Next Meeting - Tuesday, Nov 16. STEVE BRIGGS is the Program Host, and he will introduce Barbara Dimick, Director of the Madison Public Library, who will tell us what's up at the MPL System in general and the Central Library in particular. Besides the economic crunch, the winds of electronic change are swirling around the book business, and we should learn how the new options will affect the product and service of the old Library. ("library" - two syllables, explanatory. "Instructional Materials Center" - schoolspeak, ten syllables, obfuscatory.)

At our last meeting a welcome larger group of Lions assembled to hear about a tribute to our nation's veterans. PP JODI opened up the action with a TailTwister trivia quiz, which your editor didn't see until after the test was over. Probably a good thing. I can't read tarot cards, and I'd heard of Perseus but had no idea who he was mad at. Pres. JIM began the formal meeting, with LINDA BERGREN "coming in on a song and a prayer." If you lived thru WWII, that should remind you of something.

Guests introduced were Gwen Mueller, by DALE, and PDG HAROLD NAGLER and Alec Schutz, by Pres. JIM. HAROLD and Alec were not exactly part of the program, but they were sort of the subject of the program.

SCOTT GROVER made his customary appeal for help at the UW concessions stands. Sounds like we're OK for this weekend but he needs workers for the Northwestern football game and for the basketball stand at the Kohl Center. The basketball season has started, and we have lots of opportunity to earn $$ for our service funds. Sign up on the web, or talk to SCOTT. The more we do, the more we can do. LINDA BERGREN has sent in the order for the Holiday Treats by the time you read this. She has to order in case lots, so there's usually additional product for most of the items on the list for us to sell. So keep at it, and if you've made additional sales, keep her informed, so she can match up demand and supply.

We had a Vision Screening training session recently, at the Hy Vee with the East Side Lions, and apparently they found some live subjects to practice on. Turned out that one of the nine subjects had something that warranted attention from a doctor, so some Lions not only learned what to do but did some good at the same time. JIM SCHUTZ is our Vision Screening chairman, and they can always use help, both trained and untrained. If you'd like to be part of this vital service, talk to JIM.

DALE MUELLER has arranged our annual help to the Salvation Army. We have a bell to ring and a kettle to fill at West Towne on Tuesday, Nov. 23. That's not a regular meeting day, so let's have two Lions for every two-hour shift that day. The Board meets that day, tho, so the rest of us will have to cover the noon hour.

Channel 15 ran a series of clips on a four year old with a rare eye problem. Corneal transplants were the answer, and the Lions Eye Bank supplied the tissue, with Lion couriers doing the transportation.

Steve Bartlett, former Madison West Lion, was our speaker, and he told us about the recent Honor Flight which took 101 veterans of World War II and the Korean War to Washington D.C. to see the monuments erected in their honor. It took a long time for the WWII vets to be recognized - the monument opened in 2004 - and many of them have never seen it. Time is running out, and so the Honor Flight organization is taking as many as possible for a visit. They've sent two flights from Madison so far, and there have been others from all over the country. It's a one-day charter flight, and there is a volunteer "guardian" for each 2 vets who goes along to make sure they get whatever assistance they need to take part. They visit Arlington National Cemetery and the WWII memorial, and those for other wars if a veteran of that war is aboard. There are 97 Honor Flight Chapters in the US, five of which are in Wisconsin, including the Badger Honor Flight in Madison. Primary mission is to take local area vets, but all chapters work together to take all they can, regardless of where they came from. PDG HAROLD NAGLER went on the last one, and JIM SCHUTZ's son Alec went along as a volunteer " Guardian. Alec assisted HAROLD and one of the two women veterans in the group. Both HAROLD and Alec said it was a great experience, and it's nice to know that those who served in those long-ago wars are being remembered and honored.

Looking for a hands-on project? Join the Madison East Lions as they clean a small stretch of county highway just outside of Madison on November 20. They will meet for breakfast at the Hy Vee at 8:30am, and then proceed to the highway. With your help, they hope to be finished by noon.