Merry Christmas from Shared Stories

This is the Memoir Writing class that meets every Thursday at the Norwalk Senior Center. We get to read stories from this class's writings every Friday in the Downey Patriot under the heading "Shared Stories." These stories are real-life stories that the writers can hand down to be read by future generations. But we get to enjoy them now, each week. This week's story is titled "My Doll House" by Karen Borrell about receiving the gift of her dreams.

This group of writers have built a community by sharing each other's stories in class and also by sharing each other's lives. Many of these writers have been in the class for over 10 years. Others are brand new. Go by the class some time and see what you think. I think you'll like it.

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.”
~ Anaïs Nin

Just a little flash

Assignment: Use your flash to take a picture of someone against a bright sky. Adjust your camera and flash settings so that the sky isn't washed out and the person's face isn't in shadow.

So, how did I do? (Hint: I still need to tone down that flash a little more, so that it looks more natural.)

This is the first week of  Intermediate Photography, a four-week class taught by photographer Joan Day (above, center) at the Downey Adult School. We're learning to use flash effectively. I rarely use my flash, and therefore, I've never really learned to use it well. So I'm learning a lot and having fun in the process.

This week's class covered theory and some hands-on practice at the school, where we take turns being photographer and model. The rest of the weeks will be field trips, where we can practice in fun locations.

Time for fitness

I love that Downey has so many parks. In a 12.5-square-mile city, did you know we have 11 parks? In fact, almost 100 acres are dedicated to parks. This is Rio San Gabriel Park and I often see people working out, running, or playing games. Today was a first to see this fitness class. What a great location to work out! Who needs a gym?