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The West Orange Times Thursday, August 28, 2014
In our opinion
From our archives
These Times Ice cubes mean dollars for charity
By Amy Quesinberry Rhode
How do you know when a topic is trending online? When Kermit the Frog and R2-D2 get in on the action. The ALS ice-bucket challenge has been “the thing to do” in the last few weeks as young and old, famous and amphibious, droid and human have been challenged to dump a bucket of ice-cold water over their heads to raise funds for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig’s Disease. But, you don’t just privately douse yourself and write a check to support the cause and go about your business. You must capture it on video and post it on social media. Here’s the premise: A person is challenged by a friend or relative, and that person has 24 hours to drench him- or herself and, in turn, challenge a few buddies. But, here’s the important part. You must make a donation to ALS: $10 if you have ice-cold water dumped on your head, $100 if you don’t. Both of my kids were challenged by friends and took turns throwing chilly water on each other, and I thought I had escaped being named when they called out other people. I winced, though, when I heard my name as I watched a Facebook video of one of my friends take part in the challenge. Thanks, gal pal. I have watched many of my friends soak themselves in the name of charity; but it isn’t just your typical friend or neighbor who’s getting challenged. Investor/business magnate Bill Gates was challenged and created a contraption that overturned the bucket with the pull of a rope. President George W. Bush accepted the challenge,
as did Buzz Aldren, Oprah Winfrey, Weird Al and scores of other celebrities, musicians and entire professional athletic teams. Peter Frates even did it earlier this month. Who is he? Frates is the reason everyone is wet and shivering. The 29-year-old former Boston College baseball captain was diagnosed with the progressive neurodegenerative disease ALS in 2012. Today, Frates is confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak, although he can still communicate by computer. One of his friends introduced the ice-bucket challenge several months ago to bring awareness to the disease and, maybe, solicit some extra cash for the ALS Association. It caught on like crazy during the hot summer months. I find it hard to get past my thighs in my parents’ swimming pool unless it feels like tepid bath water. So, dumping freezing ice water on my head and body certainly doesn’t seem like a swell time to me. Instead, I will give a donation to ALS (because that’s the “rule”), but I’m breaking that $100 into smaller increments and also writing checks to a few local groups I support. There are people out there who think the whole thing is a silly waste of time and water. I think the idea is to have a little fun while drumming up support for something serious like an incurable disease. As of Monday, the ALS Association had received $80 million since the debut of this ice-bucket craze. How can this be considered silly? Now, if someone issues a challenge to dip your face into a bowl of chocolate for the sake of homelessness, please — PLEASE —nominate me.
Reader opinions
Letters to the editor Join choir, gain a family
Editor, “I’ve heard you can’t go home. Yes, you might return to the same place and see the same smiling faces and hear the same old sounds as familiar scents waft through the air, but it will never be the home you left. I’m pretty sure I found out Monday night that this statement isn’t always true. You see, Monday night I came back to my home in the Garden Community Choir after a two-year sabbatical. By “sabbatical” of course I mean I took a break from singing with the choir. This was mostly due to a hectic work and school schedule as my responsibilities in the music department at Rollins College had heavily increased. I was conducting ensembles now, composing short choral pieces, working in an office on-campus, and presiding over fraternity meetings. This was not an intentional break from the choir. It started off as a “Oh, I can’t make it out there tonight but I’ll just go to next week.” Next week became the week after that and then the following. Before I knew it, months had gone by and I wasn’t really a part of the choir anymore and though I wanted to go back I felt so guilty for missing so much. That would change soon when I made a commitment to myself. It was time to get the old band back together. This summer I made a commitment to return to the Garden Community Choir. I reached out to some of my old friends in the group and we agreed we would go back and join the choir together. It was a nervous feeling. I would be returning to a choir family that had been mine for so many years, an extension of the choir family I knew from singing at West Orange High School 15 years ago with Dr. Jeff Redding. With his return to the Garden Community Choir this year, I knew an exciting season was ahead. All I had to do was show up
and see what happened. Walking through the doors into the choir room at West Orange High School was even more familiar than I could have imagined, and I’m not just saying that because the air conditioning wasn’t working and the room was 90 degrees. The same smiling faces, the same old sounds, the familiar scents wafting their way through 90-degree unconditioned air--it was perfect. Hot, but perfect. Monday night, I returned home. As always, the musical selection for this season is inspired. You will sing music in this choir that other choirs would not dare try and they will be delivered in incendiary, life-changing performances. The spirit in the room was electric with 50 different voices coming together to sight-read through some of the greatest music ever composed. There is true, untainted, legitimate joy and love for music and your fellow singers in that room and though I knew I was home, I couldn’t help but notice a few missing faces. For those of you who have had to take your own “sabbatical” for one reason or another, or you just haven’t had the time to get back because life got in the way: Do yourself a favor and come back home. For those of you who have never been or have never even heard of the Garden Community Choir, come experience exactly what I’m talking about. We rehearse Monday evenings from 7-9 p.m. in the choir room at West Orange High School. Come know the joy that is this choir. Oh, and that air conditioning will be on this time. So come back home with us. For more information, please e-mail info@ gardencommunitychoir.org. Chad McClellan Clermont
The Travelin’ Times Joe Berry and JoAnne Quarles, of Orlando, took “The West Orange Times” with them to a cowboy bar in Bandera, Texas. Are you planning a vacation to a special place outside of West Orange County? Take The West Orange Times with you, feature it in a highquality photo and email the picture to news@wotimes. com. You can also mail or drop off the photo: The West Orange Times, 720 S. Dillard St., Winter Garden 34787. Emailed photos should be at least 200 dpi. Include the names of everyone in the photo, where it was taken and a phone number where the editor can reach you. Call the newspaper office at (407) 656-2121 with questions.
Old Times
70 years ago
From an editorial: Post-war planning is the order of the day throughout the nation, and while much is being done to solve problems and meet conditions confronting us, it is timely to consider and provide an airport in Winter Garden.... We are far ahead of many cities in various ways, and an airport will add to our prestige 100%.… An inexpensive landing field could be provided now as a a starter and later developed into an elaborate airport as occasion demanded.
merchants to continue the organization, and it was decided to try and reorganize and secure better cooperation. Bob Ellis volunteered to take a turn at heading the group. From Barbs & Bouquets by Don: We’ve lost all interest in a trip to Mars. It now looks as if passenger service will not be available for at least 30 years hence, and we just don’t plan on any foolish ventures that far ahead. Our unborn children and grandchildren will have to make the trip for us.
60 years ago
40 years ago
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Fulmer entertained at their camp on Lake Butler honoring their son, Granville, on his birthday and as a going-away party. The honoree graduated from the University of Florida with the rank of second lieutenant and will report to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
45 years ago
B.P. Hannon, chairman of the Retail Merchants Committee, called a meeting in the Florida Power Lounge expressing the hope that new ideas for promotion will be entered into by Winter Garden merchants. It was suggested that there was insufficient interest among the
The Lakeview High School Athletic Association is in full swing. New officers elected at a recent meeting are Hugh Buford, president; Raymond Spears, vice president; and Richard Kannon, secretary/treasurer. Members are looking forward to football season kickoff and the club’s first event of the year – the annual fish fry at the start of the first home game. Keeping everything legal at Precinct 34 (Oakland) were Marshal G.C. Tubb and pollwatcher Cocoa. The “ferocious” cocker spaniel was growling at the voters from one end and wagging his tail at the other. We’re not sure which end was Republican. Dawn Willis, Publisher dawnwillis@wotimes.com
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