January, 2017

ACADEMY FOR LIFELONG LEARNING

WE’RE SAVING YOU A SEAT!

Save the Date 2

Scenes from Holiday Lunch 3

Celebrating Silver Update 4

Barnes & Noble Bookfair 5

Secrets to a Life Well Lived 7, 8

Winter Storytellers 9

Spring App/Registration 10-12

Inside this issue:

Points of Interest

1. How you did it! Won-derful Wisdom & Wit!

2. Storytellers - All Win-ter Long!

3. Spring 2017 Classes!

Shout Out!

January 23! Drop your

A.L.L. app in the mail this

date!

NOTES FROM

THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Happy New Year! The 2017 Spring Term

Class Registration and Membership Appli-

cation has been sent by snail and e-mail

and is being distributed throughout the

Saratoga Region by the Membership

Committee. Thank you to the Curriculum

Committee who worked hard to bring

you 35 study groups this spring. Be sure

to send your application/registration by

snail mail on or after January 23. Letters

confirming your class registration choices

will be sent in mid-late February. Please

call me with any questions at 587-2100

x2390.

Reminder: If you joined as a member in

the fall of 2016, you have already paid

the $60 annual membership fee. Your

membership is good for the spring term

and through June 30, 2017.

The Academy office will be closed when

the Saratoga Springs City School District is

closed due to inclement weather. This

includes Winter Storytellers. Please note

that there are no classes on May 29, Me-

morial Day.

SPRING TERM STUDY GROUP HIGH-

LIGHTS:

BRAND NEW: Health Fitness & Nutrition

Series, new Monday and Wednesday

Speaker Series topics and speakers, Teach-

er Tales: Memoir Writing for Educators,

Discovering Amazing Me, all new Water

Series speakers and topics, Modern Medi-

cine: What’s Up?, The American Revolu-

tion: the British Side of the Story, Towards

a Better Understanding of Self & Others:

Keirsey Temperament Sorter, The Exotic

East: A Pictorial Tour of India, China &

Japan, Science & Technology Speaker

Series, new topics and speakers in Capital

Region History series, The 1962 Cuban

Missile Crisis, Alan Wheelock’s “A Million

Faces Pass Before Your Eyes”: The Writer

& the City, Walking with Saratoga’s

Health & Wellness Community, and Tours

of Local Museums.

NEW TWISTS: Tom Davis’ History of Reli-

gious Ethics Part 2, Dennis Kipp’s Holly-

wood: Black & White but Solid Gold Films,

Genealogy for Beginners and Genealogy

Jack Frost, be kind!

Continued on page 2

P A G E 2 A . L . L . T H E N E W S

Upcoming

Events Save These Dates!

All Storytellers at noon @ SUNY Empire

State College, 2 Union Ave., Room 126

(see flyer on page 9)

Jan 2 - Office Closed - Happy New Year!

Jan 4 - Storytellers

Jan 7 - Membership Committee @ Sarato-

ga Farmers Market @ Lincoln Baths from

9AM - 1 PM

Jan 11 - Storytellers

Jan 16 - Office Closed - MLK Day

Jan 18 - Storytellers

Jan 25 - Storytellers

Feb 1 - Storytellers

Feb 8 - Storytellers

Feb 15 - Storytellers

Feb 22 - Storytellers

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL CHAIR

LOUISE YOUNG

Happy 2017 Everyone!

It is January and that means registration for our Spring 2017 session. The study groups listed in our new brochure

are better than ever. To insure that your application enve-lope will be opened with the first group thereby giving you the best chance of getting the classes you want, please be sure to have your envelope postmarked January 23, 2017. Those envelopes postmarked before the 23rd go to the end of the line. Registrations will be opened in the order of

their postmarks starting with January 23.

All applications must be mailed. No hand deliveries will be

accepted.

Thank you for doing your part to insure the registration

process is as fair as possible for everyone.

I look forward to seeing you when classes resume. Until

then enjoy the winter wherever you are and whatever you

are doing.

Advanced, and Doodling Drawings

& Designs.

FAVORITES RETURN: Wildflower Identification for Beginners, Painting

Lab, Rob Snell’s Spring Birding, Con-scious Aging, Battle of the Millenni-um at Saratoga Battlefield, Discover-ing the History and Ecology of the Saratoga Sandplains at the Wilton Wildlife Preserve, Hunters & Gather-ers: Exploring the World of Antiques and Collectibles, Writers Circle with Margaret French & Joe Peck, Hikes with Gary Hill at Moreau Lake State Park, Rick Hasenauer’s “Songs of Dis-

sent,” Michael Angelo’s Economics for Beginners, Bernie’s Photo Work-shop, and Francesca’s Italian.

As members, you are invited to The Spring Term Kick-Off Luncheon, Wednesday, April 5, at the Knights of Columbus – Saratoga Springs at 50 Pine Rd at the corner of Washing-

ton Street (Route 29) just one-half mile from the Academy office at 111 West Ave., 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Classes start the following week, April 10.

I hope to see you at Winter Storytell-

ers Series this winter - every Wednes-

day, January 4 – February 22 with a

snow date of March 1, noon - 1 p.m.

at 2 Union Avenue. If not, have a

great winter, and I'll see you in the

spring!

NOTES FROM

THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Continued from front page

P A G E 3

Holiday Luncheon Membership Committee member Liz Marcinko reports

that 96.6 pounds of personal care items and $220 in

cash were collected at the December 9 holiday lunch-

eon for donation to the EOC. Among the cash was

the prize money the A.L.L. SIG (Special Interest Group)

- Tuesday Night Bridge - donated from their Decem-

ber 6 evening game! (Contact Membership Commit-

tee Co-Chair Sue Jorgensen at suejorg@yahoo.com

for more information and/or to join the Bridge SIG or

any other!) Photos by Bernie Fabry

P A G E 4 A . L . L . T H E N E W S

ACADEMY FOR LIFELONG LEARNING

CELEBRATING SILVER!

Submitted by Executive Council Vice Chair Scheryl LoMonico

Celebrating with Empire State College (ESC) our 25 years of collaborative ef-forts to create an outstandingly successful lifelong learning center in Sarato-ga Springs, plans are underway for the following: BANQUET: The Anniversary Banquet at the Gideon Putnam December 1, 2017. KNITTERS GROUP: Gloria Marceau wishes to thank all who donated yarn and/or $ to purchase yarn to knit “chemo caps.” We’re off to a good start, but could use more yarn (acrylic only), and of, course $! This year -long pro-ject will, hopefully, yield enough caps to equal one per A.L.L. member! (Sadly, that many —and more—are needed.) Thursday, January 19 at 1 PM at Prestwick Chase in Congress Hall is the first “knit -in,” so grab your needles and your yarn, and plan to be there! Gloria will have patterns and yarn (if you need it) that day. If enough yarn and $ is collected, lap blankets may be added, too! COOKBOOK: We hope to find someone to chair this project at the January 9 meeting of the committee (see below). PHOTOS: Corrie Bishop and Marcia Greenson are co-chairing this and will collect photos from members (not returnable) and the A.L.L. archive for the rolling slide show celebrating 25 years. MEMBERS’ FAIR: Sue Valaitis is chairing a Members’ Fair at which A.L.L. members and ESC employees would be encouraged to exhibit, even sell, their works: books, paintings, poetry, quilts, preserves, photographs, sculp-tures, woodworking, etc. Next meeting of the Celebrating Silver Committee is Monday, January 9 at 10:00 at 111 West Ave., and all are welcome. Please contact Scheryl LoMoni-co (Scheryl@roadrunner.com) with questions, ideas or to join!

P A G E 5

Barnes & Noble Bookfair

Review

Submitted by Membership Committee Member Sheryl Egger Photos by Bernie Fabry

The Academy’s fund raiser Saturday, December 10 - The Barnes & Noble Bookfair - was a tremendous success thanks to tireless, hard-working volunteers, generous shoppers, fa-vorable weather, and of course, Barnes & Noble! Thank you all! This year was a race against ourselves trying to top last year’s record -breaking sales, and while we’re still awaiting the final tally, we’re hopeful we’ll have a new record high to boast and then beat again next year! We’ll keep you posted!

Congratulations to shoppers Mary Caroline Powers and Peg Foster, winners of the two raffle baskets!

111 West Ave. Saratoga Springs, NY 12866-6069 Phone : 518-587-2100, x 2415 E-mail: vera.kasson@esc.edu Academy.Lifelonglearning@esc.edu www.esc.edu/ALL

A.L.L.

We’re

Saving

You a

Seat!

A.L .L . ’s Future

& Your

Legacy The Academy’s future depends on fi-nancial sustainability. Please consider making a difference that will serve oth-ers through your legacy by making a bequest to the Academy for Lifelong

Learning at Saratoga Springs in your will. This is a meaningful way to sup-port the life-changing work at the Academy. Please also consider sug-gesting to those wishing to offer re-membrances to direct them to the

Academy.

SHOPPING

AT THE ACADEMY!

Holiday shopping behind us now (for the most part), The Academy still

has tote bags, note cards, and gift certificates. At only $10 each, handy

A.L.L. tote bags (pictured below hanging out on the 191A conference

room door) are perfect for collecting up

those holiday gifts - that didn’t fit right or

weren’t your taste to begin with - to go

back to the store! Just think of the visiting

you can do with the folks around you in

the long return line about the Academy

when they spy our clever logo and tag

line on that fabulous bag! Note cards?

Sure! You have thank-you notes to write,

why not on Academy all-occasion note

cards? A box of 10 is only $6! Don’t for-

get Apple Trees, the A.L.L. Journal, just $7

for the new issue! We have Academy gift

certificates, too, Contact Vera at the A.L.L.

office for any of these purchases.

MEMBER NEWS

Academy Member Joan Weaver

passed Dec. 7. Joan enjoyed classes

at the Academy and was a current

member of

the Member-

ship Commit-

tee. Cards

and notes

may be ad-

dressed to

Joan’s hus-

band: Firm

Weaver, Box

38, Clev-

erdale, NY

12820.

Study Group Leader Rob Snell

(Making Sense of Investing and

Spring Birding) is hosting an open

house January 13 from 2 - 6 PM and

collecting items for donation to

Code Blue, the shelter in Saratoga

Springs for the homeless when

overnight temperatures drop below

32 degrees or an expected snow fall

is greater than 12”. Check the Web-

site at www.CodeBlueSaratoga.org;

for needed items. Categories are:

kitchen, paper products, cleaning

products, personal items, clothing,

food items, and miscellaneous.

Please drop your items at Rob’s of-

fice at 34

Congress St.,

Suite 102,

S a r a t o g a

Springs, and

enjoy visiting

and refresh-

ments, too!

For questions,

call Rob’s of-

fice at (518)

583-7875.

New Year’s Resolutions are fun, but for most who set out

with the best of intentions January 1, interest fades weeks

(or days) later and then falls off altogether and is forgotten

soon after. With a different twist on the clichéd New Year’s

Resolution, we asked our members not what they want to

do differently in the new year, but, rather, what they’ve

done all these years to have gotten to this point! Sort of a

how-you-did-it, one-liner life-time motto all rolled into one!

The response was fabulous! We received an avalanche of

wisdom, wit, humor, advice (some of it sage, some of it

sassy) and observations on lives well lived! Apparently,

Academy members are an amazing collection of like-

minded, yet different, well-seasoned and experienced, but

young-at heart, outspoken, grounded and realistic, yet

spiritual bunch! Here we go: read on!

SECRETS TO A LIFE WELL LIVED

Anonymous ~ “Where you are now, so once was I. Where

I am now, so shall you be.”

Leo Kellogg ~ “Are you already for another good day?” and “A piece of paper without a date on it, is not worth the paper it’s printed on.”

“Friends are the best therapy,” is a favorite of mine.” ~

Christine Gryscavage

“Be flexible and open to anything.” ~ Nancy Bell

Here's one I heard: Act your age, not your shoe size. ~ Marji Dickinson

Sue Jorgensen ~ “Remember yesterday, dream about tomorrow, but live today!” AND “Daily Prayer – O Lord, help me to keep my big mouth shut until I know what I am talking about.”

"To the world you may be just one person, but to one per-

son you may be the world.” ~ Genia Meinhold

Dan Lundquist (with thanks to Raymond Chandler, Mid 20th century American author ) ~ If I wasn't tough I wouldn't be alive, but if I wasn't sensitive

life wouldn't be worth living.

Carol Schupp Star ~ from my Mom, “Tomorrow is another day. You can always look forward to starting again.... ” Mom also said, "The day isn't wasted if you learn some-

thing new."

Anonymous ~ “days are long, years are short”

Danny Kelleher, from my HS football coach and a credo I always kept, ~ "The team that won't be beat-en--can't be beaten!"

“ Talk less; listen more.” Not easy. Requires great concentration and accepting the fact that that everyone has something to say. To quote from Max Ehrmann, "Listen to others. Even the dull and ignorant for they too have their story.” ~ Dan Riley

“If I don't ask, I don't know. " – Terry Blood

“Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved off the dessert cart.” (With thanks to Erma Bombeck) and "Live! You're a long time dead." (Learned from my mother who truly lived for 98 1/2 years.) ~ Louise Young

"Nobody rises to low expectations " And, "Today is the

tomorrow you worried about yesterday " ~ Kathryn

Cassimeris

Al Mossman ~ “A good wife, good children, fine friends, and a good job - all lead to a good life.”

Anonymous ~ "Above all else, Be Kind. Life is not a dress rehears-

al." AND, when faced with life's many dilemmas...

"Start where you are,

Use what you have,

Do what you can....

It will be enough."

A teacher colleague, much respected, shared this nugget of wisdom about courteous house guest be-havior: "Always leave for home when your host wants you to stay for just a few days more." I've fol-lowed her advice for decades! ~ Pat Rohstedt

Anonymous ~ “Trust in God.

Look on the sunny side of life. Be positive.

Look for the good in others. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Change your attitude; change your life. You can be as happy or as unhappy as you want to be.

Exercise outside in nature is good for the body and as well as the soul.

Be a help to others when they need assistance. – All, starting at Trust in God”

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted ~ Aesop and Karen York

If you don't have anything to say nice about someone, just say

"Bless her (or his) heart!" “Putting a good spin on a really bad

idea is ‘like putting lipstick on a pig!" “Good, cheap or

quick. Pick two!” ~ Connie Curtis

"Live a life of design, not default" ~ Linda McKenney

Leslie Sittner ~ “When you find your muse or she finds you, fearlessly follow.”

Continued on page 8

Montreal Bus Stop (below) sent by Doris Lazar

"Actions speak louder than words" Paying attention to nonverbal behavior rather than listening to what other says reveals the true meanings. Without taking into account the nonverbal aspect of a message you often miss the true meaning. Also, "Love is a behavior NOT just a word." Again, it's not what you say that matters. It is how

you behave! - Ellen Downing

Our kids all told us this is the best life lesson we taught them: Expect that Life is NOT Fair! Anticipate random encounters, health, talents, accidents, weather. Determine that your lives together are ALWAYS fair; Be respon-sible, unbiased, compassionate with every contact. ~ Dave Mesh

Everything happens for a reason and what you make it mean gives you your life. ~ Helen Lu-cas

Somewhere, mid-career, someone who worked with me cocked his eye and said "there's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over". ~ Susan Coveney

David Goldberg ~ Stay active physically and mentally. Don’t stop.

"Keep an open mind and heart at home and wherever you travel." ~ Jo-Ellen Unger

Go with the flow ~ Reena Kondo

"You are only as happy as your least happy child" ~

Carol Dunnigan

I am very fortunate to work with a group of multi-talented women in my church. Whenever we encoun-ter a problem or hurdle the motto is: "Make it work!" and somehow we do. ~ Judy Ewing

I use my “this too shall pass” philosophy to get over the bumps in life. ~ Susan Stec

"The older you get the better you were!" – Bill Cromie

“If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” This was one of my Mom's responses when any one of us kids would moan, "I

wish......" ~ Linda Pommerer

"The thing that is really hard and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself." ~ Anna Quindlen sent by Lin Murphy

My husband Jim said often: Two people can see things differently

and both be right! Fun idea. ~ Pat Reed

As I told one of the committee members yesterday when discuss-ing this wonderful opportunity that A.L.L offers, an old adage my father always reminded me of: " It's what you learn when you

THINK you know it all, that counts!" We are never too old to learn,

nes't pas? ~ Andrea Flannery

My line to live by since retirement and turning 75 is: Karpe Diem (seize the day ! ) ~ Joyce Rubin

Here is a saying we used when the kids were growing up. They still remember it. " Anything constantly repeat-ed becomes an annoyance." ~ Susan Ransom

During our sons' teenage years, we had a homemade sign on

the wall by the dining table: "If it's not fatal, it's no big deal."

That got us through a lot. Still does. ~ Debbie Bailey

" If I had a family motto, it would be 'Do What You Want,

You Will Anyway.'" Staci Mannion

We're not old, old is always ten years in to the future ~

Theresa Vicari

Gerald Stulc ~ "All our afflictions are but tender mer-cies"

My quilting friends and I have one: Finished is better than perfect! ~ Dorothy Kelliher

One thing that has stuck with me over the years is a para-ble. There was once a wise king who wanted to be able to say the right thing - the true thing in all circumstances. He called his wise men together and they spent days trying to come up with some simple words that the king could use. Finally it came together, "This to shall pass." AND Many years ago, there was a comic strip called Pogo in the funny paper - it featured Pogo a possum and Allie, I be-lieve, an alligator. I remember one series where Pogo said "We have met the enemy and he is us," instead of "We have me the enemy and he is ours." Pogo was a wise pos-sum, even if his grammar slipped! ~ Jim Calhoun.

My car doesn't have GPS, and even before technology, I use my sense of direction to get around. I also enjoy explor-ing new routes, shortcuts, etc. So when I experiment and go into unknown territory, I say: "I may not know where I am, but I am never lost!" I think that applies to life ventures, too! ~ Karen Zimmers

My favorite mantras these days are "Stay vertical" and

"Present fate with a moving target.” ~ Barbara Kass

Bill McClary ~ In the spring of 1946, I was stationed at Ft Knox, Kentucky. About every other weekend we would go to Louisville for the weekend, and stay either in the USO or at the YMCA. In the lobby of the YMCA there was a per-manent poster stating ten objectives of the YMCA. The first several were the expected, points highlighting the virtues of clean living, goals of good education, improving educa-

tional preparation in the workplace. etc., etc. But I've al-ways remembered #8, "Worthy Use of Leisure Time." As the work week has shrunk to 40 hours (I know, I know --- Where's the professional who works only 40 hours?!) But with increasing numbers of retirees who have a yearning for learning, Principle # 8, Worthy Use of Leisure

Time, seems more and more appropriate.

Anonymous ~ “Don’t back up any further than you have to!”

"When in doubt, throw it out!" AND “Chuck it in the F*%# it buck-

et and move on!” ~ Anonymous

SECRETS TO A LIFE WELL LIVED ( c o n t i n u e d )

Academy for Lifelong Learning at Saratoga Springs

SUNY Empire State College 111 West Avenue

Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 (518) 587-2100 x2415, www.esc.edu/all

Jeff Shinaman, Executive Director, 587-2100 x2390, jeff.shinaman@esc.edu

A Million Faces Pass Before Your Eyes, the

Writer & the City

Battle of the Millennium: Battle of Saratoga

Conscious Aging

Discovering Amazing Me

Discovering the History & Ecology Saratoga

Sandplains

Doodles, Drawings & Designs

Economics for Beginners

Genealogy for Beginners (Advanced)

Have You Been to Jail? Songs of Dissent

Health Fitness & Nutrition Series

History In Our Capital Region Towns Series

History of Religious Ethics Part 2

Hollywood: Black & White

Hunters & Gatherers, Antiques

Interpretive Hikes at Moreau Lake State Park

Italian: Conversation & Writing

Local Museum Tours Series

Medical Procedures

Monday Speakers Series

Painting Lab

Photo Workshop

Science & Technology for the Everyday

Newspaper Reader

Spring Birding

Storytelling: Creating, Sharing, And Archiving

Your Stories

Teacher Tales: Memoir Writing for Educators

The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis

The American Revolution: British Side

The Exotic East

The Writers Circle

Tour of Saratoga Museums

Towards a Better Understanding of Self &

Others

Walking with Saratoga’s Health & Wellness

Community

Water Series

Wednesday Speakers Series