Enews34-20

November 20, 2020

• Alerts & Notices
• You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out: A Prelude to the Movie A Christmas Story
• History Club Announcement
• An Invitation from Mason’s Friends of Theater
• OLLI Celebrates Veterans Day
• Photography Club
• Photo of the Month
• Poet's Corner
• Arts & Music at George Mason
• Meetings & Clubs
• About OLLI E-News

Alerts & Notices

• Reminder: The OLLI Personal Computer User Group (OPCUG) meets Saturday, November 21 (tomorrow) at 1:00, via Zoom (click this link to join the webinar).
• Reminder: The OLLI annual holiday party is Wednesday, December 2, at 10:30. Register for the special event 1107 Holiday Party on the OLLI member portal.
• The winter-term catalog is out, and it is available online at this link. Priority registration for the term begins November 30 at 9:00 and ends December 8 at noon. Winter term begins January 25.
• OLLI will be closed for Thanksgiving break November 22-29. Clubs and groups will not meet.
• The next issue of OLLI E-News will be published Friday, December 4; regular deadline for submission of items is Tuesday, December 1, at 6:00.

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You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out: A Prelude to the Movie A Christmas Story

By Martha Powers, OLLI Member

Ever since its release in 1983, the classic comedy film “A Christmas Story” has been an annual celebration of the holidays. Traditionally, it is screened for 24 hours on TBS and TNT, starting at 8:00 (TBS) and 9:00 (TNT) on Christmas Eve.

Based upon anecdotes written by Jean Shepherd about his childhood in Cleveland’s west side in the 1940s, the movie recalls a young boy’s yearning for a Red Ryder air rifle, his visit to a department store Santa Claus, and the fate of the family’s turkey dinner. This movie pre-view class at 10:00 on Friday, December 11, will refer to certain features in the movie, but not reveal enough detail to ruin your viewing of it.

We will learn more about versatile Jean Shepherd, the actors in the movie, trivia and goofs, and the far-ranging music soundtrack. Join us for a fast-paced slideshow that shows what has made this highly rated movie a timeless tradition for millions of Americans.

Martha Powers has renewed her OLLI membership and is again enjoying friends and classes, thanks to the wonders of Zoom. She resides in Lake Frederick, VA, and loves sharing movies with friends.

History Club Announcement

By Beth Lambert, History Club Coordinator

The December Zoom meeting of the History Club will take place on Wednesday, December 2, at 10:00 (note time). We are fortunate in having Pat McGinty speaking about a World War II B‑24 bomber, the “Lady be Good.” After a bombing mission on Naples, the plane and its pilot went down as it headed for home base in Northern Libya. The exact location of the wreck, presumed to be in the Mediterranean Sea, became a mystery to be solved in 1958 when it was discovered 440 miles inland.

The account Pat will tell us is one of “confusion, miscommunication, and attempts at survival.” This presentation is a fascinating story with which to conclude our fall meetings. The History Club will not meet again until February, so take advantage of this opportunity to be informed and entertained. All OLLI members are invited to History Club meetings—discover us without having to travel to Fairfax!

An Invitation from Mason’s Friends of Theater

 By Norma Jean Reck, Theater Lovers’ Group Coordinator

OLLI Celebrates Veterans Day

By John Nash, E-News Editor

Almost 50 OLLI members enjoyed the annual Veterans Day Program this year. One of the highlights was when Martha Powers, who originally initiated the celebration six years ago, introduced special guests Chester Myslicki and Adrian Pelzner, both of whom served in World War II. With the assistance of his niece, Chester, who turned 100 years old this October, watched the program on Zoom, occasionally smiling. Adrian Pelzner offered some reminiscences from that time, while Sally Wallace, Jim Dunphy’s widow, recalled Jim’s love of OLLI.

The program included a presentation by Gordon Sumner, a retired Army officer and now president/CEO of Veterans Moving Forward, an organization that provides service dogs to qualified veterans. Gordon pointed out the value of service dogs to despondent veterans, often giving them something to care for and helping to reduce veteran suicides

Attendees also were eligible for donations from local businesses. Each participant received a gift card from Mission Barbeque for a free sandwich; Brion’s Grill provided a $25 gift card; University Theaters donated five theater passes and University Sonoco Auto Services contributed four free safety inspections and two oil/filter changes. It’s nice to support those who support OLLI.

The program concluded with a brief recognition of the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, the landing at Normandy and the beginning of the liberation of Europe. We always thank our veterans and especially those men and women who served in World War II.  Truly, they are The Greatest Generation!

By John Olsen and Edward Marion Photography Club Co-Coordinators

The OLLI Photo Club (OPC) will meet, via Zoom of course, on Friday, November 27, at noon. This is the "technical" meeting each fourth Friday where attendees can discuss photographic issues as well as review member photos taken during the month. All OLLI members are welcome to join the OPC; it's a benefit of your membership. Zoom codes for the meeting are Meeting ID: 559 666 340; Pass code: 746 862.

Come enjoy a couple of hours discussing photography rather than fighting Black Friday crowds! This is definitely a lot more fun!

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Meetings & Clubs

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.

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

Editorial Staff
Chief Editor: Paul Van Hemel
Associate Editor: David Gundry
Weekly Editor Team: David Gundry, John Nash, Sheri Siesseger, Leslie Vandivere,
Paul Van Hemel 
Proofreaders: Rebecca Jann, Susan Van Hemel, Linda Randall, Tom Appich, Roz Stark,
Jane Hassell
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: 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.
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.

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