Parlor Spider...Step In, Little Fly

Insightful thoughts and/or rants from atop the soapbox from one who wishes to share the "right" opinion with everyone.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Codgerville, U.S.A.: A Nice Place To Live?

My ex-principal George first alerted me to The Villages when he also introduced me to pickle ball one summer evening. George is in his late 70s, I would guess, but he looks younger than that, as did all the people he introduced me to that night. All of them turned out to be retirees who lived most of the year in Florida at a retirement community called The Villages. I really thought nothing of it at the time, but I did get a little tired of them talking constantly about their great life in Florida at this place. They golfed every day, played pickle ball for hours and ate out every night. "Utopia," George said. Since I wasn't ready to retire at the time, I let it all pass.
My attention was focused completely a year later when The Villages hit the news big-time. Like all retirement communities, there are no children allowed at this place, and visitors are restricted to one month a year. One must be at least 55 to own a place there in gated security. That's not what caught my attention, though.
A report was issued two years ago which indicated a meteoric rise nationwide in sexually transmitted diseases, and the national hotspot was, you guessed it, The Villages in Florida! It would appear the folks down there were really getting busy with great regularity...and with various partners, it would seem. I asked one of the 75+ year-old-women about that the following summer, and she said, "Hey, you can't play golf ALL the time!" Bemused, I listened to stories of the ultimate retirement destination. Everyone uses a golf cart, and some have modified them to go even faster than 20 mph! The Villages has two downtowns, a radio station and very little night life after 10 p.m. Everything is regulated by covenants, including a proscription on lawn ornaments...there will be none...ever. Now, there's even a best-selling book about life there.
Leisureville looks at the place through the eyes of a 30-something writer who goes to visit his recently-moved retired neighbors who absolutely LOVE living there. Andrew Blechman arrives filled with hesitancy and doubt. His first few days are filled with a sense of unease, but I suspect he's going to fall right into the lifestyle, much like we did in San Miguel de Allende on our trip to Mexico a few years ago.
Since I've only read three chapters, there's nothing more to report; however, I think the ever-present regulation on virtually everything in one's life would make me crazy...I mean everyone's lawn sprinklers come on at the same time, and people actually scrub their driveways! Having 36 golf courses seems a little excessive, but when there are 100,000 people with time on their hands, maybe not. Every day is an early-bird special, it seems, and chep food has always been a draw for me.
George has invited me down every year to play pickle ball and hang with the gang when the weather gets too crappy here. Maybe this will be the year; but first, the rest of the book for Blechman's take on it. I'm not sure I'm ready for legions of people who are TOO happy and want to share all of that with me...it sounds fishy all the same.

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