THE LAMORINDAN 7-31-09

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"One never knows what each day is going to bring. The important thing is to be open and ready for it." Henry Moore, by way of Thomas Peeks.

VISITING ROTARIANS

Ken Woznack - Orinda officially, all over the Bay Area in reality
Gail Woznack - Orinda Past President

GUESTS OF OTHER PERSUASIONS

Cameron Shearer - Rich's heir apparent
Kara Wheeler - Tay's darling daughter
Stacy Bove - Chuck's lovely wife
Natalie Bove - Chuck and Stacy's lovely daughter
Kate Bove - Natalie's lovely sister

BIRTHDAYS, ANNIVERSARIES, AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS GOODIES

Brad Davis made a very generous donation to the Club's Endowment Fund in honor of the birthdays of two - count 'em, two - grandkids. Thanks, Brad.

Gillett Johnson had a birthday. It isn't clear whether he was in Ho Chi Minh City, Shanghai, or the end of the Earth on the special day, but it was someplace west of the International Dateline and east of the Ural Mountains. The appropriate emolument was received, but I have no idea how much it was.

The same is true for how much Joanne Luscher had to cough up for Ulrich's birthday, So sue me.

King John told a truly awful joke about the inventor of the Hokey Pokey passing on and the difficulty in getting him into his coffin. Everyone was stunned into inaction - except for Rich Shearer, who has a lifetime antidote to such punnery coursing through his veins. Rich grabbed the Sgt-at-Arms bucket and simply held it under Herr Fazel's nose until even His Lordship felt obliged to pony up a shekel or two.

STEVE WARE HAS LAMORINDA SUNRISE SHIRTS FOR NEW MEMBERS WHO DO NOT HAVE ONE

Re-read the headline for this item. It's the same as last week's item of the same name. It tells you everything you need to know. It did last week, too. If you still don't get it, talk to Steve.

WE LIKE RECOGNIZING NEW MEMBERS

Mike Edwards stepped forward to read all of "War and Peace," in the original Russian, after which he inducted Chuck Bove into the Rotary Club of Lamorinda Sunrise. And so this graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, this former employee of the US Geological Survey, this man who did a HazMat project at an old morgue, he who supports the arts and collects vintage pottery, the one and only Chuck Bove, is now an official member of our Club and was recognized as such along with blushing bride Stacy and daughters Natalie and Kate. Welcome, Chuck. Actually, welcome to the entire Bove clan.

WORK PROJECT COMING UP

Our next great work project will take place Saturday, August 15 at the Rush Ranch near Suisun, from about 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. We will be building stuff, painting/staining stuff, and generally doing a good turn for Michael Muir's Access Adventure project that takes physically challenged folks on wagon rides. Not little dinky rides in dinky little wagons around some parking lot. These are serious rides into wildernesses and other scenic spots that they would otherwise never get to see. (The wagons are pulled by Clydesdales and Percherons - seriously large horses - and no, we will not be building or painting/staining any of those.) To paraphrase our very own Buddy Burke, "All y'all c'mon out an' help if you can." King John is circulating the sign-up sheet. Please add your name to it.

MOTORCYCLE MADNESS COMING UP FAST

If you have a motorcycle or motor scooter and you have not heard about the August 8 unofficial in-no-way-shape-or-form-sponsored-by-Lamorinda-Sunrise-Rotary motorcycle ride, talk to Hays Englehart or Gary Fulcher. Unofficially, of course.

PLEASE FILL THIS OUT - IT'S IMPORTANT

Krysten Laine was in New England getting rained on, but she still managed to be here in the form of the "What are we interested in doing and how are we going to raise money" questionnaire, which was dutifully handed out by Mark Roberts, who doesn't look the least bit like Krysten, and we are okay with that.

Seriously, the questionnaire is vitally important. Many of you actually followed instructions and completed it before the end of the meeting. Many thanks to you. As for those who either weren't here or had a case of Sudden Brain Lock Syndrome, Krysten has e-mailed to survey to you. Please fill it in and e-mail it back.

BOB RIEGG IS BACK

Past President and all-around nice guy Bob Riegg has returned from his travels. He even brought lovely wife Pat back. He also brought back a banner from the Rotary Club of Dartmouth (England), along with some history. Dartmouth is on the River Dart, right where it enters the sea. (Dart, mouth; get it?) It is the home of the United Kingdom's Naval Academy, which, unlike ours, requires its students to have already received a Bachelors Degree. Near Dartmouth is also where a little-known and long-hidden WWII disaster took place. It was here where a training exercise in advance of the Normandy invasion went horribly wrong, with about 1,100 US soldiers drowning.

Good to have you and Pat back, Bob. We're very glad you did not decide to re-enact that little piece of history.

IT APPEARS THAT GOING RATE FOR MALFEASANCE IS $5

Thomas Raeth and family appeared in the local paper as part of a garden party celebrating Lafayette Tree and Nursery. It was a nice picture, but no Rotary pin was in evidence. It was a nice story, but Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary was not mentioned. Serious offenses, Thomas. $5, please.

And who was that mentioned in the paper in a story concerning a trip to Iowa? That would be Kylie Fillinger, daughter of Rick Ashburn and granddaughter of Paul Fillinger. $5 each, gents.

Finally, the Sun had a blurb about a certain Tamra Johnson completing a half-marathon fund-raiser in San Diego. Gillett's pride in his blushing bride and her accomplishment also cost $5.

REPORT FROM CEDAR RAPIDS

Continuing today's dual themes of money and Iowa, His Presidentness reported that the Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids Sunrise, Iowa, has reported back on how they spent the roughly $10,000 we raised (under John's pre-presidential leadership, one should note) last year in the wake of the truly awful flooding that hit the area. Here is a summary of how our donation was put to work:

- $2,000 went to help pay for needed upgrades to a nearby camp that will be used to house 600-700 young people per year for the next three years. These young people will be spending part of their summers working on ongoing flood repair projects. Local unions donated the labor to perform the needed upgrades, and the kids coming in will be put to work helping to rebuild homes and community facilities that are still in need.

- $1,500 went to the "Book It" program. This is a program run by the Cedar Rapids Police Department to get books into the hands of children who are in difficult situations. The entire stock of books was destroyed by the flooding. This donation went to purchasing replacement books and helping get the program back on its feet;

- $1,600 went to support the Landon Cassill Relief Effort. Landon Cassill is a NASCAR racer and Cedar Rapids native. He and four other drivers agreed to match donations up to $10,000 for each of them, or $50,000 total. That means that this $1,600 ended up actually being worth $3,200 in flood relief;

- $5,000 went to the Cedar Rapids Rotary Appliance Drive. Almost everyone in Cedar Rapids, whether they lost their homes or not, have lost their appliances because of the flooding. The seven area Rotary Clubs have set a goal to help, at a minimum, 250 of the hardest hit families with vouchers redeemable for the major appliance they need most. The first appliances were given out in April. You A PowerPoint presentation of this event can be viewed at www.crwestrotary.org/ApplianceProject.cfm.

By the way, the Rotary Appliance Drive is an ongoing project. If you are interested in making any further donations to it, contact the Cedar Rapids Sunrise Club (www.crsunriserotary.com).

It is clear that a lot of thought went into directing our funds where they can get the most bang for the proverbial buck. We should all be very proud of the creative ways the Cedar Rapids Sunrise Club has found for us to help. It also shows the wisdom of sending the money we raise to the "boots on the ground," as they have a far better idea of what is needed than we possibly can from 2,000 miles away.

Thanks again to John for making this project work. It was quick, timely, and put cold, hard cash in the hands of people - fellow Rotarians - in whom we could place complete trust.

This project illustrated something we should all keep in mind. Not only does Rotary rise up to help where help is needed, but every single penny we raise goes to good works. That was true here - by sending a check to our fellow Rotarians, we knew that all of it would go to meeting needs and zero of it would go to "overhead.".

That is also true of projects funded by Rotary International. Every bit of every donation goes to good works. Keep that in mind when you are asked to make a donation to The Rotary Foundation or our own Club's Endowment Fund. Also keep it in mind when we are out again trying to raise funds for a relief project. I can tell you from personal experience that being able to truthfully tell people where every penny they put in the kitty will go to doing the needed work is a powerful selling point. It is also a big part of what makes Rotary such a powerful force for positive change.

YOUR CHANCE TO TELL PEOPLE WHERE TO GO

Alex Arnold announced that Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary will once again be helping to direct traffic and perform similar assistance at the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce Art & Wine Festival this September 19th & 20th. We did it last year, and we're doing it again this year.

There is one difference. We have a $100 bet with the Other Lafayette Club as to who will supply more people toward this little project. Even though this is like stealing candy from a baby (I mean, really, they may as well cut the check now), please block out one day or the other to help out with this so we can (a) contribute to an event that is one of the highlights of the year here and (b) humiliate the noon Club as completely as possible.

PROGRAM

Today, as part of the ongoing end-of-the-month series of member exposes, Rich Shearer Exposed Himself. For some reason, this reporter didn't get his talk down on paper, so I'll try to report as much from memory as possible.

Rich was born in Livermore, California, at roughly the size of a small hippo. Rich is the youngest of three children. These two facts are likely connected.

Rich showed pix of his grandparents, his parents, his brother, his sister, his son, his ex-wife, his future wife, and pretty much anyone else who has ever been willing, or forced, to pose with him in his entire life.

There were the requisite embarrassing photos, which including Rich going into a dunk tank and a high school shot featuring hair long enough to rival Rapunzel. (Hey, it was 1974 - everybody did goofy hair stuff in 1974.)

Rich tracked his educational history, which started slowly and then petered out altogether. Left out entirely were his days on a chain gang (actually, it was a landscaping crew, but in July in Pleasanton it feels about the same), his nights managing a Haagen-Dazs store in the Westwood Village section of Los Angeles, or his time spent driving freight to and from LAX. None of those things are the least bit interesting, so you didn't miss much.

It appears that Rich rides a bicycle. Okay, he rides several of them. In 1980, he bicycled from Livermore to Washington D.C., not to raise money or achieve notoriety, but because it seemed like a fun thing to do with a summer. He offered opinions about who is/was the greatest bike racer of all time, a subject about which no one cared a whit. Pontificating on subjects about which no one cares seems to be something of a passion for Rich, truth be told.

Rich delved into his career briefly. As you may know, Rich is a lawyer. He does civil litigation. But whereas other civil litigators can rattle off impressive-sounding areas of specialization, the best Rich can say is that he is a "weird case magnet." This reporter can report that this is about as accurate a one-liner description of Rich's legal experience as there is, and he didn't get into even a tiny fraction of the goofy stuff that has found its way to his desk over the years. Be grateful for that.

We learned some of the things that Rich likes to do when he isn't having to do things he'd rather not be doing. He likes to ride bikes, road bikes specifically. He likes to play Warhammer with son, Cameron. (It's a game involving miniatures that you build and paint and then have battles with - it is mainly an excuse for sort-of grown men to play with toy soldiers.) He likes to geocache with fianc� Valerie. (It's kind of like a treasure hunt using GPS devices - google "geocaching" if you want more info.) He likes Rotary, and he gave a heartfelt thanks to the entire Lamorinda Sunrise Club for helping him get through some tough times. He really likes eating and sleeping, but those did not figure into the presentation. Well, maybe on the audience's part, but not in the slide show.

And so, another month has passed and another Lamorinda Sunrise Rotarian has been exposed. This reporter is confident that he can say, without fear of contradiction, that of all the "Expose Yourself" programs the Club had witnessed, Rich's was without doubt one of them.

TGITLFOTM

This month's elegant affair took place at the estate of the esteemed Dr. Paul Bettelheim. The turn-out was sterling. the Wine and hors de oevres were outstanding and so were all of the attendees. Guided and unguided tours took place in the meandering gardens of the back forty. The weather was cooperative and so were the chickens. These events just keep getting better and better! You can tell by the happy smiles on the faces of Gwen Reichert and Kathy Edwards. (Pictures courtesy of Don Reichert).

CALENDAR

Friday, August 7 - Weekly meeting at Postino, 7:00 a.m. Program: Ginny Daws, Mt. Everest Climber

Tuesday, August 11 - Monthly Board meeting, 7:00 a.m. Prudential California Realty, 51 Moraga Way (upstairs), Orinda. All Members welcome.

Friday, August 14 - Weekly meeting at Postino, 7:00 a.m. Program: Christie Hockel, keynote speaker, National Down Syndrome Congress.

Saturday, August 15 - Work Project, Rush Ranch, Suisun, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Contact John Fazel for more details.

Friday, August 21 - Weekly meeting at Postino, 7:00 a.m. Program: Paul Fillinger recounts his and Glenda's recent trip to China as part of an Alliance for Smiles cleft palate surgery team.

Thursday, October 1 to Sunday, October 4 - Annual District Conference for District 5160, Lake Tahoe.