This week when we celebrate Thanksgiving and also Hanukkah we are reminded to take time and give thanks for our many blessings and the miracles that we experience in our lives. For me one of my biggest blessings is that I moved to Kendal eight years ago when I was still able to be quite independent. I was able to easily become settled in the life that Kendal makes possible. It was an easy move as I look back in in retrospect. Oh yes, there were all of the trials and tribulations that go with moving from my home back in the Philadelphia area - the downsizing and packing and unpacking. But they have faded from memory as I found a pleasant new way of way of life and made many new friends here at Kendal. .
I'm thankful that I no longer have to plan meals, buy the ingredients, bring them home, put them away, prepare them and then clean up all of the kitchen when I have eaten. I am grateful for good company at mealtime instead of eating alone. I am thankful that I no longer have to worry about snow removal when it snows. I don't have to make sure the garden is weeded, the lawn mowed, the leaves raked, and make sure the eaves are cleaned out. I am grateful that there are many educational and entertaining programs right here at Kendal in the evening which I can attend without having to find someone to take me since I no longer drive at night.. The list of blessings is endless.
Most important now for me is the fact that I entered Kendal while I was able to get to know all of the many services that exist here to make our life comfortable and meaningful. I believe that it has made the adjustments that I have had to make due to the changes in my life that have occurred since I arrived here. No doubt the most significant of these is the changes in my eyesight this past year. I have reached the point where I am considered a person with low vision. I can no longer read without a special device to enlarge the print. I no longer recognize people until I am very close to them. But because I came here while I could, the adjustments that I am finding necessary are much easier and for that I am most grateful.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013
Kendal and the Kids
Kendal is full of teachers. And for the third straight year some of our residents have spent time this fall with second-grade students in the Newark school system in a program (“A Call to College”) designed to put the possibility of attending college in their minds.
The intrepid Kendal classroom posse, styled “Guest Interviewees” by the program, consisted of Ted Barclay, Reed Browning, Janie Drake, Tom and Myra Gallant, Virgil Hoftiezer, David Skeen, and Harriett Stone. Each – with the Gallants operating as a spousal team – spent a morning at the Newark Public Library talking with the kids (a different group of 40-60 each week) about the way that college had made their interesting lives possible.
The Guest Interviewees took turns with their adult versions of show-and-tell. Some sported odd hats and unusual attire. Others brandished unexpected items – a baseball bat, or a foreign flag, or a nineteenth-century lamp. They all had stories of adventures to tell. In short, the Kendal squad was living testimony to the importance of books, libraries, and education. (The photo shows Myra and Tom Gallant.)
The kids seemed to love it. For many, it was their first visit to the library. They had been prepped for these encounters with rehearsed questions – where did you go to college? what do you like to read? what are your hobbies? - but being kids, they also popped out with loads of extemporaneous interrogatories. How did you get here? (i.e., to the library). How old are you? Have you ever met someone famous?
Several residents returned to Kendal to report that, while they’d enjoyed their chance to meet the kids, they were uncertain about the long-term benefit of such brief interactions. And even knowing that this second-grade program is but part of a wider Newark program of K-12 college-focused interventions doesn’t eliminate that concern. Still, the important point is that since the directors of the program are annually charting its successes, measuring its effects, and working to find appropriate adjustments, Kendal residents can be assured that their participation allows this experiment in inspiring ambitions for college to refine itself with each passing year.
Besides, it gives us memorable anecdotes. My favorite came from Ted Barclay’s visit. He told the kids about a number of sports he had coached, including lacrosse. Sensing some puzzlement among he second-graders, he asked them if they knew what lacrosse was. An eight-year-old girl replied: “That’s what they nailed Jesus to.” How do you top that?
(This piece will also appear in the December issue of Tower Lines.)
Saturday, November 16, 2013
"Ladies Night Out" at Kendal
Last Wednesday evening the residents of Kendal flocked to the new Amelia Gathering Room – and hasn't that venue been a grand addition to the Kendal at Granville community? – to hear a concert by "Ladies Night Out," an all-female singing group from nearby Denison University. From the moment the group walked onto the stage, attired all in black and with their short skirts showing lots of knees (lest I be misunderstood: I report that fact because I heard many residents commenting on it), they held the attention of the audience.
The program consisted of nine popular song arrangements of the sort that college singing groups often perform these days, and it afforded solo opportunities to many of the young women. I knew only two of the numbers – one of them, happily, was Roberta Flack's wonderful "Killing Me Softly With His Song" – but I found all of them enjoyable. I'm told that ensemble singing is popular on college campuses these days, and if "Ladies Night Out" is a typical example of what these groups can do, it is easy to see why. In a nice touch, the singers waited around in the lobby hallway after the concert to talk with residents.
When the young women introduced themselves, we learned that they came from all over the country, that they represented all four classes at Denison, and that they were choosing majors from across the spectrum of curricular offerings. Thinking about this event afterwards, I recalled that a week earlier the new president of the university had come to Kendal to talk about his plans and hopes for Denison. In a happy way the concert had now complemented the president's visit. For the members of "Ladies Night Out," gracious and mature, were reminders of the potential and enthusiasm of the Denison student body that the university and its new president serve. Vision, talent, and leadership – these are the essentials to a good college education. Denison seems to have them all.
The program consisted of nine popular song arrangements of the sort that college singing groups often perform these days, and it afforded solo opportunities to many of the young women. I knew only two of the numbers – one of them, happily, was Roberta Flack's wonderful "Killing Me Softly With His Song" – but I found all of them enjoyable. I'm told that ensemble singing is popular on college campuses these days, and if "Ladies Night Out" is a typical example of what these groups can do, it is easy to see why. In a nice touch, the singers waited around in the lobby hallway after the concert to talk with residents.
When the young women introduced themselves, we learned that they came from all over the country, that they represented all four classes at Denison, and that they were choosing majors from across the spectrum of curricular offerings. Thinking about this event afterwards, I recalled that a week earlier the new president of the university had come to Kendal to talk about his plans and hopes for Denison. In a happy way the concert had now complemented the president's visit. For the members of "Ladies Night Out," gracious and mature, were reminders of the potential and enthusiasm of the Denison student body that the university and its new president serve. Vision, talent, and leadership – these are the essentials to a good college education. Denison seems to have them all.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Rachmaninoff rocks
It's been said that everyone secretly wants to conduct a symphony orchestra. Well, maybe that's so, though it's a hope few of us will ever fulfill. But many of us may also harbor a related secret ambition: We want to be music reviewers. And this is an ambition that some of us can contrive to find ways to realize. Which is exactly what I now plan to do – in a kind of quirky way.
Last evening a large contingent of Kendal residents took the Kendal bus to the Midland Theater in Newark to attend a concert by the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra. The featured work was Sergei Rachmaninoff's third piano concerto, performed by Antonio Pompa-Baldi. On the bus ride home it was very clear that the general impression Mr. Pompa-Baldi had left with us was: WOW!
Despite its reputation as one of the most technically challenging works in the piano repertory, Rachmaninoff's third has been widely recorded and is therefore a reasonably well-known piece. It features Rachmaninoff's celebrated, heart-wrenching lyricism, and is studded with the kinds of sweeping melodic gestures that movie fans became accustomed to in films from the 1950s. (Though Hollywood's emulators never matched the master's sureness of effect.)
What attendance at a live concert allowed us to see and appreciate was the sheer physicality required of a performer of this work. It was not simply the fleetness of fingers that caught our eye, though several residents commented on the bus that it seemed impossible to have done what we had just witnessed with only ten of them. It was, rather, that facilitating that digital dexterity were two fast-flying arms – alternately pounding, stroking, and teasing the keyboard, and all the time leaping about from its uppermost to its nethermost reaches. I don't have the score before me, but I wouldn't be surprised if Rachmaninoff's dynamics ranged from ppp to fff. Certainly a perspiring Mr. Pompa-Baldi employed them all. It's no wonder that he used his periodic breaks to flex his hands and exercise his forearms. For when he was engaged with the keyboard, he was bombarding us with wonderful music. At the end of the evening Kendal residents joined all the others in attendance in standing to applaud a grand performance of one of the towering works of the Romantic period.
And I've now had fun pretending to be a music reviewer. But you don't have to warn me: I won't quit my daytime job.
Last evening a large contingent of Kendal residents took the Kendal bus to the Midland Theater in Newark to attend a concert by the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra. The featured work was Sergei Rachmaninoff's third piano concerto, performed by Antonio Pompa-Baldi. On the bus ride home it was very clear that the general impression Mr. Pompa-Baldi had left with us was: WOW!
Despite its reputation as one of the most technically challenging works in the piano repertory, Rachmaninoff's third has been widely recorded and is therefore a reasonably well-known piece. It features Rachmaninoff's celebrated, heart-wrenching lyricism, and is studded with the kinds of sweeping melodic gestures that movie fans became accustomed to in films from the 1950s. (Though Hollywood's emulators never matched the master's sureness of effect.)
What attendance at a live concert allowed us to see and appreciate was the sheer physicality required of a performer of this work. It was not simply the fleetness of fingers that caught our eye, though several residents commented on the bus that it seemed impossible to have done what we had just witnessed with only ten of them. It was, rather, that facilitating that digital dexterity were two fast-flying arms – alternately pounding, stroking, and teasing the keyboard, and all the time leaping about from its uppermost to its nethermost reaches. I don't have the score before me, but I wouldn't be surprised if Rachmaninoff's dynamics ranged from ppp to fff. Certainly a perspiring Mr. Pompa-Baldi employed them all. It's no wonder that he used his periodic breaks to flex his hands and exercise his forearms. For when he was engaged with the keyboard, he was bombarding us with wonderful music. At the end of the evening Kendal residents joined all the others in attendance in standing to applaud a grand performance of one of the towering works of the Romantic period.
And I've now had fun pretending to be a music reviewer. But you don't have to warn me: I won't quit my daytime job.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Kendal at Granville Talent Review--September 10, 2013
Kendal at Granville residents enjoyed our first talent show. It was a huge success! It was an absolutely fun evening. In addition to residents, the staff and board of trustees were invited to participate. The display of talent was wide ranging. Being a fun group of folks anyway, there of course were some clever comedy routines. Several vocalists reminded us of their long careers in musical endeavors. That was particularly special to those of us who are new to the greater Granville area. A violin solo offered by one of the dining room staff was a delightful surprise and display of her talent that she shares with her violin students. The leadership team's skit highlighted the ongoing construction projects with great humor and fun props. The best prop of the night was the sidekick to one of the comedians. The topic was "Bill Grogan's Goat" and the goat made a calm appearance on our new Amelia Room stage. The evening was not a "dog and pony show" but an awesome representation of Kendal's talent.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Stories Told by Our Posters
The current exhibit in our Art Gallery, made up of posters loaned by our residents, tells stories about us. Our Gallery Committee, of which I am a member, arranges for a new show every two months. Earlier this year we invited residents to share posters they have in their homes with our community at large. We received responses from fifteen persons offering all together a total of 34 items. This in itself tells a story about the generosity of the people who live here at Kendal. Their willingness to share with each other has made possible three exhibits of fiber arts works created by members of our community, three exhibits of art created by Kendal residents, and an exhibit of photographs taken not only by residents but also by staff personnel. Each of these has brought a very positive reaction from viewers. Not only are the people who live and work here generous and willing to share what they have with others but they have revealed a variety of talents.
The items in this exhibit tell us of the diverse interests of those who live here as well as where they have traveled, what kind of art appeals to them, where they have lived before,
what their hobbies are, what they like to collect, and more as we talk with them about how they came to have a particular poster.
Some of the posters feature announcements of exhibits at well known art museums here in the United States and abroad such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and The Museum of Fine Art in Boston., They include work of famous artists such as Claude Monet's The Stroll, and Vincent van Gogh's Blossoming Almond Tree. Others are by relatively unknown local artists such as Vearl S. Wince right here in Granville . The techniques displayed range from traditional oils and water colors to more modern abstracts to Tseng-Ying Pang's wash art to a LanSat Image (Landscape Satellite) of the Agricultural Land Usage of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay area. Together the story they tell us is of a population whose interests in art are rich and varied/
As you approach the Art Gallery on the left you will see a poster of Naples, Florida by Paul Arsnta ult. To its right is one by Ted Rhodes titled Country Road at the Bluffs located in California. Further along in the Gallery itself you will see a group of three posters made up of that LanSat Image of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay, a print of Gary Niblett's gaucheros in Canyon Diablo located in California on either side of a poster of Red tulips by Mary Marks an artist who lives in Cincinnati. Incidentally since hanging the show we have learned that Mary Marks is the daughter of a good friend of one of our residents. The story told by these posters is that they carry the memories of the former homes of their owners. At the same time they tell us our residents have found there way here one way or another from opposite ends of our country as well as well as from throughout the heartland bringing with them their heritage from their past.
On the left inside the Art Gallery proper is a group of three posters each of which relates to travel. The first of these is s picture of the Silver Jubilee train, the first streamliner train in 1935 from London to the northeastern parts of England. Part of the story here is that the owner of this poster has a collection of trains. One of the others in this group transports us half way across the world with its poster from the Fine Art Series of the Alaska Airlines. The third poster in this group reminds us that all travel starts from home. It is Vearl S. Wince's A Personal View - featuring the local train station here in Newark which borders on Granville.So the story continues telling us how our interests which reach from sea to sea.
Sprinkled throughout the exhibit are five beautiful reproductions of paintings by different artists with a common interest - tulips. These come from the collection of posters by one of our residents who obviously loves the annual festival of tulips held in Holland, Michigan..
Actually each of the posters tells us something about the life of its owners, but there isn't room here for all of their stories. For me the common thread that runs through this show is the story of a diverse lively community of residents that make Kendal a pleasant place to spend this time in my life.
The items in this exhibit tell us of the diverse interests of those who live here as well as where they have traveled, what kind of art appeals to them, where they have lived before,
what their hobbies are, what they like to collect, and more as we talk with them about how they came to have a particular poster.
Some of the posters feature announcements of exhibits at well known art museums here in the United States and abroad such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and The Museum of Fine Art in Boston., They include work of famous artists such as Claude Monet's The Stroll, and Vincent van Gogh's Blossoming Almond Tree. Others are by relatively unknown local artists such as Vearl S. Wince right here in Granville . The techniques displayed range from traditional oils and water colors to more modern abstracts to Tseng-Ying Pang's wash art to a LanSat Image (Landscape Satellite) of the Agricultural Land Usage of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay area. Together the story they tell us is of a population whose interests in art are rich and varied/
As you approach the Art Gallery on the left you will see a poster of Naples, Florida by Paul Arsnta ult. To its right is one by Ted Rhodes titled Country Road at the Bluffs located in California. Further along in the Gallery itself you will see a group of three posters made up of that LanSat Image of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay, a print of Gary Niblett's gaucheros in Canyon Diablo located in California on either side of a poster of Red tulips by Mary Marks an artist who lives in Cincinnati. Incidentally since hanging the show we have learned that Mary Marks is the daughter of a good friend of one of our residents. The story told by these posters is that they carry the memories of the former homes of their owners. At the same time they tell us our residents have found there way here one way or another from opposite ends of our country as well as well as from throughout the heartland bringing with them their heritage from their past.
On the left inside the Art Gallery proper is a group of three posters each of which relates to travel. The first of these is s picture of the Silver Jubilee train, the first streamliner train in 1935 from London to the northeastern parts of England. Part of the story here is that the owner of this poster has a collection of trains. One of the others in this group transports us half way across the world with its poster from the Fine Art Series of the Alaska Airlines. The third poster in this group reminds us that all travel starts from home. It is Vearl S. Wince's A Personal View - featuring the local train station here in Newark which borders on Granville.So the story continues telling us how our interests which reach from sea to sea.
Sprinkled throughout the exhibit are five beautiful reproductions of paintings by different artists with a common interest - tulips. These come from the collection of posters by one of our residents who obviously loves the annual festival of tulips held in Holland, Michigan..
Actually each of the posters tells us something about the life of its owners, but there isn't room here for all of their stories. For me the common thread that runs through this show is the story of a diverse lively community of residents that make Kendal a pleasant place to spend this time in my life.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Saying "Goodbye" to Jim
At the last meeting of our Residents' Association we said "Goodbye" to Jim, our IT person who has been with Kendal at Granville beginning back in the days when it was being built. At first he was someone who seemed able to do many things well. It quickly became apparent he would be an asset and fortunately for all of us he agreed to take on the responsibility of an Information Tech. As each one of us has moved in he has helped us get our televisions set up and operating properly and if we had computers he has helped us with them as well. When we got new ones, he has provided guidance and assistance through all of the hazards associated with such an undertaking
I particularly got to know and work with Jim because not very long after I came here Jim brought together those of us who as computer users were interested in exploring ways we could help each other. One of the things that grew out of that was I took on the task of teaching a class for beginners. Jim helped me to use the computers available in our staff training room for our classes. At one point there were so many students that I had to divide them into two sections. Jim was always on hand when any problems occurred and lent his support to me when I had questions or needed advice.
It also became apparent that it would be helpful if we had available a dedicated computer work station which could be used for teaching one on one. In addition it would be a useful tool for the treasurer of the Association.
Fortunately two of our residents responded positively to my plea at one of our early Residents' Association meetings. They provided the funds for not only a computer but all of the accessories needed to set up a complete work station. Jim was of inestimable help in getting it all together and helping to keep it maintained.
In 2009 I had serious surgery to remove a large tumor from my chest and had to give up teaching the classes. However, upon recovery I was on call for help with the work station.
In his farewell words to us Jim said something which I think portrays a great deal about the atmosphere here at Kendal.
He spoke of the fact that he was here at a time in his life when individuals find themselves involved in looking out for and helping their parents. He said here at Kendal he has felt as if he had over one hundred fifty parents and in addition with the kind of staff that we have here he has had seventy some brothers and sisters.
Then at the official farewell party he added this comment about his experience here, "It's been the best job of my career." Jim thus confirmed Kendal's belief that a Kendal community should not only be a good place to live but also to work.
We are grateful that Jim has been with us meeting one challenge after another as we started and grew together through everything from the frustrations caused by cable companies and four day power failures to the humdrum constantly recurring problems presented by working in a field which changes faster that one can change ones clothes.
I might add that Jim is just one of many such dedicated staff members who helps to make our lives better on a daily basis.
I particularly got to know and work with Jim because not very long after I came here Jim brought together those of us who as computer users were interested in exploring ways we could help each other. One of the things that grew out of that was I took on the task of teaching a class for beginners. Jim helped me to use the computers available in our staff training room for our classes. At one point there were so many students that I had to divide them into two sections. Jim was always on hand when any problems occurred and lent his support to me when I had questions or needed advice.
It also became apparent that it would be helpful if we had available a dedicated computer work station which could be used for teaching one on one. In addition it would be a useful tool for the treasurer of the Association.
Fortunately two of our residents responded positively to my plea at one of our early Residents' Association meetings. They provided the funds for not only a computer but all of the accessories needed to set up a complete work station. Jim was of inestimable help in getting it all together and helping to keep it maintained.
In 2009 I had serious surgery to remove a large tumor from my chest and had to give up teaching the classes. However, upon recovery I was on call for help with the work station.
In his farewell words to us Jim said something which I think portrays a great deal about the atmosphere here at Kendal.
He spoke of the fact that he was here at a time in his life when individuals find themselves involved in looking out for and helping their parents. He said here at Kendal he has felt as if he had over one hundred fifty parents and in addition with the kind of staff that we have here he has had seventy some brothers and sisters.
Then at the official farewell party he added this comment about his experience here, "It's been the best job of my career." Jim thus confirmed Kendal's belief that a Kendal community should not only be a good place to live but also to work.
We are grateful that Jim has been with us meeting one challenge after another as we started and grew together through everything from the frustrations caused by cable companies and four day power failures to the humdrum constantly recurring problems presented by working in a field which changes faster that one can change ones clothes.
I might add that Jim is just one of many such dedicated staff members who helps to make our lives better on a daily basis.
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