Annual Meeting and Presentation of Board Candidates, May 7
May 14, 2021
Editor of the Week: Paul Van Hemel
Table of Contents
Alerts & Notices
OLLI Personal Computer User Group (OPCUG) meets via Zoom May 15 (tomorrow) at 1:00; details available at this link.
Voting continues in the Board of Directors election, which runs until May 21; you should have received a ballot in an email with subject “2021 OLLI Ballot for Board of Directors.”
The next issue of OLLI E-News will be published Friday, May 21; regular deadline for submission of items is Tuesday, May 18, at 6:00.
In 2021, OLLI celebrates its 30th year of classes for seniors. This feature provides fun facts and interesting milestones about our institute each week that E-News is published throughout the year.
May 14 A compilation of Learning in Retirement Institute (LRI) poetry was published in March 1996; printing was subsidized by LRI; booklets were sold at $2.50 each. Poems dated back to the first Poetry Workshop in spring 1991. Later, Poets of Tallwood was published in 2008 and Poets of OLLI in 2012.
Summer Literature Course (F403) Book Change and Film Addition
By Shannon Morrow, Program Associate
There are two changes to Ellen Moody’s summer course, F403, Post-Colonialism and the Novel; the changes are reflected in the course registration in the member portal. One change substitutes a book of short stories, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's East into Upper East, for her older novel, A Backward Glance. The second change is the addition of a second film that the class will view: Mira Nair's 1993 The Namesake. Everything else stays the same:
F403 Post-Colonialism and the Novel
Wednesdays, 9:40–11:05, June 23–July 28
Instructor: Ellen Moody
Class limit: 40
In this course we will explore identity and gender politics, colonialism, emigration, and slavery in three books: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s East into Upper East, Caryl Philips’s Crossing the River, and Jane Mander’s The Story of a New Zealand River. We will look at how people are affected by history, law and custom, violence, cultures, economic and geographical circumstances, as well as the sheer need for survival. The class will see/discuss Mira Nair's 1993 film The Namesake & Jane Campion’s 1993 film, The Piano. Ellen Moody taught in senior colleges until 2012 and for eight years at two OLLIs. She is a published scholar, with specialties in the 18th through 20th centuries, with a special love of historical and political novels.
By Nancy Scheeler and Luci Martel,
Reston Book Club Coordinators
The Reston Book Club will meet via Zoom on Thursday, May 20, at 4:00. The selection will be The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante.
The book is a coming-of-age story—one at which Ferrante is a master. The novel’s main story tells of a teenage girl as she grapples with the discomfort of becoming a young woman and learning how to deal with adults and their myriad of “stories.” The book also focuses on the duality of Naples, its neighborhoods, and its residents. PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A DATE CHANGE.
Talk with OLLI friends at any time on this 24-7 open ChatLine. Arrange a time to meet friends online or drop in for an organized discussion. We have scheduled a few specific times and topics for chats this week, including:
Monday, May 17, 4:30-5:30—Topic: Washington Capitals hockey. Love them, win or lose?
Wednesday, May 19, 4:30-5:30—Topic: Future classes. Your ideas and suggestions for OLLI classes to offer in our 2022 terms.
Look for links to this and any future ChatLine events in your inbox as part of the daily schedule email. Have feedback or an idea on a time/topic? Click here to email Doris Bloch.
My mom and her sisters did not watch
The Price is Right
They didn't need to
They had their own pricing game called
Shopping
The object – give grocers as little money as possible
Winnings included
massive bragging rights
Relishing double coupons redeemed on sale items
by crowing
They were practically giving it away!
was a guaranteed crowd pleaser
Getting a cashier to void a wrongly keyed price
deserved dramatic retellings
Strategies included poring over
store circulars
and charting where to go
A & P meat
Waldbaums produce
Shop Rite paper products
Amateur mistakes
They never admitted
Not demanding rain checks
Not checking receipts
Not using coupons before expiration
For all its joys and diversions
mom's game was junior league
compared to my Italian grandma’s
Her Brooklyn neighborhood
was full of mom-and-pop shops
with six kids she mastered the art of
Let's Make a Deal.
The walk away
The hard bargain
The never back down
Being a pro, she didn't brag
She didn't need to
She has six eye-witnesses and me
keeping her legend alive
Susan Rexroad
*The Big Payoff was a 1950’s game show where my parents were contestants. They won their honeymoon, a week at Mount Airy Lodge in the Poconos, and their bedroom set.
Elizabeth (Liz) Bolton, who joined OLLI in 2001 and was a member and lifelong learner for many years, died on April 15. A graduate of the University of Maine in 1959, she was a resident of Reston since its early days in 1969. An avid traveler, Liz took advantage of the Road Scholar program of educational travel for adults. A memorial in Maine will be planned for August. More information is available at this link.
Virtual Performances
Although Mason’s campus is shut down, online entertainment continues for us to access and enjoy. 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 send an email to Brianna Schoen atbschoen@gmu.edu. Also, the Center for the Arts has a websiteMason Arts at Home, which has a calendar of online events and access to many past performances. Information can also be found atCFA ticket purchase page,Center for the Arts YouTube Channel,or theHylton ticket purchase page.
Please note: Physical meetings for clubs and activities are canceled until further notice in accordance with Mason’s guidelines. OLLI is conducting its classes and activities online. Refer to the university's coronavirus website for official university updates and check the OLLI calendar for revised information.
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 May 15
10:30 am
1:00 pm
Tai Chi Club
Personal Computer User Group
Mon May 17
4:30 pm
ChatLine: Washington Capitals hockey
Tue May 18
4:30 pm
Tai Chi Club
Wed May 19
2:00 pm
4:00 pm
4:30 pm
Memoir and More Writing Group
Mah Jongg Club ChatLine: Future classes
Thu May 20
4:00 pm
4:30 pm
Reston Book Club
Tai Chi Club
Fri May 21
9:30 am
11:00 am
11:00 am
2:00 pm
Craft & Conversation
Classic Literature Club
Homer, Etc.
Cooking Club
Sat May 22
10:30 am
Tai Chi Club
Mon May 24
8:30 am
9:30 am
11:00 am
Gentle Yoga Club
What’s in the Daily News?
Poetry Club
Tue May 25
9:30 am
11:00 am
4:30 pm
Annex Art
Spanish Club
Tai Chi Club
Wed May 26
10:30 am
4:00 pm
Tom Crooker Investment Forum
Theater Lovers’ Group
Thu May 27
11:50 am
12:15 pm
4:30 pm
All the News Special Events Program Planning Group
Tai Chi Club
Fri May 28
9:30 am
11:00 am
12:00 noon
Craft and Conversation
Homer, Etc.
Photography Club
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, Tom Appich, Roz Stark, 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: ollienewseditor@gmail.com. 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. Search E-News: You can view past issues of OLLI E-News at ENews Archives. To search the content within issues, use Search or enter your search term(s) in Google followed by “site:ollidev.earthcare.com/” without the quotes.
