THE SPRING TERM EXCITES
 By Thom Clement, Executive Director
DESPITE THE CHILL IN THE AIR, the excitement of the spring season was evident at Tallwood and Reston this week.

• The joy of appreciating talent and song permeated the air as the award-winning vocalists from Mason presented a "Music Sampler."
• Dennis Ross had the audience spellbound as he made the case for revitalizing the art of statecraft in "America and the World."
• OLLI members had a real treat as Ben Gold introduced the California Gold Rush "fever"” at Lake Anne.

     As I visited both locations, I saw energized learners in heated discussions about current events, trying their hands in sketching and writing poetry and learning about "Gentlemen Songsters." One member remarked after a Tuesday class, "That was worth the $350 all by itself!"
     I’m sure we’ll continue to be impressed as the spring term unfolds. Don’t forget to thank our instructors and speakers with enthusiasm. And let’s not forget to show our tremendous appreciation to the OLLI members who spend so much time organizing these wonderful classes! CANDIDATES FOR THE BOARD ANNOUNCED IT'S A MATTER OF UP, NOT DOWN

By Debbie Halverson, Membership Committee Chair
WE'VE ASKED YOU TO CONSIDER what you might give for the silent auction and offered some ideas in last week's article that we hope will inspire you to discover what you personally might offer.
     When we had the yard sale in the fall, we encouraged everyone to clear out their closets, clean their cupboards and even the garage, and give us the rejects. A typical price on those goods was $2.00. (It’s OK to let your garages and attics collect stuff again because we already have a date scheduled for this year’s yard sale.) That $2.00 price was used to get rid of the stuff and make lots of money by selling in volume. Hagglers had their way with us as we moved the original prices down to whatever the market could accept.
     But today we are talking "auction." And at auctions the prices hopefully move up, not down. The items for sale are such that they are wanted by more than a few persons, and so we begin the price at its fair value and trust the buyers will want the item so much they will be willing to pay more for it. While the "Mona Lisa" is not available for our auction, more than one of you might be willing to bid the price up on another piece of art to get it over your mantle. We want good stuff, in good condition. And if it doesn’t sell, you get to take it back home.
     My point is, look at what you think someone would be willing to stretch his wallet to procure and you have a good candidate for our silent auction. And let us also hope that our buyers will realize that their generosity will benefit the Friends of OLLI Fund that benefits us all. 

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HELP WANTED

CLASS CHANGES

#701, AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES (Church of the Good Shepherd)

#901, THURSDAY AFTERNOON SPEAKER SERIES (Lake Anne Church)

The last two lectures in the series will switch dates because one of our lecturers had to bow out. The lecture on "The Israel-Palestine Dilemma: The Role of U.S. Diplomacy" will be moved to Thu, May 15, our concluding class. Our new speaker will be Ambassador Sam Lewis, a career ambassador who served as U.S. Ambassador to Israel during both the Carter and Reagan administrations.      The lecture on the spread of nuclear weapons by Ambassador Norman Wulf, originally scheduled for May 15, will be moved back to May 8.

Due to unanticipated personal commitments of the speaker, the presentation "United States Assistance to Refugees," scheduled for Thu, Apr 3, has been canceled and will be presented during the summer term.      The presentations scheduled for Thu, Apr 10 and Apr 17, have been switched. Dick Cheadle’s class, "General George Armstrong Custer at Little Bighorn: Myth vs. Fact," will now be presented on Thu, Apr 10, and Ben Gold’s class, "The Brown Water Navy in Vietnam," will now be presented on Thu, Apr 17.