(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)
RARE EARTH ISSUE
APRIL 24, 2021
VOL. 1 NO. 13
GEORGE WISHES TOMMIE A HAPPY BIRTHDAY
NEWS-NOTES-NONSENSE
TommieM provided a heartfelt intro for Wood River Chief of Police Brad Wells at Thursday's meeting. She recalled his early career job as a "repo man" for a Wood River bank. Brad has had a long career in local law enforcement and plans to continue in his role for a few more years. He recalled taking a career type test in high school and finding out that he was most suited for a career in law enforcement or farming. Not coming from a family with plantable acreage, he chose law enforcement. Brad spent his time talking about the recently signed police reform legislation. He emphasized that he is not against police reform per se, but does not agree with several provision in the new law. He addressed issues with body cameras, continuing education and cash bail.
For the second week in a row we set a new in-person attendance record with 29 smilin' faces dining at Julia's. We also had three Zoomies.
VirtualColor Run registration is under way. Adults are $30, kids are $25. Sponsorships are available from $100 to $500.The event is scheduled for the June 4-6 weekend. It's time to start promoting this great event Here's the link to sign uphttps://bit.ly/3kOlgrp
Early arrivals included TommieM and AllenH.
The lunch buffet featured low country ham, mac 'n cheeze, mixed veggies, rolls, salad and a choice of three cakes.
Birthday wishes to TommieM on the 23rd and PaulH on the 28th.
For those of you who have not yet added a photo of your smiling face to your club profile page, look for RickH to request that you put your back to the wall and pose for a quick maskless pix. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.
Opening duties were provided by BradP, LindseyH and BillP.
RodC mimicked PaulH's patented buffet glide to the food line.
With TommieM's luck with the 50-50 one has to wonder how lucky she is with a pool cue in her hand?
Upon her arrival RhondaB worked the tables hard and provided a friendly reminder about stopping the table talk when there is a someone trying to speak to the room. Please be courteous.
ChrisH wants to know how much BP stock is too much?
Programing note-Every member is responsible for securing a program on their designated date. Our current membership numbers mean that you will need to find a program no more frequently than once every 13 months +/-. Programs are assigned in alphabetical order by surname. Secretary Lori usually sends an email to everyone with upcoming program responsibilities at least a month in advance of your assigned date. If you/your speaker have a conflict with your assigned date please feel free to swap dates with another member. Once your program has been selected, let Lori know so it can be added to the program list that you will find on our web site and in the Eastender News. Our program presenters offer a wide variety of views on a endless array of topics and serve to enrich our member experience. By the way, nothing precludes you from making a presentation on a topic of general interest.
PrezChris recruited PattiA to serve as the lugmeister. We nailed 4 out of 5 trivia Q's. We found out that AllenH doesn't know much about the NBA.
Among the numerous post-nooners we spied RodneyD, PattiA, RodC and LeonardB.
BradP, RhondaB and RickH all had sharable announcements.
LoriP has your pack of 10 Baseball Mania tickets. Each ticket sells for $10. Complete the bottom of each ticket and return with payment to her. We keep 65% of each ticket sold. The contest begins in July and runs 10 weeks. There are 35 weekly winners, from $10 to $250. If you win, look for a check in the mail.
RickH and WendellR each pulled dud 50-50 cards in search of the elusive joker. PaulH won the scratch-off. The $119 jackpot rolls.
A new business called Avelo is about to take off. What do they do?
A-It is a discount airline
B-It makes smart elevator software
C-It is a low-orbit satellite carrier
D-It's a drone-based land surveyor
(Answer can be found at the end of the newsletter)
Today is National Pigs in a Blanket Day
Which of these U.S. landmarks is held together by gravity and friction alone?
Gateway Arch
Statue of Liberty
Washington Monument
Space Needle
The Washington Monument is often referred to as the world’s tallest free-standing masonry structure, but it’s technically not a masonry building at all. Those structures are traditionally held together by mortar, but the giant marble blocks of the 555-tall Washington Monument are held together only by gravity and friction, according to the National Park Service. (There is some mortar on the outside, but its purpose is for weatherstripping.) Built as a memorial to the first president of the United States, the Washington Monument is the tallest building in the nation’s capital — in fact, by law, no building can be constructed in Washington, D.C., to exceed its height. When it was first erected in 1848, it stood as the tallest structure in the world until the Eiffel Tower was built in 1887.
Today in History-
1704 – The first regular newspaper in British Colonial America, The Boston News-Letter, is published.
1800 – The United States Library of Congress is established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress".
1885 – American sharpshooter Annie Oakley is hired by Nate Salsbury to be a part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West.
1913 – The Woolworth Building, a skyscraper in New York City, is opened.
1953 – Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
1967 – Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1 when its parachute fails to open. He is the first human to die during a space mission.
1970 – China launches Dong Fang Hong I, becoming the fifth nation to put an object into orbit using its own booster.
1990 – STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Sourced from the Make-Up and Banner newsletters
Mid-April 2016
PaulG's team won the WR Trivia Night event. Among those who assisted were TommieM, DebK, JohnP and MikeK.
There was a question raised at the EA meeting about the possibility of MarkS paying $60 to park @ Busch Stadium.
The WR club welcomed students Haley Kerpan and Blake Marks.
ErinP had plans to rahab the Citizen's Building...when she won the Publishers Clearinghouse sweeps.
Happy Fines were paid by TommieM, LeonardB, DaleA and MikeK.
WendellR was busy searching Julia's buffet line for his favorite chicken dipping sauce.
TyB presented the program at the WR club meeting.
RandyN recruited ChrisL to help with the SAA duties.
LoriP encouraged all EA members to keep selling Baseball Mania tickets.
PaulG was selling tickets for the District 6460 Cards-Cubs game at Busch.
Breaking news-TommieM won the EA 50-50 jackpot of $168. Some things never change.
TRI-CLUB MEETING 2008
DATELINE:RI
World Immunization Week: Protecting children through lifesaving vaccines
This year's observance of World Immunization Week, 24-30 April, signals a renewed effort to prevent an estimated 2 to 3 million deaths worldwide from vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio, by closing immunization gaps. The extensive polio-eradication infrastructure created by Rotary, its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), and governments and health ministries provides a model for this effort.
Rotary, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) joined together in 1988 to form GPEI with the goal of protecting the world's children by eradicating polio. At that time, the disease paralyzed more than 1,000 people -- most of them young children – worldwide every day. Over the years, Rotary and its partners have reduced the number of polio cases by 99 percent, to fewer than 400 cases in 2014, and there are now only three countries in which polio transmission has never been stopped.
This progress has been won by millions of volunteers and health workers who immunize children in hard-to-reach communities and establish real-time global monitoring and response capacity. The massive infrastructure that's been created, which now encompasses millions of trained health workers as well as best practices and knowledge, can be used to combat other infectious diseases and to undertake other critical health interventions.
"Rotarians have played a key role in bringing the world to the cusp of polio eradication," says Mike McGovern, chair of Rotary's International PolioPlus Committee. "They have contributed more than $1.3 billion to polio eradication, they have petitioned their governments to support the cause, and they have donated countless hours to immunize children throughout the world. These achievements have laid the groundwork for a lasting legacy for the world's children." To continue reading link herehttps://bit.ly/3ajOWIY
AND I QUOTE
"Having one child makes you a parent; having two you are a referee."-David Frost
"It cost a lot of money to look this cheap."-Dolly Parton
"All marriages are happy. It's the living together afterward that causes all the trouble."-Raymond Hull
"Talking about music is like dancing about architecture."-Anon
SMILE
Dad, are we pyromaniacs? Yes, we arson.
What do you call a pig with laryngitis? Disgruntled.
Writing my name in cursive is my signature move.
If you’re bad at haggling, you’ll end up paying the price.
Just so everyone’s clear, I’m going to put my glasses on.
A commander walks into a bar and orders everyone around.
I lost my job as a stage designer. I left without making a scene.
Never buy flowers from a monk. Only you can prevent florist friars.
How much did the pirate pay to get his ears pierced? A buccaneer.
I once worked at a cheap pizza shop to get by. I kneaded the dough.
My friends and I have named our band ‘Duvet’. It’s a cover band.
Why is ‘dark’ spelled with a k and not c? Because you can’t see in the dark.
CARPENTER AUNTS
BY THE NUMBERS
In a survey of 3,500 of U.S. consumers ages 13-64 conducted last weekend, 35% hadn't heard of any of the eight movies nominated for the Academy Award best picture-Guts + Data
Sales of high-heeled shoes fell 45% in 2020-NPD Group
The U.S. housing market is 3.8 million single-family homes short of what it needed to meet the country’s demand-Freddie Mac
The Major League Baseball strikeout rate has increased from 16.4% of all plate appearances in 2005 to 23.4% in 2020
Documentaries were the fastest-growing genre on streaming last year, up 120% from 2019. Drama streaming fell 17.8% in the same period-Parrot Analytics
Americans' membership in houses of worship continued to decline last year, dropping below 50% for the first time in Gallup's eight-decade trend. In 2020, 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, down from 50% in 2018 and 70% in 1999
Americans saved $1.4 trillion in the first three quarters of 2020, or about twice as much as in the same period of 2019-Berenberg’s Economics