for them.

Ogunquit, Maine, was busier than heck but we found a room at a 48-year-old family-owned motel. Shirley was the night clerk. As we prepared to pay, she was working those phones: “Heh, Marie! Shirley! Couple need a room! Anything? Sending them your way!” then bang went the phone. “Shirley here! Nope, Ida! Try John! He might!” Bang went the phone again. It never stopped! I learned two things: It could be true New Englanders speak in short syllables after all (although Mark and Sally don’t seem to) and Ogonquit will go to the ends of the earth to make certain visitors with no reservation have a room for the night.

Conway, New Hampshire is at the foot of the White Mountains. When we were an hour away we began calling family-owned motels and found Brian. He was on night duty, had a room for $119, no he didn’t want my credit card to hold the reservation, he would be personally waiting. And he was. When he saw us he hesitatingly asked: “Are one or both of you over 60?” Much to David’s horror, I admitted we BOTH were when suddenly Brian threw up both arms and proclaimed: “Great! You are now entitled to any room on the property for $75!” Saved us $44 on our senior citizen budget. David still grumbling that I “outed him” even though he’s the one with gray hair.

Yes, we could have had lunch at the magnificent Mt. Washington Resort but instead we rode the ski lift and had soup and sandwiches at the top. Our waitress thanked us profusely explaining that her 5-year-old daughter is always waiting at the door when she arrives home to see how much tip money will be deposited into their “just for fun” bucket. I profusely added to it when David wasn’t looking.

And so it went through Vermont, New York, then Connecticut and finally home in time to attend the VRA Block Party on the Bricks and seeing that still . . . “All’s Well in the Village”.

Camp Voyageur
by Bill Burgman

This summer, as any summer when I can swing it, I served as the program director at Camp Voyageur, a wilderness adventure camp for boys in northern Minnesota that has been in my wife’s family for 60+ years; in fact, it is the last family-owned camp in the BWCA region. This summer one of our counselors and two campers were from Zionsville, so the town was well represented in the North Country.

In camp we play a lot of sports like basketball and soccer; spend a lot of time on the water swimming, sailing, etc; and we also take day trips for fishing and hiking.  The best part of the camp, however, is being able to take extended canoe trips through the Boundary Waters (U.S.) and Quetico (Canadian) wilderness.  These trips last anywhere from three days to three weeks.  We accept campers as young as nine or ten years old, but the longest trips are for veteran campers only – some have gone all the way to Hudson’s Bay!  We have also sent groups to Isle Royale for hiking, and to the Apostle Islands for kayaking.  Not a bad way to spend the summer!!







Alaska
by Jane Forbes

Simply said, Alaska is breath taking. I spent a week with family in Anchorage during the month of June and was greeted by 18 hours of daylight. With much of my daily life guided by the rising and setting of the sun it was completely foreign to have so little darkness. That said, it made driving easy as I did not have to navigate dark roads in the rental car.

From hikes through Chugatch National Forest to Exit Glacier in Fjord National Park, I was surrounded by natural beauty…bears and moose. Being a Midwesterner, I am accustomed to raccoon and opossum. Wasn’t sure what I would have done had I encountered a black bear on a hike!

Happy Travels!

Glacier National Park

by Rich Rezek
What I did on my summer break….

Jill and I took the train from Chicago to Glacier National Park.  Getting a sleeper car was a great way to start the vacation by giving us time away from cellphone coverage  and spend some quiet time together.  For five days we spent a night or two in some of the historic national park lodges in Montana and Canada getting to see the diversity and size of this massive park.

It was truly picture perfect and an amazing experience.  Probably the most memorable moment of our trip was when Jill drove the Going to the Sun Road, which is about 50 miles long and rises to the Continental Divide at about 6600 feet.  Amazing views for the passenger, but little margin for error as the road is barely wide enough for two cars in some places and a straight drop if you make a mistake.  Obviously, she didn’t make one!  
We loved kayaking Lake McDonald and white water rafting in the clear glacier water..which is just as cold as you might imagine. 

 

Mountain Goats, Big Horn Sheep and even a Grizzly Bear sighting.  A great vacation!

Canada

by Cassie Conner

In June, I traveled with my 19 year old son and 14 year old daughter to Canada.  Our first stop was London, Ontario where we checked into the Idlewyld Inn.  This mansion was built in 1878 as a private home for Charles Smith Hyman, a successful businessman, national champion tennis player and Mayor of London. In 1985, after extensive refurbishment, it was converted to a 19-room inn.   With it’s strong British influence, London is home to many pubs.  We chose the King Edward, where we had a delicious meal of bangers and mash and shepherd’s pie. Then we browsed in the unique shops and boutiques along the main street and headed back to our hotel. We spent the evening relaxing on the front porch, enjoying the beautiful gardens and neighborhood.

Next we headed to northern Ontario where we spent our first day white water rafting on the Ottawa River.  Because we traveled in early June, we had the river to ourselves. The water was cold, but the scenery was beautiful.  Our next adventure took us to Fort Coulonge,Quebec for rock climbing and zip lining.  Chutes Cologne offers a combination zip line and rock climbing course.  Two zip lines, 260 and 100 meters above the rapids of the Coulonge River, are combined with climbing along the canyon’s rock face, 600 meters above the river, using cables and anchor points.  The first zip line was extremely daunting, but by the end of the day, we were all having a great time enjoying the beautiful canyon, the quiet and our sense of accomplishment.
Our next stop was Toronto, where we spent the afternoon in Chinatown.  Toronto’s Chinatown was first settled in the 1870’s by Chinese Americans who fled there from California due to racial conflict.  It has grown to be one of the largest Chinatowns in North America and was a great stop for food and shopping.  Our final destination was Niagra Falls.  We stayed at the Riverbend Inn and Vineyard in Niagra-on- the-Lake, a 19th century village is in Canada’s wine country.  The Riverbend sits on 17 acres and was originally built as a mansion in 1860.  It was a private residence until 1927 when a group of 6 sisters bought the home and land and converted it into a school for cognitively impaired boys.  It is currently a 21-room inn and vineyard.  The rooms are luxurious, each with a gas fireplace and beautiful views of the vineyard. We spent our final day enjoying Niagra Falls and a delicious dinner and some wine at one of the many wonderful restaurants in Niagra-on-the-Lake.



A Day Summering in Newport
By Heather Lusk

Arriving in Newport, I was momentarily confused. The GPS showed that we were passing Walnut Street, then Willow, then Poplar. Were we in Zionsville or Rhode Island? But pulling in front of a centuries old house open for tours, it was evident that we weren’t in Indiana anymore. The Preservation Society of Newport County makes it their mission to purchase and restore historic buildings that risk being lost forever. Protecting the town’s history is just as important as finding the perfect lobster bisque. And the PSNC manages the upkeep of 11 properties in the county including five impressive mansions that were once summer homes built and owned by folks like the Vanderbilts. Most of the homes were built in the late-1800s and early-1900s when those who wished to see and be seen spent a few weeks summering in Newport and spending the GDP of a small nation on entertaining.

We hadn’t intended to visit Newport, but after my husband and I planned a quick trip to Maine to visit friends in June – and cross Maine off of my “states-to-visit list” – I felt obliged to add an overnight to Rhode Island as well. After all, when else would my husband be able to cross that state off his own list? And so we found ourselves driving among familiar street names but near homes that were nothing like we’ve seen in suburban Indiana.

Many of these extravagant, historic homes may be toured daily throughout the year, with most tours being self-guided by use of a headset. The largest home, The Breakers, even offers a separate audio tour for youngsters inviting them to search for items of interest in each room while wandering through the house hearing stories of the millionaires’ children.

A five-mansion ticket is an easy option: visit your choice of any five locations whenever you’d like, even if you don’t return for several years (just keep track of that ticket). This also allows visitors to select homes which might interest them. Have you tired of Gatsby-like excess? Chateau-sur-Mer showcases High Victorian style from half a century earlier. Tired of walking through homes? A topiary garden is also on the list of ticketed locations. In light of Downton Abby, it was of particular interest for us to walk both upstairs and down and see the secret passageways where the servants would assist with half-a-dozen wardrobe changes per day, yet manage to stay out of sight of the masters and mistresses of the house. We spent six hours touring four mansions, which was really the perfect amount of time to realize that we won’t be papering our walls in silk or using marble on our patio anytime soon.

A day of walking through other people’s homes and kitchens left us ready for a hearty meal. Before arriving in Newport, I’d done a quick search of landmarks around town and The White Horse Tavern kept appearing. The tavern, built in 1673, is rumored to be the oldest bar in the United States. One reviewer noted that “you expect to see Paul Revere stop in for an ale,” and I couldn’t agree more. The low ceilings, the large open hearth, the rough hewn beams and bar top, and in fact each detail contributes to the feeling that you’ve inserted yourself in American history. It was evident that this atmosphere was less the work of a zealous decorator trying to recreate history than the actual intent of its past owners to preserve anything that had originally been part of the building. Beyond the simple ambiance, we found the service to be fantastic, the drinks to be quite good and the food delectable. Beef Wellington (hard to find on any menu) and lobster ravioli were our choices for the evening and they did not disappoint. But after a full meal and a few drinks we took the advice of our server and the bartender to enjoy cocktails and dessert along the harbor.

Clarke Cooke House boasts an outdoor bar, an inside dining area and an open-air MIdway Bar. It was at the latter location that we split The Snowball in Hell – a decadent and yummy chocolate, ice cream and coconut concoction that our bartender was kind enough to leave partly coconut-free for my preference. It was still a winner. With chocolate in front of us and martinis in hand, we overlooked the waterfront and toasted our full day. We were fortunate that it was a Sunday evening; the bartender informed us that on weekends the pier is filled with nightlife and youngsters from up and down the coast. It was now well past sunset and we walked back to our hotel before an early drive back to Boston.

The town hosts a multitude of bed-and-breakfasts in addition to familiar hotel chains, but overall the city is very walkable and easy to navigate. Weekends in warmer weather may be busier than usual as New Englanders descend upon the town that is still synonymous with wealthy summer vacation homes. Newport is approximately 1.5 hours from Boston or less than an hour from Providence and makes a fun weekend trip or day-trip after business along the East Coast.


Egypt and the Holy Land

by Bob Royalty

In May, the week after final exams, I took a two-week trip to Israel/Palestine and Egypt. This was my first visit to Egypt and first extended trip to the Holy Land. I am taking students to Israel and Palestine next March, so this was a planning trip.

My first week was self-guided and self-propelled. I landed in Tel Aviv and picked up a rental car, where I learned that our credit cards do not cover insurance on rentals in Israel (I had already learned that you can’t use debit cards there either, only ATM cards). I spent the first three nights in the Galilee touring sites such as Herod the Great’s seaside city of Caesarea Maritima; the villages around the Sea of Galilee; Nazareth; and Beit She’an, a fantastic ancient Roman city that rivals Ephesus in Turkey. I stayed in two Kibbutz hotels, one on the Sea of Galilee, Nof Ginosaur, where there is a museum with a first-century fishing boat, and Lavi, which is an orthodox Jewish Kibbutz.

On Thursday I drove up to Jerusalem for three nights—the city is in the central hills. It is beautiful and the most historically layered city I have ever visited. I stayed about 20 minutes from the walls of the Old City. The Muslim Quarter is vibrant and chaotic; the golden Dome of the Rock was stunning; the Western Wall imposing and solemn; the Holy Sepulchre crowded and confusing, with multiple Catholic and Orthodox services going at once. Around every corner there was another site or ancient artifact. I also drove to Qumran, Masada, and the Israel Museum.

I flew through Amman, Jordan to Cairo for four days, meeting faculty at the American University of Cairo and then touring the Coptic churches, the Egyptian Museum, many of the mosques, Old Cairo, and of course the Pyramids.

I stayed on the island of Zamalek, which was peaceful and serene. Cairo felt safe but was very crowded and chaotic—it’s famous for that, but in May even more so, as the police had stepped back from an active role. There was a peaceful protest in Tahrir on Friday. Everyone knew something was coming that summer but they weren’t sure what it would be—food riots? Mass protest? Now we know.


On Saturday September 21st, Main Street was the place to be. It was the perfect early autumn evening for our annual VRA Old Fashioned Block Party Pitch-In on the Bricks. There were crafts and games for the kids, and food so wonderful it made me think we need to put together a Village Cookbook.

 

VRA Block Party

by Jen Kershner

There was something magical about being surrounded by neighbors and friends as the evening light started to fade and the air turned brisk. The sense of community was all around us. I’ve lived a lot of places, but have never experienced anything like how Villagers feel about their town.

It was wonderful to see familiar faces and get a chance to catch up but it was also great to meet neighbors I didn’t already know. Walking home I was filled with such gratitude to live in this place with all of you. I hope that if you didn’t get to come this year, that you will make a point to come next year. I look forward to seeing you there!


By Sarah Zack
Zionsville Village Resident and Certified K-12 Art Teacher

Marble Web Spider

 

Approximate Time: 

·       1 Session:             30 minutes

Materials Needed:

·       Black 8X10 Construction Paper

·       White Acrylic Paint

·       2-3 Marbles

·       9X13 Baking dish / T-Shirt Box

·       Aluminum Foil (optional)

·       Orange Construction Paper

·       Orange Pipe Cleaners

·       Bottled Glue / Tape

·       Googly Eyes

Instructions:

Web: 

·       Cover your baking dish with aluminum foil, to protect it from the paint (optional).

·       Place the black paper in the dish and place a small amount of white acrylic paint in the center of the paper.

·       Place the marbles on the paint and roll the marbles around by tilting the pan in different directions. The more you roll – the more spider webs will form.

·       Set aside to dry.

Spider:

·    Cut a small circle out of the orange construction paper.

·    Glue/tape the center of four pipe cleaners to the underside of the circle, which will create the eight legs. Depending on the length of the pipe cleaners, you may need to cut them to a shorter size (I cut mine in half). Bend the pipe cleaners to resemble spider legs.

·    Glue googly eyes to the top of your spider.

·    You may choose to glue your spider onto your spider web for a Halloween decoration or let it roam free for a fun toy.

 

Art Elements and Principles: Shape, Printmaking

Art Integration: Science: Spiders Holidays: Halloween

Books: The Very Busy Spider, By Eric Carle


Won’t You Be My Neighbor

by Ellen Butz
One of the great things about living in the Village is that we are close to our neighbors, which means we get to know each other, help each other out and maybe even become friends. One of the challenging things about living in the Village in that we live close to our neighbors and what we do impacts them. Sometimes I think we just forget that. So here are a few thoughts that may help you to be a good neighbor.

* Please cleanup after your dog. There is nothing worse than starting out ones day with dog doo on your shoe. I would encourage you to also pick it up in your yard. Dog feces are a major pollutant to our public waterways…..plus the smell may be wafting over the fence to your neighbors BBQ.

* Please do not blow your grass cuttings into the street. Our delicate storm water system in the Village works better when the storm drains are not covered with debris. You may not have standing water in front of your house but down the street or around the corner they may. Even better, check the ones near your house every once in a while to make sure they are clear.

* Shovel the snow from your sidewalks. One of the great things about living in the Village is the ability to walk everywhere. Even when it snows people like to get out. Plus those beloved pets still need their daily walk.

* If you are having a major bash where noise and parking may be an issue, just let your neighbors know. They may be offended they are not invited but at least you will not add insult to injury by keeping them up all night.

Now make Mr. Rogers proud and be a good neighbor.



Garden Club

by Delma Mindel


“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” ~Henry David Thoreau

The ZVRA Garden Club meet for the last time in 2013 in the garden of Janet and Mervyn Cohen on September 25th. The Cohen garden was lovely in the twilight with many plantings in full bloom. We gathered on their lovely new patio, under the maple tree, admiring the darkening sky and the cool evening breeze, altogether a delightful fall evening. We departed with our small baggies of flower seeds, pods, and jalapeno peppers, carrying the promise and fragrance of next summer’s gardening and gustatory adventures.

Mark your 2014 calendars! Plan to join us on Saturday, March 8th, 6:30pm, at Marianne and Guinn Doyle’s “party room” above their garage for our annual planning meeting for 2014. Bring a covered dish to share and your ideas about future summer activities and who might open their garden for an evening of conviviality and garden talk. All gardens are worthy. Stop believing in perfection. (Mike and Delma Mindel have promised to host the garden club in May.)

“The daunting prospect of having to design an entire garden from scratch to perfection must be one of the biggest barriers to entry in gardening, at a time when we need to be encouraging more people to take up the trowel. Like overgrown foundation plantings, the fear of failure looms. The more people feel as though there’s a right and a wrong way to garden, the less likely they are to actually get out, plant something, and learn from the experience. So relax. Go put some plants in the ground and see what happens. It’s true—gardening is an art. But it also should be a celebration.” ~Carleen Madigan Perkins


Z’Sparkle – Once in a Lifetime

by Jeff Edmondson

Had a very positive experience this summer when I agreed to participate as a ‘dragster’ in the 4th Annual Race for Alzheimer’s Research. The reasons I agreed to participate were twofold: (1) to support Amy Lacey and Barry Hicks, because they are great people who do good things for our community and (2) to meet Bob Goodman’s challenge that he would not cut his hair from the time I committed (Oct ’12) until the race.

What surprised me was how much I enjoyed participating. It was all about the money that people would donate.  When I asked friends to serve as my ‘pit crew’ they joined right in and one even said that, if I raced, he would; thus Francine de Fayette was born. Friends and colleagues, family and unknown strangers contributed a total of $4,350 to Lady J and Francine.  Daily I would get donations with notes of encouragement.  Every few days I’d bolt into Goodman Jewelers to tell Bob the latest totals.

There was no shortage of people who were willing to help with makeup and other preparations.  The night of the Race was a blur of excitement, so much so that I did not notice the blister on my heel until I took off the pumps I was wearing at the end of the night.  Most important was seeing the community coming together so strongly in support of a good cause.  The number of people who came to support us made the entire experience worthwhile.  I even met our new neighbors from across the street as I was parading on the Brick Street.  I told them, “Don’t worry, we do this every Friday night and you’re gonna love it!”

I think they like the community.

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