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Celebration of Life for Don Kirkman is this Saturday, February 8, 2020 at the First United Methodist Church 215 E University Drive Tempe, AZ at 2pm. Reception immediately following. Attached is obituary

Hope will not be cancelled by Terry Hershey [https://i.ontraport.com/27848.570263d68f8ab4a67ac5d146e92e2ba1.JPEG] Let us remember; no one of us is on this journey alone. Here’s the deal: When life is upside down, we easily forget the fundamental truth that we live from sufficiency, not scarcity. Even in times of distress. Church was cancelled. March madness was cancelled. Public gatherings have been cancelled. There is more to come. But hope will not be cancelled. Conversations will not be cancelled. Friendship will not be cancelled. Gardening will not be cancelled. Watching the moonlight filter through the trees will not be cancelled. Love will not be cancelled. Music will not be cancelled. Reading will not be cancelled. Self-care will not be cancelled. Prayer will not be cancelled. Laughter will not be cancelled. And lifting one another’s spirits will not be cancelled. May we lean into the good stuff that remains. One. - It doesn’t hurt to pause. Let yourself be still. Breathe. Let the pause be a sanctuary for calm and reassurance. Two. - Who are your people? Reach out to them. Encourage, listen, laugh and celebrate. It lightens the load. Three. - Savor beauty. In moments and snippets. Let beauty make you smile. With beauty there is joy and joy is always a balm for whatever ails us. When life is precarious, the world is astonishingly and exquisitely beautiful. Four. - Find ways to be grateful. Etty Hillesum’s reminder, “As life becomes harder and more threatening, it also becomes richer, because the fewer expectations we have, the more the good things of life become unexpected gifts that we accept with gratitude.” Five. - Any crisis reminds us of the truly vulnerable. To be human is to care for one another with empathy and kindness. ________________________________

I know this has nothing to do we dancing, but I’m choosing to share it with all of you. I talked with a man today, an 80+-year-old man. I asked him if there was anything I can get him while this Coronavirus scare was gripping America. He simply smiled, looked away and said: "Let me tell you what I need! I need to believe, at some point, this country my generation fought for... I need to believe this nation we passed safely to our children and their children...I need to know this generation will quit being a bunch of sissies...that they respect what they've been given...that they've earned what others sacrificed for." I wasn't sure where the conversation was going or if it was going anywhere at all. So, I sat there, quietly observing. "You know, I was a little boy during WWII. Those were scary days. We didn't know if we were going to be speaking English, German or Japanese at the end of the war. There was no certainty, no guarantees like Americans enjoy today. And no home went without sacrifice or loss. Every house, up and down every street, had someone in harm's way. Maybe their Daddy was a soldier, maybe their son was a sailor, maybe it was an uncle. Sometimes it was the whole damn family, fathers, sons, uncles... Having someone, you love, sent off to war...it wasn't less frightening than it is today. It was scary as Hell. If anything, it was more frightening. We didn't have battlefront news. We didn't have email or cellphones. You sent them away and you hoped...you prayed. You may not hear from them for months. Sometimes a mother was getting her son's letters the same day Dad was comforting her over their child's death. And we sacrificed. You couldn't buy things. Everything was rationed. You were only allowed so much milk per month, only so much bread, toilet paper. EVERYTHING was restricted for the war effort. And what you weren't using, what you didn't need, things you threw away, they were saved and sorted for the war effort. My generation was the original recycling movement in America. And we had viruses back then...serious viruses. Things like polio, measles, and such. It was nothing to walk to school and pass a house or two that was quarantined. We didn't shut down our schools. We didn't shut down our cities. We carried on, without masks, without hand sanitizer. And do you know what? We persevered.We overcame. We didn't attack our President, we came together. We rallied around the flag for the war. Thick or thin, we were in it to win. And we would lose more boys in an hour of combat than we lose in entire wars today." He slowly looked away again. Maybe I saw a small tear in the corner of his eye.Then he continued: "Today's kids don't know sacrifice. They think sacrifice is not having coverage on their phone while they freely drive across the country. Today's kids are selfish and spoiled. In my generation, we looked out for our elders. We helped out with single moms whose husbands were either at war or dead from war.Today's kids rush the store, buying everything they can...no concern for anyone but themselves. It's shameful the way Americans behave these days. None of them deserve the sacrifices their granddads made. So, no I don't need anything. I appreciate your offer but, I know I've been through worse things than this virus. But maybe I should be asking you, what can I do to help you? Do you have enough pop to get through this, enough steak? Will you be able to survive with 113 channels on your tv?" I smiled, fighting back a tear of my own...now humbled by a man in his 80's. All I could do was thank him for the history lesson, leave my number for emergency and leave with my ego firmly tucked in my rear. I talked to a man today. A real man. An American man from an era long gone and forgotten. We will never understand the sacrifices. We will never fully earn their sacrifices. But we should work harder to learn about them, learn from them...to respect them. Paul A Bennett

Hello everyone, I hope everyone is staying safe and is making it through this difficult period. I wanted to place the link and password to your gallery of #photos on this site: https://troyaossey.zenfolio.com/granitereef password: granite I look forward to seeing everyone in the not so distant future. Troy These are the pictures Troy took at the Black & White Ball on Mar 12 at GRSC and other dances at GRSC. Mary

I received the following from one of the Valley’s favorite musicians, Manuel Dorantes: “I wish I would have good news, but, as everybody knows about this COVIG19 situation, I have not work since March at any dances, and also my other work for Yamaha, the same, since I had to visit music stores to check inventory, needless to say, when the stores are close, no job for me too. I hope everybody can understand the following, I have no choice but to get back to my hometown in México, as long a little of my savings, the stimulus and the soon to end unemployment benefits run out July 31st, I can not stay since I would not have any income to pay rent, services, food, insurance, etc..... And to make things worse, me with a hearth condition, the last thing I need is the stress to see how I can survive. Anyway, I am also very grateful for the work you have provided me with for all this years, and truly I appreciate it very much. So, needless to say, please cancel all the pending dances, I think is going to take a long time to get back to those Ballroom dances.....perhaps when a vaccine is available and probed that works. I wish was a better way to say bye, please thank everyone. I will leave just before the end of September, Now I will go in July for a few weeks to find where I am going to move into, get some paper work, etc....and as soon I get back to Phoenix, will be just to pack up and get ready to go back with my instruments, and stuff. I will go back to my hometown Querétaro, Querétaro (City and capital state). San Miguel de Allende is a HUB for Americans and Canadian citizens, they populate this town at least is the 65/70% and to get there, now you must fly to Querétaro, since is only a 45 minute drive to San Miguel, before, you had to fly to Leon Guanajuato, but took over 2 hours to get to San Miguel. I will have the same emails. since México has different Cel Networks, my cel will be different. I will keep you post it Kind Regards Manuel Dorantes” Manuel will definitely be missed and we wish him the best for the future.

Here is a link to pictures for those of you who attended a dance at Granite Reef where Troy was taking pictures, including the last dance there, The Black & White Ball. His pictures are now available as a free download from his website, www.troyaossey.com At the top right of the website you will see: client access click on this and it will take you to a page which includes a picture on the left of Ruth & Bo. If you put your mouse over it, it says Granite Reef Senior Center. Click on that and it will ask you to enter a password - that password is: lovetodance all lowercase and all one word. After entering the password you will be taken to the individual photo shoots. Click on the group or groups you are interested in and enter your email address for each group. If someone doesn’t have an email address, they can enter anyone’s email and it will still work. You can pick individual pictures (or all pictures) and a link to those to be downloaded will be sent to the email address used. Thank you so much! Enjoy the photos and hope to see all of you soon Troy

For anyone who might be interested. GaiaDance! with David Nicol & Kate Naga A zoom dance party to uplift the vibration of the nation on election eve Monday November 2 5.30pm US PT Register HERE Dear dancers, Crazy times call for crazy wisdom! We are excited to invite you to join us on election eve for GaiaDance -- our most sacred subtle activism technology. Let's meet the energies of chaos afoot in our world with the power of our aliveness and ecstasy. We gather in meditation to create coherence and offer prayers, then it's 60 minutes of high octane dance to transmit our compassionate joy to America and the planet. A zoom dance party to uplift the vibration of the nation and bless the planet. Hope to see you there! Kate Naga Copyright ? 2020 EarthRising, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: EarthRising P.O. Box 1854 Lansing Street Mendocino, CA 95460-9597 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

FROM ONE FRIEND TO ANOTHER Take two minutes to read these sayings and be sure to read all the way to the bottom: Written by Andy Rooney, a man who had the gift of saying so much with so few words. Rooney has passed away but used to be on CBS's 60 Minutes TV show. [http://yoursmiles.org/gsmile/flower1/g40253.gif] I've learned ... That being kind is more important than being right. I've learned ... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere. I've learned ... That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world. I've learned ... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person. I've learned ... That when you're in love, it shows. I've learned ... That money doesn't buy class. I've learned .... That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day. I've learned.... That you should never say no to a gift from a child. I've learned ... That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in any other way. I've learned.... That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with. I've learned ... That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand. I've learned ... That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult. I've learned ... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes. I've learned ... That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular. I've learned ... That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved. I've learned ... That to ignore the facts does not change the facts. I've learned ... That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you. I've learned ... That love, not time, heals all wounds. I've learned ... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am. I've learned ... That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile. I've learned ... That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them. I've learned ... That life is tough, but I'm tougher. I've learned ... That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss. I've learned ... That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away. I've learned ... That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them. I've learned.... That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. I've learned ... That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, you're hooked for life. I've learned ... That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it. I've learned ... That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done. To all of you ... Make sure you read all the way down to the last sentence. It's National Friendship Week ... Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND, even if it means sending it back to the person who sent it to you. If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. HAPPY FRIENDSHIP WEEK TO YOU! [http://yoursmiles.org/gsmile/flower1/g40276.gif] YOU ARE MY FRIEND AND I AM HONORED! Now send this to every friend you have! This was sent to me by a friend

The dance community lost another dancer (especially from the Wednesday afternoon dances at Aster Red Mountain Senior Center). Michael J Dascher, on March 26, 2021. He was 76. Services were held in Wisconsin. Our condolences go out to his companion and dance partner, Marla Carling. Here is a link to his obituary, which contains a picture. Michael Dascher Obituary (2021) - Mesa, Az, DE - La Crosse Tribune (legacy.com) Sent from Mail for Windows 10