COME, LET US GATHER TOGETHER

THE OLLI TRIP TO IRELAND

TWELVE OLLI MEMBERS, TWO OLLI SPOUSES and one brave 'outsider' from Michigan, accompanied by Mason Professor Emeritus Coilin Owens, toured Ireland during two weeks last month.
     This travel group has already scheduled a trip "reunion" next month: an Irish evening of shared songs, stories, photos -- complete, of course, with an Irish supper.
     Here are a few perspectives on the trip from the travelers.

Fourteen incredible, incomparable, unforgettable days under the brilliant tutelage of Coilin Owens, our escorting professor, and Dermot, our driver/guide. They brought this country alive for me and filled my soul with pride of my heritage. They shared with us the history, beauty and passion of this well-named "Emerald Isle."
     Many thanks as well to Susanne Zumbro for making all the arrangements.
-- Barbara Lynch, OLLI member

Beyond all expectations The trip to Ireland was beyond all expectations! Our tour guide was terrific -- not only very knowledgeable but a great driver as well. Our academic adviser, Dr. Coilin Owens, complemented the tour guide with his vast background knowledge of the country, customs and people. And our master trip planner and "Mother Hen," Susanne Zumbro, quietly kept her eye on us all during the trip and made sure things went smoothly.      I give Susanne a lot of credit for the success of this trip. She queried OLLI membership via OLLI E-News last year as to what country they'd like to visit, made the arrangements with TraveLearn, acted as saleslady to get enough people to sign up, asked Dr. Owens to give the lectures on Ireland during the summer term and to accompany the group, and spent a lot of time behind the scenes to facilitate the many details involved in a two-week trip for 16 people. If it hadn't been for her, it never would have happened! -- Roxanne Cramer, OLLI member

I went to Ireland seeking a new experience and beautiful scenery. I found that and more. We traveled separately but met at Shannon and then circled the island by bus, ending out trip at our starting point.
     A highlight of the trip was a visit to the famous Abbey Theater in Dublin, where we were provided tickets to a sold-out performance of The Importance of Being Ernest. The all-male cast performed in a clever, unique, creative and memorable production.
     Ask anyone who went on the trip about our escort, Professor Coilin Owens, and our driver/guide, Dermot Fogerty, and they will sing their praises. They were truly awesome.  
     I experienced a medical problem on the trip but was quickly attended to. I cannot stress too strongly how well I was taken care of by both my fellow travelers and the good Irish doctors and nurses. The kindness shown me was just incredible. 
     Yes, I found beautiful scenery and saw many interesting things, but my face-to-face encounters with Irish people and fellow travelers were the most important and memorable.
-- Nancy Jarvis, OLLI member

• Round Towers, Stone Fences, Old Graves revered, the sun through a passage one day of the year: engineering marvels from pre-calculus days
• The crags of Clifden out-weighing the denizens of Dublin
• The solemnity of the Skellig, eloquently explained
• Memorials at Cobh where a last voyage departed, a bit of Guinness, in a local Pub
• Epicurean Excellence in Rustic Seclusion
• A Cashel lunch in Granny's Kitchen
• A Book from the Bog; enlightenment enabled
• A man with his white cane from Dun Aengus descending
• A Medieval Dinner in the Bunratty Main Guard
• Insights from Coilin and Dermot too, 15 new friends to share the view
• And distant relations in the Midlands discovered.

-- Dan and Jean Feighery, OLLI members

Though we have taken many tours to a number of foreign countries, we have never enjoyed ourselves as much as we did on this trip! From the Ring of Kerry and a visit to Daniel O'Connell's home to the ruins of forts and castles that dot the Irish countryside, we were captivated by the country and its sites. But what separated this trip from others we have taken was the companions and guides we shared it with.
-- Paulette Lichtman-Panzer, OLLI member, and Stan Lichtman, OLLI spouse

My personal favorite My personal favorite was the Emigration Museum at Cobh harbor. My mother's relatives came over from Cork. Michael, our local tour guide at Cobh, filled in details as we walked the seaside. It helped to put things into perspective nicely. -- Beverly George, OLLI member

It's hard to single out any one aspect of  the trip as the best, since it was all great -- but some highlights for me were the beautiful scenery of Western Ireland, the Nire Valley stay at Hanora's Cottage B&B, and seeing various places that inspired writers like Yeats and Joyce, which really came alive through Coilin and Dermot's commentaries.
     I thought the trip was very well-organized and professionally run. 
-- Joan Garner, OLLI member

A piece of Ireland in our hearts Rod and I have traveled the world and seen many sights ... from the pyramids of Egypt to the lions of Kenya to the glaciers in Alaska; however, our recent trip to Ireland stands out as perhaps our most memorable one.      Coilin Owens, our accompanying professor, and Dermot Fogerty, our bus driver/guide, shared with us their knowledge of the history, literature, poetry, and people of Ireland. Their contagious enthusiasm and love of country spilled out and engulfed us all so that we each returned home with a little piece of Ireland in our hearts.      The fact that we were (almost) all OLLI members, all interested in learning, enhanced the experience greatly. It was wonderful. -- Susanne Zumbro, OLLI member

Note. For OLLI members interested in Ireland, Susanne and I will present a winter-term Trip Tale, with video, on the OLLI Trip to Ireland at 11:30 on Tue, Jan 23, 2007. -- Rod Zumbro, OLLI E-News editor

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LEADING A HORSE TO WATER
By Manny Pablo, OLLI member
I KNEW THE CENTER FOR THE ARTS ("CFA") was right next door to OLLI and on the main campus of George Mason. CFA has anything you can find at the Kennedy Center, except CFA is close by, with events listed in every issue of OLLI E-News. But I had never gone.
     I'd heard about the impossible parking. And I didn’t know where the building was located.
     Dr. Linda Monson taught a Music Sampler class on September 19. She is Associate Chair of the GMU Music Department. "You must come to the Recital on Sunday!" she bubbled, thrusting a flyer into my hand. I stood in the Social Room, flyer in hand. And right in front of me, posted prominently, was a map of GMU. So that is where the Center for the Arts is located. And literally next door is the public parking garage.
     Now it was Sunday, September 24. There was another event going on at the Patriot Center, and the Campus Police waved me into Parking Lot K for free parking before I even made it to the parking garage. Susanne Zumbro told me later it was $5 per event at the parking garage, but Lot K was free on evenings and weekends whenever there was an event at the CFA. I showed my GMU-ID card and was charged only $7 for a $10 ticket.
     After a splendid program of Brahms, Beethoven, Chopin, and Bach, plus some living composers, in the beautiful Concert Hall, there was a free reception on the third-floor Grand Tier. The performers mingled, Dr. Monson among them.
     Now that I know where the CFA is, how to get there, and where to park, I will pay heed to those notices in OLLI E-News. I’ll be back. Better yet, I may even invite someone to go with me since I know the way now.
     Why didn't someone tell me how easy it was?

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By Elizabeth Crawford, Membership Committee member
SOME MAY ASSOCIATE FALL WITH THE TURNING OF THE LEAVES. To me fall has always signaled the return to school, to one side of the desk or the other. The new school clothes I buy now are for my grandsons, not for myself, but thanks to OLLI, I too can go back to school in September.
     As we return to our small patch of the Mason campus, we are indeed returning to college. Freshpersons approach OLLI with enthusiasm -- so much to learn, so many new friends to meet. The rest of us look forward to renewing old acquaintances and studying subjects we couldn't fit in last year. We speak in general terms about the luxury of senior learning, but considering the specifics can be fun.
     I treasure the freedom I did not have the first time around. Besides no homework and no tests, there are no majors to declare, no requirements to meet. I can study science, but I don't have to dissect a frog. I can write if I want to, but I don't have to stay up all night typing papers, throwing away half the pages because there is no room at the bottom for those accursed footnotes. I don't have to take physical education or learn to spell in French. Classic novels and plays that were once too long are now too short. Groups will accept me without
initiation or audition. Best of all, I don't have to worry about not having a date for the Fall Formal.
     Of course, the senior years provide their own challenges, but at OLLI we can suspend age. We are free to follow our own paths to knowledge and friendship.

Something for everyone at nearby Mason

GMU Players—Studio Series Phaedra’s Love by Sarah Kane	Drummers of Burundi	Young Artists Musicale
Friday, October 6–Sunday, October 8 Friday, Saturday at 8:00 Matinees Saturday & Sunday at 2:00 Admission $3 seniors/students, $5 adults Black Box Theater (From Level 2 of the Parking Deck take the bridge to the Performing Arts Building. Enter first door on the left and follow the hallway. Go through the gray doors and down the stairs.)	This 20-drum percussion ensemble is known world-wide for its vibrant power and precision. Since the 60’s, the Drummers have appeared with artists like Joni Mitchell, and inspired the first World of Music, Arts and Dance festival. Friday, October 6 & Saturday, October 7, at 8:00 Admission $40, $32, $20 Family Friendly: Children 12 and under are half price Concert Hall Come early at 7:15 for a pre-performance discussion in the Grand Tier Lobby.	Sunday, October 8, 6:00 Admission is Free Concert Hall Lobby
Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel Beethoven—Sunny Side Up!	Virginia Opera Carmen by Georges Bizet	Betty Buckley
In his 14th season at Center for the Arts. This first of four performances includes Beethoven’s Sonatas, Opus 78 and Opus 101. Sunday, October 8, at 7:00 Admission $38, $30, $19 Family Friendly: Children 12 and under are half price Concert Hall	Featuring Soprano Christina Nassif. Seen last year in Virginia Opera’s La Traviata, Ms. Nassif will sing the role of the sultry gypsy, Carmen, in this beloved opera. It will be sung in French with English supertitles. Friday, October 13, at 8:00 Sunday, October 15, at 2:00 Admission: $86, $72, $44 on Friday              $90, $76, $48 on Sunday Concert Hall Come early at 7:15 for a pre-performance discussion in the Grand Tier Lobby.	Renowned for her roles in Broadway musicals Song and Dance, Pippin, and Sunset Boulevard, and with a Tony for Cats to her credit, Betty Buckley brings her distinctive voice to this performance. Saturday, October 14, at 8:00 Admission: $44, $36, $22 Concert Hall Come early at 7:15 for a pre-performance discussion in the Grand Tier Lobby.

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By Barbara Kyriakakis, OLLI E-News assistant editor
LET THE GAMES BEGIN! Sports are well underway at Mason and aficionados have lots to choose from if interested in attending a competition. Check Mason’s Sports Calendar for a schedule of events.
     And why not join in the fun by attending Mason Midnight Madness. Catch the Mason spirit as the university kicks off the basketball season with the first big practice and tons of festivities in the Patriot Center. Doors open at 10:30 pm on Oct 13. The students’ traditional torch walk from Eisenhower Hall through campus to the "Madness" event begins at 10:15 in President’s Park. Free and open to the public. 703-993-3200.
     If you’re not a sports enthusiast, other events include--

• A screening of a PBS documentary about the working poor. Mason’s Sociology Department and The Campaign for a Living Wage will co-sponsor Waging a Living. Nominees from Virginia's House and Senate races have been invited to comment and answer questions following the film. Johnson Center Cinema, Oct 11, 7:00. Contact: Victoria Rader, 703-993-1423. 
• The Arts Bus rolls out again at 6:00 am on Oct 21, returning after midnight, for the Big Apple—an exciting, educational, fun-filled trip to some of New York’s various museums and galleries.
• The School of Management’s Hot Topics program presents Mike Nelson, Director of Internet Technology and Strategy for IBM, speaking on "The Battle for the Net:  What will shape tomorrow’s Internet – open standards or closed government?" Oct 12 at 6:30 in Arlington Campus Room 329. 
• And the Cinema Series is offering Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Fri & Sat, Oct 6 & 7, at 6:00 and 9:00. $1 with ID card. Next Thu, Oct 12, will feature Thank You for Not Smoking.