Wednesday, The Peace Corp. And The Weather

The wind was so fierce when I awoke, I almost called Julie and asked her not to pick me up for the meeting. Changed my mind, though, and I'm glad I did. I had missed the last two meetings because Julie was abroad and I was pleased to see some of the nice people who belong. Laurie McF., who I think dips into this blog now and then, greeted me and so did Susan S., co-president, and Denise D. Both of them had been in my acting group, as was Dusty, the other co-president. One of my favorite people, she came up for a hug and a vow to call me for lunch.

As for the program, I thought it was the best they've ever had. Two woman who had been in the Peace Corps, presented and one of them, Sandy Schultz, had joined when she was 59; she's now 86. She served in Honduras, learned Spanish beforehand, and is still very much involved with the people who live there. It's too long and involved to explain all she did, but a major part was arranging for children born with malformed feet to get surgery in the states or elsewhere. She is "godmother" to several and in close touch with others in Honduras; in fact, she's having a party at her home with some visitors from there on December 1, which Julie and I will attend. Here's Sandy, sitting down next to a Peace Corps person, whose function I not clear on. Here, Sandy looks somewhat grouchy, but she's anything but:

Here's a better picture of her, with some of her friends:

As mentioned, the little girl has had both malformed feet corrected surgically, thanks to Sandy.

The other speaker, Pamela Wyville was also fascinating. At 22, she joined the Corps and was in Niger, Africa, for two years. She showed a number of slides and talked about her experiences and the abysmal situation of those who live there. She lived as they do, with no refrigeration or running water--the toilet was a hole in the ground--far from what we would call "civilization". Yet, she survived and in fact, when her stint was over, worked in Africa for several years. Here she is with some of her people: 

During the program, we all noticed a smoke smell from outside. At the same time, we saw the blue sky becoming more and more beige/gray. What could that be? It could be--and it was--fires not too far away in Camarillo, stoked by the terrific winds. A number of homes burned to the ground there. 

After the meeting, Julie and I joined the lunch group and went to Tradewinds in Oxnard. We were lucky enough to sit with Sandy and had a fine time. On the way home, we noticed that there were blue skies over Ventura--let's hope it stays that way.

Suzanne stopped over when I got ikn to show me pictures of her nephew's wedding, which she recently attended. Ellen called to bring me up to date on her knee, which is progressing well. Her dealings with her contractor is also progressing, but not too well, since he's often late and has a bad back. However, things are slowly getting done. Susan Roberts, my occasional friend from Manhattan (NY, not the one here) also called. She was in Manhattan; but she's the one who comes here to babysit for her little granddaughter. We'll get together when she's here next. 

This morning, it's all calm and serene with barely a breeze from the wind of yesterday. However, it's a good thing I don't have anything scheduled for today, because there's a lot of cleanup outside to do. The maintenance people will take care of the full complex, but I'm preparing my broom for my bailiwick: