Winter-Spring 2020 Multi-Session Courses

With Dr. Wayne Bell

There are more bird species in Maryland in winter than there are in summer. The Eastern Shore boasts a richness of water birds on Chesapeake Bay, the Atlantic Coast, and unfrozen inland impoundments. Loons, ducks, gannets, gulls, raptors – we've got them all.  Then there are the feeders, alive with sparrows, nuthatches, chickadees, titmice, and woodpeckers. Despite conditions that can be Spartan, the birds can be big, and the little ones can be close. Class sessions will point out field marks and ‘giss’ (general impression, size, and shape) that will help identify the species we see on field trips to representative winter bird habitats. Don your mittens and earmuffs and join us for a birding romp across the Eastern Shore's winter wonderland!

Mondays | Jan 27, Feb 10, Feb 24, March 9 | 2:30-4pm | Easton Waterfowl Building

Field Trips: Feb 3, 22, Mar 1, 15 | Varied sites and times

With Paul Carroll

Anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of international relations and participating in active discussion of crucial global issues will find these engaging and insightful conversations of important topics of the day very interesting. The topics for 2020 are Climate Change and the Global Order, India and Pakistan, Red Sea Security, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, U.S. Relations with the Northern Triangle, China’s Road into Latin America, The Philippines, and the U.S. Artificial Intelligence and Data. Enrollment limited to 10.

Mondays | Jan 27, Feb 3, 10, 17, 24, Mar 2, 9, 16 | 1-3 pm | Bay Hundred Senior Center at the St. Michaels YMCA

With Bev Williams

Examine William Faulkner’s fiction through some of his more accessible short stories:

1st session: “A Rose for Emily”

2nd session: Go Down, Moses. Selections: “Was”, “The Fire and the Hearth”, “Pantaloon in Black”

3rd session: Go Down, Moses selections: “The Old People,” “The Bear”, “Delta Autumn,” “Go Down, Moses”

4th session: “Barn Burning” and “That Evening Sun”

Mondays | Feb 3, 10, 17, 24 | 10-11:30 am | Bay Hundred Senior Center at the St. Michaels YMCA

With Ronald E. Lesher

The known unknowns drive science. For example, 4.9% of the total matter of our universe is known. What makes up the other 95.1%? Is our universe finite or infinite? How can we unify Einstein’s theory of general relativity with quantum physics? But are there things which by their very nature we will never know? Explore the edges of knowledge based on the book “What We Cannot Know” by Marcus Du Sautoy (IASBN 978-0-00-758310-2), a math professor at Oxford University and holder of the Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science. 

Tuesdays | Feb 11, 18, 25, Mar 3 | 1:30-3pm | Bay Hundred Senior Center at the St. Michaels YMCA

With Dodie Theune

You are not too old, and it is not too late to reimagine your life and explore how to live life fully by doing what you were meant to do and being the person you were meant to be. Each of us has unique and special talents and abilities. Living a purposeful life is embracing who we are and gauging how we can fully express our values and passions in a purposeful way. During the final session, everyone will create a structure for fulfillment – A Personal Life Plan. Join us and have the rest of your life be the best of your life. Enrollment limited to 10.

Tuesdays | May 5, 12, 19, 26, June 2 | 10:30-Noon | Bay Hundred Senior Center at the St. Michaels YMCA

With Glory Aiken

Would you like to write about your life, about your family and its unique history, or about the significance of a particular day, a so-called shining moment that you will remember forever? Then please join us as we continue our journey into the art of writing memoir. Class time will be devoted to reading aloud your one-to-two-page submissions to our writer's group each week. We will also discuss opportunities that are currently available to independently publish your work. Enrollment limited to 10.

Tuesdays | Feb 25, Mar 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 |  9:30-11:30am | Bay Hundred Senior Center at the St. Michaels YMCA

With John Miller and John Ford

The extensive correspondence between John Adams and his wife Abigail chronicles in intimate detail the uncertainty, dangers, and sheer “messiness” of the early years leading up to the 1776 Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, and later the adoption of the Constitution in 1787. Those who are fascinated by American history and enjoy literature will explore this remarkable couple’s role in the early years of our nation through a close examination of a writing style quite different from the emails and tweets that we are accustomed to today.

Thursdays |  May 7, 14, 21, 28 | 1:30-3pm | Brooklets Place Senior Center, Easton

With Charlie Yonkers

This is a compact history course that will bring us to the time of the constitutional convention in 1787 and ratification debate on the Constitution in 1787-88. We will study essays by Hamilton, Madison, and Patrick Henry in this course.

Tuesdays | May 5, 19 | 1:30-3pm |  Brooklets Place Senior Center, Easton

With Catherine Wilson   

This is to be the beginning of a series lasting several semesters. The year is 1699 and Elizabeth James was fourteen when her parents left England and landed at St. Mary’s, Maryland. Course leader, Catherine Wilson, in the persona of Elizabeth, will weave a tale of the adventure, peril, and excitement that faced these early settlers as they made the perilous journey across the Atlantic, then journeyed by boat and by foot to settle in what is now Kent County, Maryland. 

This two-part course will be the first in a series about the settlement of the Maryland’s eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the mid to late 17th century. Using John Speed and F. Lamb’s 1676 map of the Chesapeake Bay, this first course will focus on the settlement of Kennard Point between Still Pond Creek and Churn Creek.

Wednesdays | May 6, 13, 1:30-3pm | Brooklets Place Senior Center, Easton

With Rabbi Peter Hyman, John Ford, and John Miller

Theatrical tradition would urge us to call [Macbeth] “The Scottish Play” so that disaster doesn't befall us. But this bad luck tradition only comes into play (no pun intended) when the title is mentioned inside the theater where the performance is to be presented. But erring on the side of prudence is always best. For many of us this play remains a favorite (perhaps you first read it in high school?) as does the quip “Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are the happiest married couple in Shakespeare.” Let’s contrast this observation with those of many theatergoers who find this play one of the darkest of Shakespeare’s works. We’ll find out “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow . . .”

Tuesdays | Mar 17, 24, 31, Apr 7, 14 | 10:30-Noon | Temple B’Nai Israel, Easton

With George Merrill

This course explores the vital role spiritual awareness plays in our lives particularly as we grow older. Like breathing, the dynamics of spirituality exert powerful forces in directing daily life often out of our awareness. Spiritual experiences can be hard to define. Many who have had significant ones find them difficult to articulate. The course is structured to help participants identify spiritual experiences and find ways to express them. Our sessions will increase individual awareness of spirituality as a sustaining force particularly in the second half of life. This stage in our human experience presents unique challenges. It demands the kinds of coping skills and ways of thinking about self and others that differ widely from those that served us in the first half of our lives. Participants will identify and discuss specific spiritual phenomena such as hope, meaning and purpose, trust, transcendence, kindness, music, and several concepts of the holy. We will be exploring these phenomena as they find expression in traditional religion and are understood outside of sectarian boundaries. Enrollment limited to 10. 

Mondays | Apr 6, 13, 20, 27, May 4, 11 | 10:30-Noon | Bay Hundred Senior Center, Easton

With Micah Risher

This course will delve into the fascinating operation of one of Talbot County’s greatest assets, the Easton Airport! The Airport has been a self-sustaining economic engine since 1993. Since that time, Easton Airport has grown into one of the busiest airports in the State of Maryland. Come discover how the Airport is positioned for smart, well planned improvements that will keep Talbot County at the leading edge of aviation safety.

Thursday | Jan 30 | 10-Noon | Easton Airport Admin. Building

With Commander Benjamin Armstrong, U.S. Navy

Two centuries before the daring exploits of Navy SEALs and Marine Raiders captured the public imagination, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps were already engaged in similarly perilous missions: raiding pirate camps, attacking enemy ships in the dark of night, and striking enemy facilities and resources on shore. Even John Paul Jones, father of the American Navy, saw such irregular operations as critical to naval warfare. With Jones’s own experience as a starting point, Benjamin Armstrong sets out to take irregular naval warfare out of the shadow of the blue-water battles that dominate naval history. This book, the first historical study of its kind, makes a compelling case for raiding and irregular naval warfare as key elements in the story of American sea power.

Thursday | Feb 27 | 12:30-2pm | Prager Family Auditorium, Easton 

With Sal Simoncini 

Directions for and demonstration of baking Italian bread will be presented. We’ll all enjoy the bread at the end of the class. Also, instructions for making a marinara sauce that has been prepared beforehand will be offered to class participants as they dip their bread. Wine will accompany this culinary treat.

Tuesday | Mar 3 | 11am-1pm | Oxford Community Center, Oxford

With Mark Scallion

Over the last fifteen years Pickering Creek Audubon Center has created over 100 acres of wetland and meadow habitat in partnership with Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage. Enjoy a walk around these vibrant habitats while learning about the history of the land and the methods and reasons for converting it into the marvelous habitat it is today. Expect to see spring waterfowl and wading birds, winter resident birds, and raptors. We'll tour about two miles of trails on foot across flat but uneven ground. Delightful views of the wetlands from two viewing platforms will be enjoyed along the way.

Thursday | Mar 19 | 9-11am | Pickering Creek

With Emily Chandler 

Explore Italy through its wines and cheeses in a guided tasting at Piazza Italian Market. Owner Emily has selected six Italian wines and six cheeses from different areas of Italy that reflect the local culture and cuisine. In this class, you will learn how to appreciate the cheese and wine pairings and their nuances. You'll also learn a bit about Italian geography. Each participant will take home a handout about the pairings.

Wednesday | April 1 | 3-4:30pm | Piazza Italian Market, Easton

With Jason Lee

Most of us have had to deal with a computer virus or malware on our mobile phones. It wasn’t fun. In fact, it’s infuriatingly time consuming to remedy. In a small class setting, Jason and his staff will provide personalized instruction. This is NOT a lecture but rather a 90-minute how-to session, so bring either your mobile device (aka smart phone), or your tablet, or your laptop computer. You will learn important virus/malware preventative take-away skills.

3 separate sessions with 5 students each

Choose 1 only: Saturday | Apr 18, 25, or May 2 | 9:30-11am |Jason’s Computers, 9321 Centerville Road