The Y's Women

GENERAL MEETINGS
Open to members and their guests

Place: Green’s Farms Church, 71 Hillandale Road, Westport
10:45 am Coffee and Conversation
11:20 am Announcements
11:30 am Speaker

NOTE: Extra parking is available in front of the large lot on the grass and across the street in front of the Minister’s house.

October 14 – Mark Perlman: The Reluctant Soldier: Racial Segregation in the Army

This historical novel centers around a New York City college teacher who became an unwitting fighter during World War I, joining the famous Black “Harlem Hellfighter” Regiment. When World War II broke out, he was recruited by the French Resistance. An extremely rich documentation of the period during and between the two World Wars, the novel reveals the racial segregation and prejudice faced by Black Americans in the Army. Addressing this difficult historical heritage is particularly relevant in the current period.

Mark, a resident of Connecticut since 1991, earned BA and MBA degrees from Northeastern University in Boston. He spent more than 10 years researching for this book, making many trips to France and drawing inspiration from a variety of novels and documentaries. From these genres and his own imagination, he was able to weave fact and fiction, historical personalities and fictional characters, into a well-researched story about war, romance, jazz, murder cases, and political intrigue.

October 28 – Tom Curley: Media War Stories

Tom spent more than 38 years as a director at the CBS Television Network. He was an audio engineer for 60 Minutes, the CBS Evening News, the CBS Morning News, and the NFL Today. He directed CBS MarketWatch Weekend and other shows for CBS MarketWatch. Tom has also directed shows for the National Audio Theatre Festivals. He is now a director, writer, and actor with VoiceScapes Audio Theater (voicescapesaudiotheater.com). He also does two video podcasts on YouTube called “Get Off My Lawn with Tom Curley” and “Media War Stories, Behind the Scenes Tales from the Front Lines of the Media,” and produces a podcast for the Westport Rotary Club called “Westport Rotary Speaks.”

This presentation was rescheduled from January 2024.

Renew Your Membership by October 31st

Please pay your dues for 2024-25 to renew your Y’s Women membership. You must be a current member if you plan to attend meetings or participate in any of the special interest groups or other activities. The deadline is October 31st to be listed in the 2025 Y’s Women’s Membership Roster. Send a $65 check made out to Y’s Women to Doris Levinson, 6 Beechwood Lane, Westport CT 06880. You can also pay your dues in person at the general meetings on October 14th and October 28th. Click here for the Membership Form and to provide your up-to-date contact information.

If you have any questions, contact Doris at drjlevinson@gmail.com.

A brand new satellite group, initially being called Local Happenings, will provide an opportunity for members to meet each other for a variety of local activities. Did you ever read about a local event and wish there were others to share the activity with you? If so, consider joining this group and participating together in activities of this type.

This will be an informal group that will supplement – not replace – other satellite groups such as Book Clubs, the Movie Group, Solos, and Carpool & Go, which identify a scheduled activity each month. The group already had its first adventure at the Westport Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) on February 23 – a private tour of the exhibition “Paul Camacho: El Ritmo y La Unidad.” Camacho was active in Westport’s art life in the 1960s and 1970s.

You can join this group by sending your email address to Barbara Alfinito at barbsgetaway@aol.com. Information on future activities will be emailed to you. And feel free to send suggestions concerning local activities and events that might be of interest. We also are looking for someone to share the work involved in coordinating this group. Please email Barbara if you are interested.

Interest Groups

(Y's Women Members Only)

NOTE: Please remember that all Y’s Women who participate in meetings held at the Westport Center for Senior Activities must be registered with the Center and check in before each meeting

NOTE: Please remember that all Y’s Women who participate in meetings held at the Westport Center for Senior Activities must be registered with the Center and check in before each meeting

Book Group 2 will meet at the Westport Center for Senior Activities on Thursday, October 10 from 1:30 to 3:00 pm. We will be discussing The Postcard by Anne Berest, and Jill Meyer will lead the discussion. Please contact Nancy Bloom at 259-0071 or nancyerb@aol.com with any questions.

Book Group 3 will meet on Friday, October 11 at 10:30 am at the Westport Center for Senior Activities. We will discuss The White Darkness by David Grann. Marie Coppola is leading the discussion. For questions, contact Doris Levinson at 227-3371 or drjlevinson@gmail.com.

The Movie Club will meet on Wednesday, October 16 at the Westport Center for Senior Activities. We meet informally at 2:00 pm to give members a chance to socialize, and our discussion begins at 2:30. Our assigned room sometimes changes, so you may want to ask the front desk about our location. We ask all attendees to have been vaccinated. We are limited to 25 attendees, so please confirm your attendance with Margaret Mitchell by September 15.

We plan to discuss the movies Field of Dreams and The Paper. Both movies are available on Netflix, but The Paper is available until September 30 ONLY. A video of Field of Dreams is also listed in the catalogs of the Westport and Fairfield Libraries.

Field of Dreams is a 1989 Amercan sports fantasy drama written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, based on Canadian novelist W. P. Kinsella’s 1982 novel Shoeless Joe. The film stars Kevin Costner as a farmer who builds a baseball field in his cornfield that attracts the ghosts of baseball legends Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) and the Chicago Black Sox. Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones, and Burt Lancaster (in his final film role) also star.

The Paper is a 1994 American comedy-drama directed by Ron Howard and starring Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Marisa Tomei, Randy Quaid, and Robert Duvall. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for “Make Up Your Mind,” which was written and performed by Randy Newman. The film depicts a hectic 24 hours in a newspaper editor’s professional and personal life.

If you wish to be added to the email list for future events, please contact Margaret Mitchell at 255-9094 or margaret06824@yahoo.com.

Lunch & Trivia: The Lunch & Trivia group will meet at noon on October 17 (third Thursday of the month) at the VFW Hall. The cost is $25 (cash only). Please contact Annette Kirban at 505-1187 or lakirban@optonline.net if you plan to join us – and let her know in advance if your plans change and you cannot participate.

Solos will be going to Gruel Britannia, 2217 Post Road, Fairfield, for its very popular Afternoon Tea on Wednesday, October 23 at 3:00 pm. The cost is $42. For reservations, contact Terry Queirolo at 847-4121 or tmq44@icloud.com. Mail a check made out to Y’s Women Solos to Terry at 305 Foxboro Drive, Norwalk, CT 06851 by Friday October 18. Please try to carpool with friends as there is limited parking.

Solos will also be going to First Folk Sunday with Suzanne Sheridan and several other musicians on Sunday, November 3 for the music of Woody Guthrie at 12:00 noon. The program starts at 12:30, and tickets are $15. It is at the Saugatuck Rowing Club, 521 Riverside Avenue, Westport. There is an a la carte menu and bar service. If you would like to attend, let Terry know as soon as possible at 847-4121 or tmq44@icloud.com, and she will order tickets that can be paid for that day. This is very popular and a great Sunday afternoon. There is overflow parking at 518 Riverside Avenue.

The Mah Jong Group meets every Thursday at 1:00 pm at the Westport Center for Senior Activities. Experienced players only. For information, contact Barbara Alfinito at barbsgetaway@aol.com or 205-533-1884.

NewsTalk: Interested in world and national affairs? Join other Y’s Women at NewsTalk. Our next meeting is on October 24 from 10 to 11 am in Room 211 of the Westport Library. For more information, call Doris Skutch at 247-3656.

Wisest Investment Group: The Wisest Investment Group meets on the fourth Thursday of the month at the Westport Center for Senior Activities. We have a portfolio of 12 stocks which we have voted to acquire after careful research, and we currently have

approximately $150,000 invested. The investment club was started 25 years ago and currently has seven members. We are looking for new members to join us who are interested in learning about the stock market and educating themselves about investing. Call Lois Block for more information at 984-8222.

Discussion Group for The New Yorker. This group meets remotely on Zoom, and occasionally in person, on the second Tuesday of each month from 10:00 to 11:30 am. Each group member selects one article for discussion from the previous month’s issues. If interested, please contact Ellen Cahill at 856-6561 or ellenjcahill@hotmail.com.

Tai Ji: Instructor Ruby Shih is an experienced long-time Tai Ji / Qi Gong and Meditation teacher and a founder of a Tai Ji School in Manhattan (Nanlaoshu.org). She offers a Tai Ji class that meets weekly on Wednesdays from 9:30 -10:30 am at the Saugatuck Congregational Church, 245 Post Road East, Westport, Room 109. The class focuses on breath and slow movement for relaxation, grounding, and balance to enhance our physical and mental well-being. A fee of $10 per session is used to offset rental and insurance costs. If you’re interested, please contact Ruby at Rubypalace88@gmail.com or 917-816-6661.

Let’s Meet for Lunch!

Let’s meet for lunch on Wednesday, October 30 at 12:30 pm at Nômade, 150 Main Street, Westport. It’s Halloween Eve and National Candy Corn Day! All Y’s Women are welcome. We can order from the menu and receive separate checks. Please contact Judy Mappa at judypala@hotmail.com by Monday, October 28 for reservations.

TRIP TO RADIO CITY: DECEMBER 4

8:00 am Bus leaves Westport, Imperial Avenue lot

9:30 am Behind-the-scenes tour of Radio City

11:00 am Rockettes Christmas Show – orchestra

1:00 pm Lunch TBA, followed by shopping

4:00 pm Bus departure to Westport

Limited to 45 passengers

$200 per person, tickets are nonrefundable but transferable. Pay by check (payable to Barbara Alfinito), Venmo or cash.

Contact Barbara at Barbsgetaway@aol.com or 205-533-1884

CARPOOL & GO!

We’ll enjoy two stimulating tours on Wednesday, October 23 when we visit the New Britain Museum of American Art to view the recent exhibits “Modern Women: Visionary Artists” and “Glass Impressions.”

In the late 1940s, a group of artists – mainly New Yorkers – began to reject realism in favor of abstraction. Known as Abstract Expressionists, these rebels began creating work that appeared spontaneous and emotionally charged. While most of us are familiar with the output of men like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, we know less about their counterparts, the artistic women pioneers. This group, which expanded and transformed the creative landscape of what art could be, includes Joan Brown, Helen Frankenthaler, Grace Hartigan, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, and Louise Nevelson. We will also explore the museum’s glass exhibit, which celebrates the dynamic sculptural and pictorial dimensions of glass. The show pairs prints produced with a glass plate with contemporary studio glass. Dazzling in color, these vibrant works demonstrate the experimental approaches that contemporary glassmakers have applied to this timeless material.

We’ll meet behind the Wells Fargo bank in Trader Joe’s parking lot at 9:00 am with a 9:15 departure. The museum’s docent tours cost $20 per person. Please contact Jill Meyer at 226-4310 or jill@awayfortheday.net to reserve your place, and mail a check for $20 payable to Jill at 40 Owenoke Park, Westport, CT 06880. The gas reimbursement for your driver be $9 in cash. Please indicate whether you can drive, as drivers are always needed and appreciated.

Following our museum visit, we’ll enjoy a Polish-inspired lunch at the Belvedere, 82 Broad Street, New Britain, 860-826-1155.

Directions to the Museum:

Take the Merritt Parkway and exit onto CT 372 West toward CT Rte. 9 North, New Britain. Continue on Frontage Street. Use the two left lanes to turn left and merge onto CT 9 North. Take exit 36, Downtown New Britain, and turn right onto Columbus Blvd. At the traffic circle, take the second exit onto Bank Street. Continue onto West Main. Turn left on Park Place, then turn right, turn right again, and turn left to our destination: 56 Lexington Street, New Britain.

In Memoriam

A long-time member of Y's Women, Janet Reynolds, passed away on June 24th.

Mercy Learning Center Needs Help

Mercy Learning Center Grateful for Donations

With the holidays and the cold winter weather, the needs of the students and families of Mercy Learning Center are greater than ever. Please donate non-perishable food and warm weather clothing any time at the Leasing Office of 597 Westport Avenue. The office staff will be happy to help carry your grocery bags from the car. The building is immediately to the right of Pepperidge Farm Corporate Headquarters; just drive to the end of the road and the Leasing Office is on your right.

About our monthly newsletters

Printed monthly newsletters are no longer being mailed to members. Instead, they are provided as printable computer files in Adobe Portable Document (PDF) format. To print them, the Adobe Acrobat Reader must be installed on your computer. If it is not already there, download it here.

In addition, the newsletter's listings of dates and places are viewable on this website at a glance.

If you are not already receiving emails, please check the Membership Roster to be sure we have your correct email address. Notify Doris Levinson of any changes or corrections: 203-227-3371 or drjlevinson@gmail.com. A member's e-mail address will only be used for the monthly newsletters and for occasional important announcements.

To prevent our emails from landing in your spam/junk folder add info@yswomen.org to your address book.

About General Meetings

General Meetings are held the second and fourth Mondays of the month, September through May, at Green's Farms Church, 71 Hillandale Road, Westport. Coffee and conversation begins at 10:45 am, and the meetings start at 11:30 and are usually over by 12:30 pm.

Meetings feature speakers on a wide range of topics - from health to the arts to local, national, and international issues. Details can be found in the monthly Y's Women newsletter at www.yswomen.org.

For more information contact Vera DeStefano, President, at vera@dcstructural.com

About Membership

Y’s Women Membership Form

July 2024 - June 2025

Date ______________________

Name ______________________________________________________________________

Address ___________________________________________________________________

Telephone ______________________________ Cell __________________________

Email _____________________________________________________________________

DUES INFORMATION

Dues are $65 a year.
Make your check payable to Y’s Women.
Dues must be paid by October 31, 2024 to be included in the 2025 membership roster.
If you join after March 31, 2025 your dues will be paid through June 2026.
Membership is free after age 90. Simply indicate that you qualify on your membership form.

To join Y’s Women or renew your membership, send this form and your $65 check to

Doris Levinson, 6 Beechwood Lane, Westport, CT 06880.

FOR NEW MEMBERS

Which of these Y’s Women activities do you expect to participate in?

______ Twice-monthly meetings ______ Memoir writing group

______ Book group ______ Movie group

______ Day trips ______ News discussion group

______ Investment group ______ New Yorker discussion group

______ Let's Meet for Lunch ______ Solos social group

______ Lunch with Trivia ______ Spring party

______ Mahjong group ______ Tai Chi

How did you hear about Y’s Women?