BOLD VENTURES
March 2021
Blind Outdoor Leisure Development
BOLD welcomes persons 18 and older with all degrees of vision: blind, low vision, partially sighted and fully sighted.
PO Box 8114
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Editorial team: Veronique Schreurs, Nancy Leverett, Terri Winaught, Peggy Walsh
Email: boldwpa@gmail.com
Website: www.wpabold.blogspot.com
HAPPY ALMOST SPRING!
Admin note: we are keeping the dues for 2021 to $12. Mail your check to
Veronique Schreurs 2269 Tilbury Ave. Pittsburgh PA 15217. Thanks to those who paid!
Call Veronique 412-225-4038 if that is a hardship, and you would like to remain in Bold.
GENERAL INFORMATION WITH DETAILS ON HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR CONFERENCE CALLS.
Call 605-475-6777 code 265396# to participate. After identifying yourself, everyone should mute their phone by pressing star 6 and the same to unmute.
This info will apply every time “conference call” is mentioned in the newsletter.
FEBRUARY EVENTS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS!
Monday February 22, 7pm: Joyce Driben, founding member of BOLD will do a look back at the history of BOLD and reminisce about the people who have been involved and how it grew from a ski club to what it is today. You won't want to miss the opportunity to learn about your organization. Call the conference line. Joyce will allow time for questions and comments at the end.
MARCH CALENDAR
I am happy to report that YOGA KEEPS GOING! It is still free of charge to participate. Thank you to those who sent a contribution. Our teacher, Richard, does not think it is safe for us to resume yoga at the Schoolhouse yoga studio. We will continue doing yoga, which is going very well, by conference call until further notice.
Every Thursday it starts at 2:45pm, call the conference line at 2:42pm. It is a one-hour session. Don’t call too much before the starting time!
For people reading this by email, here is a link of our July 2 yoga session, which you can click on or paste into your browser to activate:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v_BIbISDHM
Continuing our popular weekly chat session! Every Tuesday at 7pm, until further notice, we will have a one-hour chat session where our Bold members can tell each other how they are doing during this difficult time. This is also a time you can ask for help if you need it.
Call the conference line. If you don’t have free long distance on your phone, call Joyce 412-521-4385 or Peggy 412-683-6070 at least one hour ahead, one of them can tap you in.
Here is how it works best:
Call in and say your name, even if you hear talking. Then mute yourself by pressing *6. The board member who is moderating will check who is on the call at 7:05pm, then will say a person’s name. Unmute yourself again by pressing *6, then start talking about what’s on your mind. It doesn’t have to be Bold related. We are trying to have only one person talk at a time after the initial 5 minutes. Note that the board meeting is now private because we have the chat sessions. The moderators are:
Tammi on February 16, 7pm Nancy on February 23, 7pm
Peggy on March 2, 6:30pm, followed by the board meeting which is private.
Penny on March 9, 7pm Veronique on March 16, 7pm
Karen on March 23, 7pm Terri on March 30, 7pm.
Monday March 8 at 7pm, Laughter yoga by phone on the conference line, with Veronique. You heard that right: laughter is a form of athletic activity! We are not going to laugh at jokes, we are going to do exercises to use our vocal cords for laughter! Please reserve with Veronique ahead of time, 412-225-4038.
Monday March 22 at 7pm on the conference line, learn how to use Zoom as a blind person. Details to be announced. Bold wants to schedule some future activities on Zoom, and we want to teach people how to use Zoom, while still on the conference line.
Reserve with Veronique, 412-225-4038.
CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
PRIME STAGE THEATRE PRESENTS
Sharing the Truth About Sojourner Truth
A live intimate conversation with the 5th generation grandsons of Sojourner Truth
WHERE & WHEN: Virtual Event February 21, 2021.
TICKETS & INFO: Register for the event at Prime Online www.primestage/events
Event is free. Donations are welcome and can be made through our website: https://primestage.com/support/. Your support is greatly appreciated!
Prime Theater presents Sojourner, by Richard LaMonte Pierce
Link available February 12-19 with audio description.
Pay what you can per household, with a minimum of $5.
Website: Primestage.com/events
The play talks about Sojourner Truth: the journeys, stories, mind and heart with passion and truthfulness that still needs to be told.
Pittsburgh Opera’s events are mostly cancelled due to Covid-19. Information for 2021 will be posted here when it is available. Call Marilyn Egan 412-281-0912 X242 about possible brown bag online events.
Library events:
Third Thursday of the month, Book Club by Library for the Blind, led by Katie Jackson and Angela Woodard on zoom or phone. Reserve by calling 800-242-0586 or email them at lbph@carnegielibrary.org
They will contact you by phone or email with the Zoom invite information or phone number a few days before the book club date. In the meantime, please let them know if you need a copy of a book so they can mail it to you as soon as possible. Upcoming books are:
- March 18th: The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore (DB 89743)
- April 15th: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (DB 100531)
- May 20th: An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma (DB 93757)
- June 17th: Deacon King Kong by James McBride (DB 98819)
PAST EVENTS
On January 18 we had a delightful session of laughter yoga. We laughed so hard about nothing, giving our lungs a good workout! Please join us when we do it again on March 8.
On January 25 we heard Ceinwen read her very enjoyable epic poem that she had written for her father in the last months of his life to console him as he was losing his abilities. The poem was very funny and uplifting! A great message about aging.
BOLD BITS
Get well wishes to Penny who has health challenges. Best wishes to Natasha Brown who has surgery on March 19. Best wishes for recovery from Covid-19 to Nancy’s son Ryan and to Ceinwen. Get well wishes to MaryEllen Mulvihill who came back home after recovering in a rehab facility.
Condolences to Josh Kinder whose uncle died in July 2020.
Congratulations to Kim Smythe on her new job at the Goodwill store on McKnight.
Happy March birthdays to Nancy Gilmore, Jeff Mulkern, Diann Popoleo, Ed Reid, Jim Winaught, Terri Winaught and anyone else with a March birthday.
PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE by Terri Winaught
Of the 21 participants on the “Celebration of Life” call on February 8th in which we remembered loved ones who died in 2020, seven were Board members; eight were general members, and six were family members.
The loved ones whose lives were lovingly remembered were Maurice Johnston, Peggy Walsh’s sister, Penny Fleckenstein’s sister, and Janet Jain’s former husband and good friend.
After Marty shared how she met Maurice and how their relationship blossomed, I was uplifted to hear so many callers with equally fond memories, especially first-time callers Lisa and Terry McManus.
Just as the sharing about Maurice was moving, so, too, was the sharing by Peggy and her family about their sister, made even more meaningful when they sang, “Jesus, Loves Me.” (Terri Winaught was honored to have sung “Shepherd Me, O God,” (a variation of the 23rd Psalm) with them.)
Inspirational also were the poems Penny Fleckenstein recited about her sister combined with the loving memories of her parents and brother-in-law.
We concluded the celebration by saying that each of us has either lost a loved one from COVID-19 or know someone who has, with Terri singing the last verse of “Amazing Grace” in their honor.
Since several callers commented that the call was nurturing, Terri hopes that people were also comforted by the love and support conveyed.
THE END