Fun Facts to Celebrate OLLI's 25th Anniversary By Ray Beery, Member, Board of DirectorsA compilation of Learning in Retirement Institure (LRI) poetry was published in March 1996. Printing was subsidized by LRI, and 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.OLLI will celebrate its 25th year of classes for seniors in 2016. We'll be publishing fun facts and interesting milestones about the Institute each week that OLLI E-News is published from now until the end of the fall term, 2016.
By Norma Jean Reck, Theater Lovers’ Group (TLG) Coordinator
The December 11 TLG meeting quickly developed into a bit of improv theater when TLG member Ed Rader graciously accepted the invitation to conduct an interview with our guest speaker, actor Sasha Olinick. The two had just met by chance in the Social Room.
After the program, one TLG member said she especially enjoyed hearing how Sasha landed in this area as an actor. He is currently starring in The Hub Theatre’s production of “Wish List” along with Kate Jeffries and Rose McConnell.
Sasha’s theatrical journey began in Middlebury, Vermont, where he grew up with thoughts of becoming a teacher and where his mother introduced him to theater. When he graduated Brown University, he was interested in becoming a singer, a vocation for which he had trained. At one point, he opted to go on tour with a group and later found himself in Staunton, Virginia, at The American Shakespeare Center’s Blackfriars Playhouse. Along the way, he decided to become an actor. After seeing him perform in “Wish List” Sunday afternoon, we are glad he made that decision. Sasha joined us for a post-performance dinner at Artie’s in Fairfax where we continued to enjoy conversations with him.
The next meeting of TLG will be Friday, January 29, at 10:00.
The OLLI Book Club will meet Wednesday, January 13, at 10:00, at Tallwood. The book for discussion is John Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men. Published in 1939, it tells the story of two laborers working in the California vegetable fields during the Great Depression. There have been several adaptations for screen, stage, and TV, and it has been required reading for generations of high school students. For those attending who are able to stay, we plan to view the 1992 movie starring John Malkovich and Gary Sinese after the discussion.
The book for February is Being Mortal by Atul Gawande.
The other day I was whistling and a new acquaintance of mine asked, ”Alice, why are you always whistling?” This was my answer:
My Dad whistled.
He could be heard whistling while doing fall raking,
and mixing mortar brought into the making
a simple clear tune that I overhearing
would join in and add to silently cheering
this wonderful man who was so filled with mirth;
how blessed I am he chose me before birth.
I suspect he whistled while writing his briefs,
or when from life’s stresses he needed relief,
so now when I pucker, I think of him:
his singing, his praying, his remarkable whims,
his teaching, his patience, his loud kerchoos.
This is my answer; I hope it will do.
My Dad whistled.
Performances, next ten daysBy Shelly Gersten, OLLI E-News Staff WriterFor tickets for either Center for the Arts (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.
Center for the Arts Pied Piper Theater: NARNIA
Sat, Jan 16, 2:00 and 7:00
Sun, Jan 17, 3:00
Merchant Hall
Admission: Adult, $20; children, $15.
Dance, Etc. 35th Annual Winter Concert
Sat, Jan 16, 7:00
Gregory Family Theater
Admission: $20
Art Feast by Associate Artists at the Workhouse
Through Jan 31
Buchanan Partners Art Gallery
The 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, Nov 19, from 6:00 to 8:00. RSVP to jconnor8@gmu.edu.
Admission: Free.
Woodbridge Dance Company: A Coffee House Concert Collection
Sat, Jan 9, 7:00
Merchant Hall
Admission: Adult, $25; senior, $20
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).
Sat Jan 9
10:30am
Tai Chi Club–TA-3
Mon Jan 11
10:00am
10:00am
What’s in the Daily News Cont’d–TA-1 Language, Literature and Theater Program Planning Group–TA-2
Tue Jan 12
9:30am
10:00am
10:00am
10:00am
Cottage Art–Cottage
Knitting and Needlework Club–Panera, Herndon
Spanish Club–TA-2 Science, Technology and Health Program Planning Group–Annex
Wed Jan 13
10:00am
10:00am
10:30am
Bridge Club–TA-3
Book Club–TA-2
Tom Crooker Investment Forum–TA-1
Fri Jan 15
9:00am
10:00am
10:00am
11:00am
11:30am
Recorder Consort–TA-3 Board of Directors Meeting–TA-1
Craft and Conversaton–Cottage
Homer, etc–Annex
Cooking Club–Cottage
Sat Jan 16
10:30am
1:00pm
Tai Chi Club–TA-3
Computer Club–TA-1
Tue Jan 19
10:00am
Knitting and Needlework Club–Panera, Hendon
Wed Jan 20
1:30pm
1:45pm
1:45pm
Mah Jongg Club–TA-2
Bridge Club–TA-3 Religious Studies Program Planning–Annex
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: Sheri Siesseger
Weekly Editorial Team: John Nash, Paul Van Hemel, Sheri Siesseger, Leslie Vandivere, Jean Boltz Proofreaders: Gordon Canyock, Jerry Moore, Marilyn O'Brien, Susan Van Hemel
Backup Chief Editor: Alice Slayton Clark
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 – 6:00 Tuesday for that week's issue (6:00 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:ollidev2.earthcare.com/" without the quotes.
