Greenbriar Villas (Village of Briar Meadow)

March!  Relax soldiers you’re not back in boot camp.  That was not an order, just notification that the calendar has turned yet another page.  Remember when you lived up north and February was both the longest and shortest month of the year?  Yucky weather, limited daylight, post-holiday blahs made 28 days seem like an eternity.  It just doesn’t seem so bad when you don’t have to travel on icy roads to work and you live in a beautiful place. 

Useless March information:

March 1: As the saying goes, March comes “in like a lion, out like a lamb.” That was certainly true on March 1st, 2007, when a detachment of 170 Swiss infantrymen accidentally invaded neighboring Liechtenstein when they got lost on a training mission. Luckily, after explaining the mistake to Liechtenstein, the Swiss army was given directions and returned home safely.  Was that before GPS?

March 6: The Day of The Dude encourages participants to honor The Big Lebowski by takin’ ‘er easy all day, man, and maybe buying a new rug—it’ll really tie the room together.  If you have never watched the movie “The Big Lebowski”  you might want to consider it part of your cultural enlightenment and give it a watch.

March 12:  Daylight Savings finally returns on the 12th.  At least it would make night golf easier.

March 14: Here you go math majors.  Pi Day celebrates the annual occurrence of 3/14 with math jokes, pi-reciting competitions, and (of course) freshly baked pie.

March 14 (again): Fans of college basketball know what time of year it is.  March 14th kicks off the madness with the First Four in Dayton on the 14th and 15th.  The rest of the NCAA tournament begins on Thursday, March 16.  Get your brackets ready. 

March 17: St. Patrick’s Day turns the Chicago River green, among other festivities.  And on this day in 1973, Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of The Moon” first hits the Billboard Top 200 chart at number 95. A mere 14 years later (736 chart weeks, to be exact), it finally leaves the top 200 for the first time, setting a still-unbroken world record.

March 20: The sun shines on the equator for the Vernal Equinox, giving us a near 50-50 split of day and night and of course, the first day of Spring. 

March 21: The day Twitter was founded. Founder Jack Dorsey inaugurated the social media site with its profound first tweet: “just setting up my twttr.” Yes, he spelled it that way.  Anyone think the world might be a better place if Mr. Dorsey had instead invented…well anything else?

A look back:

Thank you to Dawn Bobay for organizing the Valentine’s Day trip to Sakuras.  The food was good, the chefs were entertaining, and the company was excellent.

An expression of gratitude is directed toward Bob and Blair Mondor for running the “Night Golf” event.  The sandwiches were good, and we all found out that golf in the dark is hard.  Hell, I think golf in daylight is hard; in the dark, well, that is challenging to say the least.  Congratulations to our prize winners:  First place went to the team of Tim and Anne McCusker, along with Linda and Paul Ritchey and they received a bottle of wine for their outstanding efforts. The team of Jim Caldwell and Caroline Paton, and Dennis and Marty White were rewarded with a bottle of wine as well, for finishing last.  It should be noted that the Caldwell group may have finished last, but at least they finished.  Many of us lost our balls and perhaps our will to live somewhere out there in the darkness well before completing the round. Too much fun.

Also, thanks to Ken Crespi for auditing the books for your GBSC. 

On the horizon:

March 11:  Ladies Luncheon at Takis at 11:30.  If you want to join the fun or have questions contact Ardie Langley (352-626-7145) by the 10th.

March 16:   Saint Patrick’s Day party at the home (backyard) of Donn and Marlene Cunningham.  The party will rage on from 4:00 to 6:00.  Please bring a dish to share, your drink,  and a chair. You might want to consider wearing something green.

March 28:  The 20th Anniversary Party for the Greenbriar Social Club at Chatham at 6:30.  If you will be attending, please RSVP to Maggie Kurtz at 352-553-3476.  The festivities will include a video presentation put together by Russ Jones.  We are asking that you bring an entrée or a side dish.  If your last name begins with

A-M please bring a main dish, and for those names starting with N-Z please contribute a side dish.  Dessert will be provided.

Also, at the meeting on the 28th we will be voting on new officers for the next 2-year term. 

Also, at the anniversary celebration we will be displaying the trophies from the Men’s and Lady’s Greenbriar Cups.  Unless someone wants to adopt these lovely hood ornaments, this will be their final public appearance.  If no one adopts them their next home will be Goodwill.