Have an 'OLLI' Good Time

Although turning 50 does not have quite the shock it did years ago, it is still looked at as one of those milestones in your life. Your body, too, seems to respond to the half century mark and you suddenly have to be more alert to its subtle and not so subtle changes. Those aches and pains that you swear were not there before and the need to be more mindful of your diet lest your waistline have an expansive mind of its own.

There are perks, however. You can become a card-carrying member of AARP. Last year alone using the discounts available with the card saved me over $400. After nearly a decade, I find that producing the card from my wallet no longer makes me break out in a cold sweat or immediately feel the need to say, “It’s my first year as a member" or some variation of that jabber.

On a more local level, there are learning doors that can open wide to you if you wish to partake of the OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) Program at Granite State College right here in Concord. They also have locations in Manchester, Conway and Portsmouth.

Once you become a member for a nominal fee of $40, you’ll receive their wonderful catalogue filled with more than 60 pages of eye-popping and mind-opening classes that are available to take for a fee of anywhere from $10 to $50 with few exceptions.

Some classes are a single session while some are once a week for 4 or 5 weeks, either in the morning or afternoon.

The expression “something for everyone” aptly applies for the local offerings for the spring term.

If you’re a fan of films, there are several different classes that range from film comedies, presented by Concord’s “Man of a million films,” Barry Steelman and held at the Red River Theatres. There are also courses on film conducted by Bob Pingree and yours truly is presenting a series of classes on film operettas from the 1930s through the 1950s.

You can also visit and learn about such local institutions as the Capitol Center for the Arts, The Walker Lectures, The NH State Library (I urge you to go. I worked there when I was 15 and being in that building is awe-inspiring), Mary Baker Eddy’s Home, Archeology in NH, Reiki, Herb Gardening, Murders in Pembroke, Love & Sex in Ancient Israel, Chaucer’s Prologue to “The Canterbury Tales,” NH Birds of Prey, and those are just the tip of the iceberg.

I cannot urge everyone enough to dip your toe into the ocean of learning that is so readily available right here in Concord this spring.

Visit the OLLI website at olli.granite.edu  or call them at 603-513-1377.

You’ll never have a better time growing older.