Editor’s Page

Welcome to the fall, 2021, issue of the Promenader—a quarterly publication of the Western NY Federation of Round and Square Dancers, Inc. (squaredancingrochester.org)

In this Issue

The “Photos & Features” section highlights summer dancing activities, including three dances organized by the WNY Federation, as well as the “DORish” dance held on August 21. There is also a description of the “Troopons” program, a very successful charitable opportunity that many of our dancers already take part in—to help support Americans in the armed services. (Encourage your club leaders to participate.)

In an article of appreciation, Jeff and Debbie Blood acknowledge the efforts of the “Return to Dance Task Force.” This is the group of dedicated dancers who met periodically via Zoom to help area clubs and dancers navigate the COVID interruption.

Be sure to read the “President’s Corner” by clicking on the following: President’s Corner section of the Federation pages for Jeff’s and Debbie’s comments about Federation activities and perspective on the coming dance season.

Awards

Speaking of Jeff and Debbie Blood, they received the Daphne-Norma Award for 2020, at the DORish dance in August. This award would have been presented at the 2020 DOR festival dance… had it not been canceled by COVID. They have worked tirelessly on behalf of dancing throughout the COVID pause, and we look forward to their guidance through the recovery.

One couple can’t do it all, and there are positions open at the Federation as well as in numerous clubs. Please consider volunteering to fill one of these positions—to help spread the load. Contact your club leadership, or ask Jeff and Debbie how you can help.

Club News

Our “Club News” section shows signs of recovery from the COVID pause, as several clubs are resuming in-person dancing, with an understandable range of COVID-related protocols.

In Memoriam

In this issue we say farewell to three of our beloved dancers: Harold Greenlee, Dale Nientimp and Donna Spencer.

Schedules

Our schedule pages are beginning to re-populate with club events, and flyers are arriving at an increasing rate. It’s still a good idea to check “Breaking News” on the WNYF Home Page—squaredancingrochester.org—to see if anything else has changed.

WNYF Website

For this issue, we welcome Rick LaDonna as CoWebmaster! He and Webmaster Sidney Marshall have been working together over the past few months, developing his familiarity with the website structure and updating processes. This issue of the Promenader has been processed almost entirely by Rick.

As usual, if you see erroneous items on any of our pages, please alert us by email to promenader@rochester.rr.com and we’ll fix them as quickly as we can. We depend on the information we receive from clubs and dancers, so please don’t just assume someone else will take care of any errors or omissions. Let us know as soon as you see them.

Editorial Comments

The coronavirus is still a significant public health threat that should not be underestimated by anyone planning or attending an indoor gathering of any kind. Vaccinated dancers are safe from serious illness, but while their immune system is fighting off the infection they can still be contagious enough to put unvaccinated family, friends and the public at serious risk.

Dance organizers are subject to guidelines and/or requirements from civic authorities and owners of dance venues, which can change as local conditions change. So, pay attention to the CDC “Community Transmission” level rating for our area, because requirements like masking are often keyed to that rating.

Quarterly Chuckle

(This one is from the “Don’t mess with the elderly” collection. I hope it isn’t a repeat, but even if it is, maybe you’ve forgotten too and will still find it as funny as I do)

HOW TO CALL THE POLICE...

WHEN YOU’RE OLD, AND DON’T MOVE FAST ANYMORE.

George Phillips, an elderly man from Walled Lake, Michigan, was going up to bed, when his wife pointed out he’d left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window.

George opened the back door to go turn off the light, but saw people in the shed stealing things. He phoned the police, who asked "Is someone in your house?"

He said “No, but some people have broken into my garden shed and stealing from me.” The police dispatcher said “All our patrols are busy, so you should lock your doors and an officer will be along when one is available.”

George said, “Okay” and hung up the phone. He counted to 30, then phoned the police again.

“Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people stealing things from my shed. Well, you don’t have to worry about them now because I just shot and killed them both, and the dogs are eating them right now.” Then he hung up.

Within five minutes, six police cars, a SWAT team, a helicopter, two fire trucks, a paramedic and an ambulance showed up at the Phillips’ residence, and caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the policemen said to George, “I thought you said that you’d shot them!”

George said, “I thought you said there was nobody available!”

Submitted by Peter Emmel