Committee Minutes, Tuesday, March 2nd 2004

Chairman Forrest Hinton submitted the following report on Thursday, March 4th 2004, on behalf of the Academics Committee, and pursuant to its Tuesday, March 2nd 2004 recommendations:

Attendance:

There were five (5) Members (Cobb, Crouch, Hinton, Pearce, Reese) present.

There were five (5) Members (Adams, Brobst, Debrecht, Humphrey, Moussa) absent.

A quorum was not present.

Meeting Minutes:

N-O Q-U-O-R-U-M = NO PROGRESS

The Legend of the Leprechaun

If you should be walking along a wooded path some moonlit night in Spring and hear the faint tap-tapping of a tiny hammer, you might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of an Irish leprechaun, the elfin shoemaker, whose roguish tricks are the delight of Irish story-telling.

According to legend, the leprechaun has a pot of gold hidden somewhere, and he must give up his treasure to the one who catches him. You'll have to step lively and think quickly to capture a leprechaun's gold though, because this sly little fellow will fool you into looking away for an instant while he escapes into the forest.

A story is told of thee man who compelled a leprechaun to take him to the bush where the gold was buried. The man tied a red handkerchief to thee bush in order to recognize the spot again and ran home for a spade. He was gone only three minutes, but when he returned to dig, there was a red handkerchief on every bush in the field.

As long as there are Irishmen to believe in the "little folk," there will be leprechauns to reflect the wonderful Irish sense of fun, and many a new story of leprechaun shenanigans will be added to Irish folklore each year.

The Legend of the Shamrock

Long ago, When Ireland was the land of Druids, there was a great Bishop, Patrick by name, who came to teach the word of God throughout the county....

This saint, for he was indeed a saint, was well loved everywhere. One day, however, a group of his followers came to him and admitted that it was difficult for them to believe in the Catholic doctrine of the Holy Trinity, three persons in one God.

Saint Patrick reflected a moment and then, stooping down, he plucked a leaf from the shamrock and held it before them, bidding then to behold the living example of the "Three-in-One." The simple beauty of this explanation convinced these skeptics, and from that day the shamrock has been revered throughout Ireland and is a symbol of the Trinity, a cornerstone of Catholicism.