Wednesday, April 10th, 1:00 p.m. Happy Lunch, Bob’s Red Mill café, (5000 SE International Way, Milwaukie, OR 97222) inside the Bob’s Red Mill store. They don’t take reservations but we would like to know if you’re coming so please reply to the email or use the comment box below.
Tuesday, April 16th, 4:00 p.m. Irena’s Vow at Regal Lloyd Center theaters (1510 NE Multnomah St, Portland). Many of us read the story last month in advance of the movie’s nationwide release. (The title link above will take you to a YouTube video of the trailer. The Regal Lloyd link will take you to ticket information.) This is a limited run showing. You are invited to join a group of your fellow retirees for this viewing. We will not be coordinating ticket purchases.
Wednesday, April 24th, 1:00 p.m. Monthly planning session. Open to all, no RSVP required. Come join us! At Walter Mitty’s Restaurant.
Saturday, April 27th, 5:30 p.m. Road to Success! PCC Foundation’s Annual Gala at Hyatt Regency Portland. To learn more and purchase tickets visit: pcc.edu/gala
Sunday, March 10th, 1:00 p.m., Little Shop of Horrors at PCC Sylvania Performing Arts Center. Tickets for seniors and PCC staff (including retirees) are $10 available on the website or at the door. It is ‘open seating’ so we will gather in the lobby before the show to take our seats as a group.
Not familiar with the play? Here’s the synopsis: Little Shop of Horrors is a horror comedy rock musical that follows a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh. The musical is loosely based on the low-budget 1960 film of the same title. The music is in the style of early 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop, and early Motown, and includes several well-known tunes, including the title song, “Skid Row (Downtown)”, “Somewhere That’s Green”, and “Suddenly, Seymour”. Let the mayhem begin!
Wednesday, March 13th, 1:00 p.m. Happy Lunch – Radio Room. We’re checking out a new location once again. Tagged as “Alberta’s living room’ and self-styled as “Portland’s Classic Mid-Century Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge”, we’ve heard good things about this eatery. Located in the Alberta District at 1101 NE Alberta Street. RSVP via email or comment below by Monday, March 11th so that we can reserve a table.
Wednesday, March 27th, 11:30 a.m. Pinot & Prose Book Club discussion session on our March selection: In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut-Opdyke and Jennifer Armstrong. Although originally published in 1999, copies are available through public libraries or Amazon in multiple formats. This first-hand account of the Holocaust was named “A Book Sense Top Ten Pick”, “A Publishers’ Weekly Best Book of the Year” and, “A Booklist Editor’s Choice” and is the inspiration for the movie version being released nationwide in April. (We will be planning an out to see the movie too.) At Walter Mitty’s Restaurant, no RSVP required.
For those of you who like to know what we’re reading in coming months, the link above will take you to the web page posting for the next three months.
Wednesday, March 27th, 1:00 p.m. Monthly Planning session. Following the book club discussion and lunch, we will convene to work on planning future events for the coming months. Want to suggest a restaurant near you for a Happy Lunch? Come tell us about it. Also at Walter Mitty’s Restaurant, come join us!
March: In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut-Opdyke and Jennifer Armstrong
Publisher’s Comments: “An utterly amazing, true, first-person account of one girl’s experience in wartime. Irene Gut Opdyke was a Catholic Polish nursing student when WWII broke out. She soon became mired in the horrors of central Europe as, at various times, a partisan, a refugee, a housekeeper to the Nazis and, over all, as a heroine. She singlehandedly saved the lives of at least 16 Jewish people from the Holocaust.
Now living in America and aged 77, Irene, with the help of a respected historical novelist, has told her story with all the power and passion that such a remarkable history can inspire.”
Enjoy the book and come join your fellow retirees for the discussion Wednesday, March 27th at 11:30 a.m. at Walter Mitty’s Restaurant.
April: We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor
Publisher’s Comments: “Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it’s a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street.
Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets. The stakes are high: no less than the first claim to entire worlds. If he declines the honor, he’ll be switched off, and they’ll try again with someone else. If he accepts, he becomes a prime target. There are at least three other countries trying to get their own probes launched first, and they play dirty.
The safest place for Bob is in space, heading away from Earth at top speed. Or so he thinks. Because the universe is full of nasties, and trespassers make them mad – very mad.”
Enjoy the book and come join your fellow retirees for the discussion Wednesday, April 24th at 11:30 a.m. at Walter Mitty’s Restaurant.
May: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride.
Publisher Comments
“In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe’s theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe.
As these characters’ stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins of white, Christian America struggle and what they must do to survive. When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the town’s white establishment played in it, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community — heaven and earth — that sustain us.
Bringing his masterly storytelling skills and his deep faith in humanity to The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, James McBride has written a novel as compassionate as Deacon King Kong and as inventive as The Good Lord Bird.”
Enjoy the book and come join your fellow retirees for the discussion Wednesday, May 22nd at 11:30 a.m. at Walter Mitty’s Restaurant.
June: Consolations by David Whyte
With the imagery of a poet and the reflection of a philosopher, David Whyte turns his attention to 52 ordinary words, each its own particular doorway into the underlying currents of human life.
Beginning with ALONE and closing with WORK, each chapter is a meditation on meaning and context, an invitation to shift and broaden our perspectives on the inevitable vicissitudes of life: pain and joy, honesty and anger, confession and vulnerability, the experience of feeling besieged and the desire to run away from it all. Through this lens, procrastination may be a necessary ripening; hiding an act of freedom; and shyness the appropriate confusion and helplessness that accompanies the first stage of revelation.
CONSOLATIONS invites readers into a poetic and thoughtful consideration of words whose meaning and interpretation influence the paths we choose and the way we traverse them throughout our lives.
Enjoy the book and come join your fellow retirees for the discussion Wednesday, June 26th at 11:30 a.m. at Walter Mitty’s Restaurant.
July-August: The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Publisher’s Comments: “A stunning and magisterial new epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in Kerala and following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret.
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. The family is part of a Christian community that traces itself to the time of the apostles, but times are shifting, and the matriarch of this family, known as Big Ammachi—literally “Big Mother”—will witness unthinkable changes at home and at large over the span of her extraordinary life. All of Verghese’s great gifts are on display in this new work: there are astonishing scenes of medical ingenuity, fantastic moments of humor, a surprising and deeply moving story, and characters imbued with the essence of life.
A shimmering evocation of a lost India and of the passage of time itself, The Covenant of Water is a hymn to progress in medicine and to human understanding, and a humbling testament to the hardships undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. It is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years.”
Enjoy the book and come join your fellow retirees for the discussion Wednesday, August 28th at 11:30 a.m. at Walter Mitty’s Restaurant.
Unfortunately, we’ve learned that despite the extensive lunch menu on the website for Petisco, they are not open for lunch! In fact, the restaurant is closing entirely next week.
So we’ve selected a popular alternative — The Old Spaghetti Factory in the John’s Landing area (715 S Bancroft St, Portland, 97239). So we’ll gather there (the parking is better too) at 1:00 p.m. on Oregon Statehood Day/Valentine’s Day, Wednesday, February 14th. Please RSVP if you’ll be joining us by Monday, February 12th and we will reserve the table.
Wednesday, February 14th, 1:00 p.m., Happy Lunch! We’re going to try out ‘a little slice of Europe in NE Portland’ this month. We’ll be gathering at Petisco, 1411 NE Broadway, Portland 97232. Use the link for directions and to check out the moderately priced menu. Please RSVP by reply to this email by Monday, February 12th so we can reserve a group table.
Thursday, February 22nd our Special Event of the month! For the first time since before the pandemic we’re doing:
BLUES NIGHT!
Enjoy the much-loved Fenix Rising blues band again. They have been playing weekly for over 15 years at the sweet Blue Diamond Bar and Grill. Highlights are Fenix who belts a soulful sax and JT who delights with his very playful guitar solos. Tap your toes or get up and “shake what your mama gave you”! Join the mellow crowd. Know that the food there is mighty good too.
LIMITED SEATING RSVP by Tuesday, February 20th Text Gary Lesniak at 503-307-3008
Wednesday, February 28th, 11:30 a.m., Pinot & Prose Book Club discussion of our February selection One Long River of Song by Brian Doyle. As always the book club discussion is open to all, even if you didn’t have time to read the book. Come join us at Walter Mitty’s Restaurant, no RSVP needed.
Wednesday, February 28th, 1:00 p.m. Planning Session. Following the book club discussion and lunch we’ll convene for a short planning session to discuss our coming events for winter/spring. At Walter Mitty’s Restaurant. Open to all, no RSVP required, come join us!
We were saddened to learn late last week that PCC Retiree Kenny Adair passed away on Thursday, January 18, 2024. Kenny worked for thirty years at Portland Community College (PCC). Initially at the Cascade Campus, he was Director of Counseling at the Sylvania Campus at the time of his retirement. Kenny was the husband of Harriet Adair. Kenny was fun-loving and known for his giving spirit and graciousness.
Beyond his role as a Counselor, Kenny contributed to the College, the PCC Foundation and the larger Portland community in many ways. He started the Black Expo at PCC, a highly successful community event, that occurred for more than five years. His generosity was exemplified by three scholarships that he supported; The Kenneth Adair Scholarship Fund (PCC), The White Rose Educational Fund, Inc. and The Friends Group. He was also a founding member of the PCC Retiree Network.
Known for his good humor, Ken was a stand-up comedian, who was recognized and applauded in The Oregonian. He was a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Zeta Nu Chapter, and was retired Senator Margaret Carter’s Campaign Manager for her first, second and third campaigns. Kenny was a product of Portland Public Schools and was a graduate of the University of Oregon.
Retired PCC President Dan Moriarty sent the following immediately upon hearing of Kenny’s death:
“So sorry to hear of Kenny’s passing. He was a most positive force at PCC. Made it a better place than he found it. You will remember that he led our diversity efforts and at the same time did an excellent job as counselor.”
A visitation for Kenny will be held Wednesday, January 31, 2024 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Ross Hollywood Chapel and Killingsworth St. Johns Lombard Little Chapel of The Chimes, 4733 NE Thompson St, Portland, OR 97213.
A visitation will occur Thursday, February 1, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Allen Temple CME, 4236 NE 8th Ave, Portland, OR 97211.
A funeral service will occur Thursday, February 1, 2024 at 11:00 AM at Allen Temple CME, 4236 NE 8th Ave, Portland, OR 97211.
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”
— Matthew 5:4
(Much thanks to Sylvia Welch for assistance in preparing this announcement and providing the photo.)
Happy New Year to All! We’re about to resume our monthly schedule of events for PCC Retirees with our first Happy Lunch of 2024 we hope you’ll come join us this year!
Wednesday, January 10th, 1:00 p.m. Happy Lunch! We’ll convene again this January at one of our favorite lunch spots: Gracies at the Hotel DeLuxe (729 SW 15th Ave, Portland, OR 97205) Valet parking available. Please RSVP by reply email or using the comment box below by Monday, January 8th so that we may make a table reservation.
Sunday, January 14th, 2:00 p.m. “Irena’s Vow” at Portland State University. Jeannie Opdyke Smith, a cousin of PCC Retiree Doris Werkman, has been traveling throughout the world telling her mother Irena’s story of how she saved Jewish people from death by the Nazis. Her story has now become the movie “Irena’s Vow” which will be showing in Portland during the Jewish Film Festival. This is a wonderful opportunity to catch this preview of an important film and meet Irena’s daughter. For more information and to purchase tickets go here: https://www.ojmche.org/events/2024-pjff-irenas-vow/
Wednesday, January 24th, 1:00 p.m. Retiree Network Monthly Planning Session. Following the book club discussion and lunch we’ll convene for a short planning session to hear an update on events at the college from the PCC Foundation representative and to discuss our potential coming events for winter/spring. Our planning sessions are open to all, no RSVP’s required!
Other events of interest: All through January and continuing until February 18th and March 17th respectively, Portland Art Museum exhibitions: African Fashion and Black Artists of Oregon. We’ve heard great reviews of these exhibits from other retirees. If you’re looking for something indoors to do in January and February check them out.
Publisher Comments: “From a “born storyteller” (Seattle Times), this playful and moving bestselling book of essays invites us into the miraculous and transcendent moments of everyday life.
When Brian Doyle passed away at the age of sixty after a bout with brain cancer, he left behind a cult-like following of devoted readers who regard his writing as one of the best-kept secrets of the twenty-first century. Doyle writes with a delightful sense of wonder about the sanctity of everyday things, and about love and connection in all their forms: spiritual love, brotherly love, romantic love, and even the love of a nine-foot sturgeon.
At a moment when the world can sometimes feel darker than ever, Doyle’s writing, which constantly evokes the humor and even bliss that life affords, is a balm. His essays manage to find, again and again, exquisite beauty in the quotidian, whether it’s the awe of a child the first time she hears a river, or a husband’s whiskers that a grieving widow misses seeing in her sink every morning. Through Doyle’s eyes, nothing is dull.
David James Duncan sums up Doyle’s sensibilities best in his introduction to the collection: “Brian Doyle lived the pleasure of bearing daily witness to quiet glories hidden in people, places and creatures of little or no size, renown, or commercial value, and he brought inimitably playful or soaring or aching or heartfelt language to his tellings.”
A life’s work, One Long River of Song invites readers to experience joy and wonder in ordinary moments that become, under Doyle’s rapturous and exuberant gaze, extraordinary.”
Enjoy the book and come join your fellow retirees for the discussion Wednesday, February 28th at 11:30 a.m. at Walter Mitty’s Restaurant.
Publisher Comments: “From a “born storyteller” (Seattle Times), this playful and moving bestselling book of essays invites us into the miraculous and transcendent moments of everyday life.
PCC Retiree Network 