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TAYLORS
By Harry Zimbler
Photo by Alan S. Klein
A retired minister and Cornell University Chaplain, Jack Taylor saw
State College as a place where he could continue to learn new things
and explore interesting topics.
"We could have retired anywhere," he says. "One of the things that
was attractive about this area were the wonderful chances to stay
active, to learn and grow. The Centre Region is a place where continuing
education is valued and encouraged. Penn State brings a lot of excitement
to the area. The lectures on science and literature, for example,
are well attended. We bring car loads of people to them."
He and his wife, Barbara, enjoy taking full advantage of all the learning
opportunities they find locally. "Here you will find a lot of what
a big city offers, without having to pay a big city price," says Barbara.
The Taylors are big fans of Penn State's Go-60 program. "We enjoy
entering the 20-year-old world," Jack notes. "And we think that, from
time to time, we have something to say to that world. Professors should
enjoy hearing our perspective. We have a lot of knowledge to share.
But we also want to learn.
The couple enrolled in Theater 100 at Penn State to build upon their
lifelong interest in live theater. "We have been going to plays and
musicals for 50 years. Now we will have a better experience when we
go. I think about that class all the time."
Above the computer in their home office, the Taylors have hung a sign
that reads: "All humans, by nature, desire knowledge."
"Acquiring new knowledge is what retirement should be all about,"
Jack says.
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Barbara agrees: "All our lives we learned things we needed to apply
to make a living. Now we have the time to learn things for fun,
for the value of learning itself. Learning makes life much more
interesting." In addition to taking classes, the couple keeps active
by traveling, hiking, writing, and reading. They both say they love
the intellectual atmosphere they find living at Foxdale Village.
"You should see the stack of New York Times newspapers that
arrives here each morning," says Jack. At Foxdale, Jack leads
a book group that goes through challenging works, chapter by chapter.
"We recently took a look at Consillience by E.O. Wilson,"
he says. "He's a world class biologist from Harvard who talks about
the development of knowledge." Barbara serves as the chair of the
activities committee for the community, planning both trips and
social meetings. "My advice to people who are thinking about retirement
is plan what you want to do," she says. "Retirement is the time
when you can pursue the things you always wanted to do and learn
the things you always wanted to learn, but never seemed to have
the time for."
-from State College Magazine,
October 1999, Volume XIV, No. 10, Senior Life Styles Pullout Supplement.
Reprinted with permission.
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