Annual Meeting May 5, 10:00, Tallwood, TA-1 and on Zoom; meet the candidates for the Board election and plan to vote May 5-19. Cinco de Mayo picnic at 1:00 after the meeting.
The next issue of OLLI E-News will be published Friday, May 5; the regular deadline for submission of items is Tuesday, May 2, at 6:00.
By Paul L. Howard, OLLI Computer Club Treasurer and Potomac Area Technology and Computer Society President
On March 16, the Friends of OLLI (FOLLI) received two donations from area computer groups. One donation, in the amount of $250, was presented by the OLLI Personal Computer User Group (OPCUG).
A second donation, in the amount of $500, was presented by the Potomac Area Technology and Computer Society (PATACS). Since January 2009, when the computer groups started holding joint meetings, PATACS has donated $4,250 for enhanced technical resources and TA-1 facility improvements. In general, donations to FOLLI support items such as articles for classroom comfort, equipment enhancements, and scholarships to deserving Mason students in Mason departments that provide instructors for OLLI courses.
The photos below show Paul Howard presenting the FOLLI donations to OLLI Board Member Bob Heyer. The one on the left shows the $250 donation on behalf of OPCUG and the one on the right shows the $500 donation on behalf of PATACS.
Join the AARP Scam Jam on Saturday
By Brenda Bloch-Young, Economics and Finance Program Planning Group Chair
To strike back against scammers, AARP Virginia and Fairfax County Government's Silver Shield Task Force are bringing together experts and law enforcement officials to present at a free informational Scam Jam from 9:00 – 12:00 on Saturday, April 29 (tomorrow) at Tallwood and on Zoom. OLLI members are aware that we are often the targets of these scams. This is an important event for us to learn more tips.
Mason Jazz Ensembles in Concert May 3
By Darden Purcell, D.M.A., Mason Director of Jazz Studies, Jazz Voice
The Steel Pan Ensemble directed by Victor Provost, the Braddock Road Brass Band directed by Graham Breedlove, and the Latin American Ensemble directed by Juan Megna perform their spring concert:
Jazz Ensembles in Concert Wednesday, May 3, 8:00 deLaski Performing Arts Building, 3001, deLaski Rehearsal Room Admission: Free.
These three specialty groups within the Mason Jazz Studies department, allow students to focus on genre-specific music from around the world. From traditional brass bands of New Orleans to music of the Caribbean, including Calypso and Soca, to the Brazilian sounds of Bossa Nova and Samba, these ensembles showcase the beauty and breadth of global artistry.
It’s In Your Hands!
By Debby Mossburg, Board Member and Outreach Committee Chair
Thanks to ten helpful OLLI members, an OLLI promotional ad has been placed in community newsletters in Burke Centre, Greenbrier, Penderbrook, Wakefield Chapel Woods, South Riding, Kings Park West, Rustfield, Ravensworth, and South Run Oaks, as well as with a group of Reston runners/walkers. As a result, we’ve gotten the word out to thousands of households at no cost, hopefully to add members and so keep down members' tuition costs.
If you'd like to add your community to the list—and its easy to do—please contact Debby Mossburg at [email protected] or Jim Dann at [email protected]. We'll send the ad on to you, and you just have to forward it with a note to your newsletter's contact person.
You’ve got the power to make a real difference! Thank you.
History Club Meeting By Elizabeth Lambert, History Club Coordinator
The last meeting of the History Club for this term will take place on Wednesday, May 3 at 4:00. Our presenter will be Peter Ansoff, and his topic will address a mysterious flag of the American Revolutionary War Navy that was flown in Philadelphia 21 years before the revolution, when the colonists were still the King’s loyal subjects. The answer to this mystery involves events on three continents, including some maritime history, some art history, and even an excursion into the history of beer. Clearly there is something here for everyone, and it is a fitting end to our presentations this year.
The History Club will not meet again until October, so take advantage of this chance to gather and to learn something new. Those who have attended Peter’s classes know that his presentation of “The Continental Colors in Philadelphia in 1754?” will be an excellent one.
By Camille Hodges, Humanities and Social Sciences/Current Events Program Planning Group Co-Chair
There has been some interest among OLLI members in starting or participating in a “Banned Books Club.” If you would like to explore that idea with friends, OLLI can provide guidance to get you started. Simply click on this link to begin.
By Brenda Bloch-Young and Doris Bloch,
Co-Moderators
Continuing our Wednesday Conversations series, Team Bloch (Brenda Bloch-Young and Doris Bloch) will moderate a Zoom discussion on May 3 at 4:00. Our chosen topic this week is “Will Social Security thrive or survive?"
Is Social Security approaching insolvency? If no revisions are made, projections suggest a 23% reduction in benefits in 2033. Options for maintaining current benefit levels are to increase the payroll tax, raise the retirement age, or possibly revise how the benefit is calculated. What are your thoughts? Any creative remedies to share?
Check your Daily Schedule for the Zoom link on Wednesdays and join Team Bloch for some social time.
We are seeking one or two members to volunteer to proofread E-News. A proofreader’s job is to review all articles for spelling, punctuation, grammar, syntax, consistency, and clarity. We have, and will provide, guidelines that cover some issues that are specific to E-News.
We publish weekly beginning one week before classes are in session, with occasional issues during the between-term periods. The proofreading commitment is typically a period of less than one hour per week. Editors send a draft version to the proofers no later than 6:00 on Wednesday evening (often earlier), and comments must be returned to the editor by 10:00 Thursday morning.
A bonus to proofreading E-News is that you will know what is happening at OLLI Mason several days before most other members! If you can help, please contact me at the OLLI E-News mailbox: [email protected].
By Dr. Vivian G. Motti, Mason Assistant Professor, Department of Information Sciences and Technology
We are conducting a research study (survey) to characterize the level of awareness of older adults about technology risks (privacy). Participation takes around 20 minutes. We appreciate if you share the survey with the OLLI community to complete the questions using the link below. There are no known risks involved in this research.
The survey includes a few short videos about privacy and security for information purposes. For more information about the study and access to the survey questions, click this link. Thank you.
National Poetry Month is coming to a close, but we must not let it go before announcing that long-time OLLI member Joan Lunsford has had one of her poems accepted for an anthology, Our Changing Earth, to be published by The Poet Magazine, an online literary platform. Her poem also was the magazine’s featured poem on April 8, 2023.
Every Litter Bit Hurts By Joan Lunsford
“Please, please, don’t be a litter-bug
‘Cause every litter-bit hurts?”
Remember the ad we heard on TV?
Way, way back in 1953?
I took that to heart and you’d never see
Trash thrown out of a car by me.
But it’s common now to see debris
On sidewalks, roads, and in the sea.
Do they think things thrown from afar
Magically disappear, without a scar?
Plastic’s a real hazard, as you may know.
Tons of it pollute our oceans with nowhere to go.
Fish and other sea life think that it’s food
So they eat it; we eat them; not good.
Or is it fitting, somehow, that we become obsolete
From the food we have thrown in the sea and the street?
Yes, every litter bit hurts, even more than we thought
So let’s turn this around and do what we were taught.
Joan is part of the Poetry Workshop and read in The Poets of OLLI’s 17th Poetry Reading earlier this month.
Current vaccination policy for the Center for the Arts and Hylton Performing Arts Center is summarized as follows:
Audience members are not currently required to show proof of vaccination, or a negative COVID-19 test result for most events except when required by the event organizer or artist. If proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result is required for a specific event, it will be indicated on the webpage with event details.
Dr. Linda Apple Monson produces a periodic “Notes from the Director.” This email is full of interesting online performances by the students and faculty of the School of Music. If you would like to receive these bulletins, just sign up at this link to stay in touch. Also, the Center for the Arts has a website,Mason Arts at Home, which has a calendar of online events and access to many past performances. Information can also be found at CFA ticket purchase page, Center for the Arts YouTube Channel, or the Hylton ticket purchase page.
Indigenous Enterprise: Indigenous Liberation
Sat, Apr 29, 8:00
Concert Hall
A pre-performance discussion will take place in Monson Grand Tier, on the third level of the Center for the Arts Lobby, 45 minutes prior to curtain.
An interactive question-and-answer session will conclude this program.
Mason Opera Presents: Die Fledermaus
Sat, Apr 29, 8:00
Sun, Apr 30, 3:00
Harris Theatre
Admission: $20 Adult, $15 seniors.
International Jazz Day Concert
Sun, Apr 30, 7:00
Concert Hall
Admission: $12 Adult, $8 seniors.
University Singers Concert
Tue, May 2, 8:00
Concert Hall
Admission: $12 Adult, $8 seniors.
Jazz Steel Pan, Latin American, and Braddock Road Ensembles Concert
Wed, May 3, 8:00
deLaski Performing Arts Building 3001, deLaski Rehearsal Room
Admission: Free.
Mason School of Dance: Spring: Dance Innovations
Fri and Sat, May 5-6, 2:00 and 8:00
Harris Theatre
Admission: $15 Adult, $10 seniors.
Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month Celebration
Sat, May 6, 4:00
Concert Hall
Admission: Free.
Mason Symphony Orchestra Concert – Late Spring 2023
Sun, May 7, 7:00
Concert Hall
Admission: $20 Adult, $15 seniors.
13th Anniversary Gala: Reception, Dinner, Music, Dancing
Fri, Apr 28, 6:00
Hylton Performing Arts Center
Admission: $300.
Wicked Sycamore
Sat, Apr 29, 8:00
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Gregory Family Theater
Admission: $30.
Axial Dance: Art in Motion
Sun, Apr 30: 2:00
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Gregory Family Theater
Admission: $12.
Mason School of Theater: Concert Presentation of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
Fri and Sat, May 5-6, 8:00
Sun, May 7, 2:00
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Gregory Family Theater
Admission: $20 Adults, $10 seniors.
Manassas Symphony Orchestra: Aspirations
Sat, May 6, 7:30
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Merchant Hall
Admission: $25.
Academy of Russian Ballet and Northern Virginia Youth Ballet: Coppélia
Sun, May 7, 2:00 and 6:00
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Merchant Hall
Admission: $28 Adult, $20 seniors.
Please note: Although some physical meetings for clubs and activities are canceled, some may be meeting in person or, in a hybrid mode, both in person and online. OLLI events and activities meeting online bear the identification "Z" in their course or event number (except clubs; you may need to check the OLLI calendar and daily schedule email for location and other event information). Refer to the university's coronavirus website for official university updates.
The following list covering the next two weeks is extracted for your convenience from the master online calendar maintained by the office. The list is accurate as of mid-week but for the most up-to-date information, please view the latest forecast of coming events on our website (News/OLLI Calendar). Note: All OLLI members are welcome at, and encouraged to attend, meetings of the Board of Directors, committees and resource groups, kick-off coffees, etc., bolded below. The OLLI office has sent (or will send) emails with links and meeting passwords to club members; you may also log in at the member portal and click on ZOOM CLASS LINKS.
Sat Apr 29
10:30 am
Tai Chi Club
Mon May 1
9:30 am
What’s in the Daily News?
Tue May 2
4:00 pm
4:30 pm
Spanish Club
Tai Chi Club
Wed May 3
1:45 pm
1:45 pm
2:00 pm
4:00 pm
Bridge Club
Mah Jongg Club
Memoir and More Writing Group
History Club
Thu May 4
10:00 am
4:30 pm
6:00 pm
Diversions Committee
Tai Chi Club
Ethnic Eats Club
Fri May 5
10:00 am
1:00 pm
Annual Business Meeting
Cinco de Mayo Picnic
Sat May 6
10:30 am
Tai Chi Club
Mon May 8
9:30 am
What’s in the Daily News?
Tue May 9
4:30 pm
Tai Chi Club
Wed May 10
1:45 pm
1:45 pm
4:00 pm
Bridge Club
Spanish Club
Mah Jongg Club
Thu May 11
4:30 pm
Tai Chi Club
Fri May 12
9:30 am
9:30 am
10:00 am
11:00 am
11:00 am
11:30 am
2:30 pm
Photography Club
Craft and Conversation
Walk & Talk Club
Classic Literature Club
Homer, etc.
Cooking Club
Tallwood Book Club
OLLI E-News was created by Rod Zumbro, who served as its editor from 2005 to 2013.
Editorial Staff
Chief Editor: Paul Van Hemel
Associate Editor: David Gundry
Weekly Editor Team: David Gundry, John Nash, Sheri Siesseger,Paul Van Hemel Proofreaders: Rebecca Jann, Susan Van Hemel, Linda Randall, Tom Appich, Jane Hassell
Submissions: Members are encouraged to submit letters to the editor, letters to Ms. Ollie Ettakit (on etiquette matters), OLLI-related news items, articles, and photos. Submit material to: [email protected]. Deadline: Tuesday, 6:00, for that week's issue (Monday, 6:00, for letters to the editor); early submissions are greatly appreciated. Please limit articles to about 250 words. Note: You can view past issues of OLLI E-News on the DocStore. To search the content of issues, use Search Our Site or put your search term in Google followed by "site:olli.gmu.edu/" without the quotes.
Admission: Free.
