Odd Idioms and Loving Tributes - Love is EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

I, Ana, got us thinking about idioms.  We came to learn that...

* TM Jim G., zooming in from Bexhill-on-Sea, UK, right next to Stratford-upon-Avon and north of Surrey-on-Thames, cannot for the life of him jolly well figure out what a dime a dozen means, since a dime is 10 and a dozen is apparently 12.

* TM Chris stays away from rotting kettles of fish because the smell takes her breath away in a very fishy way.   She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Randolph pondered that a caboodle is something with wheels and the whole kit must be the wheel of fortune.

* DTM Mary Helen has no idea of the price of onions but it's brutally impacting their budget because she cooks them every single day.  Onion allergy sufferers need not visit.

* TM Marie reflected that people need to be responsible for the animal in their life (may include -but not necessarily- their spouse) to avoid barking up the wrong tree.

* DTM Jim D. is considering that a blowtorch may help straighten out a Spanish bull's horns.

Along came the prepared speeches...

* TM Tom reminisced about the days of yellow hip huggers in MIami Springs until he got trapped into loving ownership of a camouflaged Shih Tzu, purely descended from a Lhasa Apso and in reality a loving tiger.

* TM BeckyJo lovingly recounted the many adventures of her creative Dad, including building a silver Taj Mahal in their front yard,  and the counterinsurgency measures of her Code Enforcement whistleblower Mom.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

As far as evaluations go....

* TM Marie praised TM Tom's story within a story, with vivid language, varied vocal variety, deep vulnerability and a reminder of the importance of Cracker Barrell.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.  

* DTM Jim D. was impressed with TM BeckyJo's vocal clarity, perfect diction and her uncanny ability to make us reflect about taking the long and winding road to start a rolling food truck business.

The Word of the Day was

LOVE, noun 

An intense feeling of deep affection ; a great interest and pleasure in something.

LOVE, verb

Feel deep emotion for someone or something

Example:  Falling in love with love is a curious thing - sung to the tune of The Power Of Love. by Huey Lewis and The News.

Here's the link to the recording:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igfcO2KQAzk

Stay tuned for more!  See you next week

Ana

Recap Writer

Zany Table Topics, Speech Preparation and a 5 to 7 minute life story - a resilient morning at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Friends and Guests:

TM Aleta led us in very original, zany "What Else Could This Be" visual table topics.  We corroborated that some of our members are quite sadistic.

* TM BeckyJo sees a harmless chair as a torture device to off the elderly under the guise of Yoga, Pilates and the like. If you're over 80, don't move to Oregon with BeckyJo!  Just sayin....  She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Val uses umbrellas as rain collectors and disappears in the upside down virtual world.

* TM Tom uses golf tees to pick his teeth, clean his ears and shove it up his grandkids' noses to get their attention.

* TM Marie uses paper clips to pop locks and get into her yoga class clandestinely.  Everything to become a serene yogi.  Yeah, right.

* TM Pam's grown sons haul their drunk friends around in wheelbarrows, in a game of bar hopping USA.

* TM Chris removes the base from a lalique lamp and uses it as a hat at the Kentucky Derby on Easter Sunday, while trying to find an electric socket to light it up.

* TM Randolph's kids convert melon ballers into an ice cream scooper for dolls, a helicopter ride and other multifaceted uses - all within several minutes.

* DTM Mary Helen uses her gazillion trophies as mosquito collectors to drive away the possums and raccoons partying in her back yard.

* TM Jim G. uses the sands of time as an arcane celebration to move antique furniture.

* I, Ana, used fishing hooks to ensnare boyfriends, later husbands and exercise a catch and release program.

Then came prepared speeches...

* TM Pam was a captive audience to an unprepared, boring, incoherent public speaker.and signed him up for Toastmasters on the spot.

* I, Ana, recapped my life within 5 to 7 minutes and removed my virtual background to avoid disappearing like Val did.   I Won Best Speaker Award.

Regarding evaluations....

* TM Tom praised TM Pam for her well organized, well crafted speech and recommended throat lozenges to avoid a raspy throat.   He Won Best Evaluator Award.

* TM Randolph enjoyed my personal storytelling while wearing a scarf that for once matched my blouse.  

The Word of the Day was

RESILIENT, adj.

Able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions; to bounce back.

Example:

EarlyBirds are resilient; we join on Thursdays from any corner of Panet Earth.

See you next week!

Resiliently submitted,

Ana I.

Resilient Recap Writer

Movie Quotes, Answering The Call and Long Tall Ana, a NON-trivial EarlyBird Meeting

Dear Members, Friends and Guests,

TM Randolph evoked the tricky durability of 80s films by way of memorable quotes.  We soon found out that...

* TM Jose brought us back to maverick crotch rockets and F18 hornets, and eternal youth acquired via devilish pacts.

* TM Aleta recited "How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Grains of Sand" (from E.A. Poe's "A Dream Within A Dream"). She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Marie pined over the song "Stand By Me" and spoke about the incredible commitment that it entails, which is sometimes downright Goofy.

* TM Chris had trouble buying tickets at a post-apocalyptic metro station,  but was rescued by Crocodile Dundee, here in South Florida known as Iguana Dundee.

* TM BeckyJo thinks "First Blood" must be a vampire movie and if arrested and thrown  in a Mexican jail, her friends would definitely smuggle in some chimichangas to her.

* DTM Jim D. missed some movies while climbing the aviation corporate ladder but in case of emergency, he'd wear a back sign saying "Follow Me".

* TM Jim G. talked about "I'll have what she's having" and stated unequivocally that when chemistry happens between 2 people, noise ensues.

We had two prepared speeches...

* TM Tom has childhood memories as a coal miner's grandson and sang John Pine's "Paradise" with guitar strumming punctual DTM Kip.

* I, Ana, told a speech about being "Long Tall Ana" by Chiquito Ricardo, and disappeared into the virtual ether in a game of "Where's Ana?" instead of "Where's Waldo?" I Won Best Disappearing Speaker Award.

And along came the DAYS' evaluations....

* DTM Jim D. praised TM Tom's tribute to DTM Kip, who fortuitously knew the comeback line to most classic songs and had a keen eye to select our EarlyBird Club Secretary. in perpetuity.

* DTM Mary Helen D. liked my ability to turn tall negatives into tall positives and at the height of it all, she evaluated it up to me.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

In loving tribute to DTM Kip, we watched his speech on Mentoring in Toastmasters.  Thank you, TM Chris, for queuing up these speeches for us to learn while keeping his memory alive in the group!

The Word of the Day was

TRIVIAL, adj.

Of little value or importance.

Example:  Huge fines were imposed on those who engaged in trivial pursuits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPaykVd1Gw4

See you next week!

Ana I.

Recap Writer 

Either/or

Either/Or, Then/Now, Never/Always - an impeccable day at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,  

Impeccable as ever, TM Jim G. led us down a world of either/or.  We found out that...

* TM Marie believes that " What the World Needs Now, Is Love Sweet Love" (sung to the tune of What The World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love) to end hunger.

* I, Ana, would much rather dangle frozen in a broken skilift than hover in a sardine can of a broken elevator.

* Ever the fashionista, TM Paolo would rather be Uomo Ragno because the outfit is very colorful and cheerful and he likes climbing up vines.

* TM Val would rather lose her keys than her un-backedup cellphone.  She has now signed up for a Geek tutorial on backups.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* Ever the rebel when given 2 choices, TM BeckyJo must pick a third - not x-ray vision, not hear-plus, but invisibility- to do both.

*TM Aleta did not consider being blinded by the light when spontaneously looking straight into the inexorability of the sunrise. 

We had two outstanding speeches from impeccable speakers...

* TM Chris calmly and serenely taught us how to make our pictures depict a world of sharp contrasts, bright colors and eternal youth. It's called ambiance, ambiance, ambiance and adds je ne sais quoi to wrinkles.

* DTM Mary Helen made a public announcement that appearances can be deceiving so always choose heaven no matter what, and are we going to overcome our deep loss and tweet on as the impeccable EarlyBirds that we are?  Yes, we are!!!  She Won Best Speaker Award.

As far as evaluations go....

* TM Pam praised TM Chris for her seamless, impeccable, sparkling Toastmaster speech  and Pam is now undertaking a beautifying project from her grandfather's archaeological photo treasures.

* TM Randolph thoroughly enjoyed DTM Mary Helen's heaven and hell example - which went along the lines of his earlier joke of the day.  He also liked her expressiveness, hand gestures and awesome pauses. And mostly her pink lipstick.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

In loving tribute, we played a video of the late DTM Kip giving an impeccable icebreaker about coming to terms with uncluttering.

The Word of the Day was 

IMPECCABLE, adj.

(said of behavior, performance, appearance) in accordance with the highest standard of propriety.

Example:  EarlyBird members display impeccable Zoom etiquette at all times.

Here's a link to today's recording.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taw3-1SJJu8

And here's a link on how to make yourself look 30 years old in photos,  especially if you are 30 years old.

Here's a whole 45 minute Geeks YouTube show: https://geeksontour.com/2022/02/228-how-to-beautify-your-photos-with-the-free-snapseed-app-for-ios-and-android/login

See you next week!

Ana 

Recap Writer