Legendary Quotes, Distinguished Clubs, Shakespearean Swine, Think and Grow Rich - very instructive EarlyBird meeting

 

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

To get us started on this  Peak of the Week Thursday (TM Paolo’s original quote) I, TM Ana,  introduced some quotes from funny people…

 

• TM Chris wondered how language originally developed from grunts, screams and identifying the source of our distress, to Berlitz School of International Language for Chronic Complainers.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.
• DTM Jim D. reflected that life has up and down moments and escalators, it’s tit for tat, and to be both amazed and happy, we need to remove politicians and replace them with real people.
• TM Jim fondly recalled “Uncle Milty” and corroborated that when life gives you lemons, you need to build a door with a loud door knocker.
• TM Randolph, popularly known as “Hat Rack” for his multitasking (and multiparenting) capabilities, finds it challenging to slow down.  Thanks for all you do for our Club, TM Randolph!
• Our other multiparental, TM Paolo, believes pain is gain at the gym and welcomes lessons at the University of Failure  while sipping a café longo.
• TM Carmine appreciates Mark Twain’s political commentary stating that arrogant people, as their description attests, are really arrogant.
• TM Jeff and his fiancée are singlehandedly keeping the U.S. Post Office in business by stamping Thank You envelopes for events that haven’t even happened yet.

 

As far as prepared speeches are concerned…

 

• DTM Kip showed us TMI’s 10-point Matrix for attaining Distinguished President’s Club while going up the down staircase of life and marveled at his innate capacity to make a dull topic fascinating for the rest of us.  Go Kip!!
• TM Aleta, heretofore to be known as “The Bardess of Avon, West Pennsylvania” regaled us with a tale of Three Diminutive Swine, the third of which hailed from the American Colonies and started the campaign “Made in the USA” long before wolves devoured bricks.  She Won Best Speaker Award.
• DTM Mary Helen silently disagrees with TMI’s Communications Style survey.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, she thinks and grows rich by tap dancing on the divine power of the Universe.

 

As far as Evaluations go…

 

• TM Chris praised DTM Kip for filling in the program voids, and bowed down in reverence.  In an almost-unprecedented election sweep, She Won Best Evaluator Award.
• DTM Kip urged TM Aleta to take her Tale of Swine in Stratford-upon-Thames to the humorous contest, where she will be able to run around and act out.  We, as a Club, need to match commercial TV if we’re to get anywhere in the TMI World of Contests.
• TM Jeff admires DTM Mary Helen’s contagious energy and enthusiasm and then he lost audio and left the rest to our imagination….

 

The Word of the Day was

 

GRATITUDE, noun

The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation and to return kindness.

 

Example:   Living by the Mamas and the Papas’ little ditty (wokefully modified) rather than a platitude, will elicit musical gratitude from our loved ones:

 

Words of love, soft and tender
Won't win a person’s heart anymore
If you love them then you must send them
Somewhere where they’ve never been before
Worn out phrases and longin' gazes
Won't get you where you want to go

 

Dates to remember:  Sept 9, Club Humorous Contest.  No breakout rooms required.

 

here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npbWBtBU_HA

 

 

See you next week!

 

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Idioms, Tales Of A Former Hippy, Sight Unseen, A Man With A Plan - a great morning at EarlyBirds

 

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

We were happy to welcome our traveling Toastmasters, Chris, Jim G.,  Mary Helen and Jim D.   Sounds like that old movie “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice”.  DTM Kip zoomed in from Western New York State, so we had a full house.

 

TM Aleta started us off with noteworthy idioms.

 

• TM Lois’s grocery shopping recently cost her an arm and a leg, so much so that she hobbled back to her car after such a debacle.
• TM Chris learned to keep her ear to the ground in Wyoming, where the bison – elsewhere known as buffalo- freely roam.
• TM Marie, a veteran of many childhood carnivals, recommends to keep your eye on the target and forget the prize – or else you’ll miss both.
• I, Ana, usually keep my head in the clouds, daydream and fantasize, and before you know it, the debacle happens when the Wyoming buffalo/bison come roaring through.
• TM Pam reminisced about the good old days when we could all lend a hand to one another, before the collective hyperawareness of those pesky free-floating germs.
• TM Jim G.  has words on the tip of his tongue all the time and wakes up his spouse at 2 am to blurt out the wrong word which invariably causes an ignominious debacle.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

 

We were in for a real treat with the prepared speeches today…

 

• TM Jose, the speaker formerly known as The Hippy Of Montana, regaled us with a hilarious tale of his assimilation near-debacles and left us with a vivid picture of a city slicker in burgundy bell bottoms, an Afro do and a fur-collared leather coat  buying ammo at the gas station.  He Won Best Speaker Award.
• TM Tom expanded our knowledge of the inspirational story of Ann Sullivan and Helen Keller, who believed life is a daring adventure or it is nothing, and that worse than being blind is having sight but no vision – a condition which many of us suffer from at times.
• DTM Kip gave us insider tips of how to make the website look current by simply changing the dates and instructed us never to let engineers near the customers or we will definitely lose the sale.  He’s a man with a plan!

 

As far as evaluations….

 

• TM Carmine praised City Slicker TM Jose for his entertaining, delightful and impactful speech which included use of a handy car survival kit – which is now needed to travel 10 miles on I-95.
• TM Paolo highlighted TM Tom’s clarity of diction and good choice of words which create visual stage charisma.  Watch out for the light reflecting on your eyeglasses!  He Won Best Evaluator Award.
• DTM Jim D. commented that DTM Kip avoided his usual levity and described the development of a plan – quite remarkable as Kip is currently out of his natural habitat.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

DEBACLE, noun

 

A sudden and ignominious failure; a fiasco.

 

Example:  A debacle is a handy label for controversial situations.  Based on our opinions, we pick and choose what we term a debacle and what we minimize or ignore, and hurl our gems at captive audiences. 

 

Date to Remember:  Humorous Speech Contest, September 9.

 

YouTube Link for today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj2yM_yKxzo

 

See you next week!

 

Ana I.

Recap Writer

 

A Memorable Icebreaker, Evaluation Contest and Returning Travelers, all in a day's meeting

 

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

Our Icebreaker Speech Evaluation Contest happily witnessed the return of our wandering Toastmasters Mary Helen, Chris and Jim.  Welcome back, friends!

 

Our newest Toastmaster, Lois, shared part of her life in a speech entitled “Who is Lois?”  which encapsulated her brio and zest.  Every morning is The Best Day Of Her Life!  Go Lois!

 

And we had outstanding Evaluation Contestants which made for a tight competition:

 

• TM Marie commended Super Woman TM Lois for interweaving her survival skills throughout the various phases of her life.  She Won Third Place.
• TM Jeff’s initial worries proved unfounded as TM Lois transitioned smoothly between segments; he suggested she work on the camera angle and her lighting, and pointed out that the speaker simply acknowledges the person who introduced her.   He Won First Place.
• TM Paolo remarked that vincit qui patitur – he who endures, overcomes.  Or, as simply said by Caesar, inventor of the salad, “Veni, vidi, vici” – translation: no anchovies, please.  He Won Second Place.

 

While votes were scrutinized for hanging chads, then counted and recounted, we engaged on some Table Topics led by Contest Master Kip:

 

• TM Chris likes to work behind the scenes (where she expertly runs everything) instead of competing.  Like Vince Lombardi, she does not for the life of her understand why scores have to be kept.at the
• TM Tom thought he was at a Tall Tales Contest and told us about his great-grandfather, who killed Bill Clanton (great grandfather  of Hillary’s husband with a different vowel) and Frank McLaury at the Not-So-Okay Corral in Tombstone Territory.   He Won Best Table Topics Award, hands down.
• TM Aleta recently had a F2F picnic for all ages on her back yard for her Western Pennsylvania Toastmasters Club.  Word has spread and today she had Jim and Chris show up on her driveway.
• I, Ana, have not been in a gunfight but have imagined killing a few as in death by stabbing.
• DTM Mary Helen had a critical husband and Presto! He was quickly converted into an ex….

 

DTM Kip handled the nuances of a Zoom contest with utmost finesse and knelt  in prayer every so often – it worked!  The Breakout Room entry/exit situation went without a hitch!

Chief Judge Carmine reminded us of the Code of Ethics and urged derelicts to send in the signed Judge Eligibility Forms.  He kept us on track!

 

TM Jose pondered how EarlyBirds feels different at 7 am than at 1 pm when he joins from the other side of the pond….  Ah, that pesky time travel!

 

We had 3 of Lois’s good friends who joined to support her and were asked to return for a regular meeting – Zoom contests can be a little confusing….

 

Here is the Link for YouTube recording: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LabvkR1LTbo

 

Ahhh.  It feels just like old times!

 

Dates to Remember:  Sept 9 – Humorous Speech Contest

 

See you next week!  Arrivederci….

 

Ana

Recap Writer

 

 

Positive Leadership and Successful Investing - a Beguiling EarlyBird Meeting

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

In a wildly unprecedented induction with a beguiling and elusive Breakout Room, we welcomed our very own Toastmaster Lois.  Greetings, TM Lois!!

 

TM Carmine led us in Andy Rooney quotes for table topics.  We then learned that….

 

• TM Pam compares love to those beguiling puppy eyes when you first meet, then 40 years later when you question your choice, and then 20 years after that when you rejoice in your choice, if only you could figure out who is that other person with the beguiling puppy eyes you’ve spent your life with.
• TM Jose, zooming in from Fort Lauderdale, stated that every child comes with a loaf of bread under their arm… until the age of 12, when they become beguiling demanding monsters, which led him to get a Bank of Dad Is Now Closed T-shirt that he wears on his roughest days.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.
• TM Paolo informed us that sitting at the peak of the mountain is not only uncomfortable but also lonely.  The climbing is more fun although then you must inevitably hike down from the pike.
• TM Lois stated that she definitely improves her look inexpensively with a smile; in fact, she always smiles – even when it hurts.

 

 

In the prepared speeches….

 

• TM Marie reminded us that optimistic people work more, while pessimistic people worry more and at the end, it all boils down to 2 questions:  can I trust you?  Do you care about me?  Ah… therein lies the dilemma…. Until you find out, develop GRIT and look around with those beguiling puppy eyes….
• TM Jeff convinced me to implement new daily behaviors:   From now, I will resist market dips and swings, work on my risk tolerance, study the regulations of FINRA and SEC, manage volatility, give up trying  to outperform markets, remember that less friction yields better performance (also a good marriage formula) and will memorize the attached smart diversification prior to our next meeting.  He Won Best Speaker Award.

 

And along came evaluations…

 

• TM Randolph posed a critical question to TM Marie:  bullet points or pointed bullets?  The answer indicates whether her hand gestures were adequate.
• TM Aleta praised TM Jeff’s sincerity and credibility; however, some of us are not astute financial foxes, so please break down your speech into at least 10 individual speeches to help us accept and embrace the collective wisdom.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

BEGUILING, adj.

Charming or enchanting, often in a deceptive way.

 

Example:  Beguiling Samantha of the TV series “Bewitched” moved heaven and earth with a simple wiggle of her nose.  Ah…. Life was so much simpler then!

 

Dates to Remember:

 

• Our Evaluation Contest will be held next Thursday, August 12, Breakout Rooms permitting.  TM Lois will double up as Test Speaker and Icebreaker Speaker.

 

• The Humorous Speech Contest will be held on Thursday September 16 so Kip can explain us the hows and whys of the contest after returning from a 2-week visit to a Breakout Room.

 

See you next week!

 

Ana

Recap Writer