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WLLO Village Newsletter February 29, 2024
Your February 29, 2024 Issue
Phone: (503) 308 - 8223
email: info@wllovillage.org
Note: if your email cuts off part of this newsletter, click the link at the very top that says, 'View this email in your browser'. Enjoy reading what's new and newsworthy with WLLO!
This month's articles (click the title to jump directly to it):


NEWS AND NEWSWORTHY

SAVE THE DATE
MAY 5TH 2:00 - 4:00 PM 

OUR FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY
& IN PERSON ANNUAL MEETING

Yes another year has passed.  In June WLLO Village will have been open and serving our community for five years!!!  That's something to celebrate.  We're planning our first in person Annual Meeting for May 5th at 2 p.m.  SAVE THE DATE - We'll be announcing new and exciting ways in which we will be helping our members.  We're looking forward to seeing you then.  More to come!  
 

THANK YOU JOAN

BY ELLEN STEEL

Who lived and worked in Hawaii for ten years before going to college?  Who processed seafood while wearing her mini-skirt on the floor of an Alaskan seafood cannery?  Who went to UWA followed by private liberal arts Antioch College in Los Angeles? Who did her graduate work in developmental psychology with Lawrence Kohlberg at the Harvard School of Education?  Who had a long corporate career, in human resources and included jack of all trades duties working in smaller privately owned businesses?  It’s all the same person! Our very own Joan Nelson. 

Joan became fascinated by the Village concept when she heard a story on NPR. A few years later, a mutual friend connected Joan with Marjorie Synakiewicz, who was reaching out to the local community to recruit supporters to help launch a village in our area. Joan immediately became a volunteer and helped to launch the village. In 2020, Joan became the Chair of WLLO Village.  Just then we were all hit by a global pandemic! Joan reports this was a huge challenge - but also a blessing in disguise. We all had to learn to use Zoom and to develop methods to stay connected even when isolated at home – such as our birthday visits and drop-by-and-say-Hi visits - methods we continue to use today in our Village to help our members stay connected. Joan and co-leader Suanne Jackson also reached out to other villages in the area, sharing our approaches with Ted Talks, webinars and safe visiting ideas for us all to get through the challenging times of Covid without feeling too isolated.

Joan has been our Chair for 4 years and is reaching the end of her term. Luckily for us, Joan is going to continue to be very involved in WLLO Village as a skilled volunteer. I asked Joan what she has valued most about WLLO? She is most grateful for meeting new people, learning their stories, and knowing that WLLO has made a difference in their lives.

Thank you, Joan, for making a difference in our lives.  Thank you for managing this village through a pandemic, bringing us out the other side, and for your enduring and loyal friendship to all of us!

THANK YOU WLLO VILLAGE
BY
JOAN NELSON

As my term as Chair comes to an end I want to thank each and every member and volunteer for enriching my life and our village community.  You have built a kind, caring and serving village.  I'm happy that I can continue to share the advantages of being a WLLO Villager.  I'll be seeing you around.

Thank you to our Chair Elect Ellen Steel.  Competent, skilled and a long time supporter of our Village.  She already has great news to share!

 


MARCH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

It is said those born in March do not spend their time concentrating on the past or the future, they concentrate on the present.  For the present we are happy to celebrate this months birthdays with Sandy K., Terry S., Mark L., Becky C and Carol C.  We look forward to celebrating birthdays with our WLLO friends.  
 
We don't always remember to take pictures (because we're so enjoying being with you) and not all pictures make the newsletter.  However, if we took a picture, we'd be happy to send it to you.


FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The Fundamental Attribution Error

by
Monica Schneider

Every day we observe behavior. We look at others, we look at ourselves. We navigate the roads, and the isles in the grocery store and think we can explain what we observe. Some of these
explanations can be judgmental in a way we are unaware of. 
 
”That woman next to me in the coffee shop is talking so loud?  How rude!”
“I talk loud because it is noisy in here.”
 
“Hey, what a jerk, cutting me off in traffic.”
“I have to drive fast because I had distractions at home. I don’t want to be late.”
 
What comes with observing behavior is how we explain it. When we see something we are not so pleased about with ourselves, we may say “Well it wasn’t my fault, there were these circumstances.” However, when we explain the not-so-great behavior of another person, we tend to think it must be because of their disposition or personality traits like being careless, lazy, or unorganized.
 
Explaining the cause of observed behaviors can be confusing, especially when there is incomplete information. Explaining behavior is a demanding cognitive task people face in everyday social life.
 
When we explain others’ behavior using disposition or personality traits it is comfortable and easier. It supports the fairness belief that “bad things happen to people who deserve it.”
 
However……. When we are the ones who are the “victim” we tend to downplay the explanation of disposition and emphasize the circumstances. 
 
This tendency to attribute the causes of other people’s behavior to their character rather than to the situation is called the fundamental attribution error. The term was coined by Lee Ross and is also known as a cognitive bias. The theory assumes that a person’s actions depend upon what kind of person that person is rather than on the social and environmental forces that influence the person. 
 
Have you ever been late to a meeting with a friend? If so, we tend to consider our circumstances and even exaggerate them. But tend less to do so when judging other people’s behavior for being late. The other person being late must be unorganized and even rude.

 
We fluctuate between looking at personality traits like laziness or rudeness as the reasons for behavior rather than relating it to the situation and circumstances- was it related to stress, a deadline, an emergency, or was the person ill?
 
Why do we do this? It’s simpler to attribute a person’s behavior to their outward character traits rather than consider all the challenges and external factors that affect their behavior.  The fundamental attribution error is a way to make quick conclusions but not always the most accurate conclusions. 
 
But, something to consider…. is to take a step back, ask more questions, and consider external factors that might make our observations a little more fair to others and ourselves.


VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Villages Volunteers 

Each and every volunteer is important to our WLLO Village community as we are an all volunteer organization made strong by the relationships between our members and volunteers.  Whatever skills you are willing to share, we may be able to use.  If you're thinking of joining our volunteer team email us at info@wllovillage.org or call and leave a message at 503-308-8223.


NO GUILT BOOK CLUB

WLLO's No-Guilt Bookclub meets on the 2nd Tuesday each month at 10:30 AM.  Please feel free to attend even if you have not read the book!  You might enjoy the conversation about the book anyway!  We are a no-guilt bookclub.  At this time, here is the list of books we plan to read.  March's meeting will be at Ellen's house March 12. 

March:   Northanger Abbey by Jane Austin
April:  Horse by Geraldine Brooks
May:  Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
June:  Oath and Honor  by Liz Cheney
July:   The Beekeepers Apprentice by Laurie R. King 
August:  Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
September:  Gone to the Woods:  Surviving a Lost Childhood  by Gary Paulsen

 
 


TERRY'S EARTH FRIENDLY TIPS

Electronics Recycling
By
Terence M. Shumaker
shufly46@comcast.net
 
Let’s take a quick look at what happens to all of those electronics you folks gave us to dispose of a few weeks ago. Although it’s referred to as “eWaste”, most electronics are not waste but are valuable resources that can be repaired, reused or recycled into other components.
 
But before you read on, why not watch a very informative, ten-minute video, illustrating the human and machine, labor-intensive process to reclaim valuable resources from all of those electronic devices destined for the dustbin.
 
Electronics recycling video
If you can’t watch the video now, no worries, just read on.
As a foundation to all that I write in this monthly rant, we must always remember the system under which we are living. And I say “under” because we are subservient to our human-engineered economic system, which operates in complete opposition to the “natural system”. If we operated “within”, and as a “part of” the natural system, we wouldn’t have a use for articles such as this.
 
The natural system is completely sustainable and balanced. The human-constructed economic system is completely unsustainable and unbalanced.
The video emphasized the fact that electronics manufacturers create goods such as computers, printers, tablets and cell phones that cannot be easily repaired or recycled.
 
What if manufacturers created products to last, contained few if any toxic compounds and that could be easily and quickly repaired or recycled? What if every city and town contained small, localized electronics repair, reuse and recycling centers such as Free Geek?
 
What if we didn’t need massive, centralized electronics recycling centers such as the one in Tennessee depicted in the video mentioned above? What if absolutely no electronics could be taken to landfills?
 
What if?
 
It would mean that far fewer mines would be required to extract rare earth metals and minerals. Far less land would be despoiled, and far less pollution would result.
 
But in the meantime, it is up to us to do our part in seeing that electronics are reused and recycled properly, in hopes that industry will heed the call to eventually create non-toxic products that can be easily repaired and recycled.
 
So, we do our part and support organizations like Free Geek. This non-profit organization is where your WLLO Recycling Team takes all of the electronic discards that you folks provide.
 
Free Geek performs all of the functions described in the previous video in order to reuse and recycle as many products as possible. And they do this all in a small building in the inner southeast Portland commercial/industrial area. Check out this 2 ½ minute video that introduces Free Geek.
 
Free Geek overview video
In a nutshell, the process used at Free Geek goes like this:
 
  • Components are sorted into types
  • Is it functioning? If so, it can be cleaned and sold in their store or donated.
  • Can it be repaired? If so, components may be pirated from other devices to create a functioning product.
  • Can any of the parts of components be reused? If so, they are removed, labeled and stockpiled for later use.
  • Hard disk drives pose a security risk because of data that may still reside on them. If the disk drives are reusable, they are wiped clean using powerful software Mr. Clean would endorse. Disk drives that are not usable are drilled with holes before being recycled.
  • Any products and parts that cannot be repaired or repurposed, are disassembled for recycling.
 
It is reassuring to know that Free Geek has vetted all of the companies to which they sell all of the recyclable parts. Companies must operate in a manner that is environmentally safe, provide safe working conditions and good wages for employees and render components into reusable materials instead of dumping in a landfill.
 
Most importantly, Free Geek’s mission is to function as a service provider with offerings to help narrow the digital divide. So, the technology donations WLLO members make will bring in more money to strengthen Free Geek’s varied programs. Additionally, if you poke around in the Free Geek store, you may find a device or component that you need.
 
Thanks again to all of our members who, on a regular basis, comb through the artifacts of life to sift out those products that can either be useful to someone else, or that need to be disposed of in an environmentally sound fashion. Hats off to you all.

 

Review or re-reading Terry's articles by clicking on the link:  https://tinyurl.com/Recycling-Articles

Return to Table of Contents



COMMUNITY CORNER

North Star Village’s 2024 Aging Well Speaker Series

Downsizing and Letting Go
Friday, March 15, 2:00-3:30 p.m.

at Daybreak Cohousing, 
2525 N. Killingsworth, Portland

Saving, Collecting, Accumulation, Hoarding, Clutter... these are terms that get used a lot these days and mean different things to different people.  This talk will focus on exploring our attachments to our possessions, downsizing, and strategies that may help or hurt. The presentation will break through stigma and help participants understand what drives most of us when it comes to acquiring and saving items. Why do we save? What meanings do our possessions carry? Once we start to understand an individual's (or our own) unique attachment to possessions, we can work on effective strategies for letting go. 
Pre-registration is required. 
 Email lizkennedy@northstarvillagepdx.org.  On the Subject line, write “Downsizing” and in the body of the email, include your name, your email address, phone number, and your village. Thank you!
 

National Slam the Scam Day
March 7, 2024

National “Slam the Scam” Day is designated by Social Security’s Office of the Inspector General to raise awareness of government imposter scams, which continue to spread across the United States. Slam the Scam Day is Thursday, March 7, 2024, as part of National Consumer Protection Week, which takes place this year from March 3-9.
https://www.ssa.gov/scam/

 

Check Out WLLO Village On You Tube
"Make Yourself Scam Proof"
You might also want to view our video "Make Yoursel Scam Proof".  It's full of helpful information about keeping yourself scam free.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH-EfVRw-bA&ab_channel=WlloVillage

Return to Table of Contents

 

 WLLO &  Villages Events
 
Check out our calendar on our website homepage. It's easier to read, you can change how information is displayed and the calendar is also printable.
  • Also be sure to check your Week-At-A-Glance email.  Members and Volunteers receive Week-At-A-Glance emails every Sunday with detailed information for the upcoming week.
  • Summary of Regularly Scheduled Events:
    • Ted Talk Discussion Group - Monday 11:00 AM 
    • Brisk Walk Wednesdays at 9:00 AM
    • Chat and Stroll Wednesdays at 10:00 AM
    • 2nd Thursday of the month - Happy Hour in person at 4 PM
    • All Thursdays except the 2nd Thursday of each month, Happy Hour on Zoom at 4 PM
    • The 3rd and Last Friday - Coffee's are in person at 10:00 AM
    • All Fridays except the 3rd and last Friday of each moth Coffee Hour on Zoom at 9:00 AM.
  • For registration, calendar questions, or log-in help, contact the WLLO office (503-308-8223).  To get log in details to specific events, email info@WLLOvillage.org. (Many events are for members and volunteers only.) 

 


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