Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

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About OLLI E-News

OLLI E-News was created by Rod Zumbro, who served as its editor from 2005 to 2013.

Editorial Staff
Chief Editor/Technical Editor: Irene Osterman
Associate Editor:
Weekly Editorial Team: Pat Bangs, John Nash, Paul Van Hemel, Sheri Siesseger, Leslie Vandivere
Proofreaders: John West, Gordon Canyock, Susan Van Hemel Backup Chief Editor: Sheri Siesseger

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 – 6:00 pm Tuesday for that week's issue (6:00 pm Monday 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.

OLLI E-News May 29, 2015
Print a condensed .pdf copy of this newsletter, two web pages per sheet of paper.
OLLI Players Action and Tai Chi Demonstration
at Fairfax Creative Aging Festival Events, May 21
 

May 29, 2015


Editor of the Week: Pat Bangs
Table of Contents

Alerts & Notices

●     E-News Vacation. Weekly publication of the E-News will resume on June 12.  

●     Check out special between-term events:
 
It’s Not Just Reading the Announcements! (Liaison Training for People Who Think They Don’t Need it.)
Mon, June 1, 12:00-1:00. Social Annex. (Special Event 1003BT)
 
Higher & Higher, Frank Sinatra’s first film, Tue, June 2, 10:00-12:00, Tallwood. (Special Event 1002BT)
 
When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Liaison! (A Liaison Open House for the Curious. Tue, June 2, 12:30-1:30,
Social Annex (TA-1 as back-up)
 
It’s a Jolly OLLIday with Mary! Bring Your Grandchildren to See Mary Poppins. Wed, July 29, 12:00-3:30. TA-1.
 
Register for between-term events through the member portal.
 

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Delegate David Bulova Visits Tallwood



By Martha Powers, OLLI E-News Staff Writer



On the afternoon of Wednesday, May 13, OLLI members welcomed Virginia Delegate David Bulova, who represents the House of Delegates’ 37th District, where Tallwood and Mason are located. Many familiar faces greeted Delegate Bulova, as he presented an informative session, “Your State Government – Current Issues and How to Be an Effective Advocate for Your Community.”  After his presentation, he fielded numerous audience questions, and toured the grounds at Tallwood with Executive Director Jennifer Disano and Martha Powers, the class coordinator.

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Book Group to Discuss The Book Thief, View Film
 



By Ceda McGrew, Book Club Coordinator
 
The OLLI Book Club will meet Monday, June 8, 10:00 at Tallwood to discuss The Book Thief by Australian author Markus Zusak. Set in Nazi Germany, the novel tells the story of a young German girl living with foster parents in a suburb of Munich. In 2013 a movie based on the novel was released starring Canadian teen actress Sophie Nelisse. After the book discussion we will watch and then discuss the film. (This discussion was originally scheduled for January 14 which was a "snow day.")
 
OLLI Welcomes ABC TV's Brian van de Graaff  




By Stephanie Trachtenberg, Course Co-ordinator

Brian van de Graaff will be giving a special presentation on Wed. June 24th at 9:40 a.m. He will show us a behind-the-scenes look at his day working at WJLA TV. This includes weather forecasting, map making, makeup and more. He will discuss many topics like how Superstorm Sandy changed the way the US meteorologists make weather predictions looking at European models which were correct; winter weather; and severe weather like derechos in the Metro area. Register now for this special event!  Class F814
 
Lemons into Lemonade – the Story of Originating OLLI Member Audrey Markham


By Alice Slayton Clark, OLLI Communications Associate/ Registrar


When it comes to perseverance, Audrey Markham wrote the book.  Widowed three times, Audrey has dedicated her life to public service and to turning personal heartbreak into a crusade for social good.  
 
Audrey was born, raised and educated in Chicago, where she met and married first husband Matt Snite, a successful businessman.The couple moved to Grand Rapids, where she found her niche organizing activities for members of the Women’s Club of Grand Rapids. She was eventually hired by Aquinas College as the director of special programs because of her event and programming expertise. 
 
Just as the couple had settled into their Michigan life, Matt died in a tragic plane crash while flying over Lake Erie on a business trip. Devastated and alone, Audrey soon learned that support systems were limited for widows grappling emotionally, financially and legally after the death of a spouse. This would eventually become the focus for much of her volunteer work.
 
Volunteer interests soon brought her to Washington, DC where Audrey eventually married attorney Donald Markham. She now had breathing room to heed the call as an activist and facilitator for fellow widowed persons. She established the “Widowed Person Service of Northern Virginia,” a group that provides counseling, comfort and support to grieving spouses. In particular, she worked closely with county agencies and government officials to identify people in need of help. 
 
Audrey became involved with OLLI when Katherine Brooks called the Widowed Persons Service in the early 1990s to ask for an affiliation. These were the founding days of OLLI. Audrey not only served on the OLLI Board of Directors, but eventually became the vice president in charge of programs, a natural fit. She remembers in great detail the people and issues involved in establishing OLLI, including extensive lobbying efforts to secure an affiliation with Mason. She has stacks of early newsletters, membership directories, letters and catalogs that she values as reminders of her early days at OLLI. 
 
A sharp and active nonagenarian, Audrey has relinquished the leadership reins, but still enjoys classes at OLLI, particularly the investment forum. She has outlived Donald and third husband Roland Sullivan, fueling her dedication to her Widowed Persons Services. Toward that end, she continues to work hard to maintain the synergies between OLLI and the Widowed Persons Services, bringing new members, instructors and programs to OLLI designed to give comfort and support to grieving spouses. Thank you, Audrey, for your longstanding service and sacrifice to those in need!

Audrey is in the center of the first row in this 1991 photo of founding OLLI members.

Ask Uncle Olli



By Uncle Olli, Driver Safety Consultant 



Uncle Olli has lived in Northern Virginia most of his lifetime, and has encountered every traffic problem. But sometimes the little problems seem so trivial you are embarrassed to admit them. Easy. Ask Uncle Olli at [email protected]. He is embarrassed by nothing!

IS THE 10-2 HANDS POSITION ON THE STEERING WHEEL DANGEROUS BECAUSE OF AIR BAGS?
We all probably learned to drive with the “hands at 10 and 2” position.  This is no longer safe because it places your arms in front of the driver-side air bag. If the bag goes off it will break your arm and your arm will break your nose. The recommended position was changed to “9 and 3” but most steering wheels make that difficult because the wheel’s middle is usually a wide solid bar. These days the recommended position is “8 and 4” – great in theory but it does seem unnatural and getting used to it is difficult. However, it is worth learning and training yourself to turn the steering wheel underhanded, which keeps your arms away from the air bag.  As a compromise, you can usually hook your thumbs into the horizontal bar and achieve “9 and 3” status that way. Just avoid getting your arms in front of that air bag!
 
Poet's Corner
Courtesy of the Poetry Workshop

 

November 1971

 
Sunday morning fall blew me awake in the sensuous dying darkness,
sensing the breezy fullness of lace,
an ethereal ballet in a bare sunflecked room.
 
A window portrait of rusted plains,
unravels to amorphous and cryptic shores, 
distant beyond my most voluptuous dreams.
 
Dawn must struggle in autumn, it seems, to climb above the horizon,
yet I heard it luminate the moan of willows,
letting wayward winds of the north slip through their fingers.
 
Can you feel my chill hissing through the cracks in your loneliness?
Come join me as I mischievously rustle a young girl’s dress,
putting a blush on her freckled cheek.
She fastens a top button,
and a summer foolishness dies too suddenly.
 
The dying leaf-towers sway in rhythmic trance against steel-blue electric skies.
Bombarded by an urgent synthesis of mottled mosaic – more than any human can bear –
I explode along sinuous graydust roads and valleys of dead waters.
 
My naked breast is tied to the sparkling bow of Ulysses’ ship,
clapping and plunging the salty spray waves of tumultuous swirling seas.
 
Surging as the spire of a medieval cathedral,
I can almost  touch the burnt-out half moon
dying in the west.
 
Madly downcast, sullenly indifferent to the peevish honks of those
whose dreams
lie deserted and dying
in ghostlit shopping aisles at midnight.
 
Clandestine dreams and proud conceits, precious and guarded forever,
by those maundering nowhere along predestined and delusory byways,
as I did then.
 

--dave ryan

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Arts & Music at George Mason

Performances, next two weeks

By Shelly Gersten, OLLI E-News Staff Writer

For tickets for either CFA or Hylton, call 1-888-945-2468, buy tickets online through the event calendar (see links below), or visit the venue's box office. For more information see the CFA ticket page or the Hylton ticket purchase page.
At the Fairfax Campus Venues

American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra: Young Virtuosi
Sun, Jun 7, 3:00
Concert Hall
Admission: Adults, $20; seniors, $10.
 

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At the Hylton Center

2nd Annual Juried Art Show
May 17 - Jun 28
Buchanan Partners Art Gallery
Buchanan Partners Art Gallery is open to the public Tue-Sat, 10:00 - 6:00, Thu, 10:00 - 8:00 and two hours before performances. Gallery Reception: Thu,, Jun 11, 6:00 - 8:00. RSVP to [email protected].
Admission: Free.
 
Shakespeare Opera Theatre: Much Ado About Nothing
Fri, May 29, 10:30
Sat, May 30, 8:00
Sun, May 31, 3:00
Gregory Family Theater
Admission: Adults, $45; seniors, $30.
 
Shakespeare Opera Theatre: Beatrice and Benedict
Fri, May 29, 8:00
Sun, May 31, 8:00
Gregory Family Theater
Admission: Adults, $45; seniors, $30.
Combination tickets to both shows: Adults, $75; seniors, $50.
 
Manassas Chorale: Spring Concert
Sat, May 30, 7:30
Merchant Hall
Admission: $20, $18.
 
Boyle School of Irish Dance: Spring Concert
Sun, May 31, 6:00
Merchant Hall
Admission: $12.
 
Gainesville Ballet: Spring Performance
Sat, Jun 6, 6:30
Merchant Hall
Admission: Adults, $25; seniors, $20.
 
Dance Etc. School of the Arts: 34th Spring Concert
Sat, Jun 13, 7:00
Sun, Jun 14, 2:00
Merchant Hall
Admission: $20.

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For further details on any of the above events, please see the CFA event calendar and the Hylton Center event calendar

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Meetings & Clubs


The following list covering the next two weeks is extracted for your convenience from the master online calendar maintained by the office, with direct web links added when available. The list is accurate as of mid-week but to check anytime for the latest information, please view the latest forecast of upcoming 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, Kickoff Coffees, etc. (bolded below).
Mon Jun 1 10:00am
10:00am
10:00am		 What’s in the Daily News–TA-1
Bridge Club–TA-3
Mah Jongg Club–TA-2
Tue Jun 2  9:30am
10:00am		 Cottage Art–Cottage
Knitting and Needlework Club–Panera, Herndon
Wed Jun 3 10:00am
 1:45pm		 Humanities and Science Planning Group–TA-3
Special Events Committee–Annex
Fri Jun 5 10:00am 10:00am Craft and Conversation–Cottage
25th Anniversary Committee–Ta-1
Sat Jun 6 10:30am Tai Chi Club–TA-3
Mon Jun 8 10:00am
10:00am
10:00am		 What’s in the Daily News–TA-1
Bridge Club–TA-3
Book Club–TA-2
Tue Jun 9  9:30am
10:00am
 
10:00am		 Cottage Art–Cottage
Science, Technology and Health Program
Committee–Annex
Knitting and Needlework Club–Panera, Herndon
Fri Jun 12 10:00am
11:00am
12:00pm		 Craft and Conversation–Cottage
Homer, etc–Annex
Murder Mystery Group–TA-1

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OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE
AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

4210 Roberts Rd. Fairfax, VA 22032-1028
Phone: (703) 503-3384
Email: [email protected]

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