Watchword for 2025
Instead of packing away this Christmas stocking holder, I decided to keep it on my bookshelf so that JOY could be my watchword for 2025. With the outrageous slashing of many of the best parts of our government–National Parks, medical research, public broadcasting, my beloved Kennedy Center– filling the nightly news, I vowed to protest, but also to keep a record of personal Joys:
- Early in January both my book groups discussed Kristin Hannah’s novel, The Women. Our friend Eileen Watson shared with my Quail Ridge group her own experiences as an Army nurse in Vietnam. We exulted that Women have come very far since the 1960’s, but noted that we still feel under-appreciated.
- Listening to live music and teaching bring me much pleasure. By mid-month, I heard two concerts by the superb Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at the Society of the Four Arts and my new knee had healed sufficiently to resume teaching three piano students. Each lesson is a joy.
My dear friend Marjo arrived January 26 for a belated celebration of her birthday. First stop was An Afternoon with Gershwin, a lively concert at our church in Delray Beach. Next was a trip with the Quail Ridge Audubon Society to the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter. Click here to see what we learned about caring for and protecting disabled animals native to Florida. We got home in time to attend a wonderful concert by music students from Lynn University, which led to making more music in March.- Another highlight was High Tea and a tour of the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach with dear friend Courtney Morris. Marjo and I have fond memories of visiting her family in Santa Fe NM in 2014.
Courtney, Marjo and me - Wednesday afternoon, Marjo and I saw the opera, Aida, live in HD from the Met. No real elephants in this production, but they weren’t missed; the singing was glorious. On our way back to the airport on Thursday, we visited the Norton Museum in West Palm Beach for lunch and two exhibits. Click here to see Artists on Boxing and Sorolla and the Sea.
Alas, that very evening, January 30, brought a great sorrow, the death of Henry Kerfoot, our friend since 1978 in both Virginia and Florida. After bidding farewell to all his family, he died peacefully at home. Last June 28, we had celebrated his 90th birthday with him and Angela.
Hundreds of people showed up for the Celebration of Henry’s Life at Quail Ridge on Sunday, February 16. We were glad to have Gay and Bill Yelverton from Arlington come and stay with us that weekend. Steve was the emcee at the celebration, which turned out to be more joyous than sad, as many family members and friends shared their fondest memories of Henry. Here is part of Steve’s own tribute:
Twenty years ago this month, Henry and Angela invited us to spend a few days with them here at Quail Ridge. We fell in love with Quail and soon bought a place here. Shortly after we moved into our villa, they threw a big party for us at the old Tennis Center, to introduce us to their many friends, an extraordinarily nice thing to do, which is typical of Henry and Angela, as you all know.
Henry was more than one of my best friends; he was also my mentor in many ways. I greatly admired the way Henry played golf and wanted to emulate him. With Henry’s encouragement, my game developed to the point where I could compete in regional and state tournaments along with Henry. I even managed to win two Senior Club Championships at Washington Golf and Country Club; of course, both were in years when Henry did not play for some reason.
Henry encouraged me to get involved in giving back to the game we both loved. When Henry took over as President of WGCC, he convinced me to take over his old job as Chairman of the Northern Section of the Virginia State Golf Association, where I assumed responsibility for running a handful of tournaments each summer in northern Virginia. That experience led me to join the VSGA Board and to become President.
But I think the most important lesson I learned from Henry was about life in general. He taught me the importance of a positive outlook. I am in awe of how well Henry dealt with his physical and health problems in his later years. I know it pained him greatly not to be able to play golf, but he rarely complained. He always looked on the bright side, a life lesson that I will never forget. Thank you, Henry, for being my great friend and mentor all these years. I miss you every day!
Our son David admired Henry, too, and drove up from Coral Gables to attend the celebration. Angela was particularly touched to see him there. Steve arranged for Henry’s son, four grandsons, son-in-law, grandson-in-law, and Bill Yelverton to play the North Course that Sunday. He received lovely thank you notes from every one of them! The photos below, which are in this album, give you a glimpse of the positive influence Henry had on so many lives.
A few days afterward, Allene and Jim Cooley arrived from Charlotte NC for the Men’s Invitational golf tournament. Allene and I visited Wakadohatchee Wetlands and the Society of Four Arts in Palm Beach, where we loved the Sculpture Garden and an art exhibit about a Scottish artist, Rory McEwen.
Henry’s positive outlook inspired me to continue keeping this record of joys! On March 1st, I found joy by hearing the London Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Sir Antonio Pappano, at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. They played Leonard Bernstein’s 5-part Serenade, after Plato’s Symposium. It was interesting that composer Bernstein had added a hint of jazz in “joyful celebration” of a Greek dinner party. As Plato wrote (my paraphrase of the program notes):
Harmony is a symphony, and symphony is an agreement. Rhythm is compounded of elements short and long, once differing, but now in accord. Music implants, making love and unison to flourish. Good artists are needed to express the true light of love.
That’s a fancy way of saying that Music is Love! Janine Jansen was the wonderful violinist who expressed that love. The London Symphony also played Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No 1. I found myself just relaxing and enjoying the sounds this orchestra produced.
In early March we made time to visit with our granddaughters, Margot and Nina, and their parents in Coral Gables. Margot and I went to Fairchild Gardens, one of my favorite places in the world; we hadn’t visited there since before the Pandemic. Margot is particularly adept at catching lizards. I enjoyed taking these photos and adding them to this album of 67 photos taken over the last 20 years.
Our next excursion was to IKEA, the enormous Scandinavian store that I’d never seen. Margot loved helping her mother choose household items and I loved the food.
The next day I got to see Nina practice soccer with her team. At 11, she is an excellent soccer player and almost my height!
On Monday, March 10, Steve held his last General Meeting as President of the Club at Quail Ridge. Here he is with Incoming President Rich Latham. The Lathams lived next door to us on Royal Tern Circle for several years; now Rich is succeeding him as President. It was a joy to share a dinner table with them and other former Presidents that night.
The top quail is a pin flag, the others are strips of the ribbons he cut to open new projects during his presidency. Rich gave a lovely tribute to Steve in front of almost 500 members. Here’s a brief excerpt:
Steve was elected to the QRC Board of Directors in 2019, became our Vice President in 2021-22, and President in March 2023. Over the last two years, we opened the new Racquet Sports Center, the South Turn House, and Starter Shack, and oversaw the completion and opening of the completely re-imagined North Course! Steve may hold the record for ribbon cutting ceremonies at Quail Ridge!Most importantly, he has served our club and community by making sure that our membership was fully aware of every step that we were taking. He has put those words into practice with his regular “President’s Reports” to the members, and by hosting “Conversations with the President” once a month each season. Transparency in governance has been a cornerstone of his service to the Club and something that will absolutely continue.
I am very proud of my husband! His job required a multitude of meetings, calls, and emails! But I loved hearing people praising him to me.
On March 11 I had arranged for Catherine Dratnal, a piano student at Lynn University, whom Marjo and I had heard on January 27, to present a program for our Classical Music Club. After I gave a brief history of the pianoforte since 1700, she performed and discussed pieces from 325 years of piano music:
Baroque: Bach Prelude in f minor
Classical: Mozart Sonata in F major
Romantic: Chopin Mazurka
Modern: Syzmanowski Mazurka
20th Century: Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue
That day our Classical Club had its largest audience ever! Now we can look forward to hosting a Scholarship Fund Recital next season and more interaction with Lynn University.
On March 14, known in our family as Pie Day, I bought a small cherry pie at Publix for exactly $3.14. Alas, Steve’s allergies to all the pollen in the air caused us to miss the Moon Rise party that friends had organized that night at the beach. We drank a toast at home and remembered all the times that Henry Kerfoot had hauled tables and food to that party. Here is an album of photos that remind us of what a joy it is to watch a full moon rise over the Atlantic Ocean!
The next day we drove to Beaufort SC for golf and a reunion with Cousins Jay and Maxann, Allene and Jim Cooley, and Kate Richards. We enjoyed good times with friends there, too. Steve’s allergies to the heavy pollen in South Carolina became severe. He withdrew from the tournament and we returned home a day early.
The
blessing of coming home early was that my 81st birthday on March 19th was travel-free and relaxing. I took myself to see Fidelio, Beethoven’s only opera, live in HD from the Met at the Boynton Cinema. Wow! The Met’s production was up-to-date and terrific. That evening Steve treated Angela and me to dinner at Pistache in West Palm Beach. The city was crowded for the annual Boat Show, which provided great people-watching. Here is a photo album of two very interesting artworks we found there. Now I have a new mission: find 70+ more artworks in West Palm Beach Artlife!
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