My Cup Runneth Over – Again!!

In June this year I wrote about my long-time friend from Alaska, Kevin Corr, making a surprise appearance on Facebook Messenger after a 35-year absence.  This week I write about 2 more such returns that have also been major surprises.

 First, the context.  A few years back I learned about a program called OLLI (Oscher Life Long Learning Institute) hosted by the University of Cincinnati.  OLLI is a terrific program for those folks over the age of 50 who still have a thriving curiosity for almost anything.  They have 3 semesters a year where volunteers offer up courses of interest to them.  The program has a $90/semester entrance fee and you can pack as many courses on your calendar for that fee as you can handle.  I’ve been a student and a moderator for the last few years and usually enroll in 5-8 courses per semester.  

 Well, the Fall Semester 2024 started in late September and as usual I signed up for several courses.  One was a course on Genealogy which is a hobby of mine that I have been working on since the early ‘70s.  First day of class I sat in the second row of seats and a few minutes later in walked a woman who sat directly in front of me in the first row.  I recognized her immediately, I smiled, but she obviously did not recognize me. After 30+ years what else to expect??

I originally met Lucy Crane as a volunteer with Women Helping Women, a resource center for victims of rape and abuse.  Lucy sat on the board and I was a volunteer who worked on the overnight shift taking calls from women in distress.  She had a pretty high profile in the community and eventually she also became involved in the Sierra Club, I think during the time that I was Chairperson of the Cincinnati Group. 

After class I stepped up in front of her and identified myself and she immediately recognized me and we had a great hug!!!  It was a fun re-acquaintance.

My second reunion took place in my favorite class of OLLI. For 4-5 years I’ve been taking a course entitled “A Reader’s Life”.  It is essentially a class where the participants give oral book reports.  We get a list of genres for each week and if say the genre for that week is historical fiction, you tell your classmates about a book you’ve read related to that genre.  It’s a great way to learn about books you’d probably never encounter and generates a ton of interesting classroom discussions. 

So, this past week, our 3^rd week of class, a new participant showed up.  I saw her enter, and I smiled, but in this case the situation was reversed, I did not recognize her.  As the class got started our moderator, Tom, called her out and asked for her to introduce herself.  As soon as she spoke, I recognized her voice and of course sharing her name confirmed my recognition.

Back in 1989/1990 I was director for Crescent Women’s Medical Group, a multi-specialty group medical practice for women.  We had a fertility specialist, an ob/gyn physician, general practice and a few others.  Barb Tobias was our GP doc and she was a wonderful person to work with.  I couldn’t believe she was in our class. 

After class we caught up.  She is also now retired, a grandmother and someone who is obviously enjoying OLLI immensely. (She showed up at another class the same week.)

I’ve got to say, there are some very fine elements to growing older.  One of them is when people show up from out of no where and rekindle a relationship from years gone by, it brings up so many wonderful memories. 

My cup runneth over, again!!