by Ted Elzinga, Far West Regional Vice Chairman
May is the month for the San Diego RG, MaRGaritaville. It will be held on beautiful Point Loma at the Ramada Limited hotel. This is shaping up to be a very interesting RG with some famous speakers including Mensa's own Richard Lederer. The Registrar is Teri Egenberger. Check your local newsletter for information on registering.
San Diego hosted their first RG in 1974, called The San Diego Southwest Mensa Bash, and this year they will have hosted a total of 21 RGs, more than any other Region 9 group. In the early 80s they had a series of "SunDaze" RGs and I attended my first one in 1984. One of the traditional features of the SD RGs has been the Harbor Cruise. In addition to all of their RGs, San Diego Mensa also hosted the American Mensa Annual Gathering in 1977.
We have two new Region 9 editors this month. Richard Wylie takes over the editing of Hamlet, the newsletter of Harbor Area Mensa, and Michael Porjes begins his term as editor of Mensaloha, the newsletter of Hawaii Mensa. A round of applause is due to Diana Altman who was the original editor of Hamlet, and recently took over again when Bruce Poppe moved to Texas.
Occasionally we hear complaints from members about Mensa activities. The standard response, and one that can sometimes be considered a cop-out, is, "If you don't see something you like, organize an activity yourself." In last month's MAAM, the newsletter of Greater Phoenix Mensa, ably edited by Stevie Crowley, I read some more creative responses.
"I want to make it clear, though, there is NO policy that requires attendees to attend recreational events at Regional Gatherings. You do NOT have to party unless you WANT to." —Bruce Stiles.
"Unfortunately, far too many Mensans prefer to sit and do nothing but carp at the efforts of others, then complain that there aren't enough good events to interest them. But here's the news: the activity fairies — you know, those wonderful little creatures who used to come in the middle of the night and plan all our Mensa events for us while we're sleeping — were eliminated in the great Mensa budget crunch of a few years ago. They won't be back. We have to plan the activities ourselves." —Carol Young.
Complaints are always depressing but all of the creative solutions in Mensa make it all worth while. Another quotable quote from Carol Young:
"The only 'clique' in Mensa is the one that permits the [at or above the] 98th percentile to join the organization. Any other barrier to friendship or conversation is created by each individual."