RAPS Group Reports The RAPS Book Group. On October 17 the book group met at the home of Steve and Eileen Brennan. We discussed The Lab Girl by Hope Jahren, a highly acclaimed autobiography celebrating a woman’s career in science and her love for the natural world. The writing about botany was wonderful, and we made new discoveries about our world. The biographical parts of the book received mixed reviews from the group. In November we will read The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss, a biography of Alex Dumas, a general of the Napoleonic era. We know his life through The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, written by his son, Alexandre Dumas. The elder Dumas has been one of the few men of color to command vast armies. We anticipate that a well-researched biography will be exciting to read. (Note the range of the group’s interests, from plants to swashbuckling generals.) We will meet at the home of Felicia Wirtz, 16433 Avamere Court, in Portland. Contact Felicia at 503-628-2252 or feliciawirtz@gmail.com to RSVP and for directions. In December we plan to read Love, Africa: A Memoir of Romance, War, and Survival by Jeffrey Gettleman. We will meet on December 19 at the home of Joan Shireman. The book group meets the third Tuesday of every month at 1:30 pm. New members are always welcome. We welcome suggestions of books that are interesting to read and full of issues for discussion. - --Joan Shireman The RAPS Bridge Group. The RAPS Bridge Group meets in the afternoon on the first Tuesday of each month. We begin play at 12:15 pm. We try to finish up by 4:00 pm. We meet in Smith Memorial Student Union (SMSU), usually on the second floor, but sometimes on the third floor. Please mark your calendars for the following: Tuesday, November 7, 2017, in SMSU 294 Tuesday, December 5, 2017, in SMSU 294 Tuesday, January 2, 2018, in SMSU 294. I will send out the reminder email notice about one week prior to each date we play. The RAPS Bridge Group is very friendly and we are always looking for new players. If you wish to join us, please contact Steve Brennan, 503-646-6297. My email address is the.steve.brennan@gmail.com. --Steve Brennan The RAPS Hiking Group. Due to work on the Forest Park trails, the October 24 hike was moved to Hoyt Arboretum. For the October RAPS hike, seven people walked about five miles of the 12 miles of trails in the Hoyt Arboretum. The weather was perfect autumn with blue skies, and cool. After our meandering, we ate lunch at the Lovejoy Bakery in Uptown Shopping Center. The November 28 hike is a “4T” experience, involving a trail, a tram ride (Portland Aerial Tram), a trolley (Portland Street Car), and the MAX train. The hike will begin at the Portland Zoo and will follow the trail to Marquam Hill and OHSU. Hikers will ride the tram down to the trolley line, followed by a return to the zoo on MAX. We will stop for lunch along the way. If you plan to hike in November, contact Larry Sawyer at 503-771-1616 or larry_sawyer@comcast.net. For more details, please consult the RAPS hikers website : https://www.pdx.edu/raps/RAPS-Hikers 3 --Larry Sawyer and Tom Dieterich
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