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Happy Holidays
This is a hard time of year for a lot of people. There’s a lot of pressure to get things just right, whether it’s picking out the perfect presents, decorating the Christmas tree, not burning the latkes, or just trying to get by. Often, it’s also a reminder of people that we miss. My mother passed away a number of years ago three days after Christmas so I understand how the holidays can be a real bummer. The first year without your loved one(s) is, in my opinion, the most difficult because the loss is so new. With time and perspective, I’ve tried to find joy no matter what. And, in a lot of ways it’s my favorite time of year. I get to buy presents, perfect or not. I get to decorate the Christmas tree, perfect or not. I even get to make the latkes. They usually turn out perfect because instead of peeling potatoes I use the pre-shredded kind that come in a bag in the refrigerated section of the supermarket—how awesome is that?! Nonetheless, there have been moments when I’m strolling along with my jolly holiday persona and I hear a Christmas song playing over the P.A. system. Suddenly, without warning, my eyes well up with tears. That happens less and less for me as time goes on, but rather than let the holidays just come and go, I remember how my mother told me that living life to the fullest is a real testament to those who you have loved and lost. Give yourself permission to have a melancholy moment if you need it, but also give yourself permission to laugh out loud and gush with joy as much as you can. Wishing you and yours a truly happy holiday season.
Stay safe and healthy,
Tracy Jacobs
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Enjoy the Osher 2023 Winter Lectures from the comforts of home. Each of the free lectures will take place online via Zoom. Please note that there is one afternoon start time (February 22) and the others are all scheduled in the morning. You must register for each lecture separately to receive the Zoom link.
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Billie Holiday—Lady Sings the Blues
Seth Kibel, January 11
There is no greater tragic heroine in the history of jazz than Billie Holiday. Her story is legend, from her impoverished childhood on the streets of Baltimore to her struggles with addiction to her eventual early demise. Attendees will listen to and watch her sing, putting her music in context with her sad and troubled personal story.
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The Golden Age of Radio
Jack Burkert, January 25
Imagination was everything in an earlier age with the world of voices, and only voices, coming via the airwaves into homes across America. One had to imagine how scenes, be it news of the world, sporting events, comedy, or drama. The ever present “serial", continuing sagas targeted to listening housewives were sponsored by detergent companies, ultimately becoming “soap operas”. This was the entertainment of America from 1920 to 1960, locally and networked across the country.
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The Architecture of Social Space: Creating Spaces of Critique Within the Places We Live
Matthew Mazzotta, February 15
Matthew Mazzotta's community-specific public projects integrate new forms of civic participation and social engagement into the built environment and reveal how the spaces we travel through and spend our time living within have the potential to become distinct sites for intimate, radical, and meaningful exchanges. Through his process, each project starts by creating temporary public spaces for listening—Outdoor Living Room—as a way to capture voices from local people that might not attend more formal meetings.
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Only Hope: A Survivor’s Stories of the Holocaust
Irving Lubliner, February 22
Before she passed away in 1974, Felicia Bornstein Lubliner wrote about her life in Nazi-occupied Poland during the Holocaust, including her internment in ghettos and two concentration camps, Auschwitz and Gross-Rosen. Her powerful stories have been published by her son, Irv Lubliner, an emeritus professor at Southern Oregon University. He will share excerpts from Only Hope: A Survivor’s Stories of the Holocaust, shedding light on his mother’s experiences and indomitable spirit, as well as his experience as a child of Holocaust survivors and his process in bringing the book to fruition.
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Cyndal Gilmore ’16 studied dance performance and choreography as an undergrad at TU. Now, she’s using her skills on Hamilton the musical’s North American tour. There are three casts roving the continent; Gilmore is part of the Philip company. On October 11 to 30, she came full circle when she performed at the Hippodrome Theatre.
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In this section of our newsletter, we remember Osher members that have passed away recently. While we work hard to provide accurate updates, please let us know if you are aware of an Osher friend’s passing by contacting osher@towson.edu.
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. See below for more information on how to donate.
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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.
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