The Official Newsletter of South Coast Mensa
© South Coast Mensa, 2017
www.southcoast.us.mensa.org
https://www.facebook.com/southcoastmensa
Region 5
Chapter 365
June, 2017
A few months ago, I was trying to clean up the newsletter and eliminate
some of the features that were no longer popular. (No one was contributing
anything.) I removed Spotlight on a Mensan, Challenge of the Month, Smart Stuff,
and Retest.
In an attempt to try to find things that are appealing to our members, I
then added some new features. In this newsletter you will find Double Letter
Puzzles that I created. I will continue these until I hit ZZ. I hope you are enjoying
the puzzles. Question of the Month usually gets a few responses so that will
remain. What Are You Up To? has not had many submissions. I thought this
would be a great way for members to share some of their activities and photos.
Don’t you ever wonder how people (especially us Mensans) spend their time?
Book Nook has had several contributions so that stays in. I know y’all are reading
so how about send a book review in? In My Yard has had a little response. This is
a chance to walk about your yard and take a few photos. Easy. Pets. I thought I
would be flooded with your pet photos. No flood yet, but I’m hopeful. Cook’s
Corner was suggested by Marci Davis, then I took it over. A few folks have sent
me recipes. Lately, Tommie Peterson has been great about sending recipes. I
know people are cooking, so send in a favorite recipe or two.
What would you like to see added to the newsletter as a new feature? It’s
your newsletter, so send me some ideas. I can’t wait to hear from you.
Our group still does not have a mailing coordinator. Many members of our
group rely on getting their mailed copy each month to stay informed. Can you
help? Contact me, please, if you think you can volunteer.
Gary Kubina, [email protected], 633-3564.
Paula Lenor Webb, author of Mobile under Siege: Surviving the Union Blockade
What happened to people during the Siege of Mobile?
Mensa’s June Lecture Series speaker has answers
By Dan Hanson
Having been raised in the American Golden Age of unReality (circa 1945-hence), it seems to
me that so-called “existential” threats to the future of my land really aren’t real.
Sure, I know that war, depression, famine, plagues and the utter destruction of once-eternal
kingdoms -- like the kingdom of the Hittites or the Anasazi -- are all more-or-less real
phenomena. Not exactly real, of course, but in some kind of way they’re ever-so slightly morereal than, say, villainous threats from Darth Vader, Iago, Cruella-de-Vil (especially her crimes of
fashion), Hitler, Stalin and other such fictions.
I confess that on rare occasions I forget my place in America’s Golden Age. In unguarded
moments, my confidence wavers. I wake in the night fearful that democracies are history’s
exception rather than rule. They’re moments of shadowy mysticism that usually end with little
notice, but, now Paula Lenor Webb, Mensa’s June Lecture Series speaker, has reawakened one.
She and her book present a dark intermezzo in our history, a moment not too long ago and
in our own backyard.
It’s titled Mobile Under Siege: Surviving the Union Blockade, and it’s about one of the most
challenging times in the city's existence: the days after the Battle of Mobile Bay up-to the city’s
surrender on April 12, 1865.
Admiral Farragut didn’t damn the torpedoes one minute and rush to his dressing room the
next. His Union navy blockaded Mobile Bay for eight months. Confederate general Dabney
Maury fought to protect Mobile and people like Octavia LeVert and Augusta Evans who refused
to leave, but Farragut and a couple others proceeded to starve the them out. They figured the
city’s fall might end the war.
Paula’s a librarian by profession – complete with a librarian masters and specialties in
government documents and outreach. She received the Mover and Shaker Award in 2011 and
the ALLA CUS Research Award in 2012.
She’s written for College & Research Libraries News, College & Undergraduate Libraries,
Computers in Libraries, Mississippi Libraries and Serials Librarian. Last year she edited the
Mobile Genealogical Society publication, Mobile Mayor’s Court Reports: 1865. Impressive, and
kind-of famous, but that’s not the interesting stuff.
What’s interesting is how she lucked-into remarkable data from a collection of previously
unknown history, newly-discovered firsthand accounts found in Oakleigh's Minnie Mitchell
Archives. Oakleigh, for those who don’t know, is a beautiful downtown Mobile theme park
attraction, a becolumned, antebellum house built in 1833 by James W. Roper.
Paula wrote that she drifted into her book-writing project when she “was digging through
the clippings files at the Archives several years ago.” Someone had “collected a good amount of
local information and organized it according to subject in a long row of standard gray filing
cabinets.” One would, she wrote, “normally ignore such a feature in today’s digital world, but
the archivist asked me to go through them. Like any good volunteer, I did as I was asked.” That
was the beginning of her book.
Mobile remained in Confederate hands for eight months after the Battle of Mobile Bay.
Paula wondered: “What happened in the city during those solitary months? How did the people
live? Why did it take so long? How important was Mobile to the Confederate and Union
governments during this time?”
As Paula picked through the material, she found “newspaper clippings, letters and photos.”
Long-destroyed “buildings came back to life as I opened each folder and read through the
contents.”
Then one day she “found a folder that had letters dated after the Battle of Mobile Bay, but
before the city surrendered to Union forces.” They “were very personal and gave a new
perspective of the Civil War experience.” The city “still contained whites, freed blacks, slaves,
Jews and Creoles.”
She found “stories of women, children and average people just trying to survive a war that
was well beyond their control. . . reports of slaves risking their lives for freedom by swimming
to Union boats in the Bay.” The personal nature of one document relayed Octavia’s desperation
after the death of her husband; another, Willie’s fear as he ran from blockaders.
After four years of research and writing, Paula told all in Mobile under Siege and tells it to us
Mensans at our monthly supper.
She presents Friday, June 23 at the Golden Bowl Restaurant near the Malls; 309 Bel Air
Boulevard in Mobile. We’ve been there before. Starts at 6:30 pm. Join us.
Call me if you have any questions: 251-767-0106; or email me: [email protected].
Mensa’s June Lecture Series
Friday, June 23, 6:30 PM
Golden Bowl Restaurant
309 Bel Air Boulevard, Mobile, AL
Second Saturday Meet to Eat
We had a nice turn out for SSM2E today; several were there whom we had not seen in a while. Panera
Bread Company. Not sure if we will visit again. You go up and order and pay for your food; then they
give you a pager, so you go up and get your food when it's ready. Afterward, you bus your own
table. The broccoli-cheddar soup was good as was my chicken tortellini; just wish there had been more
of it. Prices seem not too bad - for a full-service restaurant. And of course, being Ms, we discussed
everything under the sun including, but not limited to, college loans. When I asked if anyone had any
thoughts about the firing of James Comey, the response was "Who cares?" Only in Mensa! For June, we
will hit the Red Lobster near the south-east corner of Airport and Azalea. RSVP by 9 PM Friday June 9 so
we will know how large a table to request. For those with seafood allergies: Red Lobster does decent
hamburgers and chicken sandwiches, and they will prepare your entree in a separate sauté pan, if you
give the wait person a heads up. I can be contacted at 776-6657 or by email at
[email protected]. Take care, all. Stay cool and dry! EBW
Second Saturday Meet to Eat
June 10, 11:00 AM
Red Lobster
3941 Airport Blvd.
Mobile, AL 36608
Greg Graeber of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab tells all about sharks. Shark jaws are on the table in front of
him, the largest from a Bull shark.
Gulf Shark-whisperer Greg Graeber brought a rich mix
of information to our May supper
Here’s a short list of tidbits that the Dauphin Island Sea Lab educator
and researcher brought to the May discussion.
The average size of sharks caught during the first 50 years of the
Dauphin Island Fishing Rodeo was between 600-800 pounds. During the
past 30 years – starting about 1985 -- it has only been 150-200 pounds.
Overfishing the large species – including finning – caused the decline.
Finning is the practice of cutting the fins off a shark and throwing the rest
of the body back into the Gulf.
The first 400-pound shark in ten years was caught at the rodeo in
2011.
The Alabama coast has been the site of only six shark attacks during
the past 60 years, none of them fatal.
Some sharks have belly buttons.
We can track tagged sharks at ocearch.org. A Tiger shark that
wandered close to the Gulf Shores beaches last year is named South Jaw
by organizers of the tracking site.
It wasn’t all about sharks.
Pogies, common bait fish around here, are a type of Menhaden. They’re
widely fished for their scales, which add shimmer to women’s make-up.
Greg did not know why land birds are ending up in the bellies of Tiger
Sharks. He wondered if the birds tire out during their long migrations and
fall into the water. But no one has settled the matter for sure.
Dan Hanson
Greg Graeber brings tales (and tails and jaws) of Sharks
The presentation was very good and it included a lot of visual examples
brought in the "bucket of death" as the presenter, Greg Graeber, called
it. We almost did not allow him to eat with all the questions. At the end, my
impression is that he enjoyed us as much as we enjoyed having him!!
Leslie Castro-Rosario
South Coast Mensa Local Scholarship Winner
Congratulation to our local scholarship winner, Latisha Fann, of Coden,
AL. She won the Diana Mossip Memorial Scholarship worth $600.
News from the Recruiting Front:
Hello All:
Bunny and I hope you are doing well and enjoying Summer time!!! The sun is hotter
and days are lasting longer. The humidity is back as well with bugs and birds. It's
summer time!! On June 17, 2017, there will be a testing session on the Mobile County
and it will be the last one at the $40 price. From July 2017 and forward, American
Mensa Testing Sessions will cost $60. There will be some promotional months and we
will announce them when those come up. The price increase reflects all the recent
changes that have been happening to the program as well as the normal inflation
changes, which American Mensa did not make adjustments for. So, encourage those
that you know who will benefit from our membership and send them our way for
testing!!!
Many blessings,
Leslie and Bunny
Saturday, June 17, 2017, at 10:00 AM. Please be there at least 15 minutes
earlier.
Moorer Spring Hill Library
Mobile Public Library - Moorer Branch
4 McGregor Ave S
Mobile, AL 36608
Saturday, August 26, 2017, 10:00 AM. Please be there at least 15 minutes
earlier.
Daphne Library
618 Whispering Pines Rd
Daphne, AL 36526
Monthly Report from RVC 5, Baker Ring
615-230-6819
[email protected]
A few days before writing this, I returned from the Carolinah RG in Greenville,
SC. PAMinal House was great fun for everyone. If you missed it, put it on your
calendar for next year. This won’t be your last chance to attend a Region 5 RG. We
still have Mensa in Georgia’s RG, Peachtreat 42, “The Answer – to Life, the
Universe, and Everything”, September 22- 24. For more information, check out
their website.
I certainly don’t want to forget the Annual Gathering in Hollywood, FL, July 5-9;
with the Colloquium on July 5. There is a lot of information about the AG on the
website. If you are bringing children, there is a great schedule for SPARK.
It’s always exciting to see so many folks from Region 5 each AG. We will have a
Region 5 Meet and Greet where new AG goers and those who are experienced at
AGs can get together and compare notes. If you haven’t already registered, there is
still time. From Programs to SIGs, to Meet and Greets, to Tours, and Hospitality.
There is something for everyone at the AG. If you aren’t able to attend AG 2017,
start planning now for AG 2018 in Indianapolis.
As you know, the Mensa membership year ended March 31. If you know someone
who hasn’t renewed, encourage them to do so this month. You wouldn’t want
them to miss out on anything.
The elections for Mensa International and American Mensa are now over.
American Mensa’s new officers will be taking office at the Annual Gathering. Four
years ago, when I was first elected, almost ½ of the Board of Directors (AMC) was
new. As one of the new ones, I appreciated that support and encouragement that I
received from people in Region 5, as well as from across the country. I hope that
our new Board members will receive the same support that I have received.
If you want to renew your membership for next year, before the dues increase, you
can do so by contacting the National Office before July 1. This might be a good
time to buy a multi-year or Life membership.
Here’s to a great summer. Enjoy some Mensa local group activities while you’re at
it.
GG Puzzle
By Gary Kubina
It’s a good thing you got here, because it’s time for the GG Puzzle. What are
waiting for? Get going and solve this puzzle.
1. Little Richard sang this song
2. A British progressive rock band in the 70s. Also refers to a very large, mild person
3. He’s a jolly pea-colored, large man that sells peas.
4. An F. Scott Fitzgerald novel.
5. Talents provided by the Almighty.
6. British singer who has the same first name as the M-Port editor.
7. Your mom’s mom’s mom.
8. The leader of the peach state.
9. A car that drinks up the petrol.
10. Opposite of a bad girl.
11. What teams with sportsman-like conduct say after completing a competition.
12. Small humanoid creatures used a lawn ornaments.
13. A novel and mini-series where 11-year old, orphaned, red-headed Anne Shirley is
mistakenly sent to live with a brother and sister who wanted a boy to help out on
the farm.
14. Being compared to a 24-karat metal.
15. To really irritate someone.
16. A supervillain in the Spiderman comics.
17. Charlie Brown’s exclamation of frustration.
18. A 2014 psychological thriller starring Ben Affleck, based on the 2012 novel.
Do some GG phrased come to mind that I did not include?
Send in your additional clues (and answers!).
Half of an answer
I saw a lady bug and it reminded me of a circle and maybe a
half sphere. It got me to thinking . . . What are the 3 prefixes
for half? Also, think of a different word for each prefix. Now, I
think I’ll have a small cup of coffee.
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.
April Question of the Month:
What’s the one thing you wish you could do, but you have never done it?
May Question of the Month: How do the arts enhance your life?
I believe the arts help to make a well-rounded person. It not only enhances our
lives, but I believe it is vital for the complex human mind. The arts certainly
appeal to our senses. We can listen to music, view a painting, or even touch a
sculpture. If you include the culinary arts, we can add smell and taste. But it goes
deeper than the senses. The arts make us think and feel and react. The arts can
take our focus off our day-to-day lives, the aggressions of wars, or minor conflicts
in our lives. The arts inspire and build bridges between cultures. The arts
improve academics. Students immersed in the arts perform better on
standardized tests. The arts can improve tourism and the economy and almost
half of the health care industry provide arts programming for their patients
because of the healing benefits. Do we need the arts? Yes. Do the arts enhance
our lives? Yes. If only we supported the arts (and academics) as much as we
support sports.
Gary Kubina
I am very fortunate in having several artists in my family. While there are
mostly musicians, there are some that are gifted with the visual arts. For
them art has become the main part of their life and most of them have
been able to live off their talent. For me, art is the relaxing part of my
brain. I love to contemplate and admire visual arts, no matter their form;
it could be paintings, clothing, architecture or other tangible forms. Music
can both relax me and help me focus more intensely in a single task. I
enjoy seeing a person or group perform and also enjoy having music on
my headphones while writing a technical report at work. The music on the
headphones takes care of that secondary train of thought that constantly
reminds you of other things that will distract you from the task at
hand. Now, I love to relax doing my "personal" art, scrapbooking. When I
do scrapbooking projects, I can work on it for hours without talking, just
creating those pages of memories where I can preserve my cherished
photos for the next generations to enjoy!! If you are wondering how upto-date I am on my albums, well, I not up-to-date. I am years
behind. But I can tell you that at the rate that I take photos and I put
them in albums, I will be busy doing "my art" for the rest of my
days!!! Isn't it great!!!
Leslie Castro-Rosario
June Question of the Month: What are some of your favorite board games and
card games (classic and/or current)?
I’m running out of questions of the month. What question would you like to ask
fellow Mensans in the question of the month?
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.)
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.
With a solar eclipse due August 21, 2017,
consider reading:
Mask of the Sun: The Science, History
and Forgotten Lore of Eclipses
by John Dvorak.
The new book covers attitudes as they
changed for centuries and the amazing
ability to forecast them.
Jean Golden
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.
June Mensa Anniversaries
Douglas Fancher
Amy Pella
June Birthdays
3
31
Amy Pella
Al Warsh
9th
14th
PETS
Pets. Everybody loves their pets. Maybe you had a favorite pet as a child or maybe your
current pet is like a member of the family. You pet might be the traditional cat or dog, or it
might be something more unusual like a spider or a snake. Some people have virtual pets or
robotic interactive pets (that don’t have to be walked or fed). Send photos of your pet(s) (with
you in the photo if you like) with a caption. The editor’s contact information can be found at
the end of the newsletter.
GG Puzzle Answers:
1. Good golly Miss Molly
2. Gentle giant
3. Green giant
4. Great Gadsby
5. God given talent
6. Gary Go
7. Great Grandmother
8. Georgia Governor
9. Gas guzzler
10.Good guy
11.Good game
12.Garden gnome
13.Anne of Green Gables
14.Good as gold
15.Get your goat
16.Green goblin
17.Good grief
18.Gone Girl
Half of an answer:
Hemi hemisphere
Semi semicircle
Demi demitasse
Cook’s Corner
TROPICAL REFRESHER ICE CREAM
By Tommie Peterson
When I was given this recipe long ago, it was called “Banana Ice Cream.” I detest banana ice
cream, but love this! The taste is so different from conventional banana ice cream that I would
not want anyone who dislikes banana ice cream to not try this (a triple negative?), so I changed
the name.
Not only is it delightfully tasty, it is so easy to make. No eggs or cooking required. However,
unlike many ice creams with labor intensive preparations, this one does not keep well very long
in the freezer; it becomes as hard as ice. The solution is to eat it all!
If this recipe makes too much for your size crowd (or not enough) simply alter the ingredients
proportionately. Can you do the calculations in your head?
Enjoy! (PS – I like to add chopped pecans.)
EQUIPMENT:
- ice cream freezer and freezer supplies (usually crushed ice and ice cream salt)
- orange juicer
- measuring container 1 cup
- fork and bowl
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 cups milk
- 3 cups half and half
- 3 cups sugar
- 3 oranges
- 3 lemons
- 3 bananas
PREPARATION:
- Juice the oranges and lemons.
- Mash up the bananas well, with a fork
- Add the citrus juice, bananas and remaining ingredients to the ice cream freezer container. Stir
until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
- Freeze according to ice cream freezer manufacturer’s directions.
Serve immediately.
Serves: about 12.
Calories: yes
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.
Sometimes you just have to get things out of your system. As such, this month I have a continuation of
last month’s theme, “Photo Humor.” You can do this! (There will NOT be a part 3 next month!)
Since my retirement, I’m always looking for a deal. I do NOT recommend this one. The water was cold
and they were too rough with the vacuum.
My latest scientific discovery. This explains a lot…
On the left are patterns allegedly left on Earth by extraterrestrials. On the right are the first patterns we
left on another planet: the Rover’s markings on Mars. What a galactic embarrassment!
Uh huh!
Here’s the first of a few “signs” you can find out on the road.
And the signs can be helpful when you’re in need!
Finally! The one for which I have been waiting! We’re taking this exit, Honey! Then…
Dang! I got stuck behind this slow truck; I went nuts!!
OK guys. It’s over. You can come out now. See you next month. I hope.
😊 tommie
Second Saturday Meet to Eat
Saturday, June 10, 11:00 AM
Red Lobster, Mobile, AL
Mensa Lecture Series
Friday, June 23, 6:30 PM
Golden Bowl, Mobile, AL
LocSec
Assistant LocSec
Treasurer
Donna Workman
[email protected]
251-981-1901
Dan Hanson
[email protected]
251-767-0106
Trey Lemley
[email protected]
251-610-6587
Proctor
Facebook Manager
S. S. Meet to Eat
Leslie Castro-Rosario
[email protected]
787-501-4289
Trey Lemley
[email protected]
251-610-6587
Bunny Warsh
[email protected]
251-776-6657
Editor
Mailing Coordinator
Web Master
Gary Kubina
[email protected]
251-633-3564
vacant
any volunteers?
Al Warsh
[email protected]
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.