BETH CALDWELL'S REPORT

But before we get to that, new member KEN KILPO led the Pledge. The Battle Hymn of the Republic followed, with perhaps a minor confusion of what key our two pianists were on - PP JIM DOWNIE and JACK HARRIS shared the ivories, and poor LENNY FRIEDMAN tried manfully to hold things together. Perhaps there is something to be said for prior practice, but who knows? HENRIETTA LIAM then challenged us to repeat the Four Way Test, and let's hope that our literacy rate is better than our memories. Anyway, it was a valiant effort, HENRIETTA, and perhaps shows that we need a bit of brushing up on this most basic Rotary creed.

Prez STEVE then enriched out ever-hungry coffers. First, he asked PP ERIC LOBERG if anything unusual had happened to him recently, and ERIC, thinking maybe recently meant the year 2000, said no. Upon further questioning, he allowed as how they had an electrical fire at his office LAST YEAR, which pretty much put the office out of business. Somehow this misfortune cost him a hundred clams. RON KLEPETAR was next, being nicked fifty bucks for missing a meeting or two. And alas, PP MIKE NEWMAN lost his Presidential Rotary Pin, which replacement cost $200, but Prez STEVE added $l00.00 for MIKE being so careless.

Newest member ATHENA JACKSON was recognized, along with Prez STEVE'S guest, Garry Pace, who is in financial consulting. And, giving credit where credit is due, you should be aware that PETER MORE has provided a new directional microphone for our use, which will certainly make it easier to hear those who speak from the podium. YOE attempted to raffle off a pair of Dodger tickets for the benefit of WVRC, and, seeing MIKE O'CONNELL waving frantically, happily presented them to MIKE - without, however, having received a previously-agreed-upon price. MIKE contended that he was not signaling that he wanted the tickets, but was only waving to LEO TSENG, and afterward returned the tickets. However, just to show that most stories have a happy ending, YOE next presented the tickets to Kevin, our always-reliable parking person, who was delighted to have them!

There were six birthdays in September, starting with PP HOWARD SISKEL, followed by DON PARSON, PP JIM DOWNIE, ED JACKSON, DICK LITTLESTONE, and SLOSS VIAU. It should be mentioned that SLOSS was, earlier, perfectly willing to introduce our visiting Rotarians - but there weren't none. GEORGE DEA reminded us that next Thursday our District Assembly will be held at Riviera, starting at 6 p.m.

PP BOB WESSLING confessed that he was, once again, going to the rescue of his beloved DePauw Tigers, who are in the midst of a three-game losing streak. Last year, on a similar mission of mercy, BOB so inspired them that they won their next game - we don't know how much this takes out of BOB, but such results are certainly worth whatever price is exacted, and we wait with almost-baited breath for the result of this latest rescue effort. PP STEVE DAY asked a bunch of us to stand, and we were then held up as sterling examples of Rotary support, since those standing had already reserved places at the Foundation Celebration Dinner on October 28th. There is a special raffle, with only 500 tickets, with the winner receiving a new 2001 P/T cruiser - it's worth the gamble, and PP RON LYSTER has the tickets, OK?

There were many, many, many announcements of upcoming events, some of which might even have been of interest, except there are too many of the damn things.

I'll mention a few, under protest:
This Sunday, 2:30 at the Siskels - the PICNIC, and it is always a fun event.
Oct 3rd, District Rotary Task Force, Holiday Inn - Prez STEVE.
Oct 24th, Yearling Breakfast, reserve with HARLAN LEWIS.
And for the AUXILIARY, their next meeting will be Wednesday, Oct 11th, at the home of Shirley and PETER MORE - 11:30, program by the LENNY FRIEDMAN family.

We then enjoyed eleven and a half minutes (so stated by Prez STEVE) of down time - which YOE always covets, since writing this bulletin conflicts with eating, sometimes.

LENORE MULRYAN had the pleasure of introducing Beth Caldwell, one of our Ambassadorial Scholars, who returned recently for a year of study in Guadalajara.

She is now pursuing a Masters in Sociology AND a law degree, which will take a combined four years, and Beth plans to use this training in social work in East L.A. She has visited a number of local clubs - and is an inspiration to all of us.

An overview - there are 1200 Scholars selected every year, at a cost of 48 million dollars, and she spoke for all of them in thanking us for this wonderful program. She chose Mexico for study since she wants to pursue her career in Los Angeles, which has the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the world, exceeded only by Mexico City. She attended the University of Guadalajara. and from this base, was only 20 minutes away from areas of great prosperity or blighted areas of extreme poverty. Mexico has no social safety nets comparable to ours, and thus it is particularly hard to see the many children who suffer from this neglect.

Beth told the touching story of a young girl of 15 whom she met. This girl came to her door, asking if she could clean her apartment,and Beth remembered from earlier experience that she could pay her for an interview. Her subject lived with three brothers and their mother in a shack alongside the city dump, costing $40 a month in rent - and to help pay these costs, the girl took whatever menial jobs she could find, including engaging in prostitution. The going wage for the poor is two to three dollars for a ten-hour day - she, for instance, had not eaten meat for three years, since she couldn't afford it! Even without any education, she points out that as "long as the politicians have food, the poor will not be able to break the cycle of poverty. "

In the Q&A, will Vicente Fox be able to improve conditions? He wants to replace the police force, and if he can, that will do away with a great deal of present corruption. NAFTA has been good for both countries, but often the sheer physical work that is required is hard on the worker's health. What are conditions in LA - sometimes a dozen people live in just two rooms, trying to save money for their relatives still in Mexico. At the University, almost everyone spoke some English, but it is not taught as broadly as it could be. In Mexico, jobs are always needed, and good counseling would be most helpful to students. As she concluded, DICK LITTLESTONE rose to point out that her report on her studies in Guadalajara was the best he had seen in 28 years!

She truly is an outstanding young woman, and we are fortunate thatshe is working within Rotary.

Thought for the Day - Saying the proper thing and stopping is the definition of eloquence!

                  YOE, Ernie Wolfe