Unusual words, Chocolate Trains and Murder & Mayhem - a pedantic morning at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests, Friends,

TM Gail, back in full force, led us with a soothing Buddhist invocation.

TM Aleta researched Merriam-Webster and threw some unusual words at us for interpretation.  We thus soon found out some unusual details...

* TM Jarrett converts bum to fun and his favorite weekend activity is shooting the breeze with pals while sipping from a beer fuzzle.

* I, Ana, am convinced that cattywumpus is the state of mind of feline owners after a connecting attempt with their disdainful pets.

* TM Paolo gave a masterful display of Toastmasterly impromptu cluelessness by even making rapscallion soup.

* TM The Tom would gladly collaborate in rapscallion cooking while reminiscing with funbuzzling and tomfoolery.

* TM Gail's car wavers between quag and mire by acting up and failing intermittently at local traffic stops.

* TM Pam researched teradiddle, a board game played asiduously by teradactile dynasaurs.  She Won Best Table Topics Awards.

* TM Jim G. likes to take brisk walks with bald professors, in what he knows as balderdashing.

Along came the prepared speeches...

* TM Terri reminisced about her childhood and a fantasy chocolate electric train that turned out to be real and took her back and forth to the Hershey factory in Cuba (known to locals as Central Heeersi) She Won Best Speaker Award.

* TM BeckyJo relived the fun she had the night she murdered TM Christine (ahem, never to be seen again) and a few other recalcitrant husbands in a night of mayhem.

And then came the evaluations...

* TM Marie praised TM Terri for rekindling Marie's taste for Hershey's Kisses and for having the honor of being the first exiled Cuban to tell a happy Cuban story, for once!  

* TM Chris loved TM BeckyJo's storytelling skills and begged her to use a real gun next time so she can kill a few more husbands next time.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

PEDANTIC, adjective

One who gives too much attention to formal rules or details; or emphasizes his or her own expertise, especially about trite and boring topics.

Example:  Pedantics are typically pompous know-it-alls, talking about topics of no interest to others.

Here's the link to the recording:

https://www.youtube.com/live/04BmgbMZMUo?si=40EVwO90b9XeQMw8

See you next week!

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Food, Transtrees and Trains - a harbinger of things to come at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

DTM Jim D. got our taste buds in action with food-related topics...  We soon discovered that...

* TM Aleta waits to read restaurant reviews before trying them, but it mostly depends on who's picking up the tab!!

* I, Ana, am a creature of habit and on rare visits to restaurants always choose the same menu item.  Booooringggg....

* TM Marie has a wild array of eateries near her but her choices mostly depend on how hungry she is....

* TM BeckyJo once spilled onion soup on an unsuspecting customer who took it graciously and scooped it off her dress onto her mouth.

* TM Terri's favorite cuisine is Middle Eastern Platter - tabouli, hummus, falafel, babaganoush, baklava, kebobs r'more.- all smothered in olive oil.

* TM The Tom goes for casual or formal - his date calls the restaurant rating.

* TM Randolph now is of the opinion that QR codes to download the menu beat getting sick from the rampant germs on a paper menu, yukkkk!  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

We had two interesting speeches today...

* TM Pam totally threw us for a loop with a transtitled speech "The Trees" which evolved into several roads less traveled - universal unitarianism, gratuitous media fearmongering, and the political divide that is the current harbinger of who knows what.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

* DTM Mary Helen shared slides of a train ride from Poland to Berlin where they made lifelong friends before being booted from the wrong compartment.  She was in full exercise of her DTM cause d'etre (don't time me).

As far as evaluations go...

* TM Gail was dazed and confused by the multiple plot switches in TM Pam's speech and suggested she take a course in "Proper Titles for Polithemed Speeches."  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

* TM Terri praised DTM Mary Helen's vocal variety, clarity and her capacity to miss trains and reunite with her travel partner without missing a beat.

The Word of the Day was

HARBINGER, noun

A person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another.

Example:  

Take courage, for the worst is a harbinger of the best.

Here's the link to the recording....

https://youtube.com/live/An03sWX2-Ck?feature=share

See you next week!

Ana I.

Recap Writer 

Trips, Spanish Fiesta and Maniacal Party Planning - a noetic morning at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Pam inspired us with a Unitarian Universalist invocation this morning.

TM Ricardo then activated our brain cells by having us reminisce about different aspects of travel....

* DTM Jim D's 2 best trips were a transatlantic cruise where he and his beloved tied the knot at 20 knots in the high seas, and a Danube River cruise - both accompanied by the best travel companion ...

* DTM Mary Helen's cruise tips is don't buy the drink package or you'll get chronically tipsy and resign yourself to a weight gain of 5 to 10 lbs.  It's just a must with cruises...

* TM The Tom enjoyed hiking mountain passes in Colorado and narrowly avoided addiction to the brisk pine mountain air.

* I, Ana, had a special feeling in Gdansk, the cradle of Solidarity, the movement started by Lech Walesa which marked the crumbling of Communism.  I Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM BeckyJo went whitewater rafting in Alaska and got pulled over and across the frigid river on a puny stirrup, risking death by hypothermia.  Definitely not on her list of repeats!

* TM Pam thanks her lucky stars that her granddaughter's first tooth fell noisily on the hardwood floor or her stay in California would have been indefinitely extended till it showed up!

* TM Randolph and his wife had a memorable time in the Florida Keys, renting beach cruisers and scooters and acting like kids when they were vacationing without kids!

We had two colorful prepared speeches...

* TM Jose gave a great musical rendition of a Spanish song inviting us to go to Pamplona and run with the bulls, those 1,000 lb creatures that can be deterred by smacking them in the nose with a rolled newspaper - yeah, right!!  He Won Best Speaker and Best Singer Award.

* TM Aleta rewrote her leadership style speech and portrayed herself as a maniacal psycho drill sargeant who throws terrific family reunion parties.  It's all worth it!

 As far as evaluations go...

* TM Marie praised TM Jose for his outstanding descriptive language and for reinforcing her determination to altogether avoid Pamplona in July at all costs!  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

* TM The Tom thoroughly enjoyed TM Aleta's authoritarian style because he agrees it's the only way to get things done with passive, disorganized family members.

TM Ricardo announced that he will be on a cruise next week and contrary to DTM Mary Helen's suggestion, he  bought the drinking package so let's prepare to give him a list of meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous - and the Keto diet - when he returns.  

The Word of the Day was

NOETIC, adj

Of or relating to the mind

Example:  Today's meeting explored noetic concepts we had never noetted about before.

Here is the link to the recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1AIvUpA3UA

See you next week!

Ana 

Recap Writer

4th of July, 4th of July and Leadership - an interdependent Independence morning at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Jose led us with a propos 4th of July table topics.  We found out that...

* TM Chris celebrates the day with double fireworks as it is also her wedding anniversary.

* TM Terri's favorite food for the day are low-sodium hotdogs with sauerkraut, no salt added chips and diet soda.  Yummm

* TM Manny prefers a beach picnic to reminisce about the sea salt processing from his birthplace but now enjoys backyard barbeque to avoid the invasion of sharks.

* DTM Jim D. recognizes the depth of the celebration and prefers to repair than to discard, mostly his appliances.

* TM Ricardo admitted he's a pyromaniac since childhood and almost blew his fingers off with homemade explosives as his family keenly watched.

* Guest Jason's choice city for a 4th of July celebration is his native Chicago, where food is top notch and freedom is of paramount importance.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

Regarding prepared speeches...

* TM Jim G. delighted us with a humorous tale of how we fired King George III in 1776, wrote the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, invented the light bulb, the telephone, the internet (Al Gore), blue jeans, basketball, baseball and adore "no hitters". Go America!!! He Won Best Speaker Award.

*  TM Aleta told us about efficient leaders, who wear a cape and hand out gold stars and are charismatic - not bureaucratic- superheros.

As far as evaluations go...

* DTM Mary Helen praised TM Jim G. for his amazingly patriotic, chock-full of details speech and his musical rendition which earned him an A+ in her scorebook.

* TM BeckyJo encouraged TM Aleta to bring back her speech, edit it, film it, add humor to it and try contact lenses to avoid the glare.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

INTERDEPENDENCE, noun

The dependence of two or more people or things on each other.

Example:  Melodie Beatty is working on her new book "Interdependence outsmarts codependence".  Soon available for purchase!

The link to today's recording is:

https://youtu.be/UHPtIdlVcBQ

See you next week!

Ana I.

Recap Writer