Book Club: A book about a rash promise The RAPS book group will talk about Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time, by Greg Mortenson and David O. Relin, on Tuesday, Nov. 20, at the home of Marge Terdal at 997 SW Westwood Drive, Portland. Contact her at terdalm@pdx.edu or at 503-244-5714 to RSVP and for directions. Mortenson is the co-founder (with Dr. Jean Hoerni) and executive director of the nonprofit Central Asia Institute and is also founder of Pennies For Peace. This book is the winner of several state, regional, and national awards. Three Cups of Tea is described on the jacket as follows: The inspiring account of one man’s campaign to build schools in the most dangerous, remote, and anti-American reaches of Asia. In 1993 Greg Mortenson was the exhausted survivor of a failed attempt to ascend K2, an American climbing bum wandering emaciated and lost through Pakistan’s Karakoram Himalaya. After he was taken in and nursed back to health by the people of an impoverished Pakistani village, Mortenson promised to return one day and build them a school. From that rash, earnest promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time—Greg Mortenson’s one-man mission to counteract extremism by building schools, especially for girls, throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban. Award-winning journalist David Oliver Relin has collaborated on this spellbinding account of Mortenson’s incredible accomplishments in a region where Americans are often feared and hated. In pursuit of his goal, Mortenson has survived kidnapping, fatwas issued by enraged mullahs, repeated death threats, and wrenching separations from his wife and children. But his success speaks for itself. At last count, his Central Asia Institute had built 55 schools. Three Cups of Teais at once an unforgettable adventure and the inspiring true story of how one man really is changing the world—one school at a time. We will not meet in December due to the holidays, but will start 2008 in January with Ivan Doig’s The Whistling Season. —Mary Brannan — 3 — RAPS club reports Educated at Harvard University, Willard B. Spalding came to the Portland State Extension Center in 1952 to lead Teacher Education after serving as superintendent of Portland Public Schools. By 1955 he was chair of the Education Division, overseeing the Education and Physical Education departments. With campus-wide faculty support, Spalding led the fight at the state level for Portland State to obtain certification and bachelor’s and master’s degree status in teacher education. His efforts opened the doors for parallel degrees in other academic areas at Portland State. Spalding was an outstanding teacher, administrator, and leader. These were Willard Spalding’s special gifts to the School of Education, Portland State University, and Oregon. —Steve Brannan Past Tense features glimpes into Portland State’s past. To submit a story (or an idea for one), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. Word count should not exceed 100. PAST TENSE Willard B. Spalding, Ed.D. Willard B. Spalding Bridge Group meets Nov. 13 The next meeting of the RAPS Bridge Group will be at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, at Willamette View. For details or further information about the group, please call Colin at 503-292-0838 or email colinkeld@gmail.com. If you would like to play, please call or email as soon as you can and no later than Friday, Nov. 9. —Colin Dunkeld Hikers head to Mount St. Helens The November hike will be another section of the Springwater Trail. The footbridge over McLoughlin was completed a few months ago, and we will hike that section beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 23. By the RAPS Sheet publication date, Larry will have an up-to-date map of that section of the trail and parking information. The hike will be less than five miles on a fairly level paved trail. Contact Larry at 503-771-1616 or larry_sawyer@comcast.net for more details. Please confirm your attendance by Thursday evening, Nov. 22. The October hike to Mount St. Helens Ape Caves occurred after the RAPS Sheet deadline. Due to the holidays, there will be no hike in December. —Larry Sawyer
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz