Ira Westley Amuses Kay Roberts and the Crowd with Tales of Hats and Harry James Drew Takes Notes on Ira's Stories Some of the "Older Students" Paula Jai Parker, Star of "Hustle and Flow," Shares Thoughts as Mom Claudia Beams Maria's Tales of Holocaust Survival Capture Attention Moty Zahavi Reads from his Memoirs Dale Denmark Enjoying Student Reactions Co-Designer and Facilitator Ina Hillebrandt Adena Schutzman Addresses Students
This photo features Ira Westley, relating a touching and funny story about his hat. His now-deceased wife made it for him, and he wears it "all the time." Once they saw it originally, members of the Harry James Orchestra (in which he played for years) wanted one, and his wife wound up crocheting about 30 in all. The lady smiling below him is our own Kay Roberts, the wonderful writer whose works appear in our Footprints Writing Club's annual books. She is also a standup comic who decided to try her hand at all this creativity in her early seventies. Oh, she's also a talented artist, and an example is in our latest book, too ("Stories From The Heart," Vol. 3) -- a drawing of Norman B. Gnome, lead character in one of her outlandish "Fairy Tales for Grownups" contributions. Standing, from left: Allison Drent, Drew Morton, Sundeep Thind, Nicole Clark, Cherish Flowers, Patricia Saucedo, Nicole Chew. Seated, from left: Joe Karat, Lauren Shaw, Loosine Vartani. Day 1, as the "Older Students" first enter the room at Hillel House. Ina greeting Maria as Charlotte comes up to the front of the room to share her stories on Day 1. Especially drawn to Ira Westley, as he himself is a musician, UCLA Community Service student Drew Morton captures pearls of wit and wisdom during a one-on-one interview. Foreground: Loosine Vartani and Charlotte M. Woodard compare notes, Eleanor Howard and Allison Drent doing the same, with Sundeep Thind in background speaking with another senior. Lauren reported she was captivated by the stories the seniors shared. Here she is listening to "Stories From The Heart" tales on the first day. On Day 1, Sundeep is pulled into the older folks' stories. From left, Kay Roberts, visitor Peg, Laurel Shapiro, Charlotte M. Woodard and Eleanor Roberts, new members of our Footprints Writing Club™. Kay's and Laurel's stories have appeared online and in our class books. Both actors, they are writers, too, masters of not only life stories, but also our Fairy Tales for Grownups™ series. When Laurel isn't in FairyTale Land, she's bumping off men in her murder mysteries. You'll be able to read Eleanor and Charlotte's gems on our site, and see them in action on the UCLA site. They also will appear in our next "Stories From The Heart." Ira Westley on bass (he left his tuba home) and Harrison Westley on guitar, playing at our final day's Wrap Party. Look out for Ira's life stories -- he's finally working on his memoirs of life in the Big Band and movies. Harrison is not only a fine musician, he also is a professional writer. Lucky for us he contributed a cat tail for our next book. The man also has a heart of gold and donates time to many organizations. And his lovely wife Doris for our party -- she sang up a storm. Andre Van Zijl trips the light fantastic with Claudia Parker. Andre, an internationally known artist, graces our books with both his sketches and word paintings. His stories of the South Africa of his birth and much of his life hit deep chords among both students and other seniors. Claudia's writings are special and will be appearing on our site and the UCLA site, and in our next book. Her focus is on romance with humor, insight and absolutely no treacle. Paula Jai Parker came to our final session, which featured our show, and had words of wisdom for the students about following their dreams. She should know -- she has appeared in film and TV, most recently in the Sundance Audience Award winning film, "Hustle and Flow." Proud mom from our group, Claudia Parker, herself an actor as well as writer, beams in the background. Ina interviews Drew on how it feels to be playing with old pros Ira Westley and Harrison Stephens; Andre Van Zijl escorts Claudia Parker back to her seat after their dance to the band's tune a minute before. Dale Denmark and Ira Westley listen as Maria Stein sings a plaintive song about missing her home, when she first came to America after World War II. A fine actress, Maria has the power to reach an audience and individuals with her life experiences. Dale had words of wisdom to share based on her career as a photographer and head of Newsweek Magazine's photojournalism department. Later she moved to Los Angeles and worked for major studios as the head of still photography. When she spoke, her emphasis was on making a life work choice that involves your heart. Jacob Golan and Moty Zahavi, both from Israel originally, and fine writers themselves, whose works will appear in "Stories From The Heart," Vol. 4, also captured the attention of everyone in the room as their tales of life in war torn Israel kept the room spellbound. Moty's story of an incident he experienced during an air raid, when he was a child of six in war-torn Israel, absorbs both students and fellow elders. Listening to Moty, Joe's face shows his involvement in the power of the author's words. A piece pointing out the futility and damage war inflicts on innocents. Charlotte M. Woodard, center, reads a colorful story from her younger days as author Lucy Horwitz, left, and writer/artist Evy Golan turn their attention to her words. Lucy read from her book, Random Thoughts from an Aging Mind, sharing experiences from each decade of her life. Evy shared her life stories, and is a talented and generous contributor to our books, bless her. UCLA student Drew Morton interviews both Ira Westley and Jacob Golan, a pretty big undertaking. You already know about Ira. Jacob grew up in Israel, and the excerpt read from his book in progress told of both harrowing and humorous moments in his life in the Mossad. Imagine Drew trying to capture it all. Dale Denmark, second from left, comments, "That's what it's all about!" post-musical interlude featuring student Drew with Ira and Harrison. Students Lauren Shaw, Cherish Flowers (studying her part) and Sundeep Thind enjoy the show. Dale shared with the students her strong belief that your work should touch your heart. A professional photographer, she should know, having been the first photo editor at Newsweek, and then holding positions as Head of the Photography Department at Twnetieth Century Fox Studios. Her last title before retiring was Sr. Photo Editor at McGraw Publications. Talking with the UCLA students and seniors about plans for the day. UCLA Student Program concept originator and co-designer Adena talks to the students on Day 1, addressing questions from the students' perspective.
Ira Westley Amuses Kay Roberts and the Crowd with Tales of Hats and Harry James
This photo features Ira Westley, relating a touching and funny story about his hat. His now-deceased wife made it for him, and he wears it "all the time." Once they saw it originally, members of the Harry James Orchestra (in which he played for years) wanted one, and his wife wound up crocheting about 30 in all. The lady smiling below him is our own Kay Roberts, the wonderful writer whose works appear in our Footprints Writing Club's annual books. She is also a standup comic who decided to try her hand at all this creativity in her early seventies. Oh, she's also a talented artist, and an example is in our latest book, too ("Stories From The Heart," Vol. 3) -- a drawing of Norman B. Gnome, lead character in one of her outlandish "Fairy Tales for Grownups" contributions.
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We started off with our "Older Students" telling tales or reading
from their published memoirs (in Pawpress books
"Stories
From The Heart," Vols. 1-3). The seniors were "happy to be
sharing my experiences. I hope they can help some of the younger
people...learn from both the good things that have happened, some of
the decisions I've made, and also the mistakes." The students for
their part, were "amazed by the different lives they all led, how
they were from many different places...it was fascinating."
One of the
most touching moments that came up was when one senior, Eleanor Howard, said in
answer to the question, What did you expect when this project started?, "I felt
nervous. You know, as you get older, young people don't notice you. You become
invisible. And as you get older, it gets worse. If you're in line at the grocery
store, even the clerk doesn't talk to you."
"Wow!"
responded Lauren Shaw, a UCLA student. "I had no idea you'd
be scared of us!"
Asked in turn
what they had expected from the seniors, the students said:
"They'll be dressed drably,
all in grey."
"They'll be sick, not able to
walk without canes."
Were the students surprised?
"I never expected them to
look like this! They're so colorful...the clothes are so full of
color. And they're so much fun."
"They're so active...I see
all the classes at Felicia Mahood (the senior multipurpose
center where one of our meetings was held, and where our weekly
writing classes take place), and it makes me see that I
can do things like that when I get older...take classes.
Everyone's so busy. It's a great role model."
Students in the program are
community service oriented, and came in as part of a course at the
UCLA Center for Community Learning. Aside from the interaction and
communication goals of the program, our curriculum aimed to help the
students realize personal goals, and contribute meaningfully to the
community. Following exposure to the seniors themselves and the
Senior Center involved, Felicia Mahood, we asked for the students'
ideas on improving future programs and facilities for older
citizens. The thoughts they volunteered are creative and right on
target, and could prove very useful to adapting and updating older
citizen centers in a variety of locations.
Adena
Schutzman, the UCLA student who came up with the idea for this
program and co-designed the course, and Ina Hillebrandt, co-designer/facilitator, both wish to thank the
Donald A. Strauss Foundation, which helped make this pilot program possible by
extending
its generous
grant. We are grateful also for support from the Hillel at UCLA,
Kathy O’Bryne, Director of the UCLA Center for Community Learning,
and Ellen Gaines, Director of the Felicia Mahood Senior Multipurpose
Center of The City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and
Parks for continuing support of this and the
Footprints Writing Club™
programs.
Stay tuned for more from
the program -- stories, photos and videos, and ideas for other
mature adult programs and facilities, which will be appearing
on the UCLA-based website being developed. Check back on our
home page.
We'll let you know when the site is up.
If you are interested in more
information about an intergenerational or writing program for your for your high
school, college or university, or senior group, or you would like us
to notify you when the more complete UCLA site is up, please contact us at
InaH@InasPawprints.com.
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