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Y's Men News -- Sunday, October 26, 2025

Table of Contents



(Scroll Down to Find the Article Behind the Headline. Articles are

in the same order as the Table of Contents)

• Travel Discussion Group to Focus on Budget Travel
• Meet the Candidates at the Y's Men Town Hall this Thursday
• Dr. Adam Pearl Spoke About Life Hacks for Longevity
• T&E Lists Outing to Seven Bridges Galleries and Sculptures
• Y's Man Michael Hehenberger to Speak at China Conference
• Entry Period in 2025 Photo Contest Begins This Week
• Y's Men Co-Sponsor LWV Local Candidate Debates
• Red Cross Blood Drive October 29 at VFW
• DNR to Perform to Benefit Whittingham Cancer Center
• Y's Men: Anyone Remember When the Church Was Moved
• Y's Men Classical Music Society Features "Carmen" November 4
• Y's Men Veterans: Bedford Students Want to Hear About You
• Income Tax Preparation Volunteers Needed

       Travel Discussion Group Focuses on Budget Travel

The Y’s Men Travel Discussion Group will meet tomorrow (October 27) from 9:00 to 10:30 am in rooms 203-204 at the Saugatuck Congregational Church 

As is the usual custom, meetings start by members talking about their recent travel experiences. 

The topic of the meeting (as suggested by Dewey Loselle – Thank You!): Budget Travel or Traveling for Less

• Who has found good "budget tours" or budget hotels, budget web/travel sites, inexpensive places, countries to go to?
• What is one of the least expensive trips you have ever done?
• What ever happened to the old "Europe on $5.00 a day book/series"?
• Did you ever journey by backpack? Sleep in hostels, etc.?
• Aren't there some "senior" hostels in Europe? Do you ever eat "street food"? Take freighter cruises? Is Eurail pass still a thing. Is there an age limit?
• Hey I love a nice "Tauck Tour" to anywhere or an Abercrombie Safari, but how can you do it for less?

BTW – the image above is the graphic ChatGPT created when asked for an “inspirational message about travel.”

Spouses/partners/significant others are always welcome.

For information about the Y’s Men Travel Discussion Group, or to be added to the Group’s email distribution list, please contact Art Mann, mannart03@gmail.com

Thursday: Meet the Candidates for Westport First Selectman

This Thursday's regular morning meeting will become a Town Hall as Y's Men get to meet the three candidates in a presentation moderated by Jeff Weiser. The candidates are:

Dr. Adam Pearl Spoke About Life Hacks for Longevity

Dr. Adam Pearl addressing the Y's Men last Thursday.

Dr. Adam Pearl, Chief of Otolaryngology at Bridgeport Hospital, a top Connecticut ENT specialist, gave a very important presentation to the Y’s Men last Thursday covering life’s many annoyances we all have to deal with each day.

Dr. Pearl covered everything from fall prevention to tinnitus to your runny nose and everything in between.

His information relates to everyone in some way and his recommendations to address these problems are extremely valuable.

Click here to view the video of Dr. Pearl's presentation.

Wednesday, November 5

Four Hours at Seven Bridges Galleries and Sculptures

Spouses and significant others are welcome. Non-member friends of Y’s Men are welcome, space permitting. Please inquire.

https://conta.cc/3VPJ1D2

Y's Man Michael Hehenberger to Speak at Conference in China

Y's Man Michael Hehenberger advises that he will be presenting a paper on "Quantum Computing and 'AI for Healthcare' '' at the 20th International Conference on Genomics which began last Thursday in Hangzhou, China. The Conference's theme is "The Future of Omics and AI." In past years it has drawn such science luminaries as James Watson, Francis Collins, and Harvard's George Church.

To view the slides from Michael's presentation click here.

Entry Period in 2025 Photo Contest Open Through November 6

Entries in Expo 22, the photo contest co-sponsored by the Y's Men Photography Club and the Westport Center for Senior Activities, may be submitted through Thursday, November 6.

Judging of entries, in eight classifications, will be on Wednesday, November 12. Three entries per person will be allowed in these categories: Landscape, Waterscape, Architectural, Portrait, Nature, Critter, General, and Highly Manipulated.

Click here to read the rules of the exhibition and obtain an entry form.

For additional information, contact Y's Man Jay Dirnberger at jdirnberger@gmail.com.

DNR Performs in Fundraiser for Whittingham Cancer Center

DNR, the Y's Men's favorite rock band, performs at The Westport Library on Saturday, November 1. Doors open at 6:30 pm and the event begins at 7:00 pm.

The performance will raise funds for Norwalk Hospital's Whittingham Cancer Center. For tickets (beginning at $50.00) and other funding opportunities go to https://trellis.org/DNR.

Y's Men: Anyone Remember When the Church Was Moved?

On Saturday, November 1, the Saugatuck Congregational Church will celebrate the 75^th Anniversary of the move of the church building across the Post Road in 1950. 

It’s a public event to which everyone will be invited, but particularly, the Church is looking for people who witnessed the event to participate. There are surely some Y’s Men who were there as kids.

If you're one of them, please contact Y's Man Bob Mitchell at mitch1236@optonline.net.

Classical Music Society Features "Carmen" on November 4

The Y's Men Classical Music Society features Georges Bizet's opera "Carmen" when it meets on Tuesday, November 4 from 2:45 to 4:15 pm at the Westport Center for Senior Activities.

It's helpful to know the story of any opera in English before you see it. That way you won't be fumbling with the libretto during the performance to figure out what's happening. This one happens to be sung in French. A libretto will be provided electronically as soon as a reservation is made to attend the meeting, and printed copies will be available at the meeting.

Because of the length of the opera, there only will be time to screen Act 1 at the meeting. But fear not. Attendees will receive links to the entire opera the day after the meeting, so they can see how it all comes out in the comfort of their own homes.

Attendees are advised to read the story of "Carmen" ahead of time so they won't be distracted from the beauty of Bizet's music.

Reservations are required. They may be made by contacting Y's Man Ed Bloch at edbloch71@gmail.com.

Y's Men Veterans: Bedford Students Want to Learn From You

NOW HEAR THIS: In years past, a number of Y's Men military veterans have participated in a highly successful Veterans Day education program at Bedford Middle School. The program invites veterans to share their military experiences with members of the school's eighth grade classes.

The coordinator at Bedford is eager to have as many vets as possible participate in this year's program but has not heard from some of her past volunteers. 

If you are a vet and have participated in the past, but have not responded to this year's invitation, or if you would like to join this year's program on Wednesday morning, November12 as a first-timer, please contact John Brandt at jkbrandt@aol.com. He will put you in touch with Courtney Ruggiero, the program coordinator who will reserve you a place in the program.

According to past Y's Men participants, it's one of those intergenerational experiences that will be well worth your time.

Income Tax Preparation Volunteers Needed

SimplifyCT is the company that offers free IRS tax return preparation at Westport Town Hall. Its IRS-sponsored Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, helps thousands of families across Fairfield County prepare and file their taxes for free each year.

They would like to see if any Y's Men would be interested in volunteering with them this upcoming tax season. For Tax Year 2024 alone, they prepared more than 14,000 returns and helped bring nearly $17 million in federal refunds back into the community. 

They provide full training (no prior tax experience required), and volunteers can choose from a variety of roles - from greeting clients to preparing tax returns. Training starts in December, certification happens in January, and service runs from late January through mid-April.

If you are interested in learning more, please contact Liedy Diaz at liedyd@simplifyct.org, and to learn even more, go to their website at www.simplifyct.org.