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May 29, 2009
Reporter: Rich Shearer Editor: Ron Brown Photographer: Tom Black
Pat Flaharty, President, 2008 - 2009
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
 Gillett Johnson gave us a choice of three. I chose this one: "When you learn from your mistakes, hindsight becomes foresight." Jan Hendricks, quoted in "Guideposts" magazine.
GUESTS, VISITING ROTARIANS, AND SUCH
Jackie Welles - Still cheering Ray on after 57 years
Doug Reichert - Don's Geneva-based son
Dominic Porrino - somebody's son, and third-time visitor
Ulrich Luscher - Joanne's other half
Palmer Rydell - La Quinta
BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES & MISCELLANEOUS GOOD NEWS
As noted above, Ray and Jackie Welles have been married nigh onto six decades. Ray thought that was worth $100, although the rest of us think Jackie is priceless.
 Walt Nelson celebrated Kathe's birthday by watching her make a sequined jacket for a granddaughter's school production (said granddaughter told Kathe she needed it at the last second, of course) and then witnessing said production. Highlight of the official celebration was cupcakes.
Six years and a day ago, Buddy Burke went out on a computer-generated date. (We used to call them blind dates when they were arranged by meddlesome friends or family members.) The date was at the Black Diamond brew-pub, and it was when Buddy met his now-bride Holly. A year and a day ago, Buddy took Holly back for a nostalgia dinner. The fact that the Black Diamond is now a Harley-Davidson dealership made no difference. Buddy being Buddy, he arranged to have a table set up and a bottle of champagne stashed (here's betting it was not Cook's), and they had a Kodak-moment meal. What this had to do with today wasn't quite clear, but Buddy cheerfully paid $30 for the privilege of telling us all about it anyway.
Skip McCowan (not to be confused with Chip McGowan)  celebrated his mumble-mumble-th birthday. In addition to whatever Linda saw fit to arrange, daughter Amy sent an e-card from China. Son Ryan, being a tad closer, as in at UC Davis, of course managed to forget entirely, thus giving Dad the best birthday gift ever -- a free shot of guilt-tripping. Despite Skip's hurt feelings, he still put in $20.
Gillett Johnson put in $20 of his own in recognition of, and pride in, wife Tamra's accomplishments in raising money for the Lukemia & Lymphoma Society as part of her training for the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon.
Brad Davis took Carol to the Jackson, WY, Rodeo for her birthday. It was going to cost him $50, but in the ensuing confusion, it somehow got boosted another ten dollars.
Hays Englehart is going to Dubai next week. Why? To visit his daughter Ashley, who is working there. And of course to practice his bunker shots. He understands that Dubai is actually one gigantic sand trap.
ANOTHER GOOD DEED GETTING READY TO BE DONE
 Buddy Burke announced that another great hands-on project is in the works. It will involve Las Trampas clients, Michael Muir, Clydesdale horses, wagons, and a really great time. Stay tuned for more details, but shouldn't that be enough to get you to say "yes" when asked? You will be glad you did.
ROTARY ABCs
Cliff Dochterman's "The ABCs of Rotary" was passed on to Bob Heinen for this week. The nugget he mined concerned the custom of visiting Rotarians exchanging our club banners with clubs visited. Rotary International started encouraging this practice in the 1950s as a way to encourage make-ups and as a means for each individual  club, via its banner, to display something distinctive about its area. The banners visible behind the podium every week are but a fraction of the roughly 200 we have accumulated over the years (many of them courtesy of Don Reichert, who has made up at clubs on every continent except Antarctica, which is bereft of active clubs). Bob lamented that the places of his most recent travels -- Iraq and Libya -- lack Rotary Clubs, although the move is afoot to revive Rotary in Iraq.
Hmmm, neither Saddam Hussein nor Moammar Qadafi permitted Rotary Clubs. That puts them right up there with Adolph Hitler, Josef Stalin and Mao Xedong as leaders who put the kibosh on Rotary in their respective countries.
GOOD DEEDS DO GET RECOGNIZED - EVENTUALLY
Speaking of the self-same Don Reichert. Cal Lee rose in his capacity as Foundation/Paul Harris Fellowship Poobah to recognize Don for his PH+4. That means Don is a five-time Paul Harris Fellowship member, which in turn means he has made many a generous contribution to the Rotary Foundation. The records back in Evanston did not, shall we say, completely square with ours, and Cal has spent mucho time straightening this out for Don and others, so many thanks to Cal.
But special thanks go to Don. Over the years, he has not only been a proud donor to Rotary Foundation in support of its good works. He has also made numerous offers to match other Members' donations, thereby helping them advance toward receiving their Paul Harris Fellowship awards as well. It is just one of many ways that Don has quietly supported the Club and Rotary International. Thanks, Don, for everything you have done and continue to do.
ANOTHER FUND-RAISING SUCCESS
Last week, Paul Fillinger said he would be auctioning off one of  his wonderful family portraits. This week, he carried through on his threat. But there was no Mike Edwards, with his inimitable style and savoir faire, to serve as auctioneer. What to do? Watch Rich "Bull in the China Shop" Shearer take over and get out of the way. (I'm not sure that was the optimal solution, but it is what happened.) And when dust (and the BS) cleared, Ernie Furtado had purchased the portrait for the low, low price of $350, which will go straight to our club's do-good coffers in some form or other. Thanks, Ernie, and thank you, Paul, for your generous contribution.
MOTORCYCLE MADNESS
Newbie Gary Fulcher was recruited as a member over lunch by Hays Englehart, a lunch to which both rode their motorcycles, at  which both parked in the same spot, and at which both failed to feed the meter. Gary embarrassed Hays with this again (as it was reported in an earlier edition of this fine publication), but this time Gary paid $25 for the privilege.
Gary also invited all motorcycling types to stay after the meeting so they could organize some sort of club-related motorcycle event. (This scribe might suggest terrorizing Hollister, but it's been done. On film, no less.)
SORRY YOU MISSED IT
I'd tell you to send any and all out-of-work friends and relations  (at least the ones you like) to the Danville Career and Leadership Conference, announced by Rod Ford-Smith, who is actively involved in putting it on, but the event will already have taken place by the time you read this. Thanks for letting us know about it, Rod. With 1,600 expected to attend, it sounds like it was set to be a smashing success.
THOSE CHICKENS DON'T JUST WALK THEMSELVES ONTO THE PLATES, YOU KNOW
Wanna see John Fazel in a tuxedo? Wanna come as close as you ever will to seeing Mark Twain in person? Wanna help throw  a great bash for senior citizens and have a lot of fun doing it? Wanna see Brad Davis dismember chickens with a big ol' honkin' knife? Wanna see Tom Black (a.k.a. Ansel Lite) take pictures?Then you need to be part of the Three-Quarter Century Club Luncheon, which our very own Comrade Fazel has been running for something like ten years now. The speaker will be the same Mr. McAvoy who did the one-man Mark Twain show, complete with Q&A, at the most recent interclub Meeting. Ask anyone in our club who saw him; he is tons of fun.
This is a real feel-good event. The elders have a blast, the volunteers have a blast, and the speaker is a guaranteed socko-boffo hit. The event is on June 10 at the Orinda Community Church (a.k.a. "Frank's Church" or "Ray's Erstwhile Church" for the cognoscenti). Volunteers are needed from about 10:00 to 2:00. If you can't make the whole thing, John can use you for whatever time you can be there. So who's in?
MYSTERY ROTARIAN(S)
This week's Mystery Rotarian has a suspicious sounding resume, to wit: (1) This Member ran for a state office; (2) this Member is writing a novel; and (3) this Member has walked the Rim Trail with three generations of family members. It could only be Paul Fillinger. He ran for office in Oregon at the urging of good friend Bob Packwood - yes, that Bob Packwood. And in Paul's world, "the Rim Trail" means the rim of the Lafayette Reservoir, but hey, it still counts.
PROGRAM
As it was the Last Friday of the Month, for which we thanked God in the evening at Cal and Agatha-Sue Lee's, we had another installment of Expose Yourself. This month's edition was the very embodiment of the phrase " The Ridiculous and the Sublime."
The sublime went first in the person of Venera Maysuryants.  Venera was born in Baku, which is the capitol, largest city and major port of Azerbaijan. A former Republic in the USSR. Azerbaijan is bordered by the Caspian Sea to the east, Iran to the south, Russia to the north, and Armenia and Georgia to the west. The country is something of a polyglot: although ethnic Azerbaijanis are the most numerous, there are also significant populations of Georgians and Armenians, among others.
We were treated to photos of Venera and her family from when she was six months old up to the present day. We saw her parents, most of her four sisters and three brothers, and, of course, her husband, Robert, and their children. A special treat was seeing Venera playing a guitar and flashing an absolutely dazzling smile, one we are treated to on a regular basis.
Venera, Robert, and the kids moved to the US in 1997. They adapted fairly quickly, as the photos of their first Christmas showed. We saw photos of Venera's daughter in New York for a modeling and acting competition last July (she took second place -- pretty darn good for a major competition, although the judges clearly were mistaken in not awarding her the top prize).
Venera is not the only one to leave the turmoil and unrest -- and yes, attempted genocide -- that wracked her native Azerbaijan. Several of her siblings left before she did, and Venera and her immediate family left as the result of an amnesty granted by the U.S. for potential victims of ethnic violence that hit her native land. Fortunately, Venera and some of her siblings have subsequently reconnected. We saw photos of Venera seeing two of her sisters in 2004 for the first time in a dozen years. In another photo, we saw a brother and a sister seeing each other for the first time in 15 years. These photos and stories only hint at the dislocation and destruction that accompanied the breakup of the Soviet Union in so many former Republics.
Venera's story has not gone unnoticed. The San Francisco Chronicle ran a piece about the Maysuryants family and its adjustment to American life, complete with a photo. Not surprisingly, KRON Channel 4 picked up the story and also did a piece on Venera and the Maysuryants.
And as a final piece of fun, we saw the result of Venera and her daughter hanging around the stage door of a Broadway theater when they were in New York last year - a photo with Ralph Finnes (he pronounces it to rhyme with "safe wines"), who apparently was most gracious when asked to pose with the lovely Venera. (Well, who in their right mind wouldn't be?) It was a lovely way to end this interesting trip through Venera's life. Many thanks, Venera, for giving us a glimpse into a life that clearly has had big challenges and even bigger rewards.
And so from the sublime to the ridiculous: Rich Shearer.  Unfortunately for Rich, and fortunately for everyone else, the Curse of Lamorinda Sunrise cropped up again, and by the time tech gurus Jim Brencic and Krysten Laine cast the demons out of Rich's computer and/or the projector, it was too late for anything other than one quick slide of embarrassing photos carefully culled from among his many closets full of skeletons. Considering the multifarious and inventive ways in which Rich can embarrass himself publicly, it was pretty slim cheese.
But before you all get too comfortable, it turns out that Program Czar Jim Brencic had one last slot to fill, program-wise, on June 12, so Rich will be inflicting his life on you then. You have been warned: The presenter has already seen a preview, and it isn't pretty.
TGITLFOTM HAPPENING
Yes indeed. That magic, once a month club engagement took place at the home of Agatha Sue and Cal Lee. Each of these occasions are special unto themselves. A multitude of attendees were treated this time to something extra. First a champagne toast to Jackie and Ray Wells, newlyweds a mere 57 years ago, and looking every bit as vibrant as if it all happened yesterday! What a great couple. Agatha Sue led a flora and fauna nature walk through the beautiful Lee garden. Finally the place lit up when silent Cal sat down at the piano and burst forth with a spontaneous and unrehearsed (he claims) concert. Holy moley batman, this guy is good! We are indeed blessed with an abundance of talent, good cheer and fellowship on a regular basis.
CALENDAR
Weekly Meeting Program: Benjamin Lawrence, UC Davis Professor and Davis Rotarian relates personal stories of boring water holes in Togo, Benin, and Ghana. Having just returned from a GSE trip to Ethiopia, he will have much to share with us.
Friday 06/05/09 7:00 - 8:15 am
Three-Quarter Century Club Luncheon The event is 11:30-1:30 or so, but we need help from about 10:00 to 2:00. Call John Fazel for more information.
Wednesday 06/10 at Orinda Community Church
Weekly Meeting Program: Expose Yourself Redux. Rich Shearer is really going to do it to himself this time.
Friday 6/12 7:00 to 8:15 am
Weekly Meeting Program: Expose Yourself Paul Bettelheim and Rick Ashburn.
Friday 06/19 7:00 - 8:15 am
Weekly Meeting Program:Pat's last day as Prez. See what he has to say as he leaves office and turns the reins over to Mr. Fazel!
Friday 06/26 7:00 - 8:15 am
TGITLFOTM and Pat's Demotion Ceremony at the home of David Waal.
Friday 6/26 5:30 pm until whenever! | |
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ADDITIONAL PHOTOS OF THIS AND OTHER LSR EVENTS MAY BE FOUND AT TOMBLACK.SMUGMUG.COM. SHOULD BE YOU SMITTEN BY A PARTICULAR IMAGE, PRINTS MAY BE ORDERED FROM THIS WEBSITE. (THE QUALITY IS EXCELLENT.).
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Contact Us
Rotary Club of Lamorinda Sunrise
PO Box 1491
Lafayette, California 94549
www.lamorindasunrise.org
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