Jason Gardner Is An Escape Artist, Magician, Coach, Speaker...
Air Guitar or Gesturing Wildly - - this screen shot occurred in the heat of battle, and we frankly can't tell you if Mr. Gardner was merely making a point, or playing air guitar in a key of C. (AP-UPI)
This Past Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Program chair Mel Sanchez used some of the pre-meeting social time to express some misgivings about our meeting speaker, Mr. Jason Gardner. As she indicated to the Downey Rotarians before the Zoom meeting, Mr. Gardner approached her to speak at our club meeting.
As newcomer Mel had sensed, and veteran Rotarians already know, woe to that Rotary club that accepts an unsolicited request to speak at a meeting. At best, it’s a disaster. At its worst, lives are lost and reputations are destroyed. There is ample evidence that the 1994 Northridge earthquake was touched off by an uninvited speaker at the Woodland Hills Rotary club, just hours after their meeting.
Regardless, Mr. Gardner was a nice enough guy, albeit, somewhat unconventional. As a result, he fit right in to Downey Rotary. Lorine talks about him in greater detail in her article below, and it has far fewer spelling mistakes than this article.
Next Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Gabriel Enamorado is the Executive Director of Stay Arts, and he will be our speaker on Tuesday. Based on their website, it appears that Stay Arts is an extension of the original Stay Gallery on Downey Avenue. And except for the fact that he has a cooler last name than me, that’s all I’m going to say about him.
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Ahead of Her Time
Memories of Mary Stauffer
Last week, Finemaster Larry Garces asked Rotarians to share their favorite memory of Downey Rotarian and community icon Mary Stauffer. And, of course, get fined for the privilege of sharing. This came on the heals of the sad news that Dr. Stauffer had passed away last week at the age of 103.
I confess that was not particularly close to Mary, probably because her keen radar sensed I was a troublemaker and a second-rate Rotarian, but there was no denying that she was a tremendous presence and philanthropist in the community.
My favorite memory of Mary Stauffer did not involve me personally, but was a story my mom once shared regarding her interaction with Dr. Stauffer. This goes way back to 1971 when the world was a lot simpler and social norms quite different.
Dr. Stauffer had confirmed that my mom was pregnant with my youngest brother Greg. The unexpected news was an initial jolt to my mom, who was even more jolted when the good doctor reminded my mom that, as an option, the unplanned pregnancy could be terminated.
I can imagine my mom gasping, Ach du Lieber Gott!
It got more interesting, when my old-fashioned mom pointed out that no decision could be made without my dad’s input. Progressive Dr. Stauffer explored the obvious, telling my mom that her husband wasn’t required to be part of any decision-making process.
Ach du Lieber Gott!, again.
I don’t know how much of that story was embellished, or which details were lost over the years, but my mom told the story without rancor or bitterness. I think she was more surprised that this old-fashioned-appearing obstetrician would have such a progressive disposition.
Okay Larry, now you can fine me.
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Quote of the Week
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Why Re-Tent?
Membership Retention
This past Saturday morning, Rotary District 5280 conducted a Membership Retention meeting, promoting, of all things, membership retention. I attempted to register for the event several hours after it had started, but was told through an automated messaging system to try again after I had learned to tell time and manage a simple schedule.
That may be awhile.
As I was too late to participate, reports from several of the attendees were gathered, and the Hub Bub can report some meeting highlights:
Membership retention is a lot easier when there are no pandemics. Try real hard to avoid them in the future.
Sixty percent of the Rotarians attended because they were attracted to the use of the “boots on the ground” idiom used in the marketing of the meeting.
Membership retention tends to not work on people with the first name of “Phil” or “Dolores” or "Frenchie."
Membership retention is best achieved among Rotarians with the dispensing of lavish praise and cheap trinkets. In that order.
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Letter From the Editor
If this was a military operation, General Patton might have labeled it as a minor skirmish. The spy (LA5’s Chrissy Moses) infiltrates the neighboring peaceful camp (Downey Rotary) and reports troop strength, readiness, and leadership skills back to her superiors. Or something like that.
It could have stopped there, with hostilities averted and the opposing camps content with the status quo in their respective territories.
But no. Club leadership at LA5 has apparently directed the propaganda arm of the club, their beloved El Rodeo newsletter, to publish two full pages of vile attacks on our simple, unassuming club. Yeah, there’s a lot of empty space on the two pages, but they’ve made use of a meme-generator to challenge our intelligence (what little we have), and some professional cartoonist to lampoon our beloved city name. I’m outraged! Outraged, I tell you.
I have just two things so say to what I believe is a 20-person staff of the El Rodeo:
1. To accuse the Hub Bub of printing fake news is an exercise in exploring the obvious! With the exception of our President Elect Jesse Vargas, who is a little slow, our readers do not come to us looking for any truth. Actually, I don’t think they come looking for anything but toilet-time reading material. Rotarians go to Hannity for real news.
2. The concept of Truth leads to my next El Rodeo observation: your website link proclaims that you’ve been publishing for 112 years, but the actual El Rodeo issue indicates the volume and issue both at 30 at the top of each page. Hmmm...
Tell Brenton that we smell a rat, as well....
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SnapShot: Magical Thinking
By Lorine Parks
Jason Gardner has 10 plus years as a life coach with capabilities for unlocking human potential. With a long history in magic, escapology (think Houdini) and showmanship, he is known for his ability to help people free themselves from the straitjackets they put themselves in and reach full personal potential and freedom.
“One form of modern magic” Jason said, is the technology that allows him to be in Boston and still show up with us in Downey, California.
Jason daily hangs upside down in a straitjacket at Boston’s historic Fanueil Hall Market, to attract a crowd. He then escapes his bondage, and explains his behavior as a living metaphor for unlocking your potential. His ability to combine coaching, escapology and magic creates transformations.
Jason also teaches visualizing, imagining step by step the night before an important event, like an interview for a new job. “Write it down, beforehand, ask yourself, what goals do I want to achieve,” he says. Jason calls this “getting in front of your day.” He feels invigorated and positive, and the interviewers, he says, “are going to respond in kind.”
Jorge Montero asked about Jason’s qualifications, as Jorge always tries to find a fellow magician to go to the Magic Castle where he is a member. Jason performs street magic, a form of close-up magic, the most difficult kind, as the audience is right there to observe how the “trick” is done. No trick at all, but common sense and thinking outside of the box, when you look closely.
MAGICAL DR. MARY
Our club lost a remarkable and long-lived member when Mary Stauffer passed away this past week at 103. As Jorge Montero said, “She had more energy than anyone. We went to a meeting on the fourth floor of a hotel, and when the elevator didn’t come fast enough, impatient Dr. Mary said, ‘Let’s take the steps.’ And she was fresh as a daisy when we got there too.”
Dr. Mary delivered many Downey babies and treated their family’s illnesses for years, and then she did not retire, but went into as second career, philanthropy. Her Foundation gave millions of dollars in scholarships to Downey students at all levels, encouraging the love of learning.
Dr. Mary also patronized many local groups, like the Assistance League and the Downey Symphonic Society. The latter gift was notable because with her increasingly profound deafness she couldn’t hear or appreciate the sound of music, but her husband Dr. Floyd Stauffer did enjoy classical concerts, and she once told me that for him she supported the Symphony’s Music in the School's Program.
Mary was the embodiment of the old English adage, “Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.” I can remember when our Club at a luncheon meeting was considering the budget for the year, and she questioned some small expenditure line item. “I want to know what I am getting for my money,” said Dr. Mary.
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