By Stephenie Crowley
Motley litter of germs, viruses, bugs, bacteria, and other ills of womankind. I have lovingly sheltered these little darlings for the past three months and find I can no longer take care of them. Some of them have international papers (genuine pedigreed Chinese Flu); some are all-American mixed breeds. All are housebroken (you will definitely stay in your house when you have them) and make excellent companions, as they will not leave you no matter how you threaten them. Hardy and able to withstand the harshest treatment from antibiotics, antihistimines, nostrums, vaporizers, and Nyquil. Make excellent gifts if you have clients you want to escape, ex-spouses you want to wreak revenge upon, or bosses you want to repay. Don’t miss this opportunity to own, free of charge, the finest assortment of miseries in Phoenix! Call the editor for more details.
WOW!!! Mark Motta, I sure hope you’re reading this!! Your letter sparked more response than any other item I’ve printed since I started as Editor. You and George Iliff should get together (see his letter) and form an arm of GPM, as your concerns seem to run along the same lines.
By the way, have either of you contacted MOPTA? This is a GPM group which seems involved in very much the type of intellectual problem-solving both of you are interested in. Please see back issues for articles, or contact Dave Kruglinski at 827-2276. His mission statement is "to gather great minds together for a charitable cause: reduce teenage crime and violence". Sounds like a good use of MensaPower.
Since becoming high-profile as Editor (one year this month), I’ve given a lot of thought to the "Mensa phenomenon". Remember, the one criterion for membership is an ability to perform well on a measurable intelligence test. That doesn’t magically give you the ability to perform well anyplace else, either socially, economically, or physically.
What did you join for? Personally, I just wanted a haven where I could "drop the mask". Stop pretending not to know answers. Be as smart (or as dumb) as I wanted to be, and not be put down for asking questions. (How many of you get, "You’re so smart, why don’t you know that" from the general public?)
But, as sure as I’m a redhead, I’ll tell you that Mensa — or any other group — will only be as good as what you, personally, are ready to put into it. Taking your ball and going home won’t create the kind of organization you want to belong to. I would hope that Mark, and George, and all of you others who are leaving for one reason or another, will change your minds: stay, and help create the GPM you dream of.