Retiree Retreats to Days Of Culture, Camaraderie

When it's time to retire, there are hard choices. Deciding to sit in a recliner is not the best option.

After 30 years as an Army infantry officer, and then work helping foreign countries train their military forces, I retired and faced the question: What's next?

My wife, Julie, suggested I join her in a Learning in Retirement program. That was four years ago. As it's now known, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at George Mason University has more than 740 members and offers about 250 college-level courses annually, as well as special events and club functions.

About a third of the classes are taught by Mason faculty members, a third are presented by local experts and the rest are conducted by OLLI members. With about 90 percent of the members holding baccalaureate degrees, and about 57 percent graduate degrees, there are plenty of resources.

During my time overseas in the military, I taught English in evening classes, so I volunteered to teach literature at OLLI. I found myself initially presiding over 30 members in something called "Short Poems for Busy People," which is an overview of international poetry, including haiku and limericks, on subjects such as love, war, nature and politics.

As with most OLLI courses, mine met once a week for eight weeks, with no exams, no homework; just a lot of thinking, and certainly some fun.

I was astonished to find an atmosphere of commitment that I hadn't experienced when teaching elsewhere. OLLI folks wanted to be there, and what's more, they were a generally cohesive and talented bunch that brought a wealth of experience.

I generally spend about 10 to 12 hours in research and preparation for every 90-minute session I teach. Like most OLLI instructors, I don't want to look or sound like some idiot in front of colleagues, especially ones I'll be rubbing shoulders with in other courses as a student!

I have recently taught Shakespeare and found that people seem best ready for the Bard somewhere past age 55. Even then, according to "A Shakespearean Actor Prepares," co-authored by veteran actors Adrian Brine and Michael York, "The longer you live, and the more you experience, the more you find that Shakespeare has been there before."

What I like at OLLI is the general feeling of good humor, and a camaraderie that I've only experienced in military units.

People laugh at the drop of a hat and socialize with gusto.

A wonderful professor recently presented a session on American band music. Just as he began his lecture, the strains of "Stars and Stripes Forever" came from inside his briefcase. He'd forgotten to turn off his cellphone but had to take the call. As he hung up, someone in the room said, "I suppose that's a sousaphone?" That broke the place up -- and the professor, too.