Topic: SAE and the Diaspora

The new executive board of the World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) recently convened in Thessaloniki, headquarters of the organization, for the first time since the December SAE convention. Brother Alex Rigopoulos had the pleasure of attending that conference.

During the February 16 - 20, 2000 meeting, the board members were assigned specific tasks and discussed the report on the 3^rd World Convention of SAE. Following that, they reviewed and approved the regulations for the operation of the board and discussed SAE's financial report.

A schedule of SAE's future activities for the next two years was proposed, and board members submitted reports for a coordinated strategy that will promote unity among Hellenes.

Brother Alex will be presenting the highlights of that conference, do not miss this most informative and interesting presentation.

If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidense that you tried.

By now you should all be aware that plans are well under way for this year's Greek Independence Day celebration. If you have not made your reservation, please do so immediately by calling George Pappas or any other chapter officer. The Golf Tournament is the single most important fundraiser. But this event is the single most important cultural event that our chapter has been sponsoring for the past 15 years.

This year's performance builds on last year's smashing reception. We will be presenting an original play, "Freedom's Spark", written by our own brother, Mike Merica, and the Greek School students from our church will recite many patriotic poems. The location the Del Mar Hilton - is exceptional as will be the brunch menu that we have secured for all of $25 per person. This is an event not to be missed. I hope you will attend.

At the last meeting, we crossed a milestone in our chapter. We voted on and unanimously approved the Foundation By-Laws. This will transform our Charitable Endowment Fund into an even more powerful vehicle for expanding the good works of AHEPA. The next step is to complete the necessary paperwork for IRS filing. Many thanks to Charlie Kakos, Max Anastopoulos, James Mellos, III, and Nick Gines (to name just a few now) for their work towards making this a reality.

Scholarship applications are now available. Please ask any chapter officer for applications. We need assistance on the Golf Tournament. Please contact Costa Brown, if you are interested.

Hope to see you at the next meeting.

Art Pathe

Best Wishes and CRONIA POLLA to the following Brothers who are celebrating birthdays:

Minas Savvas 4/2

George Varvarousis 4/4

Demetri Vlahoulis 4/9

George Karetas 4/10

Steve Williams 4/16

Paul Anest 4/21

John Generales 4/22

Peter Fellios 4/23

Ted Kyriacou 4/24

Gary Kaprielian 4/28

Jim Cappos 4/28

John Pipinos 4/29

George Dramby 4/30

Happy Anniversary!!! to the following Brothers and their lovely brides who are celebrating wedding anniversaries:

Cleo & Penelope Generales 4/12

Meeting Agenda - The following is the meeting agenda for the next Social/General Chapter Meeting, being held at SS. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church's Senior Citizen Center, Tuesday, April 4, 2000:

Golf Tournament Committee Report

Greek Independence Day 2000 Report

Christmas Party Preparation Report

New Member Recruitment Report

Old Business

New Business

Good of the Order

General Business Meetings - General Business Meetings are held every third Thursday of the month. The next meeting will be Thursday, April 20, 2000, at SS. Constantine and Helen Senior Citizen Center at 7:00 p.m. All Officers and appointed officers are expected to attend. Any interested members may attend. Come and see your administrative board at work planning and coordinating for better functions and best events for the membership.

Costas Lyrintzis Memorial Scholarship Fund -

Brothers, we of the Hellenic Community of San Diego must keep Costas' memory alive, and we can do this by instituting a memorial scholarship in Costas' name. Please send your tax deductible contributions, in any amount to: Order of AHEPA, c/o George Polos Chapter 505, P.O. Box 2682, Del Mar, CA 92014.

We need TA NEA Advertisers! - This newsletter is budgeted to be funded and made possible by those that place advertisements into the publication. We have run some issues without Ads and we must not allow this to continue to happen! If we wish to continue this publication we must encourage more advertiser submissions.

Ad space rates are: one full page (8 1/2" by 11") $125 per issue, half page (5 1/2" by 8 1/2") $75 per issue and $25 for business card ads per issue. Please contact Brother D. A. George to place your next ad. All necessary art work will be created for you and as always, readers, please patronize our advertisers. Thank you.

Please Notify Us - Should you know of any Brother recovering from illness or surgery, or known to be hospitalized, please notify Brother Alex L. Rigopoulos at 233-7158 or 469-9239.

Newsletter Entries - Please direct all newsletter announcements for "TA NEA" to the editor: Brother D. A. George, (619) 273-2868, FAX (619) 273-0416 or e-mail: dageo@worldnet.att.net . All entries must be received by the 20th of each month.

As a member of the AHEPA Family, you are invited to apply for a scholarship made available through the George Polos Chapter 505, AHEPA Scholarship/Foundation. The purpose of this program is to grant scholarships to worthy college students who themselves or members of their immediate families reside within San Diego County, and who are either Ahepans, Daughters of Penelope, Sons of Pericles, Maids of Athena, or member of a Greek Orthodox parish in San Diego County. All completed applications will be evaluated by an impartial Scholarship Committee.

Also being provided by the Chapter is a scholarship in memory of Dr. Costas Lyrintzis. Dr. Lyrintzis was a professor of Engineering at San Diego State University and a member of AHEPA Chapter 505, North San Diego County. He was slain at the hands of a mad gunman on August 15, 1996.

The Scholarships will be awarded to a graduating high school senior who will be entering San Diego State University by the fall of 1999 or to a student already enrolled at SDSU with a minimum of 12 units. Preference will be given to students either of Hellenic decent or with a demonstrated interest in Greek history or culture.

TO BE CONSIDERED FOR A SCHOLARSHIP, THE APPLICANT MUST:

1. Be a graduating high school senior entering college in 1999, or currently enrolled in an accredited university or college with a minimum of 12 units per term;

2. Complete all pages of the application ENTIRELY;

3. Provide one (1) or more recommendations written on official stationery from one of the following:

a. Officer of Ahepa Family;

b. Professor, teacher or counselor; or

c. Member of the Clergy.

4. Write an essay of 500 words or less describing any special circumstances the applicant wishes the Scholarship Committee to take into consideration when evaluating the application. For example:

a. Career aspirations;

b. Honors classes/activities;

c. Extracurricular/community activities; or

d. Participation in AHEPA and/or church related activities.

5. Obtain an official transcript of the applicant's most current semester ended and mail with application;

6. Must not have been a recipient of a scholarship from this Chapter more than two (2) times.

TO BE CONSIDERED, ALL ENVELOPES CONTAINING REQUIRED SUBMITTALS MUST BE POSTMARKED, OR HAND-DELIVERED, NO LATER THAN THE DEADLlNE OF JUNE 15, 2000.

Mail to:

AHED Ch. 505

Attn: George Pappas

P.O. Box 500228

San Diego, CA 92150-0228

All persons eligible for these scholarships are encouraged to apply. Those requiring applications should contact the Chapter Secretary, Brother D. A. George at (858) 273-2868 or FAX (858) 273-0416. Applications are also available from any Chapter Officer.

A husband came home completely out of breath. When his wife asked him what was wrong, he answered, "Oh, nothing, but I ran all the way behind a bus to save a dollar."

"Well," his wife said, "how foolish can you be? Why didn't you run home behind a taxi and save five dollars?"

During a segment on Pete Sampras in 60 Minutes II we learned from the tennis ace that he started playing the game when he was 7 ("three to four hours each and every day"), that his parents do not attend any of his matches and that his fantasy is to play Agassi for the finals ("he helps me to raise the level of my game") with his idol Rod Laver present and, especially, his parents in the audience.

Konstantinos Karatheodoris was the math professor of the youthful Albert Einstein in Germany.

So, in order to honor him, Aristotle University in Thessaloniki will not only name its administration building after the man, but will also erect a sculptured bust of his likeness on campus. Karatheodoris, after all, was also instrumental in the establishment of Aristotle University. The distinguished mathematician was born in Berlin in 1873, where his father was a Greek ambassador and he died in Munich in 1950.

The main speaker in the second Mediterranean Conference on Mathematical Education held in Nicosia recently was Demetrios Hristodoulou, whom many have called "the second Einstein." Hristodoulou was born of Cypriot parents in Athens in 1953. At the age of 16, his theories on physics had become known worldwide; and Princeton invited him for further studies. At 18, he had his master's and at 19 his Ph.D. In 1992, he was appointed full professor at Princeton, and a year later he was given the prestigious McArthur award. Among Hristodoulou's many other honors is the Boher Prize in Mathematical Physics, which is thought to be as prestigious as the Nobel.

We are entering a brave new interactive world, according to Chrysostomos L. "Max" Nikias, director of the Integrated Media Systems Center at the University of Southern California. For example, "we'll be able to order the things we see on TV while we're still watching it," said Nikias, "forget idiot box; think smart TV." A decade down the road, you will be playing games with friends miles away and talk to far-flung family members just through the TV screen. "The TV as we: know it today is going to disappear," adds Nikias, "we may not call it TV anymore." The recent AOL-Time Warner deal is bound to hasten this interactive future.

Evan Mitropoulos on Craig Kilborn's late-night CBS gabfest was introduced as "the youngest tycoon in the world." He is 18 years old. Apparently, with his immigrant father's help, he has become the marketing director of companies like Bumble Bee Tuna and Chef Boyardee, and his income is alleged to be in the 7 digits. On February 23, Evan informed, there will be a TV special on his success story. He did come across to me as a dynamic and personable young man.

An article in Ircheology by David Trail and William Calder argues hat the famed Golden Agamemnon mask was not really discovered by Heinrich Schliemann but that he had it made from the abundant Mycenean gold that he had unearthed during his excavations. The authors further suggest that Schliemann was prone to lying and that, in fact, the mask's sideburns and thick mustache resemble a 19th century Germanic look rather than the appearance of a man in Agamemnon's time. The reaction to the two authors' contention by other archaeologists ranges from skeptical to amused but outright rejection.

The Greek novelist Vasilis Alexakis has made an illustrious name for himself in France. He writes stories that have been published and praised, in fact, throughout Europe. His latest work, The Heart of Margarita again made a splash in France, where the first printing was exhausted within six weeks during the recent holidays. The Economist Review, describing it as "a wonderfully entertaining love story," compared it to the work of Proust and selected it as one of the five best French novels of the year. Alexakis, who went to France to escape from the Papadopoulos junta, writes both in Greek and in French. The Heart of Margarita was originally written in Greek and published by the Exantas publishing house.

ABC's Dateline had segment on bipolar syndrome-- bipolarity being a disease that affects the brain and causes aggression and restlessness in children. Introduced as among the foremost authorities on the subject was Dimitris Papolos, M.D., author of The Bipolar Child--the latest word on the neuropsychological condition.

Agapi Stassinopoulos, Arianna's equally beautiful sister, has written a book on Greek goddesses. It is called Conversation With the Goddesses: Revealing the Divine Power Within You," and, as the title suggests, it deals with female traits as revealed through seven deities. As I recall, the ubiquitous Arianna had written a similar book (The Gods of Greece) some 15 years ago.

A touching story of motherly love comes from a village on the edge of Pyrghos in Greece. An 87-year-old lady, living a lonely and impoverished life in her small home, received the news that her only son, who worked in Athens, had cancer and would be dead in a few weeks. Devestated by the news, the lonely old woman came to a decision that astounded all her relatives and fellow villagers. "I am going to the Underworld first, to wait for him" she said, "I will prepare for my beautiful boy a warm meal and some clean clothes when he comes to join me." From that day, she stubbornly refused to eat, and 18 days later she had her wish.

Yet another finding to indicate the benefits of olive oil comes from the current issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The Universaty of Athens Medical School, having studied the links between diet and rthritis in a southern Mediterranean population for over a year, has concluded that vegetables cooked in olive oil protect against rheumatoid arthritis. Those studied normally consumed cooked and raw vegetales served with olive oil and fish oil. Those with the lowest consumption of olive oil had almost three times the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis than those with the highest consumption. Furthurmore, those who ate the highest amount of cooked vegetables had a 75% lower risk of developing the disease. Researchers believe that olive oil somehow moderates the immune response.

Each year 27,500 Greeks discover that they have cancer. Yhe men are attacked primarily in the lungs, the women in the breasts.

(Re-printed by permission of THE GREEKAMERICAN)

Dear Ann Landers: I saw this on the Internet (author unknown), and hope you will find space for it in your column. There is a great deal of truth in it.

- Barbara in Lawrence, Kan.

Dear Barbara: Thanks for sending it on. Here it is:

Paradox of Our Times

The paradox of our times is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time; we have more advanced degrees, but less common sense; more knowledge, but less good judgement; more medicine, but less wellness.

These are times of steep profits and shallow relationships; world peace, but domestic warfare, more leisure, but less fun; two incomes, and more divorce.

It is time when there in much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology can bring a letter to you in seconds, and you can choose either to make a difference or just hit "delete."

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Dear Sisters,

Our next meeting will be held at Saints Constantine and Helen's Senior Center on Tuesday, April 4, 2000 at 7:00 pm. Please make every effort to attend this important meeting.

We are interested in your thoughts on the proposed merger of our Philia Chapter #380 with the Tiresias Chapter #142 in San Diego. We will also discuss the successful fundraisor trip to Pachanga and our upcoming Spring social event. Your presence is important for the well being of our chapter. I hope to see you there!

Joanna Pathe

2 envelopes dry yeast

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon sugar 1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/3 cup warm water 2 teaspoons machlepi

1 cup unsalted butter 1/2 scant teaspoon crushed masticha

5 eggs 9-10 cups flour

Decoration:

3 red eggs, uncooked

1 egg, plus 1 tablespoon of water for wash

1/3 cup of sesame seeds or 1/3 cup sliced blanched almonds

Mix yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar in slightly warm water in a large cup. Cover, put in a warm place for 10-15 minutes until yeast starts to activate (becomes bubbly). Warm the butter; sugar; milk, machlepi, and masticha in a pan until the butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool. Beat 4 eggs until foamy. Put 2 cups of flour in a large bowl. Add cooled butter mixture, yeast, and eggs and stir thoroughly. Add most of the remaining flour. While dough is still sticky, add 1 unbeaten egg.

Continue to add flour until dough is very soft but no longer sticky. Knead dough about 10 minutes. Put in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours. When doubled, punch down the dough and divide into four balls. For each ball: form three ropes the length of a cookie sheet. Braid the three ropes on a greased cookie sheet. Squeeze the ends together so they do not separate. (For a round loaf, braid the bread and coil in a 9" round cake pan.) To decorate: Tuck at least one red egg in between the braids, and brush the dough with a wash of 1 whole egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water. Sprinkle generously with sesame seeds or sliced blanched almonds. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise about a half hour: Bake.at 350^o F for 40-45 minutes or until bread browns. Reduce-heat to 250^o F and bake until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Makes four medium loaves.

Note: The spices, machlepi and masticha, found in specialty stores or gourmet shops, give the bread its unique flavor. Machlepi is a ground seed from Syria. Masticha comes from the sap of the mastichodendro bush grown primarily on the Greek island of Chios and used in the production of gum. The translucent, light yellow chunks of masticha must be crushed to powder before us. Greeks generally use the word "tsoureki" for Easter bread. The word "Lambropsomo" refers to the bright (lambro) light of the Resurrection, and "psomi" means "bread."