THE RETIREES' NEWSLETTER
The Faculty and Librarian Retirees' Association, University of Windsor

Number 7, Apr/May, 1994

THE LETTER BOX

HEALTH AND FELLOWSHIP GROUP:

Joseph Habowsky writes as follows:

At the March 24th, 1994 meeting of our Association, I made the following suggestions regarding our members' recreation and other activities.

1. Health: Formation of a health group for a work-out in the St. Denis Centre, every Tuesday at 12:00 noon.

2. Fellowship: Establishment of a "Stammtisch" (a reserved table to encourage fellowship) in the University Club Dining Room, every Tuesday at 1:00 p.m.after physical activity.

The necessary arrangements have been made and activities commenced on Tuesday, March 29th. Mr. Dennis Hastings, Director of the St. Denis Centre, gave a brief introduction in the use (free of charge) of the facilities (pool, showers, sauna, weight room, badminton, track and tennis in the Summer).

The "Stammtisch" is an old German tradition: where most organizations or clubs have such a table in their favourite restaurant. At an appointed time and day of

the week, friends and colleagues meet for a chat,meal or a drink and exchange ideas and views and plan events or activities of mutual interest. This is also an occasion to share our experiences and hobbies.

The Club is only open during the academic year; other arrangements will have to be explored for the summer months. Should members wish additonal information, I shall be pleased to assist. I may be contacted at 738-4283 (residence) or extension 2708 (university). Joseph E.J. Habowsky, April 5th.

Editor's note: The U. Club Dining Room has closed for the Summer. Pat Galasso informs me that summer-month arrangements have been made for lunch at the Dominion House (the D.H.) Tuesdays at 1 p.m.. As for the workouts, they're continuing through the summer, but it wouldn't hurt to call Josephe Habowsky for confirmation.

VAL CERVIN wrote a very good account of recent travels. Here's part of it; I'll include more in the next issue:

Our editor published an interesting request: members were requested to write about their recent experiences, travels etc. I have been very active in retirement and want to respond. ...All my travels have combined some business and pleasure, the business being attendance at some meeting or accepting an invitation. More recently, Joan and I have travelled together. We were in Moscow twice, three times in Prague and Joan visited her sister in England.

In Moscow we stayed with a professorial family. Joan speaks French but not Russian; one of our hosts spoke German, the other some English, and the kids (of university age) spoke French, and of course all of them spoke Russian. Every night at the dinner table an interesting conversation developed (I recorded some of it): everybody wanted to say something and I had to act as a dolmetscher. After some vodkas, I sometimes became so confused with the three languages that I started translating English to my wife or Russian to my hosts. It was difficult to keep conversation within any one language, except temporarily, so as not to exclude the others...

A visit to the police was very instructive; although our host did most of the standing in line, I had to fill out the forms and eventually collect our passports. Talking to the officials was like talking to a brick wall. They would wait till I was finished and then repeat what they had said before.

...In Russia the study of hypnotism has always been important. but the understanding of it I think is skewed. For example our hosts thought that it was some kind of telepathy. I tried to explain it in more behaviourial terms but without much success. In the birth land of behaviourism, behaviourism was not widely understood except by specialists. Superstitions about faith healing and parapsychology are rampant even among intellectuals, who were otherwise competent professionals. It is difficult to reconcile all this. On our second visit to Moscow, or more precisely Zelenograd near Moscow, we met physiological psychologists who are trying to explain thinking and behaving in terms of neuronal mechanisms. Undoubtedly it is coming, but so far the gap between neuronal networks and physical actions is still very wide. However mathematical structures may be already bridging this gap, at least theoretically... Val Cervin

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