Talk of The Villages Florida - Reading Leisureville

Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)

- The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)

- - Reading Leisureville (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/reading-leisureville-46659/)

Quote:

Originally Posted by cappyjon431;***730

This is about the most accurate description of Leisureville. I was frankly so irked at the author for this very reason that I contacted him and we exchanged emails several times. In truth the man was out to sell books and I refused to buy, waiting instead for a copy that was circulating (and I told him so).

I questioned him why he focused on what he did and completely ignored such activities that serve our immediate community and the much larger national and world community, such as Relay for Life, Hospice, Operation Shoebox, Meals on Wheels, and on and on, but the bottom line is that he is absolutely stuck in his views.

And the truth is that the STD percentage is no higher here than anywhere else, but the number of cases is larger because of the size of the community.

Yes, take this book with many grains of salt!

I agree with Quixote. The author fixed on the number of STD cases because of the age of the residents in TV. It kind of adds some sensationalism to the story and that sells books. Most of what is in the book is hearsay and speculation on his part.
Happy New Year
Irish

Quote:

Originally Posted by surfangel;***701

I thought the book was very accurate. The liberal author does not believe in putting old people out to pasture and thinks they should be in the community paying high property taxes to the government. The book distinguishes quite clearly the authors opinion of the villages and that of the village residence. He did a good job in voicing the residents love of the Villages. We don't live in a perfect world where families stay together, the Villages may not be the perfect solution for an ageing population but it's better than anything out there now. I found most people who read the book could not handle the truth about the Villages. There are a lot of negatives here, why not address them and do what we can to change them instead of burying our heads in the sand.
I personally don't like the way we are talked down to by the Morse family with the stupid fabricated history. The truth is much more interesting than the fairy tail.
The villages are being overbuilt and the reason we came here may change for the worst. The new residence will just settle for what they get instead of striving for "the Village" type of community that it once was. That is the problem with older residence, they can't look to the future. The Villages is becoming just one big sprawling suburban city with lots of cubs. Big deal!

Surfangel: :agree: with your well reasoned response.

I played golf with the coupe who moved here and were the authors neighbors. they alerted me the book was coming out and i venture to say I read it befor emost.

My brother ran into Mr. Midnight and given man's competitive nature told us if he hadn't re-married he could have given Mr. Midnight a run for his money. My wife was sitting right next to me so I uat demurred.:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 434893)

Once you get into golf, pickleball, bike riding, tennis, and power walking, (Throw in a couple of rounds of bridge, and some pool) swimming pool too,....Then....have a couple of hours of two for ones, you will be hoping that someone rings the bell so you can go to bed and not look like a siss.

Wow I'm tired already! I'll take a rain check will be my new pick up line!

Quote:

Originally Posted by graciegirl;***933

Is he a Democrat or a Republican. Inquiring minds want to know.

From the viewpoints he expresses in his writings I surmise Andrew Blechman is very liberal. Also, in the Kunstler podcast one can link into from Blechman's blog Blechman seems to slip as he is speaking and I believe I recall he refers to Mr. Midnight as Joe although he is given the name Chet in the book. Chet/Joe is probably in his mid to late sixties by now, depending upon when Blechman actually wrote the book which was published in 2008.

Look for the Playboy bunny ears hanging from Mr. Midnight's dirveway light - if they are still there - see page 86 of "Leisureville".

TV and TVers are far from perfect, but...

Quote:

Originally Posted by cappyjon431;***730

It was an enjoyable read, but from an academic perspective it was a classic case of an author (not a a social scientist) holding a deep seated belief and then using slipshod research to support his belief and justify his thesis.

Enjoy it for what it was--a quick and entertaining beach/pool read with a smattering of interesting factual information combined with some commercial (remember "sex sells") anecdotal evidence.

Cappy, you nailed it. His premise was that age-segregated communities are bad for society and that people who live in them are selfish, nihilistic and uninvolved in the community. Although many people in TV volunteer for a host of causes, he didn't seek out the easy-to-find givers.

He painted TVers as pot-smoking, sexaholics who sit around and play video games, ignoring the legions who are attracted to TV for the healthful sports, recreation, learning college and clean social clubs it offers, as well as the fact that their grandchildren love to visit.

He focused on the night-life set, as if-- rather than being a minority subset-- they were the typical Villager, as if the majority don't gladly head home when the venues close at 9 p.m., tired from a vibrant day of healthy and social activity.

Although I haven't met any, I don't doubt that there are pot-smoking, sexaholic, video-game zombies living in our midst. It's no wonder that he was able to find them. That was his premise, and proving it was his mission.

Had he set out to discover the typical Villager, he wouldn't recognize the place he described.

I thought it was hysterical; especially Mr. Midnight. The best thing about it was to learn that so many residents like living there.

Read the book as well.
Mr Midnight? Maybe Mr. Ten O'Clock.
Familiar with the Morses through Brownwood Acres in MI. My worry re the book is when the Morses pull out and sell all of the amenities to the residents for an inflated price.
Hmmm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by eweissenbach (Post 435529)

Not sure what to make of this, what with the conversation about Mr. Midnight and all....................:icon_wink:

Boy Howdy.

I don't know whether to be impressed or distressed.............;)

Geez...I was looking forward to moving there until I heard about how wild the residents are...now I am really looking forward to it!!!
Actually, I think the first time I realized how old I am was when I looked around the table at some of my close friends and realized that they all looked like the way I remembered my aunts and uncles looking...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trish Crocker (Post 435541)

Ha! My first realization was when I was at a big party a few years ago and the band was playing 50s and 60s rock. I looked at my wife and said "why are all these old people dancing to our music, I thought they hated it?"