Spring Has Sprung, Icebreaker, A Modest Proposal and Wingin' It - another virtual EarlyBird meeting

 

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

Third time’s a charm – EarlyBirds is getting better and better in Zoomworld!!

 

TopicMaster Marie started us off on the topic of Spring….

 

• TM Joe curbs his confinement impatience by looking at the robin’s nest outside his home office window with its beautiful blue eggs awaiting their time to hatch.  Nature goes on, inexorably… He Won Best Table Topics Award.
• Former EarlyBird TM Astrid, eternal fashionista and lasting friend, as a current New Yorker said:  “Conventional fashion?  Foggeddabboudit…  Do what you want; wear what you want.”
• TM Aleta will spend this out-of-the-ordinary Easter donning an Easter bonnet while downstreaming Church services at home, thinking of Easter lilies and anticipating with gusto her scrumptious Egg Salad sandwich Easter dinner.
• TM BeckyJo thinks of Spring Cleaning as making space -getting rid of unused things for donations or the trash.  It cleanses her of her resentment for Spring Cleaning.   A prior saver of useless things, as she has grown older, she’s become more brutal (in her own words) and discards relentlessly.
• Guest Maria told us of family gatherings in her native Russia during the month of May.  Other activities included picnics and kebabs.  Truly a revival time. 

And then came the prepared speeches…

TM Lisa, who deals with stress with humor, told us that she takes this situation very seriously but if she’s learned one thing and one thing only from it, it’s: try not to make out with strangers or at least wash your hands vigorously before you do. Handwashes galore keep the virus outside the door.
TM Pam transitioned haltingly from virus-free Okinawa, Japan to virus-ridden Key Biscayne* (*Note from the editor: Key Biscayne is a Hispanic island strategically connected to the United States by the Rickenbacker Causeway). She modestly proposes a world of Arm Band wearers – virus-survivors, virus-carriers and virus-ignorers. Sort of a Who’s Who of Virusdom. She Won Best Speaker Award.
In a sudden turn of events, TM Jeff cold-turkeyed all of us who so badly wanted to heckle him and told us about life at his college fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, regaining their Frat House when he pledged. In hindsight, he identified all the cracks – unrealized potential drowned in free-flowing booze until the House of Cards fell – giving name to the future Netflix miniseries. He Won Best Speaker Award. We reserve the right to heckle him VERY SOON.



As to evaluations…


TM Carmine praised Lisa for her clearly defined words, her sound advice and in our Zoom world, suggested she look straight into the camera to connect with her audience.
DTM Kip rejoiced that TM Pam is back, praised her for avoiding politics in her speech and suggested she clean her camera lens because her image looks washed out. We have all become tv stars, whether we like it or not.
Former TM Jose pointed out the suspenseful lead-up to TM Jeff’s speech, praised the fact that he did not use notes or read his speech and suggested he keep his eyes on the camera while delivering it. Jeff needs to work on vocal variety but the clarity of his diction is remarkable. He Won Best Evaluator Award.



Lest anyone forget, Grammarian BeckyJo virtually gave (2.) Coronavirus ball eerie lookalikes as Best Grammar Trophies. The recipients’ names seniorly elude me at this point. You know who you are..



See you next week!



Virtually yours,



Ana

Sargeant-at-Arms