Cogitator March 19, 2014

VISITING ROTARIANS

Guy Alba, a past president of the Providence Rotary Club, joined us for lunch.

GUESTS

Jane Boynton invited her boss from Best Tile, Ben Mednick.  Harry Barney was a guest of Bill Sequino.  Susan Duncan, a publisher who hails from Michigan and recently moved to East Greenwich, was also with us (she called the Rotary hot line to find out more about the club!). 

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Warm happy birthday wishes from the club go out to Juan Osorio (March 14^th) and Past President Richard Waterman (March 23^rd).  And, very happy wedding anniversary wishes go out this week (March 25^th) to Sergeant at Arms Jim Essex and Past President Janet Essex. 

MARCH 26^TH ‘BROWN BAG’ LUNCH

We will meet next week, March 26^th, at New England Institute of Technology on Division Road in East Greenwich.  The Rotaract Club will install new officers, and we’ll help celebrate afterwards with a nice Caribbean style lunch.  The cost will be the usual $15.  Also on hand will be Tim Chace and Pat Page from East Greenwich High School.  Please park in the back lot, and head to Room 3330.

R.Y.L.A.

Bill TenEyck noted that Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) conference is coming up—April 19^th to April 21^st.  Please see Bill if you would like to nominate someone for attendance.  It’s a great event, one which can really make a difference in the lives of local kids. 

WINE AND WONDERFUL

Jane Boynton reminded us that the Wine and Wonderful gala will be on Friday, March 2^nd, at the Swift Community Center in East Greenwich.  Tickets are only $35, and a table of ten will cost only $320.  Please make sure to bring at least one bottle of wine and a gift certificate of at least $10 for the evening’s ‘wine grab.’ 

LITERACY COMMITTEE

Karen Taylor is looking ahead to two more visits to the London Bridge Child Care Center—one in April, and one in June.  Karen is looking forward to the trips there, since they are always such a positive experience with the young children.  Please see Karen if you’d like to attend one or both, and, if you’d like to volunteer for book labeling prior to the visits. 

FEINSTEIN HUNGER CHALLENGE

Don’t forget to keep on filling up (as much as you can!) those WalMart shopping bags Sue Dorne gave you.  All of our food ‘units’ will be matched dollar for dollar by Allan Shawn Feinstein at the end of April.  Also, for two weeks in April, our happy bucks will go to the Hunger Challenge totals. 

PRESIDENT JODI

Ed Neff reported that President Jodi Gladstone ‘looks great, and is feeling great’ after her recent surgery.  As always, we’re thinking of you Jodi and wishing you all the very best…!

SO LONG, GABRIELLE…

Ed also mentioned that Chianti’s general manager, Gabrielle, will be leaving the restaurant next week.  Gabrielle has helped make Chianti’s such a cozy home for us on Wednesdays, and thus, we’re sad to see her go.  Best of luck, Gabrielle! 

HAPPY BUCKS

-Vin Meola was thrilled for PC’s victory in the Big East championship game, and he shared a few crocodile tears for Jacoby Elsbury’s first injury as a New York Yankee.

-Janet Essex thanked Doctor Bob Miller, saying ‘I can finally see again!’

-Kathy McMahon had a nice time at a Connecticut spa.

-Karen Taylor enjoyed the world famous St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Newport on Saturday, and Monday she was able to get together with her family for a traditional Irish meal. 

-Judy Pratt gave a reminder buck for the Scott Carlson ALS 5K race, and she shared posters and registration forms for the big event on Saturday, April 19^th.  ‘We’re only 4 weeks away!’  Judy also thanked Bob Miller for his service as a board member of the RI ALS Association. 

-Andy Erickson was glad to see his friend and Providence Rotarian, Guy Alba.

-Anne Marie Charland gave a ‘go Bruins’ buck for their 10-game winning streak.  Also, she saw daffodils poking up out of the ground recently! 

-Bill Winter’s daughter Catherine is heading to Disney World, thanks to the straight A’s on her report card!

-Dave Iannuccilli recalled working with Guy Alba at the Outlet company ’50 years ago!’

-Bill Sequino was happy for St. Joseph’s Day today!

-Chuck Sauer welcomed Anne Marie Charland on the committee for Wine and Wonderful. 

-Bill TenEyck had a planes, trains, and automobiles kind of week, including getting stuck on the highway during a 50-car pile-up in Ohio, and, plane troubles while coming back from Michigan.

PROGRAM/SPEAKER

Tim David, Mentalist

Tim David gives the illusion of reading minds through simple human connections.  He’s not psychic, nor, he joked, is he ‘psycho.’  He teaches people how to connect with one another more deeply, more effectively, and more meaningfully.

‘If we want to influence the future, we must influence the present,’ Tim said, while preparing to throw a crumpled piece of paper into the audience, although first tricking us into thinking he was about to throw a baseball. 

He noted while it’s true the quantity of communications has increased immeasurably over the past decades, he pondered, ‘What has really happened to the quality?'  His answer was, ‘…startlingly poor!’

The mind is amazingly powerful.  The trick is to plug in more effectively, to be more aware of one’s surroundings.  The mentalist has the power to help people connect with one another.  By simple persuasion, he can help move people to action. 

The crumpled, thrown paper trick turned out to be pretty fascinating—since he correctly predicted that the three of diamonds would be selected by two audience members!

Tim called his demonstration a fun blending of social psychology, behavioral psychology, intelligence, memorization, and body language.

He also cited a statistic indicating the power of the brain, and, of the subconscious:  while the active/conscious brain can process several items at one time, the subconscious can process millions of things at once.

A very entertaining and interesting presentation…!

Tim David, Mentalist