Henry Ford said: "Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success."  Now if I could only remember who told us that Henry Ford said that . . . .

 

VISITING ROTARIANS

 

Debbie Roessler - Moraga (and this year's Assistant Governor whose turf includes us)

 

GUESTS OF OTHER PERSUASIONS

 

The whole goll-durn Ware clan to hear about Becky's year in Argentina

Yolanda Peeks - making sure that President Thomas does it right

Pat Brennan - here for at least the second time

Dennis Kurimai - a Motorama exhibitor and potential member

Carol Chaffey - past caring what hubby George does

 

BIRTHDAYS, ANNIVERSARIES, AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS GOODIES

 

Ron Brown could put if off a week, but he couldn't escape it entirely.  Sara's birthday had something to do with an high falutin" luncheon at Murray Circle restaurant at the old Fort Baker and the Impressionist exhibit at the DeYoung Museum.  It also had something to do with an exchange of funds in the Club's favor, but the amount was discreetly described as a bill featuring U.S. Grant.

 

George and Carol Chaffey celebrated 46 years of marriage (and they've been six of the happiest years of Carol's life) at the Rotary International Convention in Montreal.  George also showed up looking a lot like a Boy Scout, but his kit turned out to be the official garb of the Flying Rotarians (no relation to the Flying Wallendas).  Looking pretty faboo there, George.  Carol, too, of course.  But unlike George, Carol always looks good.

 

Chuck Yeager spent his birthday with his niece.  She accused him of being old.  He did not deny it.

 

THE GUARD CHANGES, PART II

 

The gathering bell was rung (wrung?) one last time by His Has-Beenness Johan von Fazel, but Rightful Fearless Leader Thomas Peeks wrestled the gavel away from him and order (or what passes for order with this crew) was restored.

 

IT'S ONLY WEEK ONE AND ALREADY THE POWERS THAT BE ARE CHECKING UP ON US

 

 

Well, not really.  True, Moraga Club Past President and current Assistant Governor In Charge of Us And  Some Other Clubs (that's her official title, BTW) Debbie Roessler paid a visit.  But it was a friendly visit to wish us well on our first more-or-less official visit of the 2010-11 Rotary year.  She introduced us to this year's RI theme: "Building Communities, Bridging Continents."  She also brought us greetings from District 5160 Governor Karl Diekman and from RI Prez Ray Klinginsmith, who hails from the far-away exotic land of Kansas City.  C'mon back anytime, Debbie.

 

HEEEEEEEELP!!!!!!!

 

That, in a nutshell, was the theme of Mark Robert's message to us.  Why the plaintive plea?  Because he's the Club Service Director this year, which makes him about as popular as a meter maid.  From Mark we learned: that Dan Garfin will be this year's Sergeant-at-Arms, which makes him about as popular as a meter maid who just lost a battle with a skunk; that the next TGITLFOTM will be at Chez Roberts come July 30; that we need others to sign up to host future TGITLFOTM's preferably with folks with sufficient interior space signing up for rainy/cold months; and that we need volunteers to help with set-up and tear down of our weekly meetings, as well as someone to do battle with the Curse of Lamorinda Sunrise by making our tech stuff actually work. 

 

Is that about it. Mark?

 

EXCHANGE STUDENT, ANYONE?

 

Gillett Johnson (who throws a great Demotion Party, by the way) is this year's International Director.  How do we know that?  Because he stood up today to ask us if we want to host an incoming student this year.  Gillett, demonstrating that he is no fool, said that he wants to have more host families in place before we make the commitment (the Wares have already volunteered to host for a spell).  So, would you be able to host a female student from Bolivia (that appears to be who we would get) for a few months in the 2010-11 school year, more or less?  If you have the space (and it doesn't have to be the Taj Mahal), this can be a fantastically rewarding experience, a chance to make a very real difference in a young person's life and to promote international understanding.  Seriously.

 

So think about it, because we have to make a decision soon and Gillett is going to ask again next week.  Count on it. 

 

PRESIDENT PEEKS SPEAKS (PROLOGUE)  

 

Our newly-installed President, the Right Honorable Thomas Peeks, will be telling us more about his plans for the upcoming year, who the sacrificial lambs commonly known as "this year's board" are, and other nifty, don't-miss-it stuff.  But we got a hint at how President Peeks' mind works when he shared his motto for the years: "Have fun, get it done." 

 

It's going to be a good year. 

 

PROGRAM

 

About a year ago, we said "goodbye" to Becky Ware as she headed off to be a Rotary Youth Exchange student in Argentina.  Only weeks before, she had graduated from Acalanes High School.  She was excited about going, but a tad bit nervous at the same time.  Since so many of us have watched the Ware girls, Becky and Katie Rose, grow up before our eyes at our weekly meetings, we felt the same way.

 

Today, Becky returned to the Lamorinda Sunrise fold, the same and yet different. We saw the same cheerfulness, the same wit, the same sparkle in her eye.  But there was something else there, too: more confidence and self-assuredness, and a new appreciation of how people around the world are more alike than different. 

 

Perhaps the best indication of the new confidence in Becky is the fact that the Curse of Lamorinda Sunrise rose up to preclude her from giving her PowerPoint presentation.  Instead, she had to make do with most of the photos but in no particular order.  It didn't faze Becky at all - she just went with the flow, telling us about the photos she had and about her year in Patagonia with aplomb and humor.

 

So what did we learn from Becky?  Well, for one thing, she loved the mountains and lakes of southern Argentina.  It would appear that she jumped at any and all opportunities to enjoy them. 

 

We also learned that bus rides played a major part in her year.  The bus appears to be the favored mode of transportation for Argentines, and Becky rode them all over the country; 18+ hour rides sounded pretty common.

 

We learned that Christmas and New Years feel different south of the Equator, with our winter holidays suddenly being early summer affairs.  Becky and a friend made paper "snowflakes" to add a touch of Northern Hemisphere familiarity to the holidays.

 

We learned that the single largest contingent of Becky's fellow Youth Exchange students in the Patagonia district were from Germany.  Perhaps coincidentally, there is a significant German presence in Argentina.  And yes, we made the obligatory jokes about that starting circa 1945.  Becky noted that, on one of her jaunts in lake country, her host noted that a certain road led to a lake with an island estate on which, local rumor has it, Adolf Hitler passed the rest of his life after escaping from Berlin.  (The Russians would no doubt dispute this rumor.)  Becky rolled with the punches as (1) Don Reichert asked if any of his namesakes were encountered, as apparently there are Reicherts in Argentina, (2) Rich Shearer saying that they all lived on islands in the middle of lakes and (3) Gillett Johnson stating that those homes were the Third Reichert. 

 

We learned that teen partying in southern Argentina doesn't start until 3 a.m. and lasts until hours more associated with sleeping in, not getting in.  This was in keeping with an observation of Becky's; everything and everyone is late.  If you are told to be someplace at 10:00 and you actually show up at 10:00, you will be the first one there, probably by at least an hour. 

 

But that main thing that we learned is that we sent a great representative of our Club and country to spend a year as a Youth Exchange student.  As mentioned above, Becky came home a little more mature, a little more confident, a little better at thinking on her feet, and a little more ready to take on the next chapter of her life: four years at the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo (and a branch of the California State University system).

 

Which brings us to a final example of Becky's new abilities.  A Club member, who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty, asked Becky about her plans.  She said she would start at the California Maritime Academy this fall.  The member asked what that was.  Replied Becky: "It's a maritime academy."  'Nuff said.

 

Thank you, Becky, for sharing your experiences with us.  Your photos and your spirit made our week.

 

A NOTE ABOUT LAST WEEK'S BULLETIN

 

Since I finally was able to get started on the Bulletin for the June 25 meeting less than 10 hours before the July 2 meeting, speed seemed more important that quantity or accuracy (especially since accuracy is not exactly my strong suit, anyway - when I figure out what my strong suit is, I'll let you know).  So in a fit of inspiration borne of total desperation, I decided to report the items in haiku and the program in something resembling western poetry, mainly because it takes two or three orders of magnitude less time.  The Lamorindan's crackerjack editorial and production ran into another foible of Constant Contact, to wit, its refusal to render haiku.  If you count the syllables, however, you will see that each non-Program item is, in fact, rendered in the proper 5-7-5 syllable haiku form.  Notice I am making no claims as to the quality of the haiku, but the Lamorindan staff wanted you to know that we know what haiku is and that the dog ate our homework.