Let's Start Again

Just a couple of weeks ago it was Super Bowl Sunday. Instead of going to the annual Super Bowl party at our mutual friend’s house, the regular attendees texted each other just before kickoff to say what dishes we’d made and would have hypothetically brought to the party if it had been happening as usual. I made my signature, second place award-winning chili. Jill and her husband, Brennan, took care of the nachos and the friend who would have hosted, Alan, made the best jambalaya (not to mention a really good key lime pie.) Of course, we were all in our own homes when the game started and, with no particular rooting interest, I turned off the game and put a movie on instead. No regrets there. A week later, the Lunar New Year was upon us and then a mere couple of days later, I was wishing people Happy Valentine’s Day. And now, here we are rounding the corner to March! The days are getting longer and it’s almost spring. Remember last spring, anyone? But it’s not like we’ve come full circle. That’s not how time works. Time manages to race straight ahead while also doing laps around. We move forward in time but we notice the old landmarks along the way. What I love about this is that there are many chances for us to reset—to get a do-over. First, there is the New Year, then the Lunar New Year, then spring, then summer, the new school year, the new semester, each day, etc. We have a habit of looking back and that’s fine, but let’s also look forward to the chance to start again and to the hope and optimism that come with it.

Stay safe and healthy,

Tracy Jacobs

Spring 2021 Semester

Classes starting soon! March 1–April 29

Join us for classes online via Zoom. Click on the links to:

• View the Spring 2021 Catalog
• Watch the Preview of Spring Classes
• And Register for Classes.

Optional Zoom Training Session for Osher Members

Monday, February 22, 10 a.m., via Zoom

Please join us if you would like to learn about how our Zoom courses are run or if you are looking for a Zoom refresher. You will also be able to meet the Osher staff members!

American Perspectives: Can You Hear Me Now?

Jon Aaron
Tuesday, February 23, 10:00 a.m. via Zoom

Neither Verizon, T-Mobile, nor Sprint can resolve the glitches in our national dialogue. Americans are desperate to speak; after all, a record number of us raised our voices via the ballot box November 3. But how desperate are we to understand? And what informs our understanding? Our national symbols and our art are historical mirrors in which we can see ourselves and our nation. Join me to ponder multiple meanings in the following: the American flag; the language of Walt Whitman, Frederick Douglass, inaugural poets, Neil Armstrong, and Carl Sagan; the image of The Statue of Liberty. How can poetic voices join pragmatic voices to inform and brighten the coarse, dark dialogue that plagues our nation?

Sparrows Point's Women of Steel Online Panel Discussion

Sunday, March 7, 2 p.m., via Zoom

Hear from women who shattered the glass ceiling working at Bethlehem Steel’s Sparrows Point mill—the topic of a new outdoor exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Industry—in this one-hour Zoom discussion co-hosted by the BMI, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Towson University, and Historical Society of Baltimore County.

If you missed it—or if you would like to listen again—the recent Winter Wednesday lecture is available for you to watch.

Together: Baltimore Faith Leaders Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges

with Reverend Terris King and Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg

Let’s keep the conversation going. If you are interested in participating in a discussion of the book, “Not in My Neighborhood: How Bigotry Shaped a Great American City” by Antero Pietila, please email tjacobs@towson.edu with your interest.