My beloved sister Kathy died precipitously yesterday after pneumonia unmasked an underlying metastatic lung cancer. I am heartbroken. Still in Traverse City, I may or may not be able to attend this Monday's meeting. If I do attend, I do not think I will be able to lead it. Steve has graciously agreed to lead it for me. Thanks, Steve!

On Monday March 27^th at 5:30 PM, our guest speaker will be Monica Porter from the Ypsilanti District Library. She will talk to us about the incredible array of outreach programs offered by our library. Please join us at the township Aubrees, 2122 Whittaker Road in the VIP Room.

I'm so sorry to have had to cancel last week's slides and story of the infamous Bunce Island slave departure site off the coast of Freetown, Sierra Leone. This will be rescheduled. Your understanding is appreciated.

At the previous week's meeting, Jelani McGadney shared the story of his Milan Rotary- sponsored exchange-student year in Japan. He landed there knowing NO Japanese and had to attend high school in Japanese!  Fortunately, his first pair of "parents" spoke both Japanese and English. The "Dad" of the second pair spoke English. By the time he moved into the third and last home of his exchange, he was prepared for the fact that neither spoke English!  He did well in his high school classes, learned a lot about another culture and speaks Japanese to this day.  Dennis Barksdale was inducted as our newest member – welcome, my love!  We were reminded to sign up for the District Conference on May 5-6, collected $3 in Lucky Bucks and $2 in pin fines.