7 December Program
Business Meeting
Not to forget…Toys for Tots…bring your gifts to the 14 December program.
At this time of year gifts for children pop up on the radar. Book-gifting to children may not have the flashiness of the newest toy- bauble, but books spark the imagination while promoting reading. A sampling from New York Times Best Children’s Books 2009:
THE LION AND THE MOUSE
(Ages 3 to 6) Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.
Wordless picture books require great cunning not only to provide a recognizable pantomime but also to lead readers from one scene to the next: how do you know when to turn the page when there are no words to pull you forward?
MOONSHOT: The Flight of Apollo 11 (Ages 4 to 7) written and illustrated by Brian Floca. In watercolors, ink and acrylics, Floca lays out how the Apollo 11 mission unfolded. Crew and machinery are equally brought to life. One second before liftoff an astronaut gives a sidelong glance, full of suspense, and then . . . page turn: the rocket blasting off fills the spread (seeming to weigh every bit of its six million pounds). Inside, the airborne capsule is homey, with stuff floating around, in contrast to the black ink of space.
PURPLE HEART (Ages 12 and up)
By Patricia McCormick. The novel follows Matt Duffy as he recovers from a brain injury that affected his memory and left him unconscious in an Army hospital in Baghdad. McCormick speeds his recovery, and the reader’s introduction to Iraq, with high-fact, low-dosage packets of information delivered by doctors, other soldiers and fragmented flashbacks.
News from Rotary International…
In a major step forward in the fight to rid the world of polio, the U.S. government and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) announced that they will be strengthening their collaboration toward eradicating the disease. Panelists speaking at UNICEF headquarters in New York City on 2 December stressed that the battle against polio may be won or lost depending on how well all sectors of society can work together, including governmental and nongovernmental agencies, and religious organizations. In the areas where polio maintains its last strongholds, misinformation and conflict continue to impede workers’ ability to vaccinate children. The panel was organized after President Obama issued a statement in June announcing “a new global effort” with the OIC to eradicate polio.
Bravissimo Maestro Perlman who played to a sold-out audience at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on 2 December. Perlman received standing ovations during the fundraiser, Rotary’s first benefit concert for polio.
Sam “Cupid” Alitto was at the Old Theatre this weekend changing the marquee to announce a wedding, the first wedding performed at the theater.
7 December Then and Now
Retired firefighter Ed Johann was a teenage apprentice seaman on Dec. 7, 1941, when he spotted Japanese planes coming in over Pearl Harbor. He thought they were U.S. aircraft conducting drills until explosions and flames erupted from stricken ships in the harbor. The 86-year-old Oregonian is due to return Monday to Pearl Harbor for the first time since World War II to attend a ceremony marking the 68th anniversary of the attack. “I really don’t know how I’m going to handle it,” said Johann, from his home in Oregon. But the horrors he went through also led him to become a firefighter. “I think I had it in my mind,” Johann said, “I wanted to help people.” For years, Johann said he wouldn’t go to the annual observance in Hawaii in honor of those killed in the attack. But now that he’s 86, it seemed like a good idea. “If I’m ever going to do anything like that I’d better do it now,” Johann said. His son, who lives on Maui, will accompany him. … some 2,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony on a pier overlooking the spot where the Arizona sank. The bodies of more than 1,000 sailors and Marines are still on board, and small drops of oil continue to rise from the battleship.
“Pearl Harbor survivor back for 1st time since war” by Audrey McAvoy, The Associated Press 12/07/09.
