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January 16, 2009 New Year's Resolutions
We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! Speaking of New Year, the 2009 square dance season is in full swing at Fun N Sun in San Benito, Texas. Each week is special. For example, this Saturday January 17 is our Free Root Beer Floats special. If you're nearby, come enjoy a good dance and a refreshing treat!
Did you make any New Year's Resolutions? Nasser did ... sort of. After our recent move to San Antonio, Jeanna announced that a spare bedroom would become the "Exercise Room", Nasser was puzzled! Hmmmm. Jeanna looks just fine and does not actually need exercise. Then suddenly, he figured out who the exercise room is _really_ for. :)
Happy New Year!
Fun N Sun Saturday schedule:
1 pm - Beginner Class - This Saturday (January 17) is the last day to enroll for the 2009 class
3 pm - Plus Class
7 pm - pre-rounds with Karen & Dick Fisher
7:30 pm - Party dance, Plus with rounds (Free Root Beer Floats this week, January 17)
9:30 pm - Advanced tip
Sunday schedule:
1 pm - Intro to Square Dancing - first-timers always welcome - and they get a free pedometer! (one per paid first-timer, while supplies last)
3 pm - D.B.D. (Dance by Definition) Funshop
We hope you keep all your New Year's Resolutions, and that 2009 shapes up into a great year for you!
Nasser and Jeanna Shukayr
San Antonio, Texas
www.NShukayr.com
Sock Hop
After two months away from airports, we finally flew again this past weekend. Not much has changed. Shoes still must be removed at airport security. That's why Jeanna brings her own socks to the airport.
Yesterday she forgot to bring her "sockies". Did you realize that if the wife has no sockies, it is automatically the husband's problem? Regular ordinary man-socks are great emergency substitutes for special dainty frilly lady-socks. The wife prances merrily through security while the husband must walk barefoot on the airport's cold hard germ-infested floor.
Luckily, Nasser had with him (don't ask) two plastic WalMart grocery bags. They'll do nicely as replacement socks. Just slip 'em over the feeties and ... wow, they actually look quite sharp. Perhaps this is how new fashion trends start. (If you suddenly see lots of people wearing WalMart bags as socks, you'll know why.)
Apparently grocery-bag socks are a security risk.
Security agent: "There's nothing in those bags, right?"
Nasser: "Well, _I_ am in those bags. Are you calling me 'nothing'?"
Security agent: "Let's rephrase that. Why are WalMart bags on your feet?"
Nasser starts to explain that life is full of rules, such as the rule of consequence. If you forget your socks, your consequence is walking barefoot through airport security. But this rule only applies to husbands. Wives get a special exemption which lets them wear husband-socks whenever needed. So the husband goes barefoot unless he happens to have ...
Apparently, it's easier to wave a security risk through than to listen to the full explanation!
The moral of the story is: plan ahead! Speaking of planning ahead, please consider any of our upcoming square dance events if you happen to be nearby and can find either your socks or WalMart bags:
February 7-8 - Fun N Sun RV Resort in San Benito, Texas
Saturday: 1 pm Beginners, 3 pm Plus Class, 7 pm Pre-Rounds, 7:30 pm Plus Dance
Sunday: 1 pm Intro; 3 pm DBD Funshop
(We're also there Feb 21-22, Feb 28-Mar 1, and Mar 7-8) (guest callers on Feb 14-15, Mar 14-15 and Mar 21-22)
February 13-14 - Knothead Convention in Melbourne, Florida
March 7 - annual Dinner Dance at Fun N Sun (get tickets in advance). This is also Nasser & Jeanna's "Grand Finale" in the Rio Grande Valley.
April 3-4 - HASSDA weekend in Excelsior Springs, Missouri
April 25-27 - San Marcos CA, Thousand Oaks CA, and San Luis Obispo CA
And further ahead:
July 10-12 - "First Annual" Freedom Weekend in Albuquerque, New Mexico (with Richard Lane)
September 6-11 - Fun Valley in South Fork, Colorado (always a high point of the year)
October 16-17 - annual Globe Festival in Globe, Arizona
And even further ahead:
January 23 to 31 - square dance tour of Hawaii (with Doug Davis & Dan Preedy) to Maui and also the Aloha State Festival in Honolulu
As always, the website has the latest info along with links to flyers and clubs.
That Hawaii trip might even justify brand NEW socks. :)
Happy travels and sock-hopping,
Nasser and Jeanna Shukayr
San Antonio, Texas
www.NShukayr.com
We hope you had a great Valentine's Day weekend. We called in Melbourne, Florida -- fun crowd, great times, good friends, wonderful memories!
Melbourne has a hamburger joint named Burger Inn, but the locals call it Grumpy Al's. The owner / chef's name is really Al. We just HAD to meet this guy, to find out if he's really grumpy. Guess what? He is ... big time!
We look forward to this weekend at Fun N Sun Resort in San Benito, Texas. Callers practice luuuv songs all year to sing on Valentine's Day. We were out of town on Valentine's Day, so we'll sing the luuuv songs this Saturday, February 21, at our "You're Still My Sweetheart" dance. Bring your sweetheart (even if he/she is grumpy like Grumpy Al). We'll un-grumpy you with free valentine's candy. For some strange reason, Wal-Mart had it on sale this week. You might even win a prize such as a hand-held interactive game or a brand-new car! It's tempting to say a "valuable" prize but um, er, ahem ... let's just say it will be fun. :)
Weekend schedule at Fun N Sun:
Saturday: 1 pm Beginner Class, 3 pm Plus Class, 7 pm Pre-Rounds, 7:30 pm Plus Dance, 9:30 pm Advanced tip
Sunday: 1 pm Intro to Square Dancing; 3 pm DBD Funshop
Looking ahead:
Feb 28 / Mar 1 - Fun N Sun in San Benito, TX
March 2 - Gonzales TX
March 7-8 - Fun N Sun - annual Dinner Dance (tickets in advance please)
March 20 - Aurora CO
March 21 - Denver CO
and further ahead:
April 3-4 - Excelsior Springs, MO - HASSDA weekend
July 10-12 - Albuquerque, NM - Freedom Weekend (with Richard Lane)
September 6-11 - South Fork, CO - Fun Valley week (with Lem Gravelle)
October 16-17 - Globe, AZ - Globe Festival
January 23-31, 2010 - Maui Hawaii for 5 days then the Hawaii State Square Dance Convention in Honolulu (with Doug Davis and Dan Preedy)
As always, the website has the latest info along with links to flyers and clubs.
If anyone sees Grumpy Al, please find out if he wants to go to the Hawaii State Festival next January. That kind of trip will un-grumpy anyone!
Happy dancing!
Nasser and Jeanna Shukayr
San Antonio, Texas
www.NShukayr.com
March 20, 2009 Wandering Aimlessly
Springtime means spring cleaning. It's easy with Roomba. Roomba is a vacuum cleaner robot. It's a disc 15 inches across and 3 inches tall. It uses sophisticated strategic software to plan its route, but to onlookers it seems to wander aimlessly. After bumping into an obstacle, it wanders aimlessly in a new random direction. After Roomba thinks it has done enough work, it docks itself at home base to recharge its battery.
Let's analyze. Wanders aimlessly. You have no clue where it will go next. Goes for a while then takes a break. It's obvious: Roomba is a square dancer!
Folks in the Rio Grande Valley will want to wander over to Fun N Sun in San Benito this weekend to dance to caller Erik Pluylaar from The Netherlands. His schedule:
Saturday March 21:
1 pm - Beginner class (graduation)
3 pm - Plus workshop
7:30 pm - Plus dance (pre-rounds 7 pm with The Fishers)
Sunday March 22:
1 pm - Intro to square dancing - first-timers welcome
3 pm - DBD funshop - enjoy European style DBD!
Upcoming dances for Nasser and Jeanna:
March 20 - Aurora CO
March 21 - Denver CO - afternoon Advanced, evening Plus
April 3 & 4 - Excelsior Springs MO - HASSDA weekend
April 19 - Schertz TX
April 24 - San Marcos CA
April 25 - Thousand Oaks CA
April 26 - San Luis Obispo CA
April 28 - Austin TX
For those near San Antonio, Nasser and Jeanna will soon become club caller for the Texas Bluebonnets on Sunday nights. We will call about half the time with guest callers the other half. (For example, Erik Pluylaar calls on April 5th.) We dance north of San Antonio at Stone Creek RV Park (I-35 exit 177) in Schertz, Texas.
Something new! One Sunday a month you can bring non-dancing friends early (at 6 pm) for a free sample of square dancing. They'll get an easy, fun, free intro from 6 to 7. They are then welcome to hang out and watch the regular dance from 7 to 9. Here are the Sundays with free intro at 6 pm:
April 19
May 24
June 21
July 19
If you can bring a newbie, that's wonderful. Or, bring a Roomba instead to wander around aimlessly. :) Or, just bring yourself to help introduce newbies to the Fun, Fitness, Friendship and Aimless Wandering of square dancing.
Planning ahead ... we invite you to consider any or all of these upcoming events:
July 10-12 - Albuquerque, New Mexico - Freedom Weekend (with Richard Lane)
September 6-11 - South Fork, Colorado - Fun Valley week (with Lem Gravelle)
October 16-17 - Globe, Arizona - Globe Festival
January 23-31, 2010 - Maui, Hawaii for 5 days then the Hawaii State Square Dance Convention in Honolulu (with Doug Davis and Dan Preedy)
As always, the website has the latest info along with links to flyers and clubs. We appreciate your friendship and support so much, and we hope to see you in the near future!
Happy wandering!
Nasser and Jeanna Shukayr
San Antonio, Texas
www.NShukayr.com
Opening Days are memorable. After 23 years of guest callers, the Texas Bluebonnets in Schertz (north of San Antonio) have a club caller. Nasser and Jeanna will call on Sundays when they're in town (about half the time) with guest callers the rest of the time. Next Sunday, April 19th, is Opening Day for the new arrangement.
But first, let's talk about an Opening Day l-o-n-g ago. The year was 1915. Haverty's Furniture had a Grand Opening in a Louisiana town. They advertised Free Ice Cream. A six-year-old boy saw the ad and rode his bicycle to the store only to be told "SCRAM! There is NO free ice cream for KIDS!".
Time passes. The six-year-old grew up. He never bought furniture from Haverty's. His kids never bought from Haverty's. His grandkids never bought from Haverty's, and his great grandkids are not even allowed near Haverty's, all because Nasser's Grandfather got No Free Ice Cream on Opening Day in 1915.
Fast-forward to today. There's a Haverty's Furniture store near Nasser & Jeanna's home. Here's the plan. Wait for a hot Texas day. Visit a nearby ice cream store. Buy ice cream. Walk to Haverty's. By then, the ice cream is all melty and drippy. Enter the Haverty's store (something Nasser has never ever done). Ask for the manager. Ice cream is dripping on the carpet. The manager asks "May I help you?", to which Nasser replies "do you KNOW what this ice cream is FOR?". When the manager PRETENDS not to know, Nasser shoves the half-melted ice cream right in the manager's face and screams "THAT's for how you treated my GRANDDAD in 1915!!".
The moral of the story is you should go to all Opening Days, to save your grandkids the trouble of getting even, 94 years later. That's why you're all invited to Opening Day for the Texas Bluebonnets' new Club Caller in Schertz, next Sunday April 19th.
We don't have free ice cream, but once a month we do have free samples of America's dance (duh, that would be square dancing) at 6 pm, prior to the (not free, but cheap) regular dance at 7 pm. Bring your friends, grandfathers and furniture salesmen. Everyone gets a free intro to square dancing at 6 pm, even if you're six years old and rode your bike to the event.
We dance north of San Antonio at Stone Creek RV Park (I-35 exit 177) in Schertz. If you can bring a first-timer, that's wonderful. If not, just bring yourself to help introduce others to the Fun, Fitness, Friendship, and Future Remembrance of Opening Day.
Upcoming dances:
April 19 - Schertz TX - intro 6 pm, club dance 7 pm
April 24 - San Marcos CA
April 25 - Thousand Oaks CA
April 26 - San Luis Obispo CA
April 28 - Austin TX
May 1 & 2 - Vista CA
May 9 - Knoxville TN
May 15 & 16 - Salt Lake City UT
May 24 - Schertz TX - intro 6 pm, club dance 7 pm
Plan ahead ...
July 10-12 - Albuquerque NM - Freedom Weekend (with Richard Lane)
September 6-11 - South Fork CO - Fun Valley week (with Lem Gravelle) - almost sold out, so you want to make reservations fairly soon
October 16-17 - Globe AZ - Globe Festival
January 23-31, 2010 - Maui for 4 days followed by the Hawaii State Square Dance Convention in Honolulu (with Doug Davis and Dan Preedy)
As always, the website has the latest info and links.
We hope all your Opening Days are memorable!
Nasser and Jeanna Shukayr
San Antonio, Texas
www.NShukayr.com
We hope all is well! We're having fun working the day-job during the week and traveling on weekends to call dances (recently to California, Tennessee and Utah).
To celebrate our third wedding anniversary we took a weekend getaway to a place of Jeanna's choosing. She chose New Orleans. Upon arrival at the airport, we grabbed a copy of the "Louisiana Attractions" brochure. The Table of Contents lists attractions by city. Nasser was surprised to see a listing for the small town (Keithville) where he grew up.
Nasser: "Looky here! There's a tourist attraction in my home town!"
Jeanna: "Why would anyone want to visit YOUR home town?"
Nasser: "I guess they built a Nasser Shukayr museum for the world to enjoy."
Jeanna: "Very doubtful."
Nasser: "Well, what else could be tourist-worthy in such a small town?"
Jeanna: "Let's turn to page 37 and find out".
(turn pages)
Nasser: (disappointed) Bummer! Instead of a Shukayr museum, it's the National Chimpanzee Sanctuary".
Jeanna: "Not much difference"
Other than the cruel realization that Nasser's hometown is now an ape museum, we did have a great visit to Louisiana.
Upcoming dances:
June 6 - Lufkin TX - where Nasser called his very first dance ever - hmmm -- what kind of museum they might build there?
June 7 thru 11 - teaching a caller school in Livingston TX
June 13 - Kingsport TN
June 14 - Linville NC
June 15 - Chesterfield (St. Louis) MO
June 21 - Schertz TX - intro 6 pm, club 7 pm
June 26 & 27 - Long Beach CA
June 29 - Georgetown TX
We call for the Texas Bluebonnets in Schertz on Sundays "when we're in town". That's only happened twice this year, but we do expect to be in town almost every weekend in July and August. If you're nearby, come dance with us from 7 to 9 pm. Once a month we have "Intro to Square Dancing" for newbies at 6 pm. This is a splendid opportunity to bring your non-dancer or former-dancer friends. We'll treat you so many ways that you're sure to like at least one of 'em. :)
Plan ahead ...
July 10-12 - Albuquerque NM - Freedom Weekend (with Richard Lane)
September 6-11 - South Fork CO - Fun Valley week (with Lem Gravelle)
October 16-17 - Globe AZ - Globe Festival
January 23-31, 2010 - join us in Maui and Honolulu for the Hawaii State Convention
We're working on setting up a square dancer trip to China in 2010. Stay tuned for details.
Latest info is always found on the website at http://www.nshukayr.com
We hope they put something other than a Chimpanzee Museum in your home town!
Nasser and Jeanna Shukayr
San Antonio, Texas
www.NShukayr.com