Spirits, Killers and Sanhain (pronounced Sawein), a ghoulish morning at EarlyBirds

Dear Ghosts, Ghouls, Goblins and Gretins,

TM Pam ghosted us with Table Topic apparitions.  We intuited that...

* TM Skull Jose, who has lost considerable weight and looks definitely skeletal, crushes the spirit that tries to penetrate his skull - he will not succumb to a good ole spirit.

* TM Madhatter Marie's flesh is weak when it comes to chocolate, which she learned to evulliently steal from her father's gift boxes.

* TM Queen Roslyn is moved by the spirit of church music on weekdays.- why wait for Sundays?

* TM Cat Terri has heard that on Spirit Airlines it's likely they will fly you to the netherworld but hey, the price is right.

* DTM Mary Helen Cleopatra would go to Mexico for Day of the Dead to partake in the cemetery rituals and have a graveyard smash with lotsa tequila.

* I, Glenda Witch Ana, will reminisce about my days as Cruella De Ville on Halloween Puerto Rican style by downing a cauldron of rum-laced coquitos.  I Won Best Table Topics Award.

We had (2) spooky speeches...

* TM McDonald's Aleta met a rich cook at a logging camp near her house who got murdered by an envious diabolical Irish hunter and TM Aleta found the cook's moneybelt on her property.... We won't tell....

* TM Gail revealed that Celts started Sahmain (pronounced Sawein) by carving ghoulish faces on turnips till vampires realized they would not bleed and resorted to human hemoglobin.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

As far as evaluations go...

* TM Graduate The Tom praised TM Aleta's use of a hunter's hat and an ex to recount a tale from the crypt in her back yard.

* TM Barbie's Father Uomo Elegante Paolo marvels at the sinister trajectory of a pagan holiday into a multi-billion consumer industry.  He recommended that Gail wear camouflage next time.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

DTM Jim D. kept track of the witching hour every step of the way.

TM Party Pooper BeckyJo did manage to disappear on us.  She was last seen flying away on an Electric Mop.

The Word of the Day was

EBULLIENT, adjective

This seemingly innocuous word raised a passionate discussion about its pronunciation, first syllable?  second syllable?  Midwestern accent? Miami Cuban accent?  Pick your choice or alternate.

It means effervescent, appealingly lively and enthusiastic.

Example:  If you drink a carbonated drink, it will transform you into an ebullient soul.

Here's the link to the recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQBendGM8wE

See you next week!

Ana Illsen

VP Education

Strategic Topics, Six Degrees of Separation and The Bible Tells Me So - an intransigent meeting of EarlyBirds - NOT!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Marie led us in relationship explorations.  We were led to believe that...

* TM Roslyn's ability to be flexible and adaptable professionally is working well for her as she launched a singing career and health and wellness for seniors.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* DTM Mary Helen is an extroverted introvert who needs alone time with no distractions and thinks solitary confinement AT WILL would work well for her.

* TM Gail's strongest sense is her sight - she is a photographer of the animal kingdom and injects some good humor into her art.

* TM Paolo is adapting to change right now, having moved his  numerous offspring back to the US and they are all having to give up intransigence for teenage survival of the smart i-phoneless.

* I, Ana, have realized that I am not the center of anyone's universe because guess what? they are the center of their own universe.  Who knew???

* TM Jose is most confident about what he doesn't know, trivial facts that he pulls out of a mysterious compartment in his brain called improvisation...

* TM Terri treads carefully in the next chapter of her life while having fun with Humphrey (Bogart) her new guard dog in tow.

Along came two interesting prepared speeches...

* TM The Tom presented Part II of his speech about a psycho aviation board member who became his hospital roommate and life infused the former psycho intravenously with a dose of humble pie.

* .TM Aleta told us a biblical story about Elimelech. Naomi, Boaz the Intransigent Law Follower, Ovid, Jesse, David (pre Goliath) who lived in Moab (currently Jordan) and taught us that those who trust, head straight for the buffet dessert table.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

And lastly, we had excellent evaluations...

* TM Paolo called TM The Tom the Michelangelo of Speakers and reminded him to look at the camera instead of the multiple Zoom squares.

* DTM Mary Helen enjoyed TM Aleta's biblical story "A Different Kind of Love" which was not too racy but involved a land parcel which became a highrise condo as the years went slowly by.... and which we can apply to our modern lives.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

INTRANSIGENT, adjective

A person who refuses to compromise or abandon an often extreme position or attitude.

Example:  A person's intransigence may be another person's extravagance, but it is always riddled with insolence.   Huh???

The link to the recording is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJa2y4FQpXg

See you next week at the Graveyard Smash!  

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Idioms, Meditation and Being Heckled - a fugacious morning at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Aleta inspired us with popular idioms about body parts.  We were surprised to learn that...

* TM Tom triumpantly reported the EMS personnel who were there in his time of need were a truly a sight for sore eyes.  Welcome back to our effervescent joy, Tom!  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

* I, Ana, took a wild guess that using elbow grease refers to car mechanics deciphering the labyrinth of car parts in the engine and getting their elbows dirty.

* DTM Jim D. highly recommends that chickens and turkeys avoid sticking their neck out, especially around Thanksgiving.  Otherwise their lives will truly be fugacious!

* TM Gail is tired of all the politicians who speak with forked tongues and cannot wait for them to speak with knived tongues so they can chop their own tongues off, once and for all!

* TM Paolo has often had something on the tip of his tongue but it's ready to be spoken in Italian and he doesn't say it because his listener is monolingual (in English).

* TM Terri's father was a good man but very pessimistic so she keeps her chin up, especially about chocolate, which, as the old saying goes,"a minute in the lips, forever in the hips".

And then came the prepared speeches...

* TM Roslyn invited us to start our day by dropping - even if fugaciously - into meditation, to refresh and replenish our cluttered minds.

* TM Pam masterfully dealt with a disruptive audience - an interrupter, a chatterer, an arguer, a talker, an electronic device enthusiast, compulsively commenting in the chat. We had a great time and TM Pam humorously dealt with it.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

Regarding evaluations....

* TM Paolo praised TM Roslyn for her effective pace to allow us to discern, digest, process, metabolize and refresh, recharge and restart.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

* TM Marie praised EarlyBirds for being the best hecklers on Planet Earth and also praised TM Pam for her effort to practice, practice, practice, putting up with us.

The Word of the Day was

FUGACIOUS, adjective

Lasting a very short time; ephemeral; short-lived, transient

Example:  Love's fugacious radiance wanes into a more stable companionship.

Dates to Consider:

Club Level Contests (to be conducted by January 14, 2024)

Tall Tales

Humorous Speech

District Level Contests 

Table Topics

Evaluations

International Speech - must have completed Level I and Level II in Pathways

Here's the link to the recording:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS7QII_AH9g

See you next week!

Ana I.

Sagacious and Perspecacious  but not Fugacious Recap Writer

Disasters, Old Siam and Wild Obsessions - an amply sufficient morning at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

DTM Jim  D. skyrocketed us into disaster topics...  We found out that.

..

* TM Jim G. puts outdoor furniture inside but mostly fixates on the omnipresent Cone of Uncertainty, hoping to send rain up to fill up TM Aleta's crick.

* TM BeckyJo has become overly cautious after Hurricane Wilma caught her off guard and she ended up kayaking through her neighborhood at the behest of Weatherman Bryan Norcross.

* TM Marie deals with the hurricane that forms in her mind when she realizes thoughts are spiraling like tornadoes. There is always calm at the center of toilet paper hoarding.She Won Best Table Topics. Award.

* TM Roslyn goes into the inner space of her windowless laundry room at the sound of tornado sirens.  No curiosity whatsoever to peek outside.

* TM Aleta's then-husband was The Lineman of the County ( to the tune of Wichita Lineman by Glenn Campbell) but restored his own power last.

* TM Chris has experienced earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes in her RV , and she prefers earthquakes rather than watching Jim watch the Cone of Uncertainty.

Along came prepared speeches...

* TM Jose took us down a fascinating tour of his future trip to Thailand, where he will visit Chung Rai, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, and last but not least, the PeePee Islands , where he will snorkel to watch Thai fish and attend a Black Thai gala where he will enjoy a Sukkhotai dinner.  We can't wait for the apres ski... errr, apres-tour.

* I, TM Ana, shared my adventures as a City Slicker surrounded by wildly obsessive bear fans in a visit to Big Sky Glacier Park.  I Won Best Speaker Award.

As far as evaluations go...

* TM Paolo praised TM Jose for the clarity of his speech, so much so that TM Paolo is booking travel to Siam as we speak.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

* TM BeckyJo corroborated my status as a City Slicker and encouraged me to stop reading my darned speeches and display imprompty tongue-in-cheek humor, once and for all.

TM Terri did a superb job as First Time Poll Maker.  Go, Terri!

The Word of the Day was

SUFFICIENT, adj

Enough to meet the needs of a situation

Example:  Sometimes I forget that I must have sufficient funds in the bank to go a-splurging.

Dates to Remember:  Thursday October 31 we will have a Monster Mash Halloween-themed meeting.

Here's the link to the recording:

https://youtube.com/live/6WMX513hgoU

See you next week!

Ana I.

Incomparable, intolerable, honorable, comfortable Recap Writer

Pink, Scuba Cuba and Taking Yourself - a morning with panache at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

We were delighted to be visited again by our Area Director, TM Marc, as well as (2) guests, Ann and Suzette.  And returning TM Manny regaled us with a heartfelt invocation...

TM Marie led us pink-themed topics.  We soon discovered that...

* TM Pam was a blonde girl and traumatized for life for having to wear lame faded pastel pink.  Pink does not  even exist in her wardrobe color palette. So there!

* Guest Ann, like most of us, knows women who have suffered from breast cancer, and  the pink bow logo inspires her to think positively.

* Guest Suzette likes Pink's old songs but no longer moves mountains by whispering to them, she only hums....

* TM Paolo has moved the wife and all the bambini to South Florida and wants to live fully before he dies or he'll die before he lives, as wisely stated by Inspector Clouseau.of Pink Panther fame.

* *TM Jose;s favorite band is Pink Floyd, censored in Franco's Spain - note from author: way before social media adopted the practice of censorship - and was Comfortably Numb with Just Another Brick in the Wall....  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

Along came the prepared speeches...

* TM Christine adored the virgin reef off Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen) where the Cuban sharks, Cuban groupers, Cuban moray eels sip Cuban cafecitos and guava pastries at the Cuban Reef Bar as they await their fake $150 visas  to exile themselves in Miami - so close and yet so far! 

* TM Mary Helen witnessed a half marathon in Hamburg, the cradle of our beloved hamburgers, and instead of running has started walking and meeting her neighbors, establishing connections and ensuring a long happy connected life.

Both speakers showed wanton disregard for the timing requirements but hey, it was well worth it for the rest of us.

And then came the evaluations...

* TM Terri praised TM Christine's good organization and panache in her yoga outfit to pet her new Cuban best buddy, the Mooray Eel (la Morena).  .  And blessed be the silence of technological disconnection!

* TM BeckyJo loved DTM Mary Helen's vocal variety and enjoyed the neighborhood connections in an environs where everything - and everyone?- loosk the same. She Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

PANACHE, noun

Confident, flamboyant, dresses with style

A tuft or plume of feathers to be worn in a hat, helmet or headdress.

Example:  Runway models and fashionistas exude panache from every pore of their body and every seam in their attire.

The link to the recording is:

https://youtube.com/live/yPOKVwfkt10

See you next week!

Ana I.

Recap Writer 

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