Sunday Morning Presentations, 10:30 - 11:30

Featured Presentations Scheduled for Your Enjoyment in the LCS Gardens

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Open Circle Ajijic November 27, 2022 Presentation by Lila Wells: Lila Reads Again YouTube link: Coming Soon! Lila Wells shares the story of The Snow Goose, by Paul Gallico, a parable on the regenerative power of friendship and love, set against a backdrop of the horror of World War II. Critics called the book overly sentimental. Gallico made no apologies, saying “in the contest between sentiment and 'slime,' sentiment remains far out in front”. In 1971, a performance of The Snow Goose was broadcast on BBC television, winning a Golden Globe and an Emmy. It was shown in the US on the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Lila has acted in community theatre from age 16. Since coming to Lakeside in 2015 she has been involved in many aspects of the local theatre scene. Her goal with this reading to make you weep, so bring your hankies.

If You Missed an In-person Presentation, You Can Still Enjoy It On-line.

Open Circle Ajijic November 20, 2022 Presentation by Randy Brutsche: An Illegal Gringo in Old Mexico The story and the publication process YouTube link: Coming Soon! This is the true-life story of an American tourist seeking a retirement lifestyle as an Ex-Patriot in Mexico. While traveling via bus to see the countryside, Mr. Brutsche had seen many instances of immigration agents entering the bus to randomly check a few passengers for proper travel documents. When it finally happened to him, he quickly found out he did not have what was required. As an illegal alien without a visa or tourist visitation form, he was taken off the bus, his luggage pulled out, and the bus drove away. What followed was a hair-raising ordeal thrown at him in a language he did not speak that included being imprisoned for six days in an immigration detention facility in Acayucan, Veracruz, Mexico. It ended when he was accompanied by two Mexican immigration agents and deported to Houston, Texas. Randy Brutsche was born and raised in a small, football crazy town in northwestern Illinois, was stationed in Germany from 1975 to 1978 in the US Army, then moved to Alaska in 1981 and lived in the Anchorage to Wasilla area for 35 years. His first book, his own true-life story, An Illegal Gringo in Old Mexico, is available on Amazon as an e-book with a paperback edition coming soon. He is currently wrapping up the editing of a fiction novel, A Man and the Way of the Bear.	Open Circle Ajijic November 13, 2022 Presentation by Steve Taylor: FoodBank: Grandmas, Children, the Disabled & More Perilously Close to the Edge YouTube link: Coming Soon! By end of this year – within just weeks – FoodBank Lakeside could run out of money. Hundreds of local families count on the organization's monthly food donations to not only feed themselves, but free up precious pesos to afford rent, electricity, cooking fuel, water, kids' clothes, and other items. Losing this monthly help could lead to familial displacement, hunger, utility loss, or financial ruin. Between now and Dec. 31, Lakeside ex-pats and others who are better off are being challenged to put FoodBank on sturdier financial footing. Increase the number of FoodBank supporters. Add those who auto-donate small sums a month for 12 months. The One Million Peso Challenge seeks the public's help from new supporters and more help from current supporters – or from supporters' friends, neighbors, tourists, ex-pats or the public. The need is immediate. The crisis is critical. The Challenge is ours.	Open Circle Ajijic November 6, 2022 Presentation by David Ellison: Complicating the history of the US Civil War Abraham Lincoln, and The Emancipation Proclamation YouTube link: [a href="https://youtu.be/-gUIPyh8ek4" target="_blank"] CLICK HERE [/a] There has been an insidious movement on both the political left and right to revise and simplify history. This has been especially true recently with the US Civil War and The Emancipation Proclamation (probably the most misunderstood document in US history). Dave Ellison, who fell in love with history only when he finally recognized its "messiness" (and then taught it for 36 years), will recomplicate the War Between the States in a somewhat controversial but most fascinating way.	Open Circle Ajijic October 30, 2022 Presentation by Glorine and Loretta Downs: How to Live Forever YouTube link: [a href="https://youtu.be/YDs-jYX55ds" target="_blank"] CLICK HERE [/a] The Disney animated film, “The Book of Life,” takes the viewer to The Land of the Remembered and The Land of the Forgotten. How we live and how we die influence which land we remain in forever. Loretta Downs returns to Open Circle with her inspiring and uplifting views on making friends with Death, supporting the end-of-life experience together, and facilitating healthy grieving. In this presentation, Loretta will plant guideposts to The Land of the Remembered, should you choose to walk that path. All of us will face Death with many loved ones before we meet her ourselves. She is a better friend to those who prepare. Loretta holds a Master’s Degree in Gerontology. She is a Certified Senior Advisor, Advance Care Planning Facilitator, End-of-Life Doula, and past president of the Chicago End-of-Life Care Coalition. Loretta has over 35 years of sacred service to the dying.
Open Circle Ajijic October 23, 2022 Presentation by Keith Lindauer: Earthships and Rainwater Harvesting A Gateway to Sustainable Living YouTube link: [a href="https://youtu.be/vu7lSQWpt2w" target="_blank"] CLICK HERE [/a] Earthships are off-grid homes constructed from recycled and repurposed materials generally discarded from society. Old car tires, glass bottles and aluminum cans are the primary building blocks of these homes. Powered by the sun, heated and cooled by the earth’s abundant and free energy sources, with all domestic water harvested from the rain and snowmelt, Earthships are affordable to build, attractive and perhaps the healthiest homes you can build. Renegade architect Mike Reynolds, aka the Garbage Warrior is father of the Eartship and the gladiator for change and salvation of the planet. I am a soldier in Mike’s army. I will show you what Earthships are, how they are built and how and why they could change your life - and the environment - for the better. Rainwater Collection Lakeside As water continues to be a serious problem in the Lake Chapala region, RainManMx has stepped outside the box and designs and installs rainwater collection systems for homes business and schools. RainMan will tell you how it’s done, and why you and your environment will benefit from drinking the rain. Keith Lindauer is a traditionally educated and trained architect gone rogue. In 1996, after an encounter in Colorado with New Mexico architect, Mike Reynolds, Keith’s life took a left turn. He discovered Earthships and sustainable building, including straw bale houses, cob and adobe. The next 25 years was devoted to green building, planning and developing sustainable communities and off-grid homes across the Americas.	Open Circle Ajijic October 16, 2022 Presentation by Toastmaster Club: Facing our Stereotypes Together YouTube link: [a href="https://youtu.be/5ySVINVn-UA" target="_blank"] CLICK HERE [/a] Two Americans and two Mexicans will discuss the stereotypes that exist about citizens of our two countries and how they distort and affect the relationships between our peoples. Questions such as these will be explored: - Do these stereotypes affect our ability to create friendships? - Do these stereotypes affect how we treat our neighbors and for NOB expats how we treat people hired to help us or do work for us? - Is language our only barrier to closer ties with our sister countries? Attendees are invited to participate in the discussion. Presenters: Alfredo Pérez Aldana is a native of Guadalajara and is currently the Director of Education at LCS. Marissa Urrutia Martinez is a native of Monterrey, Mexico and has lived in the Chapala area for the past 17 years. Ken Knittel is a native of Texas and has lived in the Chapala - Jocotepec area for the past 13 years. Sarana Donaldson is a native of the northeastern United States and has lived in San Antonio Tlyacapan for 5 1/2 years. All four presenters are members of the Lago de Chapala Toastmasters Club.	Open Circle Ajijic October 9, 2022 Presentation by Lucky Dog: Rescue and Adoption Center YouTube link: [a href="https://youtu.be/zJlATAR2spw" target="_blank"] CLICK HERE [/a] Lucky Dog Rescue and Adoption Center is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to the rescue and adoption of abandoned and abused dogs in the Lake Chapala area. Lucky Dog is a no-kill shelter run solely by a group of dedicated volunteers, led by a volunteer board. Their only income is from private donations. Our volunteers ensure our dogs are walked, fed and loved daily. Vet appointments, routine vaccinations, worm and flea treatments, and adoption services are also handled by volunteers. Lucky Dog has expanded a lot since its inception in 2012, adding additional runs, a playing/training field, safety doors on the kennels, shade coverings for the play yards, and more. Lucky Dog is its own entity and relies on private donations to cover costs. Services provided for the dogs include spay/neuter, emergency services, long-term recovery care, special foods and medicines, and of course, the loving care from volunteers. For most dogs the costs are low, but costs for injured or sick dogs can be much more, including surgery, other medical needs and the time and care required for healing. Our current vet is Dra. Laura Medina Gomez, who visits weekly, generously offers her time and services at a generous price.	Open Circle Ajijic September 25, 2022 Presentation by Ed tasca: The puzzling dissonance of Mexican national identify YouTube link: [a href="https://youtu.be/lxJ8mzlueWI" target="_blank"] CLICK HERE [/a] This presentation is about how Mexico became Mexico, the story of Hernan Cortes and the seminal events that created what we now know as Mexican culture and national character. It is a nation that is uniquely hispanic but has rejected its hispanic identity for over five hundred years while stubornly clinging to a rich indigenous culture and roots. Ed Tasca is from Philadelphia. His humor has been published in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, England, Italy, Australia and Norway. Ed has been writing a humor column for the Guadalajara Reporter since 2016. Ed has also worked as an actor at Lakeside Little Theater, where he performed his own one-man show, Mark Twain, Uncensored. And had another feature play performed at Bare Stage.

To view additional presentations from our Open Circle 2022 series, CLICK HERE to visit the on-line archive. Archives of presentations from 2014 - 2021 are also available for viewing under the Videos tab on the Open Circle menu above.