Yellow brick road, Volunteering and Impersonating - a graceful morning at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Aleta led us in Table Topics based on the counterclassic The Lizard of Roz...

We soon learned that...

* TM Val begins with the end in mind, ends with the beginning in the middle and pauses at the halfway intersection.  It's that simple!

* I, Ana, admitted that brainless people are very talkative and that includes me!

* TM Paolo's Italian/US commute hourglass is almost empty and he's facing the fork on the road - qui o la?  He's considering the road more or less traveled....By general consensus, he is not allowed to leave EarlyBirds.

* TM Randolph would turn back if it were him, and start up if it were him as well. What to do?  Decisions, decisions....

* TM Tom thinks we must face change even when our practical hearts get broken.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

* DTM Mary Helen concluded that nothing is not useful to her but something is useful to her, thus creating a grammatical labyrinth.

Along came the prepared speeches from our resident Js...

* TM Jim G. led a kayuba (kayak + scuba) team in mangrove garbage pickup and was altruistically graceful in the after eco-party.

* DTM Jim D., as a 17-year-old,  impersonated Senior Management of large company DEARS by wearing a spiffy black suit while his Senior Managers in jeans rearranged the shelves.  He Won Best Speaker Award.

We had great evaluations...

* TM Tom got hypnotized by TM Jim G.'s easy, relaxed delivery and snapped out of the trance with a dash of vocal variety pepper.

* TM Chris was impressed that DTM Jim D. turned a dress code snafu into a lifetime career of turning clothing companies around.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

Our Toastmaster of the Day, DTM Mary Helen, was the calm amidst the storm.  She gracefully thanked our outgoing officers for their outstanding service to the group:

President - TM Paolo

VP Education - DTM Kip

Sargeant-at-Arms - TM Randolph

Secretary - TM Tom

VP Public Relations - TM Chris

VP Membership - DTM Mary Helen

Treasurer - DTM Jim D.

and welcomed our new slate of officers, starting next week:

President - TM Randolph

VP Education - DTM Mary Helen

Sargeant-at-Arms - TM Marie

Secretary - TM Tom

VP Public Relations - TM Ana

VP Membership - DTM Mary Helen

Treasurer - DTM Jim D.

By unanimity, DTM Kip is our Emeritus VP of Education (Emeritus: former holder of an office, having retired but allowed to retain their title as an honor).

General Evaluator TM Pam thanked our Tech Guru, TM Jim G., for his outstanding support of the tech aspects of our meetings, providing audio visual aids and making it all seem effortless and fun.

The Word of the Day was

GRACE, noun or verb

noun:

1. simple elegance or refinement of movement.  Ex. She swam with effortless grace.

2. courteous goodwill. Ex. At least he has the grace to admit his debt to her.

verb:

do honor or credit to (someone or something) by one's presence. Ex.: She bowed out from the sport she has graced for 2 decades.

Link to the YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i3FNlP6H54

See you next week!

Ana I.

Recap Writer

A Loving Tribute to Kip, the Grand Poobah of Quite A Lot - EarlyBirds Meeting

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

Ably led by TM Chris and the Master of Visual Effects, TM Jim G., we laser-focused on roasting and toasting DTM Kip, the heart and soul of Early Birds, and whose blood type is admittedly 0+Toastmasters, universal mentor.

We were delighted to see many former members and lasting friends, a.k.a. Kip's Fan Club, even if some were sleepwalking at 4 am their time.

We discovered that....

* Jerry did Kip's first evaluation... and they remained friends all these years!

* Kirsti is a DTM only because of Kip

* Astrid sends Kip besitos, besitos, besitos

* Christine is in the Pole Dancing Olympic Team, all because of Kip

* Charu survived VP of Ed role only thanks to Kip

* Shirley discovered that Kip is really a closet hippy.

* Aleta held on as a remote member for 2 decades because Wizard Kip foresaw that Zoom was coming.

* Mildred had to get married and move to Orlando just to avoid being lifetime group treasurer.

* Jim D. has inherited the title.  Just a fact of life.

* Marie lives in an intergalactic universe of love

* Val thinks Wizard Kip is truly Sean Connery in disguise

* BeckyJo still cannot believe she belongs to a club that meets at 7 am, all thanks to Kip

* Jose is thinking pondering considering contemplating doing Pathways, all because of Kip

* A whole bunch of people in this group are still married only because of Kip's Marriage Encounters of the Third Kind.

* Other marriages broke up anyway but optimistically remarried shortly thereafter to apply the teachings of the seminar and get their money's worth.

* Mary Helen eats magic brownies and goes to Kip's birthday parties one month in advance.

* Chris has the best collection of EarlyBird pictures on Planet Earth.

* Jim G.'s boss, whose name shall remain anonymous, brought him to EarlyBirds.

* Miki found out that Kip likes to eat Japanese chocolate wearing a mask.

* Carmine's heartfelt note to Kip won the Brevity Award.

* I, Ana, am still under Kip's incantation as I write this recap.

If I missed you, please see the recording.  I suffer from intermittent CRS (can't remember squat).

We discovered that the word Kipper means BIG FISH.  There are no coincidences.  

The Word of the Day was

CHIPPER, adj.

Cheerful and lively

Example:  EarlyBird has the power to make us chipper in the wee hours of the morning.  Wanna feel chipper on a Thursday morning, California people?  You know where we are....

Let's just think for a moment how many DTMs (Distinguished Toastmasters), how many Competent Communicators and Competent Leaders (in the olden days of manuals) and how many Level V in one or more of the 11 Paths in Pathways have come through under the tutelage of Kip.  It's truly remarkable.

Thanks, everyone, for making this tribute possible, and thank you, Kip, for being in our lives.  We love you!!

Here's a link to the meeting recording:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZs3fUzBCB8

See you (or some of you) next week,

Ana I.

Chipper Recapper

Summertime, Va Bene and SB2508 - an evanescent morning at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

I, Ana, brought up summer activities.   We soon learned that...

* TM Jose much prefers to jump over waves than jump into bonfires as the inebriated locals do for fun and for more free sangria.

* TM Jim G. played Slip 'N Slide on flat terrain and prayed not to trip and crash into surrounding rocks and crevices.  He'd rather go jump in the lake.

* DTM Mary Helen enjoys summer stargazing after she concluded that it's quite darn silly to stargaze in cloudy winter nights.

* DTM Jim D. enjoyed picnics in the park as a rowdy kid where he could cause destruction with no parental retribution.

* TM Aleta's remembers Barf Cans - yes, you read that right- in those glorious summer camp  nights.

* TM Scott's wisdom and heart calcifications have curtailed his former addiction to Fairy Dream Banana Splits.  He Won Best Table Topics Award. 

* TM Randolph's adolescent daughter has suddenly developed a taste for other books after being given a list of parental mandatory summer reading.  Yeah, right.

Along came the prepared speeches...

* TM Chris's speech was a feast of audio and visual imageries while she found her voice in a little town in Tuscany where copious amounts of spaghetti fiorentino are consumed by writing workshoppers to the rythm of Va Bene! Va Bene!  She Won Best Speaker Award.

* TM Tom introduced Ralph, his environmentalist cat, who supported the veto of SB 2508 that allows evanescent waters to become effervescent and also bioluminescent.  

As far as evaluations are concerned...

* TM Aleta recapped TM Chris's trip to Italy as Eat, Write, Love.  Ti voglio bene!!

* TM Scott pondered about the significance of tomato, tomatoh, potato, potatoh in the context of Aquafire.   He Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

EVANESCENT, adj.

Vanishes quickly, like vapor

Etymology:  Evanescere, to vanish 

Example: Most people take evanescent to mean effervescence, phosphorescence and the feeling you get after imbibing lotsa sangria and jumping head-on into a firepit.

TM Randolph has given new meaning to the word multitasking.  He successfully morphes into various roles in front of our very eyes - va bene!  

Link for the YouTube today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaewQlYH-WI

See you next week!

Ana 

Recap Writer

Reminiscing, Whatever, Mimi's Strategy and Change of Plans - a memorable day at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Aleta took us down memory lane reminiscing about childhood events.  We learned that....

* TM Randolph is impervious to physical pain which requires multiple sutures and a tetanus shot.

* DTM Jim D.'s grandma was a merry widow when she married his merry MYOB (Make Your Own Beer) grandpa.

* TM Jim G.'s wise and worldly teenage sister Debbie at times gave him disconcerting advice.

* I, Ana, spent joyous Christmases in my early days in Havana, followed by a disconcerting decade, to be subsequently recaptured again for my progeny. I Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Pam's all-time favorite childhood memory is digging clams in the cold Pacific waters after enduring warm Florida waters.

* TM Tom's uncovered family secret is that his great grandpa was involved in a shootout with the Dalton Gang in Coffeeville, Kansas - straight out of a John Wayne movie.

Along came the prepared speeches...

*  DTM Mary Helen overcame being disconcerted by a cheeseless bruschetta (correctly pronounced by her) pizza and got a free cannoli as a prize.

* TM Marie (Mimi) successfully survived germ-carriers and mastered Eat, Pray and Love while living to tell her great grandchildren about the olden days of Zoom.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

* DTM Kip showed his grit in overcoming a health challenge and displayed his chipper Southern and Irish core while asking for our unfaltering adoration.

And lastly, we had great evaluations...

* TM Chris was transported back to Roman ruins by DTM Mary Helen's speech and Prego! Prego'd her way to being excavated from them by Moose.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

*  TM Pam praised TM Marie's outstanding vocal variety and Zoom mastery while suggesting she emulate the Royal Family's disconcerting fascinator hats.

* TM Tom highlighted DTM Kip's humor and bravado which are an inspiration to all of us and will inexorably point us to pick a Pathways, once and for all! .

The Word of the Day was

DISCONCERTING, adj.

How we feel when things are not going right.

Example:  Filling in meeting roles at the last minute is no longer disconcerting for EarlyBirds - now it comes naturally.

Next TLI:  June 18.  Look out for more information.

TM Randolph performed the role of Presiding Officer impeccably, giving us a taste of things to come!

Link for the YouTube recording http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo1rxCv889A

To get updates on DTM Kip, please visit www.caringbridge.org and write his name in the search box.

See you next week!

Ana

Recap Writer

Hurricane Season, Journeys and Inspiration - a sublime morning at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Scott launched us off on a Hurricane Preparedness Plan.  We soon learned that...

* TM Jose feels like a sirocco whirlwind while sipping New Orleans Hurricanes while a plane drops off ice cubes right on his backyard in Javea, Spain.

* I, Ana, am hosting all EarlyBirds at a sublime and ridiculous after-storm party with a generator that runs the house and mixes fabulous drinks, too!  I won Best Table Topics Award.

* DTM Mary Helen waits for her namesake storm to protect and defend the perfect shape of her ficus tree.  

* TM Marie will sing Should I Stay or Should I Go during the onslaught of the storm to prevent the hurricane straps from loosening up.

* TM Val waits for the last-minute prep to wait for the angry winds while living in the closet.

* TM Pam knows that herons hunker down with their transmitters and the ibis is the last bird to leave.  That's why she moved to Orlando.

* TM Randolph is quick on prep, long on partying.  Perfect formula for stress management.

* DTM Jim D.'s storm prep consists of stocking up on vintage years of his favorite red wine.

We, as a group, devised the PERFECT Hurricane Preparedness Plan:

- The night before the storm, over to TM Randolph's for partying.

- The day of the storm, over to TM Marie's for some group singing

- The day after the storm, over to Chez Moi (Ana's) for some hot showers.

And then we moved on to our prepared speeches...

* TM Aleta once again delighted us with her pathways whirlwind which led her from Level 3 of Intellectual Property to Level 1 of Engaging Rumors, back to Level 2 of a Freebie Pathways, traversing the Cloud from a stateless McRonald's to a Garage Starclink which resulted in stable audio strength.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

* Guest Speaker TM Taylor inspired us all with his Cross-Country Zoomerang, after overcoming intense obstacles and starting a non-profit for other Zoomerangers.

Regarding evaluations....

* TM Tom praised TM Aleta for her zeal, zest and zebralike humor which helps her emote across the screen.  

* DTM Mary Helen commended TM Taylor for his inspirational speech and for never taking no for an answer.  She suggested he extend his speech from 6 to 8 to 15-20 minutes to avoid stressing the Timer.   She Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

SUBLIME, adj or noun

Of such excellence, grandeur or beauty as to inspire awe.

Example:  Life itself runs the gamut between the sublime and the ridiculous.

I will include the link to the recording in a subliminal email.

See you next week!

Ana

Recap Writer