I look forward to Thursday evenings because that’s a time I can catch up with my Rotary friends, learn new information, and discuss how we can help others. Our social time is important, and has evolved over the years. When we were a dinner club, we had lots of time to relax and visit while we enjoyed our meals. When the costs became too much for many members, we dropped the meals but would gather half an hour before the meeting officially began and visit while we set up tables and chairs, and had coffee and cookies (or other delicious treats). Now, on zoom, we tune in fifteen minutes ahead of the official start time to visit with each other, to keep in touch. At hybrid meetings, those gathering at the Timms Centre may arrive half an hour early, and the zoomers join them from 6:45 to 7 p.m.
This week Allan, John and Brendan showed up in person, as you can see from the screenshots. Kadonah returned as a visitor, and Leon tuned in from Coos Bay, Oregon. The chatter included satisfaction at getting taxes done, having a medical file that is not thick but apparently “full of juicy bits,” enjoying a celebration held for a couple who had volunteered for the nature program for thirty years, happy a casino provided free parking and great connectivity (but the next one didn’t), and more I didn’t get recorded.
Our O Canada again featured some interesting scenery, and I, for one, sang along. We welcomed Kadonah Davis back for her second meeting, and were told that our guest speaker from Toastmasters has been postponed to next week.
Wayne was asked to read the Rotary Foundation Moment.
Rotary Unites to Deliver Aid to Ukraine
Rotary members in North America, Argentina, and Europe are collaborating with a U.S.-based association of Ukrainian health care workers and using their connections to collect and ship more than 100 tons of critical medical supplies to Ukraine. Two cargo planes packed with tourniquets, blood-clotting gauze, blood pressure equipment, and other items have already been flown from the city of Chicago in the United States to Europe, where members help unload the supplies and get them to Ukraine. Rotary members in Ukraine, where Russia's military action has caused a humanitarian crisis, are in daily contact with hospitals to determine what supplies are needed most.
North American and Argentine Rotary clubs are combining their resources to purchase items from the list of needed supplies. They're also working with contacts at pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment manufacturers to arrange donations. A hospital in Peoria, Illinois, sent an ambulance, and members in Maine, USA, secured a C-arm, a mobile imaging device that can be used to X-ray people for shrapnel.
Contributions to the Disaster Response Fund in support of Ukraine can be made via the link below. All funds need to be received into the Disaster Response Fund by 30 April 2022 in order to qualify for use in support of the Ukrainian relief efforts. This window has now passed, check with Rotary International if they are setting up further funding for Ukraine.
Leon shared about a podcast to support an NGO sending drones to Ukraine. They are able to cargo drop medical supplies by using drones. Then we were on to our replacement guest speaker, John Brynjolfson, who informed us about joint replacements. Hip replacement is easier than knee replacement, with less pain and a speedier recovery. To save his marriage, I will say an “unidentified” member stated that his wife had hip replacement surgery and can now climb mountains like a mountain goat. Stem cells are popular with a lot of players in the game. For copies of screenshots of John’s presentation (so you can get more details), call Wayne.
John shared the Six Pillars of Good Health: exercise, diet, meditation (including prayer), sleep, avoiding toxic substances, and socialization. To these he added his seventh pillar: volunteerism. Humour was suggested as another source of good health. John responded, “Naturopaths can go by gut feeling, but doctors have to go by science.” Brendan, our program chair, thanked John for coming to our rescue tonight.
The Kyaithani Water and Sanitation Project initiated here by the Port Moody Rotary Club and financially supported by our club has received approval to move ahead. Allan is trying to book an appointment to visit Les Clay, and we were informed about the critical shortage of people for entry level jobs.
Happy and sad dollars for Polio Plus were pledged for pride in a dyslexic son earning 87% on his RV repairs exam, for the Mayor of Honolulu proposing no short term rentals of condos in the city (must stay for at least three months), so Allan won’t be able to afford his annual trip to Hawaii, for taxes being done and working on scholarship applications, for a 55 year old nephew suffering cardiac arrest, for John’s presentation, for the Russians having left Kyiv, for having had eighteen good years on a new hip, and generally for doing good stuff.
We closed by raising our glasses, real or imaginary, in a toast to Canada. Remember, if you cannot make the meeting in person, zoom in at https://zoom.us/j/413459127.
