OLLILife
A community of learners over 50
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April 2022 | Vol 2, No. 6 |
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FROM THE DESK OF MARY ETTINGER |
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Getting Ready For Summer…and Other Developments
April is the fourth and last month of our OLLI’s Winter-Spring term. During this last month of the term, OLLI staff and volunteers are not only busy with the month’s regular activities but also with preparations for the new term. So there are lots of us busily working on activities like setting the summer courses, writing and editing the new catalog, and making all the arrangements for the Summer Open House.
This open house will be the first in-person one in two years, and we’ll have an exciting and popular keynote speaker. Read all about it below. Come to the meeting and see your friends face to face, meet new people, and talk with most of the teachers offering courses in the summer term.
What Else Is New?
New developments seem to be happening these days. Our OLLI has a new connection with Tampa General Hospital that will bring us courses and lectures taught by its medical people.
Some of the OLLI SIGs (Shared Interest Groups) have started having joint meetings. The Food, Glorious Food! SIG and the OLLI Outdoors SIG recently gathered together at Trout Creek Conservation Park to learn how to grow sprouts, and the Shutterbugs joined OLLI Outdoors on a hike that featured birding and photography. You might find a SIG you would like to join – read about them and their schedules below under SIGnificant Events.
Also, don’t miss the information below on the Travel Opportunities Committee’s trip through some of Utah’s spectacular national parks, which is scheduled for October 7 and is filling up fast. There also is a trip planned on Colorado’s historic trains, with six scenic rail excursions and three national parks, which departs August 4, 2023. And I’ve heard that they are thinking of possible trips to Iceland and Holland.
As you probably know, our OLLI exists through USF, so what happens there affects us. USF has a new president, Rhea Law, who had served as the acting president after the last president left. She has proved to be very effective and popular with USF’s leaders during her time as acting president. We look forward to working with her. (She is giving us free parking at USF! – April Fool!)
Here's a cheery and inspiring little April poem for you, as April is national poetry month:
Life begins again in April, hill and valley reel with living,
To all things new life she brings, with joyous fervor in her giving!
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We’re planning our first face-to-face Open House since January 2020!
Please save the morning of Tuesday, May 3, at 10 a.m., for this event. We will return to the beautiful and historic Centro Asturiano de Tampa, our friend and partner for well over a decade.
If you are a newer member, we invite you to arrive at 9:30 a.m. for a brief new member orientation and welcome.
The Summer Open House is also our Annual Membership Meeting. We will have a little OLLI business to conduct, namely electing two members to our advisory board. More about the candidates next month.
If you’ve never attended an Open House, here’s what you can expect:
- Conversation
- Coffee and tea
- Networking with other OLLI friends old and new
- Summer instructors ready to answer your questions about their upcoming classes
- OLLI volunteers from throughout the organization, including representatives of Travel Opportunities, Membership and other groups.
In addition, we’re pleased to feature Fulvia Fiorani as our keynote speaker. Fulvia is an extremely popular lecturer in astronomy, and she’ll be discussing new means for viewing and examining our universe. Fulvia’s talks are punctuated with breathtaking imagery and mind-blowing information about what we are learning about the universe post-Hubble.
It will be good to see you again. Registration for the Open House will come soon and will be prominently announced. Watch for it!
--Ara Rogers
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Wednesday & Friday, April 20 &22: Building Resiliency to Address the Impacts of a Changing Climate
Tuesday, May 3 - OLLI Open House
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What's Going On?
Gain Insights Through FREE Class From University of North Florida
Building Resiliency to Address
the Impacts of a Changing Climate
Wednesday, April 20 and Friday, April 22,
9:30-11 a.m.
Two sessions on Zoom
Ever wonder what the heck is going on? Tornadoes in the winter! Wildfires year-round! Roads that flood when it rains!
Understand the basic principles of the changing climate. Discover the health risks it poses and how to protect yourself and your loved ones. Learn what is currently underway to build resilience in the decades ahead. Gain insights to reduce your greenhouse gas footprint and save money. Your curiosity is all that’s required to participate in an open discussion with an expert.
Instructor Todd Sack speaks nationally and internationally on climate change, energy policy and health. He edits My Green Doctor, a free practice management publication for medical offices and outpatient facilities in 61 countries and 43 U.S. states. The bimonthly newsletter brings environmental sustainability topics to more than 220,000 health professionals in addition to patients and families. Sack chaired the Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board, served on the Florida Energy Commission and chaired the Florida Legislature's Climate Change Advisory Group. He co-led the topic of environmental justice for the Jacksonville City Council’s 2021 Special Committee on Resiliency.
This class is being offered to OLLI-USF members through our sister OLLI at the University of North Florida (UNF). Click here to register for this free class, or call Charise at 813-974-5848. |
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UTAH TOUR IS FILLING UP!
The Travel Opportunities Committee was delighted to see how many OLLI members were interested in the Utah's Mighty National Parks Tour, scheduled for October 7 with Premier World Discovery.
We have filled 18 of the 20 spots on hold. Premier World Discovery has informed us there is more availability; however, they can't guarantee for how long.
If you are interested in the trip and want more information, you can view the Virtual Presentation that was presented in March. Also, available is the flyer for the trip where it guides you on how to register.
In addition, committee member Karen Wright is available to answer questions by emailing her.
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ANOTHER GREAT TRIP OFFER:
Holland Windmills, Waterways & Tulips River Cruise
Departing April 2023
This 10-day trip features Amsterdam and seven nights cruising canals and waterways aboard the Amadeus Queen. Stops include Arnhem, Middelburg, Ghent and Bruges, Antwerp and Rotterdam. Click for details!
Coming soon: Information for the Colorado's Historic Trains Tour for August, 2023. Click here to keep up-to-date at all times on OLLI's trips being offered.
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Sheryl Long:
She’s One For The History Books
Explorers and adventurers, warriors, pirates and spies: the realms of manly, swashbuckling guys. Right?
Sheryl Long wants you to know that it’s not necessarily so.
There are dozens, maybe hundreds, of women who have explored new lands, fought in battles, spied, even pillaged on the high seas, she says. And she’s been telling their stories for the past three years in a variety of OLLI classes.
“The subtitle to all my classes is ‘Women Who Didn’t Make The History Books.’ There are so many women who did amazing things that our generation wasn’t taught about,” she says.
Sheryl’s interest in women’s history began in trips to the library with her granddaughter. She started noticing all the books focusing on women’s history and the accomplishments of women she’d never heard about. Though this information is becoming more accessible to her granddaughter’s generation, she realized most of this knowledge has been lost to their elders. In OLLI, she found the perfect venue to remedy that.
She started teaching the OLLI classes in 2019, providing two classes each semester. Each class focuses on a different group of women -- inventors, explorers, etc. She also holds classes on the history of mapmaking, another one of her interests.
But she’s not limiting herself to the above categories. Sheryl is now looking into the numerous women who have excelled in the creative arts and in medicine and science, soon to be topics of upcoming classes.
Sewing For Rauschenberg
Sheryl retired in 2016 after 17 years working in communications and marketing for People’s Gas. Before that, she produced documentaries for WEDU-TV. But one of her most notable professional experiences was her work with artist Robert Rauschenberg.
Her collaboration with Rauschenberg began in 1973, when she and Rauschenberg were neighbors on Captiva Island.
“At the beginning, I didn’t realize how famous he was,” Sheryl says. “He found out I could sew and asked for my help.”
Rauschenberg was working on Hoarfrosts, a series of artworks made of unstretched fabrics. He called on Sheryl to make eyelets for the pieces’ top corners so they could hang freely.
Over the next 20 or so years, Sheryl worked off and on with Rauschenberg on more intricate sewing projects, among them, his series Jammers, a huge, double-sided quilt called Casino, and costumes he designed for noted dancers Viola Farber, and Merce Cunningham.
Up until his death in 2008, Rauschenberg continued to be a prolific artist who will be considered a major part of creative history.
Sheryl’s artistic contributions, however, will probably not make the history books.
--Sandra Buckley
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Members of OLLI and the Bryan Glazer Family JCC enjoyed an evening of traditional Indian music and dance provided by the Rudram Dance Company while munching on Indian delicacies in February at the JCC. This “Taste of India” was part of a series of Multicultural Cafes developed by OLLI, the JCC, and the Tampa Bay History Center. |
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Where Amazing Wildlife Awaits
Looking for a great place to take your out-of-town visitors? Or just take a stroll to see amazing wildlife? OLLI Outdoors recommends Circle B Bar Reserve!
On March 21, 36 OLLI Outdoors hikers explored one of their favorite places, Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland. In many places in the reserve, you will see birds on the left, birds on the right. You will easily see all kinds of herons and egrets, bald eagles, raccoons, alligators, gallinules, songbirds and more.
You might even see a great blue heron and gator face off. The gators hanging out along Heron's Way were huge (and I do mean huge). We eyed them as they eyed us and kept a respectful distance.
Well worth the drive, Circle B Bar Reserve is on the northwest shore of Lake Hancock. It boasts a wide variety of animals and plants. You can see several distinct ecosystems in its 1,267 acres. You are almost guaranteed to see alligators in Lake Hancock, often considered the headwaters of the Peace River, which flows more than 100 miles from Polk County southwest to the Gulf of Mexico
--Diane White
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Conviviality and Celebrations held their March luncheon at the Cracker Barrel at Bearss Avenue and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in Tampa to celebrate three March birthdays. The group of OLLI members and guests meets monthly for lunch to celebrate and recognize birthdays and other special occasions. The next luncheon is scheduled for Thursday, April 7, at 1 p.m., at Luis' Garden Grill Café, 4502 W. Hillsborough Ave, Tampa. Everyone is invited to join in the fun. Email Kat Hanscom for more information.
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SIGNIFICANT EVENTS FOR APRIL 2022
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For more information on OLLI Shared Interest Groups, see the full list here. Most SIGs are meeting on Zoom; some are starting to organize small group outings. To visit a SIG, email the contact(s) by clicking the links listed with the SIGs below.
Do you share an interest in a topic or activity with a handful of other OLLI members? Did you recently take or offer a class that might lead to a Shared Interest Group? If you have an idea that you might want to float to other OLLI members, contact SIG Liaison, Anne Haywood, and we may include it in a future issue of OLLILife.
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China SIG
Mon., Apr. 25, at 11:30 a.m. Joint meeting with Food, Glorious Food! We will enjoy a Chinese lunch at Ho Ho Choy on Fletcher Avenue and share information about different Chinese cuisines. Reservations for this lunch are necessary. Contact Jane Applegate for a reservation.
Community of Readers and Writers
Food, Glorious Food!
Mon., Apr. 25, at 11:30 a.m. Joint meeting with the China SIG. We will enjoy a Chinese lunch at Ho Ho Choy on Fletcher Avenue and share information about different Chinese cuisines. Reservations for this lunch are necessary. Contact Jane Applegate for a reservation.
Ici on parle français!
Mons., Apr. 4 and 18, at
Games
Thurs., Apr. 14, at 3:30 p.m. To play Scattergories, email Kathy Palmer for the link .
German Conversation
Write Time for Poets
Thurs., Apr. 28, at 2 p.m. Email Cath Mason for more information.
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Shutterbugs
Wed., Apr. 13, at 7:30 p,m. Rich Edwards will discuss Ansel Adams and his techniques for shooting black & white photography. On Zoom.
Wed., Apr. 20. Visit the Thomas and Mary James Museum of Western Art, Clyde Butcher and Ansel Adams exhibits, St. Petersburg.
OLLI Outdoors
Thurs., Apr. 14, Camp Bayou Nature Preserve and Outdoor Learning Center
Fri., Apr. 22, Virtual program and social: Underwater Photography, Part II with Donna McGrew
Interested in biking? Email us to find out more. Next bike ride is
Operatunity,
P-SIG
Wed., Apr, 13, at 1 p.m. Email Doug Dallio for more information
Talking Movies
Fri., Apr. 15, at 1:30 p.m. Watch a movie and then get together on Zoom to talk about it. Movie selection to be announced. For more information about this SIG, contact Kathy Palmer.
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OLLI Shared Interest Group Possibility:
Spanish SIG
¡Escucha! ¿Hablemos?
Spanish speakers who want or need an opportunity to speak and practice español together are invited to get in on the ground floor of a Spanish language Shared Interest Group.
OLLI’s SIG liaison, Anne Haywood, will hold an organizational meeting in late April where the group will decide how, when, and how often to meet, and who will help manage this shared group.
Want to be notified once the informational meeting is set up? Email Anne Haywood and she’ll keep you posted.
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Carolyn Clark is our Goodwill Ambassador, sending notes of support, congratulations and comfort on our behalf. If you or another OLLI member have a significant personal event, please let Carolyn know. |
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Send Us Your News
OLLILife wants to share topics of interest that pertain to OLLI-USF and other OLLIs in the country.
Send your article to ollinewsusf@gmail.com to reach your editors Pat Dodge, Mary Ettinger, Sandy Buckley, Kathy Palmer and Ara Rogers. If possible, please send a picture along with the article as pictures help tell the story.
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