Pilot Bob Hoover Celebrates Lifetime of Achievement

FYILast Friday, friends of legendary pilot Bob Hoover, 92, gathered with him at Paramount Studios Theater in Los Angeles to celebrate his “Lifetime of Achievement,” which includes many awards as both an airshow and military pilot (the Distinguished Flying Cross is his highest military honor).

“It was an earlier legendary pilot, General James ‘Jimmy’ Doolittle, leader of the Doolittle Raid into China in World War II and of 1930s air racing fame, who anointed Bob Hoover as the greatest stick and rudder man who ever lived. It means he really knew how to handle an airplane and an acknowledgment such as this only happens when a real gift is discovered, honed, and played out over a lifetime. . . . Admittedly, many other skilled pilots have had remarkable careers so why is Bob Hoover so respected by his peers and beloved by the aviation community? It is the combination of his extraordinary flying skills, a diverse and enduring aviation career, and his interest in and commitment to people of the aviation community.  Beyond the instructional and flight test efforts, beyond his practical knowledge of the art of flying and his intuitive aeronautical problem solving, is his genuine enthusiasm for his craft, his life, and people.”

Click here to read the full post from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Click here to read more about Bob Hoover at the National Aviation Hall of Fame website.

 

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Worth Repeating: How Much Would You Lose if the Social Security COLA Is Changed?

“Worth Repeating” is a weekly feature on the EngAGE Blog that will bring you previous posts that we think are still timely, interesting, or just plain fun! From 2/22/13:

The proposed change to the cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) for Social Security and veterans’ benefits would result in a combined $129 billion in cuts over the next ten years. This would hurt many seniors and veterans who are already living on tight budgets. AARP has a free calculator that you can use to find out how much your benefits would be reduced over that ten year period of time. If you’re concerned, send a message to your elected representatives and the White House. Click here for contact information.

(Graphic from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.)

[This is still a crucial issue in 2014! Contact your elected representatives to make your thoughts known.]

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Writer Elizabeth Spencer’s New Work

WRITING“We last heard from Elizabeth Spencer (92) more than a decade ago. In 1998 she published a memoir, Landscapes of the Heart, followed in 2001 by a ‘greatest hits’ roundup of her novellas and short stories, The Southern Woman, which was followed by a quiet 12 years. One could be forgiven the thought that after a long and illustrious career Spencer, as Alice Munro has hinted and Philip Roth has declared, had decided to put her feet up and recline a little on her laurels.

“But Spencer is back with a new collection, Starting Over. The title takes its cue from the book’s many characters trying to find new homes, recover from life’s fumbles. Some might muse that Spencer herself is starting over, once more back to the typewriter, but there is nothing of rebirth here. She is, as she ever was, one of America’s best short story writers, with her invention and craft undimmed.”

Continue reading here. Visit Elizabeth Spencer’s website here. In addition to her writing, you may be familiar with a 1962 film adapted by Julius J. Epstein from one of her short stories: The Light in the Piazza, starring Olivia de Havilland and Rossano Brazzi.

 

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Experience Talks 2/22: Tuskegee Airmen

 

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Tune in to Experience Talks, our “Radio Magazine for the Experienced Listener.” Saturdays 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles, 98.7 FM Santa Barbara, 99.5 China Lake, 93.7 N. San Diego, streaming live online and now syndicated on up to 100 Pacifica Network stations! You can also enjoy hearing all of our previous shows on the Listen Page of our Experience Talks website.

Saturday, 2/22: Host Bobbee Zeno talks with Tuskegee Airmen Levi Thornhill, Ted Lumpkin and Jerry Hodges

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Levi Thornhill, Ted Lumpkin, and Jerry Hodges, with host Bobbee Zeno at back.

Join us for a special one hour show!

The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African-American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 447th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the United States armed forces.

 

Learn more about all of the Tuskegee Airmen here:  http://www.tuskegeeairmennationalmuseum.org/

 

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LBSAC Features Photos by Robin Hart + Reader’s Theater Company One Act Play on March 5th

EngAGE is delighted to invite you to TWO special events on Wednesday evening, March 5th, at the Long Beach Senior Arts Colony. First, a reception for our new photography show:

LBSAC-RobinHartThe Wisdom of Wabi-Sabi: Portraiture, 1976-2013

Photography Exhibit by Robin Hart (Exhibit runs through April 16th.)

“Pared down to its barest essence, wabi sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity in nature, of accepting the natural cycle if growth, decay, and death…It reminds us that we are all but transient beings on the planet—that our bodies as well as the material world around us are in the process of returning to the dust from which we came. Through wabi-sabi, we learn to embrace liver spots, rust, and frayed edges, and the march of time they represent.” –Architect Tadao Ando

 

Robin Hart is a Regional Programs Director for EngAGE. She is a Los Angeles resident who has worked in entertainment for more than 20 years, serving as a film editor, producer and writer for networks such as Discovery, The Learning Channel, PBS, Animal Planet and The History Channel. This photography exhibit showcases her portrait work from 1976 through 2013.

The reception is from 5 – 7 p.m. and refreshments will be provided. Street parking will be available.

And, following the reception . . .

Readers Theater-1Reader’s Theater Company

“NOT NOW, NOT EVER . . . WELL, MAYBE” – A One Act Play

Written by resident Barbara Fay and featuring a cast of ten from our resident thespians and  emerging actors.

The time is 1970; the place is a beauty shop in downtown Springfield, Missouri, owned by two sisters who like to make money, but don’t like each other.  They decide to add more services to attract more customers and make more money – or so they thought!  Now, a successful businessman and his brother come to rescue the shop and the damsels from an unexpected money grubber.

Free admission!

We hope that you will join us for an engaging evening of the arts!

For further information contact Helene Weinberg, Arts Program Manager, Long Beach Senior Arts Colony, at (562)436-0700 or email HeleneEngage@gmail.com

LBSAC is located at 200 East Anaheim Road, Long Beach, CA 90813

 

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MAD Magazine Cartoonist Al Jaffee Celebrates 50 Years of the Fold-In

Cartoonist Al Jaffee (92) has contributed to MAD Magazine, the satirical mainstay, since its beginnings, and is marking the 50th anniversary of not only creating but illustrating its iconic feature: the fold-in. Jaffee also originated another long-running feature: “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions.” Before his half-century at MAD, he worked alongside Stan Lee at the company which became Marvel Comics.

Learn more about Al Jaffee here where you can enjoy a 4:00 video interview with him in which he reveals the only fold-in that didn’t run in MAD. You can also read another good interview here.

 

 

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Tim Carpenter in North Carolina to Speak on “Aging Artfully”

EngAGE Founder and Executive Director Tim Carpenter is in Chapel Hill, N.C., to speak on “Aging Artfully” as part of a series of public forums for Second Journey. Get details on Tim’s talk and the complete series here. More info on Second Journey here.

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