Soaring, Reminiscing and Love In The Time of Cholera, an intense speech contest at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

The level of intensity of our EarlyBirds Club international speeches has soared to unprecedented profound heights.   All speeches were magnificent!

 

• Our President, TM Paolo, reminded us that we are all potential eagles even if we are living like chickens.  Have vision, be fearless and remember that fortune favors the bold.  He Won First Place Speaker Award and will proudly represent our Club here, there and everywhere!

 

• DTM Mary Helen revealed the truth about her evil twin, Maureen, who in reality is a fictional character with a real name.  In the interim, MHD is laser-focused on what will be the message on her billboard?  She Won Second Place Speaker Award.

 

• TM Chris wouldn’t have minded being stuck in the Maldives although it would have broken the Bank of G.; but in these times of Cholera, err… Covid, they had to settle for pupusas and lotsa wine delivered by room service in the country of The Savior, Central America.

 

While our profoundly polifacetic Sargeant-at-Arms/Judge/Ballot Counter/Tech Guru (and more) TM Jim G. counted -and recounted- the votes, we had time for timely Table Topics, ably led by TM Marie.

 

Here are interpretations of quotes from recently commemorated Rev. Dr. Luther King, Jr.:

 

• TM Carmine waxed and rewaxed poetic and philosophical and concluded that the time is always right to publicly declare that we are all brothers and sisters in Public Speaking adventures.
• TM Tom believes that  the goal of education is to acquire the ability to discern that the answers are truly within us – and stop looking outside of ourselves!
• TM Lois stated that her life consists of both quality and longevity and she has never ceased in her quest to learn something each and every day.  Go Lois!
• TM Jose would rather love intensely and enjoy life to the fullest and end it by skidding on the road less traveled at extremely high speeds.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.
• I, Ana, avoid future-tripping in fear by remembering that the acronym stands for Future Events Appearing Real, and praying, praying, praying.
• TM BeckyJo sadly stated that our education system teaches us to be uniform instead of being taught to be critical thinkers.  Profound thinkers of the world, rebel!
• DTM Jim D. believes that we need to forgive our neighbor although we do not forget, but we must be accountable and quit being blamers.
• DTM Kip has slipped many a time in the dark going down the steps – there’s always one less or one more than he anticipates – and has taken the wall paintings right with him on his way to the floor.  This has led to a full redecorating of his house.

 

Although we had no official Word of the Day today, PROFOUND was the unspokenly and unanimously adopted term in the collective consciousness – to quote TM Carmine.

 

Here is the link to the recording:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k8mQQ4nK40

 

See you next week!

 

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Nowhere Else but at Early Bird Toastmasters....

 

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

Aptly  led by Chief Judge DTM Kip and Contest Master DTM Mary Helen and presided by TM Paolo from his 200-year-old wine cellar bunker, we launched our Table Topics Contest with no further preliminaries.

 

The topic was EVERYONE ELSE….

 

• TM Marie affirmed unequivocally that the idea of Everyone Else is simply a fallacy – we are all connected as one in being citizens of the world and we need to like even those who are unlikeable.   She Won Third Place.
• I, Ana, used to be a blamer, it was always EVERYONE ELSE’s fault, until I heard that if you take ME out of BLAME, all you have is BLA, BLA, BLA…. I am the common denominator in everything that happens to me.  I Won First Place.
• TM Pam yearns to be like EVERYONE ELSE after a lifetime of pointing out that The Emperor Has No Clothes – she wants to dress him up once and for all, dang it!  She Won Second Place.

 

And then, unexpectedly, the conversation turned sexy….

 

• TM Pam regaled us with a highly-charged speech explaining that one size does not fit all, as she taught an adult sexuality class and it turned very hands on….  She Won Best Speaker Award.

 

Her evaluator….

 

• TM Chris admired TM Pam’s ease and comfort when speaking publicly about sex, especially in the wee hours of the morning for those of us on Eastern Standard Time.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

 

While the ballot counter counted, DTM Mary Helen pursued pertinent Table Topics, and we learned that…

 

• What else?  For TM Aleta, something new always seems to find her…. Lately it’s a talking pet centipede who accompanies her to church….
• Where else?  For TM Paolo, there’s no place like his hometown, population 11,000 - and he’s on a first-name basis with all of them!  Ciao, Giovanni! Bon giorno, Salvatore!
• Or else? TM Tom’s HOA drives him to cogently and contagiously put cognitive thoughts together, gracious mercy!
• Who else?  TM Lois is learning to be the Who Else and marches ever onward to build her skills as a public speaker.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.
• Anyone else? Our Bionic Man, TM Carmine is the incredibly shrinking man – and that includes his brain.  Anyone else?  That’s an uncertainty….
• Someone else?  TM Jim G. passed the timely test - quarantined for one week with his other half in a hotel room in a foreign country.  Now he knows definitely he would not have made it with someone else….
• When else?  DTM Jim D. marveled that out of forced sequestration has emerged a new way of life – and without any of us even being part of a jury.

 

We were graced by the visit of our Area Director, TM Mary, who thoroughly enjoyed watching the camaraderie that reigns in Early Birds!

 

Our Techs were back in full force, TM Chris creating flash-lightning polls, online judging tools and TM Jim G. displaying them and counting – and recounting- ballots.  After all, this is Florida…

 

Next week is our International Speech Contest, so fasten your seat belts – here we come!

 

Link to the recording - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YGCxbntvaU

 

Submitted from somewhere else,

 

Ana

Recap Writer

Contests, The Magi and Speech Introductions, a paramount meeting at EarlyBirds

 

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

Multifaceted DTM Kip launched us off with Table Topics about Table Topics (Like a circle in a spiral, Like a wheel within a wheel, Never ending or beginning, On an ever spinning reel).*  We discovered that…

 

• TM Carmine remembers memorable speeches - an icebreaker speech where a 25-lb block of ice was smashed and an unprooted speaker who yanked a plant out of a planter in front of a mesmerized audience.
• I, Ana, admire the creativ genius and inventive paramount capacity of contestants who attempt to make sense of bizarroworld, unrelated words.   I Won Best Table Topics Award.
• TM BeckyJo denied having opinions about everything but is of the opinion that many avoid contests because they don't want to take it to the next level.  She rests her case.
• TM Lois drags a wheeled suitcase with her and empties it on the Table Topics table.
• Guest Elsa reminisced about a Math contest in which she participated years ago and which allowed her to drop her Math books for the rest of the school year.   Bravo Elsa for participating!

 

Then came our prepared speeches…

 

• TM Jose regaled us with the story of the Three Kings, which were Melchior (Persian scholar), Caspar (Southern India scholar) and Balthasar (Babylonian scholar) who brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn King and invented decorating the top of the Christmas tree with the Star of Bethlehem and eating cake on January 6^th in Hispanic countries. He Won Best Speaker Award.
• DTM Kip introduced the importance of a speech introduction (Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon, Like a carousel that's turning running rings around the moon)*….

 

As for evaluations…

 

• TM Marie liked how TM Jose's speech went from general to specific as an inverted pyramid and he spoke in a soothing storytelling voice (Like a door that keeps revolving In a half forgotten dream, or the ripples from a pebble someone tosses in a stream)*.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.
• DTM Mary Helen praised DTM Kip (from one DTM to another) for placing himself in a little corner of the visual aids and for paying attention to the clock, for once!  (For those who may not know, it is rumored that DTM really stands for Don't Time Me).

 

*Lyrics from "The Windmills Of Your Mind" best listened to under the influence of incense.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

PARAMOUNT, adj.

Very important, of highest rank.

 

Example:  Toastmasters is a learning lab of paramount importance to improved communication skills.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHzol7d4VMM

 

See you next week at the Table Topics contest!

 

Irreverently submitted,

 

Ana

Recap Writer/Blogger Extraordinaire

 

Eccentrically Ringing In 2022, Never Neutral and The Art of Evaluations - an astute morning at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

I started us off with eccentric New Year’s Eve customs.  We learned that….

• Returning TM Jose will gobble up minuscule seedless skinless grapes to avoid choking at the stroke of midnight, while carrying an empty suitcase around the block to ensure travel is a’plenty in 2022.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.
• TM Paolo will reinstate the as-of-late waning Italian custom of throwing furniture out the window on New Year’s Eve by disposing of his sectional divano and his gondola, for starters.
• Guest Terry’s tenure in a large grocery store makes her follow some eccentric New Year’s Eve customs, especially the South American tradition of wearing red underwear for prosperity.
• TM Jim will strictly adhere to the New Year’s Eve belief that cleaning house washes good luck away and with great self-control and sacrifice will refrain from vacuuming those dust bunnies under the bed.
• TM BeckyJo will scare evil spirits and omens away by loudly snoring and purring on New Year’s Eve.
• TM Lois will play “Dane for a Day” and smash lots of plates on the last night of the year, in direct competition with the Greeks, who specifically abstain on New Year’s Eve.

 

Then came the prepared speeches…

 

• TM Marie raised our curiosity as to whether we as individuals are amiable drivers or expressive analyzers.  One thing became certain:  Marie is NOT a neutral gray sweater, by golly! She Won Best Speaker Award.
• DTM Kip shared thoughts about effective evaluations and reminded us to avoid speaking from the chair of authority – which Paolo will have hurled out the window in Italy, anyway.

 

And speaking of evaluations…

 

• TM Jose praised TM Marie’s presentation, preparation and her effective use of the little black box.  He would like a Q&A period to ascertain who among us is indeed a neutral gray sweater.  Determined to make up for lost time, He Won Best Evaluator Award.
• TM Tom liked the rhythm and congruency of DTM Kip’s speech and encouraged him to use more emphasis while being rhythimically congruent.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

ASTUTE, adj.

Having an ability to notice and understand things clearly; mentally sharp and clever.

 

Example:  Astute DTM Kip will yet find a way to use his thrice-thwarted Word of the Day, BYZANTINE.  It’s his New Year’s Resolution!

 

Link to the recording- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jva3lYR7Rc

 

To be continued in 2022…

 

Astutely submitted,

 

Ana

Recap Writer

Solstice, Hannukah and Mentoring - an ethereal morning of EarlyBird Toastmasters!

 

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

TM Jim G. led us in a Solstice Invocation, which marked the way to Solstice-inspired Table Topics by TM Aleta.  We thus discovered that…

 

• TM Chris used to play midnight hopscotch growing up with her friends in Alaska, where solstice is known as an oxymoron.   She Won Best Table Topics Award.
• TM Paolo used to like Florida’s hot, hotter and hottest seasons but after 20 years he now likes it cold, colder, coldest – but balmy indoors. 
• DTM Kip does his level best to help the sun rise by reveling, partying, carousing and yuletiding – everywhere except in the Mediterranean, where the sun doesn’t need his help.
• I, Ana, agree that guests and fish get smelly after a few days.  This applies specifically to in-laws, and excludes my dear brother.
• TM Marie is convinced that the elf-on-the-shelf is creating a new generation of paranoid humans with delusion of persecution.  Her personal Santa Claus does not keep score.

 

And then came the prepared speeches…

 

• TM Lois told the story of Judah Maccabee, who led the Maccabean Revolt against the Syrians which gave birth to Hannukah, when she and her family have a Secret Maccabee Gift Exchange.  Her gifts were heartwarming this year.
• TM Jim G. delighted us with an excellent rendition of “A Visit From St Nicholas”, a tradition started by late EarlyBird TM Neil many years ago.  He Won Best Speaker Award.
• DTM Kip reminded us that in the world of speaking, laughs are gold.  Call to action:  Consider using a mentor, we don’t know how far we will go.

 

As far as evaluations…

 

• TM Paolo lauded TM Lois for her passion, enthusiasm and excitement and encouraged her to stand up for her next speech to give us a greater range of vision.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.
• TM Marie praised TM Jim G., storyteller extraordinaire, for an almost ethereal impersonation of St. Nicholas, including the hearty laugh and the twinkle in the eye.
• TM Aleta commended DTM Kip for his speech on mentoring.  Kip, mentor of mentors.  Motivational speaker par excellence…

 

The Word of the Day was:

 

ETHEREAL, adj.

Extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world.

 

EarlyBirds voted to have another ethereal meeting next week, on the eve of New Year’s Eve.

 

Dates to Remember:

 

Jan 13, 2022 – Table Topics Club Contest

Jan 20, 2022 – International Speech Club Contest

 

Here’s the link to today’s recording: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1zCediohX8

 

Ethereally submitted,

 

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Member Interview: Kip Barkley

 Chris is our VP of Public Relations doing these interviews with our members.

This is the first.

Feliz Navidad from Earlybird Toastmasters

 Our president, Paolo Barone, asked everyone to share their favorite Christmas song. This was his: Feliz Navidad

And, here's another

Choices, Flights and Timing - a true celebration at EarlyBirds!

 

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

TM Chris started the morning with Table Topics choices:

 

• TM Tom waxed poetic when choosing mountain or beach vacay …”the reason for the season – to wander thereabouts….”
• TM Lois likes choosing personal gifts while gift cards are best for students – and visiting a neighbor during Christmas definitely takes the cake.
• TM Carmine chooses bed over lazyboy or couch, as his lazybed is where he does his best thinking, his best reading and, let’s face it, his best lazying.  
• TM Pam chooses both vegetable and flower garden. Just please get rid of the chemically-induced South Florida lawns which in turn will drive local leaf blower companies out of business. Oh well….   She Won Best Table Topics Award.
• TM BeckyJo gave us a handy life formula:  comedy = tragedy + time.  She binge-watches Frasier, a timeless show with a crazy cast for crazy audiences.  To a tee.

 

We had outstanding prepared speeches today…

 

• TM Paolo’s motivational speech encouraged us to soar like an eagle with vision, focus, fearlessness, training hard and performing extracurricular activities in midair – for the latter, we humans must join the highly unofficial Mile High Club.  He Won Best Speaker Award.
• TM Aleta courageously delivered a speech about whether to plod like a turtle or race like a rabbit, while dealing with repeated interruptions from a rambunctious audience.  In humorous speeches, to pause before the punchline… or… after the punchline?  That, my friends - as Billy Shakespeare would say-  is the question.

 

And then came our evaluations…

 

• TM Jim G. praised TM Paolo for his excellent speech delivery and generous hand and body gestures while intently keeping and eagle-like laser-focused eye contact with the camera lens.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.
• DTM Kip praised TM Aleta for actually delivering a useful speech while effectively managing a bunch of crazies – call them bulls in a china shop or an unruly mob of muppets.

 

 

The Word of the Day was:

 

CELEBRATION, noun

 

the action of marking one's pleasure at an important event or occasion by engaging in enjoyable, typically social, activity.

 

"The Empty Nest syndrome actually turned out to be a cause for celebration" – a quote attributed to United Burned Out Parents Of The World, LLC.

 

This week’s recording can be accessed on this link:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUrpdhqM8tk

 

See you next week!

 

Irreverently yours,

 

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Popular sayings, The Endgame Strategy, From Breaking Ice to Suntan Heaven and Being Where? A festive morning at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

TM Tom started us off with common and uncommon sayings.  We thus discovered that…

 

• TM Lois takes the plunge by daily swimming in her multiple heated pools while preparing her Toastmasters’ speeches.
• TM Kip no longer has to pull his socks up because to avoid slips and falls he walks barefoot and besides, his clothes dryer has voraciously decoupled all his socks anyway.
• TM BeckyJo returned to her birthplace, Hawaii, and to her dismay found that they paved paradise and put up a parking lot (sung to the tune of They Paved Paradise And Put Up a Parking Lot by Counting Crows)
• TM Chris revealed candidly that she and her husband live in a menage a trois of only the two of them.  He, she and the symbiotic ChrisJim.
• Guest Terry relied on the saying better safe than sorry while working at Florida DOT – where sometimes it was sorry better than safe.
• TM Aleta confessed that she’s a hugger, a toucher, a feeler, and a smoker, and a joker, and a midnight toker (sung to the tune of The Joker by the Steve Miller band)
• I, Ana, like a deer in the headlights, talked about the homeless steer Rudolph the Red Nosed Raindeer heading for a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous.  I Won Best Table Topics Award.

 

And along came the prepared speeches…

 

• DTM Kip is trying to get on with the endgame by decluttering stuff, reminiscing of strange people he met in strange lands in need of computer fixes and he now has a keypad lock for the rescue team to access the premises.
• TM Chris recited The Cremation of Sam McGee and her journey from icy cold Alaska to sunbathing with baby oil in Florida beaches and making frequent visits to Florida State University’s popular bar called “The Late Night Library”.
• I, Ana, aka Chaunceyna Gardner (*see PBS (Post Blog Scriptum) fortuitously became a well-renowned Pioneer of the Blogosphere – without even trying!  I Won Best Speaker Award.

 

As far as evaluations go….

 

• TM Marie praised DTM Kip for his zany interpretation of life as a computer repairman who makes house calls.
• DTM Kip enjoyed the poetic opening and closing of TM Chris’ speech and the wooly gear that she donned.  He encouraged her to wear a bathing suit for the beach portion next time.
• TM Carmine liked my use of language and admired the fact that I’m clueless and here because I’m not all there.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

 

The very timely Word of the Day was:

 

FESTIVE, adj.

Indicative of or marked by high spirits or good humor.

 

And by golly, we used it and lived our festive spirit well today!!!

 

P.B.S.  “Being There” 1979 movie starring Peter Sellers and Shirley McLaine.

 

Middle-aged, simple-minded Chance lives in the townhouse of a wealthy old man in Washington, D.C. He has spent his whole life tending the garden and has never left the property. Other than gardening, his knowledge is derived entirely from what he sees on television. When his benefactor dies, Chance naively tells the lawyers that he has no claim against the estate and is ordered to move out.

Chance wanders aimlessly, discovering the outside world for the first time. Passing by a TV shop, he sees himself captured by a camera in the shop window. Entranced, he steps backward off the sidewalk and is struck by a chauffeured car owned by elderly business mogul and advisor to the President of the United States, Ben Rand.  In the car is Rand's glamorous and much younger wife Eve, who mishears "Chance, the gardener" in reply to the question who he is, as "Chauncey Gardiner".  Chauncey is introduced to the Prez, and In a discussion about the economy, Chance takes his cue from the words "stimulate growth" and talks about the changing seasons of the garden. The President misinterprets this as optimistic political advice and quotes “Chauncey Gardiner” in a speech. Chance now rises to national prominence, attends important dinners, develops a close connection with the Soviet ambassador, and appears on a television talk show during which his detailed advice about what a serious gardener should do is misunderstood as his opinion on what would be his presidential policy.

Though he has now risen to the top of Washington society, the Secret Service and some 16 other agencies are unable to find any background information on him. During this time Rand's physician, Dr. Allenby, becomes increasingly suspicious that Chance is not a wise political expert and that the mystery of his identity may have a more mundane explanation. Dr. Allenby considers telling Rand this, but realizing how happy Chance is making him in his final days keeps him silent.

While the President delivers a speech at Rand's funeral, the pallbearers hold a whispered discussion over potential replacements for the President in the next term of office and unanimously agree on Chauncey Gardiner as successor. Oblivious to all this, Chance wanders off through Rand's wintry estate. He straightens out a pine sapling flattened by a fallen branch, then walks across the surface of a lake. He pauses, dips his umbrella deep into the water under his feet, then continues on, while the President is heard quoting Rand: "Life is a state of mind."

 

Link to the YouTube recording: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eY8qarVIsk

 

See you next week!

 

Chaunceyna Gardiner

Blogger Extraordinaire

'Tis The Season to be Folly, Dealing with Un-Magnanimous Hecklers, another day in the life of EarlyBird Toastmasters

TM Marie started our meeting with various aspects of the holiday season.  It was revealed to us that….

 

• TM Pam is searching for lost donation checks in 3 homes ago;  Dang! Who knew it was soooo hard to give money away!  She’s starting in January 2022 to make the “Giving Tuesday” November 2022 date.
• Guest Brittany does not partake in “Black Freeedaaaay” (as it is known in Spain) because – like most of us – she avoids “spending money she doesn’t have, buying things she doesn’t need, to impress people she doesn’t even like”! 
• TM Lois did declare that this is indeed the most wonderful time of the year – she gave her family a magnanimous Thanksgiving speech and was loved right back by them!
• Newlywed TM Jeff is adapting to his bride’s new holiday traditions, starting with a very different – nonetheless beautifully simple- Christmas tree, and eliminating sparkly nonsense.
• TM Chris and TM Jim deplete greeting card companies’ inventory for TM Jim’s extended family and then omit mailing or hand-delivering the greeting cards.  It’s all for the forgetful greeting card giver, presumably.
• TM Jim concurred that it is indeed important for greeting card givers who don’t give greeting cards to remember that they must help greeting card manufacturing companies.  It’s all about being magnanimous to the greeting card companies’ survival in this Virtual Age Of Thumb and Send.
• TM Paolo reminisced about looking for moss, wood and hay to create a natural Nativity scene in the home of his youth.  He will do it this year with his own children and build the manger in the wine cellar.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.
• DTM Jim D. has concocted a Machiavellian plan to have a bucket of water drop on the heads of Porch Pirates, while hoping it’s not a relative showing up unannounced.
• TM Aleta conspires and dreams by the fire, hypnotically conjuring up plans for roasting chestnuts and pondering which chainsaw to buy on Black Friday….

 

And then came the much-awaited Dealing With a Difficult Audience speech by Unflappable Maestro DTM Kip…

 

• Being accosted un-magnanimously by the audience of innate hecklers, DTM Kip kept his cool and insisted that Canadian Parliament reads bills – not once, not twice, but THREE times – in unison before obtaining Royal Assent from the Faraway Queen in Balmoral Castle who is on Direct Dial with the Canadian Governor General, as it’s practically the last remnant of their Old Dominion Commonwealth holdings.  Now what they do in Saskatchewan… that’s another story.  Hecklers varied from deeming it a humorous speech to repeatedly stating that they were in the wrong meeting.   DTM Kip Won Best Speaker Award in an absolute landslide.

 

As far as the evaluation is concerned….

 

• TM Paolo was fascinated by the amazing exercise of DTM Kip handling a difficult audience and recommended a more composed posture to attempt to control the uncontrollable hecklers and to refrain from conversing with them under any circumstances by keeping his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the camera at all times.  Eyedrops before the speech may help.  And one might ask, why Canadian Parliamentary Procedure???  In another contested race, TM Paolo Won Best Evaluator Award.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

MAGNANIMOUS, adj.

Generous or forgiving, especially toward a rival or less powerful person.

 

Example:  Alliteration King TM Carmine had a field day with synonyms Benevolent, Beneficent and Big-Hearted, and magnanimously urged those who don’t know what Alliteration is to go look it up.

Note from the Recap Writer:  Just hang around TM Carmine a little longer and you won’t need to look it up!

 

YouTube recording link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy1M8hIHKJE

 

See you next week!

 

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Commemorations, RV Debris and Winterizing - a morning of proclivity at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

After inducting our newest member, TM Julie, I started us off on a journey of November commemorations.  We learned that….

 

• TM Jim G. is not into football that much but he somehow manages to smuggle spicy guac in his otherwise spicy-free environs.
• TM BeckyJo has a definite proclivity to get herself into pickles without even trying.   She is now getting a whole new landscape.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.
• TM Julie is defined by the sandwiches she eats but does not really care what goes in them – all the while she’s busy at the roulette.
• TM Lois is happy that we still have that remnant of olden times,  “Young Readers’ Day”, and the hardest thing she ever has to do is find a book for a young ‘un.

 

As far as prepared speeches go….

 

• TM Chris took us on RV Debris – The Sequel and artfully combined magnificent panoramic views with the Only-One-Person-Fits Kitchen, where she cooked more than the rest of her life combined.  Go figure.  Size really doesn’t matter!  She Won Best Speaker Award.
• TM Aleta explained her Western Pennsylvania home winterizing where she uses a chainsaw to amputate words frozen in midair and prefers cold air leaks to Florida temperature, humidity and average age in the 80s (Fahrenheit).

 

We had some great evaluations…

 

• TM Marie praised TM Chris for incorporating in her speech heartwarming daily RV life minutae with the magnificence of the Canadian rear view of Mount Rushmore.
• TM Tom concluded that TM Aleta could never be a politician because she actually responds to audience questions with logical relevant answers.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

PROCLIVITY, noun

Natural disposition or tendency

 

For example:  EarlyBirds Club has a proclivity to be chuck-full of humorous members.

 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

 

See you in 2 weeks.  Kip has hoarded 2 speaking slots for that day.  We’re looking for hecklers!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DucQ0B-8F_M

 

With irreverence and laughter,

 

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Old proverbs, Thanksgiving, Negotiations and Leadership - a flexous morning at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

TM Carmine started us off with some foreign proverbs.  We thus learned that….

 

• Guest Brittany’s ego got bruised by the flexuous tree that got axed.  She’d rather be a potato!
• TM Julie learned the hard way that you can’t count your chickens before the next-door predators snatch them before they hatch.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.
• TM Randolph got caught in a self-imposed flexuous loop of quickly slowly hastening delaying postponing impulsivity that created a collective dizzy spell.
• TM BeckyJo talked about The Italian Game, one of the oldest Chess openings. Dating back to the the fifteenth century, the move was started by Italian players such as Damiano and Greco, hence its name ! ... As a consequence, a lot of lines in the Italian Games are made possible by this pressure on f7.  The King and the Pawn (ie all of us) end up in the dust at the end, Italian or not.
• I, Ana, fondly reminisced about being a mouse with my teenaged daughters and throwing pool parties while The Cat (aka Hubby/Dad) was away on business.

In the prepared speeches…

• TM Lois talked about a special Thanksgiving started by the Pequot natives, who planted corn, squash and beans, nuts and fruits.  For the main course, they shot deer, turkeys, and small game.  Thus, they designed the Thanksgiving menu back in 1621.  They invited the settlers who brought the marshmallows.
• TM Julie pointed out that every time we engage in conversation, we’re really in negotiation mode.  Is it a game table? Or a garage sale table? Or the dinner table?  In the latter, it’s best to be collaborative if you want to save your marriage and eat dinner in peace. 
• TM Marie practiced follow the leader behavior until her parents told her to stay away from bridges.  She is now reading Benedict’s Rule, which clearly states that to be worth following, you must drink Benedictine, a secret elixir / herbal liqueur produced in France by Benedictine monks while meditating.  It’s flavored with twenty-seven flowers, berries, herbs, roots, and spices – great for digestion! She Won Best Speaker Award. 

 

As far as evaluations….

• TM Paolo praised TM Lois for following prior suggestions, accurately positioning the lights and reading the notes in a flexous manner while preparing her Thanksgiving feast.   He Won Best Evaluator Award.
• TM Pam admired TM Julie’s neutral and nondistracting background and her good use of hands – a virtually elusive art for most of us – and suggested she pick one negotiation table for specificity, instead of depicting The History Of The World in one single poster.
• DTM Kip pointed out that TM Marie made a big flexuous splash at the end of her speech and encouraged her to buy Teleprompter Pro.  I bought one on his recommendation, too.  Question to ponder at this point:   Is Kip on their payroll? Hmmmm…..

 

The Word of the Day was 

FLEXUOUS, adj

Having curves, turns or windings

Lithe or fluid in action or movement

 

Ex:  If only they had been Toastmasters,  The Beatles could have titled their song “The Long and Flexuous Road”….

 

Here is the link for today’s recording http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPcyDH3fZAc

 

See you next week!

 

Irreverently submitted,

 

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Twisted Cliches, Age Whining and Of Being An Anchovy, an entertaining morning at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Friends and Guests:

 

We did not falter in the face of a morphing schedule, and I, Ana, started us off with some definitely twisted cliches….

 

• TM BeckyJo revealed that she's had some serious dreamy time warps and likes to access EarlyBirds from the comfort of her natural habitat.
• TM Aleta does not look gift unicorns in the mouth because their long protruding horn could cause irreparable indentations.
• TM Lois compared the souffle crumbles to an unfaltering resolve to approach every day crumble-free.
• TM Randolph urged everyone to let the confetti fall where it may, much like he does!
• Guest Brittany has great fun engaging in worldwide zoomeranging.
• TM Jim reminded us that after all, love is a battle between privates and corporals.
• TM Carmine rejoiced in not faltering to jiffy his way through life, in spite of shrinking parts.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

 

We had 2 excellent prepared and unprepared speeches….

 

• TM Pam foresees the macabre day when the State of Florida (aka Heaven's waiting room) will renew her driver's license at age 102.
• In unprepared topics, DTM Kip pictured himself as an anchovy schooling in a can and the Communist plot to revise the Coca Cola recipe which led him to Pepsi.  He Won Best Speaker Award.

 

As far as evaluations go….

 

• TM Aleta praised TM Pam's ability to learn new tricks and her very clearly disdainful facial gestures as she recalls the motto:  no vax, no visit, no brainer.  She just got her 5^th booster.
• TM Chris praised DTM Kip's outstanding ability to be prepared to be funny and unprepared. It's all about eating the pizza slice pointing at him.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

FALTER, noun and verb

 

V: walk, talk unsteadily

N: the act of pausing uncertainly

 

Ex. When faced with smooth sailing, do not falter! Turn the boat engines on….    (Huh?? Whatever)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlyLYPAuYm4

 

See you next week!

 

Ana I.

Recap Writer