Preface No. 3:  By pure happenstance, I ran across this while dining at our golf club last night.  It’s an article by Amy, our “fearless leader,” about our local Senior College in “Generations” magazine, Spring 2017.

June 11

Bloomington

[Hail, hail, the gang’s all here!   We have the Super, Reetz, Vick, Scott, Jennifer, and Jeff (off camera?) – further intros later – making our Sunday appearance at Indiana University Bloomington for enrollment in a week’s work of college classes taught by college professors.  These folks just have college students written all over them!]

[Does this look familiar?  Standing in line to sign up for classes.  Just like the old days, “A – L” in one line, “M – Z” in another.]

[The Fort Wayne Four:  Closest to camera, Scott and Vicki Longardner, our longtime friends from Camp Brosius; and Jennifer and Jeff Vaughan, our new friends (and who are actually Ball Staters.]

[The Bloomington One: A cardinal.  We were killing time on the patio either before or after orientation – who remembers such things?]

[Looking out on the campus, if blocked by trees.]

[And this was the Sunday dinner buffet . . . ]

[In the Tudor Room (refer to your reference materials).]

June 12

[Monday morning, classes begin . . . ]

[The new students take selfies as proof they were actually there.]

[All classes were in various rooms of Indiana Memorial Union, except the specialty ones (i.e., involving the arts).]

[And here we all are (some 550+ of us) in a rather unfocused Alumni Hall for the opening convocation.]

[Our first day of classes, lest you are interested (and why wouldn’t you be?):  1)  Ruthie and I began with U.S. Healthcare Reform: Prognosis for “Obamacare” and Beyond – Kosali Simon.  Mindboggling in its complexity, so much so that near the end I asked, “Boy, who knew health care could be so hard?” It received the intended chuckles.  2) The Super took Understanding Global Cultures: The United States of America – Christine Von Der Haar, while opted for Places & Spaces: Mapping with the Atlas of Knowledge – Lisel Record.  Mine was very interesting if somewhat too techie for my ability to comprehend it all – likely would have enjoyed the Super’s class more.  And 3) Setting up below for Challenges that Confront Our American Representative Democracy – Lee Hamilton (retired U.S. Congressman from Indiana whose commentaries are often carried by our very own Echo Press).  He was, as always, very good and very entertaining.  The Super dashed up to have her photo taken with him at the end.  She didn’t tell me.  I had walked out of the room.  I’m not sure if she has forgiven me?]

[The Congressman . . . ]

[He’s 86.  He sat through his whole presentation – that was fine because we could still see him and he has a strong voice.]

[And another evening of group fine dining with a Taste of Mini-U in Alumni Hall . . . ]

[Music from an instrumental trio . . . ]

[And I had fun with the contract photographer all week.  We discussed such things as focal length and shutter speeds.  I wonder how her shot came out?]

Sun is bad for you.  Everything our parents said was good is bad.  Sun, milk, red meat… college.  ~  Woody Allen as Alvy Singer in Annie Hall

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