Our Town 2018 JAN-FEB (Gainesville)

REMEMBERING TOM PETTY

RESCUE PIT BULL RETURNS THE FAVOR

INSPIR ATIONAL PODCASTS

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 | VOL. 09 ISSUE 01

GAINESVILLE EDITION

HAPPY P L A C E

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CONTENTS

G A I N E S V I L L E | V O L . 0 9 | N O. 0 1

J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8

IN THIS ISSUE >> DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY! START FRESH THIS YEAR BY READING ABOUT POSITIVE AND UPLIFTING STORIES HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY. WE INVITE READERS TO LEARN ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF EMPLOYEE WORK BREAKS AS WELL AS WAYS TO TREAT YOURSELF, SUCH AS TRAVEL AND MEDITATION. SO HOP ON BOARD THIS HAPPY TRAIN, THE DESTINATION WILL BE WORTH IT!

FEATURE STORIES 30

LISTEN GOOD Get plugged in to six of the best podcasts available right now — from fascinating mystery in “S-Town,” to raucous comedy from “2 Dope Queens” and everything in between. You’ve got to check these out!

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FILIPE VALLE COSTA A UF grad retraces his path from his hometown in Portugal to Gainesville and then finally Hollywood — where his recent portrayal as Pedro Nava on FX’s “Snowfall” has truly become his big break.

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A MUSEUM OF LIFE Learn about how the “Tree of Life” exhibit created by artist Naziha Mestaoui was meant to demonstrate the interconnectedness of every living species.

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LILLIAN OF THE LILIES Find inspiration in floral arranging — with flowers bought at the grocery store and some creative tips!

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TAKE A BREAK UF is empowering employees to transform their workdays by encouraging intentional work breaks.

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CONTENTS

J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8

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SIT. STAY. HEAL. A rescued pit bull returns the favor for his human, Army veteran Leo Peña.

TREAT YO SELF Make a resolution this year to love the one person closest to you — yourself.

TOM PETTY Although Petty called California home for the latter part of his life, his roots remained in Gainesville. He left memories of his life all over town, whether that be in the places he went or with the people he befriended over the years, and he will never be forgotten.

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COMMUNITY HEALTH FAIR A free, public health fair showcasing affordable, accessible & practical resources comes to The Wooly this February.

UF HEALTH NEW HOSPITALS New UF Health heart & vascular and neuromedicine hospitals are complete.

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COLUMNS 34

EMBRACING LIFE

by Donna Bonnell

84 NAKED SALSA

by Crystal Henry

99 FARM TALES

by Mother Hen

HAPPINESS COOKIES Our go-to recipe for Grandma’s sugar cookies & an icing recipe to decorate them with bright yellow smiley faces!

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46 STUPID CUPID Learn a little history about Greek Gods.

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IN FITNESS & IN HEALTH Q&A with Chris Marhefka, entrepreneur, personal trainer and co-host of Z Living Network’s show “Altar’d.”

TEN WAYS TO INSPIRE Inspiration is all about how your actions can promote a positive change in people.

Whether that be one or one hundred – every difference makes a difference.

OUR TOWN MAGAZINE

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018

by Kendra Siler-Marsiglio

REVIEWS 50 READING CORNER

by Terri Schlichenmeyer

116 GATE CRASHING OUR TOWNIES The first in our recurring series of interviews with people who live in our town. Everyone’s got a story to tell.

140 LOOK OUT FOR LOVE Unique ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

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VISION BOARDING You’ve got to see it, to believe it.

THREE DIMENSIONAL A local artist raises awareness, brings community together with 3-D mural.

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Spotlight on Rescue Animals

144 HEALTHY EDGE 94

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130 FUREVER FRIENDS

132 EXPLORING ESSENTIAL OILS There’s more to aromatherapy than meets the nose!

by Brian “Krash” Kruger

INFORMATION 100 Taste of the Town 106 Charity Winner 108 Community Calendar The articles printed in Our Town do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Tower Publications, Inc. or their editorial staff. Our Town Magazine endeavors to accept reliable advertising; however, we can not be held responsible by the public for advertising claims. Our Town Magazine reserves the right to refuse or discontinue any advertisement. All rights reserved. © 2018 Tower Publications, Inc.

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PUBLISHER Charlie Delatorre ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Hank McAfee

Anthony B. Agrios, MD Joseph S. Iobst, MD Jean C. Cook, MD Nicole Scogin, MD Shelley Russell, ARNP, CNM Julie Rischar, ARNP, CNM Kristen Cook, ARNP, CNM

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ericka Winterrowd ericka@towerpublications.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jordan Albright, Kaitlin Applegate, Savannah Austin, Brooke Bajgrowicz, Gabrielle Calise, Cameron Cobb, Kacey Finch, Crystal Henry, Felicia Lee, Jessica Schein, Steph Strickland, Cynthia Wonders Winterrowd, Hayli Zuccola ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Jenni Bennett jenni@towerpublications.com Helen Mincey helen@towerpublications.com Nancy Short nancy@towerpublications.com INTERN Cameron Cobb

CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS If you would like us to publicize an event in the greater Gainesville area, send information by the 1st day of the month prior to the next issue.

For example, submissions for the March/April issue are due by February 1. All submissions will be reviewed and every effort will be made to run qualified submissions if page space is available.

Take care

of you.

AllAboutWomenMD.com â&#x20AC;¢ 352.331.3332 Helping You Live A Healthy Lifestyle!

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR We want to hear from you. Send your letters to the attention of the editor at 4400 NW 36th Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32606 or editor@ towerpublications.com. Letters must be signed and include a phone number in the event we need to contact you. (Your phone number will not be published.)

OUR TOWN MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY BY TOWER PUBLICATIONS, INC. REPRODUCTION BY ANY MEANS OF THE WHOLE OR PART OF OUR TOWN WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE PUBLISHER IS PROHIBITED. VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THE EDITORIAL PAGES DO NOT IMPLY OUR ENDORSEMENT. WE WELCOME YOUR PRODUCT NEWS. INCLUDE PRICES, PHOTOS AND DIGITAL FILES WITH YOUR PRESS RELEASE. PLEASE FORWARD PRODUCT SAMPLES AND MEDIA KITS TO REVIEWS EDITOR, OUR TOWN MAGAZINE, 4400 NW 36TH AVENUE, GAINESVILLE, FL 32606. WE CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR UNSOLICITED PRODUCT SAMPLES.

A Publication of Tower Publications, Inc. 4400 NW 36th Ave., Gainesville, Florida 32606 phone: 352-372-5468 fax: 352-373-9178

B R E A K F A S T /// L U N C H /// D I N N E R

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EDITOR ’ S LET TER

“

J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8

” -Ken Eats Gainesville

Daily Happy Hour & Weekend Brunch Take your palate on an intercontinental journey to exotic and wordly flavor, where exceptional ingredients are expertly fused into cocktails, delectable dishes, exquisite homemade desserts and delicious brunch.

Featuring

CHEF VALERO as seen on

Smiles All Around Happy New Year, loyal readers! It’s 2018 and we at Tower Publications are very happy to share our latest issue with you. The reason we’re so happy is because it’s our happiness issue – filled with lots of stories about finding inspiration, inner peace and contentment this year. In the fast-paced world we live in today, it’s easy to feel the pressures of everyday life weighing us down. That’s why it’s so important to take some time for yourself in order to find your happy place. Whether it’s carving out 15 minutes every day to watercolor or just walking barefoot on the grass, these places of happiness help fill that mental bucket of inspiration – fueling us to keep working toward our dreams.

Within the pages of this magazine you’ll find a guide for inspirational and uplifting podcasts. It’s the perfect list for kicking off 2018 in a positive way. You’ll also find a recipe for happiness cookies. That’s right, if you’re not smiling before you make them – you definitely will be after eating them! We also pay tribute to Gainesville’s #1 son: Tom Petty, the singer-songwriter whose legacy will forever bring smiles to countless people — especially in our town. Also, learn how a local artist is using his talent to help spread awareness for positive change, making a 3-D mural that embodies an important message as well. Speaking of messages, understand the theory behind sending your own messages out to the universe with vision boarding.

This popular activity helps focus in on what you want most in life. It can be a fun way to plan for the future. You’ll need sunglasses it’ll be so bright.

So here’s to finding your happy place this year! May the stories and photography you find in this issue help inspire that journey...

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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018

Ericka Winterrowd, Editor-In-Chief

YOUR NEW FAMILY TRADITION. A CLASSIC STEAKHOUSE WITH AN ITALIAN FLAIR. Now Open for Dinner & Weekend Brunch!

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Wood Buildings

MUS IC & A RTS FE S TI VA L

Metal Buildings

J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8

Carports

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Changeville – A Festival for Social Change The Changeville Music & Arts Festival creates a space for artists that are doing good in the world to come together with the Gainesville community. Every musician and comedian that plays Changeville is chosen because of their connection to social change. The same can be said for every virtual reality experience or film that is showcased at the event as well.

According to the festival’s website, Changeville was launched in 2016. This film, music, comedy and virtual reality festival connects artists, storytellers, comedians and movement builders together. Set among the coffee shops, music venues and tech companies that define Gainesville’s downtown, the event draws on the energy and innovation of the city’s growing technology and media culture.

Screenings, exhibits and shows are open to all moviegoers and music lovers. This music and arts festival is the intersection where passionate filmmakers, digital media innovators and musicians cross paths with professionals who build movements and drive positive social change. Changeville also has a podcast, where the organization highlights artists throughout the year that are responsible for making big changes to better the world today. In addition, the group shines a light on impactful artists through their changemaker spotlight series via social media.

Make a change! What could be better than that?

February 8-9 Bo Diddley Plaza

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For more info on the event and to purchase tickets, visit: changeville.us.

Free entry for children age 12 & under to the plaza showcase.

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CONTRIBUTOR S

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J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8

SAVANNAH AUSTIN is a journalism and art student at UF. She is a passionate advocate for the color mustard yellow and can be found making hand-lettered greeting cards, binge-watching Jane the Virgin or incessantly taking photos of friends and family. savannahkaustin@ufl.edu

BROOKE BAJGROWICZ is a senior journalism student at the University of Florida. In her free time, she likes to jam at concerts, explore new places and rewatch her favorite episodes of The Office. bnb1997@ufl.edu

KACEY FINCH is a sophomore journalism major at the University of Florida. When she’s not writing, you can find her drinking Starbucks, binge-watching Netflix and trying to explore all the world has to offer. kaceyfinch@outlook.com

JESSICA SCHEIN is a senior journalism major at the University of Florida and freelance writer.

Jessica likes to workout, read, play the piano, and spend time with her friends. jschein@ufl.edu

STEPH STRICKLAND is a first year journalism student within the UF Honors Program and she loves telling stories through writing, photography and digital media. Outside of her studies she enjoys mountain hiking, nature photography and spending quality time with friends and family. stephanieannestrickland@gmail.com

JORDAN ALBRIGHT loves to learn and explore. She has two degrees from UF: BA in Dance and BS in Journalism; and three minors. Now, she is working full time in higher education arts administration. Her passion is learning about your passion. jordanalbrightphotography@gmail.com

GABRIELLE CALISE is a senior journalism major at the University of Florida and freelance writer.

In her spare time she enjoys collecting vinyl records, taking photographs and watching movies. gcalise@ufl.edu

KAITLIN APPLEGATE is a recent Rock School graduate. In her spare time she enjoys creative writing and finding inspiration in unexpected places (in truth, mostly from Netflix). kaitlinapplegatewrites@gmail.com

CAMERON COBB is a senior journalism major at the University of Florida as well as an Air Force veteran. She loves traveling, writing, ballet and all animals (her favorite being her rescue dog, Maggie). cameronacobb5@gmail.com

HAYLI ZUCCOLA is a New England native who enjoys listening to music and traveling. After graduating high school with her AA degree she got her Bachelor’s in Journalism from the University of Florida.

HayzDesigns@yahoo.com

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018

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RREESSC CU UEE ME >>> BR B ONSON & LEO

PUP LOVE

S TORY BY C A MERON COBB P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y L E O P E Ñ A

A Rescued Pitbull Returns the Favor for His Human

I

n November of 2011, Army veteran Leo Peña went with his then girlfriend of five years, Jennifer Wasmer, to help her rescue a dog from MiamiDade County Animal Services. Wasmer wanted a pit bull, and the city’s shelters certainly had plenty to spare. “[Pit bulls] have this bad reputation,” the 41-year-old said. “People will see one and be like ‘Oh my God! That’s a pit bull — get him away from me!’”

In Miami-Dade County, it is illegal to own an American Pit Bull Terrier, or any other dog that shares characteristics with the breed, according to MiamiDade County Ordinance Chapter

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RESCUE ME >> BRONSON & LEO

Pena and Bronson share a love of hiking.

In fact, it’s their favorite hobby to do together. Pena said that when Bronson hears the word hiking his ears pop up in excitement.

5, Sec. 5-17. Anyone caught housing one gets slapped with a $500 fine and a court-ordered removal of the animal from the county.

Based on personal experience with pit bulls, Peña said breed-specific legislation makes “absolutely no sense.”

“There’s no particular breed that’s worse than any other breed, that’s a complete misconception,” he said. “A dog is whatever their owner makes of them.”

Upon arrival to the shelter, Peña and Wasmer were quickly steered towards a litter of five 4-monthold pit bull pups that had recently been relinquished

A year and a half later, Peña and Wasmer split up, and she moved back home with her parents.

Her mom immediately rejected the idea of having Bronson around, so Peña said Wasmer asked if he could watch Bronson until she could find a place of her own. But as months passed, Bronson’s temporary stay with Peña eventually turned into a permanent home.

“One day, she called telling me to ‘just keep him,’ and so I did,” he said. “That’s when the real bond with Bronson developed — once he officially became mine.”

“There’s no particular breed that’s worse than any other breed, that’s a complete misconception. A dog is whatever their owner makes of them.” to animal services. While all the puppies each had their own personalities, Peña said one pooch particularly tugged at Wasmer’s heart — a bouncing ball of energy disguised as the only russet-colored pit of the bunch, with oversized amber eyes and easily the most rambunctious of the bunch.

“I told my ex that pit bulls were stubborn, and I could tell this one would’ve been the hardest out of all of them to train,” Peña said. “So, naturally, he ended up being the one she adopted.” His name — Bronson.

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But even with Bronson’s company, Peña said he initially had a hard time handling the loss of his relationship.

“She was the love of my life, and I went through a really hard time with the breakup,” he said.

“Bronson got me out of the house; he got me to do stuff with him.”

On top of the breakup blues, Peña was dealing with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) after being diagnosed following his military service. With PTSD,

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RESCUE ME >> BRONSON & LEO 24 |

MDD and other mental health disorders, treatment options vary, including group or one-on-one therapy, medications and service animals, with the latter being one he had personal experience with.

At barely 19, Peña had enlisted into the United States Army as a 19D Cavalry Scout.

After basic training, he was sent to Fort Polk in Louisiana to become a trainer for military dogs who were often used for detection purposes, such as by sniffing out drugs or explosives.

“Military dogs have to be extremely welltrained, because they’re basically soldiers themselves,” Peña said.

For the first week of training, Peña said he read about dog psychology, where he learned about canine hunting tendencies and how those can be used for scouting purposes. With what’s known as the “prey-drive” method, the animals are conditioned to channel into those instincts to detect certain objects, Peña said. Once discovered, the dogs are rewarded, with the idea being that they’ll start to associate the finds with positivity.

After six years of service, Peña got out of the Army with an honorable discharge and ventured back to Miami, where he said he “just kind of fell right into civilian dog training.” He took a part-time position as a training instructor at PetSmart to teach pet parents how to train their dogs, he said. After two years at PetSmart, he started up his own dog training business called Intellipet Dog Training Services.

Having his own company meant he didn’t have to interact with people as much — something Peña said he had grown to enjoy. But overtime, the serenity of his solitude slowly turned into total isolation, and his family became worried. Peña credits his 21-year-old daughter, Shelly, as being the push he needed to seek help.

“She said, ‘Dad, you don’t like being around people. You don’t like to be out in public. You snap and get irritated at the littlest things,’” he said. “It took me years to go and talk to someone. I had a lot of pride.”

PTSD occurs when someone suffers through a traumatic event and experiences persistent or worsening reactions, such as flashbacks, trouble sleeping, social avoidance and more, according to the U.S. Department OUR TOWN MAGAZINE

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018

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For PTSD training, Bronson needed to be able to sense Peña’s triggers to calm him down before the onset of an episode.

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RESCUE ME >> BRONSON & LEO

of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD. MDD is a mood-altering disorder that causes affected individuals to feel as if they’re plagued by a seemingly permanent feeling of sadness or hopelessness, according to the Mayo Clinic’s website.

Because of what’s demanded of someone in the military, it can make that person much more susceptible to develop these types of illnesses.

“Military life psychologically affects every solider, every airman, every marine,” he said.

Symptoms of both PTSD and MDD include trouble sleeping, social avoidance, irritability — all of which, and more, are side effects Peña dealt with since being discharged. While he’s attempted various treatment options, from therapy to trial-and-error prescriptions, nothing seemed to make a significant difference — until Bronson.

“With a dog, you’re interacting with a sentient being,” Peña said. “It’s a relationship.”

But due to breed legislation, where Peña could take Bronson was strictly limited, especially in Miami. This sparked an idea of making him a service dog, which would enable the canine to accompany Peña anywhere, anytime.

Due to his military occupation, he got out as a certified dog trainer and thus piloted Bronson’s training himself. To become a service dog, Peña said Bronson had to pass a series of assessments, including the Canine Good Citizen test, which is a 10-step training program established by the American Kennel Club and designed to show that a dog can behave in society, according to the AKC. After two weeks of instruction at the MiamiDade County Animal Services, a representative from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) came out to officiate. To become certified, all Bronson needed to do was successfully complete the challenge.

He aced it on the first try.

For PTSD training, Bronson needed to be able to sense Peña’s triggers to calm him down before an episode onsets, Peña said. Bronson attended psychiatry-based PTSD group sessions for two months, where dogs are trained in various scenarios depicting someone in emotional distress, such as panic or anxiety attacks.

When dogs respond with care and support, the behavior is reinforced with attention and treats until it becomes as natural as instinct, like with the prey-drive method from Peña’s dog-training days in the military.

Before Bronson, Peña said his episodes caused him to lash out in anger. He would throw objects across rooms and punch walls before realizing the damage was done.

Now, Bronson’s always there to recognize the warning signs and calm his owner down.

“You see it in their eyes, they want you to feel better,” Peña said. “Without words, he communicates with me better than anyone else.”

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Bronson and Peña have trekked over 500 miles in areas across the nation.

Peña’s PTSD and MDD often made him feel isolated from the rest of the world, let alone bustling environments like school. But with Bronson by his side, Peña could do just that. In January of 2015, Peña transferred from Miami Dade College to the University of Florida to study geology.

The combination of school stressors, PTSD and MDD can be crippling, but Peña said having Bronson forced him to channel those feelings into something constructive, such as physical activity. Whenever things became overwhelming, Peña would close his eyes, take a deep breath, grab Bronson’s leash, and then the two would run until the negativity was lost behind them.

“You need something to live for other than yourself,” he said. “Bronson provides me with that.”

In May of 2017, Peña graduated with two degrees: one Bachelor of Arts in Geology and another in Environmental Geosciences. Since then, he and Bronson have been celebrating 28 |

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by doing their favorite activity — hiking.

“We go out into the back country, get lost for two, three days at a time,” Peña said. “We love it.”

The duo has trekked over 500 miles in areas across the nation. From the lush mangrove forests fringing Florida’s southern coast to the saw-toothed spikes atop snow-capped mountains in Idaho, Peña said he believes Bronson would faithfully (and excitedly) follow him anywhere. “[Bronson] has a blast [being] off leash, being free and able to explore,” Peña said. “I just have to say the word hiking around him and his ears pop up.”

And while Peña may not be completely rid of the bad days, he said getting to experience a life with Bronson has saved his.

“I definitely believe a service dog is a way better means for combating or fighting depression than any pill, medication, or drug someone could take,” Peña said. “Bronson is my No. 1 antidepressant.”

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INSPIRATION >> PODCASTS

POSITIVE VIBES

Listen Good Inspirational and Uplifting Podcasts W RIT TE N BY G A BRIE LLE C A LI S E

S

hutting off a cycle of negative thought patterns can be as easy as popping in some earbuds and turning on a podcast. Listening to comedians crack jokes, learning about scientific discoveries, or getting wrapped up in a mystery can all be great ways to stop a barrage of worries and add a burst of positivity to any routine. And unlike other stress-relieving hobbies, listening to podcasts can be done just about anywhere, anytime — from long morning commutes to during mundane chores, or even while exercising at the gym.

There are podcasts of all types to help inspire, intrigue or uplift.

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S • Town In 2014, an antique clock restorer named John B. McLemore contacted Brian Reed, a senior producer for the well-known radio program This American Life, to report a murder that was covered up. Listeners follow Reed to Woodstock, Alabama, where he realizes the real mystery is John B. McLemore himself.

S-Town, a podcast from the journalists behind NPR’s Serial, is investigative reporting and storytelling at its best. The podcast has been a hit ever since launching in April — when it was downloaded more than 10 million times in just four days. Funny

PHOTOGRAPHY: SANDY HONIG

The S-Town Team from L-R: Serial co-creator and S-Town executive producer Julie Snyder, This American Life creator and host Ira Glass, S-Town host Brian Reed, Serial host Sarah Koenig.

and heartbreaking, the series is packed with twists, making it easy to get wrapped up in the mystery and forget about the stresses of everyday life.

Try not to devour all seven episodes all at once.

Recommended episode: The series is meant to be listened to chronologically. After ďŹ nishing, listeners can visit S-Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Facebook page to look at pictures of clocks that McLemore restored.

Laughter can help reduce the stress hormone cortisol, according to Psychology Today. And a pair of NYC-based women can help with doing just that.

Best friends Phoebe Robinson and Jessica Williams host a live comedy show in Brooklyn that covers pop culture, current events, relationships and race. The Queens, who are actresses and writers themselves, host guests like Abbi Jacobson, Jon Hamm and Fred Armisen.

The show is also a platform for diverse voices in comedy, featuring female and LGBT comedians as well as comedians of color.

Recommended episode: Episode 30: White People Love Coyotes (Note: This program has mature language.)

PHOTOGRAPHY: MINDY TURNER

2 Dope Queens (WYNC Studios)

The hit comedy podcast 2 Dope Queens, featuring Jessica Williams (The Incredible Jessica James) and Phoebe Robinson (Broad City), will come to HBO for a series of four hour-long specials starting February 2 at 11:30pm.

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INSPIRATION >> PODCASTS

Invisibilia’s current past producers and hosts (from left) are Alix Spiegel, Hanna Rosin and Lulu Miller.

Invisibila (NPR) Invisibilia blends scientific research and interviews into a storytelling narrative that explores invisible forces that control human behavior—ideas, beliefs, assumptions and emotions. During each episode, listeners are introduced to people from a range of unusual circumstances — from a woman who cannot feel fear to a blind man who taught himself (and others) echolocation. Invisibilia has been hosted by Alix Spiegel (former producer of This American Life), Lulu Miller (former producer of Radiolab) and Hanna Rosin (of The Atlantic). Inspiring and intriguing, the podcast provides listeners with captivating stories as well as new ways of thinking about emotions and feelings.

Recommended episodes: The Secret History of Thoughts, The Secret Emotional Life of Clothes, The Power Of Categories.

Hurry Slowly Hurry Slowly is a podcast that encourages listeners to take a step back and savor life instead of rushing through the day. The podcast outlines methods of boosting creativity, productivity and happiness simply by slowing down. Host Jocelyn K. Glei interviews different guests, from a marathon swimmer to a sleep researcher, to provide practical advice on topics like enjoying nature and making better decisions.

Recommended episode: Kim Chambers – Calculated Risk, Stretch Goals, and Sharks 32 |

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The Confidence Academy Podcast Lilli Badcock, founder of The Confidence Academy, was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder in 2013. She has since devoted her career to helping others, working as a self-described “transformational confidence coach and stage fright specialist.”

Badcock shares her own experiences to make others feel like they are less alone.

Recommended episode: Episode One: Top 10 Ways to Calm Anxiety gives an overview of Badcock’s personal journey and lists steps to process feelings of anxiety.

How I Built This (NPR) NPR’s Guy Raz hosts this weekly podcast about innovators whose products changed the world. The podcast covers a wide range of topics, featuring entrepreneurs and creators from the tech industry (Instagram, Airbnb and Lyft) to food (Cliff Bars and 5-hour Energy). Not only is this podcast educational — it’s also motivating. The guests discuss how they overcame tragedies, from divorce, failed ideas, lost investments and even addiction.

Recommended episode: Spanx Creator Sarah Blakely talks inventing shapewear that would make her a billionaire.

Each of these podcasts is available to download for free on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or RadioPublic. Happy listening!

PHOTOGRAPHY: JOHN POOLE/NPR

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COLUMN

DONNA BONNELL’S

Embracing Life MY SECRET INGREDIENT

DONNA BONNELL BECAME THE AUTHOR OF HER COLUMN, EMBRACING LIFE, MORE THAN A DECADE AGO. SHE SHARES HER PERSONAL CHALLENGES AND VICTORIES WITH THE GOAL OF INSPIRING HER READERS TO ANALYZE WHY THINGS HAPPEN IN THEIR OWN LIVES. bonneldj@gmail.com

THEOLOGIAN NORMAN WIRZBA DEFINED FOOD AS “GOD’S LOVE MADE EDIBLE.”

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reparing food for others is a tangible expression of God’s love and a gift. It is a gift not only for the recipient, but also the cook. Cooking and writing are my ways of expressing creativity and relieving stress.

Numerous subjects of Embracing Life columns have included the therapeutic benefits of seeing my thoughts published. Those intrinsic values are multiplied ten-fold when I receive feedback from regular readers. It has been an immense source of personal pride that I will never tire of telling. Aside from writing, little else fulfills those essential needs, except cooking. So, I began to ponder my hesitation to share rewarding culinary stories.

We all know that food consumption is necessary to remain alive. Though, sadly, millions of people around the globe are emaciated and famished. At the same time, many folks take for granted their access to bountiful yields of fruits, meats and vegetables. Perhaps I felt shame in knowing that many individuals are starving. Maybe that guilt curtailed my desire to publicly display the pleasure I feel while creating and serving meals.

While I am very fortunate, I do appreciate and express gratitude for having my daily nourishment. My parents grew up in the Great Depression. They taught me years ago how to buy bargains on a budget, stretch meals and re-purpose leftovers. We did not have lavish feasts, but our family never went to bed hungry.

In addition to widespread famine, our society faces other challenges relating to food. Eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and overeating, are life-threatening diseases.

Discovering the insightful quote from Wirzba helped me work through my dilemma. Food, when properly understood, is a gift — an edible (physical) gift from God. With that in mind, I realized that food is not the foe.

Hallelujah! I was almost free to share my stories and secret ingredient. First, however, I did a little research to confirm that I am not alone in experiencing the benefits of culinary creativity. There are countless articles, studies and surveys available confirming that my feelings are on target. The following are three professional opinions:

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• First, Julie Ohana, licensed clinical social worker, specializing in culinary art therapy states, “In many cultures, in many countries, food really is an expression of love, and it’s actually beautiful because it’s something we really all relate to.”

• Second, Susan Whitbourne, professor of psychological and brain sciences, also refers to food as a cultural norm. She said, “It can be helpful for people who have difficulty expressing their feelings in words to show thanks, appreciation or sympathy with baked goods.”

• Last, but certainly not least, author Ellen Kanner explains, “Preparing a meal is unlike anything else I do in the course of a day. It’s a nourishing, centering act that gets me to slow down and focus.”

If you dislike baking and cooking, your attributes are found elsewhere. Many are creative in other areas where I consider myself a pathetic participant. Gardening, playing musical instruments, sewing and singing are examples where my skills are nearly nil. I applaud those who have different talents. That, too, is God’s plan.

As for me, cooking is my gift. My dinners are simple, casual and usually served buffet-style. I do not use formal place settings, china or silver. However, my secret ingredient is love. Everyone is welcome, and recipe mistakes are considered minor.

The only requirements at my gatherings are to enjoy the company of the others present and laugh at life. For that brief period of time, my goal is for everyone to escape their daily human trials and tribulations. I even try to convince my guests that calories do not count when sprinkled with love.

I have many powerful memories deeply connected to food.

Sometimes tastes and smells trigger emotional flashbacks to times in my youth and are reminders of loved-ones lost. Those precious moments of reminiscing prompt warm, fuzzy feelings and treasured goosebumps.

If my family and friends remember me long after I am gone for my expression of love through cooking, then I will have succeeded in life.

Bon appétit!

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HAPPINESS >> TREAT YO SELF

IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY

CONTENTMENT/ SELF LOVE / INNER PEACE

Treat Yo Self W R I T T E N B Y C R Y S TA L H E N R Y | P H O T OG R A P H Y B Y E R I C K A W I N T E R R O W D

‘Tis the season for resolutions and romance.

January is a fresh start to a new year, and February festivities center around the celebration of love.

But one of the best resolutions you can make this year is to love the one person closest to you — yourself.

Prioritizing your own happiness seems self-serving, but in reality those good vibes can radiate into every area of your life.

Happiness is contagious, so finding ways to bring yourself joy can be a service to everyone around you. The world could use an outbreak of goodness, so we’ve come up with three unique ways to put a smile on your face.

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GIVE BACK Yes, this is all about you. Giving to others is actually one of the greatest way to bring joy to yourself. An article in Time Magazine in August stated that researchers have found helping others stimulates the pleasurable reward parts of our brains.

Doing something nice for someone else gives us the same feeling as indulging in our favorite treat, so finding a way to bring joy to others is actually one of the best way to keep the cycle of happiness going. It can be as small as bringing coffee to a friend or as big as organizing a fundraising event for charity. Any act of kindness for someone else is a drop in your happiness bucket.

MEDITATE Sometimes the best gift you can give yourself is attention and time. Meditation and yoga allows us to take time to center on ourselves, and that can be incredibly refreshing for the soul.

Many people think meditation means just sitting quietly alone.

But active meditation is the mindful focusing of your thoughts. A good yoga instructor can help guide that process. An article in Forbes found that the effects of meditation actually rival antidepressants for depression and anxiety. That’s not to say that medication is a replacement for medication every time. But researchers at Johns Hopkins found that the effect of active meditation on the brain was comparable to medication.

It seems that meditation could be a great tool in the treatment toolbox for achieving a happier life.

TRAVEL Sometimes staying in one place for too long can make your mind feel like it’s under house arrest. Traveling not only broadens your horizons, but it affords you the opportunity to experience a world outside of your

Being a stranger in a foreign place can give you a new perspective on life, and a greater appreciation for the beautiful world we live in. bubble. Traveling solo means getting outside your comfort zone to meet new people and experience new adventures. One study showed that women who travel at least twice a year are significantly less likely to suffer a heart attack. Although the planning and execution of a trip abroad can seem daunting to some, travel actually reduces your stress levels in the long run, and the effects of a vacation can linger weeks after you return.

People who travel are more creative, and they have more empathy for others. Being a stranger in a foreign place can give you a new perspective on life, and a greater appreciation for the beautiful world we live in.

So let’s start off 2018 by showing a little love to ourselves, too!

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EVENT >> COMMUNITY HEALTH & WELLNESS FAIR

WELL-BEING

Community Health & Wellness Fair Combining Mainstream and Holistic Medical Practices S TORY BY K AC E Y F I NC H P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y E R I C K A W I N T E R R O W D

A

local primary care nurse practitioner had a dream: to organize a free, public health fair showcasing affordable, accessible and practical resources in the Gainesville community.

Daniela Shillington’s idea will come to life on Feb. 11 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at The Wooly in Downtown Gainesville, just in time for people to act on their New Year’s resolutions.

The event, sponsored by The Wooly, Haile Medical Group and the ACORN Clinic, invites community members to interact with 15 to 20 local health care providers, such as acupuncturists, chiropractors, physicians, massage therapists, mental health providers, physical therapists and nutritionists.

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Shillington said the event will highlight excellent resources in the Gainesville community that people need to be aware of and will have something for every age group.

“I am a strong believer that the health of a community affects the health of an individual,” Shillington said. “The more healthy the community is, the more resources and access we have to care — the more healthy the individuals will be.”

Shillington’s definition of health does not just rely on vital signs, but on people feeling healthy in mental, physical and emotional ways.

Attendees will be given a health sheet to record information from their health and lifestyle screenings. Health screenings will include cholesterol screening, blood pressure screening, heart monitoring, temperature, spirometry and rapid HIV

Dr. Lisa Chacko (left) and nurse practitioner Daniela Shillington (right) are the organizers of the health fair, which takes place at The Wooly in February. Participants of the event will have the opportunity to receive free health and lifestyle screenings.

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EVENT >> COMMUNITY HEALTH & WELLNESS FAIR

testing. In addition, lifestyle screenings will monitor areas such as sleep, stress and diet.

After participating in free screenings, participants will leave with a health plan, recommendations and potential discounts from attending health care providers.

“It’s a really great way for the community to get together with the providers of wellness in the community,” Shillington said. “Health care providers are supposed to be there for their community, so that’s just one reason why I’m doing this.”

Community members will be able to talk with health care professionals and even sample certain services, Shillington said.

For example, an attendee might try a back massage or discover acupuncture pressure points that help with anxiety.

The event will also feature easy and affordable food demonstrations accompanied by a presentation on healthy alternatives to sugary beverages. Attendants will receive recipe cards of the budget-friendly recipes.

“It’s going to be inspiring for people to make healthier life decisions and know that they can do it on their own,” Shillington said. “I feel like people have a lot more power regarding their health than they really realize.”

Lisa Chacko, local physician and medical director of the ACORN Clinic, said she was happy to help her friend with organizing this community event.

“Everyone’s on a journey to better health, ideally,” Chacko said. “If an event like this helps people further along on that journey, then I think it’s a great idea and something I’d be willing to put energy towards.”

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While community health fairs are not uncommon, the event offers its own flair.

“The idea is to bring together some of the mainstream medicine, in terms of primary care clinics that offer low costs, accessible, affordable health care,” Chacko said. “But then put that right alongside more holistic approaches that tend to fall under the category of complimentary alternative medicine, which are equally as beneficial to patients,” Chacko said.

Holistic approaches include practices like acupuncture, which will be presented beside mainstream medicine, such as primary care.

Chacko said she hopes the health fair benefits attendees by inspiring them on their health journey, but she also hopes it acts as a catalyst for more collaboration between the people who are presenting and sharing their work.

“I think that if people can come to this event and find ways to achieve better health or start setting goals toward better health, especially in ways that are accessible, affordable and realistic for their lifestyle — then that will be a huge benefit to people,” Chacko said.

Community Health and Wellness Fair The Wooly: 20 N Main St, Gainesville, 32601 Sunday, February 11 from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Free Admission. Open to All Ages.

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RECIPE SERIES >> HAPPINESS COOKIES

SMILES ALL AROUND

Cynthia Wonders Winterrowd ’s

RECIPE WONDERS FOOD ST Y LING & PHOTOGR A PH Y BY ERICK A WINTER ROWD

H A PP

L

I N E S S CO O K I E

et’s face it — we all have days where we struggle to keep a smile on our face. You wake up late for work, you stub your toe rushing to the door, the dog chews up your newspaper, and somehow the day is beyond saving. But fear not, here’s something home cooked that you can turn to whenever that happens!

Stress is a natural part of today’s lifestyle. We are always on the go, late for something or putting “too much on our plate.”

(And by that I don’t mean food.) According to dartmouth.edu, one of the suggestions for reducing stress is to include “me time” in your daily routine and take breaks. It is important to realize that taking time for yourself is just as important as making time for other activities. So taking a break with these Happiness Cookies may be just the thing to chase away the blues and turn your day around.

S

This month’s offering is our go-to recipe for Grandma’s sugar cookies. Have them with your morning coffee, a cup of tea, or a big glass of milk – and suddenly you feel like a kid again. Couple it with the icing recipe from my daughter, Samantha, and make them into bright yellow smiley faces! They are so scrumptious you are sure to turn your frown upside down!

Samantha is my firstborn daughter, and a mother now herself.

She has a busy career that keeps her on the run, but somehow she manages to bake cookies for her office staff during the holidays or special occasions. I have never managed to ice cookies quite as “professionally” as she does, but she assures me anyone can do it with this recipe. Last year’s Christmas cookies looked like she bought them – but she didn’t!

So with that, I hope you have a very stress-free year and that you will make “me time” for yourself one of your New Year’s resolutions. Happy 2018!

CYNTHIA WONDERS WINTERROWD IS AN AWARD-WINNING WRITER WHO WAS RAISED IN ILLINOIS AND LIVES IN GAINESVILLE. SHE IS PROUD TO BE A “GATOR MOM” OF THREE DAUGHTERS, ALL UF GRADUATES. CYNTHIA LOVES SHARING FAMILY RECIPES THAT HAVE BEEN PASSED DOWN IN HER MOTHER’S HANDWRITTEN COOKBOOKS. recipewonders@gmail.com

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GRANDMA’S SUGAR COOKIES RECIPE SERIES >> HAPPINESS COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:

2 . . . . . cups sugar 1 . . . . . cup butter or margarine, softened to room temperature 4 . . . . . eggs, slightly beaten 1 . . . . . tablespoon vanilla 2 . . . . . teaspoons baking powder 6 . . . . . cups flour, sifted 1 . . . . . teaspoon salt METHOD:

Use a large mixing bowl. Put the softened butter and sugar in it. Cream the butter and sugar with clean hands until rich and creamy. Then add the four eggs to the creamed mixture and use your mixer or whisk to slightly whip them. Get your largest wooden spoon and finish beating the eggs into the sugar mixture until entirely smooth. Now add the vanilla.

Sift flour. In the first two cups of flour, add the baking powder and salt measurements.

Add more flour until the total six cups of flour.

Roll out thick. Cut with a large round cookie cutter. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 – 12 minutes. Watch! Every oven is different, and they will burn quickly. Remove when you just start to see browning on the edges.

Ice with Samantha’s Cookie Icing and make into smiley faces.

SAMANTHA’S COOKIE ICING INGREDIENTS:

1 . . . . . cup powdered sugar 1 . . . . . tablespoon milk 1 . . . . . drop lemon juice (fresh or bottled) 1 . . . . . tablespoon light corn syrup Yellow food color paste or gel available at baking or hobby stores Black gel icing for the smiley face eyes and mouth *Tip: Do not use food coloring sold in grocery stores. These colors dilute the icing and the colors “bleed” into one another. You must get professional quality gel or paste coloring, such as Americolor or Sunny Side Up Bakery brands.

METHOD:

Using a whisk, combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice and corn syrup in a bowl. Next add the milk, a drop or two at a time. You will want to create two separate consistencies.

The frosting that you are going to pipe around the edges of the cookies should be the consistency of toothpaste. This will be what holds the “floated” thinner icing in place in the center of the cookie. Separate half of the icing batter and put in a separate bowl. Add more milk to this portion of icing until it resembles syrup. This is the icing that you will put into the center and “flood” the icing within the boarders you piped along the edges.

Add the food coloring of choice, in this case yellow. After the cookies are iced and look pretty, let them sit out to dry for a few hours. Once dry, they can be stacked on top of each other and kept in a plastic container to keep fresh. Don’t put them in a container until they are dry, however, or it will tend to make the icing colors bleed into each other.

So there you have it: “Don’t worry, be happy!” Have a Happiness Cookie!

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HOLIDAY HISTORY >> VALENTINE’S DAY

BE MY VALENTINE

THE HISTORY OF A GREEK GOD

Stupid Cupid STORY A N D PHOTOGR A PH Y BY ER ICK A W INTER ROW D

Valentine’s Day conjures up many images, especially ones of hearts and red roses.

However, some could argue that the most notable image spotted during the month of February is that of baby Cupid complete with wings. Well, according to history.com, he didn’t always look like that. Instead, the website states that a long time ago he was actually a kind of sex symbol. It all started about 3,000 years ago with the Greeks. The Greeks had a different name for Cupid; they called him Eros, which is where the word “erotic” comes from. The myth says that he was so handsome he could make both gods and humans weak in the knees.

His iconic bow and arrow has been around a long time as well. According to Greek mythology, he has two kinds of arrows — gold for love and lead for hate. In one story he shot a gold arrow at Apollo, the sun god, which made him fall in love 46 |

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with a nymph named Daphne. Then Cupid, ever the prankster, shot Daphne with a lead arrow. One can imagine what would happen next — while Apollo goes running after Daphne, she goes running away — wanting nothing to do with him.

In another story, Eros gets a taste of his own medicine.

History.com states that the myth goes like this: Cupid’s mom (Venus) was so jealous of a beautiful mortal named Psyche that she sent Cupid out to make Psyche fall in love with a hideous creature. Instead, Cupid accidentally gets pricked by his own arrow and falls in love with Psyche. According to Roman mythology, Cupid had to keep his identity secret because he was a god and she was a human. Also, the Romans were the ones to first start calling him Cupid.

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History.com states that later in the Renaissance, artists began to paint Cupid like infant angels they called “Putti.” And it was at this point that the original handsome image of Cupid/ Eros began to fade. The website also states that when people started sending valentines in the 1700s, the baby Cupid with bow and arrow image stuck. So the 3,000-year-old “god of love (in diapers)” is pretty much how he can be found today.

Other popular images show him blindfolded because “love is blind” after all. He has really become an icon for the unpredictability of love, or scenarios showing how love can come in all shapes and sizes.

Here’s to the gold arrows that will strike this Valentine’s Day. Thanks, Cupid!

CUPID IN SHAKESPEARE In Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Helena laments her feelings of heartbreak in the monologue below. Demetrius, the man she loves, does not love her in return and she begins to speak about the image of Cupid wearing a blindfold because “love is blind.” Helena ponders that if love is truly blind, why can’t her Demetrius find it in his heart to return her love? But after all, Cupid is a child — so perhaps love is unruly like a child and that is the reason he does not share the same feelings at the moment.

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“Helena” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1.1 “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.

Nor hath love’s mind of any judgment taste; Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste.

And therefore is love said to be a child Because in choice he is so oft beguiled.”

“Take the Fair Face of Woman”, oil painting

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BOOK REVIEW

TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER’S

Reading Corner BLESSED LIFE written by Kim Fields with Todd Gold C.2017, FAITH WORDS, $22.00 / $26.50 CANADA, 215 PAGES

TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER HAS BEEN READING SINCE SHE WAS 3 YEARS OLD AND SHE NEVER GOES ANYWHERE WITHOUT A BOOK. SHE LIVES WITH HER TWO DOGS AND 11,000 BOOKS. HER BOOK REVIEWS ARE PUBLISHED IN MORE THAN 200 NEWSPAPERS AND 50 MAGAZINES THROUGHOUT THE U.S. AND CANADA. bookwormsez@yahoo.com

YOU HAVE MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR THIS YEAR.

T

here’s a roof over your head, for beginners.

You know where your next meal will come from. You can read, obviously. Running water, electricity, friends, and family, the list goes on. Author Kim Fields (with Todd Gold) counts those happy things, too, and in her new book “Blessed Life,” she knows who gets credit.

Born in Harlem with a pedigree in performing – her grandmother was a dancer; her mother, an actress - Kim Fields recalls how much she loved Harlem, but she says she “would not trade growing up in Hollywood,” which is where she moved with her mother when Fields was six.

At age eight, as her mother’s L.A. stardom was on the rise, Fields tried out for her first role in a TV ad, later appearing in other commercials. She met Janet Jackson, and they often played together. This friendship would lead Fields to an appearance on “Good Times,” as a friend of Jackson’s character.

Shortly after that first quick appearance, Fields was hired for a new spin-off television show, in part because she could roller skate. The show wasn’t a hit with audiences at first, but NBC had faith in “The Facts of Life.”

“Going through puberty on television was not fun,” Fields said, but she “handled” things. It helped that her mother kept her grounded; finding a church and connecting with God at age 14 also made a difference.

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Those things helped Fields during her trials and lifted her higher when things were good. Friends helped her search for love, introducing her to men and offering support when love went wrong. Professionally, work came and went in large roles and small projects. Fields went to college, worked behind-thescenes in the film industry, fell in love and got married. When that relationship fell apart, she became depressed and stayed in bed for weeks, asking God if he “still got a plan, right?”

He did. It involved a new love, a family, more work, new focus and maturity.

“What I’ve come to terms with,” Fields said, “is that as long as I’m moving forward…. I’m winning at least half the battle.”

“Blessed Life” is a bit of fresh air in the star-biography genre.

While so many Hollywood memoirs get oversaturated with chummy shouts of Look-Who-IKnow, author Kim Fields’ ubiquitous (in star bios) name-dropping feels incidental and totally natural here. Fields (with Todd Gold) doesn’t seem to be reaching to impress anyone; rather, her anecdotes are breezy and fun and pretty matter-of-fact, but she’s also open to laying out the ups and downs of being a child-star who eventually grew up. Her story is told simply, but with just a little embellishment and a lot of gratitude.

Overall, we take the good, we take the bad, and we get a sense that the best aspects of Fields’ television characters reflected the best of her, too. Most happily, this peek at stardom isn’t heavy on the drama and for that, reading “Blessed Life” is something to be thankful for.

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SUNSTATE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION’S

Community Connection SunState Federal Credit Union has been serving our community for over 60 years. Since the beginning we’ve always found ways to support some of the area’s most amazing charitable organizations.

Check out our Facebook page for more information and get involved!

Operation: Cone THE COOLEST TRUCK IN TOWN This past summer, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office unveiled a new ice cream truck under Operation Cone, which stands for Community Outreach and Neighborhood Engagement.

“Our goal here, thanks to our great sponsors: SunState Federal Credit Union and The MARC Radio group – specifically Magic 101.3, is that we meet children right where they stand,” said Chris Sims, Sergeant Public Information Officer for the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.

He explained that the ice cream truck would go into the neighborhoods where there may not be the best perception of law enforcement, or where children may not have had the best experience with police officers — and begin to unveil the human side of the badge.

“We go out and we start with ice cream,” he said.

“Which leads into conversation and playing sports.”

The idea came about a year ago, after taking note of a similar initiative at the Boston Police Department.

“We decided this would be such a great idea for our community,” Sims said. “We have a way to interact with our community in an extraordinary way.”

Sims said that they want to give children a “face to the name” and that zone deputies would be participating in the operation as well. “These are the deputies they interact with everyday,” he said. “And even when a bad situation may occur and we have to come into the neighborhood and take some kind of 52 |

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NOMINATE YOUR FAVORITE CHARITY AS THE CHARITY OF THE MONTH AND GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO WIN $1000 FROM SUNSTATE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION! Visit the SSFCU Facebook page for more information. enforcement action, they’ll understand who we are and what we’re about. They’ll realize we have a job to do, and they’re still going to love us where we are — just as we love them where they are.”

Sims explained that the ice cream truck and everything else needed for operation Cone was a donation. None of the operation is funded by county taxpayers. “There is no fee, this is all donated by community partners,” Sims said.

This ice cream is free. We’re not coming out to collect any money from you, we simply want your participation and your conversation.”

“We always look for ways to involve the credit union in community projects like this. We just loved the idea of finding a way for our hard working law enforcement officers to build trust and rapport with members of our community.”

Deeply involved in our community, SunState Federal Credit Union and The MARC Radio Group worked together to provide the Sheriff’s office with the resources they needed to fund Operation Cone.

“We always look for ways to involve the credit union in community projects like this,” said Robert Hart, Vice President of Marketing for SunState Federal Credit Union. “We just loved the idea of finding a way for our hard working law enforcement officers to build trust and rapport with members of our community.

Without the partnership of Magic 101.3, we could never have pulled off donating an ice cream truck to ASO.” “To have kids do a coloring contest to design art for the truck was MARC Radio GM Dave Cobb’s idea,” Hart continued, “His concept was to introduce the idea to the kids and get them involved from the very beginning. Dave and I both couldn’t be happier that both of our organizations bought into the ice cream truck idea. From now on in Alachua County, instead of those blue lights necessarily meaning THE MAN is coming, they might just mean THE ICE CREAM MAN is coming…how cool is that?”

Since ice cream is a big hit for most children, Sims believes it will be a great way to open the door for starting conversations and building relationships.

We’re going to meet them wherever they are,” he said. And we’re going to show them the human side of the badge that is commonly worn by law enforcement.

Proudly serving our community and our members since 1957.

352-381-5200 www.sunstatefcu.org

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INTERVIEW >> CHRIS MARHEFKA

ALTAR’D

In Fitness & Health Q&A with Personal Trainer, Chris Marhefka Chris Marhefka graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in business administration, but soon left the finance world behind for a career in what made him happiest — fitness. After helping people manage their health through personal training and boot camps, Marhefka went on to found B3-Gym in Gainesville. He also started Eat the 80, a healthy meal delivery service, with his wife Carlee.

AGE: 32

INTERV IE W BY G A BRIELLE C A LI SE

HOMETOWN: Dallas, TX PROFESSION: Owner, B3 Gym Co-owner, Eat the 80 Co-host, Z Living Network’s “Altar’d” TIME IN GAINESVILLE: Graduated UF in 2008, has been here ever since 54 |

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M

arhefka’s latest project is co-hosting “Altar’d,” a reality television show on Z-Living that follows engaged couples during 90 days of separation as they work to shed serious pounds before reuniting at the altar on their wedding day.

In a recent interview, Marhefka gave us the scoop on his rising career, which includes the second season of “Altar’d” — set to air in February.

You were listed in Shape magazine as one of the 50 hottest male trainers in America in 2014. What sort of things were you doing at the time to gain that recognition?

CM: At the time, I was doing a lot of personal training. I was running some group fitness classes. I was also doing a lot of writing, submitting work to publications. It was actually my girlfriend at the time who nominated PHOTOGRAPHY: ERICKA WINTERROWD

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me, and I did not even know until after I’d won it… I still laugh about it. I think it was submitted as a joke, and then I ended up winning. And funny enough, that is actually how a casting company found me, which actually led to a TV show that I now host and am a trainer on. I talk a lot about how small moments in your life — small choices, small decisions, small opportunities — can really turn into some major things. My decision [to leave finance], which seemed like on a whim, led me to start what is now my career and my livelihood. I met my wife and then also it led to now a cable TV show.

How did the idea for the television show “Altar’d” first come about?

CM: I actually don’t know how the idea came about, but when they first called me... the casting director really sold me on the show honestly. I was extremely skeptical about it. I’m not really into watching TV myself, especially not some of those reality TV shows out there. At first I thought it was a scam.

Second, I thought, “Oh, it’s definitely not for me.” I didn’t want to be portrayed as this horrible trainer that was fat-shaming people — it was the worst of the worst that I was thinking in my mind, and I just didn’t want to be a part of that. But as soon as I got on the phone, during the first phone call they told me they wanted to do something that was the opposite of that, just really positive and uplifting and really celebrated people’s transformations. Also, I really loved the angle of doing it as a couple as well. My wife and I have a very strong bond in fitness and being active — that’s how we met, and we work out together to this day. I really connected with that message. On top of that, as I started to go through casting, I really just loved how passionate everyone was about the story they wanted to tell.

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How long does it typically take to film one episode, and how many episodes have you filmed so far?

CM: I actually just got back from L.A. about a month ago. We just finished shooting season two. Each season has been six episodes. It takes us about three months to shoot six episodes.

We shoot them all at the same time, so there’s six couples and we’re working with all of the men and women at the same time.

One day we might be with a couple, and the next day someone completely new. We’re shooting for three months on most days, five to six days a week.

What makes a couple a good fit to be on this television show?

CM: There were six couples every season, so far [sic] we’ve worked with 12 different couples. I can say jokingly if anyone has watched the show that not all of them were good fits to be on the show. Some of them realized how hard it would be, and some of them realized as they started making changes for their bodies and themselves and it started to have an effect on their relationship. It affected some of their relationships pretty seriously, and I think that’s a good lesson for a lot of people. I talk all the time how my wife and I run this blog Crush Couple, and we do these podcasts and stuff, and it’s all really all about creating strong individuals that foster a stronger relationship together. And I think that’s what happened to these couples. They weren’t strong. They didn’t know who they were themselves, and so their relationship was all they defined themselves until they started to discover themselves. The ones that were great on the show were just people that genuinely loved each other, and actually I would argue that they probably cared more about their partner than their own well being.

When Chris isn’t working, he enjoys being outdoors, doing CrossFit and cooking. He is also an Ironman Triathlete as well as a recreational pilot.

What are some of the biggest challenges that you help the couples on the show overcome?

CM: The premise of the show is that we, myself and my female co-host, “intervene” and when we meet the couple — we tell them that they’re going on this weightloss journey with us, but they’re actually separated from each other for 90 days.

That by far was the biggest challenge, the fact that most of these people wake up every day, saw their spouse or their partner every day, and they were a huge part of their support system. More practically, the nutrition piece was certainly a challenge.

A lot of people were disconnected with what it means to truly eat healthy. Just the idea of eating real food and not too much.

Do you think keeping the bride and groom apart for 90 days helps or hinders them in achieving their weight-loss goals?

What are some weight-loss tips for readers who want to see results? Is there any wisdom you’ve learned that you can pass along?

CM: That’s the million dollar question [laughs]. I think it depends. Some people do really well with having a support system, while other people use it to find excuses or reasons not to do certain things. They get comfortable. I think it really depends on the individual. We had some people that were able to show it as an opportunity for the first time in their lives to just focus on themselves. … That for them was exactly what they needed.

While other people, they really struggled without that other half of themselves that was now missing.

CM: My first just general principle, and I talk about this on the show all the time, is start small. By start small, I mean if you’re gong to be sitting all day and you’re going to be sitting for five hours watching TV, don’t have your expectation be I’m going to run five miles, or even I’m going to spend one hour a day in the gym. Walk around one block. Then go to two. Set these really manageable expectations of yourself, because people greatly overestimate how much they do in the day, and they underestimate how much they can accomplish in a year. If someone just stuck JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018

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INTERVIEW >> CHRIS MARHEFKA

to a very small habit, for 365 days, they would probably be a completely new person at the end of that year. The simplest way to describe nutrition without getting into politics is eat real food — avoid processed food and anything that comes in a bag or a box. So eat real food and not too much. With most people, their portion size is too big. A lot of people aren’t eating enough fruits and vegetables and food that comes from the earth. Lastly, get outside more and do some fun things with people you love. One of the most exciting parts about being healthy and fit is being able to live life. As you’re going through any weight-loss journey or health journey, make sure to enjoy yourself and celebrate the small successes. Do it with other people that are supportive, that aren’t going to bring you down or sabotage you. Try to find a community, or an accountability partner, that will set you up for success.

What can viewers expect to see in Season 2 when it airs in February?

CM: Definitely some drama [laughs] and ironically, it’s not manufactured drama at all. It’s just real people’s lives and real people’s problems. I think viewers are going to see stories that they can relate to, they’re going to see real people going through honest challenges, and then they’re going to see some feel-good moments. It’s obviously also a wedding show, so you’ll get to see some awesome weddings.

You’ll definitely see quite a bit of tears, both the happy and the sad kind.

Your goal is to help a million people become healthier. What else do you have planned in the future to keep inspiring people to get healthy?

CM: Eat the 80 now delivers to all over the state of Florida, and soon it’ll be going all over the southeast — that’s going to help us reach a lot of people. The newest thing now is I’m working with gym owners in the fitness industry on how to run better businesses that are relationship-based, that are in the business of helping people. By doing that, I find that I’m able to kind of share my vision and share my values with people that are then influencing another hundred or five hundred or thousand people. It kind of grows that way.

Is there anything else that you’d like readers to know?

CM: At the very core of everything that we talked about, if this resonates with any of the readers, I want them to reach out to me. If they’re stuck and they need help, I’m here to help anyone who wants it.

To learn more about “Altar’d,” visit www.zlivingtv.com.

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INSPIRATION >> TEN WAYS TO BENEFIT OTHERS

INSPIR ATION STATION

10 Ways to Inspire W RIT TE N BY C A MERON COBB

Inspiring someone is one of the most rewarding ways to leave a legacy, and you don’t have to be super wealthy or wellknown to do so. Inspiration is all about how your actions can promote a positive change in people. Whether that be one or one hundred – every difference makes a difference. Here are some simple ways to inspire the world around you.

“Correction does much, but encouragement does more.”

— JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE

1. BE ENCOURAGING A message of encouragement can go a long way, and there’s always something going on in another’s life at any given moment – whether that be a little league game for a child, a job interview for a friend, a family member preparing for a major surgery, and everything in between. Make it a habit to note dates and times of events for those in your life, and when it’s a day or two in advance, you can wish them the best of luck or let them know they’re in your thoughts. Don’t be afraid to extend this to strangers! Jot down a few words of encouragement on some Post-it notes and stick them in various public places. You’d be amazed at what a small surprise of support can do for someone you don’t even know. Need inspiration for your inspirational messages? Check out sites that have prewritten notes for sale, like mystickyquotes.com, to get the ideas flowing!

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INSPIRATION >> TEN WAYS TO BENEFIT OTHERS

“Compliments cost nothing, yet many pay dearly for them.”

— THOMAS FULLER

2. BE COMPLIMENTARY. Envious of the woman’s stylish hair-do in front of you in the grocery store check-out lane? See someone walking down the street with an awesome shirt of your favorite band? Tell them! Too often, people shy away from the idea of giving and receiving compliments, especially with strangers. But if you enjoy something about someone else, why not tell them? Being the reason behind another person’s smile thanks to a whole-hearted compliment is one of the simplest ways to make a difference in not only their day, but your day as well. Keep this in mind when others compliment you – instead of being quick to dismiss their words, recognize that someone took the time to say something positive about you. All it takes is an acknowledgement of that appreciation (and that doesn’t mean you have to fire back the first flattering statement you can think of to pay them back – a simple “thank you” does just the trick). The more you step outside of your comfort zone, the easier it gets!

“Knowledge increases by sharing, but not by saving.” — KAMARI AKA LYRIKAL 3. BE INFORMATIVE. While everyone learns from his or her own personal mistakes, think about what an impact it might have to let someone know something valuable from a similar experience you’ve had. Who knows? They may even have some insight on the matter that helps you as well. If you have a helpful hint, bit of advice or any kind of essential information that you genuinely feel would better someone’s life, tell them! Sharing what you know isn’t the same as being a know-it-all. Even if they choose to go a different direction than the path your advice would lead them down, it doesn’t do any harm to offer your words of wisdom.

“Be patient and understanding. Life is too short to be vengeful or malicious.”

— PHILLIPS BROOKS

4. BE COMPASSIONATE. There’s probably a million other things you’d rather do than sit on hold with a company’s customer service trying to resolve whatever issue has gone wrong (unless you’re just a fan of jazzy hold music). It can be easy to lose your patience, but regardless of how frustrating the situation may be, do your best to stay calm, cool and collected. Not only will this lead to a more positive experience on both sides of any issue, but you never

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“The art of conversation is the art of hearing as well as of being heard.” — WILLIAM HAZLITT 5. BE ATTENTIVE. Realize there’s a difference between “listening” and “hearing” – you can probably recall a time or two where talking with someone has shown you that difference. No matter who the person or what the topic, if they were avoiding eye contact, playing on their phone, and/or offering minimal acknowledgement, chances are it made you feel like what you had to say wasn’t important. A conversation is nothing without all parties engaged. With that in mind, lead by example and pay the same respect to everyone you talk to. Minimizing distractions, asking meaningful questions, and really listening instead of just worrying about what you’re going to say next are a few easy ways to become a better conversationalist, according to forbes.com.

“Keep every promise you make, and only make promises you can keep.” — ANTHONY HITT

INSPIRATION >> TEN WAYS TO BENEFIT OTHERS

know what the other person is going through. Patience and understanding can go a long way, especially in a world where it’s much too uncommon. If you feel yourself starting to snap, focus on taking deep, mindful breaths. This action helps to put you in a more relaxed state while decreasing your blood pressure and heart rate, according to livestrong.com.

6. BE COMMITTAL. Saying “yes” to everything is exhausting. Even with the best of intentions, remember it’s an impossible task to make everyone happy, and many times you’ll find the more you try, the less you’re able to. If you say you’re going to do something, mean it from the very moment you commit. If you can’t or have no interest, say so. You’ll feel so much better saying “no” (politely, of course) upfront than scrambling last minute to come up with an excuse.

Getting yourself in the routine of sticking to promises will not only promote your own happiness, but you’ll find that others appreciate you being honest and giving your all in what you do.

“For it is in giving that we receive.”

— SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI

7. BE GIVING. Even if you already have a go-to nonprofit that you give to on a regular basis, spreading the word can be just as significant (if not more) of a contribution as money. Find something your passionate about and be an advocate for the organization. There’s

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a lot more to fundraising than bake sales and car washes, for instance, you can request for friends and family to donate to your favorite organization in lieu of birthday gifts, or take advantage of social media and share a virtual campaign to your personal pages (sites like rally.org and fundly.com walk you through the process for an easy start). Not only will this help that specific charity, but it’ll remind others of all the good they can be doing in the world.

“When you are living the best version of yourself, you inspire others to live the best versions of themselves.”

— STEVE MARABOLI

“Without an open-minded mind, you can never be a great success.”

— MARTHA STEWART

8. BE OPEN-MINDED. Your beliefs and opinions are what makes you... well, you. But just as every person changes and grows overtime, so can thoughts and ideas. If you show others you’re willing to listen to what they have to say without being judgmental, hurling allegations, or writing off what they have to say as “wrong” because it goes against what you believe, you’ll have more of an opportunity to learn yourself. People will also likely be much more receptive to what you have to say if you extend the same courtesy to others. While you certainly don’t have to agree with everyone (what a boring world that would be!), be mindful and respectful of the fact that sometimes the opinions of others aren’t going to align with your own.

“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.”

— WILLIE NELSON

“Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out.”

— FRANK A. CLARK

9. BE POSITIVE. A permanent state of forced happiness may probably get a bit nauseating for you and everyone around you, but even on your worst days, try to limit any negativity from projecting publicly. This doesn’t mean you should ignore whatever you’re going through, but just be aware of how you treat others no matter what you may be going through. Have people close to you to rely on and talk things through, and don’t be afraid to reach out for professional help if you notice the negativity sticking around. Lastly, don’t let your bad vibes get the best of you, as making someone else miserable won’t lessen that of your own struggles.

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10. BE GENEROUS. Generosity doesn’t take a gigantic gesture, and what may seem like a small act of kindness to you might be huge to the person on the receiving end. Picking up drive-thru lunch? Buy a stranger’s meal. Driving through a toll booth and have extra change? Cover the car behind you. Paying it forward has a domino effect (according to nbcnews.com, a Starbucks in St. Petersburg had a pay-it-forward chain of 378 customers in merely 11 hours!). The more you keep it going, the more likely it is to stay that way.

Inspiration comes in numerous forms, and it only takes a small amount of effort to make a phenomenal impact in the world.

Be inspiring.

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The act of smiling is often an automatic reaction for people. We are taught as babies that smiling is a sign of happiness, approval and is connected with all sorts of positive emotions. What you may not know is that smiling is also connected with self-esteem and confidence. Of course, feeling comfortable smiling is a big reason why you want to smile at all, and proper dental care can play an important role in your level of comfort.

Dr. Adel and his dedicated staff have been helping people in Alachua and the surrounding counties find comfort, confidence and health through his state-of-the-art dental practice for over 28 years. Dr. Adel treats patients like family and is committed to using the newest technology available and the highest quality materials in the areas of general, reconstructive and cosmetic dentistry.

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ARTIST PROFILE >> FILIPE VALLE COSTA

GATOR GUMPTION

A UF Grad’s Road to Hollywood W RIT TE N BY ERICK A WINTER ROW D P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y J S Q U A R E D P H OTO

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ou may have seen Filipe Valle Costa grace your television screen over the past couple of years on shows such as “Blue Bloods” and “Gotham.”

However, it’s his recent portrayal as Pedro Nava on FX’s “Snowfall” that has truly become his big break. In a recent phone interview, Valle Costa retraced his steps all the way from his hometown in Portugal to Gainesville and then finally Hollywood – where shooting for the second season of his hit television show is currently underway. His journey to the states is one of great gumption and inspiration, proving that if you dare to dream – that dream just might become a reality.

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his parents that this was the path he wished to take in life. “They said, ‘Okay! But you better go to the United States,’” he said.

Valle Costa had played competitive tennis for many years, and his family encouraged him to apply for an athletic scholarship. It seems one talent helped facilitate the education of another, as Valle Costa did indeed land a scholarship to play tennis in Lamoni, Iowa. There, he studied acting at Graceland University while on a student visa.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre, he would make his way to Gainesville where he earned his Master of Fine Arts in Acting. In his first year of grad school he applied for the Diversity Visa Lottery; a program that aims to diversify the immigrant population in the United States. Valle Costa said about 55 million people apply to the lottery and only 50,000 get the green card each year.

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it was very easy for me to believe that it was serendipitous,” Valle Costa said. “And yes there is a reason I am here – so keep going!”

It was upon his arrival in the city that he quickly began to realize just how underrepresented the voices of his homeland were in America. “When I was in Iowa and Florida, I thought that I couldn’t find Portuguese plays because I was in those places,” Valle Costa said. “So when I first arrived in New York City and went to the main drama book shop there, I was really eager to find some Portuguese plays. They didn’t have a single one.”

He said he started to think about other young Portuguese actors who would be arriving in New York City also yearning for a place to call their artistic home. “They should have a Portuguese theatre company to go to,” he said. “I thought, ‘why don’t I start it? I could do that.’”

a time when people do a lot of talking about building walls. I see Saudade Theatre as an opportunity to build a bridge for people.”

The theatre company had its first full production in August of “The Constitution.” The play was set during very troubled political times in Portugal. “Four actors are invited by the government to write a new constitution. They are put in a gym for six days to write it,” Valle Costa explained of the play.

He said there was so much universality in the themes of the story that mirrors the Portuguese experience to what is happening right now with the current political climate in America. “As soon as we read it, we knew we had to do it because it has such a positive message,” he said. “It gives you some hope and some reason to believe that there is a way we can all work together and not be divided.”

It was also in New York that he self-taped for a project that would eventually become the big break every actor hopes for:

“So when I first arrived in New York City and went to the main drama book shop there, I was really eager to find some Portuguese plays.

They didn’t have a single one.”

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ARTIST PROFILE >> FILIPE VALLE COSTA

was set before actually receiving the green card. This was the green light Valle Costa was waiting for in order to take his next big step — to the Big Apple. “As soon as I got [the Diversity Lottery]

This was the spark that ignited the inspiration behind Saudade Theatre, a company Valle Costa launched in 2015. With the mission to develop original work grounded in the Portuguese experience as well as translating Portuguese playwrights, the theatre company also produces these plays.

“We are fully aware that there is a lot of work being done in Portugal and it is very good work, but it doesn’t get translated,” Valle Costa said. “I wanted to do that. I wanted to start translating plays, bringing them to New York and American theatre to make it part of the conversation.”

Valle Costa said when he first came to America, people would often ask him if there were cars in Portugal. “I was like, ‘what do you mean? Of course we have cars,’” he said with a laugh. “We’re a European country.” He explained that it’s not ignorance on anyone’s part, there’s just a lack of discussion about Portugal.

“This theatre company has been a part of my journey as a Portuguese immigrant in this country,” he said. “I think we are in

Although he never heard back after first applying, he wasn’t deterred for too long. Valle Costa remained steadfast in his goal and applied again the following year. He got it!

From there, he said it was about a year-long process of working alongside an immigration attorney to make sure everything

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FX’s “Snowfall” – set against the infancy of the Los Angeles crack-cocaine epidemic in 1983. Valle Costa plays Pedro Nava, the cocky, heir apparent son of the head of the drug cartel. Valle Costa explained that when he first auditioned for the role, he just had two scenes, so he didn’t know much about the full episode or the character. “The journey for me and what was so amazing was to go audition for it with a perception of what the character may be,” he said. “And then embracing how it all evolves throughout the course of the season.”

One of the biggest challenges Valle Costa faced when he first started the project was the difference between a performance for television versus theatre. “[In theatre] if things don’t go well one day, you go back the day after and try it again. In television and film, you do your two or three takes and the day after it’s gone and out in the universe forever for people to see,” he said.

“I had to learn to embrace the immediacy of shooting an episode and letting it go right away. It’s sort of beautiful that way.”

When he looks back on his time in Gainesville he remembers the influence each professor had on not only his craft, but also his life.

“Every time I succeed or every time I fail I go back to them in my heart, I go back to them in my mind,” Valle Costa said.

“And I think, ‘what would they say in this moment, and what would they demand from me in this moment?’ These people become part of your blood, and that’s so beautiful.”

He said that being Portuguese, he comes from a society that really believes in the presence of masters in your life – people that can really take you under their wing and teach you about life. “Once I arrived at UF, I felt a little bit overwhelmed by how many of those people I now had in my life,” he said.

Other fond memories of the swamp include many shows at the Hippodrome Theatre, where he presently remains a company member. “When I walk into that theatre I feel home,” Valle Costa said. “This is a place where I was able to explore everything that I was learning in my master’s program, and to be able to go there and put that into practice was just so valuable.”

One of his favorite shows to think back on at the Hipp is “A Christmas Carol.” And Valle Costa recounted what that production meant to him during the holidays, especially being so far away from his own family. “I remember walking through that building and seeing the Christmas tree and feeling like every time I was a part of that production — I was part of a family,” he said.

Now residing in Los Angeles, Valle Costa hasn’t forgotten the days when he could only dream of a place called Hollywood while watching Spielberg and Scorsese films in his small Portuguese village. In fact, when asked about dream projects he’d love to work on one day – epic sagas such as “Harry Potter” or “Game of Thrones” are top examples on his list.

“I remember growing up watching ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Jurassic Park,’” Valle Costa said. “Being in Portugal, those things seemed so magical and so very far away. I’d definitely love to embrace a project like one of those. Who wouldn’t?”

And, indeed, maybe some day he will.

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Valle Costa plays Pedro Nava, the cocky, heir apparent son of the head of the drug cartel on the FX series, “Snowfall.”

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CULTURE >> FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

EXHIBIT A

THE FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY LOOKS TO THE FUTURE

A Museum of Life STORY A N D PHOTOGR A PH Y BY STEPH STR ICK L A N D

T

he Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2017 with the help of numerous events and exhibits, including the “Tree of Life” exhibit created by artist Naziha Mestaoui. The museum will continue hosting events and new exhibits throughout 2018.

The “Tree of Life” was meant to demonstrate the interconnectedness of every living species through common genotypes.

“Humans are interconnected with every living organism,” Mestaoui said.

The piece used digital storytelling to connect humans with other living beings through a touchscreen that measured heart rate. The mechanism also used interactive photography to visually include participants on the tree.

Mestaoui has traveled globally sharing her work, and her art has been featured in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, among many other locations.

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She said her time in Gainesville was made special by the team of scientists she worked with to construct the “Tree of Life.”

Mestaoui claimed that her purpose with the piece was to “unite two notions that usually stand in opposition,” while living out her passion for both science and art.

Every detail of the tree was taken into account throughout its creation — for example, the music that echoed in the background of the event was carefully curated using a pattern found in the genome common to every living organism.

“The music evolved as the species did,” Mestaoui said. For instance, when small bacterial organisms were shown, the music became quiet and simple, but when plants were featured, the music altered dramatically into a dense and complex rhythm.

The purpose of the music was to provide individuals another medium to connect with the artwork. Mestaoui wanted to demonstrate that “art can be felt.”

A variety of exhibit experiences inside the museum bring the science behind butterflies to life.

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Mestaoui is also known for her work during the Paris Climate Change Agreement of 2016, where she projected “One Heart – One Tree.” This piece was renowned for its projection of “forests of light” on local monuments, including the Eiffel Tower.

Being from Paris, Mestaoui said she felt proud of her work, and she is passionate about producing pieces that are capable of invoking change in the relationship between humans and the natural world.

Mestaoui is considered to be an avantgarde artist through her unique use of artistic and architectural skills in the making of digital art. Additionally, she is the inventor of realtime 3-D Video Mapping, a form of interactive art that uses technology to physically connect its viewers with the piece. All of her work possesses the underlying theme of connecting humanity with nature.

Mestaoui said she wants her art to create a “call to action” that encourages individuals to become aware of humanity’s connection to the natural world. Mestaoui seeks to create hope in the face of environmental degradation. “Each of us can be part of the solution,” Mestaoui said.

Inspiration for artwork can be found anywhere, she said. “There is so much inspiration in every tree, animal and person.”

University of Florida President Kent Fuchs attended the event and was the first to test out the interactive artwork.

Fuchs believes that events like this serve as an inspiration to the community. “It’s incredible that we have a premiere of this world class artist,” he said.

In addition to the digital artwork, the event included a short-animated film “Tree Tender,” which was shown inside of the FLMNH throughout the evening.

“Tree Tender” was a narrative that connected all humans to other species by using quirky characters that encouraged viewers to become tenders to the “Tree of Life.”

The “Tree of Life” was unveiled as a part of the “One Tree, One Life” series, which served as a segue into the museum’s “Rare, Beautiful and Fascinating” exhibit extending

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CULTURE >> FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

According to their website, the Florida Museum of Natural History strives to fulfill their mission of understanding, preserving and interpreting Florida’s biological diversity and cultural heritage.

through Jan. 7. This will be the final event of the museum’s 100year anniversary celebration.

“Rare, Beautiful and Fascinating” is meant to document changes in biodiversity and historical artifacts to tell the stories behind each of the items featured in the exhibit.

“These records of life on Earth become even more vital as we face global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss,” according to the FLMNH. The message of “Rare, Beautiful and Fascinating” is strikingly similar to what Mestaoui conveyed within her “Tree of Life.”

Both of these exhibits attempt to create a call to action on behalf of the natural world by showing the beauty within it.

Despite this exhibit being the final installment of the yearlong celebration of the FLMNH, the museum still has big plans for 2018 to continue inspiring visitors.

The first exhibit to be launched this year will be “The Scoop on Poop,” which is meant to educate the Gainesville area on the importance of excrement from a biological standpoint.

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“Poop is a scientific puzzle that provides important biological evidence about animals and how they live,” according to the FLMNH. The exhibit will also feature interactive aspects that will allow visitors to hear an animal’s digestive system at work, examine samples and view 3-D models throughout their time in the exhibit.

“The Scoop on Poop” exhibit will be featured in the museum from Jan. 27 through May 6 and is welcome to all ages.

The FLMNH will also be hosting events centered on community participation, such as “Collectors Day” on Jan. 20, where the museum will be displaying various collections of items from the community.

The event is calling for any and all collectors to submit an application by Jan. 13 for a chance to be featured in the event.

Applications are available on the FLMNH website or at the front desk of the museum.

Microscopes, toy cars or even a collection of potato mashers are welcome and encouraged at the event. “Collectors Day” is

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meant to display individuality from the community by engaging collectors and curious minds to take a look into unique collections housed in the Gainesville area.

Additionally, on Feb. 10, the museum will be hosting its second-annual “Florida Museum Watch Your Step! 5k.” The cost is $20 for adults during the early registration period, which ends Jan. 23, and thereafter prices increase by $5.

Registration can be found on the museum’s website. A long-sleeved t-shirt and free entry into “The Scoop on Poop” exhibit are included in the cost.

People of all ages are invited to participate in the events and exhibits hosted by the museum, as they seek to inspire and unite the Gainesville community.

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INSPIRATION >> FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS

PICK HAPPINESS

Lillian of the Lilies Finding Inspiration in Floral Arranging S TORY A N D PH OTOG R A PH Y BY JOR DA N A LB R IG HT

L

illian Dompe has always been obsessed with plants and flowers. Her grandmothers often recount stories of walks with her, how after minutes her young hands would be full of flowers, weeds and foliage. Amidst schooling and different jobs, flowers are still a constant source of peace for her. By experiencing peace through an undeniable passion, Lillian finds happiness. “When I arrange flowers, I get into a zone and lose track of time,” she said. “Every time I’m around plants, I’m in my happy place.”

Before meeting Lillian, I was a fresh-cut arrangement skeptic. Sure, arrangements are pretty, but why buy them to give to others if they just die? Lillian’s philosophy altered my perspective. A floral arrangement is unique, ever changing over a finite amount of time, and just like a live musical performance and life itself, are best experienced in the moment. The fact that they are only enjoyable for a short period of time makes them all the more beautiful.

“Flowers are truly about being present: stopping a moment to enjoy what is in front of you, what nature has produced, and what someone has crafted to bring you joy. Flower arrangements don’t last indefinitely, and watching the cycle towards decay makes the enjoyment that much more urgent, because now is all we have,” Lillian writes on her website for Hallwood Floral Studio, which she started in June of 2017.

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“Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it comes and sits softly on your shoulder.”

— J. RICHARD LESSOR

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In reflection, it makes sense why we choose to give floral arrangements to congratulate and console, because in both instances it’s important to remember that the present doesn’t last forever.

Abraham Lincoln has been credited as saying that “An Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words, ‘And this too, shall pass away.’ How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride!

How consoling in the depths of affliction!” Flowers offer this reminder, too.

Lillian lives her floral philosophy. Although she enjoys and is fulfilled by her office job that earns her a living, she comes home to do what she loves — tending plants and arranging. She states that we only have one life to live, so why not do what we love?

“It’s scary to put yourself out there,” she said.

“My creations are very personal, but when I see someone’s face light up after giving them what I’ve created, I’m filled with happiness.”

There are endless ways to create and enjoy arrangements. Through her business, Lillian specializes in arrangements for events and businesses.

She said she started Hallwood Floral Studio as a tribute to the women in her life who understood the love and importance of floral beauty.

“All of the inspirational women on both sides of my family, going back to a great-grandmother, have or had a gift with plants,” Lillian said with a smile. “I’ve always seen nature as beauty surrounding me.”

A Gainesville native, Lillian feels as though she has been spoiled. The lush landscape of North Central Florida boasts a variety of wildflowers, trees and weeds. And according to arborday.org, Gainesville has had the Tree City USA status for 34 consecutive years. Lillian loves using local flora to create her organic arrangements.

In our tech-filled world today it’s easy to get into the habit of walking with our heads down, staring into the screen of devices with headphones in. In fact, plant blindness is a phenomena defined as the inability to see or notice the plants in one’s own environment, leading to the inability to recognize the importance of plants in the biosphere and in human affairs. Make sure to look up once in a while and take in the beauty of the plants and flowers around you.

Who knows, you may even be inspired to make some floral arrangements of your own.

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“My creations are very personal, but when I see someone’s face light up after giving them what I’ve created, I’m filled with happiness.”

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TIP! Always clip stems at an angle and immediately place in water. Also, remove any leaves that will fall below waterline — these rot faster, which means the arrangement will fade sooner.

Lillian’s steps for creating your own floral arrangement from a grocery store bunch!

STEP 1: GATHER MATERIALS • Choose a vase (be sure to wash with soapy water first). A wide-mouth vase allows flowers to fall naturally.

• Plant clippers / scissors • Water • Grocery store bouquet • Foliage (I bought eucalyptus, but you can clip greenery from your yard!)

STEP 2: ORGANIZE INGREDIENTS • Unwrap bunch and organize by ingredient.

• Typically, grocery bunches are created with 3 types of blooms: fluffy filler flowers, textured/movement flowers, and big local flowers.

• I organize them in these categories.

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STEP 3: CREATE A BASE THIS ARRANGEMENT USES EUCALYPTUS & GREEN MUMS

• Add water to a vase of your choice.

• Clip foliage to hang over the rim of the vase.

• For this arrangement, I chose to have the left side foliage drip over the edge, and the right side to swoop upwards.

• Green mums act as a base: clip one to rest on the rim of the vase, the other to be a step higher and tucked behind first one.

STEP 4: FILLER FLOWERS THIS ARRANGEMENT USES LIGHT & DARK PURPLE MUMS

• Clip filler flowers to rest closely among the foliage, continuing to hide the rim of the vase.

• Mimic the lines created by the foliage. In this arrangement I mimicked the swoop on

the right side with a few taller mums, and the same on the left side with the green mums.

STEP 5: TEXTURE/ MOVEMENT FLOWERS THIS ARRANGEMENT USES ALSTOEMERIA & UNOPENED LILIES

• Tuck flowers into front, and then again mimic the lines already created by the foliage: left side a little above the mums, and then right side swooping out more dramatically.

STEP 6: FOCAL FLOWERS THIS ARRANGEMENT USES ROSES *NOTE: I DID NOT USE ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS FROM THE BOUQUET, SIMPLY BECAUSE OF TEXTURE/COLOR PREFERENCE – FEEL FREE TO EXPERIMENT. HAPPY FLOWERING!

• Clip one rose to rest on right-side rim, then the other to be a step above the first, again mimicking the right-side swoop.

INSPIRATION >> FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS

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COLUMN

CRYSTAL HENRY’S

Naked Salsa THE GREAT BALANCING ACT

CRYSTAL HENRY IS A FREELANCE WRITER AND COLUMNIST BORN AND RAISED IN WEST TEXAS. SHE RECEIVED HER B.S. IN JOURNALISM IN 2006 FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA. SHE IS IN LOVE WITH THE FLORIDA LANDSCAPE. ces03k@gmail.com

EACH NEW YEAR BRINGS NEW BEGINNINGS. FOR SOME, IT’S A NEW DIET. FOR OTHERS, IT’S SAVING MONEY. FOR ME, IT’S WORKING ON MY BALANCE.

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bout a year ago, I was dipping my pinky toe back into the working world. I had quit the fulltime job club to stay home with my babies eight years prior, and although I freelanced during those years, I wasn’t in the full-time grind. And I missed it.

Sure, while I stayed home I could go to Target in the middle of the day if I wanted to. I could work in my pajama pants. I got to see my babies take their first steps and say their first words. I was lucky as hell, and it was all pretty magical. But there was always this little part of me that yearned to be back in the hustle and bustle. It’s hard to admit you’re not totally fulfilled being a stay-at-home mom because it sounds like you don’t appreciate your kids, but that’s just not the case.

The world of the mother is a strange place.

If you work full-time, then you don’t love your kids enough because someone else is raising them. And if you stay-at-home, then you don’t love them enough because that single income situation often means they don’t have the latest and greatest of anything. There’s really no winning, so I just did my best. Which actually could just be a parenting book in itself. Chapter One: Do Your best. The End. 84 |

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When my oldest was about 2, I started window shopping for careers. I thought I’d go back part-time while she was in preschool. Right around the time that I found a gig I thought I’d like, I also found a second line on a pregnancy test.

With the arrival of my second baby, I recommitted to staying at home for a few more years. And I really gave it my all. I did library story time. I soaked up every last delicious snuggle and snotty nose. I relished the late mornings, where we woke up after 9 a.m. and didn’t get dressed all day.

Then last January when my baby was 4, and I knew kindergarten would leave me with oodles of time, I started to scratch that itch to go back to work. One day I mentioned to a neighbor that I was starting to look.

Not one week later the universe heard my request, and that same neighbor told me her sister-in-law’s company was hiring. It was a boutique public relations firm, and the owner hired me on the spot.

My first day at the firm, I took a photo from the office and posted it to social media labeled #dreamjob.

And it really was. We did PR for restaurants around the city, which meant my job was to eat delicious food and write about it. I went to swanky parties, and I got to meet some of the most powerful people in the city. I worked in an incredibly upscale part of town, and my lunches sometimes came in courses. It was incredibly fulfilling. Until I got home at 9:30 p.m. and realized I’d missed bedtime again.

I’ve always loved to work, and I’m a great employee because

I always pour myself into my job. Before I had kids, I threw myself into my work. After I had kids, I made them my work. But now that I had both a career and a family, I was really struggling to balance the two.

My boss was a single mom who was hell-bent on women having it all. She saw me struggling to balance, so she told me to work from home as much as I wanted and to go ahead with the three vacations we had planned. I really was living the dream. But with an increasingly large client list, I found myself unable to keep up with the demands of the office without coming in. It wasn’t that I wasn’t allowed to balance work and family; I just wasn’t able to balance that much work with my family.

One night, I came home with my face buried in my phone trying to catch up on some of the emails I’d missed on my drive home. I barely looked up during dinner, and I was finishing some last-minute posts as I got the kids in their pajamas.

Finally, my youngest daughter touched my cheek and said, “I miss you Mom.” My heart shattered. As much freedom as I was given, there are still only so many hours in the day. In order to do my job well, I’d missed field trips, reading days and bed times. In the hustle and bustle of a huge client roster, I realized I really missed being with my kids.

My boss had given me all the tools I needed, and my husband had jumped in to seamlessly fill the gaps. But I was still missing out, and I realized these moments with my kids were flying by.

So at the end of October, I had the “it’s not you, it’s me” breakup conversation with my boss. I put in my two weeks notice, and I ventured out on my own. I was absolutely terrified, but within a week I had my first client. And I’m able to build my roster slowly enough that today I spent the entire day volunteering at school without any repercussions at work.

I’ve gained so much respect for parents who are struggling to balance their career and family, or the parents who are struggling to find fulfillment in their stay-at-home roles. I think no matter what balance looks like to each of us, we can all refer back to Chapter One of my new parenting book: Do Your Best. The End.

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PHOTOGRAPHY: TOM WALLACE

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN FAREWELL >> TOM PETTY

Among the Wildflowers W R I T T E N B Y H AY L I Z U C C O L A

The last time Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played in Gainesville was on September 21, 2006 in a packed-to-capacity O’Dome. “What can I say? It’s so nice to be here. I really feel like I’ve come home.”

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s the crowd roared with elation, Petty said, “Everywhere I look around here, there’s a lot of memories.” After he finished each song that night, Petty stretched his hands out to the side, closed his eyes, leaned back and absorbed the cheers from the audience, as if their passion helped keep him standing. Leading up to that night, the 34th Street Wall was painted with “Welcome Home,” greetings as a tribute to Petty and the Heartbreakers who hadn’t played in their hometown since 1993.

Today, that same wall is painted with a message of grief from the sudden loss of Tom Petty – the local musician who gained a worldwide audience and left behind a legacy that will never be forgotten.

Southern Accents Tom Petty was born on October 20, 1950 to Katherine “Kitty” Avery and Earl Petty. He grew up on Northeast 6th Terrace just off of 16th Avenue with his younger brother, Bruce, nearby family and a handful of close friends.

“We actually grew up right next door to each other and grew up in the same neighborhood and got into all sorts of antics,” Petty’s cousin Sherriff Sadie Darnell said.

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Keith Harben (above, from left to right) and Tom Petty; and Tom Leadon and Randall Marsh of Mudcrutch in Atlanta on June 2, 2016.

Petty and Harben’s football team photo (top right) during their time at Howard Bishop School in Gainesville.

Petty (right) with his signature hat being greeted by reporters after landing at the Gainesville airport.

“We would go to his house and hang out in his bedroom with his brother and play... Blind Man’s Bluff, where one of the kids gets blindfolded – it’s like Marco Polo but you’re in your bedroom and you try to find each other and [it’s] just complete chaos,” Darnell recalled of her childhood with Petty, who she refers to as Tommy, never Tom. “He was definitely a ham...He really enjoyed just having fun in life, but he was a prankster,” she said.

Darnell could offer endless anecdotes of the trouble Petty would get into, whether it was on family vacations or during his time working at a funeral home.

“He would hide out after hours and get into an empty casket and wait until the cleaning crew would come in and do the (knock, knock, knock),” she laughed.

Keith Harben’s office is like a time capsule filled with photos and mementos of his childhood with Petty. The two met when they were around five years old and became lifelong friends. They joined the Boy Scouts and the football team together, watched local bands and DJs play on Friday nights at Teen Time, and even got their driver’s licenses around the same time.

“He never could drive,” Harben grinned as he remembered the time Petty backed his car into Lake Alice while trying to impress a girl.

Harben, and anyone else who was close with Petty, can pinpoint the instant he became infatuated with music; and it all began with Elvis.

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Runnin’ Down a Dream “Tommy was so struck by Elvis and, you know, the adoration of all the fans, and then he just got so caught up in music. It consumed him,” Darnell said. “Tommy at Christmas parties would tell us that he was gonna be a rock star. He was gonna be famous.”

He made a trade with Harben for a rack of Elvis 45s, and music became an instrumental part of Petty’s life.

“One day I went over there and he said ‘Keith, I’ve written a song,’” Harben said. “So we sat down on his bedroom floor, and he played the song and he could barely play guitar. It was kind of a showing of things to come.”

Petty started out playing at school dances with The Sundowners at Howard Bishop School. As he got older, he joined The Epics with Tom Leadon, whose brother Bernie founded the Eagles.

After high school, The Epics went their separate ways and Petty became part of Mudcrutch. The group would play cover songs and occasionally an original track at local venues like Dub’s, according to the documentary “Runnin’ Down a Dream.” They continued to bring the excitement of rock ‘n’ roll to Gainesville by starting a festival that garnered so much attention Petty knew they had to expand their musical presence. Petty’s idea was to break out of Gainesville and head to California with the hope of making a record. And in 1974 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was born.

With the release of their first album, the Heartbreakers saw most of their success in England. It wasn’t until their third album, “Damn the Torpedoes,” that they became recognized PHOTOGRAPHY: PROVIDED BY KEITH HARBEN

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PHOTO BY HAYLI ZUCCOLA

We’ve lost someone that has helped shape our memories, defined moments in time, and said things for us that we don’t have the words to say.

The 34th Street Wall (left) is painted to honor Tom Petty and his life in Gainesville.

worldwide. Dozens of radio hits and iconic music videos followed, like the space-meets-western MTV hit “You Got Lucky” and the Mad Hatter tea party in “Don’t Come Around Here No More.”

“There was an album called Full Moon Fever, and I had a tape of it in my beat up Plymouth Horizon car. One day we skipped school, me and a couple of my friends, we had the tape and we put it in and we drove to St. Augustine from Gainesville and just every song on the album was just amazing,” Jason Hedges, lead singer and founding member of the Tom Petty tribute band Heavy Petty, said.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers welcomed new musicians and said goodbye to others over the band’s 40-year career. Petty spent time touring with other artists, created music with The 90 |

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Traveling Wilburys, and he even made a solo record or two.

But no matter what, music was always an essential part of his life — even until the very end.

In September of 2017, Petty finished up a lengthy tour to celebrate Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 40-year anniversary.

However, on Oct. 2, Petty suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away at the age of 66.

You and I Will Meet Again When the news of his death was confirmed, the city of Gainesville mourned Petty’s unforeseen loss. A portion of the 34th Street Wall became a symbol of devotion. Heavy Petty performed a tribute on what would have been Petty’s 67th birthday, which attracted over 3,000 guests from as far north as New Hampshire.

People shared their photos and fond memories of Petty through social media, tributes through his Sirius XM station — Tom Petty Radio, or on his Hollywood Walk of Fame Star. Whether they knew Petty personally or just felt a strong connection to his music, the world mourned the loss of someone who despite being famous was just a regular, down-to-earth guy who enjoyed eating Frosted Flakes and drinking a Coca-Cola before he put on a show for thousands of fans.

“Behind the genius was a very kind, caring, generous person that loved his family — his daughters, his wife and family and loved dogs... but I was really proud of him.

Not only for the music side of it, but so proud of him for the kind of person he was – so good, such a good guy,” Harben said.

Darnell said she is so very proud of her cousin for everything he accomplished in life. “He truly, truly loved life and loved every moment of what he was doing and it’s so tragic that it was cut so short, but it’s not up to us — it’s a lesson to try to live as fully as he did...”

Darnell said. “If you set your mind to something in life, you can do it. ...We’re all very proud of him for having that independence of thought, and that will to be able to make a difference in his life and live life the way he wanted to. He chose it and he lived it.”

Although Petty called California home for the latter part of his life, his roots remained in Gainesville. And the essence of his hometown seemed to be infused in his songs, either in the lyrics themselves or in the subtle southern drawl in his voice.

Despite leaving the Sunshine State behind and heading for something brighter only the West Coast could offer him, Petty left memories of his life all over town, whether that be in the places he went or with the people he befriended over the years, and he will never be forgotten.

To close out his final Gainesville performance at the O’Connell Center over a decade ago, Petty played “American Girl” – the same single he ended with during his last concert at the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 25, 2017.

Before he left, he walked to the edge of the stage and waved goodbye to his fans and to the city that gave him his start.

“We love you so much, I hope you had a great time,” he said.

“Until we meet again.”

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MEDICINE >> UF HEALTH

NEW UF HEALTH HEART & VASCULAR AND NEUROMEDICINE HOSPITALS

Heart and Souls S T O R Y A N D P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y S AVA N N A H A U S T I N

With a snip of a ribbon, UF Health representatives officially welcomed the new Heart & Vascular Hospital and Neuromedicine Hospital to the Gainesville community on the morning of November 2.

The $425-million, two-in-one hospital located at 1505 SW Archer Road will undergo a few weeks of finishing touches and terminal cleaning and sanitizing, with patients available to be seen beginning Dec. 11, said Rossana Passaniti, UF Health media relations coordinator.

Plans for the new hospital began in 2013 when it became clear that UF Health would need additional space to meet growing needs, said UF Health president David Guzick in a press release.

“With enthusiastic support of our hospital board, we made the commitment to build two new hospitals devoted to patients 92 |

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with heart and vascular disease, and to those with neurology and neurosurgical conditions,” Guzick said in a press release.

The 521,104-square-foot hospital features 216 patient rooms, 20 operating rooms and 85 clinical exam and procedure rooms, Brad Pollitt, vice president for facilities of UF Health Shands, said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Three years ago, mock-up patient rooms were created in a warehouse to be tested out and toured by over 100 UF Health Shands staff members in order to gain feedback, Pollitt said during the ceremony.

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MEDICINE >> UF HEALTH

The hospital intentionally used a natural-colored palette with nature-themed decor. Accommodations in ICU patient rooms (shown below) include private restrooms, recessed family space with convertible furniture, a flat-screen television and built-in dialysis equipment.

Now, each patient room includes wall-to-wall windows with natural light, space, and furniture designed for families to visit. An adjacent parking garage with 600 spots and free valet parking will also be provided for guests and patients to use, according to Passaniti.

“We really want to make this the hospital where, at the very least, they won’t have to stress about parking and being completely enclosed,” Passaniti said.

Of the 216 rooms designed for patients, 120 are specifically for heart and vascular patients, and 96 are neuromedicine rooms, according to Passaniti.

The hospital also has an operating room with an intraoperative MRI, where patients receiving neurosurgical procedures can easily get an MRI without having to travel far, Passaniti said.

Visitors to the hospital can also take advantage of an open-air terrace located on the third floor that connects the new building to the third floor of the UF Health Shands cancer hospital, Passaniti said.

The terrace will have outdoor and indoor seating and will provide remote telemetry monitoring — a heart function tracking system — so that patients can experience the green space, too, according to the UF Health website.

On Nov. 3, the hospital hosted an open house for faculty and staff.

UF Health Shands gastroenterology and endoscopy volunteer Helena Rivera attended and got an all-access tour of five of the six floors of the new facility.

“It was fantastic — it was really, really awesome,” the senior business administration student said. “[They] definitely designed it with the patient in mind. It looked like every detail was [given] thought about how to make it more comfortable for the patient, and just as convenient and accessible as possible.”

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INSPIRATION >> VISION BOARDS

VISUALIZE

See it to Belive it A Guide to Vision Boarding S TORY A N D PHOTOG R A PHY BY S TE PH S TRICKL A N D

FIND YOUR PURPOSE The most important aspect to consider prior to creating a vision board is understanding the purpose behind it and what you hope to achieve with its creation. Though taking these steps require self-reflection, it also allows yourself to become inspired by the future.

While vision boarding requires its participants to look into the future, it isn’t a concrete plan with dates or numbers. Instead, consider ideas that develop you ethically or spiritually in personal or professional spheres.

In the beginning stages of creating your vision board, consider what makes you the happiest. Think of ways to maximize these portions of your life, while minimizing portions that drain this happiness.

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display how you want to feel, and often times that includes elements that already exist within your life.

Vision boards may include photos of loved ones, ticket stubs or souvenirs from a special trip. These elements of the vision board may have taken place in the past, but they still serve as a reminder to spend more time with family, go to your favorite shows or plan more vacation time.

Finding your purpose is a unique process, and while the core elements of vision boards are important, each board is meant to represent individuality — no two vision boards are meant to be the same.

THE PSYCHOLOGY Visualization boards have recently gained popularity in response to authors, athletes and

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psychologists promoting the effectiveness of visualization, if done correctly.

In her popular novel “The Secret,” Rhonda Byrne shares a personal account of how visualization led to her own successes and claimed that those who discovered this ‘secret’ went on to become some of the greatest individuals in human history, such as Galileo and Abraham Lincoln.

Byrne was able to change the course of her life through the use of vision boards and visualization, and she encourages readers to pursue a similar commitment to their future.

Christopher Clarey of The New York Times reported that Canadian bobsledder Lyndon Rush was among numerous Olympic athletes to utilize visualization and achieve tangible success in the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Additionally, four-time Olympic discus champion Al Oerter and tennis-star Billie Jean King used visualization techniques throughout their professional careers in the 1960s, according to reports.

AJ Adams of Psychology Today supports the findings of Byrne and Clarey.

Adams reported that “mental practices are almost as effective as physical practices,” and he encourages individual to pursue a combination of both elements.

According to an experiment conducted by the University of California, creating an image for your future can only be effective if you are imagining the path to achieve success rather than success itself.

The experiment used three groups to test the visualization theory. The first group visualized scoring high on an exam, the second visualized how they were going to study for the exam and the third group imagined nothing.

“Students visualizing studying prepared better, studied more, scored higher grades, and were less stressed,” according to Psychology Today in response to this experiment.

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GET CREATIVE Your vision board should capture your thought process in visual form. For some, this means a messy and colorful display, whereas others may have a clean cut and minimalistic approach.

Stray from including material goods on your vision board, and instead flip through your favorite magazine, newspaper or book and cut out elements that creatively inspire you. For example, a photo of a beautiful landscape or motivational quote could generate more inspiration than just a photo of a new car, according to this theory.

Vision boards are not only meant to serve as an aid to generate positivity in life. They can also serve to uplift you when experiencing a lack of motivation or creativity. Be on the lookout for photos, quotes and items that generate happiness and represent personal growth when designing your board.

Including quirky or unique elements in your vision board is essential. And once completed, your vision board should represent all aspects of your life.

For some, photos of their favorite healthy foods will encourage them to live a healthy lifestyle. Others may gravitate toward photos of suitcases or planes, reminding them to travel often.

Essentially, your finished project should include all items that hold meaning to you, even if it seems haphazard or confusing to others.

Also, making your vision board visually pleasing will make you more apt to proudly display it. Keep in mind elements such as color coordination or sizing can be important in making an effective vision board.

There are numerous guidebooks, such as “The Complete Guide to Vision Boards” by Christine Kane, that are dedicated to creating a visually appealing and effective vision board.

Once completed, be sure to find a home for your vision board that is clearly visible to encourage you to accomplish your goals.

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From Mother Hen

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MOTHER HEN IS PROUD TO BE A “BABY BOOMER” RAISED ON A FARM POPULATED BY DOGS, CATS, CHICKENS, DUCKS, GEESE, HORSES AND COWS. THE WISDOM SHE GAINED WHILE GROWING UP IN THE COUNTRY CAN’T BE FOUND IN BOOKS. YOU CAN CONTACT MOTHER HEN AT motherhenfarmtales@gmail.com.

GROWING UP IN THE COUNTRY DURING THE 1950S IN A SMALL COTTAGE IN THE TIMBER WAS QUITE A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE FROM THE WAY CHILDREN ARE RAISED TODAY.

C

oupled with that the fact that I was an only child and seldom had any playmates in such a remote area, you may begin to understand what made me quite different from the average child today. My playmates were the animals and pets on our property. I learned to be kind to our animals and realize they needed food and water just like we do. I also was content to amuse myself with reading, drawing pictures, and other quiet pursuits. Mother used to tell me, “You must learn to be content with yourself.”

My mom was my best friend, I would say. She was a stay-at-home mother, as most mothers were back in those days. Before I started school in first grade (no kindergarten back then), she and I would always be together and whatever she was doing, I was involved in also. If shee was making bread, I had a bowl wl of batter to mix up, too. I was allowed to stir and get flour all over, with nothing but praise for the wonderful job I was doing.

When she decided to wallpaper the living room, I was right there brushing the paste on the paper and probably getting it all over myself as well. I remember making a wooden dollhouse “together” – of course she did the hard part. I just sanded the wood with sandpaper and picked out the colors we painted it.

It was baby blue with a pastel pink roof. She hand painted a tree on the side, complete with a bird nest in the tree and a kitten

curled up at the base of the tree trunk. I loved that dollhouse so much, because we made it together. I still have it today, and can’t imagine ever giving it away.

Today’s children have all sorts of “learning” toys, and even as preschoolers they are encouraged to play games on tablets.

We justify this by saying it is a high-tech world we live in, and the sooner they are comfortable with it, the better. There are videos on YouTube showing a one-year-old confused with a magazine that won’t turn the pages when she taps it like an iPad. It is an endearing video because the child is so precious, but also a little alarming when you realize how much society is changing.

Do mothers still read cha to their children anymore? Or is t it too t easy to ask Google to find an animated story complete with interactive buttons to w keep the little ones busy? Will ke they th grow up and remember time spent on their parent’s t lap l reading fairy tales about magic kingdoms and prinm cesses, and stories about good overcoming evil? Or will they remember video games where they blow up buildings, cause car crashes and shoot at random people in order to achieve a high score? It makes me shudder to think about it. sh The important thing is this: we must realize that our children are programmed to love and crave love in return from their parents. The time we spend with them when they are little is the time that bonds are formed and character is developed.

Granted, life is different now and working parents are doing the best they can. Just carve out some quality time to be with your children. Make some memories, tell some stories and sing together.

Maybe even build a dollhouse.

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SPECIAL RESTAURANT ADVERTISING SECTION. CALL

352-372-5468

FOR RATES AND INFORMATION.

Mancinis’s Tuscan Grill 3501 SW 2nd Ave., Gainesville, FL 32607 Monday - Thursday: 4pm – 10pm Friday: 4pm – 11pm Saturday: Noon – 11pm Sunday: Noon – 10pm

352-505-3595 www.mancinisgnv.com Classic steakhouse with Italian flair — Mancini’s is sure to become one of Gainesville’s premier restaurants and your new family tradition. With exquisite cuisine, exceptional service and an intimate atmosphere, Mancini’s Tuscan Grill caters to both the casual and sophisticated diner. Mancini’s features a unique selection of aged steaks, fresh fish and Italian specialties. A specialty cocktail list, several wine selections and a variety of specialty spirits display Mancini’s passion for the finer things in life. For your next event, we encourage you to give our catering a try. With perfection cooked into every bite, we are sure to give your guests the culinary experience that they will not soon forget. Private dining for small parties to corporate functions also available.

I Love NY Pizza 2645 SW 91st St, Haile Plantation (Market square) Gainesville Monday-Saturday 10:00am – 10:00pm Closed on Sundays

352-333-6185 www.ilnyp.com Pizzeria — We are a family owned, family friendly restaurant that serves authentic New York style pizza and delicious Italian entrees. We offer dine, take out, delivery and catering. We make everything fresh and with high quality ingredients from our dough, to our sauce, to each of our dishes — including classics such as Baked Ziti, Chicken or Veal Parmigiana, Chicken Marsala or Alfredo, and many more. If you are in the mood for pizza, you can “take and bake” at home or let us prepare you one of our specialty Brick oven pizzas. So many choices of specialty pizzas, try them all! Pizza by the slice is available for lunch or dinner! Let’s not forget about the Stromboli, Calzones, Salads, Desserts and yes, we have a kids menu too! What ever you choose, we guarantee to bring you all the unique flavors of New York City. Visit our website for a full menu and coupons.

Copper Monkey West 14209 W Newberry Road, Jonesville, FL 32669 Across from the Steeplechase Publix Sunday-Thursday 11:00am - 11:00pm Friday-Saturday 11:00am - 12:00am

352-363-6338 mycoppermonkey.com Restaurant & Pub — Now serving Breakfast on Saturdays & Sundays 8:30am - 10:45am. We are located in the heart of Jonesville, this All-American dining is convenient to all neighborhoods in Gainesville, Alachua, Newberry, High Springs and beyond. Our family-friendly dining features great food at a great price. Whether you come in for the “best burger in town” or try any one of our freshly made salads, pastas or sandwiches, you will not leave disappointed. Our USDA choice steaks, served with 2 sides, offer a great alternative for the perfect celebratory meal. We also feature a full-service bar with signature drinks and many options for your viewing pleasure.

Great food, great price, we’ll see you soon.

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Saboré 13005 SW 1st Road, Tioga, FL 32669 (Tioga Town Center) Tuesday - Friday: 5pm - 10pm • Saturday: 10am - 3pm (brunch), 5pm - 10pm (dinner) Sunday: 10am - 3pm (brunch), 5pm - 10pm (dinner) • Open Mondays for special events only

352-332-2727 www.saborerestaurant.com Fusion — Saboré [sa-bohr-ay] is a modern world-fusion restaurant featuring a variety of dishes inspired by dynamic cuisine from places like Europe, Asia, and South America.

Their recipe is simple: authentic global flavors, quality ingredients, expert craftsmanship, and exceptional service. Saboré offers customers a unique dining experience, shareable plates, delicious dishes, signature cocktails, desserts and now brunch that will keep you coming back for more. So let us surprise your palate with our global flair and exotic ingredients. Experiencing world cuisine this fresh usually requires a passport.

Dave’s New York Deli Tioga Town Center 12921 SW 1st Road, Newberry, FL Park Lane Plaza – 5750 SW 75th Court, Gainesville, FL Two Locations - Open 7 Days

352-333-0291 Tioga 352-363-6061 Pk Ln DavesNYDeli.com Authentic NY deli — Dave’s NewYork Deli Tioga Town Center and our newest location, Dave’s NY Deli South (near Haile Plantation), continues to be the place to go for authentic NY Deli food. Owner Dave Anders says “Nothing beats quality ingredients combined with a friendly staff. We bring in all of our Pastrami and Corned Beef from New York’s world famous Carnegie Deli. In addition we offer Nathan’s Hot Dogs, NY Kettle Boiled Bagels, Nova Salmon, Paninis, Wraps, Cubans, Hot & Cold Subs, Kids Menu and more.”Come out and enjoy Breakfast or Lunch at either of our two locations.

Adam’s Rib Co. 2109 NW 13th Street, Gainesville, Florida 32609 1515 SW 13th Street Gainesville, Florida 32608 Monday-Saturday 7:00am – 9:00pm Closed Sunday

352-373-8882 NW 352-727-4005 SW AdamsRibCo.com BBQ — Celebrating our 10 year Anniversary. Looking for the best BBQ in Gainesville?

Then look no further than Adam’s Rib Co. Adam’s is North Florida’s Premier Barbecue restaurant, serving North Florida’s finest bbq spare ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, slow smoked chicken and turkey. Choose from over 20 sauces – from honey sweet to habanero hot – and everything in between. Don’t forget dessert, like our scrumptious banana pudding and famous peach cobbler. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, Adam’s can cater any event locally. Give Adam a call for your next tailgate party 352-514-8692!

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352-372-5468

FOR RATES AND INFORMATION.

Gators Den Sports Grill 4200 NW 97th Blvd Gainesville, FL 32606 Sunday 11:00am — 11:00pm • Monday - Thursday 5:00pm — 11 :00pm Friday 5:00pm — 12 :00am • Saturday 11:00am — 12 :00am

352-331-4875 Gatorsdensportsgrill.com Bar & Grill— Offering a full bar, fantastic food and flat screen televisions to watch the big game. The Gators Den Sports Grill is the best spot to unwind, meet up and grab a bite to eat. Gators Den Sports Grill has your front row seat to every game. Besides showing all of the televised University of Florida football games, we also feature NFL Ticket, NBA League Pass and MLB Extra Innings, so you can root on your favorite team. You may come for the game, but you’ll stay for the food! Featuring a large selection of American favorites. Why not try a Southern staple, like our award-winning Mac and Cheese, Fried Pickles, Down Home Meatloaf. Enjoy game-day classics like Buffalo Wings, All-American Burgers or one of our Knockout Premium Steaks, cooked to perfection.

Pepperoni’s 19975 NW 244 Street, High Springs Mon -Thurs 11:00am — 9:00pm • Fri & Sat 11:00am — 10:00pm Sunday 12:00pm — 9:00pm

386-454-3858 Pizzeria — Since its establishment in 2000, Pepperoni’s Pizzeria has been serving up some of the best pizzas, calzones, entrees, wings, boneless wings and salads in town using Grande brand premium mozzarella and other top ingredients. We also have great lunch specials starting at only $4.99. All of our specialty pizzas are loaded with toppings.

Pepperoni’s is locally owned and operated and is proud to serve the High Springs Community and surrounding areas. We are located on U.S. Highway 441.

Flying Biscuit Café 4150 NW 16th Blvd., Gainesville, FL 32605 Located in the Fresh Market Center Monday-Friday 7:00am – 3:00pm • Saturday-Sunday 7:00am – 4:00pm

352-373-9500 www.flyingbiscuit.com Breakfast — The Flying Biscuit is out to reinvent breakfast in Gainesville! Maybe you’ve tried their soon-to-be-famous creamy, dreamy grits or their “moon dusted” breakfast potatoes, but did you know you can have them at anytime? With a unique open menu, all the items that appear are available throughout the day. With a variety of healthy and hearty dishes, The Flying Biscuit caters to a variety of tastes. With options ranging from the Smoked Salmon Scramble, the Bacon Cheddar Chicken Sandwich or the Tofu and Tater Salad, there’s something for everyone. Call us up to an hour before your expected arrival time to add your name to our call ahead seating list.

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Mi Apá Latin Café Gainesville – 114 SW 34th Street (352-376-7020) Alachua – 15634 US Highway 441 (386-418-0838) Both locations open every day 7:00am - 10:00pm

MiApaLatinCafe.com Cuban — Everyone knows Mi Apá has an amazing lunch and dinner menu, but we also have Gainesville’s best cup of coffee and a delicious, authentic selection of Cuban breakfast items. Enjoy a Cuban egg sandwich, Arroz a la Cubana, a stuffed arepa, and much more at either of our two locations in Gainesville and Alachua. Mi Apá Latin Café serves traditional Cuban breakfast prepared using only the freshest, most authentic ingredients. Have a seat in our casual dining area and enjoy the morning newspaper or order carryout on your way to work. Our Gainesville location even has a convenient drive-thru window. The best Cuban food north of Miami is always just minutes away!

Bev’s Burger Café 315 NE Santa Fe Blvd. • High Springs Monday - Saturday 7am-9pm

386-454-9434 Casual — If you’re looking for fresh, homemade food in High Springs, look no further than Bev’s Burger Cafe. Known for the best burgers in town and fast, friendly service you’re sure to leave satisfied. You may also want to try one of their BBQ dinner favorites such as sliced pork, smoked turkey, BBQ chicken, baby back ribs, and more. Stop on by with the kids on Monday nights for some magic & balloon animals with Magic Mike.

Every Tuesday pork sandwiches are $3.00 all day. Also, on Wednesday nights starting at 5pm sodas and their famous tea are only $1.00, and bottled beer only $1.50. Don’t forget Bev’s is open for breakfast, also, served from 7am to 10:45am. Come check out our newly renovated kitchen & dining room, and our new menu items including fried chicken!

Bangkok Square 6500 SW Archer Rd, Gainesville Lunch: Monday-Friday 11:00am-3:00pm • Saturday-Sunday 12:00pm-3:00pm Dinner: Sunday-Thursday 5:00pm-9:30pm • Friday-Saturday 5:00pm-10:00pm

352-375-4488 www.bangkoksquarefl.com Authentic Thai Cuisine — Thai cuisine, blending the best elements of the freshest foods. Thai herbs; garlic, basil, ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal root, chili and more, prepared with the finest blending of fish sauce, shrimp paste, and coconut milk. All of our meals are made to order and prepared on site. We specialize in vegetarian, vegan and gluten free orders. All of our foods can be prepared to your satisfaction with mild, medium, hot, or Thai hot, balanced to the four tastes: sweet, sour, salty, and slightly bitter. Meals can be prepared for take out and we cater to any event. We also have gift cards available. Save 10% off your next dining experience when a gift card is purchased.

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SPECIAL RESTAURANT ADVERTISING SECTION. CALL

352-372-5468

FOR RATES AND INFORMATION.

Piesanos Stone Fired Pizza (Archer Road) 5757 SW 75th St. — 352-371-8646 • (Millhopper Road) 5200 NW 43rd St. — 352-371-7437 (University) 1250 W University Ave. — 352-375-2337 • (Grand Oaks Plaza) 2575 SW 42nd St. Ocala — 352-351-6000

Mon-Thurs: 11am-10pm Fri-Sat: 11am-11pm Sun: 11am-10pm

www.piesanostogo.com Pizza, Pints & Pies — Piesanos is a locally owed and operated restaurant that is proud to use only the finest ingredients available, including Grande brand premium mozzarella. We are a full service dine in restaurant with an attached take out center and also offer catering. Our dough is made fresh daily and all of our pizzas are baked directly on the stone in our unique Granite Stone Fired Pizza Oven. We offer a great variety of Specialty pizzas, such as our Pizza Antico-(ultra thin crust- Fresh Mozzarella, mini cup & char pepperoni & fresh basil) Specialty Pastas, Calzones, Fresh soups and salads, classic italian entrees, and a great selection of craft beer. We also offer a gluten free menu. For full menu please visit PIESANOSTOGO.COM.

Gator’s Dockside 3842 W Newberry Rd #1A, Gainesville, FL 32607 Mon - Sun 11am - Midnight

352-338-4445 gatorsdockside.com family-friendly — Gator’s Dockside is a family-friendly, sports-themed restaurant that offers a fun atmosphere for everyone! We’re known for our big screen TVs, great food, and friendly service. Our signature wings are flavored with our tasty wing sauces that have made us famous, especially our award-winning Scooter sauce. We only use the freshest, highest quality ingredients in all our menu selections, including burgers, hearty sandwiches, made-from-scratch ribs, entree salads, and desserts. We also have some of the best meal deals in town, like all-you-can-eat wings on Mondays and Wednesdays, and 2-for-1 on select drafts, house wine, and liquors all day, everyday. We can’t wait to see you at Gator’s!

Pizza in the Hood 14212 NW 154th Avenue, Alachua, FL 32615 Tuesday – Thursday 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Friday & Saturday 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 a.m.

386-518-5656 Italian — Pizza in the Hood is a new and unique restaurant and pub in the City of Alachua. We use the highest quality ingredients imported from around the country, and fresh produce sourced locally when in season. All meals are made fresh with original Italian recipes. In addition to 16 New York style specialty pizzas, there are a variety of appetizers, salads, hot subs, burgers, pasta dishes, vegetarian entrees, and dessert. Customers have praised the chicken wings, with over 20 varieties, as the best in town. Our pub has icy cold imported and domestic beers and beer on tap. There are daily happy hour specials from 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. We deliver all around northern Alachua County.

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Napolatanos 606 NW 75th Street Gainesville, FL Tuesday - Thursday & Sunday 4:00pm-10:00pm Friday 4:00pm-1:00am • Saturday 4:00pm-11:00pm

352-332-6671 www.napolatanos.com ITALIAN — Napolatanos is the longest original owner operated restaurant in Gainesville. Nappys, the name the locals have given Napolatanos has the most extensive menu.

Whether you choose pizza, calzones, salad, burgers, sandwiches, pasta, seafood, steak dinners or the best chicken wings in town, Nappy’s uses only the freshest ingredients.

Visit on Tuesday for half price appetizers. Burgers & Brew Night on Wednesday and live music inside. Thursday is Pub night with Better than England’s Fish & Chips $7. Outside dining with live music, on the patio, on Sunday evenings. GRAB & GO family dinners feeds 4-6 adults, starting at $25.95. Choose from Ziti, Lasagna, Chicken Alfredo, Chicken Marsala and more!

World of Beer 140 SW 128th Street Tioga Town Center, Jonesville 32669 Open at 11am Everyday

352-727-4714 worldofbeer.com TAVERN FARE — At World of Beer, we have 40 craft beers on tap, over 500 in the cooler and now we have added a tasty tavern fare that’s crafted to go perfectly with any beer. Our menu offers a wide variety of choices including a giant pretzel with beer cheese dip, artisan sausage boards, flat breads, innovative sandwiches and burgers, soups, salads and so much more! Visit our web site for a full menu and event schedule.

Whether you’re a beer master or just beer curious, our insanely knowledgeable staff is here to guide you through every last pint, pour, and pairing. So c’mon. Let’s go. Because there’s no better place to go around the world, one sip at a time.

Brown’s Country Buffet 14423 NW US Hwy 441, Alachua, FL 32616 Monday-Friday 7:00am - 8:00pm Saturday 7:00am - 2:00pm Sunday 8:00am - 3:00pm

386-462-3000 brownscountrybuffet.net Casual — Country-style cooking at its finest, just like Grandma’s house! A buffet style restaurant, Brown’s Country Buffet is open seven days a week! Foods like fried chicken, grilled pork chops, real mashed potatoes, steamed cabbage, banana pudding and coconut pie, just to name a few, are served in a laid-back, relaxing environment. We offer AYCE fried shrimp on Friday nights from 4-8 along with whole catfish & ribs. In addition to their buffet, Brown’s also offers a full menu to choose from. Serving lunch and dinner daily and a breakfast buffet Friday-Sunday until 10:30am, you’re sure to leave satisfied, no matter when you go. So, when you’re in the mood for some good home cooking, Grandma’s style, visit Brown’s Country Buffet.

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We feel the best way to find and recognize local charities in our communities is by asking you!

The SunState Community Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves the communities in and around North Central Florida by promoting and facilitating philanthropy.

The Foundation was established to promote and provide charitable assistance that contributes towards the development, education and well-being of the communities, areas and residents of Alachua, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, and Levy Counties in Florida. The foundation’s initial goal is to administer and fully fund the award winning Facebook Charity-of-the-Month program. SunState Federal Credit Union started the program in 2013, but has turned over administration of the program to the foundation, with SunState Federal Credit Union acting only as a sponsor. This has been done in the belief that this path will ensure the program remains a strong and expanding community resource long into the future.

The SunState Community Foundation, Inc., provides donors/members opportunities to participate in the furtherance of the foundation’s goals in multiple ways. First, and foremost, the donors/members are providing funds to support the foundation’s charitable initiatives. Donors/members can also nominate groups for the Charity of the Month program, and then vote for the group of their choice. Donors/members are encouraged to participate and vote in the Charity of the Month program. Ultimately, the voters choose where foundation donations go as part of the infrastructure of the program.

SunState Community Foundation, Inc.

SPONSORSHIP L EVEL S AVAIL ABL E $

1,000 CHARITY OF THE MONTH SPONSOR

$

•

Recognized on all 4 Entercom Communication stations, 30 times (120 total); KTK, SKY, WRUF and ESPN.

•

Recognized on the Charity of the Month Facebook Contest page, KTK’s Facebook page and Our Town’s Facebook page.

•

Mentioned in the Charity of the Month page in Our Town Magazine.

•

•

•

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500 RANDOM CHARITY SPONSOR Recognized on 2 of Entercom Communications stations, 30 times (60 total); WRUF and ESPN Recognized on the Charity of the Month Facebook Contest page, KTK’s Facebook page and Our Town’s Facebook page.

Mentioned in the Charity of the Month page in Our Town Magazine.

$

300 NOMINATOR SPONSOR

•

Recognized on the Charity of the Month Facebook Contest page, KTK’s Facebook page and Our Town’s Facebook page.

•

Mentioned in the Charity of the Month page in Our Town Magazine.

$

100 RANDOM VOTER SPONSOR

•

Recognized on the Charity of the Month Facebook Contest page.

•

Mentioned in the Charity of the Month page in Our Town Magazine

MOST RECENT WINNING ORGANIZATIONS TO NOMINATE A CHARITY OF YOUR CHOICE OR TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE NOMINEES, VISIT:

www.facebook.com/SunStateFCU and click on “Charity of the Month”

OCTOBER WINNER

NOVEMBER WINNER

Basketball Cop Foundation

Project Makeover

The Basketball Cop Foundation’s mission is to connect law enforcement agencies across the country with the kids in their communities. This is accomplished primarily by supplying the agencies with sports equipment. The recipient agency will then in turn donate the equipment to groups of kids in their community through their patrol officers. Not only does the initial donation of the equipment open the door to new relationships, but it gives the patrol officers in those areas a place where they know they can interact with kids on a regular basis and continue to build on those relationships.

Other winners include Bobby White, who will win $300 for nominating them. The random charity is GiGi’s Playhouse Gainesville and they will receive $500. The random voter, Lilly Bell, will get $100.

Project Makeover was founded in 2008 by a few innovative and passionate students at the University of Florida devoted to bettering the low-income learning environment of Alachua County. Each year an elementary school in need is selected, and with the help of over 1,000 volunteers the organization will makeover the entire school in one weekend. Project Makeover will paint interactive murals, landscape, fulfill a dream project requested by the school and participate in a variety of other activities to help better the facility.

Other winners include Chelsea Carrasquillo, who will win $300 for nominating them. The random charity is Ronald McDonald House Charities of North Central Florida and they will receive $500. The random voter, Kelsey Starling, will get $100.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS >> CHARITY OF THE MONTH

CH A RIT Y OF THE MONTH WINNER S

A project of the SunState Community Foundation, Inc. Presented by SunState Federal Credit Union, Our Town Family of Magazines and Entercom Communications

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COMMU NIT Y C A LENDA R

J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8

Beatrice Coron - Master Artist Series

Friday, February 16, 7:30pm Beatrice Coron will be at the Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall.

Coron’s oeuvre includes illustration, book arts, fine art and public art. She cuts her characteristic silhouette designs in paper and Tyvek.

GAINESVILLE MUSIC ASSOCIATION PUBLIC SYMPOSIUM & WORKSHOP First Monday 6:30pm – 7:30pm

GAINESVILLE - Aurora Downtown, 109 SE 4th Ave. Join the music community for a workshop on a carefully developed aspect of different areas of the music business. These events begin with a presentation and workshop on a thoughtfully researched topic that our organization thinks will genuinely help the music community. www.gainesvillemusicassociation.com.

TAP DANCE WITH CHAYA Tuesdays Times Vary

GAINESVILLE - North Central Florida YMCA, Studio 2, 5201 NW 34th Blvd. Designed to demonstrate that creativity can be fun for everyone and make the community stronger and healthier! Open to the public, all are welcome.

6:00pm beginner and 7:00pm intermediate.

Class cards are 6/$74 or 10/$108. 352-358-5005.

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TACO TUESDAYS Tuesdays 4:00pm – 8:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Swamp Head Brewery, 3650 SW 42nd Ave. Swamp Head Brewery partners up with Gainesville icon burrito and taco company, Cilantro Tacos, to offer tacos each and every Tuesday! The tasting room will function as normal with brewery tours and all other goodies. info@swamphead.com.

BIRD WALK Wednesdays 8:30am

GAINESVILLE - Sweetwater Wetlands Park, 325 SW Williston Rd. Birding field. Trips will be led by volunteers from Alachua Audubon Society.

Walks are free, but park admission is $5 per car. www.alachuaaudubon.org.

WIND DOWN WEDNESDAY Wednesdays 7:00pm - 11:00pm

GAINESVILLE - 101 Downtown, 201 SW Second Ave. Enjoy live Jazz and great wine – Seasonal

wines are available for half price to give patrons the ability to find their perfect wine. $20 all-youcan-drink house wine. 352-283-8643.

ROCKEYS COMEDY BOOM Wednesdays 9:30pm – 11:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Rockeys Dueling Piano Bar, 112 S Main St. Local comedians open the show for a different nationally touring headliner each week. Doors open at 8:45pm and price is $5, with drink specials accompanying the show.

352-505-0042.

BIRDS AND BREW First Thursday 7:00pm – 8:00pm

GAINESVILLE - First Magnitude Brewery, 1220 SE Veitch St. Meet at the Brewery each month for a stroll to Depot Park to look for birds, and return to First Mag for a cold brew and good conversation. Birds and Brew is a monthly event meeting on the 1st Thursday evening. All birding skill levels are welcome; enthusiasm is what matters! www.alachuaaudubon.org.

GAINESVILLE HARMONY SHOW CHORUS Thursdays 7:00pm – 9:30pm

GAINESVILLE - Grace Presbyterian Church, 3146 NW 13th St. For all who are interested in learning and singing women’s Acapella barbershop harmony music. 352-318-1281.

ARTWALK GAINESVILLE Last Friday 7:00pm - 10:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Downtown. Artwalk is a free monthly self-guided tour that combines exciting visual art, live performance and events with many local galleries, eateries and businesses participating. www.artwalkgainesville.com.

LADY GAMERS Fridays 1:00pm

HIGH SPRINGS - New Century Woman’s Club, 40 NW 1st Ave. The Lady Gamers meet for fun, friendship and food. Everyone is invited.

Meet old friends and make some new ones.

386-454-9828.

GUIDED WALK First Saturday 10:00am – 12:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, 4700 SW 58th Dr. Come out for a guided tour of the Gardens the first Saturday of every month. Regular admission price for non-members and members are admitted free of charge.

352-372-4981.

MUSIC IN THE PARK Third Sunday 2:00pm – 4:00pm

HIGH SPRINGS - 120 NW 2nd Ave. A free concert featuring artists from all over North Florida.

Performances take place at locations in and around the James Paul Park area.

BACK TO WORK 50+ Thursday, Jan. 4 2:00pm – 4:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Santa Fe College, 3000 NW 83rd St. Building I, Room 49. Designed for the 50+ jobseeker, this free workshop introduces the 7 Smart Strategies needed to secure employment.

Learn about a resume that will pass the applicant tracking system, how to answer tough interview questions, networking, and more. sfcollege.edu/ wesi/ or 352-395-5184.

The Royale Jan. 12 – Feb. 11 GAINESVILLE - The Hippodrome State Theatre, 25 SE 2nd Place. Inspired by the real-life story of Jack Johnson, the first African-American world heavyweight champion, The Royale explores the life of the outsider in American culture. Set in 1905, deep in the midst of Jim Crow, meet charismatic African- American boxer Jay “The Sport” Jackson and his sister Nina, his greatest adversary and strongest motivation. “Extraordinarily efficient!” – The New York Times. “The play is a stylized, blazingly theatrical triumph that keeps audience members on the edge of their seats.” – Miami Herald. For tickets and more info: 352-375-4477.

RARE, BEAUTIFUL & FASCINATING: 100 YEARS @FLORIDAMUSEUM

a 26-foot-long humpback whale skeleton and a 3-D printer in action. www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/ exhibits/100-years.

Thru Jan. 7 Times vary

42ND ANNUAL CAMELLIA SHOW

GAINESVILLE - Florida Museum of Natural History, 3215 Hull Road. The Florida Museum marks its 100th anniversary as the state’s official natural history museum with a free exhibit highlighting objects from its collections! The “Rare, Beautiful & Fascinating” exhibit showcases some of the Museum’s most treasured objects and features scientists in a working lab, extinct species,

Jan. 6 - 7 Times vary

GAINESVILLE - Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, 4700 SW 58th Drive. The show features award-winning blooms from growers throughout the Southeastern United States. Unique camellia plants will be available for sale until all plants are sold. www.americancamellias.org.

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8TH ANNUAL FLORIDA EARTHSKILLS GATHERING Feb. 7 - 11 Times vary

HAWTHORNE - Little Orange Creek Nature Park, 24115 SE Hawthorne Rd. Learn skills practiced by ancient and contemporary people living closely with the earth as you participate in village life!

The village experience at the Florida Earthskills Gathering brings together skilled instructors, community elders, families, travelers, local farmers, musicians, and life-long students seeking to learn and share valuable skills. There are youth and teen programs at the same time as adult-focused workshops so that families can engage fully. Registration info: www.floridaearthskills.org.

BACK TO WORK 50+ Monday, Jan. 8 2:00pm – 4:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Santa Fe College, Downtown CIED, 530 W. University Ave. Designed for the 50+ jobseeker, this free workshop introduces the 7 Smart Strategies needed to secure employment. Learn about a resume that will pass the applicant tracking system, how to answer tough interview questions, networking, and more. sfcollege.edu/wesi/ or 352-395-5184.

BACK TO WORK 50+ Tuesday, Jan. 9 9:00am – 12:00pm

ALACHUA - Santa Fe College, Perry Center, 14180 NW 119th Terrace. Designed for the 50+ jobseeker, this free workshop introduces the 7 Smart Strategies needed to secure employment. Learn about a resume that will pass the applicant tracking system, how to answer tough interview questions, networking, and more. sfcollege.edu/wesi/ or 352-395-5184.

I LOVE A PIANO Jan. 11 – Feb. 4 Times vary

OCALA - Ocala Civic Theatre, 4337 E Silver Springs Blvd. It’s an all-American celebration of the marvelous music of legendary composer Irving Berlin as we follow the journey of a piano through several generations. This rousing revue features more than 60 of Berlin’s most beloved songs. Wonderfully entertaining, this musical tribute to the genius of Irving Berlin is a glorious good time. 352-236-2274.

NO ONE’S EASY DAUGHTER Sunday, Feb. 11 2:30pm - 4:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Millhopper Branch Library, 3145 NW 43rd St. Gainesville, 32606. Author and award-winning collegiate creative writing

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instructor, Mary Sue Koeppel will present how to collect and write personal stories of multiple individuals for one published collection during her talk to the Writers Alliance of Gainesville.

This meeting is free and open to anyone who is interested in the written word. 352-334-1272, writersalliance.org.

TEA AND CONVERSATIONS: REAL WOMEN EMPOWERING REAL WOMEN Saturday, Jan. 13 12:00pm – 5:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Ironwood Golf Course, 2100 NE 39th Ave. An intimate and inspiring event where women will leave empowered! Powerful speakers and spoken word that will strengthen bonds and unlock visions! This event will also feature spoken word and liturgical dance. 352-393-8500.

MUSIC IN THE PARK 2018 SEASON KICKOFF Saturday, Jan. 21 2:00pm - 4:00pm

HIGH SPRINGS - The High Springs Community Center & Museum, 120 NW 2nd Ave. Featuring Jacob Johnson (Guitar Virtuoso) and Elio Piedra & Friends (Award-Winning Latin Percussionist).

The event is free and open to the general public thanks to its sponsors: Visit Gainesville / Alachua County, the High Springs CRA and the City of High Springs. www.highspringsmusicinthepark.com.

PINK MARTINI Saturday, Jan. 20 7:30pm

GAINESVILLE - Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Road.

The self-described “little orchestra” tackles musical genre (classical, Latin, jazz) and language (English, French, Farsi, Armenian, Portuguese, Arabic, Turkish, and even Xhosa) with sophistication and playfulness. 352-392-2787.

CHAYAYOGA™ SIX-WEEK HATHA SERIES Thursdays, Jan. 25 – March 1 4:30pm – 5:45pm

GAINESVILLE - Facilities Administration Building at UF, 1281 Newell Drive. ChayaYoga™ synchronizes breathing and postures, integrating body, mind and energy, exploring the flow of energy and tension release, moving without pain, gentle to moderate, with Ayurvedic applications appropriate for all levels. Tuition: $50. www.

ChayaVeda.com or 352-358-5005.

CHAYAVEDA™ TRANSFORMATIVE WELLNESS PROGRAM Thursdays, Jan. 25 - March 1 6:00pm - 8:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Facilities Administration Building at UF, 1281 Newell Drive. The ChayaVeda™ Method is an immersion into Ayurvedic Health Coaching and the principles of Ayurvedic education and holistic living for self-healing, rejuvenation and longevity. Tuition: $165, includes handouts and Chaya’s Guided Relaxation/Yoga Nidra CD. www.ChayaVeda.com or 352-358-5005.

TGO PASSION AND POWER “TCHAIKOVSKY’S ROMANTIC 5TH” Friday, Jan. 26 7:30pm – 9:30pm

GAINESVILLE - Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall, 3000 NW 83rd St., E-127. The Gainesville Orchestra rings in the New Year with an evening of symphonic music on a grand scale. Enjoy Pëtr Ilich Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. One of the composer’s most popular works. Be prepared for “the untamed fury of Cossack charge.”

352-395-5296.

INTIMATE APPAREL Jan. 26 - Feb. 11 Times vary

GAINESVILLE - Actors’ Warehouse, 619 NE 1st St. The time is 1905, the place New York City, where Esther, a black seamstress, lives in a boarding house for women and sews intimate apparel for clients who range from wealthy white patrons to prostitutes. By way of a mutual acquaintance, she begins to receive beautiful letters from a lonesome Caribbean man named George who is working on the Panama Canal.

When George arrives in New York, however, he turns out not to be the man his letters painted him to be. Deeply wounded by the betrayal, but somehow unbroken, Esther returns to the boarding house determined to use her gifted hands and her sewing machine to refashion her dreams and make them anew from the whole cloth of her life’s experiences. 352-376-8561.

I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE Jan. 26 – Feb. 18 Times vary

GAINESVILLE - Gainesville Community Playhouse, 4039 NW 16th Blvd. The show traces the overall arc of relationships throughout the course of a life from the perils and pitfalls of the first date to marriage, children, and the twilight

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Ethan Bortnick Sunday, Feb. 4

3:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall, 3000 NW 83rd St., E-127. Ethan’s THE POWER OF MUSIC concerts are filled with surprises and talent that dazzle audiences and fill them with a sense of wonder and awe. People leave Ethan’s shows feeling elated, transformed, uplifted, and inspired, saying it was the best show they have ever been to, hands down. Audiences around the world have laughed, cried, sang, danced, and experienced some of their most exciting and memorable moments at Ethan’s shows. 352-395-5296.

years of life. Set in the modern world and told in a series of vignettes and songs, this musical comedy review uses song styles as varied as country-Western ditties, tangos and ballads.

Each number explores those secret thoughts anyone’s had about dating, romance, marriage, lovers, husbands, wives, and in-laws, but was afraid to admit. 352-376-4949.

SOUPER FUN SUNDAY

BLUE LAGOON AQUATIC CENTER GRAND OPENING Wednesday, Jan. 31 9:00am - 12:00pm

ALACHUA - Blue Lagoon Aquatic Center, 13585 NW 101st Drive, Ste 500. This free event will showcase the new facility with movies, snacks, free swimming and more. Come out and kick start the opening of a truly unique place.

386-518-6323.

Sunday, Jan. 28

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1:00pm – 3:30pm

ARSENIC & OLD LACE

GAINESVILLE - Saint Francis Catholic Academy Gymnasium, 4100 NW 115th Terrace. This soup tasting competition features more than 30 of Gainesville’s local restaurants and caterers. Local celebrity judges, along with more than 1,000 attendees will taste the delicious soups, and awards will be given out for Judges’ Choice (first, second and third place) People’s Choice and Best Decorated Table. souperfunsunday.com.

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Times vary

HIGH SPRINGS - High Springs Playhouse, 130 NE 1st Ave. Mortimer Brewster is living a happy life but his world is turned upside down when he realizes that his dear aunts have been poisoning lonely old men for years! When Mortimer’s maniacal brother, Jonathan, returns on the night that the aunts

were planning to bury the newest victim, Mortimer must rally to help his aunts and protect his fiancé — all while trying to keep his own sanity. 386-454-3525.

CHAYAVEDA™ AYURVEDA & YOGA CERTIFICATION PROGRAM Beginning Feb. 2 Times vary

GAINESVILLE - The Gainesville Retreat Center, 1551 SE 51 St. This offers serious Yoga students and Yoga teachers advanced training in Ayurvedically based yoga and focuses on the integration of Ayurvedic education for informing optimum yoga and yoga therapy, plus the science of self-healing. Three weekend module format: Module 1, Feb. 2-4; Module 2, Feb. 16 - 18; and Module 3, March 2 - 4. Tuition: $695, includes lunch, course manual and certificate. www.ChayaVeda.com or 352-358-5005.

FEB. 14, 2018 7:30 PM — at the — Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts

LOVE IS AT THE HEART OF THIS SHOW. A perfect Valentine’s night out for you and your loved ones.

Happy Valentine’s Day! SPONSORED BY DHARMA ENDOWMENT

February 14 @ 6 PM. Fackler Foyer at the Phillips Center Dine with your loved ones at a delicious dinner hosted by Sweetwater Catering and then see L’AMOUR on stage Tickets available at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Box Office: 352-392-ARTS and 800-905-ARTS and on-line at www.performingarts.ufl.edu.

Information at: dalive@bellsouth.net and dancealive.org

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WATCH YOUR STEP! 5K AT THE FLORIDA MUSEUM Saturday, Feb. 10 8:30am – 10:00am

GAINESVILLE - Florida Museum of Natural History, 3215 Hull Road. The race begins at 8:30 a.m. at the commuter lot in the UF Cultural Plaza on Hull Road and will be a combination of trails in the UF Natural Area Teaching Laboratory and campus roads. All participants will receive a finisher’s medal at the finish line! All ages are welcome. 352-846-2000.

BEATRICE CORON - FINE ARTS MASTER ARTIST SERIES Friday, Feb. 16 7:30pm - 10:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall, 3000 NW 83rd St., E-127. Coron’s oeuvre includes illustration, book arts, fine art and public art. She cuts her characteristic silhouette designs in paper and Tyvek. She also creates works in stone, glass, metal, rubber, stained glass and digital media. Her work has been purchased by major museum collections, such as the Metropolitan Museum, The Walker Art center and The Getty.

Her public art can be seen in subways, airport and sports facilities among others. 352-395-5296.

VEGFEST Saturday, Feb. 17 10:00am – 5:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Depot Park, 200 SE Depot Ave. Gainesville VegFest 2018 will feature informative exhibitors, vegan food vendors, animal rescue organizations and sanctuaries, speakers, food demos, music and more. Everyone is welcome! gainesvillevegfest.com.

FIVE POINTS OF LIFE RACE WEEKEND Feb. 17 – 18 Times vary

GAINESVILLE - UF Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute, 3450 Hull Road. Start/finish areas are located across the street from the UF Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute in the parking lot of the Phillips Center for Performing Arts on the University of Florida’s campus at Hull Road and SW 34th St. People of all fitness levels are encouraged to train for the Kids Marathon (1.2 miles), 5K (3.1 miles), Half Marathon (13.1 miles), Marathon and Marathon Relay (26.2 miles). Runners, donors or recipients of life-saving donations – blood, apheresis, bone marrow, cord blood, organ & tissue – are all encouraged to be a part of the Five Points of Life Race Weekend. www.fivepointsoflife.org.

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352Creates Sunday, Feb. 25

11:00am - 3:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Join Active Streets + 352Creates in downtown Gainesville. Enjoy free creative activites that will engage participants in a healthy, active lifestyle. Stay tuned for the final route! For more information: www.facebook.com/352Creates.

352Creates’ “Create in Community” event will be in partnership with the Active Streets Alliance’s fifth annual event. 352Creates promotes the idea that creativity benefits us as individuals and as communities & Active Streets Alliance builds community around and in our streets by promoting healthy, active lifestyles.

TGO MAJESTY OF THE SEA “DEBUSSY’S LA MAR”

9TH ANNUAL RACE THE TORTOISE 5K RUN

Friday, Feb. 23 7:30pm – 9:30pm

Saturday, March 3 Registration begins: 6:45 am, Race starts: 8 am

GAINESVILLE - Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall, 3000 NW 83rd St., E-127. The piece premiered in 1905 and was quickly associated with the Impressionist Movement in art.

Debussy suggests the majesty of the sea in three moods. Performed by The Gainesville Orchestra. 352-395-5296.

HIGH SPRINGS - O’Leno State Park, 410 SE O’Leno Park Rd. Come out and challenge yourself to Race the Tortoise! All levels of ability welcome. All proceeds go to support O’Leno State Park’s Nature Center creatures & exhibits.

Call Jim South at 386-454-0723 for more details, or visit: friendsofoleno.org.

S E N D C A L E N D A R S U B M I S S I O N S T O : 4 4 00 N W 3 6 T H A V E ., G A I N E S V I L L E , F L 3 26 06 or EVENTS@TOWERPUBLICATIONS.COM

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BAND B BA ND REVIEW

BRIAN “KRASH” KRUGER’S

Gate Crashing ON DECK FOR REVIEW: WAX WINGS, PORCH DOGS, COMPANY MAN BRIAN KRUGER IS A WRITER, MUSICIAN AND A GRADUATE OF THE UF COLLEGE OF LAW. HE HAS PLAYED IN SOME 17 OR SO LOCAL BANDS, PLAYING MOST EVERY GAINESVILLE VENUE FRIENDLY TO ORIGINAL MUSIC (AND SOME NOT SO FRIENDLY). bkrashpad@yahoo.com

DATE: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2017 VENUE: GREEN MAN FEST @ DEPOT PARK

Wax Wings’ self-description encapsulates their sound as “original confessional alt-country,” but with additional touches of “folk-punk, jazz, honky-tonk, and classical.” (For the uninitiated, folk-punk is in many ways indistinguishable reetings, live music aficionados! This installfrom traditional folk, but without any emphasis on covering/ ment finds us at Depot Park, off of Depot Ave., preserving traditional songs handed down, and instead focusing a few blocks south of downtown, just east of Main Street. on new original songs, often with lyrical subject matter that The park has walking trails and a broad sidewalk promenade strays from traditional tropes.) At least in my estimation of that arches along the northern edge of a large pond. Towards this particular performance, the alt-country influence was the eastern edge of this promenade is a large mobile stage unit, probably eclipsed by the Gypsy-Jazz element, but basically with a covered stage and an awning, that I’m guessing probably Wax Wings are a thing to themselves (which, of course, folds down to protect the stage area when it is not actually is a good thing) that you should hear and decide in use. The stage faces north so that the sound is about for yourself. projected into the Park, and a small hill in front The lyrical content is often wistful, even of the stage provides a natural amphitheater The stage bordering on melancholic, but also holds for the audience at musical events. faces north so that the a hint of often-subtle humor and never This warm and sunny Sunday aftersound is projected into the descending into the maudlin. Most of noon was the second day of an event Park, and a small hill in the solo work was jazz violin, but with called “Green Man Fest - Going Green an occasional guitar (played clean, In Gainesville.” According to the event front of the stage provides a without effects save a bit of reverb) organizers’ online postings, Green Man natural amphitheater bit, with a subtle hint of tremolo (after is a “craft fair with a focus on locally for the audience at all, it was a Stratocaster), or a break with made arts and crafts, vegetarian food venmusical events. violin, sometimes in tandem with cello, dors and Florida’s only seed to flame meat played pizzicato rather than bowed. The level producer/caterer.” This year also included “a of musicianship throughout the set was high. green transportation technology expo with elecIn the middle slot (of those I saw) were Porch Dogs, tric and hybrid cars, art bikes, scooters and bicycles.” from Winter Garden. This group, which more often specializes Art bikes were auctioned off later in the afternoon to benefit the in Cajun and zydeco music, has played with up to eight members Easy Rider Project, which describes itself as loaning “upcycled and included a full rhythm section, but for this event played as a bikes to artist[s] who create art bikes,” which then “compete duo, with a woman on mandolin (or perhaps mandocello) and a for cash prizes and awards in a contest.” A green/eco-friendly man singing as well as playing guitar and harmonica. They had a Tesla automobile was also on display over near the museum. backing rhythm track of drums and bass on a laptop connected Opening was Wax Wings, normally a quintet of female to the PA. In addition to the aforementioned Louisiana music (Chelsea Carnes) lead vocals and guitar (in other performances (which included the Cajun standard Bosco Stomp), their set I have seen, the guitar was replaced by banjo), and bois on included a Bob Dylan cover, and the standards “Amazing Grace” drums (Mike Dorsey), stand-up bass (Brian Turk), violin/ and “Georgia On My Mind” (the latter with a Willie Nelson-esque backing vox (Andrew Cook), and cello (John David Eriksen). vocal delivery) and, as closer, “Will The Circle Be Unbroken.”

For this performance there were no drums, as the drummer The final of the trio of bands I saw was Company Man, comwas unavailable due to a work scheduling conflict. The lead prised of boys Rob McGregor on guitar and harmonica, and Jason singer and bassist have also played together in Cicada Shell Hedges on dobro, and gal Jackie Leeper on stand-up bass. All three (previously reported on in this here column).

G

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KNOW WHAT’S BELOW. Call 811 before you dig to have underground utility lines located on your property.

Wax Wings

Porch Dogs

Company Man

trade off on lead vocals, on original songs in an alt- country/honky- tonk/old-timey vein.

Each of these performers has been in multiple Gainesville bands (McGregor currently in Gris Gris Boys, and the Throws; Leeper in alt-country/honk-tonk grrl group, The Ones To Blame; and Hedges fronting Tom Petty tribute band Heavy Petty).

As might be expected from the genre, the lyrical content includes love found and

lost, hardscrabble lives of working people (including the eponymous “Company Man”), and the drowning of sorrows. Despite the sometimes somber lyrics, though, the set was upbeat and rocking, propelled by the combination of musical talent, good humor and stagecraft of three consummate professionals.

A day of great weather and great music.

Now, go see some bands!

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AWARENESS >> 3-D MURAL

#METOO

Three

Dimensional Local Artist Raises Awareness, Brings Community Together with 3-D Mural S TORY A N D PHOTOG R A PHY BY BROOKE BA JG ROWIC Z

P

eople pass by the colorful mural on NE 1st Street in Downtown Gainesville every day. Some people bike by quickly.

Others press on the breaks in their car, stick their heads out the window and roll by slowly. Some walking by stop and stare at it to carefully examine every stroke of paint.

Regardless of how long one lingers in front of the mural created by Puerto Rican artist and landscape architect Daniel Vélez-Climent, only few understand its full meaning, which can only be revealed by wearing 3-D glasses.

The mural entitled “Shackles” depicts a woman’s face and chained hands positioned to the right of the well-known hashtag #MeToo. This hashtag, which came into prevalence in October, is a way for women

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who have been sexually assaulted or harassed to show others through social media that they’re not alone.

While Vélez-Climent designed the mural, it was also painted by the community.

“I never work for somebody, I work with people,” said the 41-year-old, who moved to Gainesville from Jacksonville six months ago.

Vélez-Climent eagerly invited those passing by to grab a paintbrush and add to the mural. Around 200 to 250 people – from children to seniors – contributed to the project. It allowed community members, regardless of their race, religion or political viewpoints, to come together and support a good cause, Vélez-Climent said.

While some Gainesville residents who stopped by didn’t know about the #MeToo hashtag, others shared their own stories of abuse.

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Vélez-Climent explains the meaning behind his mural.

Every color he chose has a different meaning intended to give the painting more significance.

“That was very important, because we helped them open up,” Vélez-Climent said. “Maybe they hadn’t told anybody, and then they saw a stranger trying to do work with them. Maybe it got them talking.”

Vélez-Climent began painting the mural alongside residents during the Gainesville Downtown Festival & Art Show on Nov. 11. The mural was completed four days later.

Every detail in the mural – from the color to the shapes – has a purpose, he said.

While 3-D paint is often used to create a wow-factor in art, Vélez-Climent used it to communicate a deeper meaning. The average passerby can’t see colors popping out of the figure in the mural, but those who wear 3-D glasses can. This represents the insecurities and internal scars abuse survivors have that aren’t always visible.

The woman depicted in Vélez-Climent’s 43rd mural has two different sides — one side represents the past, when someone is first assaulted, and the other represents the present, when someone is healing.

The right side of the woman’s face, representing the past, is swollen. Her eye is half-closed and her hand is in a shackle. The left side of her face, which represents a later step in the recovery

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“I hope this is at least one step forward to that change and support the survivors of this type of harassment need.” process, has more detail. Her eye is wide open; her shackled hand is held in a traditional boxer’s punching stance. This imagery shows how talking to someone can help those who have been assaulted move on to a point of change. They can be brave and fight back.

The shackles that bind the woman’s wrists – which is where the name of the mural came from – exist on both the past and present side of the woman’s figure. This is because although victims of assault can and do recover, the pain can still weigh them down.

Over time, Vélez-Climent imagines that the pain might get lighter for the woman. What is a shackle now for someone could become a necklace later through the process of forgiveness, he said.

The healing side of the woman also contains an abstract flower modeled after the Red Torch Ginger plant. This flower represents the early stages of growth someone who has been abused can experience after accepting what has happened, talking to people about it, and moving forward.

The colors in the mural also hold significance. The face of

the woman is prominently blue to represent a male-controlled society. Vélez-Climent chose this because he wanted to show where the woman’s disrespect came from.

The yellow used throughout the lower half of the painting symbolizes change and hope. It represents the woman receiving help, support from her family, and talking to others.

The gray color of the stripes is a mixture of the mural’s black frame and the white #MeToo to represent the hope that has begun in the woman’s life.

Vélez-Climent also put meaning into the background that frames the rectangle containing the woman. The shape of the rectangle is supposed to mimic that of a retro TV to show that gender inequality and sexual assault have been problems for a very long time.

The black frame represents the idea that this problem is hidden and often goes unseen. The #MeToo that pops out against the black is white to show that this hash tag has brought light to some of the gender inequality and assault problems in society.

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“Shackles” is located at 200 NE 1st Street in Gainesville.

While Vélez-Climent hopes all people are impacted by the mural in different ways, he specifically wanted the community to realize that when women have difficulty healing, it is often because of the way they were brought up as young girls.

“They’re raised into a way of thinking that they have to be submissive – they have to be for the house to be happy, to be whole, and these ideas are creating inner scars,” he said.

Vélez-Climent said he is concerned that women who were raised this way will find harassment normal because they’ve become used to the idea that they’re not in control of their lives.

This wasn’t the way he was raised.

He said he came from a feminist family and was taught that traditional gender roles don’t have to define a person. Because of this, Vélez-Climent has become passionate about gender equality. He has tried to break through social norms in his art by using pink in murals of men and boys, and blue in murals of women and girls.

Additionally, with a mom, two sisters, and many women from his studio in Puerto Rico who have their own stories that relate to #MeToo, he finds it important to support them.

“I hope this is at least one step forward to that change and support the survivors of this type of harassment need,” Vélez-Climent said of his mural. “It’s my way of saying, 122 |

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‘hey, it’s a women’s movement, but me as a man, I’m here to support you.’”

While “Shackles” was Vélez-Climent’s first mural in Gainesville, he has created many other socially-conscious murals in Puerto Rico that have supported causes such as anger management and the abolishment of violence. He believes more artists need to incorporate social initiatives into their art.

“I can design a pretty mural, but what we did here is bring a community together to start thinking and asking and identifying,” he said.

Even most of Vélez-Climent’s personal art is created to bring light to the issues he cares about. It’s a great talking point and can create real change in the community, he said.

Vélez-Climent said he hopes to add more murals to Gainesville’s landscape in the future in Midtown or other parts of downtown. Regardless of whether or not that will happen soon, he is happy with the work he’s completed.

“At least people can see this, enjoy it, respect it,” VélezCliment said. “All the urban art is part of the identity of the community. I like that my type of mural, my type of art is something that people have worked on – something that people have a relationship with.”

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INSPIRATION >> OUR TOWNIES

MY PEEPS

Hannah Sigman

EVERYONE’S GOT A STORY TO TELL

Our Townies STORY A N D PHOTOGR A PH Y BY STEPH STR ICK L A N D

Who inspires you?

Page Slone slouched against a metal chair as he soaked up the last few moments of his break from cooking at Dragonfly Sushi and Sake Company.

With a cigarette in hand, he shared his story as a student at Santa Fe College studying psychology, hoping to help those who struggle with anxiety and depression after battling with these issues himself. However, Slone did not let this hold him back. In fact, his chest rose and a smile spread across his face when he shared this information, because he was proud of all he had overcome.

Slone now finds inspiration in many things. “The people I’m around … seeing how they can be so good-hearted and the best they can be, inspires me to mimic that,” he said. He explained that he is most inspired by his roommates, who he confidently proclaimed to be upstanding individuals.

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He said his roommates also struggle with anxiety and depression, but the trio makes sure to look out for one another. “We all help each other,” Slone said with a smile.

Hannah Sigman was also smiling as she celebrated her 22nd birthday surrounded by her best friends while in a city close to her heart.

Despite currently living in Orlando, Sigman can hardly resist returning to Gainesville on a regular basis, where she spent her undergraduate career studying health education. Having just graduated in the spring of 2017, Sigman is preparing to begin nursing school in Miami, where she said she hopes to find an education that will bring her closer to the community.

“I really want to interact with the patients and make a difference,” she said. Sigman believes a life of nursing will allow her to live a life of purpose while helping others. She said she has had the dream of becoming a nurse for as long as she can remember.

Hannah’s twin sister, Tessa, has always supported her dreams

INSPIRATION >> OUR TOWNIES

Page Slone

Tiffany Williams

and never fails to encourage her to accomplish her goals.

Sigman is continually inspired by her twin and wished they could have been together celebrating their 22nd birthday. “She inspires me every day to be better, be stronger and do more.”

Tiffany Williams also wants to make a difference, and her job is centered around bringing hope and inspiration to those she feels society has left behind.

Williams was recently hired by the Department of Corrections in the Office of Probation and Parole after eight long years of working diligently to obtain this position. She specifically works to seek out job opportunities for offenders on probation.

“Growing up, I always felt that individuals that have been to jail and done their time have the hardest time getting back into society,” she said.

Williams said her biggest inspiration in life is her mother, who worked three jobs to help her pay for her education, which ultimately led to Williams obtaining a job she loves.

“She raised me by herself,” she said. “And she worked hard her entire life to make my dreams come true.”

Our Townies is a recurring article that poses a question to people at random who happen to be strolling along the streets of our town.

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HAPPINESS >> IMPORTANCE OF WORK BREAKS

POWER UP

Take a Break Boosting Productivity and Energy in Work Culture S TORY A ND PHOTOG R A PHY

BY JOR DA N A LB R IG HT

W

hen h he en I first fir fi rsst started star st a rt art te ed at at my my current office job, I read curre cu rr re en n nt to of ffiic ce e job ob, b, re re d about ab abou bo ou ut earning ut earn ea rn nin ng 15 5 minutes min inu inut uttes e of of break brrea b eak k time hours worked. ti ime ffor orr eevery o v ryy ffour ve our ou ur ho h hour our urs wo w ork rked ked. ed. I ha ed had d aalways al lwa ways assumed ways ass ssum sum med d that that haat the th he only onlyy appropriate on app pro opr p iaate types of breaks were for coffee or going out for a brief walk. types ty pes of breeak akss weere re forr cof offfeee r goi oing ngg outt for o bri rief wal alk k. But k.

But in in the tth he minority off nonnon-coffee drinkers, our hoping energy mino nori rity ri ty o n coff ffee e d ee riink nker ers, s, I tturned urne ur need to o ur ccandy andy an dyy jjar ar h opin op i g fo in forr an ene nerggy boost.

Chatting was option, felt afterward.

For boost. bo tC hatt ha tttin ingg wi with th ccoworkers ow wor o ke kers rs w as a ssocial ocia oc i l op ia ption ion o , bu butt I fe fel lt gguilty uiilt lty af afte terw te rwar rw ard ar d. F d. or some off we weakness orr bo boredom deliberately other sso ome me rreason, e sso ea on, iitt se seemed llike ik ke a si ssign gn no w akne ak nesss o b r dom to re od elliber elib erat er a el at ely take aany nyy o ther th er type of break.

While I was able to check off boxes on my to-do list at work, my personal type br ty brea eak. k. Whi k. hile le was abl ble che heck c ff box ck oxes es on too do d lis i t wor ork, k, my pe p rsson o al listt continued conttin co i ued to grow gro ow because beca c use I was was dr drained by tthe he ttime imee I go im got home.

University Florida’s Offi Resources doing something about all-too-familiar case.

Univeers rsit itty of o F lori lo rida ida d ’s O fficce ffi ce of Human Hum man R esou es ourc rces is do doin ingg so in some m thin ng abou ut th this all ll-t -too oo-famillia i r ca asee.

As part university’s wellness program, Holton, Ph.D., UFHR Health Promotion partt off tthe he u niive vers rsit ity’ y’ss em eemployee ploy pl oyee ee w elln el lnes esss pr prog ogra raam, m, Kim im H olto ol ton, n Ph. .D. D.,, UF U H Hea HR ealt l h Pr Prom o otio ion n Specialist is empowering employees to transform their workdays by encouraging intentional work breaks.

Spec Sp ecia iali list st empo po owe w ri ring ng emp mplo loye yees es to th hei eirr work rkda kdaays y enco cour urag agin ingg in inte tent ntio io ona n l work bre reak akss.

Dr. Holton Holto Holt on has on has presented preese sen nted ed to to staff staf st afff across acro ac r ss campus cam ampu puss the th he impacts impaact ctss off not nott taking tak akingg breaks, brea br eaks ks,, the the benefi beeneefits of taking b taki ta king ki ng breaks approach them. brea br eaks kss and and an n ap appr proa oach ch tto o plan pllan aand nd iimplement mple mp leme m nt the hem. m.

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Intentional breaks are activities meant to be done during a work break with the specific goal of restoring energy and increasing productivity. Without breaks throughout the day, employees can feel exhausted and have less job satisfaction — ultimately leaving them drained in the evenings without enough energy to engage in healthy behaviors, Dr. Holton noted. These consequences are amplified in sedentary work environments, whether behind a desk or a wheel.

The exhaustion of working without breaks can lead to an inactive lifestyle outside of work. According to the National Institute of Health, an inactive lifestyle can raise risks of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, some

cancers, osteoporosis and increased feelings of depression and anxiety. To counter the negative health effects, it is important to practice wellness at work.

In 2013, Health Education Research published the perspectives of participants in a health-promoting work break study.

Participants had jobs that required them to sit for at least five hours a day. They engaged in one 15-minute, health-promoting break per workday for six months to a year. Three beneficial insights were identified: breaks reduced stress and promoted enjoyment; increased health awareness and facilitated behavior change; and enhanced workplace social interactions.

The work break culture in my office started to change after Dr.

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Holton visited with our staff. Since then, on Monday afternoons, some of my co-workers meet in the conference room– but not for an ordinary meeting. At 2 p.m., the lights are dimmed, a rotating disco ball paints the walls with color, the song of the week plays, and we dance like nobody’s watching.

“There is no single perfect break,” Dr. Holton said. “It takes a variety to be truly effective, and it depends on what you do and what you find enjoyable.” She explained you can sit, stand up, move around and stretch to reduce tension and muscle fatigue.

A dance break may not be a rejuvenating source of energy for everyone, but it certainly motivates me, a trained dancer now working in an office. We also have a station set up in the kitchen with colored pencils and blank mandalas to boost our energy and creative spirit.

A study at Baylor University in 2015 found that the most beneficial time to take a workday break is mid-morning.

Other offices on campus have come up with a variety of creative and intentional work breaks, from watching TED talks to playing Jenga to doing wall sits. One office even has a weekly plan of two breaks per day — one at 10:30 a.m. and the other at 3:30 p.m.

“Breaks don’t have to be long,” Dr. Holton said, “if you are short on time, you can take a microbreak.” Examples of microbreaks include taking a few deep breaths or looking away from your screen to focus on an object at least 20 feet away for about 20 seconds.

In the 2013 study, participants expressed the need for greater management support and participation. With the right support, the health and creative benefits of taking work breaks should yield favorable results for employees and employers. Dr. Holton recommends the book, “The Way We’re Working isn’t Working” by Tony Schwartz to those wanting to learn more about managing energy for maximum productivity.

I used to think that taking breaks at work were signs of weakness and boredom. Now I realize that, when used intentionally, breaks interrupt the typical workday decline to boost productivity and give energy for the things that matter most. Get creative with your breaks, and don’t forget to make use of the ultimate work break — a vacation.

SOURCE: MEDLINEPLUS.GOV, NCBI.NLM.NIH.GOV

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BATHROOMS • KITCHEN • VACUUM CARPETS • MOP JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 OUR TOWN MAGAZINE PICK UP HOUSE • DUST HOME • CHANGE LINENS

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SPOTLIGHT

RESCUE ANIMAL ADOPTIONS

Furever Friends ANDY & TIFFANY

FUREVER FRIENDS IS A RECURRING PROFILE THAT FEATURES A LOCAL RESCUE ANIMAL AND THEIR OWNER, WRITTEN FROM THE ADOPTED PET’S “POINT OF VIEW.” NOMINATE YOURSELF OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW FOR OUR NEXT RESCUED PET PROFILE! CONTACT: EDITOR@TOWERPUBLICATIONS.COM.

Hello there! My name is Andy and I’m a 48-year-old cat. Oh, that’s right I forgot that humans use a different aging system.

Let’s see, carry the one, add two, and that would make me around eight years old. I’ve been living at the Alachua County Humane Society since April. Sure I made some great friends during my stay and had wonderful caretakers, but it wasn’t what I really imagined for a home.

Then one day, a lady came in to see all of us and I could feel an instant connection with her. I followed her around and begged for her to take me with her. I didn’t think she understood all my meows (I’m missing almost all my teeth so I have a bit of a meow-impediment) and she ended up leaving without me.

Then two weeks later, she came back and took me with her – I knew she couldn’t resist me.

My new home is in a town called Palatka, and boy did I get to meet a lot of new faces.

Tiffany, that’s my mom, has three children, but I think after I get comfortable around here I will become her favorite child. She also has six dogs, but I don’t like to play with them too much.

Apparently there is a kitten in the home, but I haven’t met him yet. I’ve heard rumors from the other pets that he’s pretty rambunctious, and I’m the type of cat who prefers to relax.

There are a couple birds in the house, too. They say they’ve been here for a while, but I think my mom bought them as a welcome-home present for me. There’s also a ferret in my new home, but it’s a little too playful for my taste.

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I haven’t been here long, but I already have two favorite spots: either my snuggly bed in my mom’s room or in her bed.

The other morning I slept right up next to her! Unfortunately because of my lack of teeth, I have a bit of a drooling problem – oops, sorry mom! I know other cats like to keep to themselves, but I love attention from people and I love to cuddle.

It took a long time (apparently I stayed at the ACHS the longest — not sure where my award is), but I think I’ve finally found my furever home. I wanted to share my story (luckily my jelly bean paw pads can push the computer keys) because even

though I found my home, I still have a lot of friends back at the ACHS that are still looking for theirs. I know a lot of people like kittens and puppies, but like my mom said — older pets need homes too. I’m just so glad I was able to find mine.

Thanks Andy and Tiffany for sharing your story! To find out about other amazing animals available for adoption or how to get involved with volunteering, visit: www.alachuahumane.org or call 352-373-5855.

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HAPPINESS >> AROMATHERAPY

EXCEPTIONAL EXTR ACTS

Exploring the Essentials There’s More to Aromatherapy than Meets the Nose!

S TORY BY C A MERON COBB P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y E R I C K A W I N T E R R O W D

A

h, the new year. A time to banish bad habits and vow to become a better you. But while you’re noting what not to do, make the fresh start fun by adopting some beneficial behaviors – like aromatherapy! With so many surprising positive effects for mental and physical health, it’s no question why aromatherapy should make it on your self-improvement list. (But just in case you DO have questions, here’s the what, who, why, where and how!)

THE WHAT:

Aromatherapy is “the art and science of utilizing naturally extracted aromatic essences from plants to balance, harmonize and promote the health of body, mind and spirit,” according to the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy. The practice is also known as “Essential Oil therapy,” and such oils are concentrated extractions from the roots, seeds, blossoms or leaves of different plants, according to 132 |

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the University of Maryland Medical Center.

In addition to being used in perfumes and cosmetics, essential oils have been incorporated into various therapeutic and healing practices all over the world for roughly 6,000 years. An oil’s purpose is determined by the unique mixture of those plant-derived ingredients, and uses vary anywhere from an earthy room deodorizer to natural health remedies.

Essential oils can be used in many different ways. This diffuser allows essential oils to evaporate, circulating the scent of the oil throughout the environment of your home or office.

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THE WHO:

THE WHY:

In 1928, French chemist René-Maurice Gattefossé was credited as the official founder of the science of aromatherapy, according to umm.edu. He first discovered the beneficial properties after finding lavender oil to be a great remedy for burns when he applied it to his injured hand following a laboratory explosion. After uncovering some of the medicinal benefits, he started exploring the chemical properties of essential oils and their application for different skin infections. In the following decades, masseuses, doctors, physiotherapists and others in health-related industries started to implement aromatherapy into their practices, but it would not become popular in the United States until the 1980s.

While one of the most common associations with aromatherapy is their presence in health spas, the benefits go well beyond the massage table. Being a staple scent of pure serenity, it’s likely no surprise that essential oils can have positive impacts on mental health, such as increased relaxation and mood-boosting benefits, and they can also provide relief for anxiety, stress, insomnia and depression, according to umm. edu. For physical health benefits, various essential oils have reportedly aided in decreasing nausea, strengthening the immune system, improving digestion, reducing blood pressure and much more.

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HAPPINESS >> AROMATHERAPY

THE WHERE: Aromatherapy products can be found at a variety of places, such as online or at your local health food or vitamin shops, and some grocery stores may even keep essential oils in stock (but always be on the lookout for scams disguised as too-good-tobe-true “deals”). For a detailed guide on purchasing essential oils, visit www.aromaweb.com.

And don’t let size fool you – these little vials go a very long way! All it takes is a couple of drops in an oil diffuser or mixed in with a spray bottle of water to reap the aromatic benefits. For topical purposes, first ensure the product is safe for skin-toskin contact (factoring in any of your own allergies), then you can massage one to two drops on the desired area or combine it with your daily moisturizer. While essential oils themselves may be the most well-known form of aromatherapy, there are tons of products created from plant extracts that house the same types of benefits, including sprinkling in some oil-infused bath salts for a home-spa experience, hydrating dry skin with essential oil-based lotions, or even by wearing jewelry designed for diffusing oils!

THE HOW: Check out the listing on the next page for the many benefits of some of the more common essential oils. Just remember to ensure it’s safe for health-related purposes, and you should always keep in mind your specific circumstances (such as pregnancy or any allergies) before giving something new a try. If there’s any areas of concern, talk to your doctor beforehand, or visit www. naha.org for more information on aromatherapy, application and avoidances.

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SpeciďŹ c Properties of Aromatherapy Ingredients CLARY SAGE: Antispasmodic (muscle spasms), menstrual cramps, aphrodisiac, relaxation, relieves anxiety and stress, labor pain management.

CYPRESS: Astringent, antispasmodic, treats respiratory complaints, edema, cellulitis, menstrual pain, muscle pain.

EUCALYPTUS: Expectorant, decongestant, beneficial during the cold-and-flu season, mind clarity, energizing.

FENNEL: Digestive health, menstrual irregularities, antimicrobial.

GERANIUM: PMS, indicated or hormonal imbalance, antimicrobial, nerve pain reliever.

GINGER: Digestive health, constipation, nausea, antiinflammatory, pain reliever, immune modulator.

HELICHRYSUM: Cell regenerative, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, bruises and swelling.

LAVENDER: Calming, reduces anxiety, wound healing, burns, cell regenerative, insect bites, antispasmodic, itchiness.

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NEROLI: Relieves and reduces anxiety, antispasmodic, PMS, antidepressant, nourishing, postpartum depression, aids in discomfort associated with pregnancy/delivery.

PATCHOULI: Antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, soothes the nervous system.

PEPPERMINT: Relieves nausea, analgesic for muscular aches and pains, relieves and reduces migraines, energizing, antispasmodic.

ROMAN CHAMOMILE: Antispasmodic, menstrual cramps, sedative, relieves anxiety and stress, insomnia, soothing and comforting, anti-inflammatory.

ROSE: Cell regenerative, emotional improvement, aphrodisiac, relieves and reduces stress and anxiety, PMS. ROSEMARY: Respiratory congestion, bronchitis, beneficial during the cold-and-flu season, expectorant, breathing improvements, energizing, mind clarity, sinus congestion, circulatory stimulant.

TEA TREE: Supports and enhances immune system, antimicrobial, antibacterial, anti-fungal, antiviral.

LEMON: Antimicrobial, antioxidant, uplifting, reduces stress, immune enhancing, housecleaning properties.

VETIVER: Calming, grounding, astringent, useful for varicose veins.

LEMONGRASS: Cleansing, antiviral, insect repellent, housecleaning properties, antimicrobial.

YLANG YLANG: Aphrodisiac, antispasmodic, antidepressant, nourishing.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018

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HAPPINESS >> CELEBRATING VALENTINE’S DAY

CUPID’S BOW

Look Out for Love Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day No Matter the Circumstances W RIT TE N BY C A MERON COBB

V

alentine’s Day — the most iconic day of the year for romance… unless you’re away from your partner. Or broke. Or the sitter cancels last minute. Or you just simply don’t have a relationship to celebrate.

Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the perks of Valentine’s Day outside of the typical arrangements!

IF YOU ARE SINGLE… Take advantage of the holiday to spoil yourself, or invite a friend or group of fellow singles to join you! Whether it’s one or one dozen people, dedicate the day to indulgences that remind you what love’s all about.

1. Cook a fancy meal with as many courses as your heart desires (and in any order – AKA, dessert first) or have a potluck for others to showcase their baking skills! Bonus for anyone who incorporates those little candy hearts with messages into their recipe.

2. Check out a movie at your local theater during matinee hours, or guilt-free binge-watch your favorite show from home ( just avoid keeping track of the number of episodes watched).

3. Clean up your local parks and trails while getting a breath of fresh air, head to an animal shelter to walk dogs and cuddle cats, or make and distribute care packages for the homeless. You don’t need to be in a relationship to create and share love!

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IF YOU ARE ON A BUDGET… Even with the flood of advertisements promising no better gift than diamond necklaces or oversized heart-shaped boxes of candy, you don’t have to break the bank to express your love.

Instead of going beyond your budget, opt for an expense-free experience to celebrate!

1. Want to see what your town’s new yoga studio is all about?

Would love to watch your partner tackle Zumba? Have a schedule for the day devoted to trying things out! Many places offer one class at no charge for first-time visitors, and who knows, you may find a new couple’s activity to do together!

At the very least, you’ll get to laugh at the end of the day as you both reflect on your experiences.

2. Go out for a picnic using whatever you both have at home! It’s a fun way to share a meal together without having to worry about the accompanying bill that comes with going out to eat. Faced with a nearly empty fridge? You’d be surprised at what culinary masterpieces you can create! Check out myfridgefood.com for ideas when ingredients are limited.

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wedding, or even just love songs that remind you of your partner. Have the both of you dress up and dance the night away to your chosen romantic tunes.

IF YOU ARE STAYING IN… No baby sitter? No problem! If your plans for going out fell through, or you both just detest the idea of being in a sea of other couples, relish in a romantic evening from the comfort of your home!

1. Enjoy the best of movie night without sticky flooring or inflated popcorn prices. Transform your living room into a luxurious “theater” with fluffy pillows and blankets, stock up on candy and junk food (at reasonable costs), and snuggle up while enjoying your favorite flick.

2. Get hyped-up with a Valentine’s Day anticipation-vacation-celebration! Use Google Flights to see what the cheapest dates are for flying to that dream destination you’ve both always talked about, or visit sites like Groupon for all-inclusive getaway packages (who could turn down an Ireland stay with airfare, hotels and a rental car for $699?!)

HAPPINESS >> CELEBRATING VALENTINE’S DAY

3. Channel into your artistic (or even not-so-artistic) side! Pick up some aprons, blank canvases, brushes and a bottle of wine and host your own private paint party for the two of you, or invite other couples over for a crafty, creative celebration!

IF YOU ARE LONG DISTANCE… Instead of wallowing in the fact that you aren’t physically together, create lasting memories from a distance so you both forget you’re even apart!

1. See what food delivery services are offered in your partner’s town and surprise them with a “dinner date!”

Many restaurants let you schedule it for a later time, so you can order in advance and have their favorite meal arrive that evening.

2. Have a virtual date by setting aside time for a video chat (via FaceTime, Skype or other online platforms). Watch a movie “together,” laugh with one another over a game of charades or 21 Questions, or challenge one another in an origami competition – loser gets to be in charge of planning the reunion date!

3. Send them on a scavenger hunt! Have someone who’s in their area help with placement of clues, or call places there to see if employees would be able to assist

(how could anyone say no to helping arrange such a romantic gesture?).

Though this one will take some planning, it’ll be a fun way to show your partner how much you value them – even from afar.

Whatever way you plan on celebrating the day, remember that love isn’t determined by physical presence or a price tag – no matter what your status may be!

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KENDRA SILER-MARSIGLIO’S

Healthy Edge WANT HAPPY KIDS? HELP THEM CONNECT WITH OTHERS

KENDRA SILER-MARSIGLIO, PH.D, HCC IS A NEUROSCIENTIST, MEDICAL WRITER, COLUMNIST AND PRESIDENT OF COMMUNITYHEALTH IT AT NASA/KENNEDY SPACE CENTER. SHE ENJOYS TRAVELING, DANCING LIKE NO ONE’S WATCHING, AND LISTENING TO PEOPLE’S STORIES. kendra.sm@gmail.com

ACCORDING TO ARISTOTLE (AND SCIENCE), HUMANS ARE SOCIAL ANIMALS.

H

owever, pressures at school, work and social media sometimes make having real connections difficult. Use the below tips to help your children connect with family and friends for healthy and lasting relationships.

Many adults and kids alike feel pressure to “act” certain ways to increase their popularity or influence at work, school and online. To an extent, that’s necessary in today’s social climate. However, these types of connections don’t necessarily bring us happiness.

For instance, a 2017 longitudinal study of 5,208 participants showed that physical health, mental health, and life satisfaction are reduced by updating status, clicking links on social media and even liking others content.

Another landmark study suggested that a lack of social connection is a greater detriment to health than obesity, smoking and high blood pressure. Further, loneliness is now a leading reason for people to seek psychological counseling.

So, how do we help our kids nurture familial and friendship bonds that will improve their well-being now and as they mature?

First, the QUALITY of your connections is more important than the quantity of your connections.

A great place to start is within the family. Over the holidays, consider talking to your children about your family history. A 2001 Emory University study showed that kids who know where they “come from” are better able to handle stress and feel content.

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According to the study, here’s what kids need to know about their families: • How their parents met.

• What was going on when they were born.

• Illnesses and injuries experienced by their parents when their parents were younger.

• Lessons that their parents learned from good or bad experiences.

• Where their grandparents grew up.

When compared to kids who don’t know the above information, kids who know about their family history have: • Higher self-esteem.

• Stronger sense that their family functions in a healthy way.

• Stronger sense of control over their lives.

• More emotional/mental resilience.

Once kids learn about family, consider helping them assess friendships. To assess the quality of a friendship, the non-profit organization HelpGuide, suggests that you ask yourself these questions about your close “friends”: • Do I feel better after spending time with this person?

• Am I myself around this person?

• Do I feel secure, or do I feel like I have to watch what I say and do?

• Is the person supportive and treat me with respect?

• Is this a person I can trust?

• Does this person ask me questions about me?

• Does the person reveal info about himself or herself beyond small talk?

To understand if you or your child is a good friend to others, perform a self-assessment with these same questions.

To help your kids learn how to nurture friendships, make sure they are following these three guidelines: 1. Follow the Golden Rule. Ask your child: How do you want your friends to treat you? Do you want friends to be dependable? Thoughtful?

Inspirational? Be that person for your friend.

2. Balance listening and speaking. One friend or the other should not always be the designated listener. Practice give and take in conversations.

3. Respect breathing room. Give friends time to do things without you.

Friendship isn’t about controlling another person’s time and space.

Have your kids been burned by friends, encountered rejections that they replay in their heads, or just struggle with connecting with people? If you think that those experiences are affecting your child’s capacity to meet new people and connect, a good therapist can likely help!

For more tips to help your kid build trusting relationships, check out HelpGuide at: www.helpguide.org/articles/ relationships-communication/ making-good-friends.htm.

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