Helen (Chivalry is Still Here)

The only act that can follow the previous “star”-studded blog post is… hmm, a lil’ act of kindness, perhaps ;) ?

Helen H. Lahr
3/31/2011
Chivalry is Still Here

Sometimes it seems like this is a very impolite era, but then I look around and I realize that isn’t true.

One day, my daughter had pulled us in front of a restaurant and I opened the car door. I began to get out, and immediately, a lady took my arm and walked me to the door.

Another time, a young couple, who were talking to each other in front of the restaurant stopped and got on each side of me. They escorted me to into the restaurant.

This past Tuesday my daughter got up as usual and started to drive down I-95 at 6:25 A.M. The weather report promised the day would be sunny and beautiful. Before leaving the house, the reporter on KYW stated there had been a traffic accident, but it would soon be cleared. Well, we had been on the road long before there were two other accidents. A back had begun to occur and soon we weren’t even moving. Finally, my daughter called her school and told them of the situation.

Eventually, we reached Philadelphia and turned onto Front and Lombard Streets. We were very late for my daughter’s job so I told her to hail a cab. I didn’t want her to drive me to the Senior Center and make her later still. There are always a lot of taxis in the area.

As the cab pulled over and I bent down to open the cab’s door, I heard a voice say, “Let me do that.” This gentleman reached out and opened the cab door and placed my coat, which was hanging out of the cab window, on the seat and beside me. He said, “Have a nice day,” and closed the door.

This is a beautiful world in which we live in because there are many beautiful people in it.

Robert (Wally the Walrus)

Hehe Facebook fans… I teased you with quite the class photos last week, didn’t I? (If you’re reading this blog and not a FB fan, you’re missing out!! That’s where all our goofy photos are. Click Here to see and "like" the page.) Who, you might be wondering, is that very fluorescent pink mystery writing class member? To deserve a seat and notebook and a snack and everything?! Well, who better to introduce Wally – the Walrus – than Robert himself?

Robert Leung
4/14/2011
Wally

Today is such a beautiful day.  It’s a nice and sunny day.  The sky is clear.  The weather is 80 degrees.  Three of us – Mo, Michael and me - walked all the way from Coffee Cup after our daily lunch, to come to our class.  And here is the most wonderful thing: on my way to our meeting, I bought a wonderful, nice stuffed animal.  It is called Wally the Walrus.  It’s for my grandson Andrew, whom I love very, very much…

I love to carry him and feed him daily milk and most of all carry him and pet him to sleep each and every day.  I just love him to death.  I call him The Cutest.  ½ Chinese, ½ Italian (his father is Italian).  My daughter Dorothy met him at Stanford University.  They both graduated there with honor degrees.  My son-in-law is a doctor at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and my daughter Dorothy works at the School of Medicine.  I’m so proud of her.

I’m very, very happy to come to this writing and reading club.  I have met a lot of wonderful people.  And I’ve learned a lot in the meetings.  All the people are nice and wonderful…I love them all.

Nice News - Teacher of the Year Award

I am humbled to share that I was awarded Teacher of the Year by Philadelphia Senior Center last Friday! The best part was having my senior buddies by my side, and seeing how happy they were. Here are a few very kind words from Vicky Lynam, the center's fabulous director. Thank you, Vicky, for letting me to barge into your office that summer day, and for your unending support!

Email received: Fri, April 15, 2011 6:20:16 PM
Subject: For the Blog
From: Lynam, Victoria
To: Cooper, Benita   

I first met Benita Cooper in the doorway of my office in June 2009.  Our then Volunteer Services Coordinator, Helen Sunga, had brought Benita to meet me, the Director of Philadelphia Senior Center (PSC), because she wanted to volunteer.  We proceeded to have an animated conversation in the hall just outside my office because she had come to with an exciting idea for a new class – a writing & storytelling class for the members that would allow them to share some of the hidden treasures of experiences from their pasts.  She shared that one of the writing prompts she would use for the class was “The Best Day of My Life…So Far” – which I thought was great. I loved the positive, upbeat quality of both Benita and the phrase “…So Far.”  And she was willing to volunteer to teach it – even though she is a Harvard trained architect.  Having grown up in Hong Kong, she’s bi-lingual too. Wow!  We stood there throwing out ideas and getting very excited about the prospect of what could happen with this new class.  We decided we’d try it as a 6 or 8 week series in the fall.

September came, then class started…it gradually grew in numbers and intensity.  The seniors attending the class begged Benita to consider doing it as an on-going class instead of a series.  They were having so much fun and the group was developing such a bond with one another, they didn’t want it to end.  Neither did Benita or PSC Main Branch.  The whole phenomena expanded, developed, and grew in ways no one expected at the beginning.  It seemed almost miraculous to me.  The blog that Benita started to link the seniors’ families with the stories they were writing became very popular, and the stories on it never fail to touch me in a very deep way.  The families of some of the class members have expressed their heartfelt appreciation for the blog – and their responses have brought tears to my eyes a few times too. 

The class, the blog, the relationships, the wonderful stories the seniors share, the commitment and enthusiasm of Benita herself – these are all wonderful things.  Things that add depth and meaning to the lives of the people involved.  This is why we decided that Fookling Benita Cooper should win PSC Main Branch’s Volunteer Teacher of the Year award, which she graciously received at a ceremony today. Keep doing what you’re doing, Benita.  We at PSC all appreciate it and you!

Beatrice (I Will Keep On Writing)

"Putting it down on paper is like releasing your burden – when you are writing you remember lots of things. It comes to you – that is why I will keep on writing."

Go… Beatrice!!

Beatrice Newkirk
4/7/2011
Our Writing Class

Writing from the heart is a good way to start.

We write from within, a lot of joy it brings.

We can write about love.

We can write about hope,

We can write about getting people off dope.

We can hope for the best and God will do the rest.

Everything we do in our class,

We know it will last and last.

We can write about the past.

There are so many things to remember.

Beatrice Newkirk
4/7/2011
Writing

Writing is putting you words down and experiences on paper. Sometimes writing things of what you feel on paper, it can be about a specific event, it can be about your life, it can be about things that happen during your lifetime, it can be about things related to you. We can write about good times and bad times. Putting it down on paper is like releasing your burden – when you are writing you remember lots of things. It comes to you—that is why I will keep on writing.

Beatrice Newkirk
3/31/2011
Fun in Our Writing Class

We had a good time last Thursday.  We did not write anything.  We just listened to Benita’s interviews and looked at our videos on the computer.  We all looked nice.  We talked about what we have done together so far. 

We have many new members in the writing class.  We welcome them with open arms.

Steve’s birthday was last Thursday.  We all sang happy birthday to him. (Benita has many volunteers helping her. Steve is one of them. He comes to class and makes very nice videos for us.)

We have lots of fun here in this class, coming together every week.  I look forward to this day. 

Our teacher is the best.  She tells us what to do, then we do the rest.  Benita is her name.  Writing is her game.

Things I Enjoy at the Writing Class
Beatrice Newkirk
3/12/2011

The things I like when I come to the class.  I always look forward to coming to the class.   We do things together.  We listen to other people’s stories.  Everyone who reads or tells their stories have everyone in suspense.  Everyone has a story to tell.  You feel something after hearing the stories.  You can picture what they are talking about in your mind. 

Where in the World...

In the last blog post, I said hi to the “World” and I realized I owe it to you guys to share how literally I mean that. It’s my honor to share with you a partial (!) list of the countries where YOU are reading from. Thank you so much for being here with us, and please keep telling your friends about our project!

• United States
• United Kingdom
• India
• Romania
• Canada
• Albania
• Australia
• Germany
• Ukraine
• Bosnia
• Herzegovina
• Japan
• South Africa
• Pakistan
• Mongolia
• Poland
• Honduras
• Israel
• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Greece
• Italy
• Sri Lanka
• Gambia
• Bangladesh
• Cayman Islands
• Hong Kong
• Cambodia
• Belarus
• Jordan
• Hungary
• Turkey
• Indonesia
• Egypt
• Austria
• Spain
• Kuwait
• South Korea
• Mexico
• Kenya
• France
• Scotland
• Denmark

Michael (Soo Chow)

Hi world! Hi Monday! Hi spring! If you are in Philly too, how are you liking this fabulous weather? Finally, a legitimate no-coat-required-iced-coffee-appropriate spring day. Not in Philly? No prob! We’ve got just the story to get you in the mood for spring, wherever you are in the world. Soo Chow may be beautiful, but Michael’s observations are what really take my breath away. Only a man who truly honors life and loves nature can say something so gentle and wise.

Michael Chan Man-Tin
3/31/2011
Soo Chow

I was born in the beautiful countryside in Soo Chow, China. The water is running all the year long, but it flows in a different way depending on the season- winter, spring, summer, fall. The trees look different too in each season. Spring is the best season I like. The flowers of different plants together all form one big garden. It’s a beautiful world. I hope one day I can return to my country.

I needed not have a private garden. The whole town is full of flowers and grains growing on the farms.