OLLI at UNC Asheville Observer
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In This Issue
We Remember
burning candle
Raymond David Fillpot 
April 10, 2020

Nancy Hammell
April 21, 2020
 
Dream Yoga Meditation Series, Part 3 
with Linda Go
Moderated by Sally Ekaireb
Monday, April 27
4:30-5:30 p.m. 
with Open Chat Room starting at 4:15 p.m.
 
This period of social distancing is a great opportunity to get quiet and meditate.  However, group meditations are even more powerful than individual ones. So let's stay connected via ZOOM. Zoom is an easy-to-use meeting platform you can access via your phone or laptop that allows you to participate in video or audio. 


Linda Go will be sharing a sampling from her  "Night School" Dream Yoga Meditation Practice with a few fun and possibly challenging lucid dreaming practices that may help you to:
  • improve memory and brain function
  • stimulate creativity
  • achieve power of intent and problem solving
  • dispel hidden fears and traumas
  • attain forgiveness
Remember, to access this conference call one has to pre-register with Zoom.
All OLLI members are welcome at our meditation programs.

Questions? Meditation SIG contact: Sally Ekaireb:  skekaireb@gmail.com
 
Virtual Fraud Prevention Roundtable
Wednesday, April 29, 
10 - 11 a.m.
in this event sponsored 
by AARP NC Mountain Region 

AARP needs you to help stop fraud in your life and community.

Our current pandemic has opened the door for new frauds and scams. Learn more about COVID-19 related fraud as well as the frauds that live on from year to year. Join us to learn more  about why we can be victimized, how fraudsters get to us, and how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud. 

Hear from experts, ask questions, and share your experience. We will also spend a bit of time brainstorming about ways you can help spread the information to friends and family.  The link to participate will be emailed to you after you register. 


 
business_conference6.jpg
The Forum SIG - Virtual Edition!
Friday, May 1, 1 p.m.
Online
Topic: Are there measures that might be applied which would mitigate the economic inequality produced by unrestrained capitalism?

Upcoming Topics:
  • May 8: Preserving our elections against inappropriate intrusions, foreign and domestic including voter suppression.
  • May 15: Environmental issues: Are we trashing the planet and what can we do about it? --Solutions to pollution.
The weekly Forum encourages a free-flowing dialogue designed to enrich and expand participants' thinking on a wide variety of topics; the group frequently focuses on current events. All OLLI members are welcome to attend. Contact  Beth Johnson, the Forum SIG coordinator, to get a link for the meeting: johnson1ea@earthlink.net

MemoryCare Education Series:
For Families and Caregivers


Thursdays, May 7, 14,  21, and June 4,
2 - 3:30 p.m.

MemoryCare will hold a four-week online forum designed for caregivers and family members who want to learn more about how to care for themselves and their loved one affected by dementia.  A series of speakers will present information on 

MemoryCare is a nationally recognized program for dementia care located at Givens Estates in Asheville.   The community-based, nonprofit, charitable organization is uniquely focused on serving the whole family. In 2018,  MemoryCare  served more than 1,000 people living with dementia and 3,500 of their family caregivers .  

How We Are Coping: 
OLLI Members Report

Esther Pittman
College for Seniors instructor Esther Pittmann is spending her "stay at home" time in Florida as her husband Ken recovers from an injury sustained as he worked on their house.  Esther reports staying "ridiculously busy" as she works on a new course, reads Jewish history, takes part in Jeff Jones' online Spanish course, and has polished her sales skills on eBay and Chairish.  But not everything has turned out well.  Click here to read a "comedy of errors" about a first attempt at tuna noodle casserole.


Happy Hour in the Time of Coronavirus

Communications and Planning Committee member Susan Vodicka writes, 
"My husband Chuck and I live on Buffalo Mountain in East AVL. This is a lovely quiet community nestled in a forest on the edge of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Consequently we are taking daily walks which allow us to watch springtime exploding all around us - birds, bees, butterflies, flowers, trees, bears and deer. We are mindful of how fortunate we are to be here in the Western Carolina mountains.
 
"Along with our neighbors we have pulled together our first Happy Hour while maintaining safe distance. Photo attached. You might want to try it. The rules are - bring your own chair and beverage of choice and sit at least 6' from nearest neighbor's chair. No hugging, touching, or sharing allowed. It made all of us very happy. In addition to Chuck and me in the center, several of these dear neighbors are also OLLI members."

We love the stories of our kind, creative, and resilient members. Let us know what you are doing to stay busy, engaged, and connected at this time.
 
Thursday, May 7, 7 p.m.

Scott Dean
Just because we can't gather in person doesn't mean we can't enjoy wildflowers. It's time for WILDFLOWERS! and flowering trees! and beautiful mountain flora of our breathtaking Appalachians! Let Scott Dean take you away on a guided tour with lovely photos and charming stories.

Scott Dean, naturalist and photographer, has been a part of both UNC Asheville and the Great Smoky Mountain Spring Pilgrimages for years, as  well as a teacher for field classes in the Blue Ridge Naturalist program at the NC Arboretum.
Watch for details for ways to join our online meeting
OLLI Celebration of Community
Time, Day, and Logistics to Be Announced This Wednesday, 
April 29
 

We have traditionally held a Town Hall Meeting in the spring term  to review the highlights of our committees and programs, to review  our finances, and to present our slate
of officers for the coming year. This year we had hoped to shift the title and  the tone of this meeting to celebrate and engage as many people  as possible in planning for the future of our organization. 

We are shifting gears again as we are sheltering from home.  We will give you opportunities to learn a little bit more about how OLLI works, particularly in these strange times, to ask questions and make suggestions . We will share our meeting agenda and questions soon.  

We have decided to use a Zoom meeting platform. Stay tuned.
 
Hanan Shabazz preparing food to deliver nutritious meals to seniors living in Asheville Housing Authority residences. Photo by Mark Rosenstein.
What Can I Do? 
UNC Asheville's Food Equity Initiative has been a great partner OLLI at UNC Asheville's seasoned students have been generous in filling the food barrel at OLLI.  Please click here if you would like, in this time of need, to make a contribution to the Food Equity Initiative, the Student Emergency Fund, or the Remote Technology Support Fund. 

We were also heartened by the collaboration among  farmers, chefs, and the Asheville Housing Authority to deliver meals to older adults via the Southside Kitchen.Click here to read the story from Blue Ridge Public Radio or click here to learn about the "We Give a Share" effort.

If you can sew, even a little, now may be the time to brush up that skill.  Click here for a link to the story by Farhad Manjoo that shows a variety of ways of making masks, some which don't require any sewing ability or special materials or equipment.  And UNC Asheville faculty member Dee Eggers shared this video tutorial on how to make a DIY mask that offers substantial protection. This one requires some sewing skills and equipment, but we know we have some talented OLLI members who may be interested. 

Many of our members are in the age considered to be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. We have included some information about options for volunteering, but in-person volunteering can be risky at this time. You can call someone you know might be alone. If you are going to the grocery store anyway, see what you can pick up and leave on the doorstep for a neighbor. Share your wisdom about where to find garlic or rice with the other folks on OLLIChat.  Think about your family and use this quiet time to put photos in order or write down and share some of those stories you would like to go to the next generation, whether that's in your family or somewhere else. 

If you need help, ask a friend who might be able to assist.  Sometimes the greatest gift we can give is to trust someone else to ask for their help.

From Getty Images, via NPR
 
Learning More about Coronavirus

Many online newspapers are making all information on the coronavirus available, even to those without a subscription.  

National Public Radio is offering  The National Conversation with NPR's All Things Considered every weeknight. Click on the link for an archive of recent stories. Our local NPR affiliate, Blue Ridge Public Radio has been a reliable source of information and education throughout the evolving story of the pandemic.  

OLLI member, College for Seniors instructor, chair of OLLI's Life Transitions Committee and active member of the Aging in Place Special Interest Group, Meridith Miller made us aware of the TEDConnects: Community and Hope series. Click here for a link to the YouTube channel that contains an archive of the recently recorded programs in the series. Experts talk about everything from our individual responses (Elizabeth Gilbert assures us " It's okay to feel overwhelmed; Here's what to do next") to medical understanding (Seth Berkley on "The quest for the coronavirus vaccine"), to economic impact (Ray Dalio on "What coronavirus means for the global economy"). As the authors of the website explain, this service  features experts whose ideas can help us "reflect and work through this time with a sense of responsibility, compassion and wisdom." If you missed these conversations last week, you can still hear them and sign up for updates with recommendations for talks from the vast TED library.

AVL Watchdog Seeks Journalists 
and Content Experts
 Are you a former journalist or expert in your field and believe in the need for an independent and robust press?   OLLI member Steve Keeble and Bob Gremillion need your help! AVL Watchdog is a new nonprofit news organization dedicated to in-depth reporting on the issues that matter most to Asheville and Buncombe County. They are a group of award-winning journalists and media executives, who like many of you, chose to retire in this idyllic place and want to ensure our community rebounds and prospers, takes care of its residents, and spends its tax money responsibly. We want to engage, enlighten and inform with news that supplements and enhances the existing coverage.

Steve writes, "This is a moment of deep crisis for local news, which was already reeling from layoffs and shuttered newspapers before the coronavirus crippled ad revenues. Just in March, the Mountain Xpress significantly cut its staff and the corporate owner of the Asheville Citizen Times announced furloughs for employees and pay cuts for executives. 

"Yet the need for top-notch reporting has never been greater. Journalists around the country are risking their lives to report on this pandemic and hold government accountable for its actions. And this is just the beginning.

"As Asheville and the country emerge from this crisis, the need for strong local journalism will be critical. The AVL Watchdog volunteer board is looking to draw on the incredible wealth of experience in the OLLI community to help them succeed. They want to create a talent pool of retired journalists. They are also looking for people with expertise in a particular area - government, industry, health care, you name it, to help their journalists with background information and questions that need to be asked."

Please fill out this form with your information and keep an eye out for the AVLWatchdog. You can also find us starting Monday at  www.avlwatchdog.org, on Facebook, or write directly to Bob and Steve at  avlwatchdog@gmail.com
Dear OLLI Members,
We are excited to see our newsletter beginning to fill with online events.  Be sure to find out more about the online offerings from the Meditation SIG, AARP, MemoryCare, the Sierra Club, the Leadership Asheville Buzz Breakfast, and Wild Abundance. Check our Wednesday newsletter for information about our OLLI Celebration of Community online event coming soon.

Although we are disappointed that we will not be gathering to offer courses at the Reuter Center this summer, we are excited to announce that we will offer 11 online courses beginning in June. Thanks to some intrepid College for Seniors instructors and College for Seniors Program Manager Herb Gunn for bringing this project to fruition and to program manager Hannah Furgiuele for putting together a video to promote the individual courses. The music may sound a little serious, but make no mistake. We are joyful that we have so many talented instructors who are able to embrace this new challenge.

Thanks again to Hannah Furgiuele and Jacqueline Lowe for hosting OLLI's first "Open Mic" and to our wonderful performers: Melanie and Mac Johnson, Jacqueline Lowe, Nick Peters, Bobbie Rockwell, and Lewis and Katie Wells. We will post the full video for the open mic performances on our Facebook page later this week. Keep checking the newsletter for future performances.

We are truly thankful for the wonderful community we create together, even when we are apart. We miss you and are eager to learn how to connect while we are apart and also eager to gather together again. 
Catherine Frank
Executive Director

I nstructors gather to talk about College for Seniors Summer 2020
What's Next for College for Seniors

We are excited to announce that the College for Seniors will be offering 11 online summer courses.   Click here to read a document that lists all the summer courses.

Click on the image below to hear OLLI College for Seniors Summer 2020 instructors tell you in their own words about the courses they will offer this summer. You will hear that our instructors are having a wide range of responses to life sheltering at home, but I also think you will hear in all of their voices the love of College for Seniors and excitement about the possibility of online offerings.

College for Senior Summer 2020 Classes
College for Senior Summer 2020 Classes

We don't have a schedule or the process for registration sorted out right now, but we hope to be able to announce that information next week, keeping more or less to the schedule we have set for registration in the past. Meanwhile, you can click on the image below to view a preview from instructors telling you about the courses they will offer. 

Before the term begins we will offer detailed instructions for participants and sessions when our participants can get online and get a feel for the way that our courses will work. 

We are optimists. We are planning a fall term that will include both online and in-person courses. We are considering how we will have to pay for and charge for new services and who is best equipped to help us navigate a "new normal." 

Our staff has been dedicated to creating a community of people who have had the luxury of gathering in person to learn and connect.  We may have taken for granted the advantages of having a space designed and built for our use by staff and members who were able to dream big and achieve their goals. Now we realize that we can still dream big and be part of a community of learners, but that may look different in the future. Thanks so much for your patience and creativity as we enter a new phase of lifelong learning.

Stay tuned. Stay positive.  Stay together apart.
Carl Nordgren
Convivial Creativity
A Free Webinar Series to Help You Live Happily and Successfully in this New World Of Ours
Mondays, April 27 - 
May 11, 10-11:30 a.m.
From your home computer!

Many of you had signed up for the series of creativity workshops that Carl Nordgren was scheduled to hold in March, just as we were closing down in efforts to flatten the curve for COVID-19. You are in luck, but you can now participate in "Convivial Creativity," a FREE four-part webinar series developed to help you live happily and successfully in this new world of ours.

Last year nearly 100 OLLI members attended Carl's two-hour creativity workshop at the Reuter Center, "Becoming a Creative Genius (again)." Carl has now partnered up with Mark Tully, whose insights into neuroscience will help you get more satisfaction from your daily behaviors and become a better learner. They are offering you four 90 minute webinars that will:
* Review three recent neuroscience research projects, each one revealing biological changes to a 55+ brain that invite a significant creative renewal.
* Share Convivial Creative concepts and behaviors that will 1) enrich your life, 2) cultivate your imagination, and 3) help nurture creative relations between you and other individuals. These concepts will help accelerate and sustain your creative renewal.
*Provide a framework that invites participants to work together in anticipation of the end of our social isolation, considering all the good answers to the all important question of the moment, "How can we make things better than they used to be?"

Each webinar will be fun, fast paced, and as interactive as the technology allows.

Webinars will occur on the following schedule: Monday, 4/20, 4/27, 5/4, and 5/11 from 10 am to 11:30 am.

  Please click here to register at the Convivial Creativity Eventbrite page. When you click on the orange "Select a Date" button you will see the four dates listed above-you can sign up for all or select individual webinars if your schedule won't permit your full participation. You will share your email with us at registration and on Friday before the first webinar we will send you the link for the webinar.

 

Leadership AshevilleBu zz   Breakfast: 
Resilience in the Face of COVID-19
Tuesday, April 28, 8:30 - 10 a.m. 
Throughout the Leadership Asheville Buzz Breakfast series, panelists have been talking about how we as a community can be resilient when faced with stressors. In the light of COVID-19, continuing that discussion is crucial.  Joining the  webinar to discuss where we are in this crisis and how we might plan for the future will be:
  • Stephanie Brown, CEO and President, Explore Asheville
  • Kit Cramer, President and CEO, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce
  • Libby KylesCEO, Asheville YWCA
  • Jim Fox, Senior Resilience Associate, UNC Asheville's NEMAC+ FernLeaf
  • Dr. Jennifer Mullendore, Interim Health Director; Medical Director, Buncombe County Health and Human Services

Presenting sponsor for the Leadership Asheville Buzz Breakfast series is The Van Winkle Law Firm.

 

Leadership Asheville, a program of UNC Asheville, engages participants in collaborative community leadership projects, providing personal leadership development and community education and orientation. Many of Asheville's civic and business leaders are Leadership Asheville alumni. Leadership Asheville's 38th annual program will celebrate its new graduates in May. 

This third event in the Leadership Asheville 2020 Buzz Breakfast series will take place via Zoom and is free and open to everyone, with  registration required using this link.  
This Day in Sports History
by College for Seniors Instructor Larry Griswold

Patty Berg
April 26, 1952:  Ladies Professional Golf Association co-founder and President Patty Berg took women's golf to a level
that only men had reached before, making a birdie on 10 holes on her way to a record low score of 64 at the first round  of the Richmond Open.  A World War II veteran for her service in the Marine Corps Reserves, Berg won 63 tournaments  including 15 major championships during her professional career.


1964 Boston Celtics
April 26, 1964:
With half of its players over age 30, the Boston Celtics, a team thought to be too old to win, claimed another National Basketball Association 
Championship with a 105-99 victory over the San Francisco Warriors.  It was the team's sixth consecutive championship, an accomplishment never done before by any team in any professional sport, and seventh championship in eight seasons.
Sharing the Talents of OLLI Members

The work that sparked the interest of
OLLI Poetry Lover
David Nelson 
We feature the work of poets Mamie Davis Hilliard and Bonnie Laww and a selection of poems by OLLI member David Nelson, who shares the work of other poets. Many thanks to OLLI members Jay Jacoby and Nelson Sartoris who compile this weekly showcase of the work of our talented OLLI poets. We have asked each of the poets to give us a short biography and to tell us why they have chosen to share their specific poems.



Samples of Cards by Sharon Kopstein

College for Seniors instructor Sharon Kopstein offers carefully prepared courses that encourage OLLI members to find or cultivate a talent for watercolor.  She writes, "Contrary to how this period of isolation may feel at times, we have many things to be thankful for!  One is practically the only business that is open...no, not the grocery, the Post Office!  With time on our hands and the price of cards today, I thought it might be interesting to construct our own!

"With few supplies and just a smidgen of talent, we can create personalized cards!  I've found that friends often would show me cards from years ago...just because I had taken the time to make it myself!  This week would you try making one of these "treasures" for a relative, friend or neighbor?  How about a card to the grandchildren!

"Six easy designs are illustrated here to give some ready-made ideas.  Each one should only take a few strokes...keep it simple!  After  illustrating the front with watercolor, acrylic, colored pencil, pastel, etc. (your medium of choice).... you might inscribe a thought: Grandchild's name, Hope You're Well, Missing You,  Congratulations, Thinking of You.... or something more personal!  Inside you have space for a wonderful, uplifting note!  You'll smile as you make it....they'll smile when they get it!! "

What a beautiful example of the generous and resilient spirit of OLLI members!

Please keep sharing stories of how you are staying in; just send them to me at cfrank@unca.edu. We want to know how you are staying safe and learning. Pictures and even videos are encouraged. We would love to hear from you.

Keep Craggy Wild and Scenic: Protect Pisgah!
Keep Craggy Wild and Scenic: Protect Pisgah!

In case you missed this beautiful video by OLLI Life Transitions and Civic Engagement Program Manager Hannah Furgiuele in our Friday newsletter, we hope you enjoy the beautiful images of Western North Carolina and more important that you might be prompted to educate yourself about the Forest Plan and be engaged in ongoing conversations about the future of this precious natural resource.
Grow Your Own Food
Free access to Wild Abundance online course

Permaculture + homesteading school Wild Abundance is sharing a free online course on how to grow food. The roughly 90-minute long course, "Top 10 Vegetables to Plant That Will Really Feed You," features a 24-page detailed course manual and is taught by two instructors who have decades of experience with gardening and offers general growing guidelines, ways to scale it up or down depending on your needs, and tips for preserving your harvest
 
Food and Shopping Options
We know that many of you may be concerned about safety when you venture out. You might be interested in this story from National Public Radio which includes tips on how to make a takeout dining experience as safe as possible. 

Special Shopping Hours and Delivery Options
The Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services maintains a webpage with information about special shopping hours and delivery options for "vulnerable populations." 

Who Is Still Offering Takeout?
The  Asheville Independent Restaurant Association  (AIR) has compiled a list of area restaurants offering takeout and delivery services - as well as those offering free meals for kids in need. Check it out here!  Please note that businesses are changing daily so it makes sense to call ahead to make sure that your favorite is still offering takeout (and if you order ahead, many places will bring your food curbside.)
 


Farmer's Markets
  Click here to learn about the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP)   and their efforts to connect customers with local farmers and food producers.

Wishing They Were Here?


Every year the YWCA sponsors a local and national Stand Against Racism which  provides the opportunity for communities across the United States to find an issue or cause that inspires them to take a #StandAgainstRacism and to unite their voices to educate, advocate, and promote racial justice. 

This year the YWCA rallied to offer a National Tele-Town Hall. They write, " Voting rights, census participation, and civic engagement are, and have always been, essential to racial justice.  As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts all aspects of life, it is also exacerbating the impact of systemic and structural racism on communities of color across health, education, justice, and economic sectors. In this moment, our collective efforts to secure full access at the ballot box, to ensure a fair and complete Census count, and to stand against racism-whenever and wherever it happens-are more important than ever." Click here to watch a recording of the Tele-Town Hall and to find a list of actions you can take to make a "stand against racism." 

Many thanks to Inclusion Committee member Dana Zarr for bringing this important event to our attention.
Join OLLIChat, the replacement for OLLITalk. 

It's free for all 2019-20 OLLI members and easy to use. It's also a great way to stay connected as we are all trying to find ways to manage unprecedented challenges.

OLLIChat is an online community where OLLI at UNC Asheville  members may share information of common interest with each other. It is designed to look and function like the old OLLITalk.

Introducing OLLIChat Companion
Several times a week, the volunteers at OLLIChat send entertaining content to our subscribers - humor, old movie clips and games. The service is free.  Please email  OLLIChatAVL@gmail.com  and a volunteer will reply and send you an invitation.
 

We are postponing making decisions about this program until we know more about the ongoing impact of COVID-19

Visit olliasheville.com/exploring-ccrcs for more information.

"Exploring Continuing Care Retirement Communities" will meet for eight sessions over the course of seven weeks. Three of the meetings will be held at the Reuter Center where we will set a context for better understanding the advantages and challenges of life in a CCRC. For the other meetings, participants will travel to representative communities to hear both from marketing directors and from residents to gain a clearer understanding of quality and character of individual communities.
Click here to register through OLLI's online registration system. 
For more information, contact Hannah Furgiuele at hfurgiue@unca.edu 
or  828-250-3871

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute | 828-251-6140 | olli@unca.edu | http://www.olliasheville.com
Reuter Center, CPO #5000
UNC Asheville
One University Heights
Asheville, NC 28804