Table of Contents

  1. Quest

  2. Minutes from August's Executive Commitee Meeting

  3. From The Region 6 RVC-Dan Wilterding

  4. calling hours

  5. Elevating Thoughts

  6. Roaming the Region

  7. Diamond Days

  8. National Single's Week

  9. Fast Single Facts

  10. The Single People's Prayer

Quest

 By Dick Nuenke

The August Quest was to find something found in many cities, but not most. Ten cities or areas were listed, including Columbus, Ohio. My mistake was not listing some cities that didn't have the item in question. So Kevin Skehan came up with "Rivers" and Alma Litten suggested "Universities", and proceeded to name ten of them. They certainly qualify. What I was looking for was "bridges", but not just any kind. Rather it's the increasingly popular design known as a Cable-Stayed Bridge. They have been used in place of suspension bridges and differ from having cables go directly from towers to the roadway. They became popular in Europe after WWII since bombed out bridges with intact towers could be rapidly replaced. U.S. cable-stayed bridges are more recent. The new bridge over the Olentangy at Lane Ave. in Columbus is shown on the cover of this issue. The September Quest is directed toward classical music lovers. Below are some musical pieces. If you listen, what will you hear that is common to all of these?

Send answers by September 19th to Dick Nuenke; 1460 Kingsgate Rd.; Columbus, OH 43221 or call in (recording 24 hours) to 326-0452, fax to 292-4118; or e-mail to rnuenke@columbus.rr.com.

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Minutes from August's Executive Commitee Meeting

 The Executive Committee met at the home of April Lashbrook on August 8, 2004 at 4:00 pm

Committee members present were:
Jeff Wolfe (President), Red Bellamy, April Lashbrook, Carla Nuenke (Editor), and Dick Nuenke (Publisher), Sky Wavrek Others present: Julia Ashley (Scholarship Chair), Troy Seman

The meeting was called to order at 4:40 pm. The Agenda was approved.

SPECIAL BUSINESS

All appointments of those who have indicated a willingness to continue were reappointed. Those who expressed a preference for discontinuing their position were replaced. Changed appointments are:

Minutes of the July meeting were approved with the note that Kirah Cooper's name was misspelled (apologies to Kirah!).

The next Excom meeting will be on Wednesday, September 15th, at 6:30 at April Lashbrook's home.

OFFICER & COMMITTEE REPORTS

Program Coordinator (Dick Nuenke): Discussed upcoming meetings. We will have a New Member's Party in October. Jeff Klein will talk about minor league baseball and his new book at our September meeting. We will have a Christmas party in December.

Regional Gathering Committee (Jeff Wolfe): We made $262 on the Book/CD Sale, which will all go to the Scholarship Fund (unanimous; Jeff/Carla). Attendance at the RG was 120-130; exact figures to be forthcoming. Terry Graham, our Hospitality Chair was elected Party Animal by the Hell's Mensans. We officially decided to hold an RG next year (unanimous; Carla/Dick). The Excom voted to ask Bob Kaplan to audit the RG account by September 30th (unanimous; Red/April). He has done our chapter audits, but we have failed to audit this separate account in recent years.

Scholarship Chair (Julia Ashley): Julia reported that she had received a thank you from Meghan Kehoe, our local winner of the $1,000 scholarship. Meghan will be a Communications major at Vanderbilt University in the fall.

OTHER OFFICER & COMMITTEE REPORTS

OLD BUSINESS

Lapsed Members: Dick mailed 59 postcards to lapsed members, reminding them of how nifty it would be if they rejoined.

Next Excom: Wednesday, September 15th at 6:30 pm at the home of April Lashbrook, 5911 Vero Dr., Hilliard.

Meeting adjourned 6:50 p.m.
Carla Nuenke,
Recording Secretary

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From The Region 6 RVC-Dan Wilterding

 I'm attaching the column written by RVC 6 (Dan Wilterding). There are a lot of issues that are under discussin that could affect many of us, including serving food, AMC meeting minutes being available, and where AMC meetings are held. -Beth Weiss (Region 3 Web Master) Hello Region6,

This month I would like to let you know about some of the topics under discussion by the AMC. Knowing your thoughts on these matters would also be a good thing, so please drop me a line sometime before my departure for the AMC meeting (departure: Thursday September 16). There are four items for now, two involved with risk management & two others that are not.

The first issue has to do with the AMC minutes: Available online or (by request) as hard copy they have, for the past several years, been moderately verbose in that the voting record for the AMC members are indicated as are the names of those making major points during discussions. In your opinion should these minutes take on a more bare bones corporate model indicating only the results of actions taken without showing how the various AMCers voted; should they contain more indications of any discussions (who said what is leading up to the vote; or, should they stay as is?

Risk management has been an ongoing concern both in determine acceptable levels of risk and in developing safeguards (rules and guidelines) to address these risks. Food safety has been singled out as being among the more significant risks and has therefore been given quite a bit of attention. One proposal is that any RG (or AG) hospitality Chair be required to have taken a training course in food preparation and handling -- often available from local government bodies, soon to be available from the AML national office. Local events often serve food be it potluck, crockpot or just a table of assorted perishable goodies; should the proposal be extended to include hosts of these local functions?

Another subject coming under the R-M umbrella is gatherings. To be advertised in the national Bulletin a gathering must meet certain criteria to be approved by the RVC and the Membership

I'm attaching the column written by RVC 6 (Dan Wilterding). There are a lot of issues that are under discussion that could affect many of us, including serving food, AMC meeting minutes being available, and where AMC meetings are held. -Beth Weiss (Region 3 Web Master)

Officer; some organizers (SIGs for example, although not necessarily) choose to forgo this "approval" process for their events, relying instead on word of mouth and notices in local newsletters. Advertising in Mensa publications (local, regional, or national) and on Mensa-sponsored web sites present a degree of legal risk to the organization in that these "unapproved" functions might seem to be condoned by Mensa but are not covered under the provisions of our insurance policies. Should ads and notices of these events be disallowed in local newsletters and websites?

Finally (for this column at least): For the past three decades the AMC has met in various locations throughout the country in an effort to be more available to the general membership and to give members better opportunity to witness and take part in the operation of AML. Typically less than a dozen people sign the meeting register as visitors for a meeting although dozens may be found in Hospitality and elsewhere taking advantage of the chance to share conversation and views with one or more AMC officers. From the AMCers perspective these are working weekends with little chance to really enjoy the area or the RG (if there is one) -- generally arriving in the host city on Friday afternoon in time for committee meetings (often lasting until midnight), having the AMC meeting all day (at least) Saturday and then departing on Sunday. The suggestion has been made that as a cost-saving measure the AMC conduct more, or even all, of its meetings at the national headquarters in Arlington, Texas. Currently one meeting every two years is scheduled for Arlington after elections as an orientation for the newly seated AMC. Roam or Rome (Arlington): what is your preference, and why?

Comments, anyone?

Dan Wilterding - RVC6
dtwtech@swbell.net

817-573-4454 (before 9 P.M.)
504 West Atchley Drive
Granbury, Texas 76048

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calling hours

 By Kevin Skehan

calling hours in point of fact death keeps a tidy home neat and
aromatic, redolent of pine and incense, perhaps so you never forget
your first visit a parking lot on a clammy august evening provided a
far corner spot away from the prying glare of light poles that laid
bare our edgy laughter shut up shut it you want someone to look out
and see us laughing grow up and we did, and fast i remember the last
time we saw him i can see him still hiking that path through the
pines to the pond it took him awhile you know 'cause his legs were
so short was he a midget or a dwarf what's the difference cumbersome
oak doors creaked apart a mournful hushed flock turned toward the
sound without looking at any one of us which we preferred they leave
the coffin open even when there was a head injury as this was what
caught your eye first and most was a fluffed cotton dressing over
the head more grotesque than the sealed eyes and solemn lips and a
pallor that had never been there-- so this is death's face words
stumbled what could anyone utter now for one as young as any of us
--younger than some-- we didn't try nor did the adults ringed around
in helpless civility the night beckoned us out at last so we left
him to trudge down his final path alone.

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Elevating Thoughts

 By Dick Nuenke

There is something about riding an elevator that often starts me contemplating their operation, particularly when I'm alone. It's probably the lack of other sensory input and the time factor-the ones in my building are particularly slow. Most people don't think their processes through. Let's say there's a single elevator and I'm getting on at the first floor. I push the up button and another person comes along who is going down. Instead of just getting on with me they invariably push the down button, back off, and wait for it to come back down. I point out that it's going to be the same elevator coming back down. If they get on without hitting down, they can avoid the extra stop at one and go directly to the basement. Perhaps it's claustrophobia or agoraphobia that grips them. Crowded elevators, such as those following a concert, present a different problem. People cram in to fill the available space, phobias be damned. But as soon as the elevator doors close some idiot on the outside hits the call button and the elevator dutifully reopens the door. There is a grumbling request for patience from the others waiting to get on. I imagine this button pusher is a tailgater on the highway.

Multiple elevators are linked and are a whole different scenario. I worked in one building in which they had three elevators and six floors including the basement. Each elevator rested at one of two floors. I knew the operation here since I had worked with the architect on the building planning. There was an electronic sensing system that controlled the doors, and more significantly the Door Close button in each elevator did not operate

on purpose! (I never figured out the purpose). The doors automatically closed n seconds if the sensors were quiet. It turns out that n was almost exactly equal to the average time for a rider to get frustrated and hit the Door Close button. Voila ! But of course it was just coincidence. People worked there for years without figuring out that the Door Close button didn't function. I've come to believe his particular set of elevators (dating to 1969) was the model for designing computer viruses in later years. The sensors were peculiarly susceptible to humidity changes, with the result that the time for door closing often went to a final default of about 4n. Button bang- ing ensued. Also, the assorted lights indicating floors and directions were accustomed to going out and resisting detection by maintenance workers for months. My problem with all elevators inside a building is you can't see through the doors. So people are always awkwardly encountering persons going the other way when the door flies open. If they can put elevators on the outside of buildings for the marvelous views of the scenery, why can't they do so on the inside to avoid all those biological hazards? In closing the doors on this one, a special tribute should go to Elisha Otis. He didn't invent the elevator, but he did perfect the most important part, the safety brake.

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Roaming the Region

 By Charlie Bruce (a.k.a. Gloater>

RVC Region 3 (RVC3@us.mensa.org)

Well we just wrapped up another Region 3 RG-the Col-M-Pics in my home group, Columbus Area Mensa. We had gold, silver, and bronze medals for presentation to the winners of all the games and tournaments and also to the groups with the best Col-M-Pic t-shirt and flag. After tallying all of the medal counts, the overall bronze medal (17 points) went to Region 4 with RVC 4 Cyndi Kuyper accepting (just about all "outsiders" were grouped there); the silver (21.83 points) to Cincinnati with LocSec Misty Richmond accepting; and the gold (22.16 points) to the host city, Columbus with President and RG Chair Jeff Wolfe accepting.

All registrants received small stuffed bears that Red Bellamy dressed in togas and wreaths. My personal gold winner favorite has got to be Barry Austern for his "Name the Bear" entry of "Shut Up Bear-y". My thanks to all of you who were able to make it to the RG; next up is Pittsburgh over Labor Day weekend, a four-day funfest.

National Testing Day is coming up before we know it. Last year, 1,593 people tested on NTD-the most ever. This year, NTD is scheduled for Saturday, October 16th; so far eleven of our sixteen Region 3 groups have registered to participate. Hopefully the other five will submit forms soon.

We had 4,660 members in Region 3 in the June 30th listing; let's see if we can top 5,000 by the end of the year. If you are a Proctor, and haven't done so already, please get with your Coordinator and request to host a session.

I am in the process of doing my Roaming the Region tour again with visits planned for Mid-Michigan, Traverse City, and ECOM during the last three weekends in August. Give me some advance notice of special events in your group and I'll try to schedule it in.

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Diamond Days

A New Book Written by Columbus Area Mensa's Jeff Klein

Diamond Days tells the stories of people involved in the game of minor league baseball. Many of these came first hand from author interviews with over 150 people. From bizarre plays on the field to the tribulations of twenty-hour, non-air-conditioned bus rides through Texas in July, the books offers a unique look inside the lives of these people. The tales of players, coaches, umpires, radio announcers, and more span a period of eighty years and over five continents on a journey from the dusty Rookie League fields to a first big league at-bat at Yankee Stadium.

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National Single's Week

 Carla Nuenke
Information from Mary Bucher Fisher

As you notice from the Almanac listing, September 19-25th is National Single's Week. This is currently sponsored by the Singles Press Association in Scottsdale, Arizona. However, it originated in Columbus, Ohio in the early 80's.

Moreover, the idea came from our fellow Mensan, Mary Bucher Fisher. At the time, she was active in the Buckeye Singles Council, an umbrella organizations for singles groups in central Ohio, which published a directory of such groups for eleven years; the final edition came out in 1990.

National Singles Week started 1981 as Columbus Singles Day, sponsored by the Buckeye Singles Council, and was officially proclaimed by the Columbus Mayor. The following year, they switched to a National Singles Week and provided kits with information and encouragement for other singles groups around the country.

Buckeye Singles Council produced and sold 44 kits in 18 states encouraging nonprofit singles groups in their efforts to celebrate and assist singles.

These days, National Single's Week is "dedicated to the recognition of the problems and contributions of all singles. National Singles Week provides an opportunity to explore the issues and problems that interest singles, as well as recognize the role they play in the community." ( Janet Jacobsen, information coordinator for the national Singles Press Association.)

In 1983, Mary wrote and circulated the Single People's Prayer, with it being published in Guideposts in February, 1986. Between February and August of 1987, Mary had been contacted by 39 people as a result of reading it in Guideposts. This prayer was part of the National Single's Week kits produced by the Buckeye Singles Council and has undoubtedly been of inspiration to many. You will find it on page 9.

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Fast Single Facts

 According to the 2000 U.S. Census, singles represent 45.6% of the U.S., which breaks down to 27.1% never married, 2.2% separated, 6.6% widowed, and 9.7% divorced.

With 120,231,273 married people in the U.S., and 59,913,370 never married, for nearly every married couple that exists, there's one never-married person.

If all single home-owners currently living alone decided to marry each other, 13% of America's homes would suddenly be on sale -- significantly affecting housing prices. [Perhaps the politicians who espouse the notion that all adults should be married, might want to rethink the economic impact! -CAN]

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The Single People's Prayer

 Lord, help me remember that "alone" does not have to mean "lonely".

As a widowed person, thank You for the assurance that You will help me reach out to form new friendships and learn to laugh again.

As a never-married person, thank You for reminding me to grin and reply, "Thanks for the compliment!" each time some well-meaning person says, "How come a great person like you never got married?"-refusing to take it as a criticism or to feel hurt or resentful of the unwelcome prying.

As a divorced person, thank You for leading me to give up my bitterness and for replacing it with faith in a good future for all parties concerned.

As a single parent, thank You for helping me keep my own spirits up-and the spirit of my family intact and growing-in spite of the empty chair.

As a person who lives alone, thank You for giving me an attitude of self-reliance accompanied by a lack of fear in seeking help-after all, moving a heavy table normally takes four hands, not two, whether it is my table or someone else's, and I can lend my hands as well as borrow others', whether I am single or not.

Lord, bless all single people everywhere, and guide those who lead groups of singles, helping such groups affirm a positive image of being single.

--Mary Bucher Fisher

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