How Karate Changed Our Lives

by Rachel Lovely

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

― Eleanor Roosevelt

I had a dream to give my children more opportunities than I had. Thanks to my best friend Elizabeth I was able to make my dream come true. I was sitting down, chatting with Elizabeth one night, and we were talking about our dreams. I told her how badly I wanted to put my kids into sports. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford it. Elizabeth, being the angel that she is, offered to pay for their lessons. I immediately enrolled my son, Jason, into karate.

When I first started college, I was required to take Math 0057. Mr. Bill Bauer was my instructor. I enjoyed this class very much. Mr. Bauer was very friendly and would share stories about his life with us. On top of being a math instructor, he was a bodyguard, and moonlighted as a karate instructor.

This made the choice of where to send Jason for karate very clear. Jason would definitely take Mr. Bauer's class. I had the thought in the back of my head to send him there, but I knew i couldn't afford it. When Elizabeth made it a reality for us, we were ecstatic.

On our first day of karate class, I couldn't wait to introduce Jason to Mr. Bauer. He introduced himself to Jason as Sensei Bill. With our history of math class, Sensei Bill had an immediate connection with Jason. He took him under his wing to show him the ways of Teikoku Shodan, a type of karate.

To describe my son a little bit, he is four years old, almost five. He is 71 Pounds, which is

rather on the heavy side for a four-year-old. I try watching his diet and his sugar intake. He is active, but the chunkiness runs in the family. There is also history of heart disease and diabetes in the genes as well. This is why I wanted for him to be in sports so badly.

　       Back to the first day of karate, he did alright. He is defiantly not a natural. He will require a lot of conditioning. He has fun and enjoys karate very much. Sensei Bill is amazing and takes his time with Jason. Jason does his kicks and punches. He does push-ups and jumping exercises. He has come a long way from where he started.

After his third class, Sensei Bill told Jason he needs to run, do pushups, and crunches at home to get stronger. Now Jason is teaching me karate. He asks to go running and do his pushups and crunches every day. Jason said if he must do it than I must do it also. Now he has me running, doing pushups and crunches. Which is great for me, because the history of diabetes and heart disease come from my side of the family.

Now we are becoming closer as mother and son through karate and exercise. Instead of watching movies we are outside running. I feel so much better daily because of the exercise I am doing. I haven't exercised in years. It is easier with Jason by my side encouraging me. We are going to live longer happier lives because of karate, sensei bill, and Elizabeth. The dream, that became reality is changing our future.

Musical Review: She Loves Me

by Emma Willis

Do you enjoy musicals?  If you do, She Loves Me, produced by the Ocala Civic Theater, is a must-see.  The musical’s cast was full of local talent including some of our very own CF theater students. 

This musical is based on a play by Miklos Laszlo that was originally directed and produced on Broadway. This musical has seen the stage and film many times and under many different names over the years. From the Perfumerie in the 1930’s, to She Loves Me in the 1960’s, to the film success of You’ve Got Mail in 1998, and back to broadway in 2016 as She Loves Me, this story line is one that has appealed to many generations. 

Set in Budapest in the 1930s, Maraczek’s Parfumerie’s shop clerk

Georg Nowack, played by Will Winter, falls in love with a mystery woman only known as “Dear Friend.” Seeking a job Amalia Balash, played by Ashlyn Gibbs, beats Georg in a sales contest, landing herself a job at the perfumerie.  Georg and Amalia instantly despise each other.  With Christmas approaching, quarrels encompass the shop.  The pen pals plan a date to meet face to face finally.  When Georg goes to meet “Dear Friend,” he realizes, much to his dismay, that “Dear Friend,” the one he thought was his true love, was in actuality his arch-rival Amalia.  He decides to keep his identity secret, but when he sees her heartbroken the next day, he begins to feel sympathy for her.  Not only is Georg feeling new emotions, but Amalia is surprised by new emotions of her own.  Will Georg reveal himself to Amalia?  Can these enemies become “Dear Friends”?  

The cast and crew did a fantastic job putting together and performing this musical.  If you enjoy plays or musicals, you should definitely visit the Ocala Civic Theater.  While She Loves Me is no longer playing at Ocala Civic Theater, there are many more plays coming this season where much of Ocala’s amazing local talent can be seen in action. 

  

The current play, Eternity, is playing now through April 21.

Bonus:  CF students can see the final dress rehearsal on the Wednesday night before the play opens at no charge with a student ID!  [Note from Mrs. Bufka --  Attending these definitely counts for extra credit.) 

Here is a link to the Ocala Civic Theater site: Ocala Civic Theater