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What are you talking about, Willis?
I think it’s important to have friends of all ages. It’s enriching to learn from older friends and it’s humbling to have younger friends look at you blankly when you’ve made a pop culture reference that has no meaning at all to them. Those whippersnappers! Your peers who are within a few years of you, plus or minus, can understand what you mean when you quote a line from a movie that you all know. They get it when you spice up your conversation with memories of music you once listened to, television shows you once watched, and tag lines from commercials that aired back in the day. Nowadays, younger generations experience so much media consumption from different sources that these shared references may come and go as quickly as a Tik Tok video. I found myself asking someone “whatchu talkin’ ‘bout, Willis?” and then quickly realized that not only did this person not know what I was talking ‘bout, but they had no idea who Willis was! I couldn’t very well follow up by telling them to “kiss my grits!” That would have been lost on them entirely and might have ended the friendship right there. In another conversation, I patiently described who Mrs. Roper was when I told a funny story about how I’d dressed up as Mrs. Roper one year for Halloween. For every one of those moments, I fail to recognize cultural references from someone of a different generation. I try to keep up, but the truth is that I can only identify one Taylor Swift song for sure and there are a lot of other things that are truly lost on me. I grew up watching old television shows, listening to music from past generations, and hearing my parents toss around their own cultural references. Even though I try to pay attention to what the kids these days are doing, I’m often a beat or two behind. We all speak a unique language with friends who grew up in our own time but it’s fun to learn the other dialects out there too. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then the only thing I can tell you is to “sit on it, Potsie!”
Stay safe and healthy,
Tracy Jacobs
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Membership is required for enrollment in fall and spring courses. The 2024-25 Membership year runs from July 1, 2024–June 30, 2025. You may have received emails reminding you to renew your membership. Please follow the instructions in the email to renew. Registration will be simplified for you if you have already renewed or joined before the registration period starts.
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SAVE THE DATES!
- Monday, July 15—Osher Updates: Tune in to the TU Osher website to watch a video recording to learn more about what is new for Osher at Towson University.
- Friday, August 2—Fall Catalog: We will post the fall 2024 online on the TU Osher website.
- Monday, August 5—Preview of Fall Classes: Learn about the upcoming fall courses from the instructors themselves during the online preview launching 2 p.m. on August 5.
- Tuesday, August 6—Registration Opens: Register for fall courses!
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FALL 2024 AT-A-GLANCE
Find out what classes are coming up this fall. The full online catalog and online preview will be available in early August, but it's not too soon to plan ahead!
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Pathway to the Olympics
Tuesday, July 16 at 5:00 p.m. ET on Zoom
Free to Osher Members
Space is limited and registration is required.
Amidst the excitement of the 2024 Summer Olympics, we offer a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most exciting Olympic events - Open Water Swimming. 2016 open water Olympic swimmer Sean Ryan and his coach Josh White will guide you through Sean’s journey of training, qualifying for, and competing at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. The 10-kilometer Olympic distance is a highly strategic race, lasting just under two hours, that takes place in various bodies of water, including lakes, rivers, and the ocean (as was the case in Rio at the world-famous Copacabana Beach.) Olympic qualification occurs through head-to-head international open water races. Sean and Josh will detail Sean’s training regimen, his path to qualification, the challenges of poor water quality in Rio, and Sean’s exciting Olympic experience.
Dr. Josh White coached elite-level distance swimmers at the University of Michigan for 15 years, including Sean Ryan, Olympic silver medalist Connor Jaeger, and Emily Bruneman, the first American to win the Open Water World Cup Series. He has coached internationally for USA Swimming at multiple World Championships and was the head Olympic coach for Barbados in 2012. White holds a PhD in Human Performance from the Counsilman Center for the Science of Swimming at Indiana University.
Sean Ryan is an Olympian, World Champion, and World University Games Champion. He was an NCAA All-American and Big Ten Champion at the University of Michigan. He qualified for his first World Championships at 17 years old. Ryan earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in manufacturing engineering from the University of Michigan. He currently works as an assistant program manager at General Motors.
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In partnership with TU Occupational Therapy & Occupational Science
Purpose: Towson University’s Occupational Therapy & Occupational Science Department is recruiting people with Parkinson’s Disease to play pickleball. Your participation will help our team examine if this fun sport could improve balance and reduce fear of falling.
Activities Include:
- A 1-hour game of pickleball each week for 12 weeks
- Connecting with peers experiencing similar symptoms
- Free snacks after each game
- Free parking
Do you qualify?
- Age 50+
- Mild to moderate Parkinson’s Disease (stage 1-2)
- Be able to tolerate an hour of physical activity
- Read/speak English, or provide a translator
- Walk in the community without an assistive device
- Have reliable transportation
Interested? Contact Dr. Allysin Bridges-German at abridges@towson.edu or 410-704-2381.
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Support Osher at Towson University. Your tax-deductible contribution helps to provide a rich experience for our members and a vibrant, affordable program for years to come.
Donate online through the link below. If you prefer to donate by check, please make check payable to “Towson University Foundation, Inc.” and note Osher fund in the memo line. Mail to: Towson University Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 17165, Baltimore, MD 21297-0219.
If you would like to honor a friend or loved one with a donation in their memory, please consider supporting Osher at Towson University with a gift to the Osher Excellence Fund.
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