OLLI Observer
January 27, 2019    
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In This Issue
burning candle
We Remember 

Tom Corn
December 9, 2018
Summer 2019 Course Proposal Deadline This Friday, February 1
Are you interested in teaching this summer or do you know someone who would make a great OLLI instructor? 
The deadline for Summer 2019 Course Proposals is February 1, 2019. 

 
SAVE THE DATE
SkillTalks Workshop
Thursday, March 14
8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Workshop details and registration information will be available soon.
Stitch in Time 
Special Interest Group Meeting
Monday, February 4, 2-4 p.m.
Reuter Center 
Lower Level Atrium


This is a fellowship group for stitchers of all types (knitting, crochet, quilting, needlepoint, embroidery, cross stitch, sewing, etc.) to help encourage, inspire and support each other. All skill levels are welcome. 
SIG Contact: Gay Lambirth, 
281.433.1060,  gaylambirth@yahoo.com

World Affairs Council 
Great Decisions Program
Tuesday, February 5, 7:30 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room
"Refugees and Global Migration"
by Mark Gibney
Today, no countries have open borders. Every state in today's global system has its own laws and policies about who is permitted to cross its borders and how they will do so. Who determines whether someone is a refugee or a migrant? How have different countries, including the United States, reacted to migration? How effective are the international laws, policies and organizations that have evolved to assist and protect refugees and migrants?

Mark Gibney is the Belk Distinguished Professor at UNC Asheville in the political science department and an Affiliated Professor at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Lund, Sweden.  

The Great Decisions Program is the oldest and largest grassroots world affairs educational program of its kind in the country. Begun in 1954, it is the flagship program of the Foreign Policy Association, a non-partisan, non-governmental organization. The Great Decisions Program's goal is to discuss, debateand learn about international affairs, national security, and U.S. foreign policy.

These lectures are free to WAC members and undergraduate students and $10 at the door for all other participants.  OLLI members receive a discount on WAC membership. 


OLLI VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

ENERGY SAVERS NETWORK (ESN)
Help Homeowners Reduce Energy Losses

THE ASHEVILLE TERRACE APARTMENTS 
FOOD PANTRY
On-Site Food Pantry Support

VETERAN RESTORATION QUARTERS' (VRQ)
COOKING TEAM
Restoring the Lives of Homeless Vets  

VOLUNTEER NOW...
Make A Difference!

Sierra Club Meeting
Thursday, February 7, 
7 p.m. 
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville
 1 Edwin Place 
(Corner of Charlotte & Edwin)

"Electric Cars Powered by Solar Homes"
Learn how households are driving to net zero!
Free and open to everyone.
Contact: judymattox@sbcglobal.net, 828-683-2176


Junior League Volunteer Expo
Saturday, February 9, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Crowne Plaza 
Expo Center
1 Resort Drive, Asheville, NC

Learn about local nonprofits, their volunteer needs, and other ways to support these organizations



5th Annual Thomas Wolfe Short Story 
Book Club
Author-Led Short Story Discussion Series 
Sponsored by the Wilma Dykeman Legacy 



Thursday, February 14, 5:30 p.m.
Thomas Wolfe State Historic Site, 
52 North Market Street, Asheville, 28801

Discussion leader Brandon Johnson, instructor of English at Mars Hill University will lead a discussion of Thomas Wolfe's stories "Return" and "Old Catawba"

Travel Special Interest Group
Friday, February 15, 2 p.m.
Reuter Center Room 206


February 15: There will be presentations on Brazil (2-3 p.m.) and Israel 
(3-4 p.m.).


The organizers of the Travel SIG are seeking speakers for the rest of the year and would welcome anyone willing to share travel experiences  with other members of  OLLI .

Please contact one of the following Travel SIG members if you have any questions or want to share 
your travel adventures:

Madan  Joshi ( madanmj1947@gmail.com)
Kathy  Gainey ( kathleen.m. gainey@ outlook.com )
Kathleen  Buehner ( kbuehner@ hotmail.com
Lauren  Azoulai ( lazoulai@ gmail.com)

Men's Wisdom Works (MWW)
Special Interest Group 

Each of MWW's 16 groups is comprised of 8-12 
men. 

Groups meet at various times & places twice a month for two hours to discuss issues of personal importance.

Groups socialize over breakfast, lunch, happy hour, & other social activities.

Men on the waiting list will either be added to existing groups, or we will form a new group if numbers suffice.
 
To learn more or to sign up on our wait list contact: Patrick Irwin at jobshoppat@aol.com

UNCA Basketball Schedule! 
GO BULLDOGS!
UNC Asheville's 
Kimmel Arena


Wednesday. January 30, 7 p.m.: Men's Basketball vs. USC Upstate

Saturday, February 2, 2 p.m.: Women's Basketball vs. Winthrop **OLLI partnership game featuring the Reuter Center Singers performing the National Anthem, Discount Available!**

For ticket information and a more detailed list of upcoming home events please visit UNCABulldogs.com or call our Ticket Office at (828) 258-7900. 
March Madness Lecture
Tuesday, February 26, 3:30 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room 

Bubble teams and brackets.  Upsets and Cinderellas.  Blocks, dunks, layups and buzzer beaters.  Bitter defeats, thrilling wins and "one shining moment." They're all elements of the "big dance" we call March Madness, the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Learn more about this annual college sports ritual from two UNC Asheville experts.  Larry Griswold, a sports history instructor at College for Seniors, will begin the program with a talk about some of the surprises in  last year's championship tournament.

Janet Cone, UNC Asheville's athletics director and the only woman currently serving on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball committee, will give us an insider's view of the selection and seeding process.  Feel free to wear your college colors, if you remember that here at UNC Asheville we are all Bulldogs!

Free and open to everyone!
 
SPECIAL THANKS!
 
OLLI would like to thank Creative Retirement Exploration Weekend (CREW) Sponsor, Givens Estates  for their generous support!

CREW helps those considering relocation in retirement examine all their options carefully and make an informed decision about this major life transition.  For more about 2019 CREW Program, click here.

 

Dear OLLI Members,
If you are interested in teaching a College for Seniors course this summer, please remember that the deadline for submitting proposals is Friday, February 1.  If you have an idea for the theme term on Appalachia, the deadline for preliminary proposals is March 1. Remember that College for Seniors offers instructor support through Skill Talks, scheduled for Thursday, March 14.  

We are hard at work on the Spring 2019 catalog and will publish our "sneak peek" of courses next week; the full catalog will be available on February 14.  We have received a number of glowing comments about many winter courses.  Remember that almost all of our instructors are volunteers who devote hundreds of hours to put their courses together; be sure to let them know when they help you see the world in new ways, prompt you to try new things or simply bring joy to your week. 

Because this is cold and flu season, we remind you to stay home when you are not feeling well.  The Centers for Disease Control reminds us that washing hands thoroughly with warm, soapy water is one of the best ways to stay well.  Click here for more suggestions to protect yourself and others during cold and flu season.

We may get some snow this week, so please review OLLI's Adverse Weather Policy in this newsletter.

Thank you for all that you do to model creative retirement and to create a welcoming community at the Reuter Center,
Catherine Frank
Executive Director


 Check the links here to see OLLI and UNC Asheville current events:
 
calendar

CFS Theme Term on Appalachia

College for Seniors announces a theme term on Appalachia for Fall 2019 (September 16- November 8). While a varied array of courses will be offered during the Fall term, the theme term is also an opportunity to create courses aligned with this special theme. 

The CFS Theme Term Advisory Committee is receiving and reviewing preliminary course proposals on Appalachia. See the committee's description of the term  HERE

The deadline for the Advisory Committee to receive and offer advice on course proposals is March 1. Please use this dedicated URL to submit your ideas to the committee.



OLLI's Adverse Weather Policy

OLLI classes, events, meetings and other activities will be canceled or delayed when UNC Asheville classes are canceled or delayed for adverse weather. When we delay, we cancel the 9 a.m. class and proceed on schedule for the rest of the day.

We occasionally will cancel or delay classes when the university does not, if conditions in the area or on campus may pose a danger to our members.

By 8 a.m. on bad weather days, the OLLI staff will post specific program information on our outgoing messages at 828.251.6140 and on our website at olliasheville.com.  We will, if possible, send an email to OLLI members by 8 a.m. explaining how weather will affect events scheduled on bad weather days.

Please remember that ours is a program of learning for the love of it.  If conditions are unsafe where you are, please stay in!  Your OLLI friends, instructors, SIG leaders and staff will be here when you can safely return!

Meditation SIG with Peggy Moore
Universal Life Energy to 
Transform our Conscious Awareness
Monday, January 28, 4:15 - 5:45 p.m. 
Reuter Center, Room 120

Join us for a guided meditation focusing on increasing your flow of energy.  Meditation can help calm and center our physical, mental and emotional systems and help us have a more positive outlook on life. 
 
Peggy Moore has been a student of meditation for over 30 years and is associated with the Institute for the Study of Universal Life Energy.  Her meditation techniques incorporate chakra awareness, breathing techniques and energy work.  She currently is teaching Meditation at College for Seniors and in the spring she will  teach Celtic Spirituality.

The Meditation SIG meets on the 2nd and 4th Monday of the month from 4:15 - 5:45 in Reuter Center Room 120.  All OLLI members are welcome.
Meditation SIG contact:  Sally Ekaireb,  skekaireb@gmail.com

STEM Lecture Series
Tuesday, January 29, 5 p.m.
Reuter Center, 
The Manheimer Room

"Neuroscience and 
Meditative Practices"
Patrick Foo, UNC Asheville's Psychology Department

In 2005 against much opposition, the Dalai Lama gave a keynote talk at the annual Society for Neurosciences conference. Given the lack of published evidence of the benefits of meditation and mindfulness, this was perhaps no surprise. However, in the subsequent decade scientists have studied a small group of Tibetan monks who have amassed between 20,000 and 30,000 lifetime hours of meditative practice. Their published EEG and fMRI experiments reveal significant structural and functional adaptations associated with lifelong meditation practice. Specifically, these monks show permanently strengthened neural connections between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex and grey matter densities suggesting their brains are decades younger than age-matched controls. We will review these findings and others, demonstrate some introductory mindfulness and meditation techniques, and discuss how the UNC Asheville Neuroscience Program is working across disciplines to offer a scientifically supported Contemplative Inquiry certificate to its students.

STEM lectures are free and open to everyone.
Jay Jacoby

Fab Friday Lecture
"Best Sellers: Our Literary World's 'Fake News'"
By Jay Jacoby
Friday, February 1, 11:30 a.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room

Does commercial success ensure literary quality?  What criteria can we apply to help guide our reading experience?  Looking at the world of fiction, this presentation will explore a variety of criteria and ratings systems, including readers' polls (The Great American Read), panels of writers and other experts (Pulitzer Prize, Pen/Faulkner Award, National Book Critics' Circle Award) and book sales (N.Y. Times, Washington Post bestseller lists), in an effort to discover whether there are any objective measures to assist us in choosing what we read.   

Jay Jacoby has been teaching literature for fifty years.  He officially retired as a professor of English from the University of North Carolina Charlotte after 26 years.  He then taught part-time for five years as an adjunct professor at UNC Asheville.  Jay has offered over a dozen courses at OLLI's College for Seniors.  For the past nine years, he has hosted a monthly Wednesday night book discussion group at Malaprop's Book Store.

The Forum Special Interest Group
Friday, February 1, 1 - 3 p.m.
Reuter Center, Room 205

"Current Events and 
Selection of Topics for February"

The Forum encourages a free-flowing dialogue designed to enrich and expand participants' thinking on topics ranging from changing demographics of retirees to  nuclear disarmament. 

SIG contact: Beth Johnson,  johnson1ea@earthlink.net 
Living with Dementia:
Life After a Diagnosis
Friday, February 1, 9 a.m.
Reuter Center Room 207


In this session, the first of three presentations offered by the Alzheimer's Association of Western Carolina, participants will gain a clear understanding of the changes in the brain related to dementia, Alzheimer's disease and memory loss. We will discuss why it's important to find a physician you can trust and how you can partner with your medical team.  Finally, we will discuss ways to keep lines of communication open and strategies to help make this easier as the disease progresses.  

This series of three two-hour presentations is designed for the person who has a recent diagnosis of dementia or is in the early stages of the disease, with the goal to provide answers to questions about this complex disease.  For more information see the Alzheimer's Association of Western North Carolina's website at www.alz.org/northcarolina.

Sessions on February 8 will focus on telling others about your diagnosis and keeping healthy relationships with family and friends and on February 15 the program will be an examination of the daily strategies to deal with unique challenges and how to gain access to resources.  


Advance Care Planning Workshop
Thursday, February 7, 5:30 p.m.

 This workshop will feature a panel whose members are experienced in addressing end-of-life issues. Discussion will include communicating your treatment wishes to loved ones and to medical personnel, ethical and legal issues, and the uses of advance directives.  Ample time will be reserved for questions. Assistance will be provided for anyone wishing to complete a legally valid advance directive, including the notarization required in North Carolina, using the NC ACP "Short Form." 

Preparation for you to do before the workshop:  Talk to your possible power of attorney for healthcare, the person who would make health care decisions if you are unable.    Click here for a video of a sample conversation, starring OLLI member Mary CampbellClick here for the ACP Short form you can print and fill out. Please print the form, study it, and bring it to the workshop along with any questions you might have for the panel. 

If you have never been admitted to Mission Hospital, but want your advanced directives added to the Mission Medical Record, click here for an Advance Directive Permission form to fill out. Also, if you have existing advance directives, you may mail the "Permission Form" along with a copy of your existing Advance Directive to Mission for addition to the Mission medical record (or you can get help doing this at the next ACP workshop).
This workshop is free and open to everyone, adults of all ages.  For more information, call OLLI, 828.251.6140 or email  olli@unca.edu
New to Medicare
Friday, February 8, 2 p.m.
Reuter Center Room 206

Are you new to Medicare? Are you confused by the many choices?  Unbiased and accurate information is available from trained volunteers from the North Carolina Seniors' Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP).  This session will be an overview (plans, parts and policies) of Medicare.  

Spaces are limited, and registration is required.  Reserve your space by calling the Council on Aging of Buncombe County at 828.277.8288. 

 In addition, beginning at noon, representatives from the Social Security Administration will be available to answer questions about Social Security benefits and Medicare enrollment.  They will also provide detailed instructions for using the Agency's online services at socialsecurity.gov.
Pan Harmonia
Midday Music
with Pan Harmonia
Wednesday, February 20, Noon
Reuter Center Manheimer Room

Join Pan Harmonia musicians, mezzo-soprano Brittnee Siemon, flutist Kate Steinbeck, and pianist Ko Eun Grace Lee for Midday Music. Peek behind-the-scenes in an open working rehearsal as these artists come together to create music for upcoming performances. 

Now in its 19th season, Pan Harmonia offers a mosaic of concerts, community outreach and educational residencies and enjoys taking its music out of the concert hall and into spaces all around the community - from art galleries and historic churches to prisons and homeless shelters. Its musicians believe in social justice through arts access and enjoy bringing high-quality performances to audiences of all ages and socioeconomic strata. Directed by flutist Kate Steinbeck, Asheville, NC's award-winning chamber music repertory company has been nationally recognized for its artistic excellence and creative vision.


Feel free to bring your lunch and friends. This event is free and open to everyone.

Symphony Talk
Friday, February 22, 3 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room

Symphony Talks are an entertaining and educational way to hear about the music to be performed at the upcoming Asheville Symphony Orchestra (ASO) Masterworks Concerts.  The program begins with a presentation by Chip Kaufmann, who talks about the life and times of the featured composers.  Guest Conductor Mei-Ann Chen will appear with violinist Alexi Kenney to talk about how the orchestra prepares and to offer ways to listen to the performance. 

The three very distinct composers presented on this concert all found great inspiration in connecting with their roots. Zoltan Kodály pioneered the field of ethnomusicology while exploring the music of his native Hungary. His Dances of Galánta are a collection of village dances reimagined as a symphonic work and transformed with colors of the modern symphony orchestra. Next, Alexi Kenney, winner of the 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant, brings his unique perspective to Dvořák's Violin Concerto - full of lyricism inspired by the rich Czech folkloric tradition. The concert's centerpiece is Beethoven's beloved "Pastoral" symphony, which was inspired by the composer's love of the countryside.

For more information about the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, or to find out how to purchase tickets for performances at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, visit  ashevillesymphony.org
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