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NEWS
COVID is making a comeback!
LLAIC Classes begin this Tuesday!
SPECIAL EVENTS
LUNCH@LLAIC starts Tuesday, September 15
LLAIC Loves Art, Wednesday, September 16.
Let's Go: Adams National Historical Park, Friday, September 18
Purpose at the Calderwood, Sunday, October 11
AFFINITY GROUPS
Spanish Conversation Group (La Tertulia), Monday, September 14
Movie Mavens, Friday, September 18
Current Events, Friday, September 25
French Conversation Group, Monday, September 28
LLAIC Lit-Lovers, Friday, October 9
To join LLAIC: click here
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COVID is making a comeback!
Please don’t come to any in-person LLAIC classes or events if you have any cold or flu symptoms or if you have tested positive within the last week. It is as important as ever that we continue to protect each other.
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Schedule-at-a-Glance
CLASSES BEGIN THIS TUESDAY!
But it is not too late to register for one of them.
And it is certainly not too late to register for one of our courses that start in October. Registration for first-half courses closes at the end of the week, so don’t delay.
Our course schedule and full course descriptions are available on our website. Each course is listed by day, by period, and by course leader. If you click on the course name, you will get a full description, including the dates, times, location (Zoom or in person), amount of preparation, etc. If you click on the course leader’s name, you will find their bio. Click here for the class dates, and click here for the Schedule-at-a-Glance. Click here to go directly to the course registration page. Click here for a short guide to help you with registering.
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Would you enjoy knowing what's going on before everyone else does?
LLAIC Is looking for a cheerful volunteer to help with our weekly newsletter. Committee chairs will send you announcements and upcoming events. No Pulitzer required, no journalism degree. Just a little organization, a bit of computer savvy and the ability to turn "here's what's happening..." into something people actually want to read.
Volunteer a little time.
Make a big difference.
And become the person who knows everything!
Interested? We'd love to hear from you.
contact: Phyllis Cohen or Alex Conn
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SPECIAL EVENTS
Free to LLAIC Members
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LUNCH@LLAIC IS BACK!
TUESDAYS AT TEMPLE SHALOM
175 TEMPLE STREET, WEST NEWTON
9/15 UNTIL THE END OF THE SEMESTER
LUNCH STARTS AT 1, PROGRAM AT 1:30
Join us at Temple Shalom on all your Tuesday afternoons from September 15 through the end of the semester for lunch and a delightful program! Drop in before class, after class, or just for the program. Bring your own lunch (we provide designer water and hot beverages) or email Jennifer Young if you want to order pizza ($3 for one slice or $5 for two).
LUNCH@LLAIC is open to guests and no RSVP is necessary, so bring a friend! The next programs are:
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9/15 David Rabinnowitz – two short interesting programs
The History of the Bicycle
Do you recall the fun, freedom, and mobility of riding bicycles as a child and now as an adult? Do you know that the first bikes were powered by people’s feet? The bicycle is the most common vehicle in the world with more models than any other kind of transport. Beginning with the creation of the wheel, this presentation reveals the many stages of bicycle development that brought over one billion bikes into our modern world.
The Derivation of Names
Do you know where your last name comes from and what it means? Last or surnames often inform us of our origins, work, or physical characteristics……and sometimes not!! This presentation explains some of the reasons we have last names, how they originated, and what they do (or do not) tell us.
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9/22 Richard Mansfield – Science vs. Faith and Evolution
Can science and religion truly coexist or are they forever locked in conflict? Can science today be understood in a religious context, or have we finally reached the end of faith? Public opinion continues to demonstrate a surprising unwillingness to embrace the scientific consensus on biological evolution and issues affecting the well-being and prosperity of the world. While it might seem logical to attribute anti-science attitudes to dogma or factual unawareness, the roots of this problem go far deeper.
Future programs:
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9/29 Jim Mniece – The Scientific Genius (and Rivalry) of Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla
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10/6 Rhoda Greenspan – Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: Transformative Innovation or Ethical Quagmire?
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10/13 Mary Mansfield – The Creativity and Joy of Jacob Collier, musician
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10/27: Matthew Bitner – How We Developed a Method for Saving Lives
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PLEASE JOIN LLAIC LOVES ART AND THE PHOENIX ART MUSEUM
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2026 AT 1:30 PM
ART OF THE MONUMENTS MEN
Join the Monuments Men as they brave the front lines of World War II to track, locate, and recover the stolen art of Europe that was looted by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Discover which European museums and private pre-war collectors’ paintings were listed on “Hitler’s Top Ten List” for inclusion in his Fuhrer-Museum. Observe paintings and sculpture from the early Egyptian period through the Modernists of the 20th century.
Our docent, Doreen Weiser, holds a BS in Business Finance from St. John's University in NY and a Post Bacc in Education from University of Phoenix. After Doreen’s retirement from teaching math for eighteen years, she trained to be a docent and became a master docent in 2015.
Click here before noon on Tuesday, September 15, to request a Zoom invitation. You'll receive it that day.
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ADAMS NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK, QUINCY
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 AT 9:40 AM
LUNCH AT CRAIG’S CAFÉ
WAITLIST ONLY!
Join us at the John Quincy Adams house in Quincy to learn about four generations of the Adams family that called Peace field home. Enjoy a guided tour of the Old House at Peace field and the Stone Library. This tour is 45 minutes in length. We will meet at 9:40 at the Visitor Center on 1250 Hancock St. The entrance to the parking garage is on 44 Saville Ave. It’s a five-minute walk from your parking space to the visitor center. After getting your parking validated, we will hop on a trolley at 10:00. The trolley will take us to the house and will take us back when the tour ends. There are several stairs to go to the second floor of the house but most of the tour is on the first floor. Bathrooms are in the visitor center but not at the house. Water bottles and big bags are not allowed at the house.
Following our arrival back at the Visitor Center we’ll walk for 5 minutes to Craig’s Café for a delicious lunch. After lunch, participants will have the option of watching a 26-minute movie at the center or drive back home directly. You will also have the option of visiting the Church of the Presidents on the way back from the restaurant.
The tour normally costs $15 per person, but it is going to be free because enough members have the National Parks pass. Please register using the attached registration form.
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LLAIC LOVES ART IS EXCITED TO PRESENT
THE SCULPTURES OF
MICHAEL ALFANO
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 AT 1:30
Please join us as Michael takes us on a visit to the Foundry where he is creating the life size sculpture, a replica of the original 1960 bronze work by renowned sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington, which celebrates Sybil Ludington, a 16 year old American Revolutionary War heroine who rode 40 miles through the night in 1777 to warn local militiamen of a British attack.
Michael is a professional artist for over twenty-five years. He creates figurative-based philosophical and evocative fine art sculpture and public art. His work is in galleries, private collections, parks and museums worldwide.
Click here before noon on Tuesday, September 22, to request a Zoom invitation. You'll receive it that day.
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THEATER LOVERS
PURPOSE
AT THE CALDERWOOD
SUNDAY OCTOBER 11 at 2:00 PM
Winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play and a smash hit on Broadway, Purpose is the explosive and wildly entertaining new play from Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, diving headlong into the life of a prominent and influential political dynasty.
Encircled by civil rights leaders, pastors, and congressmen for decades, the Jasper family is a foundational pillar of Black American society. That is, until their youngest son returns home with an unexpected dinner guest, and their carefully curated existence begins to fracture. Don’t miss this searing and hilarious exploration of faith, class, ambition, and heritage — what The Washington Post called “a feast of jaw-dropping tea and riveting food for thought.”
The LLAIC Dinner Theater Committee is holding a limited number of “best seats in the house” for the October 11th matinee production of Purpose at the Calderwood Theater in Boston. If you would like us to reserve a ticket for you, please send $20 to Shelly Levine (instructions on the attached registration form) as well as the completed registration by Friday September 18th. Tickets are available to LLAIC members only, and that means spouses as well!
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AFFINITY GROUP MEETINGS
Free to LLAIC Members
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SPANISH CONVERSATION GROUP
(LA TERTULIA)
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 @ 1:00 PM
Our format consists of reading and discussing articles from various Spanish language media sources of general high interest. There is no homework although everyone is invited to submit articles they might find for our agendas.
The hosts for the group are Miriam Grodberg and Larry Krakauer. Contact Miriam to request an invitation or with any
questions.
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MOVIE MAVENS
NOWHERE SPECIAL (2020)
FRIDAY, SEPT 18 @ 2:00-3:00
A window cleaner in Belfast has months to live and one impossible task left: finding the right family to raise his four-year-old son after he’s gone. Nowhere Special tells this story with remarkable restraint — no big speeches, no manipulative score, just quiet, honest attention to love, fear, and what we leave behind for the people we can’t stay to protect. As RogerEbert.com wrote, “There are so many ways to go wrong with this story, but writer/director Uberto Pasolini does not let that happen, relying on the most ordinary details to take on greater and greater weight.” James Norton gives one of the most understated performances of his career opposite young newcomer Daniel Lamont, and the film ends up being less about dying than about how fiercely we try to keep loving someone after we’re gone.
It’s a small film (96 minutes, streaming free on Kanopy) that tends to stay with people long after it ends. We'll talk about the choices John makes, what the film says about family and memory, what any of us would do in his place, and welcome other thoughts about the movie.
Click here by noon on Thursday, September 17, for your Zoom invitation, which will be sent that day.
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CURRENT EVENTS
Friday, September 25 @ 10:00 AM
Led by Don Bermont
This week, there was so much news. What is happening with the war in Iran? Will the Strait of Hormuz be opened anytime soon? If not, where will oil prices go? What's happening in Gaza? What about the primaries?
Newcomers are always welcome to this erudite and forceful group. Click here before noon on Thursday, September 24, to request a Zoom invitation. You'll receive it that day.
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FRENCH CONVERSATION
GROUP
Monday September 28 @ 1:30 PM
On April 13, we started reading short stories from the book French Stories/Contes Francais: A Dual-Language Book, edited by Wallace Fowlie. We’ve started with the first story, Micromégas, by Voltaire.
You can see a link to the Kindle version of the book on Amazon here. Once there, you can click a box on the right to order it in paperback. CAUTION: There are other similar DUAL LANGUAGE books edited by Wallace Fowlie. Be sure to buy the edition with “Ten Short Stories by Voltaire, Balzac, Gide, Camus …” et. al., available from Amazon for Kindle or in paperback.
The complete list of stories is included in the description. You can see the actual table of contents by clicking on the “Read sample” link just below the picture of the book’s cover. It seems to take you to the FORWARD; if so, you must click the < arrow on the left side to move back through the table. You can also scan to the right and read almost all of the first story,
We meet for an hour and a half by ZOOM every other Monday at 1:30 p.m. We are intermediate to advanced French readers who read the French text out loud and discuss the stories in French. Please email Betty Salzberg if you would like to join us.
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LLAIC LIT-LOVERS
FRIDAY, October 9, 2026 @10:30 AM
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
Discussion to be led by Pat Cole
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Learn more about LLAIC at www.llaic.org
Call us: (508) 453-1205
Write us: info@llaic.org
Editor: Phyllis Cohen
Production Manager: Alex Conn
Contributing Editor: Shelly Levine
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