Hybrid 

This is a discussion group usually held on the first and third Fridays of each month, covering local, national, and world news. The discussion provides an opportunity to share your observations and opinions on the news and to learn from other participants.

Articles of interest are distributed among the group by email in the week before each meeting, and topics to discuss are selected by the group at the beginning of each meeting.

March 6, 20, 2026

April 3, 17, 2026

May 1, 15, 2026

June 5, 2026

10 am - 11:30 am

Paul Mullin is the facilitator for this discussion group.

Hybrid

Agatha Christie served as a nurse in World War I. When she turned to mystery writing, she may have used her pharmaceutical knowledge to provide the means of murder in her novels.

The presentation will attempt to communicate Parker's enthusiasm for chemistry generally and for poisons specifically to members of Goldleaf.

A brief analysis of the symptoms of each poison and the presentation of the poison by Christie will be mentioned.

Parker will not provide drinks or snacks :)

Date: 1:00 - 2:30 P.M., April 28, 2026

Location: Education Center, room 107

Chuck Parker taught chemistry in public high schools and as an adjunct for Crowder College, Webb City, and Missouri Southern State University in Joplin until 2017.

He is especially enamored with alkaloids (caffeine is an alkaloid). The more he explored alkaloids and their deleterious effects on people, the more he investigated the use of poisons in mystery novels. Agatha Christie is remarkably accurate with her depictions.

Chuck has typically presented subjects concerning Muslim histories, such as the Crusades, the Ottomans, and the roots of Islamic extremism. However, his chemistry background kept crying for equal time.