Learn to enjoy learning

by Phil Houseal as published in the (Kerrville TX) Community Journal - Dec 29, 2010

We are never too old to learn. Dr. Suzuki says so.

Dr. Shinichi Suzuki’s book Nurtured by Love is required reading for parents of children learning to play music using The Classic Approach to Talent Education.

His insightful teaching brought music education to the very young, with 3 and 4-year-olds able to master the challenges of Bach and Haydn on violin.

But what struck me was the impact his philosophy can have on those of us way beyond single digits in age. This will not do justice to his philosophy, but four elements that apply to lifelong learning spoke to me on first reading. Not unexpectedly, Club Ed and other adult learning opportunities address each point.

Point 1 - “Talent” is learned

Take a look again at the book’s tag line: The Classic Approach to Talent Education. Suzuki disdains the phrase “natural talent.” His revolutionary insight was that talent can be taught; talent can be learned. There is hope for everyone!

Point 2 - What does not exist in your cultural environment will not be developed

If you grew up listening only to The Monkees, you probably won’t appreciate Mozart. In order to improve our lives we need to fill our days with enriching, inspiring, challenging opportunities.... opportunities you’ll find in Club Ed.

Point 3 - Think of learning as fun

I really believe that having fun is the secret to succeeding in any area of life. You might lose weight temporarily by dieting. But you will be healthier the rest of your life by having the adventure of eating right.

You might get fit doing an exercise. But you will stay fit by finding physical activity you enjoy doing every day.

You might learn how to play dulcimer by taking one class. But you will only make music by practicing daily (see Point 4) and playing with others.

In Club Ed we do offer all types of classes - more than 200 each semester. And while they are excellent, taking a class is really only the first step to mastery of any skill. Just one example is our ongoing Dulcimer Jam session. Beginners of all ages and experience meet weekly, not to learn an instrument, but to make music.

Point 4 - Practice. And practice right.

Suzuki believes we are all experts; it is just that some of us are experts at doing things “wrong” due to bad instruction or lack of practice. But talent always comes down to practice, no matter at what age you begin. An adult who practices 3 hours a day for five years will be more “talented” than a child who practices five minutes a day for 10 years.

As you probably guess, Club Ed can help bring all these good things into your life. You can learn a skill, start a hobby, listen to an expert, and just enjoy the company of like-minded friends seeking a more enriching life.

So as you start a new year, don’t simply resolve to go on a diet or learn to play violin. Learn to enjoy eating right, learn to make music, and learn to enjoy learning.

See you in class!

Basketball: The game of life

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly - Dec 22, 2010

Is life a fast break, man-to-man, or a zone defense?

The other morning I pondered this question as I pulled myself from a warm bed at 4:30 a.m. to go play basketball. Three mornings a week I head to the local gym to play Community Education basketball. I’ve been doing this for over 30 years.

On this particularly frigid morning as I stumbled in the dark to find my gym bag, I wondered what makes me trade the soft bed for the hardcourt?

As in Robert Fulghum’s book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, maybe basketball is my metaphor for life.

Gather around midcourt, while I put this ball in play...

Most of the time you don’t have the ball.

With 10 players on the court at a time, even if every player touched the ball an equal number of minutes, 90% of the time you do not have the ball!

For mediocre players, the only minutes that count are when you are holding the ball. The rest of the time, they stand around.

But good players know that most of basketball happens when you don’t have the ball. On offense, that means you set screens, act as a decoy, get yourself open to receive a pass. On defense, you call screens, block out, rebound, double team, and dive for loose balls. Go back and watch the great players like Larry Bird, or a hustler like Bruce Bowen, and just focus on what they do without the ball. You will see an entire game within the game. As in life, what we do when we don’t have the ball wins games.

When you pass, it comes back.

The secret of basketball is so simple, yet the hardest one for people to grasp - you must share the ball. At all levels, from street ball to the pros, the hardest move to make is to let go of that ball. But if you look the winning teams through the ages, the champions are always the team that spreads the ball around the most. Even the great Michael Jordan could not win until he understood that fact.

On a good team, players hand off the ball. On a great team, the ball comes back. The old give and go is still the most effective play in the game.

Basketball builds (and saves) relationships.

I was sharing this insight with teammate who brought up another point - a basketball game is a great place to work through personal problems. I am convinced that basketball saved several marriages over the years; those that it didn’t save, it at least helped the husbands work through the divorce by giving them an outlet for their anger and frustration. I suffered my share of bruises and sprained ankles in the service of marriage counseling.

You have to make the team.

Whenever a new player walks into our games, I don’t bother to even learn their name until I know two things about them: Do they pass the ball? Can they hit the open layup?

Show me those two skills, and you can play on my team.

Sure it’s a flimsy metaphor. But the point is that what may appear to some as frivolous play or an escape from responsibility, may actually be a serious tool for dealing with the realities of life. After all, every civilization has created and played games. If games served no purpose, they would not exist as they consume energy, attention, and resources that could be better used in hunting, gathering, and courting mates.

This is a rambling way to give everyone an excuse to sign up for a class, start a hobby, or get in the game.

Because playing may be the most important work you ever do.

xxx

Breathe... and other holiday tips

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly - Dec 15, 2010



The holiday season (and New Year) approach. Time to share hits, tips, and tricks that come from what we learn in the more than 400 Club Ed classes we offer each year.

Enjoy!

Collect the rain.
Thinking of installing a rainwater collection system? Wondering how much water you can collect? Amazingly, a 1-inch rain on a 1000 square foot roof will produce over 600 gallons of water. (Master Gardener Ann Brown notes that you can fill a 55-gallon barrel with just 1/4 inch of rain.)
The Hill Country averages 30 inches of rainfall annually, so with sufficient storage capacity, the average home should collect sufficient water for household use.

Sharpen your tools.
“A dull tool is a dangerous tool.”
So says Dr. Tom Harris, gardening wizard.
"You have to work harder to make a dull tool work," he noted. "If the blade is sharp, it will do what it is supposed to do, easily. If it is dull, that's when you make a mistake."
No matter how you do it, keep your spades, scissors, knives and shears sharp.
"It is just fascinating," Harris said, "when you can get something sharp enough to shave with, whether it is a shovel or a razor."

Dance!
According to Nursel Conrad of Kerrville School of Dance, dancing is like taking a vacation. Benefits include improved coordination and flexibility, increased strength and conditioning, plus it raises your awareness of rhythm and balance, and raises your creativity and self-confidence. So move!

Misdirect.
When performing magic, the point is not to “trick” or audience. Playing a trick on someone makes them appear the fool.
Magic instructor Alan Fox always made the point that you are creating an “illusion.” The more you draw in your audience’s help in creating that illusion, the more they appreciate the performance.
Tricks are for Halloween; magic is timeless.

Change yourself.
Life Coach Leia Francisco knows no one can change you except you.
"We are not advice givers. Coaches believe you - the client - have the answers. Our real power is helping you clarify the issues, understand the possibilities, then help you take action."
Like the proverb, it's not just feeding you fish; it is teaching you how to fish.
“You are never too old to develop your life purpose and goals."

Keep your scroll up.
When playing the violin, keeping the scroll up will help your bowstick go straighter. (Cathy Learoyd will teach a complete course in fiddling in the spring.)

Back up your computer.
The three rules of preserving computer data:
1) Back it up
2) Back it up often.
3) Back it up in three different places.

Be a clown.
When appearing in clown, you typically get three types of reactions.
1) Total belief. These people rush up for a hug or photograph.
2) Discomfort. These people keep their distance or walk away.
3) No reaction.
These are common responses, according to entertainer Shannon Anderson, aka Sunshine the Clown. “It is often their own insecurities that keep them from playing with you. But they will usually come around if you leave them alone and just keep playing.”

Write a song.
When writing a song, start with the words, then add music. Or, start with the music, then come up with the words. Or, start with an idea, then combine words and music.
(Obviously, there is no rule for writing songs.)

Finally, the most important rule of all...

Breathe!
Pat Labeda, Hypnotherapist, learned this basic of relaxation while working at a trauma center. She noticed that people under stress stop breathing deeply. Simply taking several deep, cleansing breaths can lower the heart rate, freshen the mind, and induce calm.

See you in class!

XXX

The new Spring 2011 Club Ed catalog is now online! Printed editions will be mailed after Christmas, but all courses are open for signup at www.clube.net.

There is still time to get an eGift card - in any amount. Click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Things versus experiences

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly - Dec 8, 2010

PHOTO: Experiences trump things, even as kids. (This is 1960 photo of me playing football with my brother, sister watching, Dad’s shadow in lower left)


Think back over Christmases past. Can you really remember the trinkets, gewgaws and tchotchkes you unwrapped?

This holiday season, would you rather give things, or create experiences?

I thought about this during a recent visit to my homeplace. As do many people with grown children, mom is starting to give things away. She is sorting all the gifts we gave her over a lifetime - from plaques with sappy sayings to lopsided ashtrays made in shop class. A visit to mom’s house means you will find a box with your name on it.

At the same time, my secretary Emily told about an innovative gift her daughter gave her for her birthday. It was a lobster cooking class. Mother and daughter took it together. What memories and fun it created. A shared experience, a new skill - not another trinket to set on an already overcrowded shelf.

Research confirms this phenomenon of experiences trumping things. A recent Cornell study showed that buzz you get buying your big screen TV fades, while the satisfaction from a vacation or new hobby starts high and keeps growing.

Why does this happen? Researchers showed that no matter how fancy or expensive the material gift, the buyer knows that someone else will always have something newer, better, bigger. But your trip to the Bahamas? While others may travel to the same place, no one will enjoy the exact same experience in the same way you did. While next year’s TV might be two inches bigger, those vacation memories are yours alone and always will be.

Studies at the University of Colorado also found that people received more pleasure and satisfaction from a life experience than material possessions. This held true even if the experience was not all that positive. For example, if a family went hiking, and it rained, they lost their gear, and someone walked into poison ivy, it might not be deemed a pleasurable experience as it happens. But over time, people tend to remember the positive aspects, or bond over the memories of how they overcame the challenges. (We’ve all sat through tales of family adventures during “vacations gone bad.”)

That example also highlights another reason experiences outrank “things.” Sharing, remembering, and talking about experiences foster social relationships, which are associated with higher levels of happiness.

I remember reminiscing with my brother soon after our father died. We were remembering the incidents of growing up, both the good and the bad. Making homemade ice cream, building fence, sliding on the frozen pond, pulling my brother around in a Flyer wagon when he broke his leg. Watch 10-sec home movie of this

Not once did we speak of a toy we got or a present from a store. It was always experiences.

“Dad gave us memories,” my brother said.

So this Christmas (or anniversary or birthday or “no reason” day) how about giving the proverbial gift that keeps on giving? Take a class, learn a hobby, pursue a passion.

It’s one gift your mom can’t shove into a cardboard box.

Quilting life

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly - 12/1/2010


You can’t go home again, but I was able to get back to my native Iowa over the holidays. And I wasn’t able to escape Texas. There, on the living room wall of my mother’s home, hung a small quilt she had made using quilt blocks from Kerrville.

This story began a few years back when Kerrville resident Lois Charter was a show where I mentioned that my mother made quilts for all of her nine children. Lois was a quilter herself, as well as a native of Iowa. She corresponded with my mother a few times, and when Mom came to visit, we were invited to spend some time at Lois’s home.

Sometime after that, Lois sent me 1000 one-square-inch quilt blocks she had accumulated, with instructions to pass them along to my mother. I did so, and did not think much more about it (I have many hobbies - quilting is not one of them).

So it was a special joy to walk into the farmhouse and see those 1000 quilt blocks transformed from piles in a shoebox into a one-of-a-kind wall hanging.

I cannot imagine the patience and skill required to work on such a project. My mom has been doing it since 1958, when she got her first Singer sewing machine. While modern moms learn by taking classes, Mom learned by watching her grandmother. She sews pieces together with the sewing machine, then hand stitches them to the batting and backing.

She has no idea how many quilts she has constructed. She made at least one for each of her nine children (“some have more than one”), plus lots of baby quilts for her 25 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.

I tried to interview her, but she didn’t have much to say. In her life, quilting and sewing are simply what you did. Along with making clothes, canning vegetables, and baking bread - which she still does.

She can’t even say how long it takes to make a quilt, but acknowledged that one of the more elaborate creations took a year. Of course that is in between regular chores of running a home. Her work became more efficient when the last of the children left home, as she could use one of the bedrooms as a quilting room, complete with quilt frame to keep the working pieces organized.

Like quilters everywhere, Mom uses whatever material comes her way, from old jeans and flannel shirts to pieces of polyester to the thousand quilt blocks from Texas.

Mom’s quilts are elaborate. Mine features the Texas star. My brother’s quilt has the actual notes of “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” quilted around the edge.

“I look at that now and think, wow, I really did a good job!” she told me.

Why do you do it, Mom?

“I like to create things,” she said, adding, “and the kids love them.”

xxx

Where the sidewalk goes

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly - Nov 24, 2010


A school I used to drive by every day built a beautiful new auditorium. In front, they installed sweeping sidewalks tracing a graceful arc from the parking lot to the wide front doors.

The problem was students did not like walking in a sweeping arc when rushing from class to class. They preferred taking the direct route, meaning they bisected the arc.

The school made efforts to corral students on the sidewalks - announcements, “keep off the grass” signs, ads in the school newspaper, orange cones (my favorite was a simple sign that read “Let It Be” - hey, it was the 1970s). Still, students walked straight, and literally beat a path in the grass.

Years later I drove by and noticed the school was trying a new attack. Workmen were installing blocks of limestone around the edges of the sidewalks. They were massive - 2 foot by 2 foot by 4-foot blocks. It seemed they were turning the house of learning into a mighty fortress.

My prediction? Students will still find a way to cut corners.

Guiding pedestrians is like herding cats. No matter which way you want them to go, they will seek the shortest path that offers the least resistance.

I knew one superintendent who understood this tendency and exploited it in building a school. He followed the advice of an architect who suggested putting up the buildings, then waiting one year to install the sidewalks. Then you simply paved where all the paths were.

Predicting paths is the most challenging part of planning anything, including a Club Ed session.

As a young director, I fell into the trap of expecting equal results from unequal input. In a typical session, 20% of classes are extremely popular, and 20% struggle to attract students. For years, I would put all my promotional efforts into getting people to sign up for the less attended classes. It seemed logical - the popular courses were filling on their own. So I should try to get more students into the less popular courses.

I finally realized that made no sense. If students are signing up for Underwater Basketweaving, I should be adding more sessions of Underwater Basketweaving and dropping Left Handed Piano. I still catch myself trying to force students down a path they just don’t want to take.

George Burns, the ageless radio comedian, once wrote, “Your audience will tell you what’s funny.” That’s why he smoked a cigar. That’s why Jack Benny pretended to be stingy. The comedians did not start out using those gimmicks. But they noticed when the audiences laughed, then stuck with it.

In Community Education, we know that our customers tell us what is popular. So now I’ve learned to watch where people are walking - and that’s where you build the sidewalk.

xxx

Cousin Nancy’s Bucket List

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly - 11/17/10


PHOTO: Cousin Nancy uses Club Ed to whittle down her personal “bucket list.”

What’s on your bucket list?

You know about the bucket list - that term made popular by the movie of the same name. It’s a list of things you want to do in life before you “kick the bucket.”

Cousin Nancy has one. And Club Ed is helping her cross off many items. At the top of her list? Playing drums.

“I was always fascinated by drumming,” she admitted. “It was on my bucket list. I just turned 59, so I said, ‘I’m going to do it!’”

Not that she didn’t have second thoughts.

“When I got ready to take the class, I thought if it’s all 15-year-old boys I’m walking out,” she said. “Fortunately, there were folks my age and the class was a blast.”

Of course she did drumming - like she does everything in life - in her own style. She brought her own drum pad, which she had painted lavender with pink bows, and her own drumsticks, which she had “Nancy-ized” by painting bright pink and adding glitter and feathers. (Visit her blog to see a photo: cousinnancy.blogspot.com/2010/02/donna-drummer-schloss.html)

“I looked like an absolute idiot when I walked into class with my little outfit,” she said. “It was great. I told everybody, look, it’s a bucket list deal.” She laughed.

Cousin Nancy laughs a lot.

Cousin Nancy’s real name and role is Nancy Parker-Simons, Executive Director of Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch. She, husband Tony Simons, and the uncategorizable Kinky Friedman started the organization to “rescue every animal we can.”

They primarily save dogs on death row. They spay, neuter and give them shots, then keep them at the Rescue Ranch until they find a home. The facility averages 50 dogs in residence. (“Ask everyone to come to the Rescue Ranch and adopt a dog... we have fabulous dogs.”)

Back to that bucket list. It doesn’t take long being around Cousin Nancy to figure out she has a heck of a huge bucket. In addition to working as a business owner and executive director, the Texas native plays spoons, sandblocks, and guitar, was in drumming circle, and played in a jug band. She has rubbed ribs with celebrities from Dwight Yoakum to Willie Nelson to Martha Stewart. She blogs and has written two books - The Road to Utopia: How Kinky, Tony & I Saved More Animals Than Noah, and Meanwhile, Back At The Rescue Ranch: The Dog Days of Cousin Nancy. Yet she is that elusive combination of down to earth and upbeat.

Her affinity for Club Ed goes back a few years. The first course she ever took was our popular Instant Piano for Hopelessly Busy People.

“I really enjoyed that class. I always liked learning how to do stuff. I think I am a jack-of-all-trades but not that ‘skilled.’”

Not that that holds her back. Recently someone gave her a book that featured watercolor. Cousin Nancy couldn’t stop staring at it, so she decided to go to the craft store, buy painting supplies, and create her own art.

“My first painting sold for $57.77 on eBay,” she said. “So I decided I’ve got to go see how they do portraits.” So she signed up for the class. “It said ‘no skills required,’ so that was a selling point.” She laughed again.

“I wish I could come to a bunch of your classes,” she said. “I’d like to learn how to weld, and would take any of your art courses. I am a major fan. I love Club Ed.”

And Club Ed loves Cousin Nancy.

xxx

Visit Cousin Nancy’s blog at cousinnancy.blogspot.com. For information on Club Ed, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Paint dreams

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly - Nov 10, 2010


I remember the year my dad took a painting class.

It changed the way I looked at grownups.

This happened around my sixth grade year. My dad would have been in his early 40s then... a very old person in my worldview. At dinner one evening, he mentioned that he had signed up for a painting class at the nearby university’s community education program.

Up to that point, I couldn’t envision my parents doing anything outside their roles of breadwinners and caregivers. We had grown up in a large family on a farm. As one of nine kids, my main interaction with my parents was when I needed discipline or a haircut.

For kids, parents were nebulous bodies that orbited around our fantasy universe, like Neptune or the Orion constellation. We knew they were there, and were comforted by their presence, but we never really looked at them as individuals distinct from other celestial mysteries.

So when my dad told us he was taking an art class, it made me see him as something else... a person.

School and learning was for kids. I knew that as a fact based on all my worldly experience. Getting out of high school - which to a 6th grader seemed an impossibly long way in the future - was emancipation.  I was not really sure what lay on the other side of graduation, but I knew it did not involve going back into a classroom. Especially for 40-something fathers.

For the next several weeks we watched as this new person in our family dutifully went to art class every Thursday evening. That in itself was unsettling, as dad was always, always home in the evening. For him to be out on a weeknight left us all a bit off balance. We looked on with interest as he brought home sketchbooks filled with his exercises. He really was quite good at drawing, a fact that made me proud for some reason.

The culmination of the class was to complete a landscape in oil. He chose to paint our family farm, a fitting subject that perhaps made his foray into the art world less avant garde.

When he brought home the finished piece, we were duly impressed. It was a painting that looked like our farm. And it was painted by our dad. The old dog had learned a new trick. At some childish level, that gave me hope that we could learn new things forever, even in our dotage.

The painting was hung with pride above the Lowry organ, which represented another new skill our dad picked up in middle age. Some 50 years later, the painting still hangs on the wall of the family farmhouse.

For me, now past the age my father was when he painted that picture, I try to master the violin, along with tap dancing, and twittering. It is interesting that the young boy who couldn’t envision school past the 12th grade now works with lifelong learning programs that accommodate 3000 local adult students and touch half a million Texans throughout the state.

So if you have always wanted to learn to dance, or paint, or weld, but just haven’t got around to it, please reconsider. Do it for yourself, of course. But do it for someone else, too.

You never know who might be paying attention.

XXX

A hard life

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly Nov 3, 2010


Where do you turn if your stock pens need welding, your drywall needs plastering, you are a retired widow, you live on a ranch 15 miles from the nearest town, and that town has a population of 25?

Loudell Eudaly called Club Ed.

Eudaly lives by herself on the home place - a working ranch somewhere along the Llano River. The house was built in 1930, and the barn went up in 1878. “You have to hold your mouth the right way to make things work,” she said of her historic place. “And when a cow kicks something off, I need to put it back on.”

The native Texan is anything but helpless. “I’ve been helping my daddy know what to beat on since I was a child,” she insisted. “And my daddy was pretty picky how things were taken care of.”

But with her daddy and her husband gone, and she needed some minor repairs done, she was stymied. Her cousin was farming peanuts, her neighbors were busy, and hired help? “Oh, Lord! They are so expensive there is nothing left for me at the end of the year,” she said. “I’m a nurse, and they shouldn’t make more than I do!”

But her daddy had left her a good welding rig. So, like the independent Texan she is, Eudaly decided to call Club Ed and learn to weld for herself.

She was also interested in learning more from our other classes, from how to use a computer to how to fix some broken drywall.

Apparently one of her helpers was too eager when working in the attic. “He had a ‘whoops’ and put a foot through the ceiling,” she said. “He was going to fix it, but that was three years ago and I don’t think it’s going to happen now.”

Eudaly has other small repairs on her “To Do” list. “I live in a museum - a house full of antiques,” she said. She read a book on repairing drywall, but is not quite ready to attack it. “Besides,” she said, “no one looks at walls: they aren’t dangerous; just ugly.”

So when Eudaly heard about Club Ed on her radio, she called up and started signing up for classes. Even though it’s a bit of a drive, she is willing to make the investment.

“I don’t want to have to pay others to do it,” she said of the work facing her. “I lead a hard life, but I want to be able to fix little things like drywall and fence. And,” she added, “I don’t want to live in town.”

xxx

Just Dance!

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly Oct 26, 2010


PHOTO: Leading an adult ballet and stretch class, Nursel Conrad (right), owner of Kerrville School of Dance, spreads the joy of movement.

As a busy adult, if you could take only one class, I know which one you would choose: dance.

I know that is true, because dance is the most popular class in every lifelong learning program, in every town, in every country. It always has been most popular, and continues to draw students regardless of the state of the economy, what’s on television, or the demographics of the community.

Why is that? I asked Nursel Conrad, owner of Kerrville School of Dance.

“Dance is a stress reliever,” she said. “It is something totally different in your life.”

Everyone should dance. In fact, Conrad believes “not dancing” is the anomaly.

“If you study ancient civilizations, they all get up and dance!” said Conrad, who is a native of Turkey where she performed with the National Ballet Company. “Dance is a connection, a language. When your body is active, your mind is active.”

Club Ed offers Country & Western, Tango, Swing, Ballet, Belly, Tap, Line, and Ballroom. The style of dance is less important than the fact that the students are dancing and moving. According to experts, dance promotes healthy habits, social skills, and self-confidence.

The physical benefits of dance are well known. Dance improves coordination, conditioning, flexibility, and strength. Moving across the floor also increases spatial awareness, toning, balance, and stamina.

But many overlook the mental and social benefits. Learning steps is proven to forge new neural pathways in the brain. Don’t believe it? Try learning how to “shuffle ball change” to Hit The Road Jack, or attempt to dip your tango partner with a rose clenched in your teeth. You will engage all your physical and mental facilities, or soon you’ll be looking for a new partner.

Dancing also improves your appreciation and awareness for music, rhythm, and creativity, not to mention improving your self-confidence.

One unexpected side effect is stress reduction. It’s hard to worry about your day when you are learning a complicated ballet turn.

The other pleasant surprise in a dance class is the level of social interaction. Dancing with a group is the very definition of esprit de corps. Conrad likes to use her dance classes to build that social interaction. After the last session, she often holds mixers, where all her students can gather to socialize and just dance. “Our duty and obligation in the dance world is to get our dancers out in the environment.”

To that end, many of Conrad’s adult students are surprised when they are told they will perform at her end-of-term recitals. Some want no part of getting up in front of a group to demonstrate their new talents. But most finally embrace it.

Her concerts - such as the popular White Christmas in the Hills - “gives students of every age and skill level the opportunity to get on stage and show what they have learned. It gives them self-confidence,” Conrad said.

Dance is also just fun.

“When I am teaching, I turn on the music and tell my students to imagine you are on the beach. It’s a cheap trip!” she said. “Just thinking of yourself is the most important thing.”

xxx

Have class; will travel

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly - Oct 20, 2010


What’s the word on travel this season? How about “free?”

It is still possible to see the world for little money, and for those with ambition, even to get paid for it. Gina Henry knows - she works six months then travels the world for six months. That schedule is possible for anyone, as she explains in her popular Club Ed course “Travel for Free & Even Make Money Doing It!” (Wed, Oct 20, 2010, 6:30 - 9 :30 p.m.)

Growing up in a small Kansas town, Gina Henry yearned to follow that yellow brick road beyond the border. While earning her masters degree in international management, she learned ways to travel free. She began sharing her tips, and soon wrote her book Free Vacations & Make Money Traveling.

I caught up with her in between cruises to find out what was happening in today’s travel climate. According to Henry, a lot.

“Travel is an $8 trillion economy, and actually is one of the industries not hurt by the challenged economy,” she said. “After all, if you go on vacation every year, you are still going to go on vacation. You are just looking for good value.”

So instead of taking a three-week cruise, you might plan a shorter trip. Or instead of checking into a luxury resort, you stay at a bed & breakfast or lodge.

In a way, the current economic situation may even be a good incentive to make more people consider travel as a career.

“With my tips, people are looking at travel as secondary income,” Henry said. “They can actually grow income on travel. The idea of having this as a hobby, business, second, or even primary income makes a lot of sense to them.”

One major change in travel has been the rise of the Internet. All your travel planning and booking can be done online, with incredible deals. Henry will show how to do that, as well.

“People are just looking for more information,” she said. “I love getting a roomful of people interested in learning.”

The most frequently asked question from her students is about the status of frequent flyer miles. There is a misconception that those are too hard to book. Not true, says Henry.

“Frequent flyer miles are still a very viable option,” she said. “And you can gather them not just from credit cards, but in many other ways, such as online shopping.”

Another option for wannabe travelers is teaching.

“Teaching English at resorts is huge,” Henry said. “People don’t realize how English is the world’s business language. A young person can go overseas and study and teach around the world, with no certification. All you need to do is speak English better than the person you are trying to help.”

The curious and the serious will learn dozens more ideas in her three-hour class. Henry is happy to answer questions, and provide contact information so people can start traveling for free right away. Every year she teaches 100 seminars in cities across the country.

"It's all possible, it's all practical," said Henry, who leaves next week for India, Bhutan, and Thailand. "Anyone can do it. I like working six months a year and having six months off.”

XXX

Gina Henry will teach the class “Travel for Free & Even Make Money Doing It!” on Wednesday evening, Oct 20, at Club Ed. Her web site is www.ginahenrytravel.com. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Healing through hypnosis

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly - Oct 13, 2010



It is not surprising Patricia Labeda believes in hypnotherapy. After all, it saved her life.

“Years ago, when I was only 29, I did everything wrong,” she said. “I drank, I smoked, I ate the wrong foods.” She also had cancer. Her oncologist started her on hypnotherapy. It changed her profoundly. “I went from smoking two to three packs of cigarettes a day to not smoking. That was over 40 years ago, and I’ve never had another drink.”

After a career in law enforcement, Labeda now works at sharing her knowledge with others seeking life changes. She is certified in Advanced Hypnosis; Investigative/Forensics, Pediatric/Emergency. She is now in private practice, and teaches several classes for Club Ed in Self-Healing Hypnosis.

The modern practice of hypnosis has nothing to do with stage magic or making people cluck like chickens. It is a recognized adjunct to health therapy, used in medicine, dentistry, childbirth, and trauma. In fact, Labeda first became interested in hypnosis as treatment while working in an Emergency Room. She recalls watching how people reacted in the aftermath of major trauma, such as being involved in an automobile accident. She noticed a common denominator.

“I watched on monitors as people panicked,” she said. “I noticed they were not breathing properly, so I asked them to breathe.” Conscious breathing had dramatic effect. It lowered heart rates and increased relaxation. “Breathing is key.”

When you strip away the mystery, hypnosis is best understood as a way to bring your mind into a heightened state of awareness.

“It is like your mind running on autopilot,” Labeda said. “You become more cognizant.”

She elicits this state with techniques such as breathing, soft music, imagery, and relaxation. Once the subject reaches REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage, Labeda plants suggestions, or cues, patients can use. For example, for those trying to lose weight, the cue may be pinching the fold of skin between thumb and finger to fight the urge to overindulge.

She never plants cues that might make the subject uncomfortable. Before they even begin the process, Labeda clarifies specific goals they seek. Rather than wanting “to lose weight,” for example, she embeds the concept of “my perfect weight is...”

Following the session, it is up to the patient to continue the process. They self program every night, using the positive suggestions as they fall through the stages of sleep.

Does it work?

“I feel I get a 100% success rate,” she said.

While most patients only need one session with Labeda, healing is not a one-time practice. Success requires an ongoing commitment from the client.

“It’s a ‘rest of their life’ thing,” Labeda said. “Whether you say, ‘I can’ or ‘I can’t,’ you are always right.”

xxx

Pat Labeda teaches Self Healing Hypnosis for Smoking/Drinking on Oct 17, and for Anxiety/Phobias on Nov 14. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Doorknobs and design: Preparing your home for independent living

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly Oct 6, 2010


This morning as I left my house, arms loaded with books, camera, and coffee mug, I had to use my knee to kick up the door handle so I could get out the front door. Thank goodness for the levered door handle.

I had accidentally discovered that handy device while remodeling. I preferred it so much over the conventional round doorknob that I installed them on all our doors.

According to Cathy Learoyd, owner of Wynsong Home Designs, I had discovered one example of universal design, which she defines as “trying to make living easier for everyone.”

She also calls it preparing your home for independent living, which happens to be the title of a course she teaches in Club Ed.

“Throughout the life of a house, the residents are going to have all phases of life in that house,” said Learoyd, who holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from MIT and is working on her Masters degree in Architecture. “At some point someone will break leg, or be in a wheel chair or walker. We ask the question: how do you set up your house to make things easier?”

When asked, 95% of people want to retire and live in their own home. Universal design is all about preparing your home so you don’t have to go to a retirement facility.

Modifications can be small - like replacing doorknobs - or major. Learoyd gave the example of buying an appliance.

“Buying a refrigerator is a 20-year commitment,” she noted. “So if you bought one in your late 50s, you will have that into your 70s and 80s.”

She recommends a side-by-side or one with the freezer on the bottom. “A large percentage of women in their 80s cannot reach above their shoulders. That is a very common condition, and a freezer on top is very hard to reach.”

Another concept in universal design is maintaining an accessible path through the house. As our mobility becomes limited, we need to be able to walk without tripping over wires or dodging furniture. Learoyd noted that doorways and halls must be wide enough for a wheelchair or for a caretaker to walk beside you.

The side effects of aging are not just physical. Universal design considers diminished perception and mental capacities.

Learoyd recommends using changes of texture in floor coverings to help guide someone from bedroom to bathroom. Contrasting colors on walls, counters, steps, and floors provide cues for those with diminishing eyesight.

Learoyd also talks about the Optimal Reach Zone.

“Our best reach is from 22 to 44 inches above the floor. So you want most of everything you reach in the course of a typical day within that zone.”

In a typical kitchen, that means raising the dishwasher a bit, lowering some countertops, adjusting pantry shelves, and installing innovative storage such as pull-down shelves and pull-out cabinets.

Not all modifications need to be expensive or major. Learoyd suggests replacing handles on cupboards, keeping a rolling cart in the kitchen to carry heavy dishes, placing nightlights in bathrooms and halls, and using simple toilet roll holders that don’t need to be spring loaded.

Nor do you have to sacrifice function for design.

“People have the concept that it’s all ugly stuff, but it’s gorgeous now.”

Universal design even extends outdoors, where gardeners can continue their hobby using raised flower and vegetable beds.

The fact is, the first of the baby boomers turn 65 this year. They all want to continue living independently, or as Learoyd calls it, “aging in place.”

“The first reaction is that you don’t want to think about it,” she said. “Because this is going to make me feel old. But when they come to my class, they realize it is beautiful, that I can do this, it doesn’t have to cost me money, and why hasn’t anyone told me this before?”

“I think it is an incredibly important thing. I really feel passionate about it. That’s why I’m doing it. People need to know this stuff.”

xxx

Preparing Your Home for Independent Living meets Wed, Oct 13. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Handy Man

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly

“Excuse me.”

I looked up from my computer and saw a lovely lady standing in my doorway. She held some wood in her hand - three pieces of 3 1/2 inch rough pine, in lengths of 4 to 6 inches.

Mary Louise held them up. “I am looking for someone to saw these into 3 1/2 inch squares. Do you know anyone that can do that?”

This is Club Ed, I thought, not a handyman referral service. But then I started mentally running through our list of several hundred instructors, and quickly came up with three or four who could take on this project. I picked up the phone, and called Ed Fournier, retired sea captain, stained glass maker, electrician, plumber, carpenter, and proverbial jack-of-all-trades.

Ed loves projects. Whenever we need a picture hung, a door unstuck, a display put together, we call Ed. He comes right over with the right tool, and - after at least one trip to Gibson’s - he has fixed our problem. The man knows how to do everything. He is a walking Time-Life How-To book.

Ed is our MacGyver.

He figured out how to mount a neon sculpture in our window, then hooked it up to a timer so it would come on at night. There is no limit to his skill or endurance. When we needed an extra room, he built an entire wall in our building. When we worried about spam coming over our Internet, he came up with a clever device to manually disable the connection. When we needed to run electricity outside for a project, he built a heavy-duty extension cord with multiple grounded outlets.

Once he even built a walking armadillo. When his daughter needed a float for a company parade, Ed put together a model of an armadillo that she could pull, with feet that flapped and tail that wagged. It won first prize.

Back to Mary Louise...

Even though he had sold most of his woodworking tools, Ed came right over and managed to make the cuts, just right, then sand them smooth as an armadillo’s snout.

This story has two morals. One. Even while Mary Louise was wrong about the purpose of Club Ed; she was right to come to Club Ed for help. After all, this is community education. Where else would you find such a large resource of talented people with expertise in areas from aerospace to scuba diving, from weaving to woodworking? We have literally hundreds of instructors, hobbyists, and experts who are passionate about learning and teaching.

Second moral: If you ever need anything done, call Ed.

Making jelly for fun and flavor

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly Sept 22, 2010


PHOTO: Rhonda Tracy revives the art of making jelly.


All I know about jelly making came from watching my mom and grandma make it on the farm growing up.

I harbor mixed feelings about the process. Jellymaking for a farmboy meant spending the day bent over in the sun picking strawberries, fighting thorns in the raspberry patch, or peeling piles of apples. Of course the payoff was jars of juicy jelly that tasted like fruit ripped ripe from the tree in the middle of a long Iowa winter.

I tried it once as an adult and ended up with a syrupy mess.

So when Rhonda Tracy offered to teach a class called “Jelly Your Way” I had to find out if there was a secret to making great jelly, or even mediocre jelly.

Her answer surprised me.

“I think it is as simple as following instructions carefully,” she said. That’s not always as easy as it sounds, even for an expert. “I got ahead of myself once, and threw the sugar in the pot at the wrong time and had to start over.”

To avoid the problems, Tracy recommends using the basic Sure-Jell instructions that come on packs of pectin. “You can’t go wrong if you follow those in the right order.”

Tracy (who also happens to hail from the Midwest) had not made jelly in many years. She yearned to try her hand at it again, and has found fellow souls interested in learning the art of canning.

“One thing I found out is that it is exciting,” she said. Exciting? Jelly making is many things - delicious, soothing, thrifty, Zen-like. But exciting? She went on to explain, “It is the ability to be creative as far as combining fruits. I used cranberries and blueberries, and it was the best preserves I had ever made.”

Another reason for making your own jelly is that you end up with an intensity of flavor never found in store brands.

“When you use real fruit, the flavor comes alive,” she said. You can also get creative in using fruits you won’t find on store shelves - agarita, mustang grapes, mesquite beans. “If you are going to eat jelly, it should be more than diluted apple juice or grape juice.”

While savings is not the prime reason people make their own jelly, canning does not have to be expensive. Tracy scrounges her jars from thrift stores. Once you have the equipment and containers, it can all be reused. All you need to add is sugar and juice.

For people such as Tracy’s parents who went through the depression, their goal was to move away from homemade stuff and embrace easier, modern methods. There is an equal and opposite tug now.

“People are going back to natural things,” she explained. “Sure, people are concerned with the economy, but they are also concerned we are losing those old, traditional ways of doing things. That’s our heritage.”

Flavor. Health. Savings. Fun.

“The main thing I tell every class is that this is not hard, it is not dangerous. With one day’s work you can have a cabinet full of homemade stuff. My aunt spends one week’s worth of days canning, and has all she needs for a whole year.”

So why take up jar, lid, and gauze?

“It’s easy,” she said. “If it was that involved, I wouldn’t do it!”

XXX

Rhonda Tracy teaches Jelly Your Way on October 2, 2010, Canning for the Beginner on Oct 16, and Cooking Italian starting Nov 1, at the Vanguard Institute in Boerne. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Plastic Fantasies

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly Sept 15, 2010


Before a generation found another use for airplane glue, every kid experienced the thrill of building a plastic model from a kit.

But after spending hours hunched over our desks, painting with tiny brushes, carefully placing delicate decals, waiting impatiently for the glue to dry, most of us moved on to other challenges.

Some “kids” never got over that thrill of creating miniature models. One of those is Rob Booth, who has been building scale models since the 1960s.

“It was a rare kid that is really good at it,” Booth admitted. “Most would slap them together then take ‘em out and shove a firecracker into them.”

For those of us who haven’t been inside a hobby shop since the days TV had three channels, the basic kits are pretty much the same, although the quality of the molding has gotten infinitely better with engineering and computers.

Advances in chemistry have banished the old stringy glue. The new liquid cements use capillary action to draw the liquid along the seam, and actually fuse the pieces together. This eliminates seam lines

Grownup model building also has more at stake than bragging rights on the block. Model contests emphasize making the model look as realistic as possible.

”The emphasis is on making miniature real looking replica of what subject you are modeling.” The results of modern model making are so realistic the cars look “like you could drive them right off the table.” Authentic touches include seats with real leather, piping, photo-etched instrument panels, even details such as “heat markings” where the exhausts come off the manifold.

The subject matter has expanded. Today you can build ships, tanks, and a lot more airplane models than were available in the 1960s. Another category is sci-fi, with items from Avatar and Star Wars, as well as a growing variety of figures, from tiny gaming pieces to busts, movie monsters, and historic figures.

In his class, Booth plans to show examples of all these.

“This class will appeal to somebody in their 20s to retired folks looking for a serious hobby to spend time on in the evening,” he said. “It’s a good teaching tool for patience, and shows how to follow directions.”

However, if you were one of those kids who couldn’t wait for the glue to dry, you may not enjoy the experience.

“If you have no patience, you are going to be miserable,” Booth laughed. “If you are ADD this is not a good thing to do. But it is relaxing, and you can’t take it too seriously. If I improve each time I do it, I’m happy with that.”

One of Booth’s interests is to formalize a modeling club in the hill country. “I would like to see this for the kids at some point. I think there is value in this - teaching kids the ability to sit down and follow a plan, to keep their attention on something.”

According to Booth, half the fun is doing the research on what you trying to build. “With the Internet, the sky is the limit. You can do a lot of research, and can use pictures to help you be accurate.”

But like those children of the 60s, the main point of modeling is the same. “The whole thing is to have fun,” he said. “If you want to get serious, we can help you. But the main thing is don’t want you to come and be judgmental or to be judged. Whether you have done this before or not, the point is getting back into the hobby and having fun with it.”

What about the kid who turned his 79-cent kit into a molten mass of plastic?

“It will even appeal to them,” Booth said. “They will learn how to do it right.”

Gem of a class

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly Sept 8, 2010


When Lee Adams slices open a rock, he never knows what he will find. For the retired engineer, that mystery is the allure of the stone.

“Some are solid, some are not,” said the Bandera resident. “I can’t tell before I cut whether it’s white crystal, or agate or amethyst. It could be a 2.5 million year old nautilus fossil.”

Adams has spent 40 year pursuing his hobby in rocks. He is sharing his passion with Club Ed students for the first time this fall, teaching courses in Lapidary Arts and Wire Wrapping for Jewelry.

“I first started collecting rocks, then wondered what do I do with all of them?” He began with a used rock tumbler, and from there he couldn’t stop. Adams bought all the equipment from a retired rock collector, and soon was cutting and polishing gemstones. The fact he lived in Idaho and had unlimited supply of raw material within 50 miles of his home made his hobby more addicting.

Adams and wife, Judy, now make all types of jewelry, brooches, earrings, bracelets, and even bookends. They sell at shows and give their work away as gifts (“We give away more than we sell,” he admitted).

Adams, who is president of the Fredericksburg Rock & Mineral Club, loves to not only share his jewelry, butalso likes to help others build an appreciation for the hobby. He especially enjoys showing the secret wonders of lapidary with youngsters.

“I have thousands of pounds of polished gems that I’ve given to kids,” he said. “A kid will pick up a rock and be fascinated with it. They are fascinated with petrified wood and I’ve got lots of it. They can see that wood and understand what they are holding.”

This is Adams’ first time teaching for Club Ed. The class will meet at his shop in Bandera - “the finest rock shop in the area.”

“In the Club Ed class we are going to cut and polish two stones, plus look at the overall hobby, the equipment, and other forms of cutting and faceting.”

Adams warns students that working with rock is not without its challenges. “You can’t cut inside corners - it’s not like a piece of wood where you have saws to do that. Any cut has to be a straight line.” He also keeps a piece of carpet in front of his rock saw. “That’s because if you drop a stone on concrete it doesn’t do it much good. It’s frustrating to be almost done and have it break.”

He will also teach how to make jewelry with a technique known as wire wrapping. “We saw some wire wrapped stuff, and said, we can do that!” He and his wife came up with original patterns and designs, and are eager to help students learn the art. “Anyone can do it, you just get real creative with it. No two of my pieces are ever the same.”

For Adams, the timeless appeal of working with stone never leaves. When he holds another rock in his hand, the sense of wonder always returns.

“When I crack open a rock, I am the very first human to see the inside,” he said. “And I am surprised every time.”

xxx

Lapidary Arts begins Monday, Sept 13. Wire Wrapping starts Oct 13. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each session, we offer hundreds of enrichment classes and individual training throughout the Texas Hill Country and online. Follow us at ClubEdComments.blogspot.com, on Twitter @clubedtx, and on Facebook at Club Ed!

Women dancing for women

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly Sept 1, 2010


PHOTO: “Women dancing for women” is the philosophy of Dana Ross, who will teach Basics of Tribal Belly Dance for Club Ed this fall.


There are reasons something goes on for 5000 years.

That is how long the art of belly dancing has been around. Dana Ross - who leads her troupe Gypsy Moon Dancers - will offer a new Basics of Tribal Belly Dance on Tuesday evenings at Kerrville School of Dance.

Most Americans are familiar with the cabaret style of belly dance, which is meant to be performed for the benefit of an audience. Ross teaches a different kind of dance: improvisational tribal style. It was developed in San Francisco in the 1980s by a dancer who wanted to move beyond performing for ogling men.

“She wanted to return to what belly dance started out as 5000 years ago,” Ross said. “That was women dancing with women for women, expressing the emotions, spirituality, and phases of womanhood."

As the name says, tribal dance is improvisational. Watching the dance, the forms ripple seamlessly through the dancers, all moving as one, but never moving the same way twice. They accomplish this synchronicity through hand cues, with each dancer taking a turn at leading.

“When your hand does a movement then that means your hips are going to do something,” Ross explained. “By reading the hands and body language of the leader, everyone can follow.”

As with all creative work, the tribal style began with a standard vocabulary of moves. Troupes across the country then blended it with their own moves and styles. “Ours is Gypsy Moon,” Ross said. “We can dance with synchronicity without choreography, and it is a lot of fun.”

The physical benefits are well documented. Belly dance keeps you toned and fit. But it goes beyond that. Ross tells of a student who showed up one night and was obviously distraught.

“I knew something was really wrong, but she said she would talk about it later.” During the dancing, Ross noticed tears. “We kept dancing, but I found out her father had died that afternoon. She had a houseful of people, but she jumped up and said, ‘I have to go dance.’ She said they looked at her as if she were crazy, but she told them, ‘It will get me through this.’ Through dance, we can move through our emotions and feel stronger.”

Tribal style belly dance is not geared for public performance as other styles are. During their weekly sessions the dancers spend most of the time in a circle facing each other. But they turn out for a performance party several times a year. They sometimes perform with the drumming circle, and at a public appearance everyone participates, from playing shakers to joining the dance.

For Ross, dance completely changed her life.

“It opened me up, and brings so much more joy.” She recounted her struggles learning to move. “When we started, my rib cage did not move. I would almost cry after class. But when that finally started opening up, my whole heart filled with love.”

“I used to love methodically developing choreography to fit perfectly with each beat of music, memorizing it, then teaching it. But as I get older, I just want to dance!”

xxx

Basics of Tribal Belly Dance begins Tuesday evening, September 7. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each session, we offer hundreds of enrichment classes and individual training throughout the Texas Hill Country and online. Follow us at ClubEdComments.blogspot.com, on Twitter @clubedtx, and on Facebook at Club Ed!

View Filco live on KVHC-TV!

Watch live video from KVHC on Justin.tv

The secret of the donut

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly

My favorite bakery turned off its ovens and locked its doors this summer.

The legendary Dietz Bakery graced Fredericksburg’s Main Street for 100 years, sending the irresistible aroma of fresh-baked donuts, cinnamon rolls and homemade bread through its screen door, drawing in generations of tourists and locals.

It was a tradition after my Saturday morning workout to head over to the bakery to stand in line for the first rolls out of the oven at 8 a.m. You had to get there early; they always sold out by 10.

On their last day in business, I was lamenting the loss with a buddy. We got to discussing whether the donuts were really that tasty, or whether we were facing the old “you don’t know what you got until it’s gone” syndrome.

I wondered aloud why the owners didn’t just bake more rolls, bread and donuts, since it was obvious they could sell twice as many every day.

My buddy said something profound. “Maybe if they had made more, they wouldn’t have been as popular.”

He went on. “Look at Krispy Kreme donuts. They were fanatically popular. Then the company went public, and started selling them in on every corner and gas station in every town. People lost interest, the stock fell, and nobody gets excited about Krispy Kreme anymore.”

So maybe the value of a product has less to do with its quality than with its availability. I remembered the tale of a new restaurant opening. From day one, the owners turned down every other reservation, telling would-be customers they were booked up. That was not true. But soon word spread that the new restaurant was so popular, customers began making reservations in earnest. Within three months, the place was completely booked up.

People are such fickle creatures. Tell us we can no longer have something, and we clamor for more of it.

This is a roundabout way of saying Club Ed is back! After a summer with no classes, our lifelong learning courses are now open for signup.

We are not 100 years old, but we’ve been around for 35 years.

We don’t bake thousands of pastries, but we do offer several hundred classes each spring and fall, held in Kerrville, Boerne, and Bandera, with hundreds more you can take online from anywhere.

But don’t hesitate to sign up for your favorite classes. It won’t be long before they are gone. And while not quite as sweet as a Dietz donut, our Club Ed classes are just as delicious!

===

The Fall 2010 Club Ed catalogs have been mailed to all hill country residents, and are available at area libraries and chambers. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each session, we offer hundreds of enrichment classes and individual training throughout the Texas Hill Country and online. Follow us at ClubEdComments.blogspot.com, on Twitter @clubedtx, and on Facebook at Club Ed!

Keep on learning...

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly - May 26, 2010


Though this column stops for the summer, lifelong learning never ends. To leave you with something to contemplate, here are tips, hints, ideas, and aphorisms I gleaned from our teachers. Keep learning...


Placing our hand over a hurt or painful area of our body is common. Why do we do that? To make it feel better!
Kevin VanRenterghem

Essential Oils not only smell good, they are antibacterial, antiviral, and they oxygenate the body.
Carol Krause

Never ever store your photos in the attic! The heat and humidity will quickly cause them to fade, crack or yellow.
Misty Nagy

To keep your mortar from setting up too quickly in hot weather, add a tablespoon of dish washing liquid to the mixture.
Ronny Rotge

If you buy a $2000 sofa, charge it, and make a minimum monthly pay at 19.8%, it will take you 31.2 years to pay it off. You will pay a total of $10,202 - $8,000 of it interest.
Peggy Grose

Did you know that over 100 million people speak French every day?
Laurel Pesez

Relax - imagine you are hanging from the stars like a marionette. Gravity becomes your friend and holds you up through your feet. Breathe in; breathe out.
Jean Murray

Your best shots will come when you hit in the center of the strings. Practice this at home with your racket by bouncing a tennis ball on the ground as if you were dribbling a basketball.
Ken Brown

Learn where government offices are in town and who manages them.
Ann Sullivan

For desert hiking, wear light colored clothes, hat, sturdy shoes, and long pants (for thorns). Carry and drink lots of water.
Dean Mitchell

Develop a critical eye through regular practice.
Frank Sant’Agata

When painting, stop wasting expensive paint; learn to mix colors right the first time.
Jim Black

If your average income over 40 workings years is just $25,000, you will have earned one million dollars.
Unattributed

In Blackjack, you don't have to make 21 to win, just beat the dealer.
Garry Willoughby

To make a great cup of coffee, important things you need are clean equipment, good water, and fresh ground coffee.
Unattributed

Your income can go up as you learn to stand up and speak up.
Unattributed

An old dog can learn new tricks, they just learn more slowly. There is no age limit to learning.
Yvonne Gerhard

The writer must keep writing even when he fears he is producing little of value.
Tom Romarm

And, finally... Practice makes perfect! Do something you really like to do everyday.

Like community education!

XXX

This summer Club Ed offers camps and classes for kids and adults. To sign up, visit www.clubed.net or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes with 3000 enrollments. The fall session begins in September. To sign up, ask a question, suggest a class, or apply to teach, call 830-895-4386, or visit www.clubed.net. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.

Lessons learned in a barber chair

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly - May 19, 2010

PHOTO: Lessons are learned everywhere, even sitting in George’s barber chair.

Sometimes the best lessons are learned when you are doing something else. Like when getting a haircut.

I thought I had given up the vinyl chairs and linoleum floors of the classic barbershop, those man caves of Sportsman magazines and Fitch hair tonic. Like most men in my generation, I had migrated my hair care duties to the scents and soft lights of the styling salon.

But one day I had a frustrating time getting my hairs clipped. I started at one of those quick cut joints that advertised “Walk-ins welcome.” I walked in, wrote my name on the list, watched three people come in after me get served first, and walked out.

Next stop was at a salon, where they promised to work me in. But the fussy big-haired lady before me wasn’t ready to be worked out. I left in consternation and roared down the road, ready to go to a dog trimmer just to get the job done.

That was when I saw the banner, tied on an old pickup truck. It read in white and blue: Barbershop.

Long on hair and short on time, I pulled in, walked in, and sat in the familiar upholstered chair, giving myself over to the no nonsense sensibility of George. Then George did an amazing thing - he cut my hair.

And I’ve gone back to George for over two years, even following him when he changed shops. After thoroughly hashing over every popular topic - music, politics, the economy, taxes, even a bit of religion - one day I asked George a simple question: What made him such a popular barber?

He stopped snipping and stared out the window. The fan buzzed. The radio played. Then, as if realizing it for the first time, he said this:

“I solve people’s hair problems.”

I hadn’t expected that answer.

He went on.

He told me how everyone has something they don’t like about their hair. His job is to figure out what that problem is, then fix it.

Some barbers learn one style of haircut, then give that same haircut to everyone who sits in their chair. George listens to what his clients say about their hair. Then he uses that information to guide his scissors.

How simple. How profound.

George’s philosophy is the foundation of success. It is the same thinking that drives business and personal relationships alike. Sears doesn’t sell drill bits; it sells holes. Southwest Airlines doesn’t sell plane tickets; it sells relationships and reunions. A nursery doesn’t sell trees; it sells shade.

And at Club Ed, we don’t sell classes. We offer creative solutions to your self-improvement desires. Club Ed helps you grow a Texas garden, sing a solo, dance the two-step, speak another language, or cook a 4-course meal, and more. We are filling that hole - that “yearning” for lifelong learning.

It’s about keeping the world open to learning, whenever and wherever it happens. Even in a barber chair on a clipping-covered linoleum floor.

XXX

Club Ed offers hundreds of classes to solve your learning desires. Right now our summer camps and classes for kids and adults are open. To sign up, visit www.clubed.net or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes with 3000 enrollments. The fall session begins in September. To sign up, ask a question, suggest a class, or apply to teach, call 830-895-4386, or visit www.clubed.net. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.

Learning with passion

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly - May 12, 2010

PHOTO: Is there anything you can’t create with paper and paint? If there is, kids can use video, computers, legos, and clay in this summer’s adventure camps.


Looking for something for the kids to do this summer - something really different and engaging and interesting? That’s what Kathy Patterson was doing when she began offering Computer Explorer camps in the hill country four years ago.

Computer Explorers is a series of interactive science camps that lets kids literally get their hands on cameras, inventions, computers, legos, video equipment, and all sorts of cool tools to learn creatively and constructively.

"I have young kids, and was looking for things for them to do in the summer," the A&M graduate said. "I wanted to provide more educational activities. I had a passion for it. If we know even one child who decided to become an engineer because of these classes, it will be worth it."

So this summer, kids ages 6 to 12 can explore the world from the depths of the oceans to outer space. This year’s offerings are Multimedia Adventure Camp and the Science & Space Ca

At Science & Space Camp, Star Wars still rules. Patterson promises young space cadets might be the next George Lucas, by becoming the writers, directors, actors, animators, and special effects creators of a mini space movie. Then they switch to science, slipping on the white coat to become detectives who use forensics to solve crime scenes.

In Multimedia Adventure Camp, campers create their own animated cartoon strips while they explore the world around in three dimensions. This action-filled camp includes sections on building inventions, making up experiments, and writing stories.

The older youngsters take it a step further and add sound effects and music to create an original video game.

Patterson has operated this educational business for four years, and now has set up classes in Boerne, Kerrville, Fredericksburg, San Antonio, Dripping Springs, and New Braunfels. She has fulfilled her goal of offering learning with passion.

"Girls and boys get just as excited with these activities," Patterson said. "I have had kids crying because they didn't want the class to end."

Computer Explorers has been proven and field-tested nationally since 1983. The camps are taught by certified teachers and are based on sound educational practice, aligning with current curricular standards. Patterson is able to accommodate at-risk students and has seen students flourish "who don't always function well in a typical classroom."

But that is not why the kids love it.

"It is educational and fun," she said. "I think it challenges the kids, and they are learning in a fun way, solving problems that are challenging to them. You don't get to build things in many other school activities."

Just don’t tell the kids they’re learning - it might spoil the fun.

xxx

Science & Space Camp runs the week of August 2 in Kerrville and the week of June 7 in Boerne. Multimedia Adventure Camp meets the week of June 21 in Kerrville and the week of June 28 in Boerne. Club Ed offers summer camps and classes for kids and adults. To sign up, visit www.clubed.net or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes with 3000 enrollments. The fall session begins in September. To sign up, ask a question, suggest a class, or apply to teach, call 830-895-4386, or visit www.clubed.net. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.

When the travel bug bites

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly - May 5, 2010


PHOTO: Michael Sprute helps travelers across Texas put together their dream vacations.


Got the travel bug?

According to a leading travel company guide, so do a lot of people.

“Because of the economy, a lot people took the year off from travel and now are ready to go somewhere,” said Michael Sprute, District Manager for Collette Vacations. “Travel is definitely back.”

Where are they going? Sprute says he is booking “a little bit of everything.” People want to head out all over the globe - Asia, Europe, South America, Africa.

Collette Vacations is well positioned to get you there. For 91 years they have helped literally millions of travelers, arranging trips for large companies including the “free” vacations won on TV game shows, along with working with local nonprofit organizations like Club Ed. They offer 150 vacation packages on all seven continents.

With all the challenges of travel today, customers gravitate to the “one call does it all” service of travel companies. We are seeing many travelers who are seeking the fully-escorted trip. From booking the bus, through the plane connections, hotel accommodations, meals, site seeing, right up to pulling off that last bag back home, you are under the guidance of a trained agency employee.

“Our clients want to get on a fully-escorted trip,” Sprute said. “From the minute they step on the bus, we take care of everything. All they have to do is have a good time.”

That pampering includes staying at only 4-star hotels and all inclusive pricing - no “nickel and diming” add-ons.

Sprute will be in the Hill Country on Monday, May 17, at 3 p.m., to offer a Free Information Session. These informal and free sessions are a time for prospective travelers to come ask questions and gather details on the trips. Upcoming Club Ed/Collette offerings are Alpine Christmas, an 8-day trip through the traditional Christmas markets of Austria and Bavaria set for December 6, 2010; and New England Back Roads, a 7-day tour of the country store, covered bridges, and rugged coastlines of the Northeast starting October 1, 2010.

Over the years, Club Ed has traveled near and far and in between. We’ve helped families enjoy the fall foliage in Maine, the Calgary Stampede in Canada, the Olympics in China. We’ve filled buses to see the bats at Alamo Springs and ride the barges in San Antonio. A couple of times we sent groups on cruises in the Gulf of Mexico.

In the end, folks who like to travel, travel. According to Sprute, there are always good deals. And 80% of his clients come back to travel again, many year after year.

So next time the travel bug bites, go with it.

“You can’t force people to travel; you can entice them to travel,” he said. “If they go, they go. Our goal is to fulfill your vacation dreams.”

xxx

For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.