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Blog archive

November 2024

October 2024

ARBORIST WALK: NOT FOR TREE HUGGERS ONLY!
10/29/2024

Bill Wishner: Visual Hunter
10/29/2024

Can a Village Group Fix Our Healthcare System?
10/29/2024

Community Board Directors Strengthen Village Board
10/29/2024

Connecting with Village Connections: The A, B, C, & D’s of Medicare @ 65+
10/29/2024

Grief is a Journey: Two Paths Taken
10/29/2024

Message from the President
10/29/2024

Promoting Informed & Involved Voters
10/29/2024

What Will Be Your Legacy?
10/29/2024

1619, Approaching the Election...
10/27/2024

Beyond and Within the Village - A Star is Born
10/17/2024

Happiness by Priscilla Leonard
10/11/2024

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden
10/11/2024

Unpainted Door by Louise Gluck
10/11/2024

In the Evening by Billy Collins
10/10/2024

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
10/10/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

September 2024

August 2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

First Anniversary
08/19/2024

Alexandra Leaving by Leonard Cohen
08/16/2024

Muse des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden
08/16/2024

The God Abandons Antony by Constantinos P. Cavafy
08/16/2024

Ch – Ch – Ch –Changes
08/15/2024

Cultural Activities Team offers an ‘embarrassment of riches’
08/15/2024

Engaging in Pasadena Village
08/15/2024

Future Housing Options
08/15/2024

Message from the President
08/15/2024

There Are Authors Among Us
08/15/2024

Villagers Welcome New Members at the Tournament Park Picnic
08/15/2024

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
08/14/2024

A narrow Fellow in the Grass by Emily Dickinson
08/13/2024

Haikus
08/13/2024

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
08/13/2024

Poem 20 by Pablo Neruda
08/13/2024

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
08/13/2024

Trees by Joyce Kilmer
08/13/2024

July 2024

June 2024

May 2024

Emergency Preparedness: Are You Ready?
05/28/2024

Farewell from the 2023/24 Social Work Interns
05/28/2024

Gina on the Horizon
05/28/2024

Mark Your Calendars for the Healthy Aging Research California Virtual Summit
05/28/2024

Meet Our New Development Associate
05/28/2024

Putting the Strategic Plan into Practice
05/28/2024

Washington Park: Pasadena’s Rediscovered Gem
05/28/2024

Introducing Civil Rights Discussions
05/22/2024

Rumor of Humor #2416
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2418
05/14/2024

Springtime Visitors
05/07/2024

Freezing for a Good Cause – Credit, That Is
05/02/2024

No Discussion Meeting on May 3rd
05/02/2024

An Apparently Normal Person Author Presentation and Book-signing
05/01/2024

Flintridge Center: Pasadena Village’s Neighbor That Changes Lives
05/01/2024

Pasadena Celebrates Older Americans Month 2024
05/01/2024

The 2024 Pasadena Village Volunteer Appreciation Lunch
05/01/2024

Woman of the Year: Katy Townsend
05/01/2024

April 2024

March 2024

February 2024

January 2024

MY LIFE, MY STORIES

By Blog Master
Posted: 08/29/2021
Tags:
SALLY ASMUNDSON – MY LIFE, MY STORIES

The end result is a hardcover book, complete with photos, titled - “The Life Stories of Sally Asmundson”. The genesis of my book is a story in itself. 

It was June 2020, and the pandemic lockdown meant that the annual Village Movement California conference was on Zoom. I attended a session on intergenerational programs where I heard Brittany Bare, of San Francisco, speak about her intergenerational effort, My Life My Stories. It sounded interesting to me and I realized I could participate via Zoom.  I emailed Brittany and just a few weeks later she had paired me with a young man who would interview me over a period of 4-6 weeks. From that a book would be made with some of my stories. 

My Life, My Stories is a non-profit organization that shares the life legacies of older adults through the power of intergenerational relationships.  Their vision is to build relationships between the young and the old to create a more empathetic and connected community. 

 The project went beyond my imaginings. I was paired with Jordan, a recent college graduate who is still learning and finding his place in the world. We met on Zoom once a week for 8 weeks and, while he asked me questions from the script he’d been provided, we really connected, and I learned a lot about him as well. A particularly deep connection was made when we learned that we had both been to Alaska specifically to see the Aurora Borealis and that it was a profound experience for both of us. 

Even though Jordan is 23, a Black man from New Jersey and I am 80, a white woman in California, we learned that we had so much in common. We shared stories.  I sent him pictures and I met his mother. We still keep in touch with Zoom every month or two and I am now one of his friends who is providing feedback about a story he is writing. I hope that maybe someday we will get to meet in person but even if we never meet in person I can still treasure the connection we have made.

For more information about My Life, My Stories visit their website at Mylifemystories.org 



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