JANUARY 17, 2024 www.wintertexantimes.com 14 WINTER TEXAN TIMES 27146 McLelland Road., Harlingen, TX 78552 (956) 423-1446 Lower Valley / 956-664-1446 Upper Valley Visit us at www.gowithjo.com for complete itineraries Big BendAdventure (6 Days) Jan. 27, 2024 (5 Meals Included) ������������$1,295pp (Prices are per person, double occupancy) U.S. TOURS Go...With Jo! Tours & Travel InTheFootstepsof Paul (12Days) April 19, 2024 (23Meals Included)���������$5,035pp With Greek Isle Cruise (Prices are per person, double occupancy) OVER-SEAS TOURS Hello, it is now past mid-January and my mind keeps going back to Christmas. Maybe it is because I am reminded daily of the wonderful time I had with family and friends. One half of my dining room table is covered with a thousand-piece puzzle of the nativity. And then my bedtime reading is a historical book given to me for Christmas. It is about the revolutionary women of Texas and Mexico. So many of these women organized for equality mainly in education. But also, for the right to vote and for the right to choose who they wanted to marry. Perhaps it was this book that finally pushed me into volunteering to be a tutor for children who were having problems with reading. Or maybe it was because I had so long admired our older citizens and Winter Texans who volunteered. Truly they make a difference. So yesterday I reported for my first day as a tutor to help children who had reading problems. Surely the ability to read is one of the most important skills that we can learn. Earlier in the school year I asked my fifth-grade nephew how he was doing in school. His reply was that he made an A+ in science and in Math, but that you could not make an F plus or an F minus, it’s just an F. He was getting an F in reading. Later in the year, those math problems became written problems and his excellent grade in Math began to drop. Fortunately, some wonderful Memories, volunteering, and tours person volunteered to serve as his tutor. Finally, the book, the example set by so many retirees and my nephew’s experience encouraged me to volunteer. I have requested to work with teenagers. Remember when you were a teenager…. You were neither an adult nor a child, but in between trying to find out who you really were. Although I studied to be an elementary teacher, junior high age has always been my favorite age. They need us. Tours and travel are on the upswing. Two very popular trips are already at capacity – The Big Bend and the faith-based Footsteps of Paul are both on a wait list basis. On the Big Bend Tour, I could only block 15 rooms in the Big Bend National Park. Those are selling fast so if you are thinking about this one, you need to plan, and soon, as all hotels have a deadline when you must give up any unsold seats. I will continue to keep the costs to you as low as I possibly can. Note that the King Ranch tours are not priced yet. One of the most expensive parts of any tour is the transportation. If tour and travel companies are overwhelmed with people wanting to travel. So are the bus companies in quoting their costs. Just as soon as all costs are furnished to me, I will price those tours. Increases in costs of living filter down to the hotels, the restaurants, and the transportation costs. Expect an increase – I will keep the increase as little as I possibly can. That’s a promise. Hope to see you soon. If you don’t already know, Men of A-Chord and the Sweet Adeline’s have now become one and perform as Men andWomen of A-Chord. The group performs in the Winter Texan parks from January through March. The group still performs Barbershop Harmony, but now you have a wider range of voices to listen to. Something you might not know about the group, with funds collected from their shows, anything over their expenses, goes to music scholarships to high school seniors in the Valley. Their first show of the season is on Saturday, January 27, 6 p.m. at the Mission First United Methodist Church, 1101 Doherty Ave., in Mission. A love offering will be collected. On Sunday, January 28, they will be at Llano Grande, 2215 E. West Blvd, Mercedes at 3 p.m. Cost is $8. Remaining shows include Sunday, February 4, 3 p.m. $7, Aladdin Villas, 1620 Aladdin Villas St. W, Mission; Sunday, February 18, 3 p.m., $8, Kenwood RV Park, 1201 N. Main St., La Feria; Wednesday, February 21, 7 p.m., Paradise Resort Estates, 301 E. Hall Acres Rd., Pharr; Saturday, February 24, 6:30 p.m., $8, Alamo Rec Veh RV Park, 1320 W. Frontage Rd., Alamo; Sunday, March 3, 7 p.m., $7, Casa Del Sol MH and RV Park, 400 Val Verde Rd, Donna; Sunday, March 10, 6 p.m., $8, Alamo Palms, 1341 W. Bus. Hwy 83, Alamo; and Monday, March 18, 6 p.m., $7, Hidden Valley Ranch RV, 7600 Long Dr., Mission. Men and Women of A-Chord performing near you Men & Women of A-Chord. Courtesy photo
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