Thursday, June 12, 2025

Father's Day, Small Claims Case and Dad Collection - no minutia at EarlyBirds!




Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

I started us off on Father's Day-related Table Topics....

* TM Marie will accommodate her wonderful husband's request for Father's Day by gifting him a day of peace and quiet1
* TM Jose declared himself the Great White Hunter of pesky mosquitoes on Spain's Father's Day (also his Saint's Day), and US Father's Day.  He enjoys every celebration!
* TM David reminisced about his own father, an intelligent, clever, compassionate, old-school Father who was born in Martinique.
* TM Randolph cannot pinpoint a memorable Father's Day because they are all memorable - and he has learned not to treat his children's problems as minutiae.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

We then had prepared speeches...

* TM David recounted a landlord-renter small claims case he is currently experiencing where he wants to establish fairness, clarity and justice.  He Won Best Speaker Award.
* TM Christine shared her Dad Collection - men who were father figures to her in assorted ways - by answering her questions "Do I have value?" and "Am I loved?" 

As far as evaluations went...

* TM BeckyJo gave very helpful tips to TM David about Florida laws and how to masterfully present his case to the judge.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.
* TM Randolph praised TM Christine for her touching speech and encouraged her to make more eye contact with her audience.

The Word of the Day was

MINUTIA, noun
A small or minor detail

Example  The important things in life are usually mistakenly considered minutae.

Here's the link to the recording:


Our new officers will be installed in early July by the incoming Area Director.

Sargeant-at-Arms:  Veronica
President: BeckyJo 
Immediate Past President: Aleta
VP Education: Ana
Treasurer: Marie 
Secretary: The Tom
VP Membership: Cory
VP Public Relations: David

See you next week!

Ana
Recap Writer


Thursday, June 5, 2025

June, The Elks Rest, A Commonplace Book - a tech-risible morning at EarlyBirds!




Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Aleta led us in a June series of Table Topics.  We found out that...

* TM Jose is aka Mr. Chocolate for his all-time favorite ice cream flavor.... He loves "polos" - chocolate ice cream on a stick that gives you both mobility and edibility.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.
* TM Veronica watched the Marilyn Monroe documentary and feels compassion for such a beautiful person - inside and out- who lived such a tragic life.  Had she avoided drugs and alcohol, who knows? She would perhaps be celebrating her 100th birthday next year!
* TM Pam has never been to a professional tennis match but her kids were once coached by Jimmy Evert and they didn't even know it!
* TM BeckyJo had a handsome tennis coach in Vancouver hired by her mother who really enjoyed male eye candy... BeckyJo ran marathons on Summer Solstice Day, just so you know....
* TM Gail has a special flag from her son which she will keep forever and she recalls  displaying all United Nations flags as a school project in the 6th grade.
* TM Christine could not think of Dad jokes but she is an avid tennis fan and has watched many professional matches.
* Guest Kris has no idea why there are so many June weddings - all she knows is she's having a birthday coming up... First things first!
* TM David has no objection to girls named June but his favorite girl's name is Catherine with a French accent.  Ohlala....!

Along came the prepared speeches...

* I, Ana, talked about a fascinating piece of Fort Lauderdale history:  The Elks Lodge, host venue of many memorable events, watering hole of many legendary celebrities and soon to be reopening after a long legal battle.
* TM The Tom regaled us with a helpful speech about A Commonplace Book, where one keeps quotable quotes, ideas for speeches and other sources for speech topics.  He Won Best Speaker Award.

As far as evaluations go...

* TM David enjoyed my speech and suggested I use more vocal variety, hand gestures, and introduce exciting stories into the speech that will captivate the audience.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.
* TM Christine kindly asked TM The Tom to step out of the closet - or at least blur it - or the audience starts to make mental grocery lists.  She enjoyed the purpose of the speech - to give practical tips to the rest of us to find topics for speeches.

The Word of the Day was

RISIBLE, adj.
capable of laughing, disposed to laugh

Example:  Today's meeting was chock-full of risible technical bumps; however, we pulled ourselves together and risibly figured them out.  Go EarlyBirds Learning Lab!

The link to the recording is here (thank you Jose!)


See you next week!

Ana I.
Risible Recap Writer