Carol D. Bradley
Email: cdbradleymex@gmail.com Phone: 33-2506-7525 “Deserve your dream.” Octavio Paz The Lake Chapala Society hosts Open Circle every Sunday at 10AM, a popular community gathering in Ajijic, to enjoy a diverse range of presentations. For more information and to make reservations, see their website: opencircleajijic.org. The presentations will be on the south lawn, close to the gazebo, the entrance will be by the side door on Ramón Corona, chairs will be socially distanced. Gate opens at 9:30. During this period, and considering our schedule may be too fluid with cancellations and changes to the schedule to inform everyone through the press, please check our website and/or our Facebook page for updates and confirmations of presentations. We recommend bringing a hat and bottled water, and please remove containers upon departure. Attendance is limited to 80 persons, please make your reservation if you want to attend https://opencircleajijic. org/reservation_form.php Use of masks and temperature checks on entry is mandatory. Again, please check with Open Circle’s website and/or Facebook page for updates and confirmations. November presentations are: November 7: Lakeside Storytellers Who doesn’t love a good story? We can’t get enough of them. Sydney Gay, co-producer of programs at The Red Piano, La Bodega, Huerto Café and the Auditorio, has brought together eight talented friends to create a storytelling showcase. Open Circle is the debut performance of the series dedicated to giving ordinary people a place to tell their extraordinary stories. Standing alone with only a microphone, each storyteller shares a five-minute, personal story, with topics ranging from life-threatening ordeals to the thrill of show business; from going to jail to escaping war and poverty. The twists and turns of life are many. Each story challenges our understanding of human emotions and motivation. Taken together they attest to the startling varieties and travails of human experience, and the shared threads of love, loss, fear and kindness that connect us. November 14: Jim Cook: Mexico Adventures Sydney Gay Jim Cook retired after 30 years of work as a union and community organizer. He and his wife Carole moved from Oregon to Ajijic, Mexico in 2007. Since his arrival, Jim has made it a point to learn as much as possible about Mexican history and culture. He and Carole have visited many of Mexico’s colonial cities and ancient pre-Hispanic ruins. They chronicle their journeys in their photo-journal blog called Jim and Carole’s Mexico Adventure. Since 2007, the blog has attracted almost two million page views from people living in over 130 countries and territories on every continent in the world including Antarctica. Jim’s stories and photos have appeared in the Ojo del Lago and other lakeside publications. In addition, his photos have been pubJim Cook lished in several books in English, Spanish, Danish and Russian. November 21: Kathryn Street: Aging in place - What does it mean? “What you are will show in what you do” Thomas A. Edison. Aging in Place is a Choice
Deciding you wish to age in place means you are choosing: ● How you want to spend your retirement years ● How you want your home to be set up ● What your health care choices will be ● What types of assistance are right for you ● What your wishes are for major life events (sickness, housing transitions, financial decisions) Making these choices gives you control over your independence, quality of life and dignity. Most importantly, aging in place does not mean you have to do everything yourself; that’s where the plan comes in. It means you get to plan how your needs are met. Biography: As a nurse with over 30 years of experience working in an assortment of departments in three different countries, I am happy to start the next phase of my career in Ajijic. Working as a global Nurse has given me respect for different cultures and personalities that I have encountered along the way. I am highly organized and confident in my abilities. I have spent the last 10 years teaching Nurses and Nursing assistants how to give quality care to the older generation, I Kathryn Street believe the core values that we practice, Honesty, Integrity, Responsibility and Respect for all ages will be apparent in the care our residents receive in Ajijic. November 28: Lila Wells, The Short Stories of Saki In the introduction to the1958 edition of The Short Stories of Saki, author Christopher Morley writes of the British writer who was born Hector Hugh Munro, “Saki could show the conversation of a few ladies at bridge [to be] as deadly and quick on the trigger of concealed weapons as a Western bar-room brawl [by American writer O. Henry.] Both were masters of surprise.” The five little gems Lila will read at Open Circle are taken from the portion of the Saki collection entitled Reginald, which were first collected in 1904, and include, appropriately, Reginald on Christmas Presents. Lila has been an amateur stage actor since the age of 16. Since moving to Lakeside in 2015. She has appeared in Nunsense at Lakeside Little Theatre, and has acted in Lila Wells and directed readings at Naked Stage Readers Theatre and Bare Stage Theatre. This is her fourth appearance at Open Circle. LITTLE LAKESIDE THEATRE presents: THE MADRES By Stephanie Alison Walker Directed by Dave McIntosh Assistant SM – Sandy Jakubek Show Dates – November 5-14, 2021 Set in the 1970’s, in the early years of Argentina’s Dirty War against its own citizens. Tens of thousands of leftists, and anyone even casually associated with them, were “disappeared”. The human cost of these actions drove mothers and grandmothers to the streets to protest weekly, demanding the release of their loved ones. A painfully high number of them were never reunited. The women became known as Las Madres. Inside one Argentinian home touched by the brutality of the regime in the late 70’s. Powerful, heartbreaking, tragically real. At its core, THE MADRES is about the strength and resilience of women. Reviews: “THE MADRES most effectively succeeds in personalizing the plight of Argentinean mothers of “disappeared” children during the height of La Guerra Sucia (The Dirty War) in CAST l-r: Jeff Kingsbury, Marsha Heaton, Nicolas Cumplido, Angelica Guerra, Liz O’Neill. 1978.” Gil Kaan – Broadway World.com. “It’s strong political theater that should not be missed. But don’t misunderstand; it’s also just strong theater, period.” Eric A. Gordon
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El Ojo del Lago / November 2021
