GCCCD
Grapevine
Volume 14, Number 3 Grapevine Home November, 2004
Forty Years Later-The Changing Face of Grossmont College
Editor's Comments By Bob Steinbach
Tom and I have been at odds for a while about including campus news in the Grapevine.
Apparently he received flak from
some retirees about becoming another PR publication for the district. In the past,
I’ve bowed to his seniority, but since it’s
my turn for this column, I’m going put on my flak jacket and march to my own drum.
I was on campus for the first time in quite a while to attend the Medical Care Workshop
(see story below) during Staff
Development in August and was overwhelmed by the changes in the quad and front of the
Learning and Technology
Resource Center (LTRC, aka LRC, aka Campus Library). It’s a thing of regal beauty! I
had to stand and gawk like
a tourist in New York City. Check out this photo.
Dramatic overhaul of the LTRC facade and foyer (all
photos by Bob Steinbach)
Changes in the interior of the LTRC are just as dramatic. The three-story (one below
ground level) addition at the north end
of the LTRC provides new space for the book collection and circulation. The old stacks
area has become a sea of computer
stations with flat screen monitors; faculty offices and group study areas are upstairs.
Three-story
LTRC addition looking west from the Acres
of computers and students now occupy the old
Social Science Quad
stacks area – view from faculty office area
I can’t count the number of times I was involved in planning similar changes, only
to have nothing happen. In the old days we
were always told that the infrastructure wouldn’t support any more buildings, but
whatever they did to overcome the
difficulties, the changes are terrific.
The "Science Quad" west of the LTRC is prepped for a new two-story science
building. Completion is scheduled for
August 2006 and it will house Biology on the first floor and Chemistry and Earth Sciences
on the second floor. Even with
the new buildings, there is sufficient open space on campus to make it feel like a college
setting.
Site preparation for the new science building, looking west from the LTRC
I’m sorry for the staff and students, who are suffering through two major
back-to-back construction projects on campus, but
it must provide a terrific boost in spirits to see a break in the decades of stagnation.
‘Tis a joy to walk around campus and feel
new life.
(Note: I was 24 hours from sending this to Tom when the Chancellor’s UPDATE
arrived, scooping a bit of my
Commentary – too late to come up with a new Comments column -- so, OK, we don’t
need campus news in the Grapevine.)
Medical Benefits Workshop Informs the Retired and Near-Retired
A classroom full (approximately 45) of near-retirees and retirees attended a workshop
on medical benefits at Grossmont
College on August 20th. The workshop was sponsored by the District’s Risk
Management/Benefits office, directed by Bob
Eygenhuysen. Retiree Gay Cox played a major role in initiating and organizing the
workshop, with the help of retired counselor
Claudia Thompson and Director Bob Eygenhuysen. The workshop was organized in order to help
educate those about to
retire and those who have recently retired and needed information on their options
Joy Parker of HICAP (Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program) gave a very
informative presentation on the
varieties of insurers and the various Medigap programs. Bob Eygenhuysen gave a detailed
presentation on District Health
Plans and the pressures of rapidly rising costs and responded to questions on the plans
and on COBRA A booklet on
Choosing A Medigap Policy along with various packets of information on COBRA and the
district health plans were provided
to attendees, along with material on the new Medicare Prescription Drug Act (discount
card) and brochures on organizations
available to seniors in need of counseling or services. A similar workshop is planned for
the Spring Semester.
Gay Cox merits special mention for her efforts to provide health benefits and
information to district
employees and retirees. She has served continuously for thirty-five years on the GCCCD
Benefits Committee, chaired by Bob
Eygenhuysen. She is not only the resident expert but is also our retiree representative on
this committee. This committee meets
at least once a month and has to inform themselves about the myriad health plans available
and come up with plans that meet
employee and retiree needs within the confines of district budgets. We all owe her a great
deal for the time and energy she has
expended on our behalf and I thank her for all of us. ts
Grossmont College Honored Locally and Nationally
For the second year in a row, Grossmont College was named ‘Best of San Diego’
by readers of the San Diego
Union-Tribune. This entitles the college to use the San Diego’s Best logo and
confirms what most of us and our students
already knew.
Grossmont College was also included among the Top 100 Producers of Associate Degrees
from Community Colleges in the
nation in a study published by the journal, Community College Week, and has
maintained this position for the past several
years.
Retiree Turnout Low at GC President’s 5th Annual All Staff BBQ
These people are pros
Can you spot the retiree?
The turnout of retirees attending the President’s Barbeque at Grossmont College on
Monday, August 16 seemed noticeably
smaller than previous years. The grilled chicken and all of the accompanying food was, as
always, delicious. The weather was
perfect, if you stayed in the shade. The location, between the Communication Arts building
and the Administration building, and
the loudness of the band, made it easy enough to find. But the number of retirees there
amounted to less than a score.
Talented,
but wired for a stadium
Sheltered from sun, but not the sound
As the years go by, the faculty and classified staff slowly change until the day comes
when the returning retiree finds few that he
recognizes. Maybe that’s why some retirees no longer attend. There may be some
critical mass of strangers which make it
difficult for our aging population to enjoy such an event. There is that last good year
when the last of the folks you knew in your
department has retired and now there’s no close connection with the job you retired
from. Maybe the loudness of the band
drove some of us away. The high decibels and close proximity to the dining area made it
difficult to converse whenever the
band played. Or maybe this year’s low retiree attendance was just a fluke. Sadly, the
low attendance this year might keep those
retirees who did show up from coming back next year. That would be unfortunate because
this annual event has meant a lot to
some of us over the years, keeping us connected to the campus as well as each other. Maybe
next year will be different. ts
Driftwood
Snippets of gossip that have been
burnished by friends and washed up on the Grapevine desk
by Bob Steinbach
(click on any picture with blue border to enlarge)
I picked up an interesting book for my last trip to Tucson: Blood
Work by Michael Connelly. It’s a basic murder mystery about
a retired FBI agent with a newly transplanted heart. The foundation is unusual and allows
a number of interpretations of the
unfolding facts. The author delivers several "I should have thought of that!"
moments and there are enough options to make the
twists surprising. I finished it before I got home from Tucson. It’s available (used)
for one cent plus shipping at Amazon.com.
Judy Barkley joined 
Don and Joan Scouller on an Arizona Historical Society Docent trip
through NE Arizona at the end of April. Joan is a docent and when the tour doesn't fill up
with docents, it is available to others.
Highlights were an Anasasi archeological site; the Walpi pueblo, most pristine of
the Hopi villages, on First Mesa; and a
Harvey Girls tour of Winslow's famous La Posada Hotel, the masterpiece and favorite
building of Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter,
the greatest of all Southwestern architects.
Sherry Chase’s (Sherry Frey) husband, Bob, passed away July 28, 2004, a result of
heart failure. Bob and
Sherry traveled extensively during their eight years of marriage. They were planning their
next two trips when he went into the
hospital.
Ivan Jones married Sally Sayan on
August 7, 2004, in an intimate backyard ceremony near his estate on the
shores of Hammersley Inlet, one of the waterways of Southern Puget Sound. A barbecue
reception followed on the grounds.
Congratulations, Ivan and Sally!
Dick Mellien’s wife, Arleen,
lost her battle with cancer on September 24, 2004. Dick and Arleen were married
in 1983 and have been very generous in opening their lovely home on Mount Helix to various
retirement parties and Dean’s
meetings.
Ernie Neveu continues
producing winning wine! His 2003 Pinot Gris won a Silver Medal at the L.A. County Fair
International wine Competition this year. His winery keeps him very busy but he has now
finished the last of this years harvest - fermentation and it looks pretty good.
Muriel Owen and Norman pulled up stakes
in San Diego August 10 and are building a home in Colorado
Springs. They are scheduled to move in around the first of the year – their new
address will be 694 Orchestra Dr., Colorado
Springs, CO 80906. Their new accommodations will allow travel flexibility that they
haven’t had before, so they are perusing
cruise and riverboat catalogs as well as considering exploration of New Zealand and
Australia. In the mean time, they have
domestic travel plans including Branson, MO.
Tom
Scanlan and Rosemarie have a lovely new grandaughter, Charlotte Karen Thorne,
born on October 14. She weighed in at 7lbs, 15oz and was 20 inches long. He thanks his
daughter Ali and her husband Blaine for this wonderful gift.
And from our Grapevine Guest Book on the web –
Hi there! Great newsletter as usual. It's good to be able to access it online. Save a
tree and all that. Please add me to your
e-mail list. Thanks, and keep up the good work. 
Julie Kuhl
District Retiree jkuhl7@cox.net
Hi Grossmont College Colleagues - Ran across your Grapevine on the web and it's great.
I am now the President/CEO at
IMPAC University in Florida, a for-profit university offering Master's level degrees only.
The university offers both residential
and on-line courses. Sharon Yaap Caballero E-mail at caballero_s@impacu.edu
Tom, just love reading about what our college friends are doing. I have had quite a
traveling year myself so far. Beginning in
Feb,2004 with a cruise on the QM2. Boarded in Rio de Janeiro, cruising up through
Barbados, Martinique and St. Maartens,
disembarking in Ft. Lauderdale. Home a few weeks then drove to Idaho to visit my daughter.
Got back in time to repack and
head out to St. Maartens again, this time to be a beach bum for a week. Have had company
off an on since then. Next trip is in
Sept. when I'll be off to England for a visit with cousins for a week, then going to Italy
for a week. After that may stay home
for a while, but who knows..... oh the joys of retirement. Thanks for all the work you and
the team do, greatly appreciated.
Brenda Elliott
Homer Lusk to retire in December
Homer Lusk began teaching at Grossmont College in 1969 and has chaired the English
Department for many of those years.
In addition to regular English courses, his teaching specialties included the literature
of mythology and science fiction. After
retiring he plans to continue teaching some English courses and Mythology part-time in the
evening.
Helping Retirees with Limitations
Ray Resler
has helped another retiree with limited mobility to achieve some of the benefits of our
computer age. A few years ago he helped retiree Charleen Lamons, now deceased, work with a
computer/TV system so that
she could use the internet and e-mail (see Grapevine,
December, 1999) even though she was bedridden. In the past few
months he has helped provide a computer and accessories for retiree Don Shannon, who is
confined by Parkinson’s Disease
and leg injuries to wheelchair or bed in a local convalescent home.
A number of District employees helped make this possible. Computer technician Fat Lee
donated the CPU, keyboard and
mouse and Ray picked up a flat screen monitor that Don Shannon purchased in order to keep
the system compact enough for
the confines of his two-patient room. Alba Orr, Kats Gustafson and Hsiu Chih Jennings were
all instrumental in helping Don
receive the type of system he could work with and an e-mail account at the college. Ray
and I installed the system and helped
Don relearn the excitement of Solitaire and Chess. This will be an ongoing project because
Don is unable to use a keyboard.
We are looking into a speech-to-type system that Don can use, along with a few other
options that will help him benefit from
a personal computer in spite of his physical disabilities.
Don Shannon is staying at the Country Villa convalescent facility
(formerly Beverly Manor) on
5696 Lake Murray Blvd., just a few miles south of Grossmont College. He would very much
appreciate visits and phone calls
(personal phone 464-0759) from his colleagues and friends. His e-mail address is don.shannon@gcccd.net ts
OK, so you caught me
playing Solitaire
Hats off to another computer geek
Impressions of Oaxaca: My First Visit
by Mary Ann Beverly
The beauty of this country was enhanced by the artistic abilities of the indigenous
groups as well as the general population. They
truly are natural artists. Artwork produced during the pre-conquistador period seemed to
be sculptures of deities and utility uses
of clay and geometrical designs on building structures. Today, black pottery appears to be
the most popular for tourist.
Paintings in oils, pastel and watercolor flourished throughout the whole country. Subject
matter was of every thing from real life
to the imaginative, primitive to futuristic style. The place was a haven for art
galleries, which exhibited mixed media in many
forms of art including crafted fabrics to brightly painted wooden sculptures of whimsical
types of common and mystical animals.
Coming in for a landing was like falling to earth in a dream. When I realized the plane
was dropping down, I looked out the
window and saw a blanket of soft, fluffy patterns of different colored greens. Whoa! What
a sight! Are we coming into a hidden
paradise? Shangri-la’ it may well be, for after landing and on our way into the city
of Oaxaca, we were greeted with all the
colors one would find in a box of crayons. Forgive me for being so excited, for I have
never been to this land of wonderment
before. First off, I noticed the surrounding hills, which were more like mountainous
peaks, giving me a secure sense of
protection. One could see the richness of the earth; there was an abundance of plants and
a variety of trees. It looked and felt
tropical. The quick introduction to flowers, as we neared our destination, was bright and
cheerful when we went to the big
Friday mercado; we were dazzled by the reality of nature’s paintbrush. Every kind of
flower and vegetable grown on this planet
was represented in cinematic color. Fruits and vegetables in all shapes and sizes looking
juicy, healthful and ready to eat.
The entrance to our "habitacion" or hotel, was a charming, cobbled stoned
courtyard with tropical plants and a coffee tree
bursting with beans. We were very pleased and comfortable with our accommodations, as the
service was pleasant and
hospitable. This was true of the whole atmosphere. The natives and people in general made
us feel welcome. The weather was
mostly quite predictable. We awoke to bright sunny mornings. By early afternoon soft rains
and gentle breezes caressed us.
But there was the occasional heavy rain followed by resonant drums from the heaven
thunder.
Oaxaca is the capital city of the state of the same name, located in the southernmost
part of our neighbor Mexico. The trip was
recommended and organized by Lee & Barbara Roper, "aficionados" of this part
of the world. They suggested traveling at this
time of the year because of a happening called "Guelaguetza". There are many,
many fiesta days throughout Mexico; this
particular one happens every July. Guelaguetza is also called the "Fiestas del Lunes
del Cerro" which means (not literally)
gathering, on Mondays, of the different native indigenous groups who live in the
surrounding hillsides.
Each of these different groups has their own dialect, which originated from the Mayan
language. They are regarded as the
backbone of the working and creative population. This was their time to shine, and shine
they did. About seven different
indigenous groups participated in this extravaganza each with beautiful bright colored
costumes. Many costumes were of
multi-colored, textured fabrics and threads. Some decorated with bright colored beads and
some with dramatic feathers. This
spectacle alone heightened the visual senses. The auditory senses were stimulated by each
groups dance music. (Sometimes
they were accompanied by National State Band of Oaxaca). There was no such thing as a
Salsa or a Cha-Cha dance tempo. Theirs
leaned more toward the primitive sound, similar among all the different tribes which was
of simple types of rhythm, but,
amazingly, some harmony could be heard. I understand that the children of these villagers
are given a musical instrument as
early as three years of age. Most of them are self-taught. When the family come into town
to sell their wares, the children are
placed at some corner, plunking their guitars (with two strings). One would walk a few
steps and be serenaded by a
"squeaky" violin or a two "finger" type chord accordion. All played
with little tip jars at his or her side. I guess one could guess
where my extra "pesos " went. A totally enchanting experience!
We took a two hour trip high into the mountain to a village where rugs and wall
hangings were created. What an education!
Before "oo-ing and ah-ing " at the array of beautitiful rugs and wall hangings,
we were given a demonstration of how the wool
material was dyed. Color pigments were extracted and processed from the bark of trees,
leaves, plant roots and insects from
cactus and other plants. They showed the old way of preparing the yarn to today’s
method using modern equipment. I never
saw so many shades of earth tones, reds, greens and indigos. These talented weavers
skillfully produced designs from the
primitive and common to contemporary.
These people know what the "turistas" want. They truly seem to be connected
to the outside world. Most of all, Rolando, our
knowledgeable guide told us, they are connected to Mother Earth. With that strong
connection, they survive peacefully by
hanging on to their inner tranquility. They respect and honor the Earth--which provides
the tools and inspiration for their
creations.
Oaxaca Revisited
By Lee Roper
Even after having visited Oaxaca, Mexico many times, we always find that we get
homesick for the magic of the place. In
checking on flights we found out that we would save about $70 per ticket if we had a group
of eight people. We ended up with
a wonderful diverse group of ten. We were Mary Ann Beverly, Marie James, Dorothy Ledbetter
and her daughter Holly from
Texas, Wayne and Peggy Harmon, the Ropers and two of our neighbors.
We flew Aero Mexico out of Tijuana, which always seems to leave on time. Our hotel was
just a few blocks from the Zocalo
right in the center of activity. There was no planned agenda but we made sure that we went
to the villages on the market days,
saw the live animal market where we could have purchased an oxen, visited the folk art
communities to see where they make
the wool rugs, the black or green pottery, paint the wooden figures etc. We enjoyed the
churches, museums, restaurants as well
as the famous Guelaguetza. That is the biggest fiesta of the year. All of the areas of the
state of Oaxaca send music and dancing
groups to entertain and share their products. There were parades, outdoor stages and lots
of singing groups in the city streets.
The Harmons spent a day birding in the nearby mountains where they did the "life bird
dance" for the 12 new species that they
found.
Summer is the rainy season in Oaxaca. The hills are lush green with fields of corn and
flowering vegetation. In the early evening
we weary travelers would come together at the big tables in the patio to share experiences
over a few drinks and lots of laughs.
Bibliofiles:
by Tom Scanlan
There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away
Emily Dickinson
(click on bookcovers to enlarge; click on title for
Amazon.com reviews or purchase)
Joe
DiMaggio-The Hero’s Life, Richard Cramer (Simon and Schuster, 2000) 
Reviewed by Pat Higgins
The Hall of Fame, pantheon of baseball, includes such immortals as Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth,
Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and
Ted Williams, but arguably the best of the best was Joe DiMaggio. This biography carries
so many instances of DiMaggio’s
great play that you’d need to keep a list as you read, to remember them all.
It’s hard to refrain from calling him outright the
best baseball player who ever lived. From the time he was a gawky teenager when---I
didn’t know---he played shortstop.
Then an alert San Francisco Seals manager put him in the outfield, and he was so
outstanding that he went to the New York
Yankees and became a star only three years after he started a professional career. In New
York he played right field, then
settled into center field for his fielding exploits.
The DiMaggio achievement which drew most attention---a record that still stands--was
his 1941 streak of hitting in 56 straight
games. It kept baseball fans everywhere on edge until it ended on July 17, before a
capacity crowd in Cleveland, where Joe
went hitless in four times at bat. (I was lucky to see DiMaggio heroics one night in
Chicago. The Yankees were playing the
White Sox in Comiskey Park. My parents were visiting from Spokane, and I took my dad to
the game. DiMaggio had been on
the injured list for a couple of weeks, for what I don’t remember. But he resumed
activity that night, and for our life-long
remembrance hit two home runs. Of course, the Yankees won.
Most of the baseball life was good for Joe, but he had one bitter experience which
lasted for several months. For 1938, Joe
wanted $40,000 from the Yankees. But Col. Jacob Ruppert, the Yankees’ owner proved a
supreme and immovable tightwad.
He told DiMaggio and the press that Joe would get $25,000, no more. As Joe struggled to
get his figure, Ruppert kept putting
the word out that DiMaggio was fighting in vain. Eventually, DiMaggio surrendered, and
joined the team for the Ruppert figure.
And then fate became really fickle. On Joe’s first day back he chased a pop fly from
his center field position, while second
baseman Joe Gordon chased it from second base. They collided hard enough to send both to a
hospital overnight and Gordon
was out of the lineup with shoulder pains. Then Joe’s friendly fans turned on him
howling at him as a greedy prima donna, and
a menace on the diamond. The abuse wasn’t confined to Yankee Stadium; it followed
DiMaggio around the league. Joe
blamed writers---whom he mostly disliked anyway---for turning the public against him.
There were no more holdouts.
Fans came round in time, and DiMaggio was a hero.
Being a hero has a lot of advantages. For example, if you were Joe, you’d rarely
have to pick up the check in restaurants,
nightclubs or wherever else your fancy might take you. Owners and hosts were so honored to
have DiMaggio in their
establishments that the bill was on the house. Or guests in your party, or others would
gladly treat DiMaggio to hospitality.
There was adulation wherever DiMaggio went, and it generally was welcome. But the
converse was that privacy was hard
to obtain. The constant contact with autograph seekers, and others, who felt no reticence
about accosting their hero, was a
sort of cross to bear.
Joe was fond of women, and he knew many. But it seems he really loved only two, Dorothy
Arnold and Marilyn Monroe.
Dorothy was a Minnesota girl named Olson, who took Arnold as her professional name. She
had an ambition to be a
Hollywood actress. And after stints in vaudeville in Duluth and Chicago, and acting school
in New York, she signed a film
contract with Universal as its "Miss Oomph." She met DiMaggio by chance, when
both were on the set in New York for the
film "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round. It was close to love at first sight, and then began a
courtship hampered primarily by the fact
that Dorothy’s career was centered on Hollywood, while Joe’s life was in New
York. Still, love conquered hurdles, and in
November, 1939 they were married in San Francisco.
Their son, Joe, Jr., was born two years later, and though his parents rejoiced, the
child couldn’t save the marriage. The tension
about careers, Joe’s view that baseball was the most important aspect of their lives,
and his mild jealousy about his wife’s
attraction for men took toll. In May, 1944, a Los Angeles court granted Dorothy a divorce
after she testified to Joe’s" cruel
indifference." She later remarried, and then divorced her second husband.
Marilyn Monroe, Joe’s second love of his life---chronological, not necessarily
preferential---was two hours late for dinner with
Joe, their first date. In fact, it was only telephone urging by her business agent that
persuaded her to keep the date. She said she
wasn’t looking forward to dining with a sports star, but she did come. Joe stood up
as she came to the table; that and his
conservative dress convinced her that he wasn't all bad, and a love was begun that was
smooth and stormy over the years,
more stormy than serene. In a calm time they married and stayed married for 286 days.
Surprisingly that separation was not the
finish of their love affair. Each seemed still fond of the other, and in the years after
they showed their love many times. Despite
her some times erratic behavior, in spite of the fact that she’d had a short marriage
to playwright Arthur Miller, and the fact that
she spread her favors around, Joe wanted her enough to propose that they try marriage
again. Marilyn agreed, and they shortly
set a wedding date. But only weeks before that day, Marilyn apparently overdosed on
sleeping pills to end her life and
dash Joe’s hopes.
From then on, it was down hill for DiMaggio. His health faded with the years, though he
managed to get into a couple of
schemes involving autographed baseballs and bats. Those operations brought in a lot of
money, though it wasn’t always the
product of great ethics. In fact, a lawyer who worked his way into DiMaggio’s
confidence managed to portray himself as Joe’s
best friend and set himself up for life. That lawyer, in Joe’s hospital room the
night he died, spotted a ring on Joe’s finger, and
instructed a nurse to take the ring off. It was hard to get the ring loose, but the nurse
was successful and the attorney took the
ring. The inscription read, "Thirty six World Series, rookie year." The attorney
left the room carrying the ring. When he was
asked later about the ring he was wearing, he said, " Joe gave it to me."
The Imperial
Maud, Robert E. Moore (iUniverse, Inc. NY, 2004) 
Bob Moore
Now I find myself regretting that I never enrolled in Bob’s creative writing class
before he retired from Grossmont College
(I did purchase and read his excellent textbook, So You Want to be a Writer). This
is Bob’s first published novel and it really
makes the case that we are never to old to be creative (those of you who know Bob are well
aware that he’s no young chicken
anymore, but editorial restraint prevents me from divulging the extent of his antiquity).
As a genre, his novel is a period romance and adventure story set in 19th
Century England. It concerns an artist, Stuart
Tremaine, who makes his living painting landscapes and portraits of the gentry. While
traveling in the countryside, Stuart stops
at a remote inn and is smitten by the countenance of the innkeeper’s wife, Polly
Butler. In order that he might use her as his
model, he agrees, for mere room and board, to feature her on a new sign which will replace
the worn and faded one hanging
at the inn’s entrance.
Things get a bit sticky when Stuart finds himself falling in love with Polly. Her
husband treats her rather harshly and he doesn’t
wish to compromise her situation further. To make things worse, a rather unsavory local,
Jack Waggoner, also has his eye on
Polly and poses a serious and menacing threat to Tremaine and his romance with Polly.
Adding more spice to the stew, a
deranged countess whose husband has run off with Stuart’s wife is also visiting this
remote village and now wants Stuart to
avenge their common misfortune. Simple escapades soon escalate into deception, violence
and even a murder mystery.
The language, setting and characters seem authentically early English (I didn’t
realize Bob was that old!) so you’ll find after just
a few chapters that you are quite at home in the environs of an earlier, rural England,
enjoying the colorful company of hearty
gents and spirited damsels as you quaff your stout ale and feast on steaming kidney pie at
the inn’s great common table--whilst
turning the pages of this delightful little novel. I heartily recommend it, especially if
you’re just a bit out-of-sorts with modern times.
You can browse (read the prologue and first chapter) or purchase this book at
http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?&isbn=0-595-32972-1
and it’s also available for purchase in paperback or digitally at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0595329721/
The
Meaning of Everything, Simon Winchester (Oxford University Press, 2003)
If you love words, history, travel, people, or have ever wondered how a dictionary is
made, this book is a wonderful read.
Simon Winchester is well known for his best seller, The Professor and the Madman, a
fascinating tale of madness and genius, a
nd the incredible obsessions of two unusual men who contributed so much to the making of
the Oxford English Dictionary
(OED). The Meaning of Everything is a much broader and complete story of the 71
years it took to complete the OED, though
equally fascinating.
The book begins with a brief history of the English language, a chapter that alone
justifies reading the book. The origin of words
and how meanings and spellings have changed is a lesson in history and geography and
social anthropology, all in one. The
contributions of the various settlers and sometimes conquerors of the British Isles is
mind-boggling, not to mention the impact
of travel and technology. English has no single origin, no pure form, and it changes
incessantly, more than any other language
on the planet. No wonder that immigrants have always found it difficult, despite the
familiarity of a certain few words from their
own language. Learn Latin and you’ll find that Italian and Spanish are not so far
removed. But what do you study as a prelude
to English? Don’t even try.
And how does one assemble a dictionary? Who actually does it? Who pays for it and who
will publish it? Who will buy it? The
answers vary, depending on whose dictionary you mean. There were dozens of dictionaries
produced in England alone before
the OED and Winchester discusses their pros and cons. But mostly this book is about the
unusual and fascinating people who
persevered in producing what is today considered the greatest dictionary of the English
language, The Oxford English
Dictionary.
The sources of words for any dictionary, of course, are primarily other dictionaries,
letters, conversations and literature, i
ncluding newspapers, novels and even scientific journals. But who would undertake the
Herculean task of gathering and reading
ALL of this material in order to produce a truly COMPLETE dictionary of English? Inspired
members of the Philological
Society (philology; the love of learning or words) in 1857 England, who else! With the
help of thousands of volunteers from
around the world, but mostly from the English speaking countries of the British Isles,
Australia, Canada and the United States.
A standard method of submitting words was adopted and a small staff, mostly volunteers
and the rest poorly paid, working in
what was described as a glorified shed, began the grueling task of sorting and
cross-checking and organizing the submissions,
one word per card. These were filed in a system of pigeonholes, which continued to grow
and evolve as the project stretched
from the original estimate of ten years to over seventy years. Many of the volunteers and
staff did not live to see the fruition of
their efforts. Along the way, efforts to find a publisher willing to fund the printing and
fights with editors who wanted to trim
back the project continued, complicated by the expected professional jealousies and
political infighting to be found among
University board members and their advisors.
Even before its completion, the dictionary began to be published serially, over a
period of years, until its completion in 1928.
Can you imagine people dashing to the nearest newsstand when it was announced that the
next volume, a slim 64-page
paperback, perhaps containing the words from whiskey to willfulness was now
available? They did--and this was one way the
publishers of the past were able to fund more than a few works, including fiction. The
completed dictionary contained over
400,000 words and nearly two million illustrative quotations. The first bound edition was
twelve volumes; any fewer would have
made the volumes too bulky.
Would you like a copy? You can purchase the twenty volume, 20,000 page dictionary of
2.5 million quotations illustrating over
half a million words for just $895, a special 75th anniversary price (list
price $3000). You might actually be tempted--after
reading Winchester’s book.
Grossmont’s Acorn Review Requesting Submissions
Grossmont College’s literary magazine, Acorn Review, is encouraging
submissions for their Fall semester, 2005 edition. They
accept poetry (50 lines or less), prose or short plays (less than 3000 words), and art or
photography (black and white
recommended as only the covers will include color art or photos). An individual may submit
up to 10 poems, art works or
photos, and up to three short stories or plays. All manuscripts must be typed
double-spaced, one side only, pages numbered.
Also include a word count and title, and attach a 3x5 card to each work with your name,
title of the piece, name of instructor
(if applicable), your phone number, address and e-mail address. Do NOT put your name on
your work. Submit your work to
Juliana Cardenas in office 511B at Grossmont College no later than March 22, 2005. All
submissions will be judged
anonymously by a panel of student editorial staff members. If you have questions, you can
call Julie at 644-7486.
Letters:
Stan
Claussen writes:
Retirees often find themselves stuck in a routine, often a pleasant one, where they do
almost the same thing every day. Jan and
I travel by motorhome cruise ship or airliner, or just take the Matrix; and after
ten years or so, like the rest of you, we have
done a lot. But some of us miss the old tangle of minds and ideas when we confronted
students and colleagues. Jan and I found
a way to get some of this back in our life. It is called Project Vote Smart. It is a
non-partisan, non-profit operation tucked away
on an old dude ranch in a beautiful valley not too far from Missoula, Montana.
Project Vote Smart has a serious and worthwhile purpose: to get politicians to talk
about the things they would like to avoid;
ie. the issues in their political campaigns. It was founded in 1988 by Jimmy Carter and
Gerald Ford and about 40 other private
citizens and national leaders. The Project itself is a national library of factual
information on 40,000 candidates for public office:
the presidential candidates, the state governors, all members of the House of
Representatives and Senate, and all state
legislators. Each candidate is covered in five areas: biographical background,
positions on campaign issues, voting records,
campaign finances, and performance evaluations made by special interests. PVS makes sure
that it can provide unbiased and
accurate information, by hone or on line, that every citizen can trust to be free of slant
or hidden agendas. All funds come from
members of PVS and charitable institutions, not corporations.
The setting draws people of all ages who like the great outdoors to offset important but
sometimes tedious work and low pay.
A permanent staff of about 30 runs the everyday operation all year, while young interns
and older project member/volunteers
come to participate in what the banner across the workroom proclaims: "Quiet Please.
Democracy is being reborn." This crew
creates the database mentioned above by putting together, sending out and tabulating a
National Political Awareness Test
(or NPAT) for each candidate; this test examines the willingness of each person running
for office to let voters know how they
will handle the tough issues if elected. If you would like to check the place out before
you join or volunteer a week or two of
work, you can visit Project Vote Smart any time by taking a 30 mile detour from the small
city of Philipsburg, Montana, and
pick the brains of staff and volunteers who always welcome visitors. You can also contact
Stan Claussen (stand@nas.com).
Last Play of the Season
Grossmont College is presenting Educating Rita, directed by Henry Jordan, at
their Lab Theater (directly behind the Stage
House) on November 15-20 and November 22-23 at 8pm and on November 20 at 2pm. Tickets may
be purchased at the
senior rate of $9 from the Theater Arts Box Office in room 200 or by phone and credit card
at 644-7234.
The following synopsis is from EcucETH – The English Page (internet): Educating
Rita is the story of Rita, a
Liverpudlian hairdresser from the 'wrong side of the tracks,' who decides to go to
university part time to discover her true self.
She arrives at her Open University course to discover that her tutor is an alcoholic,
failed poet named Frank who is only
teaching to subsidize his drinking problem. Undeterred, she insists that he teach her all
that there is to know about English
literature, against his protestations that by teaching her the accepted truths she will
lose all that is wonderful and unique about
herself. The clash of 'cultures' results in a very funny play, which celebrates the joy of
individual expression. Playwright Willy
Russell considers himself a 'working class bloke' who fell into theatre in order to give
the working class a voice.
GCCCD Obituaries
Wanda Wagner passed away on July 26,
2004. She worked as a clerk typist for Security Services
at the District from 1973-1984. She had also worked in the Business Office and the
Physical Education Department.
Wanda was born on July 12, 1933 in Hawaii and raised in Coronado, remaining in the San
Diego area for the rest of her life.
She and her husband, Conrad, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on
October 28 last year. She earned a limited
teaching credential in Physical Education and was a very active swimmer who won the La
Jolla Rough Water Swin in her age
division in 1978. Her experience as a high school cheerleader for the football and
basketball teams fostered a love of sports
that kept her active as a supporter of Little League and Back Yard Swim programs and a
season ticket holder of 27 years for
the San Diego Padres. Trips to Mammoth, Padres’ spring training and her birthplace in
Hawaii helped to round out a very full
and active life.
Wanda is survived by her husband, three sons and a daughter and four grandchildren.
Hap
py Holidays! 
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