The Renaissance Recorder Lifelong Learning

California State University, Sacramento

November 2019 Lifelong Learning for over 30 years Issue 188

President’s Corner By David Abelson

With the autumn colors now on

full display, and the Thanksgiving

holiday rapidly approaching, all of

us have much to be grateful for. In

particular, the Renaissance Society

(RS) would like to express its deep

appreciation to the faculty and ad-

ministrators at California State Uni-

versity, Sacramento (CSUS), who

have supported our organization since its inception in

1986.

As many RS members may know, the Renaissance Soci-

ety was conceived and created at CSUS by several key

members of the faculty and administration, including Dr.

Robert Heilman (Founder, CSUS Gerontology Center),

Dr. Margaret McKoane (Director, CSUS Adult Student

Admissions) and Dr. Robert Arellanes (Dean, College of

Continuing Education). President Emeritus Donald Gerth

(1984-2003), and First Lady Beverly Gerth, enthusiastical-

ly embraced this effort. Each of these individuals believed

deeply in the importance of life-long learning and, over

the decades, the University has supported this effort in

many different ways.

For example, think about the unique setting where the

majority of RS programs take place - the CSUS campus

itself. Every Friday and Saturday, the university provides

dozens of well-maintained and well-equipped classrooms,

lecture halls and other facilities to RS members at little or

no charge. These learning spaces are located throughout

a rich and diverse landscape of mature trees, beautiful

open spaces, food courts, and numerous other social and

educational amenities. The campus setting allows our

members to mingle freely with their classmates, friends

and the diverse student body as well.

CSUS also provides numerous opportunities for RS

members to interact directly with university students and

professors. For example, each year dozens of volunteers

work with students in academic departments such as Ger-

ontology, Physical Therapy and Psychology. During the

current academic year, RS is undertaking a special collab-

oration with the university to celebrate the centennial pas-

sage of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to

vote.

These are just a few examples of why the Renaissance

Society is so deeply committed to "giving back” to the uni-

versity and its students. We can show our gratitude and ap-

preciation in many different ways, such as donating gener-

ously to the RS Scholarship Fund (this is the link.); contrib-

uting to the Student Food Pantry (asi.csus.edu/programs/

food-pantry/donate/); or volunteering for various programs

on campus (csus.edu/org/rensoc/activities/volunteer.html)

As our members continue to enjoy the fall semester, the

Renaissance Society wishes to offer its heartfelt "thank

you" to CSUS for everything the University has done and

continues to do in support of life-long learning throughout

the Sacramento region.

FORUMS

Friday 3:00 p.m.

Note New Locations Listed

November 1: Eugene Dey, Director, Freedom Through Edu-

cation Campus. “Mass Incarceration, Crime, Punishment and

Prison Reform in CA.” Redwood Room, University Union

November 8: Melissa Levering-Clark, Volunteer Program

Coordinator, Sutter Care at Home Hospice Sacramento.

“Compassionate Care at the End of Life.” Pacific Suite, Third

Floor, University Union

November 15: Tom Suchanek, Research Associate, UC Davis.

“Our Climate Crisis! The Urgency and Race for Solutions.” Red-

wood Room, University Union

November 22: Jan Nolta, Director, Institute for Regenerative

Cures, UC Davis. “Stem Cells: What They Can and Cannot Do

For You.” Ballroom III, University Union

November 29: Thanksgiving Holiday

November 2019 Page 2

DOCUMENTARIES 10:00 to 11:35 am, Library 3023

Drop-in; no registration required

The Future: What is Attainable? Where Can Vision, Brav-

ery, Youth and Innovation Lead Us? What Can Women At-

tain Now?

November 1: Free Solo

The stunning, intimate and unflinching 2018 Academy

Award winning portrait of free solo climber Alex

Honnold, a Sacramento native, follows him as he pre-

pares to achieve his lifelong dream: scaling the world's

most famous rock face, the 3,200-foot El Capitan in

Yosemite National Park, without a rope. The camera

crew captures his death-defying climb in June 2017 with

exquisite artistry and masterful, vertigo-inducing photo-

graphic miracles.

November 8: Maiden

Maiden is a 2019 documentary that tells the story of

how Tracy Edwards, a 24-year-old cook on charter

boats, became the skipper of the first-ever all-female

crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World in 1989.

Tracy's inspirational dream was opposed on all sides;

her male competitors thought an all-women crew would

never make it, the chauvinistic yachting press took bets

on her failure and potential sponsors rejected her, fear-

ing that they would die at sea and generate bad publici-

ty. But Tracy refused to give up; she remortgaged her

home and bought a secondhand boat, putting everything

on the line to ensure the team made it to the start line.

Although blessed with tremendous self-belief, Tracy

was also beset by crippling doubts and was only able to

make it through with the support of her remarkable

crew. With their help she went on to shock the sports

world and prove that women are very much the equal of

men. -Rotten Tomatoes

November 15: Science Fair

Hailed by critics as "immensely likeable, brilliant and

quirky," and an "ode to the teenage science geeks on

who our future depends," this 2018 winner of the audi-

ence awards at Sundance and SXSW, National Geo-

graphic Documentary Films' Science Fair follows nine

high school students from around the globe as they nav-

igate rivalries, setbacks and of course hormones on their

journey to compete at the International Science and En-

gineering Fair in Los Angeles. As 1,700 of the smartest,

quirkiest teens from 78 different countries face off, only

one will be named Best in Fair. -Rotten Tomatoes

November 22: The Biggest Little Farm

Uplifting, educational and entertaining, The Biggest

Little Farm is a 2019 environmental advocacy docu-

mentary with a tremendously satisfying side dish of

hope for the future. A deeply personal testament to the

immense complexity of nature, The Biggest Little

Farm follows two dreamers and their dog on an odyssey

to bring harmony both to their lives and their sustaina-

ble 200-acre farm north of Los Angeles. -Rotten Toma-

toes

November 29: Thanksgiving Holiday

Volunteer Party Sunday, September 8

Plenty of good food; Plenty of good company.

A great celebration of our volunteers who make things

happen in Renaissance!

Can

you

find

your-

self

and

your

buddies

in these

pictures?

(Photos courtesy of Sue Bollig)

November 2019 Page 3

Travel & Adventure 10:00 to 11:35 am, Library 3021

Richard Fuller—916.409.9209

.

November 1: Bob Hare – Alaska – Exploring Tracy

Arm and Kenai Fjords National Park

See the wildlife and glacial wonders of these two Alaskan

fjords. Join photographer and wildlife biologist Bob Hare

as he takes you on excursion boat trips deep into the heart

of two spectacular Alaskan wilderness areas to explore

some of the world's best scenic and wildlife viewing.

Golden Eagles? Orca? Ursa?

November 8: Donn Miller – England, Scotland, and

Ireland

Staying with friends in Scotland, we explored castles and

breweries, then traveled by train from Edinburgh to Lon-

don, staying in Newcastle and York – which has t he big-

gest train museum in the world. In London, we visited

museums and sights within city limits for another seven

days. Finally, we flew to Ireland and explored four cities

– Waterford, Cork, Limerick, & Dublin, for still more

side trips and castles.

November 15: Connie Gustafson – Patagonia - “ Fin

del Mundo “ – Argentina and Chile

A cruise took Connie to Patagonia in 2007, with stops

like Punta Arenas in Chile and Ushuaia and Valdez Pen-

insula in Argentina. Her trips are usually wildlife-

oriented, so in 2015 she took a land trip through Torres

del Paine National Park in Chile, to see PUMAS, like the

ones they see occasionally near home. Then they drove

with a small group to The Pantanal, in Brazil, to look for

JAGUARS!

November 22: Re-creating the extraordinary flight of

Charles Lindbergh andAnn Morrow

Two brothers in a home-built airplane set off to re-create

the flight of Lindbergh and Morrow in 1931, when they

flew from New York to China to demonstrate the viabil-

ity of Great Circle travel routes. Then they flew through

north Canada and Alaska to China. They timed the trip to

fly under a Solar Eclipse, high enough to see the “spot” –

the shadow of the moon on the earth! Fabulous photo-

graphs, all!

November 29: Thanksgiving Holiday

On-Campus Speakers Series (Formerly Mini-Seminars)

10:00 to 11:35 am, Alpine 204

Ed Speegle, Leader

November 1: Richard Fuller, Collapse of the Sea People

and the end of the Bronze Age

During the late Bronze Age (1500-1150 BC), great

civilizations flourished in the Eastern Mediterrane-

an, with trade, art and thought. These were the Hit-

tites, Egyptians, Minoans, Mycenaeans, and Babylo-

nians, NOT Greece, Rome, or Persia. Then, sudden-

ly, these cultures seemed to collapse, with the on-

slaught of Sea Raiders, a mythical band of rapists,

pillagers and arsonists who came and went, and his-

torians are STILL seeking their genesis and exodus!

November 8: Robert Brinzer, US Navy SEAL

Robert is a Navy SEAL veteran with degrees from

the U.S. Naval Academy and the George Washing-

ton University. Robert left the Navy in 2006 and

now calls Sacramento home. He will talk about his

SEAL training and his transition to civilian life.

November 15: Ed Sherman, The Lost Atlantis?

The island of Thera, or modern Santorini, was part

of the Minoan Empire during the Bronze Age. The

mystery of the lost Atlantis is one of the most popu-

lar myths in the world. The theory that the catastro-

phe of the Minoan civilization and Ancient Thera

(Santorini) are strongly connected with lost Atlantis

is not out of the realm of possibility.

November 22: Jennifer Berdugo, Census 2020: Are We

Ready?

The census not only gathers important data, but also

apportions representation for each state, redistricts

and draws congressional and state legislative dis-

tricts, school districts, voting precincts, and more.

This presentation will highlight the new changes that

will be in effect with the 2020 Census and discusses

some of the challenges and opportunities for our

community.

November 29: Thanksgiving Holiday

Dining Together

Dining Together will meet at Zinfandel Grille, 2384 Fair

Oaks Blvd. at 5:30 PM on November 13, 2019. Zinfandel

Grille has a parking lot but also offers

complementary valet parking. Dining

Together members who wish to attend

should RSVP to: Laura Valoppi no lat-

er than November 8, 2019 by email at

Iameaglelady@gmail.com or, text or

call 916-201-1874. Separate checks

will be provided.

November 2019 Page 4

MEMBER PROFILE By Judy Lewis

Shirley Mayfield Sees

Double Shirley Mayfield, one of two identical

twin sisters, was born on a dairy farm 50

miles outside of Chicago. Life was diffi-

cult. When the girls were in the middle

of their junior year of high school, their

parents retired and moved, requiring

them to adjust to a new school.

Because of her diagnosis of radical mastoid at age twelve,

Shirley was inspired to major in speech and hearing therapy at

Indiana University. She worked as a speech therapist for seven

years, as well as completing a master’s degree in speech therapy at

Bloomington, Illinois.

The next 10 years found Shirley settling into the mother role.

She and her husband adopted two children and relocated to Sacra-

mento in 1963. Here two more adopted children were added to the

family. All four were younger than three months old at the time of

their adoption. Their birth dates spanned five years.

After earning a master’s degree in social work at CSUS, she re-

turned to the work world. Her first position was with St. Paul’s

Episcopal Church, where she provided services to older adults.

From there, Shirley moved on to providing case management

services for mentally disabled adults. The goal was to keep these

clients out of mental health hospitals. When that funding ran out,

Shirley was hired as an adoption worker for Sacramento County.

She was charged with finding adoptive homes for children in foster

care who were not going to be returned to their families of origin.

As adults, all four of Shirley’s adoptive children have researched

their birth parents, with a variety of results. She says each is an on

-going story. Shirley reports that her personal and professional

experience has taught her that the theory of “nature” defining a

child’s outcome is “a fairy tale.” It is her belief that both “nature”

and “nurture” mold all of us.

When hearing challenges interfered with some of her work,

Shirley retired at the age of sixty. She had been aware of the Re-

naissance Society, and joined when the membership consisted of

300 persons. After working on the nominating committee, she

soon found herself serving as president. She facilitated a variety of

seminars, and now especially enjoys attending various Renaissance

presentations at nearby libraries. “I have always found it emotion-

ally satisfying and stimulating to be with such intelligent people.”

An excerpt from President Robert

Nelsen’s Fall Address:

…So why I am telling you these stories?...because I serve a

great university, a university that is California’s Capital Univer-

sity. A university that transforms lives by preparing students for

leadership, service, and success. A university that redefines the

possible. A university that can take all this darkness and turn it

into light. A university that can and will transform Sacramento

and the Sacramento region. A university committed to ending

the fear, the pain, the frustration, and the anger that I have been

describing. A university that will reach out beyond 6000 J Street

and will redefine what a university is. A university that Sacra-

mento needs. Sacramento and the greater Sacramento region

needs us, and need us to be California’s Capital University in

more than name, a true anchor university investing our energy,

our wisdom, our spirit, our human capital in our community.

We will never lose sight of our students. Sacramento State will

always be a student-centered university. But we must transform

our university by putting our students at the forefront of trans-

formation and change in the community…We want our students

to be successful, and we want them to want to be Hornets. Our

goal since the 2014-2020 Strategic Plan has been to become a

destination university, a university that would be the first choice

of a student when applying. This year, over 44,000 students

applied to Sacramento State—that’s a lot of students.

To read or listen to his stories, his hopes and plans

for Sac State, please go to: Video > https://

www.csus.edu/news/articles/2019/8/8/President-

Nelsen-to-deliver-Fall-Address.shtml;Transcript

> https://www.csus.edu/president/_internal/

_documents/fall-address-2019-as-prepared.pdf)

Come Join Us!

‘First Friday’ Happy Hour At 4:15 p.m.

Round Table Pizza in the Student

Union

The Membership Committee

invites you to a ‘no-host’ get-together

In Memoriam

Frank Vincent, July 22, 2019.

November 2019 Page 5

Reprints may be made with the permission of the author. Please

contact Dolores Eitel at doloressurvived@gmail.com

CLINICAL PEARLS By Dolores J. Eitel, BSN, MA, cNY

Family Nurse Practitioner

Smoking Cessation for Older Adults

Yes, You Can!

Habitual smoking is a chronic disease, characterized as

nicotine dependence. Nicotine is a toxin and the substance

in tobacco that causes habituation. Nicotine use causes tol-

erance, withdrawal on cessation and cravings. It acts both

as a stimulant and in the short term as a tranquilizer, prop-

erties that make it addictive. Habitual smoking is a disease

that is treatable and curable, preventing co-morbidities and

death. Today evidenced -based research links all forms of

tobacco use to damage to every organ in the body.

Smoking traditional cigarettes and second hand smoke

are the leading causes of lung cancer. In the USA lung can-

cer is the 2nd most common cancer in both women and

men and the leading cause of cancer death (American Can-

cer Society May 2018). Smoking e-cigarettes (vaping) may

also have a link to lung cancer.

E-cigarettes heat nicotine, flavors and other toxins to

create a vapor that you inhale (vaping). They are marketed

as a Smoking Cessation Tool, and not regulated by the

FDA. A John Hopkins Medical study (2018) concluded that

by using this method, persons continued to smoke both

traditional cigarettes and to vape. As of this writing there is

a national health crisis possibly related to e-cigarettes. On

August 18, 2019, the CDC published a Health Advisory in

response to a National outbreak of serious lung diseases

and fatalities that may be related to vaping. (CDC.com)

Quit Now, stop using tobacco products that contain nic-

otine and toxins and lower your risk of lung cancer and

other diseases. Screening tests are advised to detect asymp-

tomatic cancers and other diseases. Positive findings lead to

early interventions that may be curable and or prevent

death. The U.S.Preventive Task Force recommends, in col-

laboration with your health care provider, a yearly Low

Dose CT Scan (LDCT) for early detection of lung cancer.

This scan is for persons who are asymptomatic but at high

risk for lung cancer because of their age and smoking histo-

ry. The criteria are: age 55-80 and a 30 pack per year of

smoking (1 pack a day x 30 years or 2 packs a day x 15

years, etc.), and smoking now or quit within the last 15 yrs.

Recommendations to stop LDCT screening are: person has

not smoked for 15 years, or has developed a health problem

that that limits life expectancy. Medicare has approved pay-

ment for the screenings and physician consultations.

To create a healthier you, QUIT NOW and you will:

Immediately rid your body of cancer causing toxins;

Immediately rid your surroundings of second hand

smoke, creating a healthier environment;

Within 20 minutes, lower your heart rate and blood pres-

sure;

Within 12 hrs. decrease the toxic carbon dioxide in your

blood;

Within 3 months breathe easier and substantially de-

crease your cough;

Within 1 year decrease your cardiovascular disease risk

by 50%;

Within 5 years normalize your risk for oral, esophageal,

bladder, cervical cancer and stroke;

Within 10 years not likely to die of cancer.

3 STEPS TO BEGIN YOUR SMOKING CESSATION

PROGRAM:

1. EDUCATION: Gather information on programs in your

area: Quit Now 1-800-784-8669

2. MEET WITH YOUR PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN

and request treatment for your Nicotine Dependency. Re-

quest a free screening Low Dose Spiral CT scan if you

meet the criteria.

3. SELECT and ENROLL in a program. The most suc-

cessful programs include education, pharmacotherapy,

counseling, and cognitive behavioral interventions. This is

a difficult journey, but not futile. Don’t give up. It’s never

to late to feel better than you already do.

YES YOU CAN!

References: tobaccofreeCA.com/Leading the Battle For a

Tobacco Free CA (watch movie)

tcsg.org Bibliography of Tobacco and the Elderly articles

nobutts.org

cdc.org/smoking

americancancersociety.org/ smoking

Renaissance Member’s Stories: Nine RS members r ead

my 2016 article and have shared their stories with me. All

met criteria for a screening LDCT. On consultation with

their physician, not one of them had heard of the LDCT.

They had the LDCT test done. Eight had early lung cancer

in various early stages, and treated, were cured. One had a

negative scan. They all continue to have the yearly LDCT

done. All entered into a Smoking Cessation Program with

success.

November 2019 Page 6

Renaissance Society is now able to process donations to California State University, Sacramento on-line!

Contributions are tax-deductible and acknowledgments are sent quickly from Sac State to the donor. In addi-

tion, the RS office receives a notice from Sac State, so we are able to send "thank you" notes to the donors as

well. The ability of our members to contribute on-line has already resulted in an uptick in scholarship contribu-

tions, which will increase even more as we publicize the system! As this publication goes to press, you can go

to https://online.sacstatealumni.com THEN select Make a Gift (you do not have to login) THEN select Give

Now. In the field labeled “Account” use the pull-down menu to select Renaissance Society. Here is the

valid url to copy and paste into your browser: https://online.sacstatealumni.com/default.aspx?page=GIVEGiving&DesignationID=3&AccountNumber=221

Thank You!

Renaissance Members have supported the ASI Food Pantry for several years now. Since the beginning of the Summer

Speakers series and on the First Fridays, September 6 and October 5, our members have contributed more than $6,000!!!

to the Food Pantry. RS members are exceedingly generous!

Here is information on items needed/preferred at the Food Pantry. If you haven’t visited the new location of the Food

Pantry, check it out: located next to the Radio Station on the first floor of the Union. Ask at the Information Desk for

directions.

Other important information on this page: how we can make direct contributions to Sacramento State on-line.

November 2019 Page 7

On August 28, CSU, Sacramento, sponsored a welcome

party for the LGBTQ students on campus and your Renais-

sance Society sent some members to join the celebration.

We wanted to let these young faces know who we are and

why we share the campus every Friday and Saturday. After

a number of requisite welcome speeches from CSUS facul-

ty and staff, our group was invited to speak.

Christie Braziel spoke on behalf of Renaissance with au-

dience support from Linda Birner, Dolores Eitel, Susan

George and Ken Cross, all on our Membership, Diversity

and Community Engagement Committee (MDCE). Besides

sharing that we are all enthusiastic lifelong student learners,

enjoying classes with no test or grades, Christie spoke of

our support to students in partnering with the Gerontology

and Physical Therapy students, providing scholarships from

a portion of our registration fees and especially our food

pantry donations. The last two got the heartiest applause.

Braziel closed with inviting these students to spread the

word about the Renaissance Society to their parents and

grandparents. A grand buffet of hot and cold munchies

along with a bar offering refreshing mocktails made the

welcome party a grand one, all around. Clearly, knowing

how to party is a universal and timeless activity, no matter

the generation .

Position Available in the

Renaissance Society Office

The part-time position of Seminar Secre-

tary in the Renaissance Society Office on

College Town Drive will become availa-

ble early in 2020 (no definite date at the

moment). The primary task of this posi-

tion is compiling the Renaissance Society

catalog of seminars each semester, with

other related duties such as requesting

rooms for seminars from the Space Management office

and assisting at Rendezvous. The process is in the early

stages. Applications for this position are not yet available.

An announcement will be sent out in October in a Renais-

sance Society eblast when more information is available.

For questions, call the office at 916-758-5133. If you are

unsubscribed to Renaissance’s eblasts and wish to be re-

subscribed, email the office at renaissa@csus.edu.

19th Amendment Tea and Suffrage Special guests: Luella Johnston, the first woman elected

to the Sacramento City Council (and, for that matter, the

first woman to be elected to the city council of any major

city in the United States).

With Ms. Johnston is Nicholas Heidorn, author of the

book she is holding, her biography.

In March, 2018, the Sacramento City Council, at Nicolas

Heidorn’s urging, voted to rename the historic council

chambers in the Old City Hall after Luella

Johnston.

(Photo courtesy of Dave Novak)

Renaissance Recorder Editor Jennifer Cummings, jennifer1945@hotmail.com

Phone: 916.425.9350

Cheryl Huffman, chuffman79@aol.com,

Phone: 530.708.0499

DEADLINE for next issue (December 2019 mailed

mid-November) is October 20, 2019.

Renaissance Society ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE

E-mail: rensoc@csus.edu

Website: www.csus.edu/org/rensoc

(916) 278-7834

Office: Adams Bldg. Room 106

Hours: Monday-Thursday 9:30-noon

Friday 10-1

California State University, Sacramento

The Renaissance Society

6000 J Street – MS 6074

Sacramento, CA 95819

80700128