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OLLI
E-News #37-08 of October 3, 2008
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VISION SERIES LECTURE. Mon,
Oct 6, 7:00, Mason Concert Hall. "Endgame:
The Last Month in Presidential Elections, This Year and Every Time." Speaker
is Prof. Jeremy D. Mayer, Mason School of Public Policy. Free,
followed by reception in lobby. More
info.
>
COMMITTEE
CHAIR RESIGNS. Kathie West has resigned as Membership Committee
Chair but continues to serve OLLI (member of the board, resource group
co-chair, etc.).
>
OLLI NATIONAL
RESOURCE CENTER: What's New includes
downloadable national conference presentations of possible interest to
committee chairs, program planners, others.
>
BACK TO
THE PAST.
LRI's Fall
1992 Catalog (pdf) and other documents are kept in our Document
Storage, accessible under "Documents" on any OLLI Web site page.
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TABLE
OF CONTENTS: FRI, OCT 3, 2008
Read
about OLLI E-News
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ARTICLES AND NOTICES
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>
BOOK CLUB.
Meets Wed to discuss Death Comes for
the Archbishop by Willa Cather.
> ABSENTEE BALLOT
APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE. Don't forget to vote!
> WHAT?
ME? WEAR A NAME TAG? Why the name tag is important. By Susanne Zumbro
> LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
ARCHITECTURE. Original reflection and
thought ... or lifelong learning?
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| DEPARTMENTS |
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>
MS. OLLIE ETTAKIT.
A member writes about a
delicate classroom matter. |
THE "NEW" FAMILY
How lifelong learning can help seniors cope
IN ITS MOST RECENT NEWSLETTER The Older LEARNer, the American
Society on Aging has chosen the theme of intergenerational
families. One article in particular caught my eye: "Learning the Many
Meanings of Family: Contemporary Perspectives for Elders."
The article examines ways in which older
adults can adapt to the diverse situations of their families, including
single-parent families, blended families, families of gay individuals,
and families that span as many as five generations. In addition to
self-development, the authors suggest that new lifelong learning
opportunities can play an important role in helping seniors to cope
with the evolution of family structures.
Authors Jacquelyn Browne and Jim Hibel suggest
that people who were raised with clear rules and guidelines for
"acceptable" family arrangements may be overtaken by a feeling of
personal failure when those they love embark on different paths. It is
understandable that some elders place blame on themselves. They go on
to say that we should not look at the increasing diversity in family
arrangements as a case of right and wrong but rather an opportunity to
learn. They ask the question: "What does it mean to become an elder who
is a lifelong learner and transmitter of experience within these new
family contexts? Families are the primary context in which humans learn
about the world. From our families, we learn the roles we play now and
throughout our lifespan."
In conclusion, the opportunities for
education, discussion and community-building that lifelong learning
programs offer "make it possible for elders to use the knowledge of
experts, the support of families, and especially the skills and
resources of one another to begin to negotiate these new forms of
family and the challenges and opportunities they provide."
If you’d like to read the entire article,
including suggestions for further reading, check out this
Web link.
OLLI MEMBERS IN THE
NATIONAL MEDIA
Getting quoted is an honor
Reston founder Bob Simon and his statute.
Photo by Stan
Schretter.
THREE OLLI MEMBERS were
recently quoted in the national media.
 U.S. News
& World
Report: Bob Simon and Bob Webb were quoted in a recent article
entitled "Best Healthy Places to Retire: Reston, Virginia." Read
the article (thanks to George Heatley for the information and John
West for the link). The
Washington Post:
Phil True provided some answers to Answer Man in last
Sunday's "John Kelly's Washington" column. Read
the column.
BOOK
CLUB
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa
Cather
THE
OLLI BOOK CLUB will be meeting at Tallwood on Wed, Oct 8, at
1:30. The book for discussion is Death
Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather. It is the story of
life in the southwestern desert during the mid- to late-1800's.
All
OLLI members are welcome.
Back
to top
ABSENTEE
BALLOT APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE
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EXPERTS
ARE PREDICTING A HUGE TURNOUT for
the elections on Nov 4. If you would like to vote via an absentee
ballot, you need to first fill out an application form. Absentee Ballot
Application Forms are available in the Tallwood social room and at the
OLLI sites at Lake Anne and Loudoun-GMU or they may be downloaded
online from the Virginia State Board of Elections. For more
information, see this Web
site.
Whether it’s
by absentee ballot or in person, don’t forget to vote!
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WHAT?
ME WEAR A NAME TAG?
 Why the name tag is important By Susanne Zumbro,
OLLI member
HERE AT
OLLI, WE PROVIDE ALL OF OUR MEMBERS WITH NAME TAGS, and we
request that members wear them when on campus. Some of our members have
questioned why. OK, here's why.
Remember when you were the new OLLI member in
the class, and you
didn't know a soul? I remember that, and I remember feeling like it was
so much easier to start a conversation with someone wearing a name tag.
The person just seemed friendlier and easier to approach.
Have you ever attended a class where the
instructor is able to call on people in the front row by name because
they are wearing a name tag? Those instructors have been most
appreciative of those willing name tag wearers.
Have you ever been embarrassed because
you
can't remember someone's name? I sure have. And, I might add, this
seems to be happening to me more frequently as the years pass by. I
have appreciated those name tags. Otherwise, I might have avoided
someone lest I be embarrassed by not remembering a name.
In summary,
please wear your name tag as a
welcoming gesture to new members, as a courtesy to those of us who
might be a little forgetful, as a sign of respect to our wonderful
instructors, and last but not least, to respect OLLI policy.
Editor's
note: We are re-publishing this article from some time ago as a
reminder to all
members.
LIBRARY OF
CONGRESS ARCHITECTURE
Original reflection and thought ... or
lifelong learning?
This Commemorative arch by Olin L.
Warner (1844—1896)
leading to the Main Reading Room commemorates the erection of the
Library of Congress. Its sculpture The Students represents the pursuit
of knowledge. On the left a young man seeks knowledge through reading. On the right an older man with flowing
beard is shown absorbed in meditation, no longer concerned so much with
a source of learning because he observes life and engages in original
reflection and thought.
OLLI MEMBER BOB
WEBB SUGGESTED that the above might deserve mention. Bob
said that contrary to the above description, "we in OLLI are concerned
with learning as well as with reflection and thought -- sort of the New
Old Age -- or the Not So Old Age."
Web
link: Library of
Congress Art and Architecture
OLLI SENIOR OLYMPIANS
The recent Northern Virginia Senior
Olympics
Left to right:
Rich Deringer,
George Ewing, Kathleen Meyer, Ave Tombes and Rod Zumbro.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OLLI PARTICIPANTS IN
THE
NORTHERN VIRGINIA SENIOR
OLYMPICS. OLLI Senior Olympians
enjoyed the competition and won a number of medals--
- Richard
Deringer,
track & field events: Gold medals in the three-mile, 1600-meter and
800-meter race walk. Rich set new age-group Northern Virginia Senior
Olympics records in the 1600-meter and 800-meter events.
- George
Ewing,
swimming events: Silver medal in the free style; Bronze medal in the
back stroke.
- Kathleen
Meyer,
swimming events: Gold medals in the free style, back stroke, and
half-mile swim.
- Ave
Tombes, track
& field events: Silver medals in the 60-meter dash and 200-meter
run.
- Rod
Zumbro, track
& field events: Gold medals in the standing broad jump and running
long jump; Silver medal in the shot put.
To watch this 2 1/2-minute video, click here, then
click "watch in high quality"
(see image above).
-- Rod Zumbro, OLLI E-News
Editor
Web
link: Northern
Virginia Senior Olympics
Back
to top
HOW TO EXPRESS YOUR
VIEWS ABOUT OLLI
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PUBLICLY:
• Email
your "Letter
to the Editor" (see recent sample)
or "Letter to
Ms. Ollie Ettakit" (see recent sample)
to the editor. Anonymous
submissions are
acceptable if you provide contact information so we can verify that you
are an OLLI member. Whenever an official response to a letter to
the editor is
clearly appropriate, the editor will obtain and publish the OLLI
response in the same issue so members will have more complete
information and a balanced picture of the matter.
• Attend monthly
meetings of your
Board of Directors and make your views known during the period for
public comments.
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PRIVATELY:
• Contact any Board member,
committee or
resource group chair, or the executive
director;
• Send an email
to the entire
Board
(directors are listed on the Organization
page, and email addresses are listed in the online Membership Directory
... or you are welcome to email the editor
or the office to have your
message forwarded to all members of the Board);
• Submit a
suggestion online
or in the box in the Tallwood social room; or
• Contact the
office by email
or phone (703-503-3384). |
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  EYE ON RESTON
Lake Anne offers a wide-ranging program
By Sharon Gilman, OLLI
E-News Staff Writer
LAKE ANNE IS BACK
IN FULL SWING with a good slate of diverse and interesting
courses. We are dedicated to offering a wide-ranging program that
will exceed your expectations. We welcome feedback and encourage you to
submit comments on sessions you have attended; please send them to Al
Roe.
An important OLLI goal is to become better
known in Reston and for us to have greater insight into the
organizations serving the Greater Reston community ... thus, "Serving
the Reston Community," course #904, will start on Thu, Oct 16, at 2:00.
The first session of this four-week program will be held at the new
Oakton Library located just off Hunter Mill Road in Oakton. This
library is state-of-the-art. If you haven't been in a library for a
while, you will be amazed at what you will learn in this session.
In the following weeks the Greater Reston Art
Center, Reston Interfaith, and the Reston Museum will be making
presentations in course #904. There is plenty of space available so
please consider attending one or more of these programs ... and also
inviting friends, neighbors and acquaintances as guests to " try
us out."
Please let Program Associate Beth Davis in the Tallwood office know
if you plan to attend the course.
The Reston Resource Group is now working on
developing and scheduling programs for the winter term. Reston Resource
Group members on other resource groups include--
- Art &
Music – Rosemary McDonald, Eric Henderson
- Economics
& Finance – Luci Martel
- History &
Current Events – Marilyn Hedtke
- Language,
Literature & Theater –
Betty Weiner
- Religion,
Ethics & Philosophy – Abbie
Edwards, Bob Lawshe, Bruce Reinhart
- Science,
Technology & Health – Mary
Kornreich
- Special Events – Lillian Justice
If you are interested in joining the Reston
Resource team or if you would like more information please contact
Janet Cochran.
We are also pleased to announce that Ed Mentz
has accepted the position of Support Advisor. Ed will be coordinating
our efforts with Community Affairs, Social Programs, Communications,
and New Volunteers.
Photo
of Lake Anne Plaza by Stan Schretter.
MS. OLLIE
ETTAKIT
Answers to your pressing questions about
OLLI etiquette
 By
Ms. Ollie Ettakit, OLLI
E-News
staff manners expert
A
member writes about a delicate classroom matter
Dear
Ms. Ettakit,
I have noticed that some people have a tendency to fall asleep in class
and that these people often choose to sit up front where they can be
easily seen by the speaker. What is your opinion on this?
-- Anonymous, OLLI member
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My Dear
Anonymous,
Ms. Ettakit
is indeed troubled
to hear about this breach of good
manners. Our teachers are all volunteers; the least we can do is give
them our full attention and certainly not be so rude as to fall asleep
right in
front of their eyes.
Most members who have the tendency for whatever
reason to fall asleep are
aware of the problem, so Ms. Ettakit hopes that those members will now
be alerted to how noticeable they are. She is also hopeful that those
members will choose to sit in the rear of the class where they
are less visible, especially if they also have a tendency to snore.
| Email
your OLLI
etiquette questions to Ms.
Ollie Ettakit (who is distraught that she cannot reply personally) via OLLI E-News Editor Rod Zumbro or Communications
Committee Chair Gordon
Canyock. |
Upcoming performances at Mason, Oct
3-12
By Jan Bohall, OLLI
E-News Staff Writer
FOR
TICKETS, call
1-888-945-2468 (phone orders are handled by tickets.com)
or visit the Center for the Arts Box Office, Tue-Sat, 10:00-6:00. More
info on tickets at the CFA tickets page.
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Shakespeare and Company
Hamlet
Sat,
Oct 4, 8:00
In its 30th season, the company brings Jason
Asprey as the brooding Danish
prince torn between moral integrity and vengeance, with Tina Packer,
the company’s founder and Asprey’s mother, as Queen Gertrude. Deeply
committed to Elizabethan language and ideals, the group has
gained a reputation for making Shakespearean classics accessible and
appealing.
Admission:
$36, $28,
$18
Concert Hall
Come at 7:15 for a free artistic discussion on Grand Tier III.
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Studio Series #1
Dog
Sees God: Confessions of
a
Teenage Blockhead
Written
by: Bert V. Royal
Directed
by: Patrick Magill
Thu, Fri, Sat, Oct 9, 10, 11, 8:00
Sat, Sun, Oct 11, 12, 2:00
The
play is an unauthorized parody of the Peanuts characters, set 10 years
after the comic strip ends with the characters mid-high school. The
teenagers deal with such issues as bullying, sexuality, religion, drugs
and alcohol. It is described as "hysterically funny, but also touching
and hopeful."
Admission: $3 seniors/students, $6 other adults
Black Box Theater
(Lower
level of the
Performing Arts Building, adjacent to the Concert Hall. From Level 2 of
Parking Deck take the bridge. Enter first door on the left and follow
hallway, go through gray doors and downstairs).
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The Song and Dance
Ensemble
of West Africa
Fri, Sat, Oct 10, 11, 8:00
The
group brings an electrifying glimpse of the rich musical, dance and
folklore traditions of Togo, Senegal, Guinea, Ghana, Benin, the Ivory
Coast and Mauritania. The company is known internationally for its
skillful interpretations of traditional West African melodies.
Admission: $46, $38, $23
Family Friendly: Children 12 and under, half price with an adult
Concert Hall
Come at 7:15 for a free artistic discussion on Grand Tier III.
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3rd Annual Korean-American Cultural Arts
Festival
Sun, Oct 12, 6:30
The
50-piece Nan-gye Gugak Orchestra will perform the music of Nangye Park
Yeon, one of Korea’s most renowned composers, as it was heard nearly
600 years ago. The tribute will be performed for the first time in the
United States. Traditional performers known as Intangible Cultural
Assets will each demonstrate a part of Korea’s living history of art.
The Festival celebrates the 630th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
Admission: $40, $20 students (No senior price)
Concert Hall
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Other events at nearby Mason
 By Barbara Kyriakakis, OLLI
E-News Staff Writer
• Writing
in the Real World Workshop – Learn more about the ins and outs
of publishing and freelance writing. Sat, Oct 4, 10:00 to 2:00, JC
Cinema. Sponsored by the English Alumni Chapter. Free.
• Cinema Series
– Get Smart. Sat, Oct, 4, 6:00
and 9:00, and Sun, Oct 5, 3:00. $1.00 with Mason ID. JC Cinema.
• Economic Liberty Lecture Series
- Dinner, Lecture, and Movie: V for Vendetta. Mon, Oct 6,
5:30, JC Cinema. Dinner followed by a talk by Peter Boettke. Film at
7:30. Free. Sponsored by George Mason University Economics Society.
•
New York City Bus Trip
– The Rec Sports Office is again offering a one-day bus trip to New
York City. The trip is open to all members of the community - $40 with
Mason ID. The bus will depart the Mason Field House at 6:30 am on Sat, Nov
8. Once in the Big Apple the remainder of the day is yours to
enjoy.
There is no set itinerary. The bus will pick you up at 6:30 pm and
return
to Mason. Registration at the Rec Sports Office anytime Mon through
Fri, 9:00 to 5:00. Rec Sports Office, 703-993-4681. |
Back to top
Non-class events at OLLI for the next two
weeks
The following
list covering the
next two weeks is extracted for your
convenience from the master calendar maintained by the office (see Upcoming
Non-Class Events to view the real-time OLLI online calendar used by
the office). Note: Board,
committee, resource-group and 'membership-type' meetings/events below
are highlighted
in bold. OLLI members are
welcome at all Board, committee and resource-group meetings (except
during executive sessions).
Friday
Oct 3 9:30am Drama Club - TA-3
10am
Recorder Group - TA-2
1:30pm
Homer, etc. - TA- Annex
Wednesday Oct 8
1:30pm Bridge Club - TA-3
1:30pm Book Club at Tallwood - TA-2
Friday Oct 10
9:30am Drama Club - TA-3
10am
Travel Group
10am Communications
Committee Meeting - TA-Annex
10am
Recorder Group - TA-2
1:30pm Homer, etc. - TA- Annex
Wednesday Oct 15
1:30pm Bridge Club - TA-3
2pm
Genealogy Club - TA-2
Thursday Oct 16
11am Fiction Writers' Club - OL-TBA
Friday Oct 17
9:30am Drama Club - TA-3
10am Board of Directors
Meeting - TA-1
10am
Recorder Group - TA-2
1pm INOVA
Flu Shot Clinic
1:30pm
Homer, etc. - TA- Annex
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Rod
Zumbro
Editor
Karen
Hamilton
Deputy
Editor
|
About OLLI
E-News. OLLI
E-News, OLLI's weekly newsletter, is emailed to OLLI
members with email addresses on Fridays. When classes are in
session, printed copies of this newsletter are distributed in
classrooms, primarily for members without email. Comments,
suggestions or complaints? Please contact Editor Rod
Zumbro or Communications Committee Chair Gordon
Canyock.
| Submissions. We encourage members
to submit news items, articles and photos for this newsletter; deadline
to
the editor is 7:00 pm Wed (7:00 pm Mon for letters to the editor
for which an
OLLI response is appropriate) for that
week's issue. Please limit
articles to about 250 words. Submit material to Editor Rod Zumbro
(email rzumbro@gmu.edu, phone
703-569-2750); email strongly preferred. |
Note
about HTML graphics. If
you do NOT see
photos and
clickable links in this message, you might want to ask a teenaged
grandchild or a neighborhood teenager or college student to fix things
for you. Or you could change your
email settings yourself. Here's how to view html-formatted messages
like this newsletter in five popular email systems:
•
Microsoft Outlook
Express and Windows Mail.
Click Tools; select Options; in the Read tab, uncheck "Read all
messages in plain text."
• Mozilla Thunderbird.
Click Tools; select Options and click the Privacy icon; click the
General tab. Uncheck "Block loading of remote images" and uncheck
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... Original HTML" (not Plain Text). Also in View, select "Display
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• Yahoo Mail.
Click Mail Options/General Preferences; under Security, uncheck "Block
HTML graphics in email messages from being downloaded."
•
AOL. Upgrade,
if possible, to an AOL version above 5.0.
| Read the Latest
Issue Before Email Distribution. Eager to read the latest news
from
OLLI? The
new weekly issue of OLLI E-News
is
usually posted to the OLLI Website some time Thursday evening. So
Thursday night or first
thing Friday morning, just go to http://www.olli.gmu.edu/pubs.htm#enews,
where you will find a list of the last 12
issues, and click the issue with Friday's date. |
GMU Webmail.
If OLLI E-News is being sent
to your gmu.edu email address, we recommend against
using GMU Webmail
(i.e., iPlanet "Messenger Express") to read this newsletter unless
you are using Firefox as your browser; in Firefox, just click
the text/html
link to view the newsletter. This does not normally work with Internet
Explorer (although you may be able to make it work by clicking Open
after clicking the text/html link and then selecting Internet Explorer
as the program to use to view the link).
• You
could forward the
newsletter to your alternate Web-based email account such as Yahoo Mail
or
Hotmail and read it there ... or read it online at
the OLLI
Website each Friday.
• Perhaps
the easiest solution for those of you with gmu.edu email accounts
is to configure your desktop email system such
as Microsoft Outlook Express, Microsoft Windows Mail or Mozilla
Thunderbird to retrieve mail
sent to your gmu.edu address. To do this, see these
instructions.
|
OLLI
E-News Editorial Staff
Reviewer and Backup Editor
John West
Database
Manager
Barbara Kyriakakis
Reviewer and Photo Editor
Michael Coyne |
|
Updated:
October 3, 2008
Copyright © 2008 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at
George Mason University. Materials in this publication subject to
OLLI-Mason copyright may be reproduced for noncommercial educational
purposes as long as credit is given to OLLI-Mason.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George
Mason University, 4210 Roberts Rd., Fairfax, VA 22032-1028
Phone: (703) 503-3384; Email: olli@gmu.edu;
Fax: (703) 503-2832
Original site design and construction by OLLI-Mason member Rod Zumbro. |
|
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