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Sun Metropolis, Arizona was the primary large-scale retirement neighborhood within the US when it opened in 1960. For the final 43 years it has been house to the cheerleading grannies of the Solar Metropolis Poms, a marching and efficiency group whose 28 members vary in age from 58 to 89; they practise 3 times per week and seem at as much as 50 occasions a yr. US photographer Kendrick Brinson has been documenting Solar Metropolis since 2009, and describes it as a “joyful and uplifting” place to work. In the direction of the top of final yr, as vaccines have been bringing the Covid-19 pandemic beneath management, she needed to understand how the Poms have been faring, and flew again to Arizona. On 11 December, the Poms marched within the Christmas within the Park vacation parade in Litchfield Park, solely their third efficiency after the pandemic put neighborhood occasions on maintain for 18 months. “All of us labored onerous on Zoom to be able to carry out when the lockdown was lifted,” says Kathy Villa, 65, the Poms’ marching director. “I may need teared up from seeing so many completely satisfied faces directly,” Brinson says.
Sharon Phrase (above, second from proper) has been with the Poms for 9 years. “What retains you younger?” she says. “Studying – by no means lose the kid inside your soul, and have a zest for all times. The primary time I got here right here, I believed: oh, that is like Lady Scouts’ camp! I’ll simply maintain going until I die.”
A few of the Poms managed to hold on assembly, in member Sherri Sharp’s yard, when the pandemic put a cease to their common apply periods. Greta Paulsen, 73, stated it “feels fantastic” to have the ability to march and carry out collectively once more.
Mary Zirbel, 80, is the longest-serving member of the Poms. After 21 years, she has no plans to stop. “I’ve obtained the vitality,” she says. “I’ve obtained extra vitality than most individuals.” Because the group’s majorette – a job she additionally crammed at highschool – Zirbel leads the marches and loves listening to the gang’s reactions: “You women go! Oh, I want I had these legs! We love you.”
Members maintain fingers and pray (above) as they prepare for the 2021 Christmas parade in Litchfield Park, Arizona – their third efficiency again collectively after months of lockdowns saved them aside. President Peggy Parsons (proper of centre pic), 80, says: ‘We’re like sisters now. I’ve osteoporosis and deteriorating disc illness, and the extra train I get, the higher.’
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