Young At Heart

By Carol Young

I’m writing this column just a few days after attending a wake for GPMer Dave Verbil, who died much too suddenly and much too young. I was struck by the number of Mensans his passing brought out and many had a chance to renew acquaintances and reinforce existing ones. The thought that occurred to me was the usual cliche: it seems people get together mostly for weddings and funerals. In between is a vast void where we sometimes let friendships wither on the vine. It’s easy to do because we all also assume that the other person will always be there the next time we want to see them. But unexpected deaths also remind us that’s not always true. So once again, please try to remember to keep your relationships alive. Don’t ever take them for granted. So keep in touch with your Mensa family. Come to Mensa events and bring Mensa friends with you. Don’t wait.

FORWARNED IS FOREARMED

I recently got a call and an e-mail from a Mensan in another state who wanted a phone number for a local member. He was very pleasant and was indeed a Mensan and I was tempted to just hand over the phone number he wanted. Then my years of being a Human Resources Manager for a major insurance company kicked in and I checked with the Mensan he wanted to contact before doing anything else. Was I glad I did. The Mensan was extremely upset that this man was still trying to contact her years after she stopped seeing him. He may have been harmless, but she was beginning to feel stalked. I responded to him on her behalf that she did not want to be contacted and he backed off.

So I pass this request on to you: Please don’t give out the phone number of any local Mensan to ANYONE, unless you know the requester personally. Just because someone is a Mensan doesn’t make them automatically "safe" or okay. A stranger who’s a Mensan is still a stranger and should not be given personal information about another member. Thanks.

Editor’s note: I, too, do not give out phone numbers or addresses when I am contacted by someone I don’t know. Instead, I take a name and number and pass the request on to the individual sought.