Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Senior Spaces Programs for August

Senior Fridays - Every Friday at 1:30 PM

August 1 - Wii-ing in the library
We will Wii in the library. Be ready to form your teams and play against one another.

August 8 - Advances in Low Vision Therapy
Dr. Steven Silberberg will talk about new developments in low vision therapy, particularly with regard to macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.

August 15 - What is Elderhostel?
Joe Viviani, an Elderhostel Ambassador, will talk about traveling with this group of dynamic and interesting seniors.

August 22 - The Joy of Bonsai
John Mikalski, thc Great Swamp Bonsai Society, will bring some demonstration projects and will talk about how to train little trees into fantastic shapes.

August 29 - Staycation
We'll wrap up the summer by talking about what we love about New Jersey and what our fears are for the future of our state. If you have a solution to any of our problems, please join us! Lead by Senior Spaces librarian, Ellen O'Brien

The Movie Club - the third Thursday of every month at 1:30 PM
The Movie Club shows new releases and foreign films the third Thursday of every month. The August movie is Charlie Wilson's War - Based on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.

Hot Topics Women's Discussion Group - the last Thursday of every month at 1:30 PM
What is Alcoholics Anonymous?
Join us for a discussion of this international organization which specializes in the treatment of alcoholism. Two members of Alcoholics Anonymous will talk to us about their experiences in this organization.

On Creation: An Essay by Dorothy Miller

Note: What follows is an essay by Dorothy Miller, one of our Old Bridge Library customers. Thank you, Dorothy, for allowing us to post your essay on the Senior Spaces Blog.

There has not yet been a word that can adequately describe "CREATION".

We can only say with certainty that creation is what was brought into being. The impetus for this phenomenon may never fully be understood in the mortal condition in which we find ourselves today.

Those of us who are people of faith believe that God is the creator. Others of us believe the scientific explanations. It is possible, then, that we may never know the origin of creation. Every day we see and contemplate the wonders of this marvel through the greatest creation of all. That is the intellect of man. We study the universe and are able to understand so much of what exists, and by putting existing parts together over the centuries, new creations have come about. In a sense we can say that the greatest mission of man is to continue with the minute details of creatism as far as his finite intelligence will allow.

I believe that the natural curiousity of man will, over the centuries, find more existing parts in the universe, the galaxies and in man himself, that will give credence to the concept of continuing creatism. This is not to imply that the intellect of man is without limits. It has however, the capacity to generate new ideas and thoughts as it comes more and more into contact with the already existing components of creation. Proof of this can be seen in the reaction of man from his earliest recorded history to the world that surrounds him.

In conclusion, I like to think that man, the greatest of all creation with the capacity to observe, speculate about and manipulate the rest of creation, will one day realize his role as custodian, and along with the marvels of our world will turn to the greater awakening of love and caring. These attributes are given to us at the time we were brought into being and must in the end identify us as the greatest creation of all.

Senior Spaces Offerings for July

Senior Spaces offers the following programs in July:

Senior Fridays - all programs start at 1:30 PM

July 18: Beekeeping with Cynthia Werts
Our summer reading program theme is "Insects" so we are pleased to have a professional beekeeper available to talk about the sweetest ones around.

July 25: Freedom from Financial Fear with Bob Santos
Bob Santos from Sun National Bank will come to talk to us about financial planning.

The Movie Club - third Thursday of every month at 1:30 PM
The Movie Club will show new releases and foreign movies with subtitles.

July 17 - Volver - with Penelope Cruz (Spanish) - After her death, a mother returns to her home town to resolve situations she couldn't fix during her lifetime.

Hot Topics: Women's Monthly Discussion Group - last Thursday of every month at 1:30 PM

July 31 - Autism is a World - We'll view a documentary about a young woman who is autistic and communicates using a computer keyboard using a method known as "facilitated communication". We'll talk about the surprising prevalence of this disorder in New Jersey and the pros and cons of different treatments, etc.

Howdy from Senior Spaces

My name is Ellen O'Brien and I'm the Senior Spaces librarian. I was hired and trained by Allan Kleiman to provide programs, computer training, readers' advisory and collection development for our customers who use the Large Print and Senior Spaces collections. I am responsible for the Senior Fridays programs, "Hot Topics" - the monthly women's discussion group and the Senior Spaces Movie Club. If you have any suggestions for these programs, please let me know. I also purchase the Large Print books and Senior Spaces books. If there is a book you'd enjoy that you think others might also like, I'd be happy to look into whether or not it would be appropriate for our collection.

I'll try to keep you posted as to what's new and what's coming up for Senior Spaces. I encourage you all to drop by the library, check out our programs, look at our books/DVDs/CDs and other materials and keep in touch.

Ellen O'Brien