I passed this yellow house on a corner on the way back from the Senior Center in Brookline and thought it looked very friendly and nice. I liked the garden and the porch and the round bay over the porch. There is also white wisteria on a trellis in the side garden.
I had a very interesting day. In the morning I attended the annual reading of the "Telling Your Story" class at the Senior Center. The elderly man who teaches the class was a lawyer, I believe, in his career and started teaching the class in retirement. He's been doing it for thirty years now, and he says it's the most important work he's ever done. The "students," who are mostly considerably older than I am, each read a short piece; they're funny, moving, inspirational by turns. Many of the participants lived through the war, and that figured into several of the pieces. One of them had me in tears.
This is my third year attending the reading, which is open to the public, and I know now that many of the participants take the class over and over and continue writing their life stories. A woman from England, who grew up in Derbyshire, read a piece about her childhood in the war years last year, and this year she wrote about arriving in New York Harbor by ship with her husband in 1951. She married a young man from her own village and had no idea it would lead to moving to America. I guess she's been here ever since.
Another regular member of the class is a 106-year-old woman who is well known in Brookline senior circles. I believe she was a doctor in her career, but that was long ago, and she's done many things since then. She wrote that for her happiness is adventuring, and one of her adventures was taking up watercolor in her 90s. This led to participating in a traveling exhibition "Seniors in Art."
After this fascinating presentation, I passed some interesting historical sites in Brookline (must go back and see John F. Kennedy's birthplace soon) and stopped in at the excellent independent bookshop in Coolidge Corner before heading home. A really worthwhile day out.
What a fascinating class that must be. They definitely give so much history to others and I'm sure it's really good for them at the same time. Wouldn't that idea be wonderful to catch on nation-wide! Lovely picture of this beautiful home - love the white porch - it accents the soft yellow and lovely flowering tree. Nicely composed.
I think telling one's story is so important, and I think there are many classes and programs around the country to help seniors and others do this. In Boston we had the Memoir Project, sponsored jointly by the City and a writing center, to capture the memories of older residents. There were workshops in all the neighborhoods of the city, and several volumes were published and readings held. I've read the memoirs with great interest, and I think it was a wonderful thing for the City to get involved in.
In a way we're all telling our story on 365 with photos.
Thank you.
I think telling one's story is so important, and I think there are many classes and programs around the country to help seniors and others do this. In Boston we had the Memoir Project, sponsored jointly by the City and a writing center, to capture the memories of older residents. There were workshops in all the neighborhoods of the city, and several volumes were published and readings held. I've read the memoirs with great interest, and I think it was a wonderful thing for the City to get involved in.
In a way we're all telling our story on 365 with photos.
Ps. Derbyshire is very close to the county where I grew up!