A touching musical

The news last night was terrible. For that is when we learned that our super-organizer and host, Charlene Nevadomski, will no longer  be in charge of, or accompanying us on the wonderful outings to see great musicals that come to Broward County.😭😭😭😭😭

Charlene center in white coat

This program is an excellent offering by the Tamarac Senior Centre, which not only exposes us to excellent musical productions a la Broadway, but also enhances the level of camaraderie among us seniors. 

For apart from the shows, we go beforehand to carefully selected restaurants, where we dine and exchange views.

Although Charlene appears to have gotten a promotion within Tamarac City and will therefore be an outstanding performer wherever she goes, we are going to miss her terribly as she has such an engaging personality.

Last night, we went first to Bahama Breeze where I was met with plaque made from the bottle corks of Jamaica’s famous Red Stripe beer.

And Shawn who drove us safely to and from Lauderhill Performing Arts Center, was a careful and extremely pleasant driver.

This presentation of 42^nd Street, the musical, was outstanding, touching but witty and energetic. (as have all the musicals I have attended so far, for they are carefully chosen by Charlene.

42nd Street is a 1980 Broadway production which has won the Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Choreography and it has been a long-running hit.

Lauderhill Performing Arts Center

It is based on the 1932 novel by Bradford Ropes that follows the rehearsal process of a Broadway show put on during the height of the Great Depression.

The cast

So as usual, the show was enjoyable and the dozen of us seniors from the center who attended, were a really cool and entertaining group.

Walk good Charlene.

 

 

The US postal service sucks.

Ever since Louis DeJoy was appointed head of the USPS in 2020, one has seen many news items about how he had cut the budget and staff drastically and this had led to many problems.

Well in my experience, USPS does not only have many problems, it is a total disaster!

 I moved in early December 2022, from one block in an apartment complex to another and immediately filled in the form at www.mymove.com/moving/planning/  and received a reference number. I established an account too and got daily notices on my dashboard about what mail they had for me to be delivered to my new address.

Well, my mail stayed in the system (shitstem) and was either retuned to sender or disappeared into the stratosphere, as nothing ever came to my box for 2 months!

During that period, I sent no less than 15 emails to just about every relevant authority at USPS but a got about three replies, the most ridiculous one saying that the address could not be found!

This is an apartment complex with about thirty condos with residents who receive mail!

The only person who apparently wanted to help Nathan Orr at Move Update Department. In one reply, he sent the Delivery Supervisor’s phone number 9547224476, but either that phone was deliberately taken off the hook from early morning, (as I tried dozens of times and only got busy signals) or maybe it was changed or does not work at all.

When I pointed out this to Mr. Orr, he directed me to the Consumer Affairs office of the Postal Service. I did and apart from them giving me a reference number, they did nothing.

In the meantime, I went to the Tamarc Post Office and asked to see a supervisor. The lady to whom I spoke, asked what I wanted and when I explained she told me that as long as I have a reference number, the address change was in process, but it took a few weeks.

When I told her it had almost been two months since I had changed the address and received no mail, she shrugged and said I would just have to wait.

In the meantime, I kept getting notices from USPS on my dashboard and actual pictures of the letters/packages that were coming to my mailbox soon. LOL

Not one item was received for two months.

Since moving too, I was never lucky enough to see the mail delivery person until Saturday, February 4.

 Quickly, I told her of my difficulties and she told me that a tape had been placed over the section of my box where the delivery people drop the mail, after the previous occupant left that condo. (This was to prevent her mail from being delivered to that address after she left).

That tape was only visible to the delivery person, not me.

As no one instructed that the tape be removed when my information was submitted to move.com, my mail could not be delivered to that box.

I have never been happier to receive junk mail than on Saturday 4^th, as that’s all she had for me on that day as everything else sent to me over the past two months had supposedly been returned.

This madness was caused by the total breakdown in inter-departmental communication within the USPS.

If this is how Mr. DeJoy is upgrading the USPS, god help us.

 

No manatees today😢

Today was clearly the worst day to choose to visit the manatees at Manatee Lagoon in West Palm Beach.

This attraction is an initiative of Florida Light and Power (FLP) which on seeing that manatees gather in the warm-water outflows at Riviera Beach Next Generation Clean Energy Center, especially during cold weather, developed that area as an interesting scientific center where families could learn about these huge gentle mammals.

Their mission is “to not only educate the public about the relationship it has with these wonderful creatures, but to “inspire communities to preserve and protect Florida’s environment and wildlife for future generations,” they declare on the promotional material inviting persons to visit their free attraction.

Inside the educational center

It is really a good educational center, especially for kids and an excellent initiative by FLP.

I have been fascinated by these huge gentle creatures ever since I had the opportunity to swim with a nuclear family of manatees, (father mother and two babies) and pet them many decades ago, at Alligator Hole in Claredon Jamaica.

Our manatees are endangered and this is an environmental center, but unfortunately, on the three other occasions I have stopped there to see them, I was  disappointed, as they were up-river feeding.

In Florida I have seen many however, especially in the St. John's River at Blue Water Springs; https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2022/02/hontoon-island-and-more.html.

Giving kids an education 

I still can’t get enough of manatees though, so, when my high school friend Sonja told me about this preserve operated by Florida Light and Power, I was ready to explore.

Rough seas today

However, on Saturday 4^th, low-temperature records dropped drastically across portions of the USA because of an artic freeze. While in southern Florida, the temperatures were in the 70’s, there was a strong breeze throughout the day, (up to 40 mph in some areas), causing rough seas.  That is probably why we did not have the good luck to see any manatees.😪

At one point, while inside the scientific center, we saw a few on the live loop camera feed, but by the time we rushed outside, they had vanished.

Oh well, at least we discovered somewhere new and maybe next time our luck will be better ( I hope).

And I did learn one thing which is that manatees are very distantly related to elephants though their extinct ancestors.

As I keep discovering, all things are possible with the complicated science of evolution!

 West Palm in the distance