Useless Fun Facts, Bloggers and Stuffed Sausages on Pathways - another fun morning at EarlyBirds

 

Dear Members and Friends,

 

TM Marie started us off on a fun ride down the fun path of useless information. 

 

• I, (Ana) am easily horrified by the Nature Channel at Jim D. and Mary Helen’s home where the cat tortures a gecko before eating it in front of their very eyes.
• TM Aleta wistfully reminisced about rainbows and lollipops, so tied in with her overall love of nature.
• TM Tom waxed poetic with “heart of gold and lots of sorrow, that’s the one that looks for tomorrow”…  luckily he picked well when he came to EarlyBirds.
• TM Jim G. concluded that he is not an attraction to the other sex – fatal or otherwise.  Hence he’s managed to stay alive and happily married.
• TM Jim D. didn’t have to learn parenting rules from “E.T. – phone home”(like the rest of us)  because he kept close tabs on his only daughter, who was a good kid anyway.
• TM BeckyJo concluded that the thing about ambiguity is that it leaves you not knowing – profound revelation of the morning.  She is convinced though that Butch and Sundance survived the brutal fight. The former moved to Uruguay to eat beef and the latter went on to become an indy film festival.   She Won Best Table Topics Award.

 

Unsolicited opinion from the Recap Writer (one of the perks of this role):  Although Table Topics today were based on classic movies and their changed endings, the actual topics were adaptable to audiences of any age.  So they were perfectly appropriate.  Ah… the tricky durability of celluloid…. Before it all became digital, on-demand and pay-per-view.

 

Then came the prepared speeches…

 

• TM Pam is by now a professional mover… and a professional blogger at Blogger.com.  6weeks2move.blogspot.com; grayhairgapyear@blogspot.com and 12oakdale.blogspot.com.  After all this blogging, she has finally realized that IT’S ALL ABOUT HER!!!  She Won Best Speaker Award.
• DTM Kip has well-oiled persistence muscles and, once again, took us down the labyrinthine but clear as mud path of our beloved Pathways.  Next Wednesday is New Year’s Eve in Toastmasters so the motto is “Pathways For All”.  A virtual celebration will be held at the stroke of midnight.  Login info to follow.  He Won Most Improved Speaker Award.
• DTM Mary Helen told us about her only emotions: hunger and more hunger.  These insatiable emotions are counteracted with wine and chocolate.  She wavers between feeling like a stuffed sausage and wanting to look like Twiggy (a twiggy-like runway model of the 60s with painted-on bottom eyelashes).  Google it:  google.com/twiggy-painted eyelashes.  Please call 1-800-BOMBONS for more information. 

 

In terms of evaluations….

 

• DTM Jim D. praised TM Blogger Pam for her good body language and wants a signed free copy of her (3) blogs-turned-into-books.  Pam reminded him there is no such thing as a free blog-converted-into-a-book lunch.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.
• TM Chris gave DTM Kip First Prize Award for Persistence in Pathways but has ambiguous feelings about 6-month projects in Level 5.  She is persuadable though. 
• TM Aleta clearly remembers Twiggy and following TM Mary Helen’s inspiring idea, is going to try her teenage earrings on herself to see if they fit.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

BEST GIFT

Meaning:  Best Gift

 

 

Link for the YouTube Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3nVJe_CqOk

 

See you next week!

 

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Black History Month, Peace Be With You And I Don't Know - A Little Bit Of This, A Little Bit Of That at Early Birds

 

 

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

TM BeckyJo inspired us to some impromptu revelations…

 

• TM Jose would definitely like to have a quick, painless death – preferably while enjoying his wife horizontally.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.
• DTM Jim D. is going to keep his rock n’ roll career going as long as his ticker keeps ticking – then he wants to go quickly and painlessly too!
• DTM Mary Helen relished the thought of being a poetess – dressed for the part in velvet and satin robes and lots of jewelry. The challenge is to find the intellect to compose verses about love and justice in the world.  Stay tuned - she’s inspired!
• TM Aleta’s best negotiation took place a few years back when her salary as a mediator was gender-discriminated vis a vis her male counterpart and By Golly she spoke up!
• TM Jeff’s best ever dining experience was one enchanted morning when he walked into a certain Denny’s and met all of us.  Oh Jeff, that’s heart warming – especially since you already won the Presidential election of EarlyBirds….!
• TM Jim G.’s greatest creation is without the shadow of a doubt… his mustache!  His other half, TM Chris, right-sized his ego when she didn’t even notice he had shaved it off for a good long while.

 

And then we had prepared speeches…

 

• TM Mildred educated us about certain Black History facts:  Juneteenth (June 19, 1863) the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Slaveowners intentionally kept this secret from the interested parties for a long time.  Emancipation Park in Houston – purchased by blacks- was the only unsegregated park until 1950 (87 years after it was purchased), and the Rosewood Massacre in Florida back in 1923 was another ignominious event.
• TM Aleta describes herself as a professional peacemaker and inspired us to find peace within ourselves in the midst of chaos by following some rules - essentially, go back to watching soaps on tv and don’t read the papers.  Gardening, meditation and collecting dog hair for fur coats are some good calming practices.  She Won Most Improved Speaker Award.
• TM Chris entertained us with humorous tales of her various  RVs:  Oh Boy, Big Boy and Little Boy, chock full of awe-inspiring pictures of mountain ranges and canyons. In a bizarre twist, the skeleton of a T-Rex pet being walked on a leash by the skeleton of a child kept popping up.  We’d like to think they both died quickly and painlessly while in horizontal positions with their significant others.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

 

As far as evaluations…

 

• TM Jeff commended TM Mildred for her rich speech in heart-rendering parts of U.S. history and Black History.  He suggested she look directly at the camera and avoid fumbling with papers as it might distract the audience from an otherwise exceptional speech. 
• TM Joe praised TM Aleta for her passionate, inspiring speech – like a bridge over troubled waters (sung to the tune of Bridge Over Troubled Waters of Simon Says and Garfunky fame).  He Won Best Evaluator Award.
• TM Carmine was very inspired by TM Chris’s On The Road Again speech and the progression of RV sizes  reminded him of Goldilocks and the Three Little Bears who had a porridge addiction and are currently in a 12-step program.

 

The Word of the Day was….   Yes, you guessed it:

 

INSPIRE

 

1. Urge or ability to do something, especially creative.
2. Breathe in

 

Technical Tip of the Day:

 

A good camera is a good thing to add to your computer.  For more info, consult our tech gurus, who so generously give of their time and expertise.

 

Below is the link to the recording of today’s meeting.

 

YouTube recording http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-SwpWVE4gw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-SwpWVE4gw

 

See you next week!

 

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Rose Petals, Life Bloopers and Rainbow Safety Codes

 

 

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

TM Jim G. was inspired by June (origin: Juno, the Roman Goddess of Women, who likes roses – especially live ones):

 

• DTM Kip associated the color red to allegedly color-blind bulls in bullfights but mostly reminisced about his faux pas of bringing dead flowers to his beloved, who did not act so belovedly for a while after that. Clueless to the nuances of rose bouquets, he expects female understanding and compassion.  Oh, puhhhleeeze, Kip, cry me a river!
• TM Carmine has bought more flowers to his wife in the past 13 years than he did in his entire previous life of 70 years.  His wife does not hesitate to demand an explanation when he comes back empty handed from a trip to Publix.  “He loves me, he loves me not”….
• DTM Mary Helen is always happy and appreciative to receive flowers and although the color orange represents pride, orange does not become her. However, after doing the pilgrimage The Way, starring Martin Sheen, (El Camino) in Spain, she witnessed the Gay Pride Parade in Madrid and it was definitely an event to remember.
• TM Mildred likened yellow, the color of friendship, to a childhood friend of hers – they have been there for each other in good times and bad, they talk to each other every day, and this friendship has lasted for 69 years, and still going strong!!
• I, TM Ana, issued  many judgments about opulence (symbolized by the color purple)  and concluded that being Nouveau Riche is far better than being Old Poor.  I Won Best Table Topics Award. Since I was also Vote Counter, many in the audience demanded a recount.  Luckily, in Zoom we don’t have to deal with hanging chads…  Pfiuuuuu….

 

Along came the prepared speeches….

 

• TM Joe delighted us with a humorous speech called “My Life’s Blooper Reel” – which started off with what could have aptly been named “My Cousin Vinnie (and Vic)” relating to a morbid fascination the cousins had to learn where toilet contents end up. More recently, his proclivity for bloopers took him to wear cowboy boots on the NYC subway after a downpour.    Guess how that one ended….   He Won Most Improved Speaker Award.
• TM Marie practiced a speech about Parks and Recreation Safety and Security and reminded us that Awareness + Action = Prevention in the face of summer camp.  She took us down a rainbow patch labyrinth of Safety Codes – oh how we miss the good ole days of hiding under your desk to avoid nuclear fallout! She Won Best Speaker Award.

 

As for evaluations….

 

• TM Chris praised TM Joe’s humorous speech which had us all in stitches (no pun intended) and asked him to deliver his next speech sitting on a wrought iron chair with spikes on the seat back to avoid a look of comfty familiarity such as the one he displayed today.   
• TM Tom highlighted TM Marie’s comprehensive, all-inclusive Safety and Security speech which left no color code unturned.  He suggested she toss the notes for the real speech to maintain a steady, laser-like eye contact with her already terrified audience.  It always works.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

GEST

1. A tale of adventures, especially a romance in verse.
2. Adventure, exploit

 

Register for free to the TM Zoom Conference this weekend and watch expert storyteller DTM Kip talk about the Elements of Storytelling on Friday at 4 pm.  Look for his email. Zoom audience capacity has been enlarged to 1000, so you can still squeeze in.

 

Below is today’s recording.  Thank you as always to our tech gurus, Jim and Chris.  Without their generous help and expertise, most of this would not be possible.

 

YouTube Video Recording https://youtu.be/di-jjuhKsno

https://youtu.be/di-jjuhKsno

 

 

See you next week!

 

Ana

Recap Writer

Seclusion jubilation, Titan Toastmasters, Homebuying 101 and Amiguita, Drop Your Weapons - EarlyBird Zoomers

 

Dear Members, Guests and Friends:

 

DTM Jim D. stirred us awake with memories of seclusion while slowly re-emerging with jubilation:

 

• TM Joe has been vigorously doing pushups and situps but his 9-lb weight loss is a result of a professional haircut, aptly named HAIRVID-19. 
• Virtual reality has allowed TM Jim G. to synchronize Happy Hours with friends in other time zones – hey, it must be 5 o’clock somewhere – and besides, you just fall over anywhere in your house without any inconvenient driving, for Covid’s sake.  DUIs have significantly decreased with the advent of Zoom.
• Returning TM Ellen witnessed domestic violence from customers who went Postal at the Post Office – very apropos- and took it outside, the long line of customers following them  – forget shipping the package- to watch the unjubilant couple drive off with the wife sitting on the hood of the car.   Just goes to show the Post Office will always be the Post Office, quarantine or no quarantine.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.
• TM Aleta has lively conversations with her appliances, but she has some heated exchanges with her low bandwidth, unstable wifi computer that are not fit to print.  Beautiful flowers are a good tradeoff, though.
• Guest Terri has a stuffed pet which constantly reminds her she’s not alone.  After years of therapy, she  is considering getting a real pet soon.  Terri has reduced her Ahs by 50% since last week.  Go Terri!!
• TM BeckyJo pondered whether a hermit knows he’s actually in quarantine or not.  One of her friends – and we won’t mention any names – has inspired her to start a new 12-step program for Zoom addicts.
• If she only had the time…. TM Chris knows without the shadow of a doubt that there is simply never never never ever enough time, but that’s because Procrastination is her middle name.  More on that story, later… (pun intended).

 

Then came the prepared speeches…

 

• TM Jeff talked about how fortunate he is to have landed in EarlyBirds, a club that has structure and continuity.  As our incoming President, he is following in the steps of Titans, ie TM Carmine, and will lead the club to a hybrid, all- inclusive world of Denny’s skillets and geographically-challenged  Zoomers.
• TM Lisa compared selling/buying a home to riding a wave. She gave us very practical tips, namely depersonalize, detach, sniff for realtor selfishness, and concluded that just like the old adage “men are like buses, there will be another one in 10 minutes,” so are homes. She Won Best Speaker Award.
• TM Astrid transmitted peaceful thoughts and challenged us to let down our weapon of anger, which no longer serves us, to uncover our pain, sadness and confusion. She Won Most Improved Speaker Award.

 

We had great evaluations…

 

• TM Joe commended TM Jeff for a good speech and pointed out that the Rev Al Sharpton is shorter than he appears in our rearview mirror, so don’t count on him to reach up to high shelves.
• TM BeckyJo spoke on behalf of many of us by praising the cohesion and organization of TM Lisa’s speech. She didn’t have to remind herself to “Be Kind” because it was the opposite of a rambling speech. She Won Best Evaluator Award.
• DTM Mary Helen praised TM Astrid for the passion in her speech, her feelings were in plain sight for all to see, and her self-reflection and introspection shows a lot of jubilation (TM Carmine was in 7^th heaven with all the rhymes and alliterations).

 

An impromptu segment has been added to our meeting regarding Zoom Practical Tips.  Discussion ensued and no definitive conclusion was reached as to whether our camera presence ought to emulate TV anchorpeople or simply emulate British character actors on stage.  Both easy choices. More to follow.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

JUBILATION, noun

Feelings of great happiness

Ex. Queen Elizabeth II recently celebrated her Golden Jubilation (Jubilee?)

 

Please allow me to digress and ramble. In Spain, retirement is called Jubilacion (probable origin: jubilation one feels when retiring)

 

Here is the link to the YouTube recording, https://youtu.be/RxJEv1cobVA

 

See you next week!

 

Ana I.

Recap Writer