Gerry, Celia, Amy, Ross, Roberto, Dave, Diane, Laura, Jenny, Mark Jeff, Jill, Colin, Rick , Mary, Lenny, Bob and several others welcomed Michelle, Amy and Terry to their first meeting.

Announcements
Mike and Linda sent their apologies for not attending owing to a funeral.

Colin relayed the news of Pam and Woody’s new arrivals.
Emerson Lee arrived at 1.51 AM weighing 5lb 6oz and 18" long.
Clara Jocelyn was fast on his heels at 1.52AM weighing 4lb 7oz and 16" long.
The whole family is doing well.

Gill invited people to join with her in ordering SUV "violation tickets" from Earth on Empty (earthonempty.com). The violation tickets cite SUV drivers for owning a vehicle that is harmful to the earth and asks them to reconsider their vehicle choice.

Colin asked for a volunteer to open the space for the February meeting.

Several people were planning to attend the Anti War demonstration at Federal Plaza and invited others to join them.

Holiday Debrief. What worked what didn’t?
Gill declined her family’s invitation in a spirit of peace and love and spent an enjoyable Xmas day with friends in Chicago. Next year she will improve on the day. Several people had managed to get the TV turned off but an alternative was needed to fill the void many feel without it. Game, puzzles, hikes all worked. Gifts of shared time and new experiences were welcomed by many children, even by video game addicts.

TV is a large part of current culture like it or not and we need to find some compromise e.g. planning TV viewing. For many the TV is innocuous background while for others it can be highly distracting and obnoxious.

The modern Christmas is essentially a commercial invention of the 19^th century as described in the book " The Battle for Christmas" by Stephen Nissenbaum. A consumption-orientated festival was encouraged to replace a more raucous rural version. In the same way we are free to reinvent our own Holidays with our own traditions. Ross takes a hike with his son every Christmas day. Michelle has met with friends to emphasize the Christian traditional basis of the celebration

Paying for College
Although there is a lot of social pressure to do so paying for college is not essential in order to be a good parent. Working your way through college is not impossible; many have and do it. Working for something is often a good experience for children. Scholarships are available and can pay 80+% of costs. Many scholarships have obscure qualification requirements. David Letterman offers a scholarship for "C students!

Finding New Friends
The group discussed various groups where finding new friends was possible. There was some discussion as to what a "friend" meant and it was recognized that this meant different things to different people. One good strategy was to do what you liked to do, joining those groups that shared your interests, and then friendships would follow. Social events outside of formal group meetings often offer chances to get to know potential friends better.

Creating more Bicycle and Pedestrian Friendly Public Areas
Critical Mass offers rides in Chicago to campaign for cyclists’ rights. Also the Chicago Bicycling Federation is a local advocacy group.

www.chicagocriticalmass.org

www.chibikefed.org

There are several initiatives going on in Chicago and planning commissions can be used to have cycle and pedestrian views heard. Suburban sprawl is a problem in outlying areas.

Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism covers many types and degree of diets and may be driven by many health, moral, environmental, etc. motivations. Vegetarianism helps reduce waste and water pollution from animal waste, it is a reflection of a way of living, it minimizes violence, it is more compassionate. Generally eating less meat is healthier. Emphasizing local consumption helps reduce environmental impact and Community Supported architecture Schemes (CSAs), available in the Chicago area, allow fresh foods to be delivered while supporting local farms. Vegetarians should avoid being judgmental of non-veggies and demi-veggies that may be setting out on the path. Menus should be planned to ensure that the correct nutrients are consumed.

Communal Living
Communal Living offers many material and social benefits in shared resources and live-in friends. However it is still perceived as an alternative way of living.

Communal Living spans a spectrum from roommates to joint income, shared ownership, communal meals, etc. Several successful communities exist in the Chicago area. Stone Soup Collective, The Artists collective in Wicker Park, Several communities in Hyde Park and the South side. Hal Mead in Evanston is a good link to Cohousing activity in the area.

The most successful communities are often based on a strong, shared philosophy or lifestyle, e.g. religion, veganism. There needs to be some degree of compromise in any community. Financial issues can be a barrier to many but can be resolved

Thrift Stores
Buying from thrift stores does not drive new production to replace what was bought; rather it saves goods from going to landfill and aids charities. Fur and leather and logos of questionable corporations could be justified in that there is no direct support for the initial production. However others see only the garment and not it’s origins so the wearer does indirectly show support for questionable practices. Is buying from thrift stores living off other people so philosophically unsustainable. Are we guilty of just playing the same consumption game, looking for the latest logos and styles as others, but at reduced prices? Most people buy certain brands because of quality rather then fashion. Good quality clothes will last for years so are an extra bargain.

There was some discussion of which stores were recommended in the Chicago area. There used to be a directory published of resale stores and outlets. This may be online now. Some stores are grouped in certain areas e.g. Roselle Road in Schaumburg, NW Highway in Palatine. This reduces the amount of traveling involved. Thrift store shopping is often a balance between time spent looking and money saved. See http://www.abstractpublishing.com/resale/resale-frame.html

When donating to thrift stores remember that some stores, e.g. Goodwill, cannot handle specialist items or items with many pieces or that are delicate. Other stores only deal in higher priced merchandise so should be donated to and shopped accordingly. Thrift stores will trash a lot of what is donated.

Gift certificates and special deals for regular customers are available from Goodwill stores. Watch for price cuts especially when stores become overstocked.

There was also some discussion of Fair Trade practices in the clothing industry. Boycotts and blanket bans can harm the workers we hope to protect applying pressure to improve conditions in factories is often a better option.

Selling a House without a Realtor
There was limited interest in this.

De-Junking
The discussion focused on paper clutter as well as other forms. Feelings of guilt surrounded getting rid of stuff. Donating to thrift stores made people feel better but much of this is then trashed by the store. Some people gloated that they could carry all their possessions on their backs.

The meeting closed at noon with a healthy contingent heading out to march for peace in the icy 15-degree weather.

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(Reported by Colin)