(BUNDLE & SAVE $6 when you also sign up for related class # 154.) A musical standard is a song that remains popular well after its original performance and setting, whether on the radio, on stage or in movies. Julie Kurzava compares performances from the enormous output of legendary singers Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, considering different ways they’ve made a song their own. (Also see:  Seth Kibel's class on Ella Fitzgerald, class #146)

They say truth is stranger than fiction. This is certainly true in contemporary physics where our investigation of the universe makes reality look weirder and weirder. We will examine some of the findings of astrophysicists to try to make sense of all the space oddities they provide us with.

Journalist and historian Ken Walsh will present a history of the presidents aboard Air Force One, the most iconic aircraft in the world. Ken will tell fascinating stories about what the presidents were really like in this most unusual habitat. Ken will illustrate his talk with both famous and rare photographs. His talk will cover the modern presidents, from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Joe Biden.

Over 64 years ago, Ruth Handler, the co-creator of the Mattell toy company, along with her husband imagined a unique doll. It was Ruth who created the world-famous Barbie doll that changed the way little girls would forever play with dolls. She’s still popular, as evidenced by the new live action Barbie film due to be released soon. (Stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling) However, Ruth Handler also designed breasts prosthetics for mastectomy patients that were revolutionary and created a nonprofit company to produce them. She was inspired because she had da a mastectomy herself. An unusual childhood, a fascinating career, an interesting and tragic personal life make Ruth Handler a great biographical topic. [ A discussion about whether Barbie is still relevant today can follow the lecture.]

Journalist and historian Ken Walsh will present a history of the presidents aboard Air Force One, the most iconic aircraft in the world. Ken will tell fascinating stories about what the presidents were really like in this most unusual habitat. Ken will illustrate his talk with both famous and rare photographs. His talk will cover the modern presidents, from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Joe Biden.

Over 64 years ago, Ruth Handler, the co-creator of the Mattell toy company, along with her husband imagined a unique doll. It was Ruth who created the world-famous Barbie doll that changed the way little girls would forever play with dolls. She’s still popular, as evidenced by the new live action Barbie film due to be released soon. (Stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling) However, Ruth Handler also designed breasts prosthetics for mastectomy patients that were revolutionary and created a nonprofit company to produce them. She was inspired because she had da a mastectomy herself. An unusual childhood, a fascinating career, an interesting and tragic personal life make Ruth Handler a great biographical topic. [ A discussion about whether Barbie is still relevant today can follow the lecture.]

Even winter can be beautiful through the eyes of the Impressionists! In fact, next to summer, winter was probably Monet’s favorite season to recreate in paint, from his backyard to river views. Sisley and Pissarro were moved by winter days, especially the quiet poetry of newly fallen snow. This program will take you on a journey through the snowy French countryside to the charming streets of Paris.

Start your week at Oasis with coffee and treats, followed by live music and the story behind it.  Oasis Musical Mondays are underwritten by the Robin Fields Memorial Fund. The roaring twenties really did roar. Rebounding from the horrors of WWI, America was ready for a good time, and music was a main attraction. Americans would dance, drink and party their way through the decade to the new sounds of jazz. We’ll discuss the history of the “hot and happy” songs of this era, and then perform them, with Michael Suser on piano and Charlene Cochran on vocals. (More Musical Mondays:  see class #150, 190, and 240)

New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed presidential historian Douglas Brinkley will chronicle the rise of environmental activism during the Long Sixties (1960-1973), telling the story of an indomitable generation that saved the natural world under the leadership of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon. In his new book Silent Spring Revolution, Brinkley pays tribute to those who combated the mauling of the natural world and launched an ecological revolution that inspired such landmark legislation as the Wilderness Act, the Clean Air Acts, and the Endangered Species Acts. (See related classes # 111, 157, and 243)

(See other book discussions: #151, 192, 231.) Our author’s family has deep ties to Maryland; that’s why his full name was Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald.  Both the author and his wife Zelda are buried in Rockville, MD along with other Fitzgeralds. The novel depicts the Roaring Twenties in America.  Its view of the Jazz Age is seen as commentary on the “American Dream”.  The work is being both banned and challenged for that perceived commentary in addition to the usual reasons school boards in particular are removing titles from public school curricula.  As we begin 2026, what is your take?  Please read the book so you can participate in our structured, facilitated Zoom discussion.