Here's the second of three "Dear John" letters to coach John Topliss, as explained in the April 29 blog post. This one is from team member Marcia Plante.
English as a Second Language After many years of solitary service as coach of The Villages Track Club, John teamed up with a qualified colleague, Rick Riddle (who was almost as pretty John and Ray), to train the wide array of runners, jumpers, and throwers. While John was back home in Britain, Rick would initiate new routines, workouts, and rules, all of which would create some confusion and adjustment upon John’s return. Perhaps the most humorous was that of lane assignments and usage. ‘Twas a warm and sunny morn as the “early bird” track club finished their stretching session and proceeded to the track to complete their warm-ups. John, dutifully enforcing the new lane rules, called the members to line up in lanes 5 and 7. As the runners divided into two separate lines and approached the staggered starts, one man had positioned himself well up front in lane 8. John quickly advised “You’re in 8.” The members politely ignored John’s rapid enunciation as did the man, who held his ground. With a look of concern, John repeated “You’re in 8, chap.” As the man innocently questioned “Here?” John pointed to lane 7 and retorted, “No, there.” The club members could no longer contain themselves and drifted out of their lanes as the chap slowly proceeded to the rear in lane 7. Totally confused and humored by the club’s reaction, John said, with a sheepish grin, “What did I say that’s so funny?” Only then did he realize that his upbeat sentence structure altered the intent of his expletive, thus commanding the poor chap to urinate in lane 7. The moral of the story is “If you’re in 8, don’t urinate!” Respectfully submitted, Marcia Plante
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On April 26, 2023, we gathered at the Savannah Center to thank our club's co-founder, John Topliss, and his wife, Jean, for 20 years of skilled direction and lasting friendship. They're returning to their native England, and while we'll miss them, we'll carry on the lasting impression they've made on our team.
One of several gifts presented that evening was an album, The Dear John Letters. Here's how I described it: John and Jean, Tonight we’re privileged to thank you in person for all you mean to us. We also want you to have a tangible souvenir of those thoughts. So, since I’m the club’s word nerd, I gave everyone an assignment: Write a Dear John letter. They did! The letters are in this album – your permanent keepsake of our memories, our gratitude, and our love. We all have our favorite John Topliss stories. Three of the Dear John letters provided never-to-be-forgotten ones. Here's the first, from team member Art Bourgeois. --Leah Rewolinski, The Villages TLC Word Nerd A Moment of Silence Everyone who has experienced one of John’s time trials knows how precise and exact he is with every organizational detail. Apparently he is that way in other aspects of his life. Those with longevity in the club will remember the potluck socials we would have before John left for the UK in May. It was customary for John to start the festivities with a recap of the season. On this particular occasion, two members had passed away that year, and we wanted to recognize them. At John’s table, it was decided that a moment of silence after the season recap would be appropriate. John then asked me,”How long should the ‘moment’ last?” I shrugged my shoulders and said, “About 30 seconds.” Well, “somewhere” is not nearly precise enough for John. As soon as we all bowed our heads, he used his watch to time the “moment of silence” to EXACTLY 30 seconds. He then said, “Thanks, everyone, let’s eat.” I’m not sure whether his exacting nature is the cause or the result of his track and field experience. But we can all be thankful, for it has served all of us with a great experience. |
your choiceIf you don't run, you rust. Leah rewolinskiThe Villages TLC Word Nerd & webmaster Archives
January 2025
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