Page 4 RAIN Oct./Nov. 1982 RAINDROPS Things have been so hectic around here that I don 't even want to write about it. We're starting Volume IV (look, Ma, four years!) with a huge load ofvisitors, phone calls and materials to cover. I hope the best of it sifts its way into these pages in the coming months . . . LanedeMoIl, Raindrops, October 1977 Some things never change around the Rainhouse, Lane! We're still greeting the visitors, enriching the phone company and trying to keep up with the information load. But we're celebrating our anniversary this year with a change which may, at long last, make our lives a bit less hectic. We'll be publishing 40-page, bimonthly RAINs from now on (see subscriber information on page 2), and with four fewer issues to deal with each year, we'll have more time, freer from deadline pressures, to plow lovingly through our latest layers of books, pamphlets, periodicals and computer output in search of the very best items for mention in RAIN. We'll have more opportunity to think, individually and collectively, about the significance of the new ideas, trends and models-for- change we're constantly encountering, and with 40 pages at our disposal, we'll be able to report our discoveries to you in considerable detail. By expanding our format we've also made room for additional features. With this anniversary issue we are introducing both a regular 4-page "Pacific Northwest Bioregion Report" and a "Rain Checks" column to track changes among the people and projects described in previous issues. We are also reviving a column which last appeared in RAIN in 1976: "Touch & Go" is indescribable, so check it out for yourself. Even with all the information which regularly flows (or rather, floods) through the Rainhouse, we still depend on you, our readers, to provide us with tips on good books, innovative community projects and upcoming events. And during the coming months as we continue to experiment with our new format, your comments, both critical and complimentary, will be extremely important to us. So please — let us hear from you!—John Ferrell RAIN CHECKS The self-help village development in Northern Ghana described in "Everybody Needs Amasaachina" (RAIN VIII:9) made great strides this year thanks to the efforts of Peace Corps volunteers Jeff Strang and Joe Davis and the Amasaachina leaders. Villages raised money for and dug several drinking-water dams, started a primary health clinic, and built a school building, to name only a few projects. The new dam (on the walls of which young men planted trees in the name of the local traditional ruler) held water all through the dry season, and this was the cause of much celebration since it means the village will now be self-sufficient in water year-round. Two new Peace Corps volunteers have been assigned to the district to replace Jeff (who closed service in September) so the good work can continue. — Bruce and Ann Borquist Access Self-Help Safe and AUve, by Terry Dobson with Judith Shepherd-Chow, 1981, 152 pp., $4.95 from: Houghton Mifflin Copipany 2 Park Street Boston, MA 02107 The message of this excellent urban survival manual is straightforward: we are much less likely to become victims of violence if we do not look, act or feel like victims. Common sense precautions designed to minimize opportunities for confrontation (always stand near the control panel in an elevator; hit all the buttons if another passenger makes a menacing move) are combined with intriguing tips on how to behave coolly if confrontation is unavoidable. Principal author Terry Dobson, a longtime practitioner of the nonviolent Japanese martial art. Aikido, explains the use of meditative "centering" techniques to assure a calm and alert response to danger. He also describes how "blending" with the force of your assailant can be used to turn his strength to your advantage. But Safe and Alive is more than just a recital of streetwise tips. The authors remind their readers that a balanced view of modem American life must take into account not only the very real dangers, but the tremendous potential for kindness and generosity from people all around us. To overlook this potential and withdraw in fear from community life is to 3deld to passive victimization. We must strive, say the authors, to "recognize the difference between prudence and paranoia, to be sensibly cautious while living the fullest life [we] possibly can." — John Ferrell Winning With Your Lawyer: What Every Client Should Know About How the Leg^ System Works, by Burton Marks and Gerald Goldfarb, 1980, 242 pp.,$6.95 from: McGraw-Hill 1221 Avenue of Americas New York, NY 10020 Despite the fact that none of us anticipates it, on the average every American will either sue or be sued once during his or her lifetime. And in the midst of a legal battle, we may find ourselves incredibly ignorant of how the legal system works. A recent American Bar Foundation study reports that more than half of all Americans have used a lawyer at least once and that one-third have used lawyers twice or more. In giving us Winning With Your Lawyer, authors Marks and Goldfarb hope to keep the layman from being manipulated by
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz