Spring 2008 Newsletter page 5

Text Box: I don’t know about you, but I always have something interesting to read during waits at railroad crossings, at least during daylight hours. My current companion is “101 of the Most Influential People Who Never Lived”. News magazines are great, too. The Feb. 11 issue of US News & World Report has a fascinating cover story on Keeping Your Brain Fit. There’s plenty you can do to slow the effects of aging, and here’s how to keep your thinking and memory sharp, it continues. People with five social ties were less likely to suffer congenative decline than those with no ties. Something to think about, but I believe that most of us know this anyway. “The Power of the Aging Mind,” by Bernadine Healy, M.D. in Nov. 12, 2007 issue of USN &

Text Box: WR, is another “must read” for me, anyway. I like her statement “Know that there’s more to the aging mind than its decline. Speaking of keeping your memory sharp, I really enjoy Doug Herman’s monthly column, “A Sharper Mind,” in the Tribune-Star. Dr. Herrman has presented several programs for DILL before we became OLLI that were in a more serious vein. His sense of humor really comes through in his columns. On Thursday I find myself LOL as I drink my morning coffee and enjoy what he’s written. Until next time, best wishes from Carolyn Toops.

Text Box: “Laughing makes you feel better”

Page 5

Volume 1 Issue 2

A very elderly gentleman, (86 going on 87) very well dressed, hair well groomed, great

looking suit, flower in his lapel smelling slightly of a good after shave, presenting a well

looked after image, walks into an upscale cocktail lounge. Seated at the bar is an elderly

looking lady, (mid eighties). The gentleman walks over, sits along side of her, orders a

drink, takes a sip, turns to her and says, “ So tell me, do I come here often?”

Leave a Legacy

Previous participants who enrolled in the Memoir Writing course found it to be a joy in sharing their life stories with each other on their way to completing the written history of their lives. Some write for their children, now grown, and some for their grandchildren, nieces and nephews, or other family members. So many of our immediate family have no idea of the trials and joys, work and play, single life and married life, customs and habits, and the culture of the past that formed and shaped us.

Reminiscing about the past, going back as far as earliest memories, grade school years, high school, college, work, military service, and the golden years of retirement triggers many long-forgotten events, happy moments, painful losses, former friends, and a myriad of occasions one has not thought of for years. The fun of sharing with each other lends itself to a pleasant class environment.

Assignments are easy and gradual in encouraging you to write, and many former “student” have found that once they start writing, it is nearly impossible to stop the flood of memories. Some participants ask to meet periodically over lunch to determine how much progress they are making and to be re-motivated weeds and months after the four week course is completed. So come and join others for a delightful journey of bygone years, a fitting legacy as a part of personal history and a wonderful gift to those who have meaning in your life.

Submitted by: Dr Bob Pabst