BOOM.

And finally,

No, wait, not finished.



Dr. Barry Morris spoke on the 26th. He was apparently a very good speaker. A former economics professor, this was mostly what his talk was about. WOOOO NUMBERS AND GRAPHS. High school econ did NOT help me understand more about money, and hopefully I don't have to take it again because I will suck at it just as much as before... if not more... I'm sure in the future I should learn more about this mysterious advanced MATH but for now, NAAAAHHH.

But seriously, the more we as a community know, the better our lives will be. That's why knowing economics   is a good area about which I should get informed. I mean, everyone in America depends on money. (Just go with me here.) The better we all know how to manage it, the lesser debt we will but ourselves in, thereby not endangering businesses and keeping the economy running.

NOW:

11/19

Dr. Osborn, Professor Emeritus (that means in good standing) and deacon for the Episcopal church talked to the class on the 19th of November. Most of that time was spent discussing a thing called Kairos. (GREEKNESS. I love Greek stuff. Like mythology.)


Soooo, Kairos is an event that takes place in a jail. Basically, ministers from many different religions come together for a weekend to visit inmates. Kairos means time, but it is a SPECIAL kind of time (for instance, a wedding), as opposed to kronos, which is just, like, "it is school-time".

  (HAHA jk.)


A lot of us have an innate opposition to volunteering, especially to the extreme Dr. Osborn does. Mostly, our attitudes are like:



But hey, someone's got to do it. We as a society cannot function well if no one does anything.

SO, Dr. O also helps at the Help Place. It's also inter-denominational. Basically, the Help Place gives food, clothing, and a little something to pay the bills. Many times, those who need assistance from the Help Place are not doing well because of drugs, whether they are involved directly or indirectly. Kind of sad how something that does more harm than good can ruin even the lives of those who don't deal...

I remember our speaker asking us what joy meant to us. Well... that's a tough one. What IS joy, anyway?

Well, it can't be donuts all the time.




As I seem to have lost my notes on this speaker, that is all.

"Things work out, you don't know how, but they do."

EVERYTHING IS JUST UGH.

Forever ago, Leah's dad, John Rusevlyan, spoke at Forum. He's the immediate past president of the Rotary Club here in Florence. He also works at Whikert Realtors. He told us a little about his life in Arlington, then about how he just got up and left for Colorado out of the blue with no job. Next, he said that after Leah was born, they finally ended up here in Florence.

So, as we all know, the realtor business isn't what it was before. Due to the "recession" it has gotten pretty tough to be in that field. I can only imagine starting any type of business during tough economic times is hard; therefore, it is necessary that we know where we are going, making no waste of our resources. Then came the inevitable call to get involved.

So Rotary started a looooong time ago, 1905 to be exact, by Paul Harris in Chicago. It's actually the first service club in the world. It serves primarily as a fellowship/ networking opportunity. There are responsibilities that come with a membership of Rotary, such as:

• Keeping and promoting membership
• Service projects
• Developing leadership
• Supporting the foundation
• and the biggie: PARTICIPATION.

Members of Rotary come from all kinds of backgrounds. It is a diverse group, therefore it is strong. (This can likewise be applied to other groups, for all have unique experiences to bring to the table.)

The object of rotary is to set high standards, to apply service experiences to real life, to advance international understanding (hence the diversity statement above), and to further goodwill and peace. This club is internationally connected so as to alleviate poverty, improve health and help good education flourish. Speaking about health, did you know that Rotary was one of the principal backers of the eradication of polio? Cool, huh?

So about applying what members of Rotary learn to real life; they should ask themselves:

• Is it the Truth?
• Is it fair to all concerned?
• Does it build good will and friendship? 
• Is it beneficial to all concerned?

Ask yourself this. If the answer is yes, then you're  on the right path.

Mr. Rusevlyan left us with this: Don't wait for an opportunity, get involved! (Yep. That's what all this volunteering was for.)

This one's for you, Elyse.

=] I love Tumblr.

WHAT.

So, our speaker for the 5th of November, Elizabeth Moore, did not show up, but it was for a good reason. She's the CEO of the Red Cross here in North Alabama and of course, they were lending a hand to the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Just like Big Bird.

Even though we didn't have a speaker, Vince told us about the Red Cross. That is, he told us after a little rant. (Justified, no doubt.)

So, non-profit organizations involve a lot of flat-out quitting. Why? Maybe for the fact that there is no income really coming in for those that work these kinds of jobs. It's hard work to do, and with no pay... well, some people just don't see that it's worth it. If, however, no one helps these organizations, they will die out. And that's bad. Because they help so many people.

And as we should all know by now, it cannot be all about ME. People need that support from non-profits in many situations, places, and times. For them to just stop existing is quite a scary thing indeed. What if one day, a young child has no way to learn how to read and has no access to books save what would have come from a non-profit organization? (Sadly enough, HAPPENS.)



SO ANYWAY. The Red Cross used to want little to do with volunteers. Then, they realized that we kinda rock, so they wanted some of their own. (Just kidding, it was more out of necessity that because we rock.) They do a lot for people, Red Cross. They of course are well-known for their taking up blood donations. That's not all, though; if there's a family member serving in the Armed Forces, the Red Cross can hook the families up so that they can talk to their loved ones in another country about something important happening back home. Which I think is pretty neat.

So, to end, I shall do my rendition of Vince's... renditions (since I cannot think of another word right now) of the Red Cross symbols:




Hahaha, ok, so this belongs to the Internet, and I didn't draw it, in case you couldn't tell.