Monday, September 23, 2019
9:30 – 10:30 MONDAY INTEREST GROUPS
Please see the Bulletin page 20.
NON-FICTION BOOK DISCUSSION Founders Room
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and
Dreams by Matthew Walker, PhD
Discussion Leader: Sheryl Sostarich
From a preeminent neuroscientist, Why We Sleep
answers our questions: why we sleep, what good it
serves, and why we suffer devastating health
consequences when we don’t sleep. You will learn
how caffeine and alcohol consumption affect sleep, what
really happens during REM sleep, why sleep patterns
change during our lifetimes, and how we can harness
sleep to improve our quality of life.
LITERATURE DISCUSSION Heritage Room
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Discussion Leader: Gini Hickman
Richly told and profoundly moving, Pachinko is the
story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. From the
bustling street markets, to the halls of Japan’s finest
universities, to the pachinko parlors of the criminal
underworld, the complex and passionate characters are a
poor, proud immigrant family—strong, stubborn women,
devoted sisters and sons, fathers shaken by moral
crisis—that survives and thrives, exiled from a homeland
they never knew.
GREAT DECISIONS Presidents’ Hall
Topic: The Middle East: Regional Disorder
Leaders: Barbara Taft and Joyce Prudden
As the presidency of Donald J. Trump passes the halfway point, the Middle East remains a region in turmoil. The Trump administration has aligned itself
with strongmen in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab
Emirates, and Egypt, which along with Israel have a
common goal of frustrating Iranian expansion. What
will be the fallout from policy reversals such as
withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear accord and
moving the United States embassy in Israel to
Jerusalem? Does the United States see a path forward
in troubled states such as Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Iraq?
Is the United States headed toward war with Iran?
HANDWORK/CRAFTS Dining Room
Activity: Quilting
Leader: Carrie D’Andrea
Carrie D’Andrea will reveal secrets in making the
Gala live auction quilt she created for Carol and Roger
Sheldon. They chose the pattern and the fabric. See if
you can figure it out before the reveal.
KNOW YOUR DEVICE Minneapolis Room
Facilitator: Alice Heth
This users group will answer each other’s questions
about smart phones, iPads, and general technology
mysteries.
10:45 – 11:45 WOMEN’S VOICES
A Dash of Foreign Spice
Speaker: Kitty Gogins, International Institute of
Minnesota, President of the Board of Directors,
Daughter of Hungarian Refugees
Have you wondered what it is like growing up bridging
two cultures? Fleeing their Hungarian homeland which
was destroyed during World War II, Kitty Gogins shares
her parents’ perilous journey. They arrived in North
America as indentured agricultural servants. We’ll hear
their story and Gogins’ personal stories about how they
adapted to a new and different culture while keeping their
dash of foreign spice.

11:45 – Noon ANNOUNCEMENTS
12:00 – 1:15 LUNCHEON
Lead Hostess: Elaine Braun
Guest Hostess: Vicki Dunn
Community Outreach Committee Association Room
New Members Fellowships Room
Nominating Committee Porch
1:15 – 2:15 EDUCATION
Autism and Boys
Speaker: Dr. Nicola Grissom, Assistant Professor of
Psychology, Neuroscience Graduate Program,
University of Minnesota
Men and boys are diagnosed with autism three times more
frequently than women and girls. We study how this
“female protective effect” works at a molecular level within
the brain and how it might be reflected in decision-making
between rewarding situations in male and female brains.