ENews June 26, 2026

June 26, 2026

• Alerts & Notices
• Why Teach at OLLI Mason?
• Red, White, and Brainpower: Trivia Party Highlights
• Tallwood Book Club
• Healthcare Advisory Workgroup
• Poet's Corner
• Arts & Music at George Mason
• Meetings & Clubs
• About OLLI E-News

Alerts & Notices

• The next issue of OLLI E-News will be published Friday, July 3; the regular deadline for submission of items is Tuesday, June 30, at 6:00.

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Why Teach at OLLI Mason?

By Camille Hodges, Humanities and Social Sciences/ Current Events (HSS/CE) Program Planning Group Chair

“On sharing knowledge … A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” — Father James Keller [1]

Did you know that Route 66 will celebrate its 100th anniversary on November 11th of this year? Did you know that it was not always welcoming? What do you know about the cultural impacts of the Lincoln Highway or the Blue Ridge Parkway? And this, of course, leads us to the larger question: How do major government-sponsored roadways and airports affect local communities? And, yes, we almost had a major airport in Burke! 

These topics come under the heading of “Movement.” Migration is another aspect of movement. People move for various reasons, whether it is refugees fleeing a conflict or a family moving across town. The movement of people has a significant impact on societies and cultures, creating diverse communities in different parts of the world.

If you have expanded knowledge regarding these or other topics of interest, please consider teaching a single or multi-course session in 2027. And yes, we are scheduling for next year already! We at OLLI encourage our members to voluntarily share their knowledge by teaching a course or two in their fields of expertise and/or interest. As part of social sciences and current events, HSS/CE covers many sub-categories. Now is a great time to consider sharing your knowledge with OLLI members in 2027 and beyond. Here is the course proposal form for your convenience https://olli.gmu.edu/olli-course-proposal-form/.

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Red, White, and Brainpower: Trivia Party Highlights

By Marilyn Harriman, Diversions Chair

In a spirited display of teamwork, intelligence, and camaraderie, the George Mason Patriots Trivia Team, composed of Marianne Metz, Paul Van Hemel, David Green, Phyllis Krochmal, and Pat Coshland, emerged victorious over seven competing teams on May 29 at our Happy America Birthday Party. The 1776 Trivia competition, which brought together 42 OLLI members in multiple rounds, showcased the intelligence, dedication, and enthusiasm of our lifelong learners.

After enjoying cake and ice cream and singing happy birthday to America, OLLI participants self-organized into eight teams. The MC, our own Diversions Committee member Tom McDonald, kept the teams engaged with brief anecdotes about growing up in Massachusetts, where much of America’s rise to rebellion occurred. 

The winning Trivia team showed outstanding skill and determination throughout the event. They persevered after tying for first place with five other teams in the first round. Each member contributed insights and expertise, helping the team navigate challenging questions and tasks. Each first-place winning member took home Walter Isaacson’s The Most Important Sentence Ever Written.

Three additional teams competed in two tough lightning tie-breaker rounds, with two of them emerging with a tie for second place: the New England Patriots, with members Tim Harworth, Irene Harworth, Don Budowsky, and Corrine Swanson, and the Colonials, made up of team members Ann Smith, Kate Wanderer, Dean Wanderer, Margie Wildblood, and Joan Lunsford.

For 150 minutes, TA-1 buzzed with impressive knowledge of history, friendly rivalry, and mutual respect. Trivia participants can look forward to future competitions at our Tallwood campus, with the next scheduled contest on Friday, January 22, 2027.

A big thanks goes to Diversions committee members Gay Alper, Elaine Leonard, Mary Mudd, Doris Bloch, Leti Labell, and Tom McDonald for volunteering to make the event a success.

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            I Get to Age     

with each inhale and exhale

        a breath filling my lungs

        a breath leaving my lungs

        twenty thousand times a day

effortlessly with little or no attention

        until out of breath from
        exhaustion or swimming 

air allows for

        laughing, complaining, questioning, sleeping, 
        cursing, telling my story, worrying, arguing, 

age like air happens with little notice

        until it is noticed

        a health scare, near misses, shock of
        a friend dying too early

age happens when things slow down

        morning time with a cup of coffee

        an idle Saturday afternoon,
        evening time putting the kids to bed

age happens in meditation the consciousness 
        on each breath through the gentle inhaling and exhaling 
        relaxing the body and calming the mind until
        the day’s noise is silenced, mind and body are still
                        then
        notice the slow movement of age and

        appreciate flashes of moments past and those to come

                               -Bill Sinclair

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