(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)
STAYING BUSY ISSUE
DECEMBER 15, 2018
Cut and paste this link to support our club: https://amzn.to/2DtcGvs
NEWS NOTES & NONSENSE
HOW MANY FINGERS?
A quick recap of our Christmas party and the musings of some of the 30 fine folks in attendance. Thanks to Queenie and her elves for putting the event together, and saving the cake from her rear end collision. "Cakeman" Randy did not bake the cake. He did slice it and passed it off to Bill the server. Lucky us to be able to experience Tony's version of Rotary g-beans. Rod denied that he was around when the first Christmas tree was created in 1510. Bill was especially "thankful" for the table in the corner (you know who you are!). How about those Armor All seat covers and heavy duty Rotary wine glasses? We had a ho, ho, ho time with the funky Christmas trivia. Chestnuts roasting...under an aluminum tree, with a color wheel and a turntable...
On Thursday Virgil presented a program on the very sobering topic of student debt in the USA. There's 44 million of us carrying at least $30,000 in student loans. The long term impact on our national economy is staggering.
MarkV thanked the 16 folks who helped ring the Salvation Army (broken) bells.
Bill appreciated the help of the 18 folks who assisted with the Christmas Wonderland drive thru, especially Joe's well reviewed work as Santa.He even provided "curb service". The lights and displays really look great. Take your family to Rock Springs Park and enjoy the 3 million lights. It runs through December 26th.
What's up with the black grunge tablecloths?
Thanks to Lori and her elves for delivering Christmas cheer and flowers on Friday.
Rhonda wants to know who left the rolls in the warmer too long. She has a traditional Thanksgiving family solution.
Wendell's off to find Deisy in Columbia along with warm temps and cold cocktails.
ChrisL announced that the basketball tournament will be held on February 2nd, only six weeks away.
Look for Queenie to take the gavel from Patty next week. Randy has the program. He promises a "Christmas program".
We welcomed Mike from the Wood River club. MarkS presented a make-up from Hawaii.
Birthday congrats to Ty.
Early meeting arrivals included Allen, Virgil and MarkS. Last among the 23 members in the house were MarkV, BradP, Rod and Patty.
The Chinese Chicken entree may have been our healthiest entree ever. It was accompanied by "solid" rolls, salad, cheesecake and cookies.
Missing Rotarians:Ty, Pat, Darren, Nate, Matt, Randy, Lori, Erin, DaveS, Dick and Jamie. Hope to see some of their smilin' faces at the last meeting of '18.
SAA Queenie and bucketmeister ChrisL took $$ from everyone who did not assist at the Christmas Wonderland event ad/or attend our Christmas party at Tony's. Congrats to Joe for his 19 years as a Rotarian. We sounded pretty good singing the birthday song to ChrisH. Joe presented MarkS with his 2012 Southern Illinois Miner championship "bling" ring. Better late than never? Announcements were forthcoming from Allen, Dave, Joe, BradL and Sherry. Trivia topics included-macrame, John Wayne and rum. We scored 100%. Allen missed the sports Q.
Opening duties were performed by Sherry, Dave and Bill
The $122 jackpot was won by Rick, (YES!) with an assist from card deck warmer MarkS. Sherry did some scratching.
That's all from here, have a fine and dry weekend. Ciao!
IN FROM THE COLD
BUCKET BRIGADE
SANTA'S MET HIS MATCH
OUR ARMY RECRUITS?
TRIVIA
(The answer is found at the end of the newsletter)
In the latest coffee craze, what are people adding to their java?
A-Butter
B-Bacon fat
C-Fermented beet juice
D-All of the above
December 15 is National Cat Herders Day
An average of 31% of people ages 18 to 29 held stock from 2007 to 2017, versus 42% in that age cohort in the years from 2001 to 2008-Gallup
States that have legalized pot have seen a 5% rise in police-reported crashes compared with non legalized states-Institute for Highway Safety
On average, consumers spend 36% of their monthly income on debt repayment and 37% of their monthly income on discretionary expenses-Northwest Mutual’s 2018 Planning & Progress Study of 2,003 adults
In 2017, police officers spent 21% of their time responding to or transporting people with mental illness, according to preliminary data from a survey of 355 U.S. law enforcement agencies by the Treatment Advocacy Center
77% of Americans would be willing to participate in medical research, but 67% have no idea how to get involved-Novartis and Amgen survey of 1, 010 adults
Origins: fork-The dinner table fork takes its name from the farmer's pitchfork. The first such eating instrument was brought to England in the mid-15th century and named for the big fork it resembled in miniature. The pitchfork called a fork is recorded in England more than 400 years earlier.
What is the longest bridge in Europe?
Vasco da Gama
Millau Viaduct
Seven Mile Bridge
Zeeland Bridge
The Vasco da Gama Bridge in Lisbon, Portugal, is the longest bridge in Europe, stretching 12.3 kilometers (7.6 mi). The bridge was opened on March 29, 1998, just in time for the World's Fair that celebrated the 500th anniversary of the discovery by Vasco de Gala of the sea route from Europe to India.
OPPORTUNITY RINGS
You already know that our club volunteers as Salvation Army bell ringers and kettle hawks each year. What you may not know is that all the Riverbend bell ringers are volunteers, and that there are ample opportunities for anyone to serve at one of the several area locations. It's real easy to get involved, everything is done online. Here is the link to get you started. https://bit.ly/2PTw8boShifts are two hours long, from 10AM-8PM, and are available everyday thru December 24th.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
DECEMBER 19, 1996
Current member in a leadership position: Prez BradP, Paul and Rick
Charlie Kunz announced that all the scholarship applicants had been interviewed
We had 23 members in the house
BradP announced a new lunch protocol
Nominees for club president were:Tom Coles, Larry Lacher, Marty Marks and Wendell. Allen was the sole nominee for treasurer
The district was seeking long-term exchange students
The basketball tournament was scheduled for February 8th
Thanks to Carole and Dick Thompson for hosting our Christmas party. Our special guest was Carol Taylor. Prez Brad presented a seasonal memento to each guest.
Do you remember Jim Mihalich?
DECEMBER 2013
DATELINE:RI
LOVE OF SURFING BRINGS TOGETHER 450 ROTARY MEMEBERS FROM 20 COUNTRIES
By Arnold R. Grahl
Renata Valente is trying to keep her marshmallow from falling into the fire. The Brazilian-born Rotaractor, who spent a year in Indiana as a Rotary Youth Exchange student and now attends San Diego State University, is at the beachside Crown Point Park for an event organized by Surfers Unite Rotarian Fellowship (SURF), one of Rotary’s newest fellowships.
Rotaractors and guests roast marshmallows at a Surfers Unite Rotarian Fellowship event at beachside Crown Point Park, San Diego, in April.
The sun has set, but the faces of more than 30 attendees — Rotarians, Rotaractors, Interactors, and guests — glow in the light of the bonfire as they make s’mores and enjoy some music.
“It’s Friday night, and this is exactly what my friends and I wanted to do,” says Valente. “It’s exciting knowing you are going to be able to have fun and be with your friends, but also do something that impacts your community.”
Valente learned about SURF in October 2017, when volunteers from her Rotaract club traveled to Ensenada, Mexico, to help fix up an orphanage. One morning, SURF founder Brett Morey and other members of the fellowship took the volunteers and orphans surfing. Valente has been an active member ever since.
Morey, a member of the Rotary Club of La Jolla Golden Triangle, California, grew up bodyboarding and surfing on beaches from Huntington Beach to Del Mar. Last year, he decided Rotary needed a fellowship centered on surfing. He assembled a prospective leadership team, and at the 2017 Rotary International Convention in Atlanta, he collected the necessary signatures — on his surfboard — to petition the RI Board. To continue reading, link herehttps://bit.ly/2B5PjnZ
AND I QUOTE
"When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane."-Steven Wright
"An open mind, like an open mouth, should close on something."-G. K. Chesterton
"The living owe it to those who no longer can speak to tell their story for them."-Czeslaw Milosz
"I don't havre inspiration. I only have ideas and deadlines."-Stan Lee
SMILE
On the first day, God created the dog and said, “Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this I will give you a life span of twenty years.”
The dog said, “That’s a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I’ll give you back the other ten?”
And God said that it was good.
On the second day, God created the monkey and said, “Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I’ll give you a twenty-year life span.”
The monkey said, “Monkey tricks for twenty years? That’s a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did?”
And God again said that it was good.
On the third day, God created the cow and said, “You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer’s family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.”
The cow said, “That’s kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I’ll give back the other forty?”
And God agreed it was good.
On the fourth day, God created humans and said, “Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I’ll give you twenty years.”
But the human said, “Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay? “
“Okay,” said God, “You asked for it.”
So that is why for our first twenty years, we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years, we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years, we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years, we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.
Life has now been explained to you.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Fifty million apartments and houses, 22% of China's urban dwellings, are sitting empty. Well over half of real-estate purchases in China are now second and third homes-Bloomberg.com
Japan's SoftBank Group has committed $3 billion to WeWork, in a deal that would value the New York based office-share business at more than $45 billion-The Wall Street Journal
International enrollment in U.S. universities has fallen by 6.6%. Last year international students paid $42 billion to attend U.S. universities, most at full tuition -The Wall Street Journal
