Dear OLLI Members,

We hope you all remembered that daylight saving time ended this weekend, so you should have turned your clocks back one hour.

While our minds may be turned this week to the challenging election season that is coming to an end, we hope that you will take advantage of the many reminders of the talent and intellect that can be part of our daily lives here on the UNC Asheville campus and at the Reuter Center.

Take a moment to be part of the project that UNC Asheville health and wellness students are undertaking to open intergenerational lines of communication. These students are asking OLLI members to articulate "What I wish people understood about aging." Your responses will be shared with students across campus (although your identities will be anonymous), and students' reactions to your reflections will be shared with you.  In a time when we seek ways to communicate more clearly and openly with one another, we are heartened to know that students are breaking down walls between generations with their research. 

On Thursday, November 10, you will have the opportunity to be part of a special conversation with Michael Meeropol, the son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who is making the case for their exoneration.  He will hold a lecture open to the public, but he is making a special trip to the Reuter Center to share his story with OLLI members.  

We have amazing people who contribute their talents every day right here at the Reuter Center.  Read John Ryder's story about Kermit Brown's acting career and never miss an opportunity to see Kermit perform.  Don't miss the OLLI Art Bazaar this Friday and Saturday.  Many people have worked very hard to make possible this unique showcase for the talents of OLLI members. Come celebrate the talents of OLLI members and get a head start on holiday shopping. Mark your calendars to attend the performance of the Reuter Center Singers on November 13 at Biltmore United Methodist Church.

We will send a brief email later today with details and reminders that online registration for our Winter 2017 College for Seniors courses begins tomorrow, Monday, November 7 at 10 a.m. and runs through Wednesday, November 16, at noon. We will have people at the Reuter Center throughout the allocation period to help you get through the process.

With respect for all that you do to model creative retirement, 

Catherine Frank

Executive Director

Michael Meeropol, the son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, who were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage, will present "The Case for Exoneration," at 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 10 in UNC Asheville's Humanities Lecture Hall. This talk is free and open to the public. Before his evening talk, Meeropol will give a talk at 12:30 p.m. at the Reuter Center in Room 206 .  OLLI members are encouraged to attend this special event.
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OLLI Art Bazaar

Kermit Brown: In it for the Long Run 

by John Ryder

Kermit Brown

"I enjoy acting because it gives me a chance to be someone else. I love to hear people laugh. I love having a new family every time I start a new play." For 80-year-old Kermit Brown, OLLI member and instructor, acting has been his passion for almost 60 years.

Born and raised in Asheville, Kermit first left to attend Duke University, where he majored in business. He returned every summer, working at Flat Rock Playhouse, landing a few small roles, but mostly "building sets and parking cars." Following an Army stint, courtesy of the "volunteer" draft in the mid-1950s, he returned to Asheville for a year, then decided to fully commit to his vocation and move to New York. His mother just wanted him to do well in whatever he chose to pursue; his father thought, "It's a phase."
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