Short of hanging out on a tropical beach for a week, may I suggest a surefire way to warm up your winter? Go see FOOTLOOSE!
The production is in rehearsal at Whidbey Playhouse on SE Midway Boulevard. If you saw the movie, you must see the stage production.
The 1980’s big screen musical starred KEVIN BACON as a hip city boy who moves to a rural backwater where dancing is barred. Leave it to Bacon and his followers to shake things up. By the time the movie ends, the whole town is on its feet, although I cannot vouch for the pastor, whose daughter falls for Bacon.
ALLENDA JENKINS has had the enormous task of directing a cast of 30 from Anacortes, Oak Harbor and Coupeville high schools.
Not long ago, the huge marquee in front of Whidbey Playhouse was knocked over in an accident. Some at the theater worried attendance would drop if folks couldn’t read the sign as they drove by. This ought to help spread the word.
Footloose runs Fridays, Saturdays and Thursdays, Feb. 2 through 24, with shows at 7:30 p.m. Sunday matinees will be offered Feb. 4, 11 and 18 at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $16 and I recommend getting yours now. Groups of 10 or more receive a $1 discount on each ticket. Call the box office at 679-2237 or e-mail playhous@whidbey.net. Check out the Playhouse Web site at www.whidbey
playhouse.com.
They didn’t wait to save a life …
MARTHA WALLIN of the Kiwanis Club of Oak Harbor reports that three Oak Harbor School District employees were recently given the organization’s Everyday Hero Award.
Receiving the award were retired school nurse BARBARA WIHLBORG, Hillcrest Elementary Secretary TONYA VASQUEZ and Office Assisant LINDA SHARP.
The women acted quickly in recognizing a student in crisis, contacted an ambulance and insisted that the child be transported to the hospital. The child was later transfered to Harborview Medical Center for treatment of a life-threatening condition.
Because they cared enough and wasted no time in recognizing a serious problem, Barbara, Tonya and Linda saved a life.
Kiwanis past president GARY WALLIN, current president IVAN LATHROP and secretary BILL CORNELL made the presentation.
Eggs over easy, please …
Once again, the VFW Post No. 7392 is serving eggs, toast and pancakes for breakfast on Sunday, Jan. 28, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cost is just $6. The Whitehead-Muzzall Post is located at 3037 N. Goldie Road, Oak Harbor. While you are there, ask about membership in the VFW and the benefits. Call 675-4048.
Mardi Gras,
Fil-Am style …
The Filipino-American Association of Oak Harbor plans a Mardi Gras menu for Saturday, Feb. 3, to be served at the Elks Lodge at 6 p.m. Dine on roast beef, seafood gumbo, red beans and rice, hush puppies, salads, muffins and cakes.
Music will be provided by DJ Retro Zone. Mr. and Mrs. Valentine will be crowned later that evening. Cost is $25 per person. Call 675-9248 for details.
The nose knows …
I survived some of the harshest Midwest winters growing up and was often sent outdoors to “play” bundled up in a bulky coat, wooly hat, multiple scarves and a pair of mittens on dummy strings so they wouldn’t be lost.
I stood there in the gloom, wishing I could return to the steamy kitchen. A few other children stood around like frozen popsicles and we silently watched the metallic gray sky drop to the ground.
The air was thick, as in a soundproof room, and the barking dog next door seemed miles away. We waited in the cold, unaware we were learning to smell the coming snow.
It’s true. When the afternoon air smells like cotton balls found in a dresser drawer with a forgotten sachet, that tells me it will snow by midnight. I can still predict snow before the first flake falls.
Call it my imagination or just plain silly, but if you want to know ahead of time when the white stuff will return, watch for the snow shovel outside my front door.
Surely you have interesting winter stories to relate. Why not share them with the wonderful folks who read this column? Call me at 675-6611 or write lifeonwhidbey@yahoo.com. See you on Jan. 31!
