New Nassau County Council on Aging offerings in September

Nassau County Council on Aging
Press Release
Liz Dunn [email protected]
Sept. 10, 2019

NCCOA Presentations Offer a Birdseye View to Our Country and Our World
September is here and so is your opportunity to learn more about the history of our country and the world around us. Presented by local experts who live in our own neighborhoods, these offerings remind us how fortunate we are to be able to expand our horizons from the comfort of Nassau County Council on Aging’s (NCCOA’s) Fernandina Beach Life Center at 1901 Island Walk Way.

Wednesdays, Sept. 18 & 25, 2- 3:30 p.m.
Sept. 18: Cuba – A Brief Overview of History and Current Government
Sept. 25: Cuba – Off the Beaten Path
Presenters: Berta Isabel Arias, EdD & Professor Emeritus, NCCOA Volunteer (Sept. 18); and Alwynne Lamp, NCCOA Volunteer and Traveler (Sept. 25)
Born in Cuba, Dr. Arias is an expert on the history and culture of Cuba, as well as a local author. The Sept. 18 session will provide an overview of Cuban history, starting with the Mesoamerican cultures and the arrival of the Spanish in 1492 with its ensuing colonialism, through independence from Spain in 1898 and the 1959 Cuban Revolution. Dr. Arias ends with a discussion of 2019 Cuban politics with a new president and constitution. Ms. Lamp leads the Sept. 25 session as she relates her experiences traveling to Cuba with an organized tour group, and then returning to the lightly populated eastern shore area to view the culture, people and places seldom visited by non-native people. She will present her experience in obtaining permissions and documents, as well as photos and descriptions of her independent travel, on the “other side” of Cuba.
Each session – Member: $3 – Non-Member: $5

Wednesday, Sept. 18, 6- 7:30 p.m.
Session 1 – Conversations in Italy – Rome: Pro Itu ed Reditu, from Grand Tour to Mass Tourism
Presenter: Dr. Judy Raggi Moore, Professor Emerita, Emory University
In this introductory conversation (first of a series of five – Oct. 2, 16, 30 and Nov. 13) as we reflect on Petrarch’s letter, Ascent of Mt. Ventoux, we will consider why people travel to foreign lands and the shift in focus from “pilgrim” or “traveler” of the past to “tourist” of today. As we virtually stroll along the Gianiculum hill of Rome we will explore the richness of historical narratives through the visible artistic evidence: the virtue of heroism in the equestrian statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi; the beauty and power of water in Pope Paul V’s “Fontanone;” the ultimate act of love, the crucifixion of St. Peter idealized in Bramante’s “Tempietto;” the unjust justice of Beatrice Cenci immortalized by the poet Shelley…sadly, narratives rarely explored by the tourists of today yet valuable to understanding Italy and the Italians.

Pre-seminar optional reading: Petrarch, Ascent of Mount Ventoux https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/petrarch-ventoux.asp
Each session – Member: $3 – Non-Member: $5

Thursday, Sept. 19, 2:30- 4 p.m.
Investigating American Presidents – Parts 11 & 12
The Value of Investigative Reports/The Law and Politics of Impeachment
Presenter: Bob Bolan, PhD, NCCOA Volunteer & Moderator
An ongoing series examining how law, policy and history can guide our response to possible presidential abuse of power and, in the end, illuminate American democracy.
Member: $3 – Non-Member: $5

Friday, Sept. 20, 10- 11:30 a.m.
Aviation: From the Wright Brothers to the 21st Century: The Development of Passenger Air Transportation
Presenter: RADM S. Frank Gallo, USN Retired, Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum Docent
A career Naval Aviator, RADM Gallo will provide a detailed account of the progression of air travel from the development of the Wright Flyer in 1903, to the start of airmail to the airliners of today. The presentation will include discussion of air transportation artifacts on display at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C., as well as representative photography. As an extra bonus, he will facilitate discussion of the Enola Gay, the B29 Superfortress that dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945, as well as the SR71 Lockheed Blackbird. These artifacts are on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport, the companion facility to the Smithsonian Museum on the National Mall.

Member: $3 – Non-Member: $5

Registration:

• If you are currently in our class database, go to MyActiveCenter – https://myactivecenter.com or call 904-261-0701 to sign up.

• If you are not currently in our class database, send an email to Melody Dawkins, Membership and Community Engagement Director, at [email protected], with your name, address, phone number, email and date of birth (used for grant purposes only). Once you receive an enrollment confirmation email, you will be ready to view all classes, presentations and workshops and enroll.
See you at 1901!