Pinot & Prose Book Club Summer 2018 Selection

The Pinot & Prose Book Club will take our annual summer break in July and return to our regular monthly schedule as of Wednesday, August 22nd.  Our summer reading selection is Killers of the Flower Moon, The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann.

Publisher Comments

New York Times Bestseller – National Book Award Finalist

“From New Yorker staff writer David Grann, #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Lost City of Z, a twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history

In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, they rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.

Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target. Her relatives were shot and poisoned.  And it was just the beginning, as more and more members of the tribe began to die under mysterious circumstances.

In this last remnant of the Wild West–where oilmen like J. P. Getty made their fortunes and where desperadoes like Al Spencer, the “Phantom Terror,” roamed–many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll climbed to more than twenty-four, the FBI took up the case. It was one of the organization’s first major homicide investigations and the bureau badly bungled the case. In desperation, the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including one of the only American Indian agents in the bureau. The agents infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest techniques of detection. Together with the Osage they began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.

In Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann revisits a shocking series of crimes in which dozens of people were murdered in cold blood. Based on years of research and startling new evidence, the book is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, as each step in the investigation reveals a series of sinister secrets and reversals. But more than that, it is a searing indictment of the callousness and prejudice toward American Indians that allowed the murderers to operate with impunity for so long.  Killers of the Flower Moon is utterly compelling, but also emotionally devastating.”

We’ll hold our August discussion session at Walter Mitty’s Restaurant on Wednesday, August 22nd at 11:30 a.m., followed by lunch and our August business meeting.

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Update on Chinese Garden Tour!

We won’t have a large enough group to schedule our own docent led tour, but there happens to be a ‘public tour’ that we can be join.  That tour is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m., so we need to ask those retirees attending to be sure to arrive 15 minutes or so early in order to purchase tickets and join that tour. 

When:  Wednesday, June 20th: Chinese Garden Tour followed by lunch at the Golden Horse Restaurant. Please come join us at this special event planned to offer an early opportunity for the new 2018 retirees to join us for fun and relaxation.

Where:  We’ll gather at the Lan Su Chinese Garden (239 NW Everett St, Portland) at 11:00 a.m.  Senior tickets for the garden are $9.

Lunch:  We are planning to follow the tour with lunch at the Golden Horse Chinese Restaurant, just a block from the garden at approximately 12:30 to 1:00 depending on how long we spend at the garden.

RSVP:  We will need a count for both the Chinese Garden tour and the lunch, so please RSVP by reply email or use the comment field below, no later than 5 p.m. Monday, June 18th.

Retiree Network Calendar of Events, June 2018

Friday, June 8th:  The 39th Annual Retirement Dinner will begin with a no-host social hour at 4:30, dinner and program begin at 6 p.m.  This year’s dinner celebrates the service of more than 60 PCC employees as they join the ranks of we retired folks!

Sunday, June 10th:  Members of the PCC Retiree Network for the third consecutive year will support for the annual Zero Cancer Run/Walk on Sunday morning June 10th.  They run/walk raises funds for prostate cancer research, education and patient support at this important summer event. Know that one in eight guys, friends and family, will contract this scary and too frequently deadly disease!

As in the past two years, we will assemble volunteers to help out the run/walk site and/or to join their one-mile course walk on Portland’s scenic South Waterfront course.  It’s a festive, heartwarming way to spend a couple of hours.  To join our team, contact Gary Lesniak at garylesniak@yahoo.com for details or click on their website to pledge support, http://www.support.zerocancer.org, (Sign up info: Group = PCC Retiree Network, Company = PCC Foundation.)  Thanks so much for your continued support!

Wednesday, June 13th:  Happy Lunch!  Come join us at 1:00 p.m. for our monthly lunch, this month we’ve selected a new location on the west side:  Bargarten Bavarian Social Haus (2905 SW Cedar Hills Blvd, Beaverton – they are located at the Cedar Hills Crossing mall, in a separate building near the corner of SW Cedar Hills Blvd and SW Jenkins Rd, plenty of free parking as you enter through the mall parking lot.)  We will want to make reservations for this lunch, so please send your RSVP by reply email no later than Monday, June 11th. 

Tuesday, June 19th:  Art & Conversation, Portland Art Museum.  This month, Portland-based artist Hannah Piper Burns will speak about her solo exhibition, now on view in the APEX exhibition space in the Museum’s Northwest art galleries.  Coffee at 9:15 a.m. in the Fields Ballroom, Mark Building; lecture at 10:15 a.m. in the Whitsell Auditorium, Main Building.  This series is free for adults 62 and over and includes Museum admission.

Wednesday, June 20th:  Chinese Garden Tour followed by lunch at the Golden Horse Restaurant.  Please come join us at this special event planned to offer an early opportunity for the new 2018 retirees to join us for fun and relaxation.  We’ll gather at the Lan Su Chinese Garden (239 NW Everett St, Portland) at 11:00 a.m.  (If we have sufficient attendance we will try to arrange a docent led tour, seniors tickets for the garden are $9).  We are planning to follow the tour with lunch at the Golden Horse Chinese Restaurant, just a block from the garden at approximately 12:30 to 1:00 depending on how long we spend at the garden.  We will need a count for both the Chinese Garden tour and the lunch, so please RSVP by reply email no later than Monday, June 18th.

Wednesday, June 27th:  Pinot & Prose Book Club, we’ll meet at 11:30 a.m. for our discussion session of this month’s book selection The Windfall by Diksha Basu.  Enjoy the book then come join us for the discussion at Walter Mitty’s Restaurant.

Wednesday, June 27th, 1:00 p.m.  Retiree Network Monthly Business Meeting.  We’ll have our last meeting before our summer break at Walter Mitty’s Restaurant.  The business meetings are open to all PCC retirees.

 

Pinot & Prose Book Club selection for June 2018

The Windfall by Diksha Basu

“For the past thirty years, Mr. and Mrs. Jha’s lives have been defined by cramped spaces, cut corners, gossipy neighbors, and the small dramas of stolen yoga pants and stale marriages. They thought they’d settled comfortably into their golden years, pleased with their son’s acceptance into an American business school. But then Mr. Jha comes into an enormous and unexpected sum of money, and moves his wife from their housing complex in East Delhi to the super-rich side of town, where he becomes eager to fit in as a man of status: skinny ties, hired guards, shoe-polishing machines, and all.

The move sets off a chain of events that rock their neighbors, their marriage, and their son, who is struggling to keep a lid on his romantic dilemmas and slipping grades, and brings unintended consequences, ultimately forcing the Jha family to reckon with what really matters.” (Summary courtesy of GoodReads.com)

Enjoy the book then come join your fellow retirees for the discussion at 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, June 27th at Walter Mitty’s Restaurant.

Calendar of Events for May, 2018

Here are the Retiree Network’s Upcoming Events

Wednesday, May 9^th, 1:00 p.m.  Happy Lunch, at Gracie’s (inside the Hotel deLuxe, 729 SW 15th Avenue, Portland), a popular favorite with our Retiree group, convenient free valet parking.  Please RSVP by using the comment box below or reply to the emailed version of this message by Monday, May 7th.

Saturday, May 12^th, Birding Excursion at Tualatin River Reserve, meet at 8:30 in Sylvania Parking Lot for carpooling, or 9:00 a.m. if joining us at the Refuge.  Please RSVP using the comment box below or by reply to the emailed version of this message so we know who to expect for carpooling purposes.

Tuesday, May 15^th, Art & Conversation, Portland Art Museum, Coffee at 9:15 a.m. in the Fields Ballroom, Mark Building; lecture at 10:15 a.m. in the Whitsell Auditorium, Main Building.  (This month’s topic has not yet been announced.)  This series is free for adults 62 and over and includes free access to the museum following the lecture.  

Saturday, May 19^th, Kick Up A Storm for Student Success at this year’s PCC Foundation Evening for Opportunity.  Starts at 5:30 p.m. at Portland Downtown Hilton, (921 SW 6th Avenue) there’s still time to buy tickets at pcc.edu/gala (until May 4th).

Wednesday, May 23^rd, 11:30 a.m.  Pinot & Prose Book Club discussion of our May selection:  Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE by Phil Knight.  Enjoy the book then come join us for the discussion at Walter Mitty’s Restaurant.

Wednesday, May 23^rd, 1:00 p.m. Retiree Network Monthly Business Meeting, open to all retirees, come join us at Walter Mitty’s Restaurant.

And mark your calendar for this year’s annual retirement dinner, coming up on Friday, June 8th.

Plus:  Here are some other events and outings recommended by some of your fellow retirees which may be of interest to you as well.

Portland Parks & Recreation – The Spring/Summer Senior Recreation catalog is now available by clicking here.

Architectural Heritage Society – Their Spring/Summer guided walking tours of Portland neighborhoods is available by clicking here.

Powell’s Bookstores – Readings, book signings, story time, and other extraordinary diversions by authors and poets is always available by clicking here.

 

Pinot & Prose Book Club Selection for May, 2018

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE by Phil Knight

Publisher Comments

In this instant and tenacious New York Times bestseller, Nike founder and board chairman Phil Knight “offers a rare and revealing look at the notoriously media-shy man behind the swoosh” (Booklist, starred review), illuminating his company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.

Bill Gates named Shoe Dog one of his five favorite books of 2016 and called it “an amazing tale, a refreshingly honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like. It’s a messy, perilous, and chaotic journey, riddled with mistakes, endless struggles, and sacrifice. Phil Knight opens up in ways few CEOs are willing to do.”

Fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed fifty dollars from his father and launched a company with one simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost running shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his car in 1963, Knight grossed eight thousand dollars that first year. Today, Nike’s annual sales top $30 billion. In this age of start-ups, Knight’s Nike is the gold standard, and its swoosh is one of the few icons instantly recognized in every corner of the world.

But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always been a mystery. In Shoe Dog, he tells his story at last. At twenty-four, Knight decides that rather than work for a big corporation, he will create something all his own, new, dynamic, different. He details the many risks he encountered, the crushing setbacks, the ruthless competitors and hostile bankers — as well as his many thrilling triumphs. Above all, he recalls the relationships that formed the heart and soul of Nike, with his former track coach, the irascible and charismatic Bill Bowerman, and with his first employees, a ragtag group of misfits and savants who quickly became a band of swoosh-crazed brothers.

Together, harnessing the electrifying power of a bold vision and a shared belief in the transformative power of sports, they created a brand — and a culture —that changed everything.

Enjoy the book then come join your fellow retirees for a discussion on Wednesday, May 23rd at 11:30 a.m., at Walter Mitty’s Restaurant.

Retiree Network’s Next Birding Expedition – Saturday, May 12th.

Long-billed Dowitcher, photo by Scott Carpenter

COME JOIN YOUR FELLOW RETIREES (AND SOME ASPIRING RETIREES) FOR OUR SPRING BIRDING EXCURSION

The Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge near King City is home to nearly 200 species of birds and 50 species of mammals (including birders).  The PCC Retiree Network is sponsoring a birding walk on Saturday morning, May 12th with informal guiding from knowledgeable retirees and current biology faculty, such as the intrepid April Fong.

You may join us at the PCC Sylvania parking lot above the bus stop at 8:30 a.m. to carpool or, if you would prefer, drive yourself and meet up at the front of the big visitors center at the refuge at 9:oo a.m.  We will walk the mobility friendly nature trail about a mile, stopping at viewpoints and rest benches, then return to the visitor center about 11ish.  Spring is an active time for birds – migration, nesting and hatching.

A very good time for viewing!  Come join us!

Please RSVP using the comment box below or by reply to the emailed version of this message no later than Wednesday, May 9th and we shall email you details and directions.