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by Jim Levine
This Week Staff

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Seniors' activist Wayne Harrigan advises that an exciting opportunity for those aged 50 or over is coming to southeastern New Brunswick. Tantramar Seniors College, a non-profit venture, will begin offering courses this fall. The idea follows a model which has been successful for 11 years in Prince Edward Island.

This is a tremendous idea for active and enthusiastic retirees.

If you want to learn more about this initiative, plan to attend one of two information sessions scheduled. The first is set for 2 p.m. on July 31 at the Moncton Public Library in the Blue Cross Building on Main Street in Moncton. The second will be at the same location on Aug. 28, also at 2 p.m.

I'm a great believer that when we stop learning, we just stop. My favourite anecdote about learning involves Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes who was hospitalized at the age of 92. His friend, President Roosevelt, stopped to visit him and was surprised to see Holmes studying a Greek primer.

"What are you doing, Oliver?" asked the president. "Reading," answered Holmes. "That much I can see," said the president, "but why a Greek primer." The lifelong learning Holmes answered, "Why, Mr. President, to improve my mind."

Another view of life-long learning was expressed by Mark Twain in Life on the Mississippi.

"Two things seemed pretty apparent to me. One was, that in order to be a Mississippi River pilot a man has got to learn more than any one man ought to be allowed to know, and the other was, that he must learn it all over again in a different way every 24 hours."

It always saddens me when older people say they find themselves alone now and with nothing to do. They lament their lot, and while I certainly don't gloss over the pain of loneliness, as long as one can read, there is a chance to transport oneself to another world.

And if we focus that reading on taking a particular course of studies, the end destination might really surprise us.

Motivational speaker Jim Rohn advocates that to be a high achiever, we must read. He suggests disciplining ourselves to read two books per week. That's about 100 books a year. He quips: "If you've done that for the last 10 years, you're 1,000 books ahead. If you haven't, you're 1,000 books behind."

As we age, as long as our mind works at all, we can celebrate one of the greatest gifts in life, which is to learn. Money can be lost or stolen, health and strength may fail, but what you have committed to your mind is yours forever.

Albert Einstein said: "Never regard study as a duty, but as the enviable opportunity to learn to know the liberating influence of beauty in the realm of the spirit for your own personal joy and to the profit of the community to which your later work belongs."

Having an opportunity to take new courses may not only enrich our lives now, but further enhance our usefulness as we take the knowledge we gather and apply it to our everyday lives. It will be interesting to watch the development of this institution.

* Jim Levine's column discusses seniors and their lifestyles, looking at traditional and non-traditional issues that dominate our discussions about the care and comfort of the older members of our society in New Brunswick. Please send any comments or suggestions about life out of the fast lane to Jim at thisweek@brunswicknews.com.