Blog archive
October 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
Connecting with Village Connections
09/30/2024
Betty Kilby, A Family History
09/27/2024
Reflection on Life
09/20/2024
Expanding the Possibilities
09/19/2024
Need a Ride? No Problem!
09/17/2024
Security When Aging (Especially If You Are Single)
09/17/2024
The Bridge Begins at Thanksgiving
09/17/2024
The Power of Collective Service: Putting the Village First
09/17/2024
Tino Melchor - A Mentor for Young Teens in the Making
09/17/2024
Village Party Bus Delivers FUN
09/17/2024
We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know: That’s Why We Have Educational Programs
09/17/2024
On Rereading Tolle by Ed Rinderle
09/10/2024
Autumn Leaves
09/09/2024
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
Alma Stokes, The Struggle in Pasadena
07/25/2024
A Poetry Gathering: Liberating Experiences Available
07/19/2024
Civil Rights Movement Series
07/19/2024
Happy Hours in Pasadena: A Villager’s Perspective
07/19/2024
Pasadena Village and the National Dialogue on Villages and Healthy Aging Research
07/19/2024
President's Message
07/19/2024
The Kern River Rafting Caper
07/19/2024
The Village Artists Group creates creative camaraderie
07/19/2024
An Example of Inherent Racism
07/14/2024
Current, Upcoming Events
07/04/2024
June 2024
No Real Recourse For Discrimination
06/30/2024
A Personal Statement of Strength and Well-Being
06/25/2024
Juneteenth Reflections
06/24/2024
Reflections on 2023-2025
06/21/2024
Reactions and Reflections Re: Juneteenth
06/19/2024
As Our Organization Grows, Villagers Recall Personal Highlights
06/17/2024
From the Outgoing President
06/17/2024
Letter from the Incoming President: Beginning Our ‘Lagniappe’ Year
06/17/2024
The Editorial Team Looks Back: Creating the Voice of the Village
06/17/2024
This Year's Resource Fair was the Most Successful Ever
06/17/2024
Telling the Whole Story
06/12/2024
Nashville
06/10/2024
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
Rumor of Humor #2410
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2411
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2412
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2413
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2414
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2415
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2416
04/28/2024
Stimulated by "Caste"
04/22/2024
Tulsa reparations, Religion and Politics
04/09/2024
March 2024
Trumps War with Black Women
03/31/2024
Addressing The Needs of Older Adults Through Pasadena Village
03/25/2024
Coming Soon: More Resources for Older Americans, Online and in Person
03/25/2024
Community Building Locally and Nationally
03/25/2024
Preparing for the Future with Ready or Not
03/25/2024
Volunteering is at The Heart of the Village
03/25/2024
Women's Liberation: Then and Now
03/25/2024
Writing Memoirs Together
03/25/2024
Current Views on Current Events
03/20/2024
Unchained
03/18/2024
Rumr of Humor issue # 2409
03/10/2024
Blacks Portrayed by European Artists
03/03/2024
Rumor of Humor #2408
03/03/2024
February 2024
Caring for Ourselves and Each Other
02/27/2024
Doug Colliflower Honored
02/27/2024
Great Decisions Connects Us to the Worldwide Community
02/27/2024
Letter from the President
02/27/2024
Pasadena Village's Impact
02/27/2024
The Power of Touch
02/27/2024
Villages as a New Approach to Aging
02/27/2024
Addressing Gang Violence in Pasadena-Altadena
02/21/2024
Rumor of Humor Issue 2407
02/19/2024
Thank You For Caring.
02/12/2024
Rumor of Humor 2405
02/11/2024
Curve Balls
02/10/2024
Sylvan Lane
02/10/2024
Rumor of Humor 2404
02/09/2024
Larry Duplechan, Blacks in Film
02/03/2024
January 2024
Pasadena Village Joins Community Partners in Vaccination Campaign
01/29/2024
Rumor of Humor #2403
01/28/2024
Pasadena Village Joins Two Healthy Aging Resource Projects
01/25/2024
Decluttering: Do It Now
01/24/2024
Village Volunteers Contribute to the Huntington Magic
01/24/2024
Villagers Creating Community
01/24/2024
Villagers Reflect on Black History Month
01/24/2024
Walk With Ease, 2024
01/24/2024
Wide Ranging Discussion on Current Issues
01/22/2024
Wide Ranging Discussion on Current Issues
01/22/2024
Rumor of Humor # 2402
01/21/2024
Rumor of Humor # 2401
01/15/2024
Re- Entry Programs, a Personal Experience
01/08/2024
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - JIM HENDRICK
By Susan KujawaPosted: 01/27/2023
JIM HENDRICK – BEYOND THE VILLAGE
For new Village member Jim Hendrick, it has been a long and winding road to the Pasadena Village.
Jim was born and spent his early years in Bowling Green, Kentucky surrounded by lots of family. “We were poor. But everybody was poor so we didn’t feel poor.” Jim recalls that living in a rural area in a small community meant having the freedom to explore, spending days with friends and family.
He graduated from High School in 1968 at the height of the era of flower power and anti-war protests. Jim embraced the “hippie” experience. After one year of college, and armed with a high draft number, he took off to travel the countryside. He joined protests against the Vietnam war, and he was caught up in a campus riot at South Carolina University. He was deeply affected by the violence against students at Kent State and at Jackson State College, where students were also killed.
After a few years of traveling and involvement with the civil rights and anti-war movements, Jim went back to college. This time he attended the New College of Florida, which even today takes pride in being a place that educates “free thinkers, risk takers, and trail blazers.” After graduating with a degree in psychology, Jim realized “I had no idea what to do. My life had been centered around the peace and civil rights movements, and music, especially jazz.”
More twists and turns followed in Jim’s life, eventually leading him to Houston, Texas. There he got married and spent 10 years creating and managing his own monthly entertainment magazine focused on the arts and, especially, on jazz.
Jim also managed a jazz nightclub, where he made good friends, and reveled in his love of music and arts. “I didn’t get more conservative as I grew older. I was drawn to the energy of younger people, and those with more liberal views.”
However, a divorce, a second marriage, and the birth of two children, gave him pause: “I needed to earn a real income." And so, Jim became a special education teacher in the Houston school district, where he worked for the next 20 years.
During those years, as he dealt with a second divorce and his children moving with their mother to Illinois, Jim turned to art. He felt drawn to painting and he began using part of his house as a studio. “I am completely self-taught. I started to paint because I wanted to explore. I wanted to play. And then I discovered that I was able to get my feelings out through my paintings.”
With no formal training, Jim had to struggle to achieve what he wanted in his work. He learned that his mistakes were more fascinating than his successes. He also found that art is about managing mistakes, a realization that gave him a sense of peace. “I make art for myself. This is what I am. I have reinvented myself as an artist.”
So how did Jim get from Texas to the Pasadena Village?
At times Jim would fall into a temporary depression. But along came Covid, and Jim's bouts of depression deepened. “Then I did two things. I quit drinking. And I changed my diet.” He lost weight, got in better shape, and his depression eased. He began thinking more about his children, now adults. During his teaching career Jim had seen his children only occasionally because they lived in Illinois. After he retired, Jim moved to Illinois to be closer to them in their high school years.
His daughter went off to college and became a bio-engineer. Then she moved to Pasadena! As Covid lessened, Jim decided to move to Pasadena to be closer to his daughter. He downsized his possessions, putting nearly 100 paintings in storage, and moved west.
His daughter, knowing that her Dad needed friends his own age, turned to the internet . . . and found Pasadena Village. She told her Dad about it; he took a look at the website and was immediately drawn to the diversity displayed on the screen. He thought, “Maybe I could be included in this group.”
Jim’s life story will sound familiar to many older adults. Many Pasadena Village members have moved to the area to be near their children, leaving behind familiar surroundings and long-time friends. Many members have also have fallen into and out of relationships, careers, and causes. At Pasadena Village, there is room for all!
Jim’s art is on display at the Pasadena Village office, 236 W. Mountain Street, Suite 104, weekdays from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Stop by and get inspired!