April 2007 - On Top of the World Communities Info

April 2007 The World News® Ocala Open21results,Page 22.Section 2Photo by Larry ResnickBob Eubanks brings his ‘Newlywed Game’ to the Cultural Center.BY MARY PAT GIFFINWORLD NEWS WRITER“You don’t stop laughing because you grow old.You grow old because you stop laughing.” — MichaelPritchardLaughter filled the Circle Square Cultural Centerfor the Newlywed Game Show with host BobEubanks recently as he shared his most outrageousgame show moments and observations onrelationships. Few in the audience never watchedthis No. 1 daytime television series, which wasconsidered a “dirty show” during the four decadesthat it entertained us growing up.“Never let the parts become bigger than thewhole,” he advised the audience and warned them“not to blow out my candle to make yours brighter.”He told the men, “don’t talk about your pastgirlfriends” and to the ladies he reminded them,“You’re married to the biggest babies in the world.Don’t criticize their mamas and don’t question ourVol. 20, No. 10 • April 2007On Top of the World Whoops It Upat Cultural Centermanhood.” These words of wisdom were complimentedby footage of couples from his popularshow.Then the real fun began when Eubanks introducedfour couples as contestants to the not sonewlywed game: Vivian and J.C. Brown, longtimeresidents of On Top of the World, married 55 years;Angie and Eddie Esch, both employed by On Topof the World, married just 16 months; Garry andMariam Gerlach, Candler Hills residents, celebrating30 years of marriage; Bill and Carol Horton,also Candler Hills residents, married three years.While it’s usually the “edgy” questions and responsesby their spouses that makes the audiencelaugh, this evening the belly laughs were createdby the expressions on Carol Horton’s face.“Carol does not want to be here,” her husbandannounced, as a matter of fact, as they took theirseats on stage. That was an understatement. Lips Continued on Page 38Rewind Performs at Sholom Park Concert SeriesTBY DAN ROBINSONThe Golden Age of Rock ’n Rollwill be the April concert at SholomPark.The 2007 Sholom Park ConcertSeries will present a free concert at1:15 p.m. Sunday, April 29, starringOcala’s own Rewind, The Band. Notethe earlier starting time to allow theband to keep an evening engagementdown south at The Villages.Rewind has been a favorite inCentral Florida for nearly a decade.This trio of talented musicians isnot only accomplishedon theiri n s t r u m e n t s ,but their vocalabilities bothsolo and in theirharmonies areone of Rewind’strademarks. Versatilityis another of Rewind’s trademarks,so if oldies, rock & roll, classicrock, southern rock, Latin, bluesor country is what you want to hear,you will definitely enjoy Rewind,The Band.Rewind has recently shared thebig stage with country music awardwinning stars Willie Nelson, LeannRimes, Travis Tritt and Brenda Lee.They have also performed with bigname popular music stars such asGary Puckett, Neal McCoy, Gary Lewisand The Playboys, and The Temptations,to name a few.The stars of Rewind, The Band,are Greg Pando on guitar and vocals,Billy Arriaga on drums, percussionWant to Go?Rewind at Sholom Park1:15 p.m. Sunday, April 29Freeand vocals, and Rick Warsing onbass and vocals. For more informationon the band you can find themat www.Rewind.cc.At this program we will be introducinga new feature for the Concertin the Park Series, “Arts Around thePond.” Local professional artistshailing from Alachua, Marion, Lakeand Sumter counties, who are activein a number of art groups in CentralFlorida, are looking for additionalavenues to exhibit and share theirwork with the community. We areadding art exhibitionon theday Sholom Parkhosts the musicalevent. Asthese individualartists work outof home studiosand haveRewind band members are Greg Pando, Billy Arriaga and Rick Warsing.limited galleryspace in the area, we are workingwith them to develop opportunitiesfor exposure of their work in settingsthat compliment their creativeand peaceful energies. Sholom Parkis such a venue, and it is with greathonor that we want you to come early,stay late and enjoy some of ourlocal talent.Visitors to the park on the day ofthe art show/concert could enjoy notonly the park’s beauty and wonderfulpaths but view the work of variousartists from Central Florida aswell. Yes, some artists will be paintingen plein air or demonstratingtheir unique craft as well as displayingtheir finished works under theirsmall tents. Sales of the artwork arenot permitted at the park so priceswill not be posted. Business cardsand/or bio sheets can be offered tointerested visitors if requested.Bring a folding chair or blanketfor your comfort, but please do notbring food, drink, coolers or pets.Light refreshments will be availablefor purchase, and limited handicappedparking is available for thosewho arrive early. While the concertis free to the public, we encourageyo donations on behalf of the HorticulturalArts & Parks Institute, Inc.(HAPI). Sholom Park is at 6840 S.W.80th Ave. (off SR 200), near On Topof the World in Ocala. For more SholomPark and HAPI information, goto www.hapi-info.org. Steve Kallas enlists Priest Georgis Alex Birbas to help trace Steve’s family inGreece.Alexander Kalliakoudas’ beautiful Kalavryta, Greece.A Modern Greek OdysseyWBY PAT WELLINGTONWORLD NEWS WRITERWhen he was growing up in Ohio, On Top of the World residentSteve Kallas remembers his immigrant father speaking oftenabout his remote mountain village in Greece — Kalavryta.Sometimes he would sigh and say, ”Kalavryta — fantastiko.”Then, during World War II, occupying Germans destroyedhis father’s village and massacred all its older boys and men.Steve, a Battle of the Bulge hero, was serving in the military atthe time and didn’t know about this until after the war. By thenhis father, Alexander Kalliakoudas, who had emerged from EllisIsland 30 years earlier as Alex Kallas, was completely out oftouch with family in Greece, communication from the outsideworld having been difficult if not impossible.For years after his father’s death in 1964 Steve felt a gravitationalpull to Kalavryta to search for surviving family andhonor his father’s memory. Last October his Greek odysseyfinally began.Accompanied by seasoned travelers and close friends, Merrilland Caroline Smith, Steve left JFK on Oct. 28, 2006, for aventure he hoped would illuminate the mystery of whether theKallases in Kalavryta had survived the massacre.But the quest would not be a straight shot. Timing and localcustoms would complicate the venture.Merrill had arranged for a rental car to take them from Athensto Kalavryta. But the car, with scarcely enough space forcarry-on luggage, had two flat tires and little gas. They arrivedon Saturday, a Greek holiday when many gas stations wereclosed. Luckily, the rental agent found one open station wherethey gassed up and filled the tires with air.Their first scheduled stop was Club Med in Marathon wherethe Smiths had a timeshare. But their directions proved inadequate,forcing them to stop often to ask for some. (In Greecemaps are sold in bookstores which close on holidays.) Afterbacktracking and going through the same tollbooths threetimes, the weary travelers arrived at beautiful Club Med withinsight of a sea- swept beach, a perfect place to rusticate after along flight.Though the plan was to leave the following day for Kalavryta,they had yet to receive their checked luggage. Though Continued on Page 38