New School Year

While medical calendars tend to begin and end in July, my mind has never abandoned the academic calendar which runs from September to June.  Even in medicine, residents learn the basics over the summer and function thereafter.  Pro and college football work out their glitches over the summer but do not keep score for bowl games until the fall.  High Holy Days arrive at this renewal time.  Having just completed some travel around metropolitan St. Louis, the schools in Missouri and adjacent Illinois opened in mid-August.  We saw one of the high schools in a fairly remote winery area with a full parking lot.

Locally our public schools begin two days after Labor Day, as does my Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) fall session.  My first curriculum notification for the class on Philosphy and Technology has arrived.  Other sessions on the history of vaccinations, a discussion group on controversial topics with each participant taking a turn, a course on wine, and I try to introduce a new skill each time, this attempt at Mah Jong.

I have a new workspace too.  It took seven months to recapture but My Space should serve me well for classwork and writing.  Not only return to school, but even in retirement, there is an element of return to work.  I'm sort of eager to take advantage of this fall's opportunities.