Dave, Jill, Don, Louella, Linda, Maggie, Micky, Bob, Woodie, Pam, Ross, Donna, Gerri, Dave, Jenni, Colin and Kathie welcomed Ardath, Maria, Dorothy, Joanne and Ken to their first meeting.

Topics were posted and arranged into two sessions of three topics each. A brief recap of each discussion follows.

How will you spend your tax rebate was the catalyst for a financial discussion which touched on the long-term consequences of the tax cut. Opinions as to why the cut was passed include it being a payoff for the middle class vote, and to encourage consumers to continue spending so the economic bubble doesn’t burst. A published survey shows that most Americans (70%) will spend the money on "a luxury", 1% will give it to charity and 30% will use it to pay on debt. Most people in the discussion say they will save it!

The Clutter Question arose yet again. Thoughts from that discussion include the following:

Everything you own costs you something emotionally as well as financially. We store "stuff"!

It is freeing to get rid of things. It opens the way for changes on many levels, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Physical clutter takes up emotional space. E-bay is a way to sell your stuff to others who still want more stuff! Amazon.com is another way to sell books. Having too much clutter is an energy drain. One woman took pictures of objects she disposed of when moving to a smaller place. She could then enjoy the memory. Many enjoyed this quote from William Morris: "Do not keep anything in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

Middle aged, declining income and not ready to retire was the jump off point for a conversation about aging in America, finding challenging, meaningful work after 40 and the cultural differences toward age around the world. The Okinawa Health Book was discussed and in part maintains that you are a child till the age of 55, an adult at 55, from 87 to 92 you are old and at 92 you return to childhood. Incidentally, these people live a looong time! Frustration at the corporate world’s model that everyone should work at the pace of a 35-year-old led to a discussion of ways people work as they mature and have broader experiences. Conclusion—9-5 til you’re 65 doesn’t work for everyone!

SEI solar energy workshop and MREA Renewable energy and Sustainable Living Fair in Wisconsin were discussed, and are noted by Dave:
Described the 2 week course on Design and Installation of Photovoltaic (solar) Systems run by Solar Energy International (SEI) in Carbondale, CO. The first week is classroom instruction with several visits to examine previous installations. Many people in the class had no construction or electrical experience, this is not a problem, they do an excellent job of bringing everyone up to speed together. The second week is mainly hands on in smaller groups with instruction and supervision from the teachers. Our class of 25 did 2 separate solar installs, both were successful and extremely beneficial in helping us understand the principals we had learned in the first week. All the instructors are excellent, totally approachable and available to ensure you get all your questions answered. They serve as a resource for former students and encourage you to keep in touch for technical support and to let them know what you do with the knowledge. Some people were there looking for a career change, others just wanted the info to apply to their own homes. The course cost $1000 and they will send a list of local residents that are "solar friendly" and will accommodate you in their homes within walking distance for very reasonable prices (I stayed with a former SEI student for $100 dollars a week). An extremely motivating and valuable experience, I encourage anyone interested in Renewable Energy to look at SEI's courses, they offer a whole selection, I will probably go back next year for the course on sustainable/passive solar building design.

SEI will have a booth at the upcoming MREA Energy Fair and they will be teaching a workshop for women on Photovoltaics. Woody, Pam, Dave, Jenni and a few others are going to the MREA fair in Wisconsin which runs June 22, 23, 24. We are camping at a local place and still have some room left on our sites if you're interested.

Anyone interested specifically in SEI or the course I went to can contact me (Dave) for more info or to take a look at the course handouts and notebooks they provided, email me at beusch@netzero.net .

Humanely evicting raccoons from Bob’s attic drew a small and helpful group.

YMOYL topic was listed, but was not a group discussion.

After a brief recap, the meeting adjourned and a few people went to the Blues Fest!