The Villages - July 2019 - 53

When the surrounding streets became
populated - Nestlebranch Avenue and Sassafras Court - Penny used her classroom
skills to corral the neighborhood for games.
"They have played so many kindergarten games,"
she said, laughing.
She got creative with ideas, and forged a plan to
explore the area: a country club crawl.
"It gave us the chance to taste the food, visit the
country clubs and get to know each other in the
process," she said.
Neighbors set out as far north as possible in their
golf cars and arranged to meet at Orange Blossom Hills
Golf and Country Club, whirling around the cart paths
and whizzing over the bridge - 20 cruising comrades.
"We did this for a year, visiting a new country
club every month and now we're on our fifth year,"
Penny said. "When we sit down, we tell our waitress
not to hurry. We're not in a rush. I like to brainstorm
silly games we can play while we wait - one year at
Hacienda, I passed out paper plates and got them to
draw pictures on their heads. They had to follow my

Cathy
Barnard
with
Penny
Heaton

instructions: draw the ground, draw an arm, draw a
hat, a nose - and the final pictures were hysterical."
From those groups, others formed - a mah-jongg
group, a Bunco group, a golf group and so on.
Approaching a half-decade of friendship, a clan of
ladies helps Penny arrange a special celebration. They're
remembering the fun and cherishing a familial bond.
"We shared some meaningful moments," said
neighbor Barbara Dzurinko. "When hurricane Irma
hit two years ago, my sister died of cancer," she said.
"Everyone was evacuating the state and there was no
gas; we couldn't get a flight or a train."
Barbara drops her gaze to her lap then
lifts her head and smiles.
"But my neighbors were so gracious and
I'll never forget what they did," she continues. "Penny and Cathy opened their homes
and everyone brought food, a card and flowers. It was a memorial for my sister. We all
told stories about family and loved ones and
the people we'd lost. It was emotional and
beautiful - I felt so cocooned in love."
"One thing's for sure," Cathy adds; "I'll
never be able to move."
MAGAZINE

53
The Villages - July 2019

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