Posted in A&I

A Trip Through Local Geology

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Review:  Geologic Trip-Rogue Valley, by Ted Konigsmark

By:  Anne Newins with additional information provided by George Yates

Manor list-serve readers may have enjoyed a July 17 posting by George Yates about local geology.  Among his two attachments was a report written by former resident Ted Konigsmark.  Ted, a geologist, was a resident of RVM for about eighteen years before moving to Texas to be closer to family.  He wrote a number of articles about geology including Geologic Trip-Rogue Valley, which I recommend to lay readers interested in the subject.

Many people moving to the Manor from outside the Rogue Valley are intrigued by the local topography, and especially our home on Barneburg Hill.  They quickly learn that the valley is geologically complex and not easily described. The region has experienced volcanic activity, uprising and lowering elevations, an inland sea, and an assortment of rock formations.

Fortunately, this twenty-page document is the most coherent that I have found.  George assisted me with contacting Ted, who graciously allowed us to add his copyrighted work to the RVM library’s collection.  George then kindly formatted, printed, and bound the report so that it could be catalogued and available for circulation.  It will be included in our “new book” non-fiction display for about six months and then housed in non-fiction, located at 557.95 Konigsmark.  This is a slim document and could be missed easily.

The report contains information about various local features such as Roxy Ann Peak, Table Rocks, and Emigrant Lake.  The many illustrations are clear and not overly detailed. Of special interest to residents is a good description of Barneburg Hill.  I don’t want to include too many details, but below are some of the basic facts:

  • The Hill’s elevation is 1680’, about 300 feet above the valley floor.
  • The Hill is made of sandstone, conglomerate, and shale.
  • The top of the Hill is made of especially thick and hard sandstone, which is highly resistant to erosion (and hopefully earthquakes).

The account includes photos of several RVM geologic features of interest, including “Viagra” Falls on Quail Point Circle.  Pictures of the falls and several other large sandstone blocks make it clear why construction and irrigation are such a challenge on campus.

The second attachment, GEOLOGIC TRIP Rim Drive Crater Lake National Park – Ted Konigsmark.pdf, is equally interesting and gives greater insight into the geology of the park.  The digital versions of these two documents can be found at the Science & Technology Interest Group site by going to myrvm.org>Resident Information>Science and Technology Interest Group (STIG)>folders, located on the righthand side.

Image above:  Massive sandstone near the top of Barneburg Hill

 

Events & Opportunities: September – October

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RVM  September – October 2022  ENTERTAINMENT  & EVENTS 

Performances are live in the Manor Auditorium 7-8 p.m 

They will NOT be broadcast on Channel 900  

AUDIENCE INVITED

                                                            

Thursday         09/08      Michal Palzewicz: cello

Thursday         09/15      Rev. Scott Tyrell: piano

Thursday         09/22      Verna Dodge & Robbie Dacosta: vocal, guitar

Thursday         09/29      Rogue Wind Quintet

Thursday          10/06       Tommy Graven:  Native Indian Flute

Thursday          10/13       COOLEY Show

Thursday          10/20       David Pinsky & Phil Newton:  Blues

Thursday          10/27       SOU Jazz Band

Thursday          11/03       YSSO Chamber Music Singers

 

Treasures from the Free Table

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The Evolution of God – a book review

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by Connie Kent

Wright, Robert. The Evolution of God. Little, Brown, 2009.

Wright’s thesis is that the concept of the Abrahamic God – the God of the God of Jews, the God of Christians and the God of Muslims – has evolved along with civilization. He says, “Gods speak through their followers, so when prevailing interpretations of a god change, the very character of the god changes.” In this well researched tome (over 560 pages, including an extensive bibliography), he looks at scriptures related to the Abrahamic god through the lens of history: when they were written and the circumstances surrounding their creation. God’s character is a product of the way Muslims, Christians and Jews think of Him. To put it succinctly, from the perspective of our times, cultural evolution is what has given us modern corporations, modern government, and modern religion.

In studying Abrahamic scriptures, Wright finds that, contrary to the belief that Moses brought monotheism to the Middle East, ancient Israel (the home of Judaism and Christianity) was in fact polytheistic until after the Babylonian exile (5th century BCE). He finds evidence in parts of the Bible, for example, “that aren’t much read by modern believers,” of not only polytheism but of belief in the mediation of shamans among early leaders like Israel’s first king, Saul, who consulted a medium to raise the prophet Samuel from the grave for policy input (I Samuel 28:3-15).

Wright examines the multiple gods of hunter-gatherers and later of chiefdoms and ancient city-states, pointing to their beliefs as being displaced not all at once, but over time, off and on, a process more evolutionary than revolutionary. In texts of the three major Abrahamic religions, the belief in multiple gods evolved through the polytheism of ancient Israel, to monolatry and finally to monotheism, featuring at times a belligerent and intolerant god (based on a need to punish infidels); a tolerant god (based on the need for peaceful co-existence, as in the books of Ruth and Jonah); and, eventually, belief in a single omnipotent god.

But the single god wasn’t always a god of love. Wright claims that Jesus didn’t say, “Love your enemies” or extol the Good Samaritan. These misquotes were inserted in scripture decades after the Crucifixion. Muhammad was neither a militant religious zealot nor a benign spiritual leader but a cool political pragmatist.

Wright sees the “growth” of the Abrahamic god as an indicator of the growth of the moral order underlying history: as the scope of a social organization grows from hunter-gatherers to modern civilization, God tends to eventually catch up, despite Christian holy wars and Islamic jihad, drawing a larger expanse of humanity under his protection or at least a larger expanse of humanity under his toleration. But the movement toward moral truth has been globally modest, at best.

Wright argues that “Today globalization has made the planet too small to peacefully accommodate large religions that are at odds. If the Abrahamic god doesn’t foster tolerance, then we’re all in trouble.” Again, late in the book: “Maybe it’s not too much to say that the salvation of the planet – the coherence and robustness of an emerging global social organization – depends on [moral progress] . . . . once everybody is in the same boat, either they learn how to get along, or very bad things happen. . . . If the Abrahamic religions don’t respond to this ultimatum adaptively, if they don’t expand their moral imaginations, there is a chance of chaos on an unprecedented scale.”

Wright’s afterword is titled, “By the Way, What is God?” providing a provocative discussion of our difficulty conceptualizing what is beyond our comprehension. His appendix is titled, “How Human Nature Gave Birth to Religion,” another fascinating discussion. All in all, this book provides interesting food for thought. It’s a heavy book, in its size and in its concepts.

Wikipedia lists Wright as a journalist and author who writes about science, history, politics, and religion. He has written five books. As of 2019, he is a Visiting Professor of Science and Religion at Union Theological Seminary, New York.

“Family History: Then and now”, a Resident Art Project

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  by Eleanor Lippman

On Friday, July 1, 2022, our “Family History” Resident Art Show went up on the walls of the Sunrise Room. Our fun project challenged residents to check their old shoe boxes filled with family photos and come up with a story. And, what an amazing response we had!

Meet the parents, grandparents and maybe even great grandparents of our RVM family with wonderful stories to tell.

A log cabin lawyer’s office, penny farthing bicycles, military swords, documents signed by Abraham Lincoln, delivery vehicles starting with horse drawn carts advancing to modern trucks, wedding gowns through the years, generations of beautiful women. Handsome men.

It’s all here. America at its best. Manor residents at their best with their amazing family stories.

The Family History show will be in the Sunrise Room in the Terrace during the months of July and August and will then move to the Manor Auditorium for an additional two months.  Stay tuned for the Wine and Cheese Reception announcement tentatively scheduled for late July.

The Komplement Kompliments Karnatz

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August in the Library

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by Anne Newins

Several months ago, resident Janice Williams inquired about creating a bibliography for the library’s display table.  Janice is a retired librarian and enjoys non-fiction.  She told me that “more people would check out non-fiction books if they read like fiction.” Janice then offered to create a list of non-fiction books that she believes would appeal to fiction fans.

Janice is right about the wide disparity in readership between the two types of books.  She also is correct in her belief that many readers want interesting characters and events and may not want an excess of details.  The books chosen for the display meet those criteria.

Kudos to Janice for her expertise and assistance.  She is pictured above next to the display.  She has selected numerous volumes that may interest you, covering a wide range of subjects.  Below are a few sample topics and book titles:

True Crime:

The Great Pearl Heist, by Molly Crosby

Murder of Innocence, by James Patterson

Last Dance, Last Chance, by Ann Rule

World War II:

A Woman of No Importance, by Sonia Purnell

Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand

Adventure and Exploration:

Endurance, by Alfred Lansing

Into the Planet: My Life as a Cave Diver, by Jill Heinerth

Desert Queen, by Janet Wallace

River of Doubt, by Candice Millard

Outstanding Authors:

Theft by Finding, by David Sedaris

At Home, by Bill Bryson

Hillbilly Elegy, by J. D. Vance

 

NIT WIT NEWZ — August 2022

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(Nit Wit Newz  is an unauthorized, often unreliable, on-line source of misinformation designed to keep Manor residents abreast of the inconsequential, trifling, and superficial events that dramatically shape and inform our everyday lives here at Rogue Valley Manor).

 

                                                      WINGS OVER MEDFORD

                                                                

J. Byrd Holmes, CEO of Home Tweet Home, south Medford’s largest birdhouse retailer, recently sent Nit Wit Newz this letter:

Dear Nit Wit Newz:

We share an urgent problem.  In the wake of last month’s freak July 2 storm, severe damage swept through our avian community here in south Medford, and, most particularly, Rogue Valley Manor.

Devastation among your campus bird housing was widespread.

Hanging homes were blown from trees, roofs were lost; still other homes became dislodged from seemingly secure posts and rafters.  Worse, we can assume the near-complete loss of all open-nest bird sanctuaries to the fury of that wanton, early summer tempest.

With another capricious, climate-changing winter lying ahead, a dire homeless crisis looms.  It is not too early to provide adequate weather protection for our neighborhood winged-friends.

Keenly aware of Nit Wit Newz’s vast reach and powerful influence among RVM residents, we here at Home Tweet Home would like to enlist your help by alerting RVM readers to this important announcement:

  HOME TWEET HOME’S NEW 2022-23 LINE OF LUXURY BIRD HOUSING IS NOW AVALIABLE!

Our new models include these stunning new features:

-Solar Paneled Roofs. Not only do these roofs keep the entire family cozy in the chilliest of evenings, but—for those moms-to-be—that extra warmth, ornithologists tell us, could shorten the incubation period, meaning less time sitting on those uncomfortable, lumpy eggs for days on end.

-All of our new models have eliminated those stubby pegs sticking out of the front entrance limiting only a single bird to stand or land on at any one time.  Replacing those homely pegs are fulsome, wrap-around porches. These porches provide ample take-off and landing space for those maiden test flights by the newly-hatched. Moreover, these expansive landing areas will prove helpful to senior family members whose eyesight and wing-to-foot coordination might be waning.

– New this year, for those extended families sharing a single home, say goodbye to cramped, close quarters; two and three-bedroom units are now available. These multi-chambered homes also provide space for out of town guests and offer superb time-share and Airbnb income opportunities, although, unlike we mortals, it does not appear that the aviary-world has yet devolved into monetizing their living quarters.

-A house, of course, is not a home without furnishings.  No need for your new occupants to scavenge about the neighborhood. Home Tweet Home has a warehouse filled with a wide variety of twigs, leaves, sticks and tiny braches that will suit the decorating tastes and comfort demands of all of your new chirping dwellers.

But wait—there’s more!

Order your new house today at www.hometweethome.com using promotion code: S.O.B. (that’s, Save Our Birds), and we’ll include a free, illuminated, roof-top “Vacancy/No Vacancy” sign with every house purchase. These signs are designed to end unpleasant occupancy-rights squabbles among our fine feathered friends before they start.  

A special discount is available to birdhouse customers that plan to house carrier pigeons that have previously served delivering vital military messages in the armed forces. It’s our way of saying “Thank you for your service.”

Cash strapped? Worry not. Feathered Housing Administration (FHA) loans are available.

Let’s fight this homeless crisis together! Check out our www.hometweethome.com website today.

Keep ‘em flyin’!

  1. Byrd Holmes

 

A  FULL DISCLOSURE NOTE TO OUR READERS:  Nit Wit Newz prides itself in adhering to the highest journalistic standards. That includes, of course, maintaining a sharp delineation between editorial content and commercial advertising.

Some of our readers may find Mr. Holmes’s letter—appearing in space traditionally reserved exclusively for editorial copy—to be offensively commercial (i.e., selling of birdhouses). Indeed, the letter gave pause to Nit Wit Newz’s Board of Directors as well.  Faced with the dilemma of running this clearly, self-serving, promotional letter or, instead, maintaining our code of reportorial principles, caused ethical angst among board members. This concern was short lived. Those pesky integrity issues were quickly jettisoned when Home Tweet Home offered the generous, “carrier pigeon” discount on Nit Wit Newz’s purchase of the birdhouse that now graces the rooftop of NWN’s headquarters.

 

—A. Looney

THE ROCKS OF NAPO’OPO’O

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by Leilani Lewis (Spring 1991)

(submitted by Madge Walls)

It’s Friday morning. Time to leave my cares and responsibilities behind in Honolulu and fly to Kona for the weekend. I have three days to putter around my yet-to-be-finished house on Napo’opo’o Road, plant ground cover on the slopes above the house, and develop a site plan for steps and pathways all over the sloping land, connecting one level with the next, using rocks – the flatter the better – that I’ve been collecting from around the property.

Mid-Friday afternoon: hot and sweaty I feel like going for a swim in Kealakekua Bay. It’s just a two-mile drive down the road. Five minutes later I’m walking onto the black sand beach – having just experienced that familiar feeling I always get when I walk from the gravel parking area, past the heiau on the right and the lava rock wall and bay on the left, towards the beach area – that feeling sensation of having passed from ordinary everyday reality into a magical timeless realm. Kealakekua Bay and its clear pristine waters, the pali above, the Captain Cook monument at the far end of the bay, black sand Napo’opo’o Beach and its rocky shore, the tree-shaded grassy area between the heiau and the beach: this whole scene is a place of blessing for me – where time stands still, then disappears – a place where all my worries and concerns literally wash from me as I lazily swim in the bay and lie in the sun.

As I walk onto the beach I notice for the first time how many smooth black rocks there are. They’d make wonderful stepping stones on my land. They’re so flat – so perfect for making steps and pathways. I drop my towel and rubber slippers on the sand and start walking all over the rocky area past the beach – now and then stooping down to run my hands over the smooth surface of the rocks.

There’s a small circular sandy spot about six feet in diameter amidst all the rocks, and I find myself picking up round flat rocks and placing them in a circle within the sandy area. The pile has grown to about fifteen stepping-stone rocks when I am gently pulled out of my rock-collecting reverie by the sound of a voice inside: “Leilani, remember what you’ve been taught. When you want to take from Nature, first ask Nature’s permission” “Yes, of course.” So I sit down on the edge of the circle of rocks and .silently speak to the largest rock in the center.

“Big Rock, may I take all of you rocks that I’ve collected today and use you as stepping stones on my land near here?”

“No.”

“No?! What do you mean, no? Are you sure? Why not?”

“Because we belong here. This is our home.”

“But you’re going to be used for a good cause. I mean, you’ll be used as stepping stones along pathways connecting different areas of my property.”

“No, Leilani. We belong here by the bay. Our only function is to be here and lie in the sun and tumble in the surf at high tide. We simply are – with no other purpose.”

“Okay, I’m getting the picture. I’m disappointed, but I won’t argue with you. I know you speak wisely. I’ll honor your message. Your words are unexpected, but I obviously need to learn this lesson.”

I leave the circle of rocks and go for a swim along the shore – feeling light and happy as the waves gently tumble me around and wash over me.  Later, as I’m lying in the sun I hear Rock speak again.

“Leilani, go ahead and pick out a small black rock and take it with you to your home site up the road. Put it prominently somewhere as a reminder of this teaching today.”

“Okay. Thank you. That’s a wonderful idea.”

I pick out a little black rock – smooth, flat, and round – and take it with me when I return to the land a while later. After rinsing off the sand I put it in the garage, knowing I’ll find a special place in the house for it later.

That evening I visit Mary Helen, who lives on the slopes of Hualalai above Kailua. We’ve been good friends since preschool days and we know each other well. I tell her about my conversation with the rocks. She says she heard recently that the State Government is planning to bulldoze the rocks away at Kealakekua Bay and even encourages their removal by anyone and everyone – so that the sandy part of the shore can be extended into the now rocky area.

Hearing this news I’m excited about returning to Napo’opo’o Beach the next day to converse with the rocks again – this time telling them about the bulldozers – and see if that makes any difference to them.

Early the next morning I return to the beach and immediately head towards the circle of rocks. Gone! All the rocks I’d collected and placed in a circle are now gone. I turn to the surrounding rocks along the shore and whispered out loud to them, “What happened? Where’d they all go? Who removed them?”

The rocks reply, “It doesn’t matter how they were removed. What matters is those rocks belong here along the shore with us – not in your circle of so-called stepping stones.”

I press on with more questions now that I have the bulldozing information to present to them. I tell them what Mary Helen said.

“Now may I take some of you rocks up the hill to use as stepping stones on my land? I mean, you’ll be removed anyway by the  bulldozers.”

“That doesn’t matter. The answer is still no. Just because the Government people say that rocks will be removed from this beach doesn’t mean it is right to do so. You know better. Stick to what you know – not what everyone thinks. This too is a lesson you still need to learn.”

“Okay, Rock, one last question. Why do you say no to me now when members of the Rock family have always said yes before?  I have a few special rocks that I’ve taken home with me from various places – always with the rock’s permission.”

“We’ve already told you. Lately, you’ve become too focused on the function of rocks instead of simply appreciating us as we are. When you return here tomorrow, just come and enjoy. No questions. Just be here.  Like us.”

“Hmmnn…okay. Thank you. See you tomorrow.”

Sunday morning as the sun rises over Mauna Loa I return to the beach.  In the early morning light I hop around among the rocks, smiling. A few of them are now back in the circular area. I start to wonder out loud and then decide to just let the mystery be.

“Don’t worry.  I won’t even ask.”

As I walk past my rock friends towards the gentle morning surf, my eyes begin to water. I feel a deep sense of belonging.

July in the Library: THE SEQUEL!

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by Anne Newins

The June display of prolific and famous authors is proving popular and is going to carry over into July.  This display will continue to highlight authors who have been enjoyed nationally and at RVM.  It will include more writers such as Debbie Macomber, Randy Wayne White, Charles Todd, Martin Walker, Dale Brown, and Dorothea Frank.  They write in differing genres including romance, family dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

Looking forward, former librarian Janice Williams has compiled a list of “nonfiction books that read like fiction” that will be on display in August.  For September, a search is underway to identify humorous books that will make you laugh.
In further news, we are happy to report that two “librarians in a bar” jokes have been submitted.  Stay tuned!