Participants Come
from Everywhere to be in Lake
Chapala
I have a small computer I call mini-me. When we sit and
watch TV in the evening, or maybe I should say…while Bill naps, and I watch TV…I
play and do research on mini-me. I’m a major multi-tasker…I find it almost
impossible to do only one thing at a time. I think the only thing I do all by
itself with no other distractions is sleep.
One evening I was looking for an email address for one of
our alumni, when I ran across something that made me go ‘hmmmmmmmmmmm.’ I
wonder if Win from Red Deer, Alberta,
Canada, knows Oral and
Christine from Red Deer, Alberta, Canada?
And do they know they were both participants on a Focus on Mexico program
albeit on different programs and in different years? I mean…with a population
of 90,000, it’s possible, isn’t it?
Information junkie that I am, I found that so interesting that I started looking to see
where our participants came from.
Do you think Ed and Susie know Linda?…they all live in
Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada, with a whopping population of 11,673…do you think
they know they all came on a Focus program? Do you think they’d like to get
together and reminisce?
And, how far is North Vancouver
from Vancouver,
because Gord, Kathie, Jane, Alan and Jayne are from the north, and Gertrudis,
Gerri and Barbara are from the city! And what about you three who live in West Vancouver…where are
you relative to the others? Of course, some of these people live here now…so it
would be a tad difficult to get together, but not impossible!
It's also possible all five of the people from Abbotsford, British
Columbia, Canada,
don't know one another, because they have a population of over 120,000.
However, do you think Bert, Hanny, Susan and Brian from Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada, would like to be friends?
How fun would that be if they were reading this and just realized they know one
another???? With a population of less than 17,000, they just might!
We have six who came from Barrie,
Ontario, Canada
and five from Winnipeg.
Three of you came from Samia,
Ontario, Canada,
but I think you all live here now! Did you know that? Of course there’s seven
from Toronto,
and I would guess you don’t run into one another very often. There are four of
you from Vernon, BC, Canada…a
town of 75,000…now you’re going to have to start guessing, aren’t you?
We get a little more spread out and there aren’t a lot of
multiples when we hit the United
States. There are three from Bradenton, FL (population
49,000), and two from Oswego,
IL with a population of only
29,109! I found three from St. Paul, MN and six from Las
Vegas! Four from Harrisburg, PA and three from
Bluffton, South Carolina, with a population of 37,000…do you three know one
another?? There are two couples from Austin,
TX, and they both live in the
area now…I wonder if they’ve met. We had six participants from Houston,
TX, and with a population of 30,150, we have
two couples who came from Bothell, Washington, and three people from Everett…not that far away! In fact, there are
over 30 alumni who came from the state of Washington, approximately one third of whom
live here now. However, California gets the
gold star with 62 Focus participants coming from that state originally, with
about 20% now calling Lakeside home, either
full or part time.
Am I just weird (that was a rhetorical question, by the
way), or now that you know, don’t you want to meet those people who are from
your home town? I would! If I knew I had been on a Focus on Mexico program, and just found out six other
people from Kansas City
had been to one too, I would be dying to make their acquaintance. I’m so
excited when I know that someone from my hometown area is coming on a program.
I can hardly wait to see and talk to them. Is it just me, or would others want
to get together too? You know…to discuss our experiences, to reminisce about
our eight days there or look at our DVDs? Maybe I’m nostalgic, but I think it
would be fun.
Hey! Why don’t we have one big party some time with all the
Focus alumni? Of course, where would we have it? Centrally located in the middle
of the United States?
After all, 68% of our alumni are from the U.S. Selfishly, I vote for that
one…I’m from Kansas City, Missouri…which
I think of as the heart of America!
Based on Wikipedia, Coffeyville, KS is considered the geographic midpoint, but, believe
me, Kansas City
would be a lot more fun, and there’s only a 170-mile difference there! And,
let’s not even discuss the geographic center of North America…Balta, Pierce County, North
Dakota. With a population of only 62, I’m not sure
they have the infrastructure to handle all of Focus on Mexico’s alumni
for one big fiesta…especially with 100% agave tequila!
KAREN'S NOTE: Okay, I'm not weird. Just heard from alumnus Christine Collins about their mini-reunion. See below the article. I am really excited now!
We’d have some great reminiscing:
Reminiscing
By Amanda
Bradley
There's
a place within our hearts
Where we keep our favorite memories,
The ones that never fail to make us smile.
And when life becomes too hectic
It's such a special feeling
To close our eyes and reminisce awhile.
That’s how we feel…those of us who live in the Lake Chapala
area of Mexico…we
reminisce about past programs all the time. And, based on the conversations I
have with many of our alumni, I know that’s how you feel too. You tell me it’s
hard to believe how homesick you are for a place that you were in for only
eight short days. We know exactly how you feel. We miss you all! I don’t think
a lot of you totally realize on our final evening together that we will never
be together as a group ever again. It’s a very bittersweet evening. A few of you will disappear from our lives forever…you will never write or keep in
touch. Some of you will become lifelong correspondents and a lot of you will
become our neighbors. And some of you will become our BFFs…best friends
forever! A true joy! You really never ever know who you’re saying good-bye to
for the last time. So when we at Focus ignore the socially acceptable
three-second rule for hugging, please forgive us…we’re already missing you and
just want to hold onto you a little bit longer.
So…you alumni out there…keep in touch…we really do miss you.
That’s why I enjoy sending out my 
holiday cards. I heard from so many of you at
Easter this year that my heart is twice as big today as it was a week ago. You
warm me with your friendship. And, if you haven’t been a participant, what are
you waiting for? Please join us to make some memories and BFFs of your own.
Fairy Tales
It seems wherever I go,
People come into my life or out of it
Touching me where I can feel
Then leaving me only a memory,
Like the gossamer fairy tales of children-
Easily forgotten,
And I wasn't through knowing them.
How do I know who I am seeing for the last time?
How do I halt your life to gather and keep all those around you that you've
known?
And how do I keep fairy tales from losing their magic?
Yet come,
Brush against the walls of my life
And stay long enough for us to know each other.
Even though we'll have to part sometime
And we both know the longer you stay,
The more I will want you back when you are gone.
But come anyway,
For fairy tales are the happiest stories we ever read
And great books are made of little chapters.
~Chester Swor
Yes, please come…“Brush against the walls of my life, And
stay long enough for us to know each other.” We’re looking forward to meeting
you and sharing with you our little piece of paradise.
Christine Collins, alumnus February 27, 2010, writes:
You won't believe it, or rather, yes I think you will! Although not
technically my hometown, I lived in Kansas City from 1980 - 1992. My one and only child was born there! And, Rod and I are flying
into KC on 29 April - 4 May to stay with one of my dear friends and her
husband and in the midst of that, driving out to Lawrence, KS, to see Rod's
daughter and her family. What a small world!! You and I can anticipate a
delightful conversation about Kansas City! It's one of my favorite
places.And, just two more weekends and four of us couples here in North Carolina will get together for our "mini FOCUS reunion." I will take photos! I'm so looking forward to it.
We'll be driving about 3+ hours just to get out to Stan and Linda's but
it will be worth it!
Out of we four NC couples, two are definitely moving down this year
(Rod and I at the end of July and Norma and her husband in October.)
Linda and Stan want to, but will need to sell their house first. So, did we all listen well
at the FOCUSseminars or what?! Be well and I'll report back after next weekend!
Blessings to you,
Christine