— 5 — RAPS club reports Book Club: Hosseini’s Splendid Suns The selection for November is A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. It is described on the cover as “a breathtaking story set against Afghanistan’s last 30 years—from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding—that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms.” Marge Terdal will host the November Book Club gathering in her home at 997 SW Westwood Dr., Portland, at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 18. Please contact her at 503-244-5714 if you would like to join the discussion. At the October meeting, all readers in the RAPS Book Club agreed that all 754 pages (880 pages including notes) of Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, were engaging. Her way of integrating the four major players (the team of rivals) into the book was masterful, as was her description of how Lincoln could build a team from these very successful men who had opposing views and personalities. It was not a dry history, but one in which Goodwin brought out the humanity of all the characters. The group was particularly interested in aspects of daily life of the era that appeared in the book, and we talked of how commonplace illness and loss seemed to be. The author concludes the book with a fairly long quote from Tolstoy: “Now why was Lincoln so great that he overshadowed other national heroes? He really was not a great general like Napoleon or Washington, he was not such a skillful statesman as Gladstone or Frederick the Great; but his supremacy expresses itself altogether in his peculiar moral power and in the greatness of his character” (page 748). As one RAPS reader said, “It is such a good book!” —Mary Gordon-Brannan Bridge Group: Cuts the deck Nov. 11 The RAPS Bridge Group continues to meet for fun, frivolity, and bridge on the second Tuesday of each month. For information about joining us at 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 11, in the Terrace Building of Willamette View, call Colin Dunkeld at 503-292-0838 or e-mail him at colinkeld@gmail.com. —Maxine Thomas PAST TENSE PSU gets national exposure on ‘College Bowl’ In 1965 Portland State gained national recognition and credibility when its team of college students competed academically against other college teams on the GE College Bowl, a popular national television program. Coached by speech professor Ben Padrow, Portland State’s team answered tough questions on various topics and won five straight contests, retiring undefeated and setting a record for total points scored. In honor of Michael J. Smith, one of Portland State’s team members, who later died of cystic fibrosis, the student center was renamed the Michael J. Smith Memorial Center in 1969 (now Smith Memorial Student Union). —FromPortland 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. Hikers: Hike moved to Nov. 21 The November hike date has been moved up a week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. We will meet at the Fort Vancouver Visitors Center, located off of East Evergreen Boulevard, at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 21. Exit I-5 at East Mill Plain Boulevard, right on Fort Vancouver Way, and left onto East Evergreen until you see the signs. It is a building in the open next to a picnic shelter. This hike will be a short walk over paved pathways with several stops to read information signs or look down on the fort. We will walk by the fort, go through the orchard, view a reconstructed house in the old village, and cross over the new land bridge to the water. The land bridge has several viewpoints with information on fort history and a very old apple tree. Returning, we will visit the fort ($3 admission fee). Lunch will be at a restaurant in Vancouver. People who have a Golden Age Passport get in free, along with all passengers in their car. Please confirm your participation by Nov. 20 to Larry Sawyer, 503-771-1616 or larry_sawyer@ comcast.net. —Larry Sawyer
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz