OLLI Website What's New Catalog Info Watch "The OLLI Story" Suggestion Box Contact Us IN THIS ISSUE July 31, 2005 About this newsletter NEWSFLASH The Fall Catalog of courses is available online now! >> Letter From the Publications Chair: An introduction to the first OLLI E-News >> GMU Comes Through for You: Great courses to be taught by GMU professors >> Bridge at OLLI: If you enjoy playing bridge, try out the OLLI Bridge Club >> Northern Virginia Senior Olympics: Have fun competing with your peers

Letter From the Publications Chair Back to top By Gordon Canyock, Publications Committee chair WELCOME TO THE FIRST ISSUE OF OUR NEW PUBLICATION, OLLI E-NEWS, edited by Rod Zumbro. During the 26 weeks of the year when OLLI News is not published, the only vehicles that have been available to communicate with the membership were OLLI Briefs and individual emails sent by the Administrator. Those emails were designed for brief announcements pertaining to something happening in the immediate future.      We may continue to use that format for emergency notifications, but we believe that OLLI E-News will be able to provide a wider assortment of useful, informative articles designed to let you know what is happening at OLLI during the entire year. We will not publish it on a regular schedule, only when sufficient material is available, but we anticipate sending you an issue perhaps twice a month during our breaks from classes. WE'LL ALSO EMAIL YOU THE PRINTED OLLI NEWS... in this "html" format, with photos and clickable links, each week before classes start.         We will continue to put the printed OLLI News in classrooms when classes are is session, but we will also email you the same content in this OLLI E-News format, with photos and clickable links, before each week's classes start. So if you are not taking classes during a term or if you have to be away from OLLI during a week or so during a term, you won't miss out on news and information.      Please tell Rod and me about your impressions of this new publication, which is still an experiment in progress. We would also like to hear your comments and suggestions for the kinds of information you think should be included in future issues. Back to top. GMU Comes Through For You Back to top By Carol Ferrara, OLLI Program Coordinator JOIN US THIS FALL FOR SOME NEW CLASSES FEATURING TEACHERS FROM GMU who volunteer their time to bring you their expertise. We are grateful for their contributions and look forward to meeting them in classes this fall.      On Thursdays, associate professor of English Lesley Smith will take us from the trenches of France in 1915 to the razed villages of Darfur in 2005 through the literature of those and other wars; “War and Literature” (course #402) will show how writers use images and narrative style to speak to us about their war experiences. Also from the English Department, associate professor Amelia Rutledge explores “Heroes Across Cultures and Times” (course #402); we’ll go from some of the oldest (Gilgamesh and Beowulf) to the newer (50-year-old Lord of the Rings), looking at what makes a hero and how the idea of a hero changes depending on those who idealize him. WE HOPE YOU ENJOY ALL THE FALL CLASSES. Please let your instructors know how much you appreciate their teaching at OLLI.       The music department will put a new twist on its presentations this fall. Some of your favorite GMU music instructors will explore the connection between music and the world of art, math, poetry and more in their course called “Music Sampler with an ARTful Twist” (course #113). Also from Mason’s performing arts department, performers will share some of the little-known secrets that performers use to keep themselves in shape, ease stress and keep their bodies fit so that they can perform well throughout their careers; the course is titled “Introduction to Arts and Wellness” (course #108).      Join GMU associate professor David Kuebrich in exploring the latest news on "Global Warming" (course #802). Dr. Kuebrich will host a variety of speakers who will explain the implications of climate change and will let you know what they are doing about it.      We hope you enjoy these and all the fall classes. Please let your instructors know how much you appreciate their teaching at OLLI. A personal thank you is the best way to show your gratitude. Editor's Note: Carol Ferrara helped the Learning in Retirement Institute get established in 1991, was the first LRI employee, and has been a key LRI/OLLI employee ever since. As our program coordinator for the past six years, Carol is the person who is responsible for the wonderful program of courses that we have been enjoying. If you appreciate all the work that she has done for OLLI for the past 14 years, please let Carol know (telephone 703-503-7866), and consider joining other OLLI members at an informal event to honor her and say goodbye (Tallwood on September 7, 1:00-3:30 PM). See the invitation on page 7 of OLLI News issue #6 of July 25, 2005. Back to top. Bridge at OLLI Back to top By Susanne Zumbro, Administration Committee chair and Bridge Club co-coordinator THE OLLI BRIDGE CLUB MEETS EVERY WEDNESDAY, and new players are always encouraged to join us. We play "party bridge," which means we play four hands and then change partners. At the end of three rounds, we total our scores, and the winner is entitled to make a selection from our prize box, which is stocked with donations from our regulars. (We gratefully accept donations from any OLLI member; one person's junk can be another person's treasure!)        We enjoy bridge and the accompanying camaraderie so much that during the period in August when OLLI is closed, we arrange bridge parties at each other's homes. WE ACCEPT PLAYERS AT ALL SKILL LEVELS. Our style is informal, instructive, not cutthroat.         We accept players at all skill levels, although most of us are what might be termed "intermediate" players. Our style of play is informal and instructive, not cutthroat by any means. The conventions that we regularly use are: Weak-Two Opener/overcall; Strong-Two Opener; Convenient Minor; Stayman; Blackwood; and Gerber. Don't worry if you don't know these conventions -- we'll teach them to you.      Try us out! We play at Tallwood every Wednesday at 10 AM between semesters when there are no classes, and we switch to Wednesday afternoons at 1:30 PM when classes are in session. If you enjoy playing bridge, please stop by and watch or play a round with us. No need to make a reservation. We always have room for newcomers.      Questions? Feel free to contact me (telephone 703-569-2750) or club co-coordinator Gordon Canyock (telephone 703-425-4607). Back to top. Northern Virginia Senior Olympics Back to top By Rod Zumbro, OLLI E-News editor ENJOY COMPETITION? HAVE A HANKERING TO TRY AN EVENT you've never tried before? Well, you're in luck. The 2005 Northern Virginia Senior Olympics is coming soon (the last two weeks of September) to several venues in Northern Virginia. The competition is open only to residents 50 years of age and older, which perfectly matches the OLLI membership.       On a personal note, I participated in 2002, just for fun. I chose some Track & Field events that I had done only once as a physical-education requirement back in high school. With my daughter and grandson cheering me on from the stands, I thought the Senior Olympics was a blast -- like being in the real Olympics! Some of my competitors were first-timers like myself; others had participated regularly in local and regional competitions. YOU COMPETE ONLY WITH PEERS IN YOUR AGE GROUP. Some events are "athletic" (e.g., track & field), others are not (bridge, canasta, chess, pool).      You'll be competing with your peers, and only with those in your specific age group. Athletic-type events are broken down into five-year and ten-year groups; these include not only Track & Field events but also Horseshoes, Softball Hit/Throw, Ten-Pin Bowling, Swimming, Tennis, Basketball, Frisbee Throw, Golf, Miniature Golf, Table Tennis and Pickle Ball. No-age-group, non-athletic events include Backgammon, Chess, Canasta, Duplicate Bridge and Eight-Ball Pool.      You can register on site for some events, but most events require registration to be post-marked by September 2. For more information and a downloadable registration form, visit the Northern Virginia Senior Olympics Website. Back to top. Rod Zumbro OLLI E-NEWS Editor Rod Zumbro Proofreader Karen Hamilton About OLLI E-News. Between class terms, OLLI E-News is distributed via email whenever sufficient content is available. We rely primarily on Publications Committee writers, but we encourage other OLLI members and our staff employees to submit news items and write articles. Please submit any material as a plain-text email message to OLLI E-News editor Rod Zumbro. Note about HTML graphics. If you do not see photos and clickable links in this message, you might want to change your email settings. To read html-formatted messages like this in Outlook Express: Click Tools; select Options; in the Read tab, uncheck "Read all messages in plain text." To read html-formatted messages like this in Yahoo Mail, click Mail Options/General Preferences; under Security, uncheck "Block HTML graphics in email messages from being downloaded" (or, at the bottom of a message without graphics, click "Show HTML graphics"). Back to top.