Fancy Coffee (December 1994)

This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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If it isn't one darn thing it's another. Seems like nobody in the world drinks coffee anymore. One may sip Espresso, Cappuccino, Latte, or Mocha nowadays but coffee is not politically correct unless it is double strength, tastes like candy, and has suds on top. So in order to stay current on this fad, we are proud to offer our readers the following simple gourmet beverage recipe:

To one cup of water add 3 spoons of Instant Sanka and the same quantity of Ovaltine. Cook in the microwave until it splatters, and top with a dab of Kool Whip. You like it with foam on top? No problem! Just drop in an Alka Seltzer tablet. Enjoy.

--BTW

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Hybridization (November 1994)

This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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There is something strange going on here and I am at a loss to explain it. You may have noticed that Wayne has discovered a way to manipulate the desktop publishing program so that the newsletter is in a two-column format instead of just printing from left to right on the paper as we did in school. This looks neat and professional--just like a newspaper and most other newsletters. But for some reason when we print all the news in the two-column format there is space leftover. Why is this??We have the same amount of stuff and the same size of paper. The trigonometry of the thing just escapes me.

But here's a public service announcement that should take up the extra space:

Scientists have come up with a way to cross Hereford cattle with an ostrich. The real challenge here was to find a bull with a lot of imagination and a really good-natured bird. Blindfolding them is a good idea. This produces a great meat animal; half white meat and half lean beef with drumsticks like you wouldn't believe.

The Herefrich has very, very long legs so they can move from place to place in nothing flat. This saves the trouble and expense of moving them by trailer. The tough part is retraining your cattle dogs. They have to be taught to operate a motorcycle in order to keep up with the herd.

Next month we plan to tell you how to train buffalo as household pets. If you start working with them early on, they can be taught to catch mice. 

---BTW

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President Emeritus, Or The Meaning of Life (October 1994)

This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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My hamster died when it fell into a bucket of varnish.

It was a sad end but a fine finish.

Being a president emeritus is really lots of fun. Now that the dust has settled, I find that I've got one whole extra day every week available for contemplating the meaning of life.

Now some people meditate in front of TV screens or stare into barroom mirrors or computer screens. My particular thing is getting away to our place in the hills. After taking care of the minimal chores, it's nice to pour a cup of coffee and sit outside on the bench by the door where it's quiet and peaceful, look at the trees and try to discover the meaning of life.

But just when I've managed to get it all resolved, I fall asleep and when I wake up I've forgotten what it was. 

So I'm taking the easy way out. The circulation of this newsletter is over 600 families, and I'm sure that someone somewhere has hit on the true meaning of the universe. We need a program for the January meeting; I'm sure one of our readers could do a bang-up illustrated go-minute talk on the Purpose of Life as We Know It.

All you have to do is show up. We can provide an easel or slide projector and refreshments. If you would like an advance announcement in the newsletter, just let Wayne know. See you there. 

Geological Perturbations (continued) 

Now we all know that State Highway 299 West runs generally in a westerly direction. However, where it passes through old Shasta it tends in a northwesterly direction. This can be confusing, because a local inhabitant will swear to you on a stack of bibles that Whiskeytown is north of Shasta. This local orientation is hard to get used to and communication can become difficult.

This phenomenon is known as the Middle Creek Magnetic Discombobulation. It is said to be caused by something they put on the hamburgers at Jay Birds Cafe.

--BTW

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A Puzzlement (June 1994)

This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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???Puzzlement??? The record tells us that in 1932 a bronze tablet commemorating Major Reading's discovery of gold was set on a boulder at the northwest end of the old Highway 99 bridge across Clear Creek.

Imagine our surprise when we located this monument well south of the creek at the intersection of Canyon Road and the entrance to the Wintu Indian Bingo Facility. There have been some fascinating geological aberrations in our county's history: Outhouses have been overturned--tombstones, survey markers, fences and roads have occasionally shifted positions. But never a 5-ton boulder. Could this be the work of extraterrestrial beings, or perhaps gangs from Southern California?

Actually this puzzlement is due to random displacement along the Market Street Geological Rift. This will also explain why Highway 299 West enters town on Eureka Way and 299 East leaves town on Lake Boulevard a mile or so to the north.

--BTW

Note: Turns out there were two monuments, and our source mixed up their locations. The one on the northwest side of Clear Creek commemorated Bell's Bridge and was removed when a new building on Eastside Road dislocated it. The monument for Reading's gold discovery was and is southwest of the creek as described. A new plaque and monument is to be dedicated at the discovery site five miles upstream in May, 1998, during the California Sesquicentennial celebration.

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Math (May 1994)

This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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Being of a mathematical turn of mind, I was musing the other evening and wondering how many generations of` Historical Society members each family unit could claim. Now we know that the society was founded in l930 by individuals old enough to have had grown families; so, let's assume that a new generation occurs every 20 years. This is reasonable, considering that births in Shasta County seem to occur early on and often. My golly, it's possible that we could have fourth generation members or even fifth generation. Without thinking too hard, I can come up with several third generation folks, and I have only a nodding acquaintance with local breeding permutations and begats.

Hey, let's have a contest to see who can boast of the most generations of Historical Society members! The winner will receive a free State lottery scratcher. In case of a tie, no prizes will be awarded. 

As historians, we can tolerate a reasonable amount of falsehood and exaggeration. And if you want to purchase memberships for your children at birth or even during the second trimester, the Treasurer has no problem with that. Simply mail your entries to the Society marked "Attention Incoming President."

--BTW

Note: The incoming president was Don Moore.

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Dues and Other Trivia (April 1994)

This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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Once upon a time it seemed like we lived from payday to payday, and we owed more than we were worth. The good news was that we were not bothered too much by folks wanting help with worthy causes and neat business propositions. But just as soon as it became obvious that we could afford two kids and a dog, it seemed like every con artist and pest in the world moved in on us. I suppose this is why we have never discussed the Society's finances much. Life's a lot simpler if folks think you are poor. 

Every month Fred Becker puts together a four-page financial report. These are on file in the library if you like numbers. If you are willing to forego half and hour of crunching numbers, here's about what's happening: 

• Your dues pay for newsletters, programs, supplies, insurance, postage and members' copies of the Covered Wagon.
• Publication sales are paying the printing bill for new publications,
• To take care of big ticket items like Wayne's paycheck, scholarships, and historical markers, we have had income from two endowments for about a year and a half. These are set up so we cannot touch the principal. However, we can cut a fairly wide hog on the interest, which is paid once a year. To even out our cash flow, we park our annual income in interest-bearing mutual and money-market funds and draw off money from these as needed. 

After operating this way for about a year and a half, we have more $'s than when we started. So we are probably not as dumb as our newsletters might suggest. On the other hand, we should be spending more $'s and effort in support of our mission. We will be putting our 1994-1995 budget together pretty soon and want to include any projects you have in mind and are willing to put effort into. We don't lack for money, but we sure could use more unpaid talent.

I guess the most striking thing that has happened this month was the feedback we got from my mention of the Backwater Development Corporation. Several long-time Democrats suggested with some good humor that I give the G.O.P. equal exposure. Now the only reason I picked on President Bill was that I could identify with a good-looking hunk complete with a foxy wife and a liking for junk food. Identifying with George and Barbara Bush I'm afraid is just not in the cards--too much of a stretch.

But don't give up hope. I do believe that if we work on it, we can quite likely come up with a Ron and Nancy thing. They seem more like our kind of people. Once I get used to falling asleep at meetings and figure out that I'm married to "Mommie," I think that I can safely say that at no time did I attend a meeting with Colonel North. 

--BTW

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The Skunk, Part II (March 1994)

This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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Back to the subject of skunks--I was told today that putting out a pan of  ammonia will keep skunks away. They can't stand the smell. Is this true? I have been told so many things by so many people on so many subjects that I just have no feeling whatsoever for the truth anymore.

In that vein, have I ever mentioned a land development scheme in which Hillary and I were involved in the l970s? It seems that this totally organic tribe of flower children had purchased 20 acres to pasture their goats on. However, the goats were making slow work of the manzanita, and it was winter and the trailer sprang a leak, the cesspool overflowed and there was some problem making the payments. Well, one thing led to another. and pretty soon we were riding the crest of the Shasta County land boom. This venture became known as the Backwater Development Corp.

Well, time passed, the note got paid off, we brought in electric power, an all-weather road, a well, and eventually a flush toilet with adjoining bedroom. During this time, we have learned to take pleasure in the natural rhythms of country life--the occasional gunfire from neighbors announcing the cocktail hour, periodic blasting from the quarry, and the absence of the stupid telephones ringing.

Hillary and I have decided that when we leave public life this will be the site of our presidential library. Most of the books are already in place, but we are having trouble locating one issue of Sports Illustrated on the subject of swimming suits. Can anyone help? 

--BTW

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Target Practice (February 1994)

This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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When I was in the sixth grade, I noticed that I was bigger than most of my classmates. I asked my mother if this was because I was Irish. She gently answered, "No, son, it's because you are seventeen."

Our son came to spend the holidays with us, and we found that I still had some 22 ammunition dating back to World War II that we really should get rid of. So we went out to a remote area and set up some beer cans and matchbook covers to shoot at. Most of the rounds were still good, but I noticed a peculiar thing.

No matter how much I squinted my eye I couldn't locate the front sight. Well, naturally this didn't help my marksmanship at all. Eventually I started to remember where the front sight used to be in relation to the muzzle, and I got so I could hit the beer cans pretty consistently.

Now this is interesting, but you may well ask what all this has to do with the activities of the Shasta Historical Society. And in all honesty, I have to answer, "A whole lot!" Obviously, when you are not too smart and your ammunition is old and you can't zero in on things, you just have to fake it. 

--BTW

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The Mailbox (January 1994)

This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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One loss is good for the soul. Too marry losses is bad for the coach.

--Knute Rockne

We recently received an Industry Verification Statement (single worksheet) from the California Employment Development Department, Labor Market Information Division. It seems they want to verify that we are a "selected membership organization such as art councils. athletic associations, auto owners' association and clubs. farm bureaus, farm granges, historical clubs (other than professional),  animal humane societies, poetry associations, and/or reading rooms for religious material. Please circle those that apply."

Now this is the kind of gut-wrenching decision that seems to crop up every time we open the mail. Realizing that it makes good sense to keep all our options open, I circled the whole darn paragraph. They aren't going to outfox us.

The very next thing the sly bureaucrats wanted was whom to contact if they had further questions. This riddle really took some thought. I finally put down Fred Becker's¹ name; he is about the most patient and tolerant person I know. But realizing that Fred wouldn't like to be disturbed at home, I gave them the phone number for the Public Library. Fred spends a lot of time there. 

This is just one small example of the sort of conscientious effort your Society puts into maintaining its image. Boy, I can hardly wait to open next week's mail!

--BTW

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¹Fred Becker was Treasurer of the Society at the time.

Yuletide Greetings (December 1993)

 This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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I don't know about you but I really have a hard time getting pumped up about the holiday season. For one thing, there is the nagging worry and indecision about what color nightgown to buy for Hillary. Then there is all the trauma of trying to get the house clean and keeping it clean until guests arrive to mess it up, not to mention the ordeal of getting up at daylight and pushing gooshy stuffing into a clammy, limp turkey. Yuk!

One of the upbeat seasonal affairs is the Society's Yuletide feeding frenzy. It's a chance to mellow out and socialize with other history nuts. Funny how different programs appeal to different folks. Some people flip out over picnics or bus tours or hikes and some just show up at the museum on rainy days. Maybe our programs have gotten into a rut.

Now in 1994 there is no reason why we can't try some really innovative things like maybe cockfighting, poker tournaments, Indian bingo, hog calling, a turkey shoot, or how about challenging the Genealogical Society to a tug of war? By golly, let's try a chili cookoff, a spelling bee, a pie-eating contest, sack racing, a beauty contest, or maybe a fashion show. Hot darn, I can hardly wait. And this just scratches the surface.

I know that many of our readers have equally wonderful program ideas. Please rush these to the Society c/o P. T. Barnum. We are all agog with anticipation.

BTW

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The Skunk (Nov 1993)

 This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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It's been a normal sort of summer; most of the creeks are drying up. We had just finished addressing the latest newsletter, and it seemed to me that I was going dry, too. Nothing had happened that was worth sharing in this issue. Then bingo, something really dynamic occurred: Evidently a skunk had been raiding the apple tree, and the dog had intervened. The result was blood all over the place and a really bad aura.

After all of the marital dialogue had died down, and I was cleaning the dog, the thought came to me that maybe animals have historical societies too. What we had witnessed here was probably an honest difference of opinion on acquisition policy. It must have been a really important meeting, too, because the cat didn't come in until 3:00 a.m. Carrying this a step farther, I reasoned that I was carrying out my proper function as Commander-in-Chief by cleaning up the mess and trying to get rid of the stink.  Hillary, of course, got up later and let the cat in.

There are several lessons to be learned here. The dog learned that it is well to keep one's mouth shut when confronting a skunk. And I found out about a great preparation called Skunk Off. It does a real job of neutralizing the aftermath. There is still half a bottle left and it seems kind of selfish to hang on to it when there are so many folk in Washington, Sacramento and even locally who could use a few drops. How about it, gang, should we keep the Skunk Off in our archives as sort of a perpetual trophy, or does anyone have a better idea?

--BTW

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Annual Report (October 1993)

This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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Well, it's time for the annual report to the membership on the Society's activities and the state of things in general. I guess you can refer to last November's newsletter because we're still doing the same things. Of course, now we have Wayne to take care of the logical, orderly and neat stuff. This gives everyone else more time to deal with illogical, messy things like the newsletter, finances, cataloging the collection and occasionally answering the mail.

Now it's come to our attention that my role model, Bill, has been busy reinventing government and that started a train of thought--what about reinventing history. It is quite evident that most of our ancestors lived hard, worked hard, and died young. The record shows that they weren't always very nice to Native Americans, the foreign born or even each other. With historic traditions like that, is it any wonder that our evening news is so depressing? We, like the old guys who used to come to Historical Society meetings, should give history a more laid-back slant. It might turn out to be a positive influence on our present lifestyle.

In that spirit I will cite a little-known historical item: Many years ago, Jack Beale¹ and I had the honor of serving with Major Reading during the Boer War in McNamara's Band. We were repeatedly cited for conspicuous gallantry toward the opposite sex.

Any scholarly criticism or rebuttal to this oral history gem should be addressed to the Society, "attention Jack Beale." Any researcher who would like to share a similar Reinvented History Vignette is invited to submit it to the Society for publication, "attention Fiction Editor."

Now, about reinventing bureaucracy, your Society is right on the cutting edge. If something has occurred before, we route it to the individual who handled it last time. This system isn't perfect--after several years in someone's file folder, paper will get brittle and turn to dust. All strange and unusual communications are routed to the president who will either (a) leave it in his file folder on an even-numbered day or post it on the bulletin board on odd-numbered days; (b) refer it to the Directors, which is kind of fun; or (c) answer the communication in an honest, forthright manner, disclaiming all knowledge of the problem and referring the originator to the appropriate charitable agency or medical specialty.

Really truly, if you think the Society should do something, just show up and start doing it. Pretty soon you will have your own file.

--BTW.

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¹Jack Beale was on the Shasta Historical Society Board at the time this was written. The reference to the Boer war was a ditty Bert used to use to see just how well-educated his audience was. 

Once Upon a Time (September 1993)

This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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Once upon a time there were lots of ways to keep the kids and us amused on Saturdays. There were Nubian goat shows, sheep dog trials, flea markets, shooting at tin cans, gold panning, berry picking and for the ultimate in sophistication, we would hang out at the new downtown mall.

Eventually we hit on Historical Society meetings and they were great. These funky old guys would sit around contradicting each other about some obscure place or event and later on they would all gang up and start interrupting the speaker. They put on a great show. Meanwhile, these sweet ladies would make sure everyone got enough cake and would stuff cookies into the kids' pockets. This was hog heaven. We never missed a meeting. Eventually, out of guilt, we started paying dues and volunteering. We had been conned by the great yarns those old guys told and by the homemade refreshments. 

Guess the point to be made here is that attending our programs is a lot more fun than your average goat show. Several of our members are quite witty and entertaining. And one should not be intimidated by not knowing much about area history. Just contradict any statement made. The odds are even that you will be correct and soon you will achieve recognition and stature as an authority.

--BTW

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This is Not a Newsletter (August 1993)

This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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I have made this letter longer than usual
because I lack the tine to make it short. -Pascal

Back in July, Betty started feeling guilty because we hadn't done a newsletter and all kinds of stuff was still going on. But we said "no newsletter" in July and August, right in print. So, what I think we'll do is put all this good stuff in Betty's folder and when she thinks we have enough current material we will, by gosh, do a newsletter (if she checks her folder).

• Thanks to Jack and Evelyn Beale for digging lip a dedicated and enthusiastic corps of school house volunteers for the Shasta District Fair. And thanks to all you good folk who volunteered and represented the Society with dignity and couth.
• As a starting point for an Ed Davis obituary, there were two things I appreciated about him: a fellow never had to pussy-foot around to find out how Ed felt about any issue; and, when there was hard work to be done, Ed would jump in and do it before anyone else had a chance to. Ed will be missed.
• Have you ever observed that sleeping is something like eating Chinese food? An hour after you wake up you feel tired again.
• The trickle of nice comments about the newsletter has turned into a fair-size stream. THANK YOU! We haven't had a nasty letter in several months. Must be our critics have either died of apoplexy or quit paying dues. 

--BTW

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Diplomacy (June 1993)

This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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The paper recently have been reviewing the record of President Clinton's first 100 days in office. Now I find it difficult to empathize with Rhodes Scholars, attorneys and folks from Arkansas. However, after nearly a year of presidential calisthenics, I can sure feel sorry for the poor kid. It just don't get any better, Bill.

Our year began with a memorable hike to the site of the Ruggles Brothers stage robbery. Because of the warm weather and booby traps along the road, our casualty list approached that of the holdup. No fatalities, though; good going, gang.

And wasn't it a hoot when the speaker for the November meeting took sick, and we had to improvise a do-it-yourself program. And didn't the Board--four dirty old men and Callie--have fun interviewing candidates for the Office Manager position. However, reason prevailed, and we hired a guy who was qualified--Wayne. And when the State required us to submit a "Safety Program." for Wayne`s protection guess who had to take time-out for the newsletter, down a couple of beers and make one up. It seems to have worked out all right; at least the "Safety Program" didn't appear in the newsletter.

On the diplomatic front, we mobilized when the city engineering department decided to tear down a stone substation dating from the turn of the century. We generated a barrage of irate letters and at their next meeting a sympathetic City Council was so eager to tell the City Manager to butt out that they forgot to ask for public comment. Pretty soon the whole affair started to sound like a Historical Society meeting. But what the heck, we won.

Something like Viet Nam happened when we opposed a loud but irresponsible effort to scrap a footbridge under construction on National Park Service land at the Tower House. Their plan was to build an inaccurate representation of a covered bridge instead. About that time, the County Supervisors, Senator Quentin Hook from San Francisco and the McClatchy newspaper chain came out four-square for apple pie, motherhood and covered bridges. At least they spelled my name right. That was when the newsletter started carrying inspirational messages about telephone pests. At this writing, a perfectly adequate steel bridge is in place, and I find I am smoking, drinking and cursing a lot less. The dog and Hillary seem happier too.

We still have a couple of domestic problems to deal with. Fair time is coming and Callie can't get the door to the school house open. Maude tells me that the coffee maker is leaking. I feel strongly that the Board has grounds to impeach me. I certainly hope that they see their duty and act promptly. 

--BTW

P. S. A love note to Betty Shurtleff and Al Weissberg praising their taste in newsletters and positive comments.

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The Telephone (May 1993)

 This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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It is with unpardonable pride I report that the museum has acquired a nearly new telephone system. We anticipate that fewer incoming calls will go into communication limbo, once we master how to use "call forwarding" and the "hold" button. Be patient. Now instead of the usual ringing noise, the instrument for all the world sounds like a loon with its head caught in a sewing machine. This is the price of` progress.

Not too many years ago in Oak Run, the post office was near the postmistress' home. To facilitate government business, she rigged a clothesline from the post office to a cowbell in her residence. This allowed her to perform collateral duties at home and commute to work only when a customer jerked on the cord. However. as the community grew, it was able to acquire its own town drunk. At this point, the system was abused, usually late at night. This, too, was the price of progress.

Last month I touched on telephone etiquette, but neglected to cover the obligatory health warning. Our best scientific minds are concerned with the effect of electromagnetic force fields on our health. God knows what harm we are doing to our minds by holding a telephone right next to our head. Statistical evidence is abundant. Considering the consequences, I am appalled that anyone would mess up their mind by phoning us when it is possible to come in to the museum.

And, while we are on the subject, why does it cost more to phone Oak Run than San Francisco? Is it because it costs more to send uphill? Reader response is invited. Just phone the museum and ask for Wayne. 

--BTW

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Suggestion Box (April 1993)

This post is part of a series of editorials written by Bert Walsh during his tenure as president and past president of the Shasta Historical Society. Readers are advised that his humor is often irreverent and rarely politically correct. 

Click here for the table of contents for the entire collection of his editorials.

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It seems like two or three times a week we get a worthwhile suggestion or request from a member or the general public, something that really should be followed up on. There are a few constraints though. The activity should have something to do with the Society and its mission. Board approval is often required, and it is easier if we have the money and the time to get the job done. All of our large group of enthusiastic volunteers are already up to their necks in their own pet projects. There are several rules for initiating a project:

• It is helpful if you know exactly what needs to be done. For example, if you want a letter written, we should know who to send it to and what it should say.
• Your proposal should get to someone who can do something about it--an officer of the Society. We maintain an office where messages can be left. Any communication requiring more than 10 seconds of thought is automatically referred to the president.
• I can't speak for the rest of the Board, but my telephone is for the exclusive use of my helpmate, especially in the evenings. At that time I often eat meals, bathe and indulge in other activities requiring my full attention. Sometimes I drink too much and become incoherent, especially when working on the newsletter.
• And finally, the proper way to initiate a proposal is "If the Board agrees, I would like to ____ _____ _____."

--BTW

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