The Official Newsletter of South Coast Mensa September, 2016

The Official Newsletter of South Coast Mensa
© South Coast Mensa, 2016
www.southcoast.us.mensa.org
https://www.facebook.com/southcoastmensa
Region 5
Chapter 365
November, 2016
Announcing South Coast Mensa Candidates
The Nominations/Election Committee consisting of Debbie Hanson, George
Hartley and Tommie Peterson are please to present a full slate of candidates for
the next year. No later than November 15 additional nominations may be made
by petition of five members and delivered to the Nominating Committee.
South Coast Mensa Candidates for 2017:
Donna Workman
Dan Hanson
Trey Lemley
LocSec
Assistant LocSec
Treasurer
Update on Marci Davis’s new contact information
In the July newsletter Bunny provided contact information for former member,
Marci Davis, and encouraged those who know her to reach out with a card, letter,
or phone call. Marci walks a lot, so she may not always be near her phone. Just
keep trying. Her birthday is November 30. Her new contact info. Is below. When
I spoke with Marci, she said to please put her new contact info. In the newsletter.
Dr. Marci Davis
Princeton Health and Rehab Center
1333 W Main Street, Room # 218
Princeton, KY 42445
270-365-8483
Halloween will soon become a distant memory as we look forward to
Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have a large collection of CDs. Well over a
thousand, but I justify my collection because I love music and it’s cheaper and
healthier than other addictions. I have an additional 200 Christmas CDs but
almost none for any other holiday. I have only one Thanksgiving CD. It’s
appropriately titled Thanksgiving. If you do a search on Google or iTunes, you will
stumble across a few Thanksgiving tunes and there is always A Charlie Brown
Thanksgiving to watch on TV or DVD. Thanksgiving music tends to be quiet and
introspective, often with a spiritual overtone. Perhaps, even prayerful. I hope
that during this Thanksgiving season you are able to pause and give thanks for the
many blessing in your life.
I am thankful for our many Mensa friends. I hope to see you at both of our
meetings this month. We always have a good time. It will be even better if you
join us. Feel free to bring a friend. Near the end of this newsletter you will find
information about the December meeting. You may want to act now to
guarantee a seat on the tour before it fills up. Wishing you a happy and blessed
Thanksgiving.
Tommie’s photos this month are more amazing than ever!!!
Mensa Monthly Meeting
By Dan Hanson
Jo Ann Flirt -- Director of Blakeley State Park -- is November speaker
Actual Civil War trench work
Blakeley battle depiction
Blakeley-style house
Blakeley Civil War Reenactors
Eagles- Blakeley wildlife
Hawkins Division soldiers who fought at Blakeley
Blakeley State Park is known best as the site of a Civil War battle – futilely fought the day
after Robert E. Lee surrendered.
It’s less known as a town.
Prior to settlement by Europeans, for example, it was a summer site used by Indians.
Historians know a little bit about this era, though not a lot.
The Mississippi Territory chartered it as a European gathering place, a municipality, in 1814.
It flashed like a meteor then darkened -- a bustling, growing town, one minute, then decline,
turning into what many consider to be “the South’s loveliest ghost town.” Despite a modern
residency of non-human citizens – lizards, blue jays and so forth -- it remains an official
municipality to this day. In fact, it’s the oldest continuous town in Baldwin County and one of
the oldest in the State of Alabama.
Josiah Blakeley and others from New England settled it in 1814. They named the avenues
after presidents and streets after fruit trees.
It reached its zenith in the 1820’s when its population hovered around 4,000, larger than its
across-the-bay competitor -- Mobile. During this lively time it boasted hotels, stores, churches,
blacksmith shops, majestic homes, the first Courthouse of present day Baldwin County and a
bustling seaport town. The Blakeley Sun, published and printed in the town, was one of
Alabama’s earliest newspapers.
But all this growth and activity didn’t last long. By 1830 Blakeley began to ebb. Yellow fever
epidemics and rampant land speculation turned the population movement towards Mobile.
With less than one hundred inhabitants Blakeley began to die.
The Civil War temporarily resurrected her when she was transformed into Fort Blakely -spelled that way during the war. It housed an army camp of upwards to 4,000 soldiers.
A contingent of 20,000 men fought the last major battle of what some call THE war. Nearly
half of the Union troops were black soldiers of the famed Hawkins Division.
After the war, the land stood idle for better than 100 years – idle, if we want to call the
business of nature idleness. Nature took over. Not a brick, nor plank of wood survived. Not a
sign of human habitation. The horned owl hooted through the silence. Skink, rattlers, eagles
and so on fought their daily life and death struggles. Four hundred year old oaks spread further
across the boulevards, warding off the summer vines that tried to strangle them. In the 1970s
nothing but the cemetery was left to indicate that Blakeley was once a major player on the
Alabama scene.
Then, historic Blakeley State Park was created in 1981 and through the years its dedicated
supporters have won back bits and pieces of this nearly lost past. Due to the efforts of our
November speaker – JoAnn Flirt -- and her predecessor and many others, it is now the largest
National Historic Register Site east of the Mississippi River - encompassing 3800 acres nestled
beside the Tensaw River.
Jo Ann – director of Blakeley State Park – is a native, born and raised, or reared if you prefer,
in South Baldwin County.
She attended Huntingdon College her freshman year then moved to the University of
Alabama where she obtained her BA and MA in Journalism. She spent three academic years as
an instructor in Journalism – served as a staff member of the Extension Division and also as
assistant director of the Alabama Press Association. That latter is a trade organization of state
weekly and daily newspapers that was based on the Tuscaloosa campus at the time.
It was a true love – Journalism, that is. She later served as editor of the Foley Onlooker, state
editor-courthouse reporter for Montgomery Advertiser, and “for an exciting but brief time”
owned a weekly newspaper at Tuscumbia.
She returned to the Mobile area to open a professional public relations office. Her “love of
journalism and academia” persisted. She taught Journalism at the UA extension service,
handled developmental public relations for Mobile College (now University of Mobile) and did
much the same at the University of South Alabama.
The muses smiled on her public relations business, making her one of the best-known
political campaign advertising services in town. As a consequence and on invitation she began a
weekly political column, which continued for some 30 years. First it ran outside our area and
later in the Mobile Record, a daily subscription newspaper reporting on civil legal filings in
Mobile County.
As part of her businesses but also as a way to save a heritage building, she bought and
restored an 1842 two-story brick building in historic downtown Mobile.
No good deed goes unpunished, as they say. Her historic restoration led to service on the
Mobile Museum Board and Friends of Old Mobile.
That led to volunteer service on boards of what is now Blakeley State Park.
That led to being drafted to serve as its director.
And that leads her to being our November speaker.
Maybe she’ll think twice before restoring any more buildings in the future.
Fortunately, she’ll come with a mission when she joins us at our November supper. “My
years of action and observation have stuffed my head full of things I would like to share with
Mensa members,” she said. “Some of it is about Blakeley and some about what I perceive to be
the environment in which Blakeley and many other worthy cultural and natural resources are
expected to survive.”
Interesting.
She’s a “believer in institutions as the workhorses of maintaining and expanding a society
that functions for all.”
So do I.
I’ll be all-ears.
November 18 – the weekend before Thanksgiving: 6:30 pm, at Papa’s Place in Daphne. An
excellent steak and Italian restaurant, Papa’s is at 28691 Highway 98, just a few blocks south of
the I-10 exit in Daphne. We’ve had other meetings there, too.
They don’t sell alcohol, so bring your own. They’ll provide an adult beverages set-up for an
extra $2.
Remember, due to the Thanksgiving holidays, it’s not the usual fourth Friday in November;
it’s the third Friday this one time. Donna? You going to remember?
November Mensa Meeting
Friday, November 18, 6:30
Papa’s Place
28691 Highway 98
Daphne, AL
Dauphin Island Sea Lab talks in November
Our October speaker Mendel Graeber told me that Dauphin Island Sea Lab has their
Boardwalk Talk series at the Estuarium on the first and third Wednesdays of the month
(November 2nd and 16th). These are interesting.
Topic descriptions are posted at the beginning of each month and can be found
here: http://www.disl.org/estuarium/adventures-tours-and-talks/.
On November 1st, the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Foundation is having their annual Marine
Environmental Awards Luncheon. Information about that can be found
at: http://sealabfoundation.org/.
Dan Hanson
Getting the word out about South Coast Mensa
We are fortunate to have two hard working proctors in our group. Leslie
Castro-Rosario and Bunny Warsh provide testing in Mobile County and
Baldwin County. They send out notices to local media and in October, the
Lagniappe put a blurb in their weekly paper. It was in the October 20-27
issue on page 34.
If you missed it, here’s the brief write up:
Mensa testing
On Saturday, Oct. 22, at 10 a.m.,
South Coast Mensa will have a
testing session in Mobile. For the
month of October testing costs
$20. Applicants are asked to
arrive by 9:45 a.m. so testing
may begin promptly at 10.
Testing takes approximately two
hours. For further information
contact SCMensaProctor@yaho
o.com.
Unique Veterans Day Events Slated at Blakeley State Park
Our November speaker Jo Ann Flirt told me that On November 11, Blakeley State Park honors
the bravery and innovation of soldiers and sailors who participated in a defining moment in
American history fought on land and waters of the Alabama Gulf Coast,--the American Civil
War.
Highlighting the day are two narrated boat tours of major Civil War defenses protecting Mobile
and the sites of naval activity on the eastern Mobile-Tensaw Delta rivers where Confederate
torpedoes sank three times as many Union vessels as had been lost at Fort Morgan during the
naval battle that closed the mouth of Mobile Bay in August of 1864.
“Confederate water batteries and prowling boats, some with make shift iron cladding, in April
1865 were among the last defense of Mobile as federal forces fresh from victories elsewhere
turned their attention to the last remaining major city in Southern hands and one that had
bedeviled them for four years.”, said Mike Bunn, Blakeley Park director of operations and
historian who developed and leads the Veterans Day special events program.
Blakeley's Delta Explorer morning excursion along the Blakeley and Apalachee river to sites of
defending batteries Tracy and Huger is sold out but a second tour from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. has
been added due to public demand. Tickets for the boat tour are $25 for adults, and $15 for
children 6-12 available first come-first serve or in advance by calling 251-626-5581 and paying
with major credit card.
Sandwiched between from 12 noon to 1 p.m. is a public lecture by Dr. Steven
Trout of the University of South Alabama on how aspects of the Blakeley Battle, the last major
land battle of the Civil War, foreshadowed warfare during World War I and how we remember
that conflict. Our Veteran's Day holiday has its origins in the aftermath of the first World War.
The lecture is free with general park admission. A boxed chicken lunch is available for $10 by
ordering in advance.
Blakeley Park is located on State Hwy. 225 about 5 miles north of its intersection with U.S. 31 at
Spanish Fort. The new State Veterans Cemetery is a few hundred yards away. For more
information on recreational and educational offerings at the park go to www.blakeleypark.com.
Dan Hanson
Second Saturday Meet to Eat
Well, our meeting was fun with good food, decent service and friendly
banter. Prices weren't too bad, either. We learned Mrs. Peter Kerr is recovering
from ANOTHER operation on her leg. Sounds like she has been through the
wringer with that thing. Here's wishing her a full, prompt recovery - SOON! This
has gone on long enough! Mike called in his reservation at 8:56 PM last night; but
we made room for him at the table, anyway <G!>! We talked. Will this latest
scandal about the Donald scotch his chances for the White House once and for all
(I hope!)? Only time will tell. The question was posed: once the election is over,
what will the talking heads on the news talk about? Weather has a cooled off a
tad; we are still wearing shorts and flip flops. But we remain hopeful. Our hearts,
thoughts and prayers go out to the people suffering the devastating effects from
Hurricane Matthew. Material things can be replaced; people cannot.
For November: Saturday, November 12, 11 AM at O'Charley's at Airport and I65. Come join us and bring a guest or two. Just let us know by 9 PM on Friday,
November 11, so we will know how large a table to request. By then, hopefully
we will know who our next president will be. Take care, all!
E. Bunny Warsh
ebunnyw@webtv.net 251/776-6657
Second Saturday Meet to Eat
Saturday, November 12, 11:00 AM
O’Charley’s Restaurant
3649 Airport Blvd.
Mobile, AL 36608
South Coast Mensa
57 members
Baldwin County 23
Mobile County 34
Daphne
Fairhope
Foley
Gulf Shores
Spanish Fort
Montrose
Orange Beach
Point Clear
Mobile
Chunchula
Grand Bay
Saraland
Satsuma
Semmes
Theodore
6
5
3
3
3
1
1
1
28
1
1
1
1
1
1
October Mensa Meeting Made A Big Splash!
Boy, oh boy! Did we have a great time last night (October 27) or
what? Our speaker, Mendel Graeber, was excellent. Seems our
Dauphin Island sea lab is affiliated with the 22 4-year universities in our
fair state where students and their professors can complete their studies
in marine sciences. Their diplomas come from their respective
universities rather than the sea lab. In addition, there is a program for K12, so students from the local schools can come in for half day classes as
well. We are so blessed in this part of the country to enjoy a wide
variety of marine life between the fresh, brackish and salt waters. She
brought specimens - both living and preserved - and passed them around
for us to study. Dan, you definitely outdid yourself this time; thank
you. She will be one very hard act to follow. Golden Bowl, as always, did
not disappoint. Food and service were very good, and prices within
reason. Those who missed it - well, what can I say? You missed a great
evening; come on out and join us. Get to know us and share the fun.
Bunny Warsh
By Gary Kubina
Are you always available to solve puzzles?
Can you absolutely answer these fourteen challenges?
It’s time to start solving any and all of these puzzles!
Clues
Answers
th
1. Flight company named after our 49 state.
A
2. Organization with a 12-step program.
A
3. University in our state.
A
4. Billy Joel song.
A
5. Taking a pet home for keeps.
A
6. Ono Island resident/author of The Traveler’s Gift. A
7. Flight company for the United States.
A
8. Star of ABC sitcom Black-ish.
A
9. Black U. S. citizens.
A
10.Sixth largest city in Michigan.
A
11.Basic arithmetic.
A
12.It keeps the doctor away.
A
13.Swamp sanctuary in Summerdale.
A
14.Car service offering road-side assistance.
A
A
A
A & Mechanical
A Woman to Me
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
Subtraction
A
A Day
A
A
A
In the December issue, look for Christmas puzzles. In fact, why not make up a
Christmas puzzle now and send it to the editor. Also, make other puzzles for
future issues of M-Port. In January, you can find the follow up to the From A to A
puzzle. It’s simply called B B. Hmmm. What could that be about?
Guessing Game
The last names of our South Coast Mensa members start with every letter
of the alphabet except for 8 letters. Take a guess which 8 letters .
Answers appear later in the newsletter.
Start a SIG
You can start a Special Interest Group (SIG) for any topic or activity that you have
an interest in. It can be as simple as a meeting to eat like the SIG that Bunny
Warsh started years ago. It can be a hobby, book club, fitness group or whatever
you can dream up. To start a SIG you simply put an article in this newsletter
stating your interest and wait for a few responses. You can also talk it up in
person at meetings to generate interest.
You, Planning a One-time Meeting
South Coast Mensa is not restricted to having two meetings per month. Some of
the big groups have 10 or 20 get-togethers per month. You can pick an activity,
event, restaurant, or whatever your interest might be, and put a blurb in the
newsletter. A few months ago we did the Art Museum and lunch as a third
meeting date. Start brainstorming and send me your plans for a one-time
meeting. (Please don’t plan it on the same day as the other two meetings!)
November Weird Holidays 2016
Date
Event
Thursday, November 3
Sandwich Day
Sunday, November 6
Saxophone Day
Monday, November 7
Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day
Tuesday, November 8
Cook Something Bold and Pungent Day
Sunday, November 13
World Kindness Day
Thursday, November 17
Homemade Bread Day
Saturday, November 19
Have a Bad Day Day
Monday, November 21
World Hello Day
Wednesday, November 23
National Cashew Day
Friday, November 25
National Parfait Day
Tuesday, November 29
Square Dance Day
Tuesday, November 29
E-Greetings Day
Tuesday, November 29
National Day of Listening
Wednesday, November 30
Stay at Home Because You are Well Day
Christmas Puzzles, Games,
Humor, Poems, Stories,
Memories, Recipes, Drawings,
Photographs, etc.
Next month is Christmas so it’s time to start planning the December issue
of M-Port. Turn up the AC, throw a scarf around your neck and get
yourself in the Christmas spirit a little early and create something to send
in or dig something up you’ve already created. I want to include your
contributions in the December/Christmas edition of our newsletter. Email
(garymath@hotmail.com) or snail mail (3787 Raphael Court, Semmes, AL
36575) the editor with your contributions. Merry Christmas!
News from the Recruiting Front:
Greetings everyone and welcome to the Fall season!!
Bunny and I are thrilled with the changes in weather and with the fact that our chapter
met the challenge of testing one more person this month than October 2015!!!
Bunny and I work not only on coordinating and facilitating the testing sessions, we also
work on the marketing on the sessions. While I take care of contacting the prospects
that reach to us through the American Mensa webpage (or any other means) and
managing the testing calendar (also on the webpage) Bunny sends communications to
local newspapers, radio and TV stations. Still, many of the prospects that get tested got
the information by someone else that not only got the info but encourage them to
attend. Word of mouth is still a powerful mean of marketing!!
Our next testing session will be in Baldwin County, here is the info:
Saturday, December 3, 2016, 10:00 AM. Please be there at least 15 minutes earlier.
Daphne Library
618 Whispering Pines Rd Daphne, AL 36526
(The Library corners with US 98 at Whispering Pines. There is a Walgreen's on the
same corner.)
Please, keep talking to your friends and relatives, keep attending our events, keep
bragging about being in Mensa!! The more members we get the stronger our chapter
becomes and the better the events will be!!
Thanks, South Coast Mensa!!! Keep the good references coming!!!
Many blessings,
Bunny and Leslie
Free test review in November, December
OUR YEAR-END PROMOTION is ideal for many prospective members who can't attend a
testing session, and especially for those under age 14. Get the message out about free Prior
Evidence review in November and December:
There is just one way — with qualifying prior test scores — to gain entry into American Mensa
without taking the official Admission Test, and for a limited time that way is free (a $40 savings)!
Those qualifying tests include the LSAT, GMAT and other common intelligence tests. With no
review fee, why not submit your scores today!
The Mensa Foundation's college scholarship program
The Foundation's college scholarship program bases its awards totally
on essays written by the applicants. Consideration is not given to
grades, academic program or financial need.
The scholarship application process opens Sept. 15 and closes Jan. 15.
Determine eligibility and begin the U.S. process
The U.S. scholarship program covers all of the country and awards more
than $87,000 a year. The Foundation's U.S. scholarship program relies
on approximately 400 volunteers around the country with support from
the Foundation's office staff.
U.S. applicants need not be Mensa members. However, Mensa
members may apply for both these scholarship programs and the
additional Mensa Member Award Program.
Monthly Report from RVC 5, Baker Ring
615-230-6819
rvc5@us.mensa.org
“Apocalypse to Zombies”, Mensa in Georgia’s Regional Gathering, was a spectacular success.
They had a great crowd, including several new local group members. Thanks to Charlie
Steinhice for conducting a Trash/Academic Bowl. Proctor, Bertie Clarke tested a couple of
prospects at their testing session. Can’t wait for next year. The 2017 theme is “42” as it will be
their 42nd RG (and The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, & Everything).
I’m pleased to report that Central Alabama Mensa has scheduled their Regional Gathering. The
theme is “The Magic City RG ‘The Art of Illusion’”. Early registration is $55 before December
31. For information and updates, go to: www.facebook.com/CentralALMensa.
Speaking of RGs, Piedmont Area Mensa’s 2017 RG will be take place May 5-7. Early
registration usually ends during the first week in January. Look for more information in my
December column.
Congratulations to the following local groups whose membership is up over the same time last
year: Mensa of Eastern North Carolina, Charlotte/Blue Ridge Mensa, Mensa of Central South
Carolina, Coastal Carolina Mensa, Mensa in Georgia, North Alabama Mensa, Middle Tennessee
Mensa, Chattanooga Mensa, Upper East Tennessee Mensa, Smoky Mountain Mensa, Memphis
Mensa, Mississippi Mensa, and South Mississippi Mensa. We appreciate the leadership of all of
our local groups.
The Fall AMC meeting took place in Arlington, TX during the middle of September. There were
several items of interest on the agenda: 1) There was a discussion prompted by the Finance
Committee’s request to raise dues. This will be back on the agenda for a vote at the December
AMC meeting.
2) A motion to establish a Hearings and Dispute Resolution Processes Review Ad hoc
Committee to review current AML hearings, disciplinary, and dispute resolution processes with
the intent to reorganize and condense the information and to make recommendations as
appropriate for changes to the processes.
3) A motion was passed creating a national Awards Review Task Force to look at all national
awards and determine the best course of action for the future.
You can find a summary of the meeting in the Mini-Minutes and the full minutes will be on-line
as soon as they are approved by the AMC. If you have any comments on these items, feel free to
contact me at RVC5@americanmensa.org.
The next AMC meeting will take place in New Orleans, December 10, in conjunction with the
New Orleans RG. Members of American Mensa are always welcome to attend AMC meetings.
A big thanks all the Proctors who tested during October, National Testing Month. Testing is an
important part of increasing membership. You do a great service for your local group.
It Began with a Train Ride
Seventy years ago today, the musings and aspirations of two highminded British aristocrats gestated into what we know today as Mensa.
Oct. 1, 1946, marks the high-IQ society’s formal inception because that’s
when one of its founders, Roland Berrill, printed the organization’s first
literature — the anniversary further codified 30 years later when
cofounder Lancelot Lionel Ware unveiled a plaque affixed to the outside
of the building at 12 Saint John Street, Oxford, that reads:
The International Society
MENSA
began here 1 October 1946
Formal anniversary aside, a more punctilious retracing of Mensa’s
origins marks an unknown August day one year earlier. Mere months
after the end of World War II, a train advances through the English
countryside. From the windows, not yet mended landscapes recall
human history’s bloodiest conflict, the devastating results of ingenious
engineering and insipid comportment.
That’s when chance appoints two travelers with a penchant for
pondering man’s potential.
* * *
Imagine the tattered, war-torn carriage of a rattling, neglected British train
approaching the prosperous Surrey town of Godalming on a hot August day. The
younger man was slender, unobtrusive, had a receding chin and a reserved, very
English upper class style and manner. He was studying Hansard (the British
Parliamentary Report) and, had he been reading The Times, Mensa might never
have happened.
The older man was forty-nine, thick-set and study. He was smartly and
prosperously dressed. He sported that which was unusual to the point of
eccentricity in those days: a full, well-tended dark beard and moustache. He was
above all things a noticeable man. His large, confident, protruding eyes turned
masterfully this way and that as he subjected the carriage to his inspection. I am in
no doubt that the quiet young Englishman was less than comfortable with these
manners which may have had their origin more in the antipodal upbringing than in
the English education of the Australian, Roland Berrill, the bearded starer and the
future Founder of Mensa. For that is who it was.
Perhaps the English university student, Lancelot Lionel Ware, tucked his face even
deeper behind the pages of Hansard until, in the end, it was they that caught the
imperious eye of the unselfconscious Berrill.
“Is that Hansard that you are reading, young man?” Berrill’s firm, pleasant voice
revealed his English upper class schooling, not his Australian birth.
“Obviously.” The slight young man’s accent was also confident and impeccably
upper class. He read on. A firm English put-down.
There was a silent contest of wills and cultures. English traditional railway carriage
reserve contented with confident colonial brashness and bonhomie.
Berrill persisted. He overcame Ware’s reserve and the two Mensa pioneers began
to talk as the worn-out train rattled serenely on in the August sunshine through the
bomb-shattered London suburbs. The men exchanged addresses and, unthinking,
parted. But Mensa had entered the realm of the possible. A very, very, unlikely
association had become just slightly less improbable.
— Victor Serebriakoff in Mensa, 1985
Question of the Month
Mensans have a lot to say, so I’d like to hear your thoughts on the question of the month. Send
the editor an email or a snail mail with your answer to the Question of the Month. Please
include your first and last name to be printed with your response.
October Question of the Month: Night owl? Morning person? Which are you?
When are you most productive?
Well, I am a "Later-In-The-Day" person. I have never been a morning person. Actually,
the only college course I had to repeat was mainly because the only session available
was at 7:00 AM.... In order to be sure that my mind would be thinking at 7:00 AM, I had
to wake up at 4:00 AM. While that was many moons ago, I learned then that my mind is
"awake" about three hours after I wake up.
All my life I have known that I was not a morning person and as the day "heats" up, so
does my mind. I am able to continue doing different tasks throughout the night until I
get a bath; a bath signals my mind to start shut-down procedures and I can be useful for
about 30 afterwards.
Fast-forward to 2016, I am still that way. I have to be very conscious of when I need to
be somewhere in the morning to plan accordingly. On a regular workday, I am
expecting to be at work between 7 to 7:30 AM....you can guess at what time the alarm
goes off.... :-/
Leslie Castro-Rosario
November Question of the Month: How did you view Christmas as a child and
how do you view Christmas as an adult (or older child as the case may be)?
Consider commercialism, religion/faith, family, quiet or loud, simple or
complex, relaxing or hectic, etc.
I’m running out of questions of the month.
What question would you like to ask fellow Mensans in the question of the
month? Send in your questions!
Never been to a South Coast Mensa Meeting?
What are you waiting for?
Things you will NOT find
at a South Coast Mensa gathering:
Things you will find
at a South Coast Mensa gathering:
 People bragging about their IQ
 Someone trying to intimidate
someone
 Everyone having the exact
same interest
 Some people talking/some
people listening
 People laughing
 People eating
 Southern politeness (as you
would expect)
 Friendly people
 People interested/curious
about a lot of things
 People willing to admit they
don’t know about some topics
 People with high school
diplomas and people with
doctorate degrees
 Interesting speakers
 A variety of meeting locations
 You, having a good time
You’ll be glad you
did!
Spotlight On A Mensan
Please send me information about yourself. Include your first and last name along with
anything you care to share in our newsletter, M-Port. It can be from a few lines to a page in
length. Bullets or sentences are OK. Possible ideas: Number of years in Mensa,
Personal/family/pet information, Work experience, Awards/accomplishments, Hobbies,
Positive Mensa experiences, Why did you join Mensa?
Send to:
Gary Kubina
garymath@hotmail.com
Fellow Mensans: What are you up to? What have you been doing lately?
I think your fellow Mensans would love to have a peek into your interests
and hobbies. Send me information about your activities, hobbies, and
interests. Attach photos. Let me hear from you.
(Gary Kubina’s contact information is at the end of this newsletter.)
We attended the 54th annual
Greek Festival at the
Annunciation Greek Church on
Ann Street in Mobile. We had
the Pastichio dinner, grabbed
some Greek pastries to go, then
toured the church.
Gary Kubina
The Mobile Symphony Orchestra had guest conductor, Sara Hicks, offering
16 pieces from various Pixar animated movies. As you can see, they
showed a video to go along perfectly timed with the live music. That is
quite a feat as Sara explained that she had a computer on her music stand
along with her musical scores. She receives “punches” on the video to be
sure they hit certain notes at just the right time for full impact. She also
had an ear piece ticking away every beat. She said it was like playing a
crazy video game while conducting a symphony. The concert was
mesmerizing. It reminded me how crucial the music is to enhance the
emotions of the visual part of a movie. It makes me want to watch the
movie Up again. Sara said that she had the privilege of conducting the
show in San Francisco. While there, she toured Pixar Studios. She said
there were lots of creative types and they had an oxygen bar, a drinking
bar, and a cereal room with 80 types of cereal in dispensers with every
kind of milk you can imagine. There was even a Buddhist Temple. The
Mobile Symphony has several more shows in the 2016 -2017 season. If
you love music, it’s worth the time and money.
Gary Kubina
Dauphin Island had their annual Art Trail on the same day as the triathlon.
For the Art Trail you visited 10 stores listed on the map and got the map
stamped at each stop. While there, you visited various artists showing and
selling their arts and crafts. At the end of the day there was a drawing for
many gifts. We won a gift certificate to the Lighthouse Bakery. We
bought lunch and some baked goods that day, so it won’t be a problem to
return with a gift certificate.
Gary Kubina
Answers: From A to A
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Alaskan Airlines
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical
Always A Woman to Me
Animal Adoption
Andy Andrews
American Airlines
Anthony Anderson
African American
Ann Arbor
Addition And Subtraction
An Apple A Day
Alligator Alley
American Automobile Association
Have you seen our South Coast Mensa sign?
It’s displayed at our meetings and at testing sites thanks to our proctors Leslie
Castro-Rosario and Bunny Warsh.
. . . And did you know we won the Ruby Award?
There are three levels of awards: Emerald, Sapphire, and Ruby. The Ruby award
is the highest award and South Coast Mensa is one of only five groups in our
classification (fewer than 100 members) to win this prestigious award. Our group
was recognized this summer at the Annual Gathering (AG) with this certificate.
Thank you for your participation and contributions to South Coast Mensa!
. . . And here’s a list of all 21 Mensa groups
with fewer than 100 members
We may be the third smallest group in the U. S., but we have a lot going on thanks
to you! Feel free to send your comments on how we can do even better. Contact
information for the Executive Committee (ExComm), the editor and other movers
and shakers can be found at the end of the newsletter.
Challenge of the Month
Spend each day being as ‘present’ as possible and making the most of simple
acts and routine tasks. Life will feel brighter and you will hopefully feel more
fulfilled. It’s not often what we’ve got or where we are, but our attitude to what
life throws our way.
It’s your turn. What Challenge of the Month would you like to pose to our
membership? Send it in.
In My Yard
What’s in your yard? Share photos and captions. Maybe it’s your home, a pet in
the yard, a flower, a vegetable garden, kids playing, a sunset, a moonrise, or a
porch swing. Grab your camera and walk around your yard and start sharing.
Guessing Game Answers
The eight letters are E, I, N, Q, U, V, X, Y
Mensa Demographics and Figures
American Mensans have scored in the top 2 percent of the general
population on an accepted standardized intelligence test. American
Mensa’s membership is diverse, ranging in age from 2 to 102. They
include engineers, homemakers, teachers, actors, athletes, students,
CEOs and people from virtually every walk of life.
With more than 56,000 members, American Mensa is the largest
national Mensa operating under the auspices of Mensa International Ltd.
Education
Four-year degree or greater
Some college
Education beyond four-year
degree
82%
96%
63%
Gender
Male
Female
66%
34%
Generations
Baby Boom
Generation X
Generation Y
Silent
Generation Z
Depression
1943-1960
1961-1981
1982-2000
1925-1942
2001-2020
1901-1924
38%
31%
13%
12%
5%
<1%
Most Common Interests
(above average compared to general population)
Computers · Travel · Literature Reading · Music · Films/Movies ·
Cooking · Games · Investments · Politics · Education · Photography · Art
· Writing · Science · Arts & Crafts · History · Astronomy · Psychology ·
Science Fiction
Read any good books lately? Why not write a review and send it to the editor for
a future issue of M-Port? Happy reading . . . and writing.
Smart Stuff
We’re looking for contributions for Smart Stuff. Members can recommend
something they’ve discovered in the media (or around town) that they
think other Ms would enjoy. Think books, TV, radio, websites, movies,
podcasts, apps, magazines, insights, etc. Is there something you’ve
discovered and want to share with your fellow Ms? Send it in.
We all do dumb things sometimes. We may think they are uncharacteristic, but
they do happen to all of us. Do you have a story to tell about yourself that might
make fellow Mensans scream “Retest”? Send it in.
November Mensa Anniversaries
November Birthdays
Phillip Gabriel
Peter Kerr
Dan Hanson
Debbie Hanson
Allan Laneier
George Hartley
Adam Brown
Karen Peterson
Harriet Daves
Howard Rubenstein
38
36
4
4
Treasurer’s Report from Trey Lemley
$1415.06
7th
15th
16th
17th
23rd
29th
Looking Forward To The December Mensa Meeting
Fish and Ducks. How does that all tie in to next month’s meeting? Read on.
Who doesn’t like Felix’s Fish Camp on the causeway? The last time we met there,
everyone wanted the crab soup. Delicious. Next month we are having a Saturday
lunch meeting at Felix’s followed by the Gulf Coast Duck tour. Felix’s Fish Camp
Restaurant is so popular that there always seems to be a wait. We think we have
solved that problem by having an early lunch at 11:00 AM and by RSVP’ing to Gary
so we will know how large a table to request.
The Gulf Coast Duck tour will follow, boarding near the USS Battleship Alabama.
The tour is described as the most entertaining tour in America! This hilarious yet
informative adventure covers over 3,000 years of local tales (some tall) as well as
exciting stories about the USS ALABAMA and Battleship Memorial Park. There is a
$2.00 parking fee. The 60-70-minute tour is aboard an amphibious vehicle that
rolls through downtown Mobile but also makes three different splashes into the
water (but you won’t get wet unless you sit in the rear, middle seat called the
Soggy Bottom zone). There are no restrooms on the Ducks but you are welcome
to visit the Battleship’s gift shop restroom before and after the tour. Due to the
vintage nature of the vehicles, the Ducks are not handicapped accessible. There
are 8 steps to climb. This December meeting has options. You can just do the
lunch at 11:00 or you can just do the tour at 1:30, but we hope you will go for the
full adventure and do both. The tours are opened to the public and have limited
seating. To guarantee a spot on the 1:30 tour with fellow Mensans and friends,
you should go online now and reserve your seat(s) with a major credit card. If you
have questions, you can call 251-802-8687.
http://www.felixsfishcamp.com/home.html
http://www.gulfcoastducks.com/
Duck Tour Ticket Prices
$25 Adults
$23 Seniors (65+) / Military / Educators
$15 Kids (3-12)
$0 (Infants-2 years)
Please bring a photo ID to claim your tickets.
For the Felix’s lunch RSVP to Gary Kubina by 9:00 PM the night before.
garymath@hotmail.com 251-633-3564
Reserve your spot on the 1:30 Duck tour by going online to the website
http://www.gulfcoastducks.com/ and pay for your ticket(s). 251-802-8687
December Mensa Meeting
Saturday, December 17
11:00 AM
Felix’s Fish Camp on the causeway
1530 Battleship Parkway
Spanish Fort, AL 36527
followed by
1:30 PM (arrive at least 15 minutes early)
Gulf Coast Duck Tour
2703 Battleship Parkway
Mobile, AL 36603
A "paraprosdokian" is a figure of speech in which the latter part
of a sentence is unexpected and oft times very humorous.
• If I had a dollar for every girl that found me unattractive,
they'd eventually find me attractive.
• I find it ironic that the colors red, white, and blue stand
for freedom, until they're flashing behind you.
• Today a man knocked on my door and asked for a small donation
towards the local swimming pool, so I gave him a glass of water.
• Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
• I'm great at multi-tasking--I can waste time, be unproductive,
and procrastinate all at once.
• If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.
• Take my advice — I'm not using it.
• My wife and I were happy for twenty years; then we met.
• Hospitality is the art of making guests feel like they're
at home when you wish they were.
• Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.
• Ever stop to think and forget to start again?
• Women spend more time wondering what men are thinking
than men spend thinking.
• He who laughs last thinks slowest.
• Is it wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly?
• I was going to give him a nasty look, but he already had one.
• Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
• I was going to wear my camouflage shirt today, but I couldn't find it.
• If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.
• Sometimes I wake up grumpy; other times I let her sleep.
• If tomatoes are a fruit is tomato juice a Smoothie?
[Former South Coast Mensa member, Stan Virden, passed this along.
Thanks, Stan. We miss you and Beth.]
Cook’s Corner
SPICED CARROT SOUP









2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp madras style curry powder
10 medium carrots, roughly chopped
2 large sticks of celery, cut into pieces
1.5l chicken or vegetable stock
1 tbsp snipped chives to serve
Crème fraiche to serve
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion
and garlic and cook for a few minutes and then add the curry powder.
2. Cook for an extra 2 minutes and then add the carrots, celery and
stock. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, and simmer gently for about
30 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.
3. Allow to cool a little, then purée the mixture in batches in a blender,
or with a hand-held liquidizer. Gently reheat the soup.
4. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve
garnished with a dollop of crème fraiche and a sprinkling of chives.
The sweetness of the carrots works well with the mild amount of curry
powder. Use a good quality madras curry powder and adjust the seasoning
to suit your taste. This can be made up to 48 hours ahead of serving. Don't
add the crème fraiche or chives until ready to serve. Great with Indianstyle bread.
Picture This!
Photos by Tommie Peterson
All photos are copyright protected and should not be reproduced without permission.
You may send the newsletter to friends in its entirety.
For this month I have some photos I took while visiting in-laws in Michigan. Because
the leaves were changing colors, the theme for all of these is "fall foliage."
Thanks for having a look!
Second Saturday Meet To Eat
Saturday, November 12, 11:00 AM
O’Charleys at I-65 in Mobile
Monthly Mensa Meeting
Friday, November 18, 6:30 PM
Papa’s Place in Daphne
LocSec
Assistant LocSec
Treasurer
Donna Workman
donna@gulftel.com
251-981-1901
Dan Hanson
dhxtwo@yahoo.com
251-767-0106
Trey Lemley
tlemley@gmail.com
251-610-6587
Proctor
Facebook Manager
S. S. Meet To Eat
Leslie Castro-Rosario
SCMensaProctor@yahoo.com
787-501-4289
Trey Lemley
tlemley@gmail.com
251-610-6587
Bunny Warsh
ebunnyw@webtv.net
251-776-6657
Editor
Mailing Coordinator
Web Master
Gary Kubina
garymath@hotmail.com
251-633-3564
Lynda Woerner
lynda.woerner@gmail.com
858-215-0898
Al Warsh
alwarsh@webtv.net
251-230-5001
3787 Raphael Court
Semmes, AL 36575
To:
M-Port: The Official Newsletter of South Coast Mensa
Opinions expressed in M-Port are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any other
individual or of any official Mensa body.
Mensa is an international society in which the sole requirement for qualification for membership is a score at or
above the 98th percentile on any of a number of standardized intelligence tests. Mensa is a not-for-profit
organization whose main purpose is to serve as a means of communication and assembly for its members.
“Mensa’s purposes are to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity; to encourage
research in the nature, characteristics, and uses of intelligence; and to provide a stimulating intellectual and social
environment for its members.”
All items for publication are subject to editing except those ordered to be printed by the Board of Directors, the
time and date of calendar entries, and those articles designated “print as is or not at all.”
Editing will consist of correcting spelling and grammar, modifying for space, appropriateness and clarity, and
determining if the material is in good taste.
Any submission that is edited will not have the general meaning changed unless approved by the author. If, after
negotiation, the editor and the author do not both approve the text, the submission will not be published.