RAPS Group Reports Book Group THE BOOK GROUP met on April 17 at the home of Eileen and Steve Brennan. We discussed Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, the story of two young people who leave the conflict of their homeland and follow current refugee trails. It was a finalist for the Man Booker prize, and is described on the back cover as “compulsively readable. . . tremendously profound and entertaining.” We enjoyed the book and the discussion of the many complex issues that it raised—probably finding it profound rather than entertaining. In May we will meet at Brian Lewis’s home to discuss Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild. It is a sociologist’s exploration of the territory of the conservative right. It won several awards in 2016, and we are looking forward to the discussion. Brian’s home is at 12828 SW Walnut Street in Tigard. Contact Brian at 503-590-5890 or brianlewispdx@gmail.com to let him know whether you will be there and to get directions. For those of you who like to plan ahead, in June we will be reading Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward. Winner of numerous awards, it is said to be a beautifully crafted novel exploring the history and contemporary plight of a young family today in Mississippi. The book group meets the third Tuesday of every month at 1:30 pm. New members are always welcome. —Joan Shireman Bridge Group THE RAPS BRIDGE GROUPmeets in the afternoon on the first Tuesday of each month. We begin play at 12:15 pm. We try to finish up by 4 pm. We meet in Smith Center, on the second floor. Please mark your calendars for the following upcoming meetings: Tuesday, May 1, in SMSU 294 Tuesday, June 5, in SMSU 294 Tuesday, July 3, in SMSU 258 I will send out the reminder email notice about one week prior to each date we play. The RAPS Bridge Group members are very friendly and 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 Hiking Group OUR HIKE ON MAY 22 will follow trails in two different areas. We will first visit the Camassia Natural Area, which is owned and maintained by the Nature Conservancy. This is a 22-acre area near West Linn named after the camas plant. We are hopeful that the camas plants will still be in bloom in late May. The nature park is host to more than 300 plants plus several species of birds; bring your binoculars. The second part of our hike will follow the old trolley trail that goes from Gladstone to Milwaukie. Lunch will be in the Gladstone area. We will hike the trolley trail until we decide to turn back to our cars. The April hike took place on the Wind Mountain Trail in the Columbia River Gorge, on the Washington side. Five hikers participated and enjoyed perfect weather and magnificent views. If you plan to hike in May, contact Larry Sawyer at 503-771-1616 or larry_sawyer@comcast.net. For more details about this hike or future hiking plans in 2018, please consult the RAPS hikers’ website: https://www.pdx.edu/raps/RAPS-Hikers. —Larry Sawyer Save the date! RAPS Summer Picnic returns to Willamette Park on August 16, noon to 4 pm. —Photograph of the 2017 RAPS summer picnic by Larry Sawyer 3
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