6A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL February 3, 2016
The
Chatterbox
Winter doldrums lead to the Internet
BY BETTY KAISER
For the Sentinel
I
am a true Capricorn. I get up most
mornings with a mental list of
what I am going to do, where I am go-
ing to go or whom I am going to see.
I make lists and check off the fi nished
projects at day’s end. I like to be busy
and productive. So what changed me
this year?
This winter I have been more in-
terested in being a slug than a worker
bee. None of the items on my many
lists have been crossed off. Interior
woodwork has not been painted. Pho-
to albums have not been dated and
organized. I did get one desk drawer
cleaned out but have not tackled even
one closet. I have not even been tempt-
ed to go outside and weed around the
tulips that are popping up.
As a rule, I am never bored, but you
might say that currently, I have been
lazy to the point of boredom. I’ve
even been considering the pros and
cons of joining social media to jolt me
out of my lair. Maybe I need some of
that “face time” everyone talks about.
It seems that I’m that only one that
hasn’t joined “an electronic form of
communication through which users
create online communities to share
information, ideas, personal messages
and other content.”
Frankly, this kind of communica-
tion (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
just isn’t appealing to me. I obvi-
ously stand alone in my thinking, as
all of my kids, grandkids and friends
are currently profi led on Facebook. If
they’re not texting one another, they’re
posting friends, or sending messages,
status updates, videos and photos via
social media. In turn they receive no-
tifi cations when others update their
profi les. Why?
My friends tell me they do this to
keep up with their grandkids’ activi-
ties. My grandsons’ parents tell me
the same thing. The grandsons aren’t
talking. In fact, I don’t believe that I
have ever seen my grandsons actu-
ally have a voice-activated telephone
conversation with their friends. Why
should they? They can knock out a 25-
word text faster than I can fi nd my cell
phone in my purse!
Knowledgeable sources say that
Facebook is the world’s most popu-
lar social media site. If I read my
facts correctly, every month the site
has over 900 million visitors. That is
mind-boggling when you consider that
the population of the United States is
only about 320 million people (give or
take a few thousand).
Still, this whole business of baring
one’s soul on social media doesn’t in-
terest me. But Facebook is tempting.
Everywhere I go, people are saying,
“Did you see it on Facebook?” Maga-
zine/newspaper/radio/TV ads request
that you “Like us on Facebook.” It’s
like a mysterious club, and I’m not a
part of it.
Now I may not be a joiner, but I
don’t like to be left out either. So I in-
vestigated the pros and cons of social
networking. The pros are many and
compelling: the ability to meet new
people, re-acquaint with old friends
and distant family members; brag-
ging rights when something good hap-
pens and bringing awareness to social
causes.
The cons are worrisome. The big-
gest is probably the privacy issue.
Ironically, this newspaper columnist
can’t quite see herself sharing activi-
ties to friends and family that could
be broadcast around the world. On
the other hand, my life is pretty bor-
ing. Who would care if I shared what
I had for breakfast or that a gorgeous
gray squirrel is eating out of our bird
feeder?
Some cite that Facebook is addict-
ing and therefore time-consuming.
Others object to the advertising, and
everyone distains those users who are
hateful and spiteful. Peeking at one
page, I was appalled at the angry dia-
logue over a difference of opinion. It’s
not my style.
Ultimately, I once again said “No” to
Facebook and started looking around
for a less public way to spend my
time. A segment on “Good Morning,
America,” caught my eye. Perhaps you
have seen their on-going episodes of
“Free Money.” i.e. “Unclaimed money
that may be waiting for you and me to
fi nd. Now that’s interesting!
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Across from Wal-Mart next to Taco Bell
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Any Drink
1220 East Main Street (Next to Darimart)
Depending on the source, it is esti-
mated that over 90 percent of Ameri-
cans have some sort of unclaimed
funds or assets available. Every state
in the Union, the District of Columbia,
Canada (and more) have unclaimed
funds and assets that have they are
holding because the owner has forgot-
ten them or the recipient is deceased.
Typically these funds were origi-
nally held in bank accounts, insurance
companies, tax refunds, safety deposit
boxes, etc. After an extended period of
time, if the funds aren’t claimed, they
are turned over to a government agen-
cy until the recipient can be located.
Filing a claim is a free public service.
The trick is fi nding the money.
In Oregon the Department of State
Lands handles unclaimed money and
property. According to the unclaimed-
money.org website, every year in Nov.
as much as $40 million in property be-
longing to individuals are added to the
Oregon Unclaimed Money base.
To fi nd out if you have any money
waiting you can start here at www.
unclaimedmoney.com. If you’re a life-
long Oregon resident try:
http://www.oregon.gov/dsl/up/Pag-
es/index.aspx and follow the prompts.
Every state is different in where un-
claimed money is handled. So if you
previously lived in California, un-
claimed property is the responsibility
of the State Controller’s Offi ce: http://
www.sco.ca.gov/upd_msg.html.
Now, a warning: Be sure that you
don’t fall for a fee scam. Look for
the name of the state government in
the link and the search will be free
of charge. And be sure to look in all
states of former residence.
At the end of this day I didn’t make
any new friends nor did I fi nd any free
money for the Kaiser family. I did,
however, stay warm, learned some-
thing new, watched the weeds grow
and fi nished this column. Mission ac-
complished. Now back to normal.
Betty Kaiser’s Chatterbox is about
people, places, family, and other mat-
ters of the heart. Contact her at 942-
1317 or via e-mail —
bchatty@bettykaiser.com
COMMUNITY BRIEFS
LWV to meet in CG
The League of Women Voters will
be having a unit meeting at Cottage
Grove’s Lane Community College
branch on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 2:30
p.m. The discussion topic will be
mental health issues. Anyone interest-
ed in this topic is welcome to attend.
Shrove pancake
supper
Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Mar-
di Gras — they’re all names for the
same day — it’s the day before Lent
begins on Ash Wednesday. Our Lady
of Perpetual Help Catholic Church
will again join forces with St. An-
drew’s Episcopal Church to provide
“your last meal of fat” before Lent on
Tuesday, Feb. 9 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the
OLPH Catholic Church Parish Center,
1025 N. 19th St. for $5 per person or
$20 per immediate family. The menu
includes sausage links, pancakes with
syrup (sugar free available), jam, jelly
or peanut butter, applesauce, coffee
and orange juice.
Proceeds benefi t Cottage Grove
Community Sharing.
College Springboard
at LCC
A new College Springboard pro-
gram will be offered at the LCC Cot-
tage Grove Center.
College Springboard is designed to
start students on the right path to earn
their college degree or certifi cate. Stu-
dents taking the program will com-
plete an Effective Learning course,
take a tour of Lane Community
College’s main campus, attend career
workshops and complete an academic
plan. Successful completion of these
elements will fulfi ll requirements of
the Southeast Lane Scholarship spe-
cifi cally for residents of Creswell,
Cottage Grove, Culp Creek, Dorena,
Drain, Lorane, Lowell and Pleasant
Hill areas.
An information session is planned
at the Cottage Grove Center on Mon-
day, Feb. 8 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Those
interested in more information about
the program can contact the LCC
Cottage Grove Center at cg@lanecc.
edu or (541) 463-4202.
CoffeeTrivia
Coffee Fun Facts:
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Coffee Legend
O
ne story about the history of coffee, as found on
the Internet, claims the following as the origin of
coffee. Kaldi, the goatherd, around 600 to 800
A.D., was tending his animals on a mountainside in East-
ern Africa, when he noticed that they were acting strange-
ly. He realized that they had been eating the cherry-red
berries of a nearby shrub. They remained awake, jumping
and leaping around the whole night, even the older goats.
Curious, the goatherder picked some and tasted them
himself. He found that they invigorated him and made him
more awake. A monk named Chadely, or Scyadly, from
a nearby monastery passed by. Kaldi told him about the
goats and he demanded to be shown the plant. The monk
crushed a few of the berries into a powder and poured
boiling water over them to make a drink. This was the first
cup of coffee. (It was not until much later that coffee beans
were roasted.)
Expires
2/29/16
Impressed with the results of the drink in making him wider
awake and yet not affecting his capabilities, the monk
took the new discovery back to his monastery. Coffee
soon spread from monastery to monastery and, therefore,
became in much demand with devout Moslems, believing it
to be a divine gift brought by an angel.
— By Mary Bellis, About.com
Income inequality
discussion
Is inequality an incentive for hard
work and invention? At what point, if
ever, is the gap too large?
This is the focus of “How Much
Inequality Is Acceptable?” a free con-
versation with Julia Hammond on Fri-
day, Jan. 29 at 6 p.m. at Hard Knocks
Brewing. This program is co-hosted
by Hard Knocks and Opal Center for
Arts and Education and sponsored by
Oregon Humanities.
Julia Hammond is a writer and edu-
cator. She is the owner of Folklala and
the developer of the Folklala blog.
The company creates products and
projects that explore culture through
the arts.
Through the Conversation Proj-
ect, Oregon Humanities offers free
programs that engage community
members in thoughtful, challenging
conversations about ideas critical to
our daily lives and our state’s future.
For more information about this free
community discussion, please con-
tact Leah Murray at 541-946-7252 or
OCAE@opalcentercg.org.
Dubious Rubes at
Saginaw Vineyard
Saginaw Vineyard will present the
music of the Dubious Rubes from 6-9
p.m. on Friday, Feb. 5. The show is
for those 21 and over, and there is no
cover.
George Fox Fall
Dean’s List
More than 850 traditional under-
graduate students earned Dean’s List
recognition at George Fox University
in the fall of 2015. The list included
Sabra Chambers, a freshman from
Cottage Grove majoring in elemen-
tary education and Mason Mueller of
Cottage Grove, a sophomore major-
ing in management.
Students must earn a 3.5 grade
point average or above on 12 or more
hours of graded work to earn a spot
on the Dean’s List.
