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Quote of the month: "Sacred cows make the tastiest hamburger." [Abbie Hoffman] |
Greetings, and good Holiday wishes (despite the irony of such a statement coming from an openly atheist fellow such as myself) to all. I don't know about most folks, but I'm looking forward to celebrating the annual rebirth of Sol Invictus and the promise of warmer, brighter days ahead... all dependant on the whims of the Groundhog, naturally.
As always, we met on the second Sunday of the month at the Unitarian Church. What was most unusual about this meeting was the number of people who arrived to participate. We easily had two dozen folks, including several new members from the Winston Salem area. I won't say I was very surprised by this. Recent political events made it pretty much expected.
As a way to relate to the recent election, we held a discussion about the pros and cons of democracy and some interesting possible variations on the ways humans can arrange to govern themselves. Many ideas and facts were presented that were new to me, at least. Overall, it appeared to be a very stimulating meeting for everyone.
At the end of the meeting, we discussed the idea of advertising our existence on WFDD, the local NPR station over in Winston Salem. Several possible slogans were discussed, but no final answer was chosen. Instead, we placed the candidates from the meeting on the Yahoo! group site for a poll. With a winner chosen, we approached WFDD. We found that we could place an announcement of 15 seconds on a show like "All Things Considered" for $65.00 per announcement. Thus, a blurb stating our slogan and inviting all who are interested to visit the group's web site, run once every Friday afternoon for a month would cost the group $260.00.
The upshot of this is that we have a possible, quite affordable way to let a far larger number of people in the Piedmont knows about us. If anyone wants to help make this idea come about, at least as a first trial effort, please make a point of bringing some money to help with it the next group meeting. We will then be able to make actual arrangements to advertise ourselves!
In December, the PFA will hold 2 events. On Sunday, Dec. 12 at 4:00 PM, we will hold our final regular meeting for 2004 at the Unitarian Church of Greensboro. So far, I haven't contacted the church to ask for a renewal of our contract arranging for our meetings. If anyone has an idea for a better, perhaps less expensive place to meet (we currently pay $25.00 per month to the church), now would be a good time to present the idea to us. In the absence of a new suggestion, I will contact Julie Hamilton (the church's administrative person) to ask for another year with the church.
Then, on Sunday, Dec 19 at 5:00 PM, we will gather at the Ham's Restaurant on High Point Rd. in Greensboro for a Winter Solstice Dinner. I have reserved 20 seats for that time, but I won't be surprised to find that others who come out will be accommodated. Bring your family, and any friends who might enjoy sitting down to celebrate the return of lengthening days, as all winter holiday celebrations originally were. Directions to the restaurant will be posted on the web site shortly.
As always, be sure to write me if you have any questions. Take care, and I'll be looking forward to seeing everyone in December!