— 5 — Book Club: Dreams and Audacity on Jan. 20 At the November meeting, we found it interesting that in his second book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini focused on females, whereas the primary characters were males in his first book, The Kite Runner. A Thousand Splendid Suns began where The Kite Runner ended. We noted that as the Afghan rulers changed—communists to Taliban—the lifestyle of women changed dramatically. We found it difficult to read about the helplessness of the women characters. We will not meet in December, but will resume on Jan. 20 at 1:30 p.m. Dez Roberts will host us in her home at 2610 SW 84th, Portland. Please contact her at 503-292-6095 if you would like to join the discussion. The January books are Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope, both by Barack Obama. The first book is described on the back cover as: In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American. It begins in New York, where Barack Obama learns that his father—a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man—has been killed in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey—first to a small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother’s family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his family, confronts the bitter truth of his father’s life, and at last reconciles his divided inheritance. —Mary Gordon Brannan RAPSBridge Group: Shuffles on Dec. 9 Our next meeting will be at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at Willamette View. This is also our annual white elephant whatnot. If this doesn’t scare you off, please let me know no later than Friday, Dec. 5. Reach me at 503-292-0838 or at colinkeld@gmail.com. —Colin Dunkeld Hikers: Taking a holiday break There will not be a December hike because of the holidays. The Hikers did stride into Washington state the week before Thanksgiving when they visited Fort Vancouver and hiked about two miles. Look for news of the January hike in the next RAPS Sheet. —Larry Sawyer RAPS club reports PAST TENSE Coach Pokey Allen rides herd on PSU football Ernest “Pokey” Allen, head football coach from 1986 to 1992, took the Vikings to NCAA Division II national prominence, winning five Western Football Conference titles. His flair for promotion increased interest in PSU football when he sometimes let fans call pass or run plays. He also appeared on TV ads being shot from a cannon or riding an elephant. Allen compiled the best winning percentage of any PSU football head coach, was named Oregon Coach of the Year for 1987-88, and was inducted into the Portland State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. Allen died of a rare form of cancer at age 53 in 1996. —From Portland State: A History in Pictures Past Tense features glimpses into Portland State’s history. To submit a story (or an idea for one), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. Jim actively pursued wide-ranging civic support pursuits that left an indelible mark on the city of his birth. For example, he served on the trustee boards for the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children and Jesuit High School. He took pride in his role as a founding member of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. Embry Lee Buckley Savage, his spouse of 52 years, survives him. As a member of the PSU Women’s Faculty Association, she organized several extensive art sales to generate scholarship funding. To Embry; their daughter, Susan Pirri, of San Francisco; sons Bob, of Portland, and Jim, of Oakland, Calif.; and five grandchildren, our organization extends its heartfelt condolences. Remembrances may be made to the Shriners Hospital for Children, 3101 SW Sam Jackson Road, Portland OR 97239, or the Mudd Nick Foundation, PO Box 1078, Manzanita OR 97130. —Victor C. Dahl, Professor Emeritus of History, with assistance from Lewis N. Goslin, Professor Emeritus of Business Administration James L. Savage . . . continued from page 2
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz