an interview with Ernie Ruber

POETRY 

and I'll dress them up in red and green sprinkles
then freeze them until Christmas Eve
when I'll get to watch as little teeth
chomp them to crumbs.
These are the weeks before ice slicks the roads
and snow tombs the roofs.
It's when people wear funny reindeer sweaters
and fasten antlers to their Subarus.
The word 'tacky' will lose its meaning
as last month's rotted pumpkins and moldy cornstalks
get replaced with plastic backlit snowmen
and blinking displays of light.
It's 'Winter Wonderland'
before real winter comes and stays too long.
It's snapshots ready for taking,
tomorrow's fading memories,
and a conduit for peace and love.
It's magic!

• Joe O'Connor tells me the problem with our army is that too many generals are letting their privates think for them.
   
• Good news for the Mendes family! Rachel called and assured us there's no problem with our credit card account. Not only that, she said she has a way to lower our interest rates.
     
• You've probably noticed that on television criminals are always sentenced to "hard time." Doesn't anyone ever get to serve soft time? Just what is the difference between the two?
       
• It's not news to anyone that Southport soon will be transitioning from builder management to self-management. We have an elected Transition Committee that was voted in more than four years ago, but I'm told they are not recognized by Southport management. Why is this? With only a year or so to go until the transition is to take place isn't it time we got serious about it? (Full disclosure: Bette Mendes is a member of this committee.)
      
• A day or so after getting over a cold, I met up with Snoopy and Clancy and their persons, Ernie Ruber and Betty Kayes. In a short conversation we all agreed that the best treatment for a cold is chicken soup and Irish whiskey. The chicken soup acts as a healant and the Irish whiskey makes you not care whether you're sick or well.
      
• If you really want to know, I think there's a little bit of Holden Caulfield in all of us.
      
• So--Barack Obama is going to be in office for another four years. There has to be a strain of masochism in the DNA of anyone who wants to be president. It has to be the worst job in the world (not counting Joe Marino's).
       
• There's a great sign on the wall in the Quashnet school gym that reads:
  "Seven days without exercise makes one weak."
       
• You can't make these things up: A recent newspaper article cites a burglary suspect in Brockton who got his head stuck under a roll-up bay door that he had pried part way open when it closed down on his head, trapping him until police arrived to arrest him.
       
• "No two snowflakes are exactly alike," they tell us. Who says? Who has checked out the trillions and quadrillions of snowflakes that fall every year and can say definitively that no two are alike?
       
• Every time I eat an apple I marvel at how God could have created such a marvelous object.
       
• If you think about it, the phrase, "It caught my eye," is an odd statement. But two articles in the Cape Cod Times did, indeed, catch my eye.  

The first was this headline: "Ex-lacrosse player sentenced to 23 years." It seems this kid was guilty of murdering his girlfriend and was sentenced to prison. Maybe justifiably so, but that's not my point. Surely this young man had other activities or goings-on in his life that could have been used to describe him. Was being an ex-lacrosse player the only thing he ever did?

The second was an article about the end of summer and colleges resuming their classes. It read in part: "As college students return to campus...they were showered in the usual handouts of coupons, condoms and credit cards." Man, things are sure different now than when I went to college.  

• Years ago, back when I was a real person, I inherited an office in which the previous occupant had left this wall plaque:

   TWO THINGS I NEVER WANT TO HEAR

     We've never done it this way before.

    This is the way we've always done it.

I kept it right where it was.  

by Frank Lord

Since the Southport Woodworkers Club began some 14 years ago, its members have undertaken many projects to benefit our community: bookcases for the Library, the Sewing Room tables and bookcase, storage racks for the Pool Room, a golf bag storage rack, bulletin boards and decorative porch gussets for the Clubhouse, and the tennis court scoring rack.

The club originated in 1998 when Southport developer Ron Bonvie agreed to provide space and funding for a fully equipped woodworking shop (see above) for the use of residents. John Kinville chaired a committee that included Clay Buswell, Joe O'Connor, Ralph Vernick and George Webber to plan the shop, buy and install equipment and recruit members.   

Jack Sample (left) and Dick Weiner are building gaming tables for Southport's annual New Year's casino games.

During its early years the club grew rapidly as residents became certified woodworkers by completing a required 20-hour, hands-on class that focuses on the safe use of shop machinery. Our current membership includes five women and 47 men, with two women and four men on the wait list for the next certification class.

The club has several community projects underway this year. We are duplicating the craps and roulette tables that were built for the 2011 New Year's Party for the 2012 celebration, and we are designing and building 44 maintenance-free street signposts for the village. We also plan to replace the rotted frame on the Clubhouse bulletin board and to design and build a display case to exhibit projects made in our certification classes.  

Art DeBonville designed the prototype for 44 new maintenance free street signposts that will replace rusting signposts around the village.

Throughout the year, residents who are not club members stop by the woodshop with personal items for us to repair or with projects they want us to build for them. Currently, one of our most unusual and challenging requests is Ralph Pottle's commissioning of an Adirondack chair that incorporates skis into the back and seat--a chair similar to the one that Joe Tinlin has built for the last two Pastabillties raffles.

So far this year we have helped three residents clean out hand tools, woodworking machinery and lumber from their no longer used basement woodshops. As a result we have acquired a compound miter saw, an additional router table and numerous hand tools for our shop. Woodworking equipment that we do not need and furniture that is donated to the club is contributed to Cape Cod Habitat for Humanity to sell in their Re-Store, whose profits help to fund additional affordable homes on Cape Cod.  

Ralph Pottle (seated) commissioned club members to build an Adirondack chair that incorporates skis into the seat and back. The design/construction team includes (l. to r.) Dick Weiner, Joe Tinlin  and Al Benjamin.

For maximum accessibility, the woodworking shop operates on a 'buddy system' rather than on a regular schedule of open hours. It is available every day between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. whenever two or more active members agree to use it at the same time. Safety is a major concern and no one is permitted to use power equipment without another member present. Annual dues of $10 pay for shop supplies and other ongoing expenses.

If you have built woodworking projects or would like to learn how to do this, we encourage you to sign up for the next certification course, which Jerry Giusti is scheduling for spring 2013. If you would like to take a look at our shop, tucked away near the Pine Hill Boulevard entrance to the Village Center, or have questions about the club, please feel free to contact any of our officers: Frank Lord, president; Jerry Giusti, vice president; Marte Ayers, secretary; Joanne Morrow, treasurer; John Romanuck, shop manager; Art DeBonville, equipment maintenance officer.  

Southport Woodworkers Club President Frank Lord shows off some of the projects made by members in recent certification classes.

Bob & Bev Nigro

Bob and Bev Nigro moved to Southport in June following a brief stay in Franklin after the sale of their house in Mendon. Although construction activity continues all around them on Chadwick Court, their condo is nicely landscaped and decorated for fall, and they are well settled in their new home. Married for 15 years, the Nigros talked about retiring to the Cape for a long time but weren't ready for the move. They discovered Southport seven years ago and knew this would be the place when the time was right.

Bev, a native of Walpole, spent eight years raising four children in Juneau, Alaska. Three of her children and four grandchildren live in Alaska now and she visits at least once a year. While living there, she taught preschool and continued to do so in Norfolk for 20 years after moving back to the lower 48. Although she has fibromyalgia, Bev enjoys exercise class in our pool and attends the Wednesday morning coffee socials. She spends a good bit of time caring for her aging dad in Rhode Island and she and Bob have recently adopted his dog Buddy. This newest family member has adjusted nicely to their home.

And then there's Bob. He grew up in Franklin and Bev describes him as "the energizer bunny"; he has quickly become the neighborhood greeter. Never at a loss for words, and quick with a smile and a joke, he doesn't really know the meaning of the word "retired." Bob taught PE at Mendon/Upton Regional High School for 38 years, but that's only part of his story. He officiated at baseball, soccer, girl's field hockey and softball for 35 years. He ran summer camps in central Massachusetts and was director of lower camps at Beaver Country Day Camp in Brookline. As if that's not enough, he has a painting and window washing summer business based in Franklin, where three of his four children still live. He plans to continue the business and will be dividing his summer months between the Cape and Franklin.

Now that he is no longer teaching, Bob has found many ways to fill his free time. He walks two miles every day before heading to Panera for his morning coffee and newspaper. He plays golf, bocce and pool, and has joined the Southport Singers. His most recent interest is the Police Citizens Academy, an eight-week program for residents to learn about the inner workings of the police department. After completing the course, participants are qualified to assist the police force on a volunteer basis. Very shortly, Bob will begin driving a van for the Sandwich school system. Relaxing at South Cape beach is a pastime both of the Nigros enjoy.

Bev and Bob have relatives living on the Cape, so being located here makes staying in touch with family very convenient. They love every aspect of life at Southport, particularly the welcoming attitude of the residents. Their neighbors have quickly become friends and Chadwick Court feels more and more like home every day. If you should be driving by, you can be sure you will receive a wave of the hand or a tip of the hat from "the energizer bunny"!

It was a dreary day when we buried my mother. The women from the salon were all there. I recognized them even though it had been years since I'd seen them. Big Betty stood beside me. I remembered her infectious smile, big bosom, and equally big beehive hairdo; strawberry blonde then, now snow white. Next to her was Ethel, with her cat glasses and sharp tongue. And Missy, plain and sweet. Agreeable Missy my mother had called her. Those three were all that was left of what I once called the gossip club.

In the late sixties, when I was between fifteen and eighteen, I used to go to the salon with my Mom. She'd drag me there every Saturday after my chores were done. We usually walked but sometimes Dad drove us. At first I hated going. I had better things to do, like hang out with my friends, but Mom wouldn't let me. "Hanging out is looking for trouble, Kate," she'd say. Most of my friends had parents who worked, like mine, and weren't often home on a Saturday. They were out running errands, and Mom, well, she went to the salon. She didn't usually get her hair done but once a month. She went for the gossip.

At first I thought they were awful, sitting around under the hairdryers or at the sink, talking about friends, neighbors and customers, telling juicy stories about cheating husbands and wives, or who drank too much and whose kids were getting into trouble. They'd often sit in the back room smoking and drinking coffee, working out scenarios for the folks in town, even betting on who would stay, leave, or get a divorce.  

It was just idle gossip I reminded myself, not malicious rumors, though sometimes it could get downright nasty. They'd chat and laugh, telling story after story. Sometimes they even talked about people they didn't know. It was a way of breaking up their dull lives, I supposed. I hoped by the time I reached their age my life would be fuller than that. In fact, I'd rather be someone they'd talk about.

Laughter would often erupt from the back room, then it would get quiet. Sometimes they'd get pissed at each other, calling each other names. Ethel got mad easily and could split a log with her sharp tongue. Betty was the voice of reason while Missy would sulk, unable to breach the impasse. Mom would sit and stew. But Mom and Betty were usually the peacekeepers when the others got into cat fights. In the end, they'd all come around and by the following week they'd be hoot'n it up again as if nothing had happened.  

Sometimes they'd joke and ask why I didn't join them. "She's too young," my mother would say. "She'll join up when she's older," Betty would josh. But I had no intention of sticking my nose in someone else's affairs. It wasn't anybody's business. Besides, I thought it was just plain silly. So I just smiled at the little band of tattletalers and when I got bored I'd grab a broom and sweep. It became my job; Gail, the owner, thought it would keep me busy.  

Sometimes Gail sat in on the gab sessions when the shop was quiet, while I answered the phone . I guess she was okay with her friends and customers using her place of business as a  place to conduct their weekly gabfest. And after a while it became so routine to me I paid them no mind.  

Sometimes, I have to admit, I was amused. I was impressed that everything they said stayed within the walls of the salon. The stories they spun, real or imagined, rarely left the group. They even made a pact to take the secrets they shared to their graves. Like blood sisters, these ladies had bonded and formed their own sisterhood. And they were careful not to let the other customers overhear them.

Strange, I thought, but paid little heed until the day Roberta dropped by to tell the gals she had bought a new house next to the cemetery. She said it was haunted, the cemetery. She said the voices of the dead kept her up at night.  

Roberta had once been a member of the gossip club but opted out early on, deeming it "not right." I think her husband got wind of the group and made her quit. "It's not a gossip club," the others protested to their husbands. They explained it was just a group of women getting together every week for coffee and friendship. They helped each other with community projects and helped solve family problems by being supportive. My father agreed. They were harmless.

To be continued in the January edition of Southport Village Voices...

by Roberta Costa

When my husband George and I moved to Southport in June 2012, we were not sure what to expect. After all, we had lived in Mansfield, Massachusetts for over 30 years. Shortly after we settled in, we went to the Mashpee Town Hall to register as voters and I asked if I could be allowed to work at the polls? The clerk asked me, "Which election?" and I replied, "Why not the next big one?" That was how I came to work at the polls on November 6, 2012.

George drove me to the Quashnet School on Old Barnstable Road, where the voting was to take place and helped me in. I met with the town clerk, who led me to the place where I would be sitting. (We had met previously so she could show me the ropes.) I sat down and immediately met Phyllis from Southport, she was very helpful, as was my partner Nancy--a big help to this novice.

It didn't take long for the pace of activity to pick up, and so did we. What I really liked, was the diversity of folks walking in: young people, older folks, some on crutches, some using canes, some with wheelchairs, some with vision problems, new Mashpee voters, first time voters--and one woman who said that maybe she was a last time voter. "Wait a minute," I told her, "Don't say that. Just say I voted!"

They came with smiles, happy to be there. The lines were long and sometimes overwhelming, but how wonderful to see that in this country, in the town of Mashpee, Massachusetts, everyone was allowed to vote! People were welcomed, they were assisted, we treated them as we would want to be treated ourselves--a principle that I was taught and strive to live by.

No matter how you may feel about the outcome of the election, please remember:  

We live in a free country; we can voice our opinions. Oh, some people may rant and rave, you see them on TV. Don't act like that. Get out and make a difference. What if our ancestors had been denied entry to this country--represented by the Statue of Liberty? Where would we be then?

To the residents of Southport and to people everywhere I say, God Bless America! The land of the free and the home of the brave.

by Karlyn Curran

Betty and Bill Kelley love to travel. Since 1972 they have taken over 65 trips--to Europe,

Central America and the Caribbean and to the western United States. In the course of their travels they've acquired an extensive collection of creches, most of which are displayed year-round in their home. Visiting the Kelleys, as I did one afternoon in November, is almost like being in a very homey, comfortable Christmas museum.  

Bill Kelley purchased this hand carved creche from Germany for his mother.

The Kelley's oldest creche is 60 years old. Bill bought it for his mother when he was stationed in Germany, long before he met Betty. It's a simple, hand-carved wooden stable scene, fragile and much loved. Another older creche is made of fabric and was crafted by their son in his religious education class before he was ten years old. Their most recent purchase is an etched crystal piece they bought last summer in Prague.

Bill and Betty have been collecting creches since the early days of their marriage but their hobby really took off 23 years ago when they moved to the Cape and started using an 140-year-old corner cabinet to display many of their most delicate treasures. They bring a creche back with them almost every time they travel but their pieces also come from many other sources. Some are gifts from friends and family, some came from Bill's parents' home and some are catalog purchases.  

Mary & Joseph appear to be a bit surprised by the arrival of a new son in this creche given to the Kelleys by a newly ordained priest.

Betty has bought many unusual Nativity sets from the Friends of the Creche Society, an international organization whose Cape Cod chapter meets at Christ the King Church in Mashpee. As a member of the Society, Betty gets both information and inspiration from their meetings and publications. The Society will present a creche display and Christmas sale in Christ the King Parish Hall on December 8. The event is open to the public.

The Kelleys' creches come in many sizes and shapes. The smallest are thumbnail-size miniatures from Puerto Rico and Guatemala. They open to reveal a surprise inside. Many represent the cultures of Central and South America, with native figures clothed in their country's attire. Of necessity, most are small in scale. The largest creche, which doesn't belong to the Kelleys, was still packed away in the basement on the day I visited. Bill and Betty and a few other "not-quite- pioneer" residents bought it years ago and donated it to the Village Center. Betty sets it up and takes it down annually. It's now on display in the lobby across from the Hanukkah Menorah. Take a look at it the next time you pass through.

This French Nativity scene shows a baker bringing fresh bread for the family and a town crier announcing the good news of Jesus's birth.

Although the creches vary in size and quality, all have a story and sentimental value. Betty particularly likes one she bought in LaSallette, France in 1992. Its medieval scene includes a town crier with arms outstretched to spread the good news and a baker bringing fresh loaves of bread as a gift for the Christ child.

Betty bought two similar Mexican sets at Uncle Bill's Country Store in North Falmouth. One set, whose figures are dressed in brightly patterned blue clothing, shows Joseph with dark brown hair and beard. The other, with figures outfitted in red, gives Joseph and one of the Wise Men blond hair. Still another Nativity scene is a finely detailed three-dimensional oval ceramic plaque that the Kelleys bought in Speyer, Germany in 2006.  

The Nativity scene is tucked inside a gourd in this Guatemalan ornament.

 A hollow wooden Christmas tree ornament from Guatemala has a viewing hole that permits one to see the tiny Nativity scene tucked inside it. Another creche, purchased in Sicily, is a rounded piece of lava from Mount Etna with a miniature gold Nativity scene inside. A more traditional piece was a gift from a young priest who was ordained in the spring of 2012. The astonished looks on the figurines' faces and the funny little sheep give it a light-hearted feeling. The creche that I thought was the most fun is made of milk and white chocolate. The upright chocolate figures of the Holy Family and a shepherd, sheep, stable and the star of Bethlehem all stand on a circular slab of chocolate. Betty bought this a few years ago and didn't eat it. I probably would have eaten it and then regretted it!

My favorite Nativity scene was an American Indian version that Betty painted in a ceramics class. The 16-piece set includes American Indians in native dress, but instead of the traditional camels and donkeys, the animals include a buffalo, wolf, deer, horse and one tiny bunny who snuggles up close to the infant Jesus. The Wise Men arrive on horses, not camels, and bring gifts of beads and a blanket. Another favorite places the Nativity figures in a ceramic reed boat from Peru that reminds me of a ram's horn.  

Timothy Schmalz's sculpture depicts a playful family scene.

Some pieces in Betty and Bill's collection are original works of art or prints by famous artists. They own four pieces by Timothy Schmalz, a Canadian sculptor whose work is displayed in the Vatican. One of Betty's favorites is titled Love's Bond and shows a playful Joseph holding the young boy Jesus on his knees while Mary looks on. While not strictly a Nativity scene, it is a reminder that Jesus had a normal family life until his public life began. Another precious piece is a ten-inch-high Daum crystal statue of the Madonna and Child. It was bought in Nancy, France in 1988 and was a gift from Betty's cousin.

The Kelleys also own two prints of Nativity scenes by southwestern artist DeGrazia, which they bought while on an Elderhostel vacation in New Mexico in 1996. A print by Maxwell Mays, who paints in the style of Grandma Moses, depicts a snowy New England country scene. The Holy Family is in the barn, while villagers, children pulling sleds and on ice skates, horses and camels all make their way toward them.  

The Holy Family appears in bas relief on this clay roof tile from Sicily.

Three small Nativity scenes painted on wood belonged to Bill's mother and now hang on the Kelleys' walls. There is also a framed Flight to Egypt scene painted on papyrus, which the Kelleys purchased in Jerusalem while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. A piece from Bangladesh, painted by hand on silk, hangs on another wall, along with two hollowed out gourds from Peru with Nativity scenes carved on their shells. And last, but certainly not least, is the folk art needlepoint creche created by Betty in 2002.

The Kelleys will journey to New Zealand in January. I can't wait for them to return so I can see how the Maori, the aboriginal people of New Zealand, depict the birth of Christ.

NOTE: If you have an interesting collection that you would like to share with the readers of Southport Village Voices, please send Karlyn Curran a note at karcurran@comcast.net and she'll contact you.