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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

A pen pal in Brooklyn

By Blog Master
Posted: 05/01/2021
Tags:
“Bashert” in Brooklyn
by
Karen Bagnard


She’s blonde, vivacious, outspoken and can work magic with a band saw and a scroll saw!  She’s a working artist in Brooklyn.  She’s also 92 and my wonderful pen pal!  Her name is Bernette Rudolph.  Go to her website to learn more and see her fantastic art at bernetterudolph.com.

I am one of eleven Village members with pen pals.  I sent a letter to Bernette via “snail mail” introducing myself as an artist, mother, grandmother, and telling her about my community.  I told her about the coyotes that howl their beautiful howls at night and the other wildlife we sometimes see here.  I told her about my drawing and my card business.

As I was writing my introduction letter, she was writing hers.  She told me about her family and her passion for lines and wood and how she converted her six-room apartment in Park Slope into her studio and gallery, reserving some rooms for her living space.  

Both letters were mailed on the same day!  

From that auspicious beginning we have continued to write and to email, as well.  Recently I attended her Open Studio interview on Zoom.  Several members of Pasadena Village attended as well.  Now, Bernette has invited me to visit her in Brooklyn where she said she would like to “show me the town.”  What a lovely offer!

Since traveling to Brooklyn isn’t possible for me right now, I invited her to have coffee with me so we could do a “show and tell” on Zoom.   She accepted and we figured out a good time for a late morning coffee for me and an early afternoon coffee for her, after all there’s a 3-hour time difference.  Our visit was so natural and so engaging.  She feels like an old friend.  Bernette tells me this is called “bashert” in Yiddish, meaning “meant to be.” 

Artists need each other.  We inspire each other and we speak a similar language.  Bernette is gold in my life.  She sets an example of how to be 92 and do it right.  She’s surrounded by young friends, old friends, creative energy and a vibrant passion for her work.  “Snail mail” has its charm but I’m also glad we can supplement it with emails and Zoom, as well.

Bernette has a blended family and is interested in issues of race in America.  She showed me a picture of her with her beautiful brown great grandchildren.  I’ve invited her to join our 1619 Project Discussion group and hope that she will join in our conversations.

The power of the pen is mighty, indeed!
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