Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto
2010 Archive
Contact: elderjourney-info@uucpa.org
January 12. 2010 - How did you relate with the Civil Rights movement in the Sixties?
Dan Harper, our AMRE, will lead this session. He writes:
"Fifty years ago, on February 1, 1960, four black men sat down at a whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., the first of many 'sit-ins' for racial equality. What do you remember about the civil rights movement of the 1960s? How did it affect you personally?"
January 26, 2010 - What technology trends should elders know about?
Joanne Wells will introduce Joe Chee, who writes "I will discuss what are some of the new things available on computers and the Internet, and why are they so popular with young people. I will also answer other technology questions you may have.
“Here's the list of questions so far:
A What are Facebook and MySpace?
B What is Twitter?
C What is blogging?
D What is an MP3 player and how do I get music onto it? Do I need a computer to do that?
E What is an iPhone? Why is it so popular?
F If I don’t want all those other things, how do I find a cell phone does only what I want?”
“Are there other questions that you want to ask? Please send them to me (Joe) (jchee650 (at) yahoo.com ) so I can have answers ready [Note: replace the (at) with the '@' symbol when sending an e-mail].”
Please copy me (Philip) (elderjourney-info@uucpa.org) or phone me on any email to Joe so I can keep this list updated.
February 9 – Books I have recently enjoyed
The eighteenth century French epicure, Brillat-Savarin, once wrote a friend, “I am sitting in my living room enjoying my dinner.” The friend admonished him: “You, a well-known gourmet, eating dinner in the living room? I am shocked.” To which the epicure responded, “My dear fellow, I didn’t say I was eating it in my living room – I had finished that activity two hours earlier. I said I was enjoying it there.”
Tom Faxon, who suggested and will lead this discussion, told me that he now reads “large print and slowly” but it’s still one of his favorite pastimes. He is happy to share his current favorite and looks forward to hearing yours.
The opening anecdote is relevant in that we don’t require that the book be written recently; we don’t require that you read it recently. In fact we don’t even require that you read it at all – you might have listened to it on tape. We just ask that you tell us about a book that you enjoyed recently.
Come prepared to tell us what you enjoyed and why you enjoyed it. Or come unprepared and just wing it. We’re a friendly bunch.
February 23 – What Next?
We need facilitators and topics. With Amy away and Sean only half-time, we’ve got to do most of it ourselves this year. Dan will lead us next month and again on May 11, but we need topics for March 23, April 13 and 27, May 25, June 8 and 22, and on into the summer. Topics can be either social or informational:
Informational topics. You can do it yourself or work with Misao on finding an expert to inform us. Joe Chee’s session on computer devices last month and the session on hearing aids last year are recent examples.
Social topics. Almost anything else! Examples are Tom’s book discussion last time and Dan’s cosmic view in two week. Sylvia can help you on this.
Please come prepared to suggest a topic which you are interested in, and a date when you can lead the discussion. If we get our program filled in time, we can each take a minute or two to say “What’s on my mind these days” – sort of like a low-key Caring and Sharing.
March 9 – Are you a deist or an atheist? Why?
Dan Harper will lead us in a discussion of our degree of theism. (Except for the final verse, the duet below was written by Meg and Scott Bassinson)
| You are theist I am humanist I think that you're naive You have no proof to offer as truth, You simply say "I believe" |
I am theist, you are humanist You're locked inside your head. You're existential, self-referential Claiming that God is dead, |
| New age bubbles get you in trouble Lost in a feel-good fluff True understanding is quite demanding Praying is not enough. |
Occam's razor, Pascal's wager Soul-less tautology Wisdom, traditions, not erudition Make much more sense to me. |
| Totally unprepared are you To make a case that's plain Maybe the incense, chants, and drums Have ruined your poor brain. |
Totally unprepared are you To let go of your mind. How 'bout a leap of faith, my friend You might like what you find. |
| You need someone older and wiser Telling you what to do, You are theist, I am humanist I--will think--for you! |
When you find that you're out of answers You won't know what to do I am theist, you are humanist, I -- will pray -- for you. |
We cannot agree on anything
Each has a point of view,
I am theist --- I am humanist
That's why we're UU.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
You’re an Elder, I’m an Elder
We’ve that in common too
Are you theist? Are you humanist?
Which—UU—are YOU?
March 23 – This is YOUR Church
Are you an Elder? Do you have a question about our church?
At our recent planning session, Jean Nelson mentioned a particular thing she’d like to change about our church. Turned out that other elders present agreed with her, but no one knew how to go about it. Where do we go to even discuss the matter?
Well, you know how things work. Someone suggests something and everyone else says, “Fine. You’re in charge of doing something about it.” So on Tuesday, March 23, Jean will host our meeting. Kathy Parmentier (Chair of the Board of Trustees, Choir member, Webmistress, Worship Associate, you-name-it) has volunteered to give us a short talk about who does what about running the church, and then to answer our questions. See you there!
April 13 – A life-changing event in my life
OK, so your life is moving along predictably, each year about the same as the one before. Sure, your children have gone from infants to teen agers or more, but it’s been one year at time so not much change in any given year.
But one year, all of a sudden, there is a big change. Maybe you knew it was coming: the last child left home; you retired from your job. Or maybe it came as a surprise: you had a near-death experience; you won the lottery; you were arrested by the police. Either way, there was a big change in your life that year.
Come to our first meeting in April and tell us about it. What was the momentous event and how did it change your life? You may have had several such events, but please pick just one of them to talk about so that everyone has a chance.
April 27 – Solo Activities
What do you like to do in your discretionary time? Just for fun, make a list. Now rate the items on that list on a scale from 0 to 10 with 0 being things you like to do only with one or more other people, 5 being an activity you enjoy equally doing alone or with company, and 10 being things you like to do only by yourself. For example, “playing basketball” and “engage in conversation” would necessarily rate a 0, whereas “reading” and “searching the web for pornography” would probably score a 10.
Betty Seike, who chose and will lead this topic, is particularly interested in your high-scoring activities. She and I, like many other Elders live alone, and it’s not always easy to find someone to do things with so we’d welcome suggestions for activities we might not have thought of.
No need to bring your lists. Just remember the top couple of items and come prepared to share them. See you there - -
May 11 – Reading the Bible
Dan Harper will lead us for this session. He not only picks great topics, but he writes great descriptions. All I have to do is put them in italics so you ‘ll know they’re his words, not mine:
"The things that you're liable / To read in the Bible / They ain't necessarily so." So many people in the U.S. believe the Bible is the literal truth. Were you brought up to believe the Bible is literally true? Did you have a big moment of revelation when you realized the things that you're liable to read in the Bible ain't necessarily so? Or have you always known that the Bible is a book of metaphor, not fact? Come share your memories of growing up with the Bible, or growing up as a skeptic.
May 25 – Bear Tales (or other encounters with nature)
I'm sure most of you have had more than one memorable experience. No need to choose, but come to the meeting with them ranked in the order you choose to tell them. We'll go around the circle each telling one and only one tale. Then we go around again, each with our second tale. We'll continue until we run out of time or tales, whichever happens first.
June 8 – Things I recently discovered about my past
People joke about the poor memory of Elders – and there’s a certain amount of truth in that perception, particularly short term memory. How often have you walked into a room and asked yourself, “Why did I come in here?” Or even, “Did I eat lunch yet?”, and you have to go into the kitchen and see which dishes are in the sink to be sure of the answer.
Memories from far back are different. Something will remind you of an event from half a century ago – and immediately a full recreation of the event springs to mind. The trigger could be many things: a current event, a chance word, a reference in a book or play. In the case of our host, Mona Miller, it was coming across a memento of the past event when she was downsizing her accumulation of decades.
So keep your antennae open for a trigger to the past. When you find one, immediately write it down and bring that note with you on May 25. That’s only a short time from now, and we all know how reliable our short term memory is!
June 22 – Tour of UUCPA gardens
Joan Wells will introduce Jim Brice who will then lead all interested Elders on a tour of the plantings around our church – plantings which Jim is larglely responsiible for. As time permits, we will then return to the Fireside Room for general conversation.
July 13 – Moral Priorities
Just what does the term, “moral priorities” mean to you? What are your own moral priorities? How do they differ from those of your parents? from those of your children? your grandchildren? Are these generational changes for good or for bad?
These are just a few of the questions one might ask. Our host Cecil Bridges will start us out with some of his answers, then we’ll all get a turn.
July 27 – My favorite gift – and why
Host June Bridges intentionally put a bit of ambiguity in this title. Is “My gift” something that I received – or something that I gave? You decide, and tell us about it. If you have an entry in both categories, decide which one to tell us on the first go-round. If time permits we’ll go around again and you can mention the other one.
August 10 – Making the most of our elder years
Sylvia Witcher will be our host. She writes:
As we add a few years we seem to have less time and energy to accomplish our favorite long outstanding projects, or even to enjoy former hobbies and activities. It's necessary to plan how to squeeze these in around the inevitable doctors' appointments, exercise classes, and meetings.
Comes down to prioritizing - the dreaded act of choosing.
What are your priorities and how do you cope with this problem?
August 24 – Attendent care at home
Misao Sakamoto has arranged for two guest speakers at this informational type of meeting. Oscar Garcia, President/CEO, Chamber of Commerce, Mountain View, works full time outside of his home but still managesto care for both of his parents in his home. He will discuss the importance of utilizing community resources and attendant care at home as an alternative to institutional institutional care for his parents.
The second speaker will be Michelle Rogers, owner of HomeInstead Care Service. She will share information about the kinds of services available thru an established service agency which enable a person to remain in his/her own home during illness or recovery.
Misao notes that she met Oscar Garcia at a recent Senior Conference they both attended and that he in turn referred her to Michelle Rogers.
September 14 – Life changes in 2010
Rev Amy would like to know what has happened to each of since we last saw her at Misao’s party last December. Is your life significantly different now that it was then? If so, can you pinpoint a particular event associated with the change? Are you happy with the change? If it hasn’t changed, why not? Have you just drifted, or can you pinpoint an event that caused you to reconfirm what you are doing now? I suspect we may have a large turnout at this meeting since it will be a “Welcome Back” to Amy, so give a little advance thought to what you want to say. We want to be sure everyone has a turn.
September 28 – Have we lost our senses?
I’ll lead this one. In the broad meaning of the word, things you read in the paper are pretty convincing arguments that, “Yes we have lost our senses, and what’s the point of our little group talking about it?”.
No, I’m more concerned with the following facts:
- Everybody writes smaller than they used to
People mumble all the time - The difference between a fresh-picked rose and a not-fresh baby’s diaper is less that it used to be
- I can still distinguish between Texas Chili and plain cottage cheese, but everything else tastes the same
- That knife felt dull, but it still made my finger bleed.
How about you? Notice any of the above? Any ideas for dealing with it? What’s the bright side of some of these changes? Any good stories to tell about one of them? We should have a nice relaxing afternoon visit.
October 12 – Life begins at 40?
In 1935 when Will Rogers starred in a movie titled “Life Begins at 40”, the title-phrase was already part of American culture. More recently, ScienceDaily (Feb. 18, 2008) published an article headlined “Older People Are Happy: Life Begins At 40 And 50 And 60” which starts out— “Growing old is a happier experience than many of us imagine - that’s according to the findings of a study conducted at Queen’s University, Belfast, on behalf of the Changing Ageing Partnership.”
Referring to this study, our leader Dan Harper, writes:
I was interested to learn that Americans tend to be least satisfied with life when they are about 40 years old, and that after age 40, people report an increased level of happiness through at least their seventies (that is, assuming no major health problems). I would love to hear from Elder Journey participants if that has been true for them -- does life get better after age 40, or not?
As for me, I have always held that Middle Age is halfway between me and the oldest person I know – and Old Age lies beyond that. Come tell us what YOU think.
October 26 - Arrangements for Sunday Services
Our host, the Rev Amy, has written the following description:
By popular demand, the topic for October 26 is the arrangement of the Main Hall for Sunday services. While how to arrange the chairs is clearly foremost in people's minds, that is just one aspect of the topic (so is the choir's apparel, which is a question I happily delegate to our Music Director). The real questions are the ones I ask before making any changes in the order of service or the physical space: What do we want to happen during a service? What is the best way to achieve it? And the question that underlies them both: What is our purpose as a congregation?
November 9 - Macular Degeneration
Hosts Joan Welles and George Martin have invited Dr. Allison Zaum, OD from Pacific Eye Care Optometry to talk to us about Macular Degeneration and what we can do about it. Dr. Zaum provided the following information about her talk and about herself: Age Related Macular Degeneration/ARMD
- What is it? What causes it
- Who is at risk for it
- What are the symptoms/how do you know if you have it
- What is the treatment? What's new/on the horizon
- What can be done to prevent it
- Nutrition for the eyes/what supplements can help with ARMD
- Questions
November 23 - What does the Thanksgiving holiday mean to me?
Our MRE Dan Harper suggests, "I always want to hear people's stories, so I might ask people to tell some stories about Thanksgiving to illustrate what they're saying." You can either talk about "a specific Thanksgiving Day experience" or "what Thanksgiving Day means to me." Come with a good story to tell.
December 14 - No topic!
Since December is so filled with other holiday activities, we will have only one session this month on the second Tuesday. Rather than host her usual "infomational" meeting, Misao Sakamoto has graciously invited Elder Journey members to a friendly relaxed pot luck luncheon at her house, starting at Noon. All interested Elders are invited, but it is absolutely necessary to RSVP (email elderjourney-info@uucpa.org or call Misao or me) if you wish to join us.
Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto,
505 East Charleston Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306
Transforming Ourselves, Each Other and the World
650-494-0541 (Office), 650-494-8190 (FAX), email: uucpa@uucpa.org
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Last modified
Sunday, 19-Dec-2010 15:47:18 PST