crpca january 2012 newsletter · 2017-03-11 · mali. a free program of the cascade festival of...

CRPCA Newsletter January, 2012 Volume 32, Issue 1

A stellar leadership opportunity

by Bill Stein, President

I am continually enthused by the great people I meet through CRPCA and inspired by our

members’ actions and ideas. But I can’t lead this group forever.

On April 15, 2012 we’ll elect our 2012-2013 board members. We expect to have several

openings, most notably President. Historically this is one of our toughest positions to fill; we’ve

only had four different Presidents in the past decade. Perhaps there’s something daunting about

the title, but Rich Ireland jokingly strengthened it by introducing himself as our czar!

I’m here to tell you that this is a terrific leadership opportunity. CRPCA’s President works with a

very engaged board and committed volunteers. That will not change, though there’s the

continual (and not especially difficult) challenge of recruiting new volunteers into roles. The

principal tasks involve setting agendas for and leading our group’s business meetings, writing

this monthly message and otherwise serving as an ambassador for our organization.

I have delegated a lot. We’re in the historically enviable position of having people in every

leadership position to assist with our activities and initiatives. But I’ve taken on more than

necessary, and my pledge today is that I will ease the path for my successor. If desired, we can

find another person to send the weekly e-updates. Our forthcoming redesigned website will be

maintained by all board members. This volunteer position should take fewer than ten hours per

month, and I’ll do my part to make this possible.

With CRPCA pushing 300 members, I know there’s someone out there who glimpses the

possibilities—as I did—to lead one of America’s most dynamic Peace Corps groups. Please get

on my radar screen today, as I will appreciate the peace of mind. Ideally I will transition to

coordinating CRPCA’s Book Club while leaving the Presidency in good hands.

If you’d like to learn more, I can be reached at [email protected] and 503-830-0817. Or you

can approach me at virtually every CRPCA event listed in this newsletter. Thanks for giving this

opportunity some consideration!

Fiscal Year 2011 Financial Report

October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011

Income Expenses

Membership $2,130.00

Events

White Elephant Event $222.50 $321.73

Local Campout $370.00 $394.21

Service Programs $350.00 $200.00

Oct 2010 Event at OHS $926.00 $722.48

Dec 2010 Silent Auction $455.00

Other member events (ballgames, tours, etc.) $470.00 $473.41

Events Subtotal $4,923.50 $2,111.83

Grants Disbursed

(includes FY2010 grant disbursed in FY2011

and sponsorship of Cascade Festival of African

Films)

$5,000.00

Calendar Sale $4,038.50 $2,304.03

Grand Floral Parade

(income includes grant from Spirit Mountain

Community Fund)

$4,146.00 $1,660.41

Operating Expenses

Newsletter, stamps, PO box, etc. $644.00

Support of western regional rep on NPCA

board,

regional meeting expenses

$317.81

Fees (State of Oregon, NPCA) $170.00

Operating Expense Subtotal $1,131.81

Interest Earned $10.57

Individual/Corporate Donations

(Girl Scouts, Ready Paint Fire)$410.00

Total $13,528.57 $12,208.08

Upcoming CRPCA events

January 2012

Thursday, 1/05, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm - Writers'

Group. Location at the home of Lee Norris,

3748 SE Salmon St in Portland. Please bring a

writing sample and perhaps a snack to share.

See our Writers' Group page for more

information.

Saturday, 1/07, 6:00 pm - Post-Holiday White

Elephant Party. Lucky Labrador Beer Hall (NW

Portland), 1945 NW Quimby St in Portland. For

more details please see the entry in the right

column of this newsletter.

Wednesday, 1/11, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm - Book

Club. Location at the home of home of Mike

Waite, 7008 Kansas St in Vancouver, WA. Feel

free to bring snacks to share. The book to read

is Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of

Human Societies by Jared Diamond (2005).

See our Book Club page for more information.

Note the later than usual start; traffic congestion

out of Oregon should be lighter by 6:30.

Carpooling is encouraged. If you can offer a

ride or seek one, please call Mike at

360-314-4117.

Local Campout at Silver Falls in June

2012

It’s not too early to start thinking about

CRPCA’s 4th annual Local Campout,

Friday to Sunday, June 22 to 24, 2012 at

Silver Falls State Park (North Falls Group

Camp, sites A & B). We’re taking

reservations for folks in tents now, and we

expect to fill to capacity (50) early. We

also want to alert our members/friends

with RVs that you need to make separate

reservations in the main campground.

CRPCA's campouts are where our

families hike and play together and where

friends old and new share stories, songs,

food and drink around a campfire. We

started holding these campouts within an

hour’s drive of Portland only in 2009, but

of course we have a 22-year tradition of

co-hosting regional campouts with our

counterpart organizations from Boise,

Eugene, Seattle, and Spokane. This

year’s West Regional Peace Corps

Sunday, 1/22, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Potluck

Gathering. Location at the home of Linda

Centurion, 3940 SE 47th Ave in Portland.

Please bring a dish to share to the 6pm potluck

dinner. After dinner, starting at 7pm, there will

be a program: John Motter from the Cascade

AIDS Project on HIV in America & Abroad. All

are welcome!

Wednesday, 1/25, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm - Job

Search Support Group. Informal gathering of

CRPCA members and friends who are seeking

new work. Location at Panera Cares, 4143 NE

Halsey St in Portland. Panera Cares offers

pay-as-you-can meals, wireless access, free if

limited parking, and excellent transit access. It's

in the Trader Joe's building across the street

from the Hollywood MAX station. Contact

Gordon Young, [email protected] or

503-631-2876, for more information.

Friday, 1/27, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm - Game

Night. Location at the home of Jim Maddry,

4053 NE 16th Ave in Portland. RSVP to

[email protected] or 503-288-3046 if you want

to go in on a group pizza order. After we eat,

pick a game and find folks to play it with.

Games on hand could include Bananagrams,

Europa Tour, Scrabble, Settlers of Catan, and

Ticket to Ride. Or you're welcome to bring your

Campout will be August 2-5, hosted by

the West Cascade Peace Corps

Association at Sunset Bay State Park, 12

miles south of Coos Bay on the Oregon

coast; more details on that event are

forthcoming. Here are all the details

regarding our Local Campout at Silver

Falls.

Schedule

Friday, June 22: Check-in as early

as 4:00 pm. There will be a

welcome potluck dinner (with food

prepared at home?) at 6:30 pm.

Saturday, June 23: There will be

another potluck dinner (with food

prepared at camp) at 6:30 pm.

Sunday, June 24: Check-out by

1:00 pm.

Activities

Hiking: A short trail downhill from

the North Falls Group Camp leads

to the spectacular 8.7 mile Trail of

Ten Falls.

Biking: There's a four-mile paved

bike path linking the main

campground and South Falls

Day-Use Area to a loop near the

Winter Falls trailhead.

Dog Walking: The Canyon Trail,

Maple Ridge, and Winter trails are

closed to pets, but there are 25

miles of dog-friendly trails in the

park.

Garden Viewing: The Oregon

Garden is in Silverton, the park's

gateway town.

Beer Run: Seven Brides

Brewing is also in Silverton.

Amenities

own. Fun for the whole family!

Monday, 1/30, 6:00 pm - International

Development Happy Hour. Co-hosted by

CRPCA, Development Salon, Global

Sistergoods, Green Empowerment, Jubilee

Oregon, North West Fair Trade Coalition, and

the Portland Area Global AIDS Coalition. An

informal gathering to share information,

resources and network and just plain chat over

food and drink. Location at the Lucky Labrador

Tap Room in North Portland, 1700 N

Killingsworth St. Note the location and time

change from our usual Soirées.

February 2012

Wednesday, 2/01, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm -

Writers' Group. Location at the home of

Gabriella Maertens, 13302 NE Sacramento

Dr in Portland (503-254-5161). Please bring a

writing sample and perhaps a snack to share.

See our Writers' Group page for more

information. Our special guest on 2/01 will be

Peter Chilson, RPCV Niger, professor of writing

at Washington State University, and author of

Riding the Demon: On the Road in West Africa

and Disturbance Loving Species, who is

currently writing a book about borderlands in

West Africa.

Saturday, 2/04, 5:00 pm - Restaurant

Gathering. E'NJoni Café (Ethiopian and

Capacity: North Falls Group Camp

sites A & B can accommodate up

to 50 people in tents.

Facilities: There are vault toilets

and water in the group

campground. It's a four-mile drive

to the main campground's free

showers (in loops A & B).

Directions

From Portland via I-5: Take OR

214 toward Woodburn/Silverton

(I-5 exit 271) and follow all turns for

OR 214 until you turn right into

Silver Falls State Park's North Falls

Group Camp, just past the park

entrance.

From Portland via I-205: Take OR

213 toward Molalla (I-205 exit 10)

and follow it all the way to

Silverton. There you will turn left

onto OR 214 and follow it until you

turn right into Silver Falls State

Park's North Falls Group Camp,

just past the park entrance.

From Salem and points south:

Take OR 22 east to the Silver Falls

Hwy OR 214 exit. Upon entering

Silver Falls State Park, pass the

main campground and the South

Falls, Winter Falls, and North Falls

trailheads before turning left into

the North Falls Group Camp, just

before the park's north exit.

Reservations

We're only taking reservations for people

in tents. RVs should make reservations

in the main campground and come

visit with us.The low $6/person rate

applies to all people in tents (including

children) and to your entire stay (Friday

Eritrean cuisine), 910 N Killingsworth St in

Portland, two blocks west of the venue for our

sponsored screening. Stay tuned for menu and

RSVP information.

Saturday, 2/04, 7:30 pm - CRPCA-sponsored

screening of Faro: Goddess of the Waters, a

feature film directed by Salif Traouré and set in

Mali. A free program of the Cascade Festival of

African Films. Location at Portland Community

College's Cascade campus (705 N Killingsworth

St ), Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building,

room 104.


Gathering. Location at the home of Tom

DeMeo, 301 NE 67th Ave (tan bungalow 1.5

blocks south of Glisan) in Portland. Please bring

a dish to share to the 6pm potluck dinner. After

dinner, starting at 7pm, there will be a CRPCA

business meeting, at which we'll award our

winter 2012 grants. All are welcome!

Tuesday, 2/21, 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm - Book

Club. Location at the home of Anne Kimberly,

4261 SE Alder St in Portland. Feel free to bring

snacks to share. The book to read is The Good

Earth by Pearl S. Buck (1931). See our Book

Club page for more information.

and/or Saturday nights). We will stop

taking reservations once 50 people have

paid. We will thereafter maintain a waiting

list in case of cancellations. Please click

over to our Checkout & Donate

page today to make your reservation.

We’re also accepting reservations by

checks written to CRPCA and mailed to

CRPCA, P.O. Box 802, Portland OR

97207. CRPCA's Treasurer (Phyllis

Shelton) and President (Bill Stein) will

also accept reservations by cash or check

at CRPCA events.

Questions?

Contact Anne Kimberly at

[email protected] or 503-929-1470.

For updated information (and images of

past Local Campouts), please visit our

Local Campout page.

Post-Holiday White Elephant Party

CRPCA's 12th annual Post-Holiday White

Elephant Party is coming up soon! This is

among CRPCA's most family-friendly events

each year, and again this year we'll be

projecting photos from past CRPCA events

as we eat, drink, open gifts, and laugh.

When?

Saturday, January 7, 2012 (6:00-9:00 pm)

Where?

Lucky Labrador (NW Portland) private room,

1945 NW Quimby St in Portland.

What to bring?

Please bring a wrapped gift for the

exchange, perhaps something you received

for the holidays that will be of more use to

Family Events of Saturday, February 25

12:30 pm to 1:30 pm - Family Pizza

Gatheringat Hot Lips Pizza, 5440 NE

33rd Ave (at Killingsworth) in Portland.

Afterwards, we'll walk two blocks north

for Family Film Day.

2:00 pm to 4:00 pm - Family Film Day

at the Cascade Festival of African Films.

This year there will be screenings of

Tinga Tinga Tales and Why Mosquitoes

Buzz in People's Ears...And More Stories

from Africa, plus storytelling by Baba

Wagué Diakité. Free, but arrive early if

you want seats. Location at McMenamins

Kennedy School, 5736 NE 33rd Ave in

Portland.

4:00 to 5:00 pm - Family Playtime. After

Family Film Day, our families will

reassemble at nearby Wilshire Park for

some group play. Travel south on NE

33rd Ave 0.7 miles, then turn left onto

Skidmore, and the playground is between

35th and 36th.

The contact for the day's events is Karen

Cellarius, [email protected] or

503-998-0572.

Monday, 2/27, 6:30 pm - Soirée. An informal

gathering at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915

SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland. This is a great

way to link up with other RPCVs, hear

interesting stories from around the world, and

grab a drink and a bite to eat among good

company. You can usually find us in the front

room. Kids welcome until 9pm.





Halsey St in Portland. Contact Gordon Young,

[email protected] or 503-631-2876, for

more information.

someone else.

What not to bring?

Again this year: No holiday-themed gifts.

Please leave Santa Claus at home.

What's for dinner?

Dinner will be a pizza and salad buffet, with

beverages available for purchase.

Vegetarian and vegan pizzas will be

available at the buffet.

How much?

$14.00 per adult, $9.00 per child ages

5-12. Pay in advance using debit/credit

card on our Checkout and Donate page,

or RSVP to Erin Gettling at

[email protected] and plan to pay by

cash or check.

Highlights from Peace Corps' 50th

March 2012

Tuesday, 3/06, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm - Writers'

Group. Location at the home of Mary Kay

Landis, 1130 SE 36th Ave in Portland. Please

bring a writing sample and perhaps a snack to

share. See our Writers' Group page for more

information.


Gathering. Location at Trillium Hollow

Cohousing's Common House, 9601 NW Leahy

Rd in Portland. Please bring a dish to share to

the 6pm potluck dinner. After dinner, starting at

7pm, there will be a program: John Haines on

Mercy Corps Northwest. All are welcome!

Tuesday, 3/13, 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm - Book

Club. Location at the home of Liz Samuels,

3739 SW Hillside Dr in Portland. Feel free to

bring snacks to share. The book to read is

1491: New Revelations of the Americas

Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann (2005).

See our Book Club page for more information.

Monday, 3/26, 6:30 pm - Soirée. An informal

gathering at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915

SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland.



Anniversary Celebration

by Gabriella Maertens

I decided to attend the Advocacy Day

training, so I arrived on Wednesday

afternoon, September 21st in Washington,

DC. We were divided into states and

congressional districts to advocatethe

following day on Capitol Hill: funding for

Peace Corps, the Kate Puzey Peace

Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011

and the authorization for a

Commemorative Peace Garden.

Thursday was our day on Capitol Hill and

it did not disappoint. We were given

packets with information on each

congressman and their voting record and

our talking points and meeting times had

already been arranged. CRPCA member,

Norman Turrill, was an invaluable help in

navigating the House and Senate. We

mostly met with staff assistants but had a

very informative meeting with Jeff

Merkley. Two of the three bills that we

advocated for have passed both houses

and been signed into law by President

Obama.

The activities with Friends of Niger were

an important reason for traveling to DC:

the meeting at the Niger Embassy, the

gathering following and the dinner at the

Bukom Café were noteworthy for

rekindling old relationships and making

new ones. It was wonderful to meet and

exchange ideas.

As for the National Peace Corps events,

the Conversations: The Future of the

Peace Corps, which was held at the

National Theater with Bill Moyers as host

was inspiring.

For more information on this event, go to



Halsey St in Portland. Contact Gordon Young,

[email protected] or 503-631-2876, for

more information.

Cascade Festival of African Films

The 22nd Cascade Festival of African Films

(CFAF) will run February 3 to March 3, 2012.

The full schedule is now on-line at

http://www.africanfilmfestival.org. This year’s

free screenings include films from/about

Burkina Faso, Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya,

Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger,

Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa,

and Zimbabwe.

CRPCA is offering group events associated with

the festival on two dates; see our events

calendar above for all the details. We’ve taken

care that no CRPCA events during the festival

month conflict with CFAF screenings, given

strong attendance over the years by RPCVs.

On the opening Saturday (February 4),

we have a Restaurant Gathering at

nearby E’NJoni Café prior to CRPCA’s

sponsored screening of Faro: Goddess of

the Waters. Also, CRPCA’s President Bill

Stein will provide the post-film

commentary for the 2pm screening of For

the Best and For the Onion!, set in the

region of Niger in which he served in the

Peace Corps.

We’ve got a whole afternoon of family

activities centered around CFAF’s Family

Film Day on Saturday, February 25.

the following website:

http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org

/2011/09/

On Saturday evening I did not attend the

Peace Corps Gala because of the cost

but following the FON dinner I caught the

last hour of music and dancing at the

Peace Corps Fund Bash. I wish I could

have stayed longer but the next morning

we had to rise early to make it to

Arlington National Cemetery for the

closing ceremony, which was organized

by the RPCV/Washington group to honor

the 180 PCVs who died during their

Peace Corps service,out of the 200,000

who have served. There were tributes

from representatives of the families,

speeches from two Kennedys who had

served in the Peace Corps, a message

from Aaron Williams, Peace Corps

Director and wonderful songs performed

by a choir from the Duke Ellington School

of Arts. I would estimate the crowd at

4,000. Many returned volunteers were

seated in country-of-service areas.

Excitement was building, as we

descended the hill to gather for the Walk

of Peace Corps Flags. In contrast with the

Rose Parade March where one PCV

carried a flag from every country served

by Peace Corps, we were all gathered

around the flag of our country service in

alphabetical order and walked from

Arlington National Cemetery across

Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial.

I wore my favorite tie-dyed blue boubou

and walked with about 40 RPCVs who

served in Niger. We were so energized

that the lack of parade watchers was

hardly noticed. The spirit and energy was

from us and for us, and for those we

honored.

Message from Paraguay

by Amy Black

"Mba'e la porte gente Cuerpo de Pazpegua".

"Hello/How are you people of Peace Corps" in

Guarani. My name is Amy Black and I am a

Beekeeping Volunteer in Peace Corps

Paraguay. I've been here for 2 years now, a

time where things that once were weird now

seem totally normal. I am living in a medium

size community about an hour and a half away

from the capital of Paraguay, Asuncion in one of

the three Paraguayan Afro- Descendent

communities. This community has challenged,

embraced, and inspired me and as a result, I

have decided to stay until April of 2012 to begin

and finish up some projects and enjoy the

wonderful people I live with.

On that note, the community and myself are

working together to build a community center

that encompasses a library, a computer lab, and

a general meeting room. The concept is that

there are little to no educational or technical

resources within the community and this

discourages curiosity, limits educational and

NPCA had been unable to obtain a park

permit, so the celebration abruptly ended

with the dispersal after reaching the

Lincoln Memorial. It was a fitting end to

our celebration of the 50thanniversary of

the Peace Corps. Some groups planned

to meet for lunch and others wanted to

tour the nearby memorials, especially the

new Martin Luther King Memorial. We

passed through the Mountain of Despair,

read the inscriptions on the walls and

viewed the enormous statue on the Stone

of Hope in its beautiful location on the

Tidal Basin across from the Jefferson

Memorial. Viewing the other memorials

would have to wait, as we were invited to

a family BBQ dinner.

Being the 50thanniversary celebration

meant that there were a majority of

volunteers who served in the early years

of the Peace Corps but there were

volunteers of all ages and from most

countries where Peace Corps has served.

For most it was an experience that

changed our lives. I was glad to have

been a part of this celebration.

employment opportunities, and hinders

community planning because if anyone wants to

learn something new, there are no means to

acquire the information within our community.

The project also will facilitate building

community relationships, trade groups, and

organizations that help improve the lives of so

many members within the community through

general meetings and educational and technical

seminars. Community members have banded

together to request money from our Municipality

and State Government as well as have earned

over 1,500.00 dollars in community fundraising

in the last 4 months. The money I'm trying to

raise is going help jump-start the project/keep in

moving when cash is running lower. So, this is

where you can help! I have written a grant with

the help of the community and in conjunction

with Peace Corps rules and regulations. If you

are able and willing to donate any amount (no

amount is too small), myself, my neighbors, my

students, my Paraguayan coworkers,

Paraguayan family, and our community in

general will all be incredibly appreciate. Also, if

any of you choose to donate, all donations are

tax deductible.

Please check out the project/donate at this

address: https://www.peacecorps.gov

/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.donatenow&

keyword

I am project 526-229. You can also check out

our Facebook page (Escuela Santa Rosa de

Lima), it has photos and lots of information as

well.... I will get to translating the information in

English as soon as possible.

Highlights of CRPCA’s December

events

On December 3 we co-hosted a Peace

Corps Around the World event with the

Seattle Peace Corps recruiting office.

Pictured here are the RPCVs

representing Mongolia (above) and

Ukraine (below).

At our December 11 potluck gathering,

the business meeting featured Laura

Kutner on her new Trash for Peace

initiative and Rich Ireland on his

just-completed inspirational visit to Haiti.

After dinner we heard from Lewis & Clark

professor Cari Coe regarding forest

politics in Vietnam, Tom DeMeo regarding

forestry work (in part with Peace Corps

Volunteers) in Morocco, and Mike Waite

regarding an attitudinal survey toward

forests in Liberia.

Going back to yesterday: Where memory

and memoir begin

by Don Messerschmidt, Nepal 1963

“I can’t go back to yesterday, because I was a

different person then.” (Lewis Carroll, ‘Alice in

Wonderland’)

Really? Are we so different that we can’t go

back? I don’t think so. I am more inclined to

believe actress Audrey Hepburn who once said

that “...one should go back and search for what

was loved and found to be real.” That’s where

memory and memoir begin.

I recently returned to the village where I first

lived in Nepal almost five decades ago. I

wanted to recapture something of ‘yesterday’.

We writers do this sort of thing: revisit the past

On December 15 we discussed Isabel

Fonseca’s Bury Me Standing: The

Gypsies and Their Journeyat Book Club.

Our Winter Weekend at Mazama Lodge

was very well attended (20!), considering

that we held it a week before Christmas

(December 16-18). The kids enjoyed

sledding on a gorgeous Saturday, and the

adults enjoyed fireside chats in the

evenings. All agreed that we’re eager to

do this again next winter, when we’ll

endeavor to hold our Winter Weekend in

a month other than December, so we can

avoid members’ holiday conflicts.

then write about it, though the memories may

be blurred.

It was 1963, and doing village development as

a Peace Corps volunteer was my thing. I was

ambitious, optimistic, and idealistic. Living in

village Nepal for two years was an adventure, a

challenge. And while I gave a little of myself to

the community, I gained far more in return. It

changed my life.

Now, as then, Kunchha, Lamjung has a few

shops and houses, a post office, a police post,

and a school, and some wonderful folk of

various castes and ethnicities. And though

there’s been some ‘modernization’, the changes

seem more superficial than substantial. I saw

one new concrete building amidst the very old

mud brick ones that I remember. The house I

once lived in apparently fell down; there’s a

smaller one in its place. Electricity is new,

mobile phones are ubiquitous, and there is bus

service now on a very rough road. Back in 1963

we walked to Kunchha two days from Pokhara

and seven days more on to Kathmandu. Today,

you can bus to or from Kathmandu in about

seven hours, and arrive in time for tea.

I was posted to Kunchha with another volunteer.

We defined ourselves as ‘problem solvers’.

Sometimes we helped the district engineer who

looked after trail, school and water system

maintenance. For a few months we ran a

smallpox immunization program vaccinating

25,000 villagers, mostly children. One spring

when crops failed I conducted a district-wide

food deficit survey after which an aid agency

shipped in tons of rice and wheat. And we

tutored several young men in English, each of

whom went on to work in development or

teaching. They’re retired now and live

elsewhere.

Today at Kunchha, as elsewhere across Nepal,

the poor continue to eke out a difficult living

from the soil, while the more fortunate tend to

move on to better opportunities elsewhere,

leaving their villages behind looking forlorn.

During my recent visit the local health post

officer introduced himself. “I’m ‘Rosey’,” he said.

I must have looked puzzled. “That’s what you

called me when I was a young school boy,” he

added. Ah, but of course. I’d forgotten! Now

‘Rosey’, too, is about to retire, he said. Time

flies and memories blur.

Memoirs can take various forms, from short

essays to whole books. I kept a journal in

Kunchha from which I might begin to craft a

memoir (after I correct several naïve

misunderstandings that I recorded in a cramped

handwriting). I’ve already published a few

stories, one about a Himalayan-size

thunderstorm, and another about the smallpox

campaign. But there is more to tell... Like who’s

gone and what they left behind. How life was

then, and how unchanged it seems now. And,

not least, answering the inevitable question, ‘So

what?’

A memoir should tell who we were and what we

learned back then, ‘yesterday’. It should reveal

something of the inner self and the context of

change and personal development. For me, it

was a time of discovery and transformation. It

gave me perspective upon which to build a life...

“There is nothing like returning to a place that

remains unchanged to find the ways in which

you yourself have altered.”(Nelson Mandela,

‘Long Walk to Freedom’)

You can follow Don on his blog at

dmesserschmidt.blogspot.com

Our final event of 2011 was our Soirée on

December 19. This one was unusual in

that only four of the 15 attendees had

ever attended more than one Soirée.

Several were very recently Returned

Peace Corps Volunteers, including two

who served in Malawi. We also got to

meet some members’ family members,

which occurred at several CRPCA events

this past month.

Make a New Years Resolution to be at

more CRPCA events in 2012! As you

can see elsewhere in this newsletter, we

have a plethora of events January

through March where you can engage

with each other in a variety of venues.

Then you just might see yourself pictured

in this space in future months!

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crpca january 2012 newsletter · 2017-03-11 · mali. a free program of the cascade festival of...

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