New Year, Breakfast of Kings, Boxing and Betrayal for bumfuzzled EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Friends and Guests,

TM Marie inspired us to be a blessing to others in 2024.

TM Chris got us thinking about New Year's Eve-related topics, and we soon realized that...

* TM Terri's marriage began -like many of ours-  one enchanted evening with champagne and strawberries... and ended with "See you in court!"

* I, Ana, have been blessed with a challenging and rewarding 2023 during which life has been fully in session.

* TM Pam concludes that life goes faster and faster, so 2024 is bound to pass with breaknecking speed as she unclutters.   She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Ricardo will spend New Year's Eve in Villa Paramacito, where there's nothing to do except maybe jump in the river.  His sisters and he will surely take the town by storm!

* TM Jim G. avoids New Year resolutions because they have never, ever, ever, even once, come to fruition.  He's planning to celebrate a 2-month wet birthday in January and February!

* TM BeckyJo is a fiery person who grew up in Canada thinking the fireworks on July 1st were specifically dedicated to her birthday.  Ah... sweet bird of innocence...

* TM Marie reminisced about Guy Lombardo's rendition of Auld Lang Syne which, to her, means let bygones be bygones and move on, people!

Along came prepared speeches...

* TM Aleta likened Toastmasters with a healthy nutrition plan: breakfast of kings, lunch of princes, dinner of paupers.  It helps us navigate the complexities of bumfuzzled simplicity  and marks a beginning where there's an end.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

* TM Tom brought us into the world of boxing, where scarface Teddy Atlas was betrayed by Mike Tyson and fired by Cus D'Amato  in the Catskills of NY where Dirty Dancing proved that without fear we can't be brave.

As far as evaluations are concerned...

* TM Marie was awed by TM Aleta's remarkable capacity to make a teambuilding speech entertaining and... teambuilding!

* TM Jim G. marveled at the fact that TM Tom explained clearly -and facing the camera-  how Teddy Atlas's throat scar is a symbol of a bumfuzzled childhood but Teddy was clearheaded when it came to 15-year-old Tyson's sexual advances to Teddy's 11-year-old niece.  Jim won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

BUMFUZZLE, verb

Confuse, perplex, fluster

Example:  Teddy Atlas was not bumfuzzled when it came to 15-year-old Tyson's sexual advances to Teddy's 11-year-old niece and put a gun to his temple, pure and simple.  

Here's a link to the recording:

Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8Tp6xcoqkE

See you next week!

Ana I.

Bumfuzzled Recap Writer

Profound revelations, Ephemeral Life and A Visit from St Nicholas - an elaborate morning at Early Birds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

Returning TM Paula led us with elaborate but not shallow, frivolous Table Topics.  We slowly discovered that...

Alonso del Rio, Andean medicine music man, inhaled a lot of funny things while elaborating theories for Table Topic use, such as Pachamama and Pachakamaq, spirit and matter, the invisible path and absolute and relative unity.  Get it, people???  Alll joking aside, Paula did a great job at Table Topics and stirred our brains into motion.

* TM Chris listens to her mind so as to avoid wrecking her body, dreams of running without a bum knee.

* TM Jose has transcended from material cares to spiritual cares but mostly has become a paella foodie.

* TM Emmanuel (Manny) firmly states that habits are the great teachers of the heart so he's elaborating new habits for 2024.

* TM Aleta has enrolled in Psychotherapy to discern why They Call the Wind Mariah. The wind - both beautiful and whistling with destruction in its path.

* TM Jim G. reminisced of old days when he heard My Peace I Give You, My Peace I Take From You in the House of the Rising Sun.

* I, Ana, am still trying to elaborate who I was, who I am, who I will be, when I will find that last object I lost and be able to improve my daily puzzle ..ment.  I Won Best Table Topics Award.

The last one was Wisdom Costs Flesh and Heart but we were ... saved by the bell!  Pfiiuuuu.....!  

As far as prepared speeches go...

* TM Ricardo reminded us of the ephemeral quality of life when flying around in a home-made motorized lawn chair and a striped awning.  Thank God he's now improved the ultralight trike by using a sturdier beach chair and a polkadot awning.

* TM Jim G. gave us his annual rendition of A Visit from St. Nicholas, of questionable authorship but with Jim G. copyrighted superb, timeless multifaceted backdrops.  He Won Best Speaker Award.

And then came the awaited evaluations....

* DTM Mary Helen praised TM Ricardo for speech technique experimentation and for surprising the audience with exciting adventures.  She can only anticipate the next speech will be Snow Skiing Ahead of an Avalanche in Kilimanjaro".  We can't wait!

* TM Terri appreciated TM Jim G. (aka St Nick) for his enthusiasm, his baritone voice and for bringing a timeless poem to life in front of our very eyes.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

ELABORATE, verb or adjective

Verb:  to develop or present an idea in detail.  Example:  She planned an elaborate wedding celebration and now is planning an elaborate divorce commemoration.   

Adjective:  involving many carefully arranged parts or details.  Example:  The elaborate Edible Arrangement was devoured in an instant.

Below is the link to the recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8m9hVWgbOs

Merry Christmas!  Feliz Navidad!  Joyeux Noel!  Buon Natale! S Rozhdestvom! (for our missing Russian guests)

See you next week!

Ana I.

Elaborate Recap Writer (methinks)

Christmas Trivia, Arti General Intelli, Find Your Passion - an authentic morning at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

As we began self-introductions, TM The Tom puzzled me with a tale of Athena and her daughter Telemarketer.   We also found out that joining our meeting was Yoodli (pronouned "Yodeling (by the side of the lake), Toastmasters' Artificial Intelligence and vying for the job of Recap Writer. 

We proceeded to Table Topics, and I, Ana, stimulated thoughts about the non-conventional side of Christmas.  We soon learned that:

* TM Randolph indulges in guilty pleasures and totally ignores healthy foods over Christmas.  We're all with you, TM Randolph!

* TM Ricardo likes his ex-wife and would give her a Poinsettia, but his ex-girlfriend... that's another story and besides, she's in an undisclosed location.  No Poinsettias for her!

* TM Jose once shorted his entire neighborhood stringing up Christmas lights and is now trying again with LEDs... good luck, Javea!  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Paula created the line of "Weird" Barbie from her grandma's gift - she chopped the hair, dyed it, permed it and maimed the doll for posterity.

* TM BeckyJo refuses to name female Rudolph "Rudolpha" but will wokely agree to use she/her/they for all the raindeer.

* Guest Millie does NOT agree to combine Halloween and Christmas, no siree - two parties are better than one!

Along came two fantastic speeches...

* TM Pam left us in awe of AGI (not to be confused with Adjusted Gross Income) but Artificial General Intelligence which allows us to draw vertical lines while acquiring "Bette Davis' Eyes'. Buckle up, everybody, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

* TM Chris found her passion in technology but is currently auditioning to be a sultry singer at a local night club for the technologically advanced.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

With regards to evaluations...

* TM The Tom displayed a stopwatch and alerted TM Pam that they are to be used, not ignored.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

* TM Randolph praised TM Chris' hand gestures and asked for her autograph for her rendition of Auld Lang Syne.

TM Terri was our first-time General Evaluator and handled the role with grace and authenticity.

The Word of the Day was

AUTHENTIC, adj.

real, actual, not false or imitation

True to one's personality, with no pretensions

Example:  To be authentic, one must learn to draw intersecting diagonal lines to form a cross or signify "The X Files".  

Here's the link to the recording:

https://youtu.be/_ifFAm5xV74

See you next week!

Authentically yours,

Ana I.

Recap Writer 

Would You Rather... Fort Liquordale and The Inner Cheerleader - a morning with rizz at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

After an inspired Invocation by TM Terri M. and a hilarious un-Hallmark joke by TM Aleta, TM Jim G. launched us on a thought-provoking Would You Rather Train of Thought.  We discovered that...

* TM Marie would rather meet her Lithuanian great-grandparents than her future great-grandchildren as she would give them unsolicited advice and it would not go well.

* TM Emmanuel would rather have World Peace than End Hunger although sadly the UN, the WHO, Unicef and the rest of them have failed miserably at it.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Pam would rather be stuck in a ski lift than in an elevator with some people deserving to receive the un-Hallmark cards.

* TM Tom would not like to either rewind life (and have to do it all over again) or pause life (and prolong it). It's definitely a no-win in his eyes!

* TM Terri would rather have a salad than soup because she's not a soup connoisseur and associates soup with the sniffles.  TM Terri had the spontaneous phrase of the day pre-meeting by asking "Where Have The Days Gone?"

We then got to prepared speech(es)...

*I, Ana, having lived in a cave for 41 years, just recently found out that the Fort Liquordale name originated during Prohibition, not during Spring Break.  Who knew?? I Won Best Speaker Award in a highly contested race.

* TM Jocelyn Tyson, 2023 TM World Champion, regaled us with her journey to a Triathalon, and asked us Would You Rather be a self-critic or a self-cheerleader?

As far as the evaluation goes...

* TM Chris learned the true origin of Fort Liquordale rumrunners and suggested I stand up to give speeches so I can get rid of my Mafia Files.

The Word of the Day was

RIZZ, noun

Generation Z slang that means style, charm or attractive to plain or romantic relationships.  Presumably derives from charisma, but in the world of Generation Z, or maybe Alpha, who knows.

Example:  Authenticity is the key to having rizz - and playful, flirty banter too!

Here's the link to the recording:

https://youtu.be/eKUaUIsOisA

See you next week!

Ana

Recap Writer with Rizz