SUMMER
PLEASURES

LIVE AND
LEARN

Elderhostels o er adventures for the mind, body and spirit.

HARRY HARRIS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

f you're 55-plus, with a
yen to augment your
Yiddishkeit, Elderhos-
tel classes in at least 14
states can teach you
whatever you want to
know, from A for ai-ai-
ai to Z for zayde.
Helping Jewish retirees be-
come more knowledgeable about
Jewish concerns is not the prin-
cipal objective of the 21-year-old
organization dedicated to fur-
nishing low-cost education and
entertainment; but Jewish insti-
tutions, subject matter and stu-
dents are conspicuously involved.

This article first appeared in
Inside magazine, published by
the Jewish Federation of
Greater Philadelphia.

Last year, according to the lat-
est data compiled at Elderhostel's
international headquarters, lo-
cated in Boston's financial dis-
trict, nearly 300,000 eligible
Americans signed up for Elder-
hostel programs. Of these, 26,843
headed for locales outside the
United States. Another 1,121
would-be do-gooders participat-
ed, in a recent Elderhostel devel-
opment — hands-on community
service programs.
Because I have a special in-
terest in show business, my ini-
tial Elderhostel experience was
attending the Shakespeare Fes-
tival Theater in Stratford, On-
tario. My five-day exposure to
onstage and backstage happen-
ings, combined with comfortable
quarters, tasty food and conge-

nial (mostly Canadian) class-
mates, was so enjoyable that I
soon began pouring through El-
derhostel's quarterly catalogs for
a prompt encore.
Bingo! was my response to this
seductive paragraph:
"The Jewish Experience in
America Through Film, Music
and Humor: Explore the manner
in which Jewish creative artists
have utilized their experiences in
America to inform their artistry
and express their Jewish iden-
tity. Screenings include the work
of Woody Allen, Mel Brooks and
Barry Levinson. Musical compo-
sitions will feature the work of
Leonard Bernstein, Elizabeth
Swados and Shalom Secunda,
among others. Some of the hu-
morists whose work will be ex-

amined include Sam Levenson,
Alan King, Jackie Mason and
Henny Youngman."
"The Jewish experience," con-
sisting of five 90-minute sessions
from each of three college-level
courses, sound like a five-day fes-
tival of Jewish contributions to
Broadway, Hollywood and the
Catskills. A showbiz bonanza! I
wasted no time mailing the req-
uisite $75 down payment on the
$365 fee. (Some popular pro-
grams necessitate a computer-
ized lottery and a waiting list.)
The Salomon Vacation Center
in the foothills of the Berkshire
Mountains near Brewster, N.Y.,
is a three-hour drive from
Philadelphia. After registering, I
head for the motel-like quarters,
a room overlooking a picturesque

man-made lake. The room, at first
glance, seemed spartan; but it con-
tained everything important —
twin beds, air conditioning/heat-
ing, adequate lighting, sufficient
space for clothes storage and, most
important, a private bathroom!
(At Stratford, six hostelers were
assigned to a bed-and-breakfast
with a single shower.)
There was no TV in the room;
in fact, none were available any-
where for recreational viewing.
The one in the classroom could
be used only for the film course's
videotaped movies. Daily maid
service would be limited to bath-
room tidying and wastebasket
emptying. We would also make
our own beds.
Amiable waitresses served
platters of kosher food that was