THE COUNCIL’S SEARCH FOR MEANING

“It’s exciting to see how fast your kids learn and grow. I’m not too worried about them, particularly the ones who like to break the rules and don’t follow instructions; those are the ones that will do just fine because they know what’s important to them.” Michael Dell

“To find your mission in life is to discover the intersection between your heart’s deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger.” Frederick Beekner

CAL-MOAA and its members, the EXCOM and affiliated chapter presidents, are currently caught up in a search for meaning.

The reward for the doing must be the doing. We can make a difference.

Maya Angelou, the first best-selling African-American author said, “If I see something I don’t like, I try to change it, and if I can’t change it, I change my position of looking at it, and then by seeing it from a different angle, I might be able to change it; or I might find some good in it that I can use, which might make it change itself.”

The Council has forty five (45) affiliated dues-paying chapters, with presidents and boards of directors signaling by their actions that they are interested, see value in the organization, and relate positively to the purposes as outlined in the bylaws. You’d think there would be a lot of passion for the cause.

At the same time, we look at the registrations for the upcoming Rally 2006 and as of 21 October we have thirty three (33) registrations, and that’s out of 45 chapters and a dozen and a half EXCOM members, apparently a clear indication of less than fully enthusiastic support for the Council and its work. Where’s the passion? Where’s the meaning?

Sure, everyone is busy. The typical MOAA member has multiple passions, interests and activities which carry real meaning, and often times the Council and its activities take a very low priority indeed.

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

We do what we do because of our passion for making a difference. We think it’s important, particularly within the context of the War on Terrorism, to serve the military community. CDR John Sammons, USPHS (Ret) and Council Vice President demonstrated his passion when he arranged a spectacular homecoming celebration for a military intelligence battalion returning from deployment. That event had special meaning for John and his associates.

We do it because we like to do it, and of course because it’s important to do it.

Sometime ago a group of older employees were asked why they were still working and not retired; just asking them something like that is to dismiss their passion as trivial pursuits. It seemed an innocent question, but just asking it demonstrated that someone didn’t get it, didn’t understand.

If there is one thing we do consistently–one value we all share in common–is integrity to what matters to us. Each of us has to struggle in our own individual way to achieve a measurement of success.

So, EXCOM members and chapter presidents are now involved in a process of discovering what is meaningful to them and to the organization. Hopefully, some conclusions will come out of the discussions on the strategic plan and its merits.

Until we can determine what is meaningful to us, there can and will be no passion.

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NOT THINKING BIG ENOUGH; NEED FOR SUPERORDINATE GOAL

“Nothing is more difficult than to introduce a new order. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new.” Noccolo Machiavelli

“I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” Thomas Jefferson

CDR John Sammons has created a new strategic plan draft, including many strategic goals, which will be presented to the presidents for discussion and potential approval. There is reason for concern that this plan will be given only cursory examination and approved without much deliberate thought and debate. And that could be a serious mistake.

Frankly, the goals just might be the wrong ones. They might not be big enough, not bold enough. They just might not do anything more for the Council that the statement of purposes as presented in the current bylaws. This is a time for real vision.

Years ago President Kennedy set a goal to land a man on the moon before the end of the decade. The country had been caught up with its problems, some very significant, and Kennedy decided it would take something truly extraordinary to bring the country out of its difficulties.

Much about CAL-MOAA has been and is controversial, including reasons for existence, its purposes, and more specifically the return it provides the affiliated chapters. It is a time of difficulty. The Council’s future is uncertain.

There are those who suggest that if big audacious goals are set, the organization will be positioned to experience serendipity, that is make discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of. Are the goals outlined in the strategic plan draft too mundane, with potential to trap the organization and its people in a status quo situation?

Perhaps it would be smart to reject all the strategic plan draft goals and adopt a single superordinate goal, something to the equivalent of going to the moon, and continue the guidance of the bylaws listed Council purposes.

To be sure, we need at least one great big goal that will engage people, something we can truly get excited about, pursue something that will indeed make a difference. Perhaps it’s time for bold risks.

It’s not clear at this point what such a goal might be. This is a time for creativity. Wouldn’t it be something if a chapter president or other person would arrive in Sacramento with a carefully thought out goal which would get members everywhere excited about the potential to make a difference?

Once such a goal is identified, we should go for it with vigor. Chapter presidents and EXCOM members who stay true to what they know and what matters to them will often see things turn out better than they imagined.

Serendipity comes to those who do their homework and have the courage to do reality checks to determine whether or not they are still on course to achieve what actually matters about their goals.

As we approach Sacramento and the Council of Presidents annual meeting, and more specifically the discussions about the strategic plan and goals, we need to exercise real care. We need to put ourselves in a position where we will experience serendipity. By living our values as outlined in the bylaws and paying attention, we will be able to turn a steady stream of inevitable, unpredictable, and challenging events, in life and the Council, into good fortune.

Don’t make the mistake of approving the strategic plan goals before the matter gets a full and complete hearing.

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SOME CONCERNED ABOUT POTENTIAL REORGANIZATION
From Sintra, Portugal, 13 October

There has been some concern expressed that a recommendation will be made during the Rally 2006 Council of President’s annual meeting to eliminate area directors and leave governance to a three (3) person group, effectively creating a clique and the potential for unfairness.

Some are already speculating about approaches and structures needed for strategic plan implementation. It will be important, within the Council’s democratic form of governance, to guard against unwise actions, and particularly those pertaining to perspectives related to strategic planning, Council organization and structure, and similar issues.

Chapter presidents who will not attend the annual meeting are urged to appoint a representative armed with a written proxy, someone passionate about Council affairs and familiar with the issues, and with authority and knowledge to vote for the chapter. It would be appropriate for the chapter to fund, in full or in part, the convention expenses. The Council’s future is going to be decided in Sacramento and all chapters should have and cast a vote.

Sintra is a delightful village with a landscape that juts sharply upwards. It is covered in dense forest, and marks the end of the west coast at Cabo da Roca–the westernmost part of Europe not counting the Azores. The Sintra hills offer the promise of a journey into times past. In the heart of the town, which is some forty kilometers northwest of Lisbon, there are still traces of the Muslim occupancy of Portugal, with houses with open patios surrounding fountains.

The National Palace is situated in the main square, in the midst of arcades, ceramic tile decor, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and romantic buildings. Little is known of its roots, although there are those who claim that it was inhabited by Arab chiefs. The palace’s Gothic chimneys are a sign that the court of the early Aviz dynasty spent much of their time there in some splendor. Eye-catching, the chimneys are gigantic cones and can be seen for miles.

In spite of the many different views and opinions on the question, the palace was undoubtedly enlarged during the reign of King Dinis. What is also certain is that members of the court spent part of their leisure time there from the time of the Troubadour King. It was in the palace that the first expedition to Ceuta was planned.

One could almost imagine the governors of the day planning and organizing future events from this particular location and structure.

Nearby is the Palacio Da Pena, a castle located on top of a nearby peak. What is left of the grey ramparts of the Moorish Castle snakes through the green forest. Such was the center of area management beginning in the eighth or ninth century.

Beginning later this month, our castle will be the Lions Gate hotel in North Highlands. And just like the ancestors, we will be gathering there to do the Council’s business. It is a fitting location, beautiful, and almost guaranteed to provide the ambiance needed for effective decision-making.

Issues concerning whether we should have a statewide group at all, what it should do for the chapters, how it will be organized and controlled, who will be providing future leadership, are all likely to be raised. Chapter presidents should make a maximum effort to attend; at the same time, providing a chapter representative with proxy authorization will really be critical at this 2006 annual meeting.

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BLOGGING ALL OVER THE WORLD
From London, 15 October

“More and more people are logging on to the internet to unburden themselves in web logs,” according to The Daily Telegraph writer Tom Leonard.

“All the world’s a multimedia platform, and all the men and women merely bloggers. Or perhaps to blog or not to blog sums up better the sense of Hamletian introspection, the solitary unburdening of one’s hope’s and fears. Whichever, Shakespearean references to the blog seem appropriate, for it is well in the way to establishing itself as the 21st Century’s soliloquy–heartfelt, impassioned, candid, self-absorbed and delivered to nobody in particular. And, it has to be said, more often than not read by nobody in particular either,” writes Leonard.

CDR Bob Burke, USN (Ret), with the extremely competent work of webmaster Gloria, created the CAL-MOAA weblog, our blog, for the purposes of greatly expanding interpersonal and interorganization communication up and down the state. It is our primary means of communication, a way to quickly and effectively deliver news, opinion, viewpoints, and more. And it is a way to write and preserve the organization’s history.

For full effectiveness, and to get a satisfactory return on the investment, it would be important for others to write and post items and comments to the Council’s weblog. And that’s true as we approach Rally 2006 and the need to share ideas and concerns in advance of the annual meetings and voting sessions.

According to the Daily Telegraph, “In 2206 people could be reading about your every move today–the proposed fulfillment of One Day in History, a mass “blog” by the British people to give a snapshot of life on October 17, 2006. The History Matters campaign, which is headed by the National Trust and English Heritage, is asking everyhone with internet access to write an account of their day. All 2,000 computers in the easyCafe network will be set to www.Historymatters.org.uk as a homepage. The results will be preserved in electronic and print form by the British Library. The aim is to provide future generations with a huge database of information from all sectors of society, to show how we lived and, in particular, what we thought about our heritage. All 29,000 schools in Britain have been sent leaflets about the campaign, which is supported by The Daily Telegraph. The hope is that by making history relevant to the future, it will also make it part of our present, too.

There are many obvious and not-so-obvious advantages to the blog, and plenty of opportunities to keep in touch with one another and our thinking.

But the vast majority of blogs remain those written by ordinary people about their ordinary lives. The popularity of the medium is surely rooted, above all, in the fact that it allows people to talk about themselves. Inevitably, this leads to over-supply and under-demand. “Put simply, more people write blogs than read them,” said an IT industry executive just yesterday. Eric Schmidt, chairman and chief executive of Google, pointed oout that “the average blog has one reader: the blogger”.

Again, most of the talk is about blogs in general, how people get on the internet to talk about themselves and their lives. In the case of CAL-MOAA, the blog feature of the web page has been designed for an altogether different purpose: get the late news out effectively.

All CAL-MOAA chapter members are invited, really urged, to use this technology to share insights, opinion, current thinking, and needs. It’s really very easy to access the blog and write and post a message or comment. At the very least, we hope members everywhere will choose to read the weblog posts; after all, it’s the primary means the Council has to distribute the news.

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RALLY 2006 OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION AND DINNER
From Pico, Azores Islands, 8 October

The restaurant was small yet delightful, built out over a cliff with spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean. Our group of five had just arrived after visiting typical rock wall enclosed vinyards and a small family cheese production operation.

A marvelous buffet had been set out, which included a lettuce and tomato salad, grilled sea bass, a wonderful fish stew, as well as other grilled and baked fishes, braised beef, and of course linguica, the famed sausage, plus boiled white potatoes, steamed rice, vegetables, and more all to make up a traditional island Portuguese feast. Dessert was a choice between a very rich chocolate pudding or fresh fruit bowl.

There was a fine choice of Portuguese table wines. The Azores are ahead of the game in the new Europe, and this is certainly amply reflected in its wine. With its unrivaled treasury of native grape varieties and its sultry climate tempered by the restraining hand of the Atlantic, all of Portugal has what it needs to rise to the top of the 21st Century. The luncheon choice was Biscoitos, from the island of Terceira, a light, dry white.

The Thursday evening 26 October dinner is almost guaranteed to be something very special. It will not be a Portuguese dinner, rather Italian, and dinner will be served at 7:00pm at Strata Pasta and Grille, 3427 Orange Grove Avenue, North Highlands–adjacent to the Days Inn. The evening starts with a 6:00pm no host full bar with vino specialle.

Dinner can only be described as a family style Northern Italian meal, with a menu that goes on forever. However, what has been selected includes antipasti, fresh rolls and breads, zuppa e Insalata, oven-baked lasagna, pollo fettucine alfredo, American coffee and spumoni gelato. Espresso, bottled water, and alcoholic beverages are extra.

After dinner, a presentation will be made by Col. Chris Giaimo, USAF (Ret), director of MOAA Council and Chapter Affairs.

Portuguese or Italian cuisine, either way, dinner is likely to be a pleasant experience.

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HOTEL FACILITIES NICE, PRICES LOWER

Accommodations at Lions Gate are now very restricted. Reservation inquiries will likely find that space may only be available on Friday and Saturday nights, October 27th and 28th.

Space remains available from beginning to end of the Rally at Days Inn. The room rate at Days Inn has been renegotiated by Phelps Hobart, Rally Chairman. It was previously $59. for one or two people, one or two beds.including breakfast. It is now $49.

The Golf Tournament has been canceled but it is still possible to play golf on Wednesday. Efforts will be made to form foursomes.

A revised information and reservation form will be promogated early in the second week of October. MOAA members interested in attending should register and not wait for the new form.

The suggested hotel accommodations for the CAL-MOAA Rally 2006 are superb. Negotiated rates are below anything comparable. Sacramento has many excellent hotels but the Lions Gate Hotel and Conference Center is action central. The nearby Days Inn is wonderful as well and it is next door to Thursday’s night restaurant for the opening night reception and Italian
dinner. Please call the hotels direct for reservations; specify the MOAA Military Rate. The Sacramento County hotel tax is 12%.

Lions Gate has hotel accommodations as well as suites and a few cottages. The CAL-MOAA rate is $79 for a standard room, one or two people, breakfast and shuttle included. The list of amenities is extensive. For suites, dream suites, or cottages, inquire - a favorable rate will be quoted. Telephone (916) 643-6222. Fax (916) 643–9511, or e-mail info@lionsgate.com. The registration desk address is 3410 Westover Street, McClellan CA 95652-1005. Lions Gate Hotel and Conference Center has a detailed website, www.lionsgatehotel.com.

Days Inn has a number of amenities. The rooms have recently been refurbished; they are large. CAL-MOAA has arranged an excellent military conference rate of $59 (now $49.) for one or two people, one or two beds, including an extensive continental breakfast. Suites are a bit more. It does not have a complementary shuttle and is not advised for individuals without a motor vehicle. It is about one and a quarter miles from the Lions Gate Conference Center. Telephone (916) 488-4100 or Fax (916) 483-9983. The address is 3425 Orange Grove Avenue, North Highlands CA 95660-5509. Check out the Days Inn website www.daysinnsacramento.com.

Phelps Hobart, Chairman
CAL-MOAA Rally 2006

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FLIGHT TO SACRAMENTO SHOULD BE PLEASANT AND EASY
Seattle 10/2

The Seattle-Tacoma Airport (SEATAC) lines were long approaching the security stations, but those who arrived early and were prepared moved through quickly.

Once cleared, it was just a few steps to a gorgeous new airport addition, a huge area featuring comfortable seating facing out through what must have been a 100 foot by 80 foot viewing window, looking out at the Horizon Air departure area and the airline’s jet and turboprop aircraft. There were colorful models of whales and other sea animals hanging from the ceiling. Of course, Starbucks was right there as well.

But to get there, one had to navigate the security maze, which as it turned out wasn’t bad at all. The lines moved quickly, and it was even possible to visit with others such as a young mother, a University of California, Davis, trained lawyer as she traveled back to denver with her two children, one three and the other just a year old. Casual conversation while in line was easy and often interesting.

The security inspection process should be much the same at California airports as it was on this particular day in Seattle.

As many travelers know by now, there have been some changes and most liquids and gels, not more than three ounces of each, must be carried in a quart plastic bag and presented for inspection. Make sure it’s not a gallon plastic bag. Shoes must come off and go through x-ray, as must all carry on baggage, jackets and coats, as well as coins, watches, and other metalic objects. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) inspectors are working hard to make the security experience as effective and pleasant as possible, something obviously in the best interests of everyone.

Many will depart soon by air for Sacramento and Rally 2006 and all indications are that the move through security to the aircraft will likely be relatively stress-free and quick. Just give yourself enough time and be sure to use the quart plastic bags. That’s very important.

Perhaps what’s even more important is that you get on the aircraft and travel to Sacramento, familiar with the issues, and ready to vote as appropriate.

Once again, and this probably should go without saying, but Phelps has created a wonderful experience for those ready and able to participate.

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EARLIEST VERSIONS OF HEBREW BIBLE
Seattle 9/29

After resting undisturbed for almost two millennia, the wisdom of the ancients is delivered to modern scholars.

The people of Seattle will be able to visit an incredible exhibit titled “Discovering the Dead Sea Scrolls” at the Pacific Science Center September 23-January 7, 2007. Shrouded in mystery, the Dead Sea scrolls remained hidden from the world; only a select few had seen them until 1991, when the first photos of them were published.

The exhibit features ten original scrolls with the earliest versions of the Hebrew Bible–the books of Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Psalms.

Here are 25 fascinating facts about the Dead Sea Scrolls as seen in part in Seattle: http://www.centuryone.com/25dssfacts.html.

The discovery of the scrolls proved that today’s Hebrew bible is “basically the same” and thus did not alter Jewish beliefs,” said Rabbi Salomon Cohen-Scali of Congregation Ezra Bessaroth in Seattle.

The scrolls attest to “the general reliability of the Hebrew text on which most modern translations have been made,” agreed George Nickelsburg, professor emeritus of religion at the University of Iowa and a Washington state resident.

The exhibit begins at the gateway which provides an introduction to contemporary Israel; there is a short video telling the history of the Dead Sea region; the “discovery of the century” is told, how in 1947 some Bedouin shepherds discovered some caves that held the Dead Sea Scrolls; the science and technology used by scientists to unlock the secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls is explained; a societal context is provided along with life in Qumran, the site of discovery; some scroll replicas are on display; then, comes the gallery of scrolls where each of ten original scrolls is paired with its translation, along with a description of its context; it’s possible to explore sacred texts from around the world and through the ages

The highlight of the exhibit is the display of ten Dead Sea Scrolls, with four scrolls never before seen by the public. The scrolls on display are not only religious manuscripts, but there are are apocreyphal scrolls and sectarian scrolls, which describe a lot of the do’s and don’ts in the community.

Speaking of manuscripts, the CAL-MOAA Council of Presidents will meet in Sacramento soon to debate a draft strategic plan and draft change in the bylaws. These documents, along with a copy of the current bylaws, will be on display for all to see and consider.

It’s important to have a quorum present so the presidents can determine the Council’s future and specifically to outline the do’s and don’ts necessary to future operations.

Scholars suggest there is a connection between what is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and New Testament writings. The Community at Qumran viewed itself as living in the end times, with the scroll of Isaiah pointing to a “messianic apocalypse” echoed in the New Testament.

The intent at Sacramento is to carefully plan a very bright and successful future for the California Council of Chapters (CAL-MOAA).

If those associated with the Council will participate more fully, it just might be possible to avoid something some are beginning to talk about, namely the Council’s “end times.”

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