Hard Topics, Communication Styles and Living in a Tree - a penchant for adventure at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

We inducted our newest member, TM Roslyn - Welcome aboard!

TM The Tom gave us a choice between hard topics and easy peasy topics, and guess what we picked...

* I, Ana, am grateful of the alphabet A to J and fully cognizant of the easy peasy life that I enjoy.

* DTM Mary Helen overcame her reluctance to physical activity and became a runner and is now a walker.

* TM Jose asserts people can change on their time, not anyone else's.  He quit smoking, moved to Spain and regained spirituality - not necessarily in that order.

* TM Jim G. has a fantastic wife and hence also has a fantastic life.  The secret is Stayin' Alive (sung to the tune of Stayin' Alive by the Gree Gees)

* TM Roslyn worked hard to chase the close - money, property, prestige.  Now she has slowed down and finds time to smell the flowers.

* TM Marie has nothing to stop her from getting what she wants and she's grateful for unplanned blessings of yesterday - dancing impromptu with husband Guy right in front of the dinner casserole bubbling on the stovetop.  She Won Best TAble Topics Award.

Along came the prepared speeches...

* TM Gail used multiple communication styles while discharging her duties as a Catholic Diocese High School Principal - addressing the elephant in the room - how to pronounce plural diocesiseseses....  She Won Best Speaker Award.

* TM BeckyJo, consummate storyteller, who is self-banned from bookstores, lived an adventure read in a book while at Hanahau'oli School in Makiki Street, Honolulu, and leading 3 classmates to learn to live in a tree in the Makatuki Mountains while hitchhiking in the opposite direction and running into Principal Gail West. She Won Best Speaker Award.

As far as evaluations are concerned...

* TM Randolph is fascinated by TM Gail's rich life while dancing at a Salsa Party with her Cuban guidance counselor and would recommend more vocal variety while singing "My Hips Don't Lie"...

* DTM Mary Helen praised TM BeckyJo's passionate, creative tale of escapism in the jungles of Hawaii and suggested BeckyJo play around with her camera so she can make eye contact with her audience during storytelling.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

PENCHANT, noun

Strongly marked taste in a person or an irresistible attraction in the objection

Example:  Wolves have a penchant for howling at the full moon.

Here is the link to the recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNViqvL-7Ek

See you next week!

Ana Illsen

Recap Writer

Fwd: Assorted topics, Parenting and Public Relations - a prolific morning at EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

DTM Jim D. led us in assorted table topics.  We discovered that...

* I, Ana, have occasionally ventured out to other grocery stores, but inevitably I circle back to the old familiar aisles of my closest Publix.  Floridian to the core!

* TM The Tom conveniently gets gas at a station behind his favorite Publix store.  A full tank lasts him about six months from all the driving he does!

* TM Gail ran her family's restaurant at the tender age of 6 - hostessing, managing the cash register and making sure the business got repeat customers who returned in awe of her. She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Jim G. has driven his RV to all 50 states (except Hawaii, since it was not amphibious) and his favorite is Florida, while his least favorite is the Rio Grande Valley, epicenter of  the sci-fi  film Chaos for the Hoarder.

* TM Marie has no cities or airports to avoid because her philosophy is to go with the flow and turn adversities into blessings.

* TM Preeti praised LL Bean for their outstanding customer service- they take 1-year-old returns without blinking and you actually get a live person when you call in - imagine that!!!

* TM Chris's best customer service was the divemaster in Cayman Islands who dove into the depths of the ocean to retrieve Chris' prescription diving mask.  That's impressive!

* TM BeckyJo looooves Cherry Garcia, Cherry Garcia, Cherry Garcia - whiichever size she gets, she eats!  She's in a predicament when pints are buy one get one free..

Along came the prepared speeches....

* TM Randolph was voluntold by a certain DTM for this speech to tell the story of how different we are as parents with our firstborn and our baby.  We can't help but remember that insanity is hereditary - we get it from our kids!

* TM Aleta reinforced that trust and credibility are the foundation for any good Public Relations plan - and toss aside the by-laws if possible before you read them!  She Won Best Speaker Award.

In terms of the evaluations...

* TM Terri praised TM Randolph's parenting skills in finding a balance between having dreams for our kids and pushing those dreams on our kids.  Big difference!

* TM BeckyJo praised TM Aleta's spot-on facial expressions and her commitment to excellence.  She was left pondering how many coffees has Aleta had beore she signs on to EarlyBirds?? She Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

PROLIFIC, adjective

Producing or able to produce large amounts

Example: When we join Toastmasters, most of us are prolific users of Umms Errs and other fillers.

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

https://www.youtube.com/live/uBjqUSIytAU

See you next week!

Ana Illsen

VP Education

A morning encumbered with praise for Toastmasters, deck-building and motorcycle riding

 

We hope to have our dear Ana back next week, meanwhile, please bear with me as I try to follow Ana's method of recapping our weekly meeting. Chris G.

We started on time after Mary Helen snapped Jim out of his techno-induced coma, and Tom Quinn was voluntold to deliver the invocation. Well-done Tom!

Pam Schrimsher led us in Table Topics with an end in mind. She wants to collect pieces of these mini-speeches this morning to make a promotional video about our wonderful club. She asked that we come up with one word that sums up. We learned that:

• Randolph Bastein just can't quit us. He joined Earlybirds when he needed to get better at speaking for his work. When he got busier at work he figured he could not continue in Earlybirds, but Kip Barkley told him, "Just do what you can." That was 4 years ago and Randolph is a treasured member of our club still today. Inspired.
• Terri Montealegre was hooked by all of the members of Earlybirds but especially Ana, our membership-recruiter-in-chief. Joining Earlybirds has reawakened her early memories - that train really does exist. Fantastic.
• Chris Guld is so happy to have an audience for her stories. It's what gets her up so early in the morning. By the time the meeting is over she is wide awake and Enriched with the Variety of the meeting.
• BeckyJo Bean is looking for a fight, but she's been disappointed. Of all the diversity of opinions and thought represented by the members of Earlybirds we remain surprisingly civil. Even when we met for breakfast - no food fights broke out. Surprising Friendships. 
• Tom Quinn misses the in person meetings but is so happy that he doesn't have to brush his teeth or wear pants when he meets with us in our little boxes. He likes us, he really likes us! He says we are the Greatest.
• Roslyn Parker, filling out the membership application as she spoke, has been in and out of Toastmasters for years. After visiting Earlybirds once, she is ready to be committed. She won Best Table Topics award.

Then came the prepared speeches.

DTM Jim Day endures being membership chair for his Harley motorcycle club and he told us how his clubs members are Olympic champions in riding motorcycles from Florida to Homer Alaska without GPS, or motels. We all listened in horror as he showed pictures of people sleeping next to their bikes for only 2 hours as they rode for 22. We're so glad he was telling us about the other people who did this .. not him.

Aleta Richmond decked her co-worker with a 12 foot board as the saw broke the board apart and turned it into a see-saw. Not to worry, the removal of the board revealed a pot of honey worked by a swarm of bees. Not to worry, she had plenty of benadryl and ice for the bee stings. We learned that hex-head construction screws can be removed to allow recycling of the boards to another part of the deck, and leftover railings can be modified and you can save a lot of money by building a deck yourself as long as you are a very talented woman. She won Best Speaker award.

Then came evaluations.

Randolph Bastein lamented the 15 seconds overtime that disqualified DTM (don't time me) Jim Day because he liked this speech so much. Hoka Hey - tell us more. He won Best Evaluator award.

Chris Guld praised Aleta for standing up and putting her whole body into her language and we would never have noticed that we couldn't see her deck if she hadn't said "Sorry." 

The word of the day was Encumbered: to be held back, weighed down, overburdened.

It's all about Toastmasters, sandwiches, and bed-wetting, a Transformational morning at Earlybirds

This recap is -sadly- prepared by Chris Guld in the absence of our invaluable Ana Illsen. Her husband , Alex, passed away on Saturday, August 3, 2024. There will not be a funeral service; however, donations can be made to Life Essentials in memory of Alex Illsen and sent to Life Essentials, 7680 Stirling Bridge Blvd, Delray Beach, FL 33446 or online www.lifeessentialsprogram.com. Take care of yourself Ana, we look forward to welcoming you back when you're ready.

The meeting started on-time with an invocation and a joke by Terri Montealegre.

• We couldn't tell that Randolph Bastein was unprepared for the TopicMaster role as he led us in a variety of fun and thought-provoking topics. 
• We learned:Terri Montealegre uses YouTube calming music videos to train her new, energetic puppy.
• Jim Guld likes to reverse-sear his steaks, but his most majestic meal is a sandwich because he is the sandwich king.
• Mary Helen Day would invite Shonda Rhimes to her late night talk show to discuss Gray's Anatomy as long as she made sure to laugh a lot.
• Gail West likes dancing but only when she's in a happy mood and has a line dance routine led by Chris Guld.
• Aleta Richmond uses her chocolate-induced hyperness to do many things, including how to breathe and be serene with Tai Chi.
• Chris Guld needs an imaginary friend from history, but they would need to be a dancer who would join her in dancing to Polk Salad Annie.
• Pam Schrimsher would be both the funniest and the smartest in any room as long as everyone else was infected with brain worms.
• Jim Day is working hard to waste time on the Internet but he keeps getting distracted by the need to fix all those airplanes so they won't lose their doors.
• Randolph Bastein is scoflaw who calls on himself to speak but we didn't dare correct him as we don't want to wet our beds. He won Best Table Topics Award

Next we had one prepared speech and then a report about the recent TLI (Toastmasters Learning Institute)

Mary-Helen, the vice president of membership of Early Bird Toastmasters, inspired us with challenges and rewards of recruiting new members and retaining current ones. She emphasized the importance of expanding the group's social networks and attracting younger members to sustain the group for the next decades. She encouraged the members to be proactive in inviting new people and to see themselves as ambassadors for the group. We look forward to a "Family Day" in a future Earlybird meeting.

Chris and Jim Guld also sang the praises of Toastmasters as an organization and how much they enjoyed attending a face-to-face meeting at the Florida Atlantic University campus in Davie this past weekend. Chris reviewed information on the "Moments of Truth" breakout session and Jim enjoyed the "Evaluate to Motivate" session which emphasized the sandwich approach much to Jim's delight. We should expect both of these topics to be revisited in future Earlybird meetings.

 
For evaluations, TM Randolph put on his 3d hat of the morning and evaluated Mary Helen's speech, saying it was so good that he wanted to become a member again! (We need to capture clips from both Mary Helen's speech and Randolph's evaluation to create a promo video for Earlybirds!)

The word of the day was
Transformation, noun
a marked change in form, nature, or appearance
The caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly is a beautiful example of metamorphosis.

The YouTube recording is at: https://www.youtube.com/live/nN78DAZFM6k
OR - you can see it on our Earlybird Blog: https://earlybirdtm.blogspot.com/

Summer, Frisella of Puglia, Eulogy and A Life Well Lived - a morning with moxie in EarlyBirds

Dear Members, Guests, and Friends,

We received the visit of our new Area Director, TM Marc Flanagan.  Welcome TM Flanagan!

The Tom Quinn started us with a self-composed inspirational invocation.  This was followed by very a propos Table Topics about Summer, led by TM Jarrett.

* TM Marc has foggy recollections of summer camps where he learned that he would not become a professional tennis player or polo player.

* TM Terri will soon regale us with Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

* TM The Tom recited a poem about summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowin' through the jasmine in my mind....   He Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Randolph marveled at the moxie required to participate in the Summer Olympics, which were sparked by a nefarious Munich 1938 Nazi olympics.

* TM Gail is busy researching the meaning of dog days of summer.  Keep us posted, please!

* TM Jim G.'s summer school consisted of the School of Hard Knocks, where he learned a trade or the family business.

* DTM Jim D. has had summers of fun and sun - Hurricane Andrew was definitely not fun, but riding his Harley is and what tops it is his recent trip to Germany with DTM Mary Helen.

Along came (3) prepared speeches...

* TM Paolo delighted us with a local dish from Puglia called La Frisella - dry bread moistened in water, cherry tomatoes, basil, goat cheese and extra virgin olive oil.  This was paired up with an exquisite rose wine.  We are all preparing the recipe right now!

* TM Pam gave a eulogy for a family member whose vocation was to study bats, mice, critters hidden in black creeks - not glamorous but her absolute favorite!

* TM Chris gave us a hodgepodge of her life served with a smile - from huskies in Alaska to bi-coastal living to meeting her hero and travelling cross-country in a RV for 15 years.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

And then came the evaluations...

* TM Randolph admires TM Paolo's qualities as showman extraordinaire and has become a devoted rose wine connoiseur.

* TM Aleta liked TM Pam's eulogy and suggested maybe she add a little subtle humor to it to lighten it up.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

* DTM Jim D. was blown away by TM Chris' visual aids and was most impressed with TM Chris saving an injured pelican while kayaking off the coast of California.

The Word of the Day was

MOXIE, noun

= Courage and determination

_ Enery and pep

- Know-how

Example:  It takes a lot of moxie to circumvent life's curves.

Here's the link to the recording:

https://youtube.com/live/MIXvGlCACgE?feature=share

See you next week!

Ana I.

Recap Writer 

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

Likes, Nomads and Poetry in Motion - the EarlyBirds meeting was not vexing!!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

We had a heartfelt invocation in the Christian tradition by TM Manny.

TM Jim G. thanked the outgoing panel of officers for their service and formally welcomed the new panel of officers:

President - TM Aleta

VP Ed - TM Ana

Treasurer - DTM Jim D.

VP Membership - DTM Mary Helen 

VP Public Relations - TM BeckyJo

Secretary - TM Terri

Sargeant - at - Arms - TM Jim G.

TM Chris led us in personal table topics about our likes.  We found out that...

* TM Terri played Old Maid as a child but much, much prefers dancing salsa and bachata to her heart's delight.

* TM Paolo likes driving if he has good sales results and while transporting a carload of screaming children in the Italian countryside.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Manny will do any chore in the house except cooking - but he definitely signs up for tasting and eating the end result!!

* TM Gail loooves to sing since she was a child and once sang a solo in front of Rev. Billy Graham and a congregation of 2,000.

* TM Jarrett likes to have house guests, except when they make loud clanging noises as his current one does but he's looking forward to his Mom joining in the external firework noises for the 4th of July.

* TM Aleta has grown to like giving speeches, inspired by our buddy Kip and mapping every speech to a specific project.  She is a woman on a Pathways mission!

Along came two excellent prepared speeches...

* TM Jose inspired some of us to become nomads like him and select travel destinations where food is of the essence (ie Basque Country in the Spanish Pyrenees).  

* TM Marie awed us with her very descriptive language of love expressed to her little granddaughter while riding the ocean waves. She Won Best Speaker Award.

As far as evaluations go...

* TM Aleta praised TM Jose for his professional slides, his listenable voice and his ability to inspire us to become travel gourmet nomads.  

* TM Jarrett was exhilarated with TM Marie's wealth of descriptive language and heartfelt command as a wordsmith.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

TM BeckyJo General Evaluated the meeting with outstanding powers of improvisation while keeping track of gonnas.

The Word of the Day was

VEX, verb or adjective

To annoy or worry someone, usually over something relatively trivial.

Example:  Most of us are blessed to have vexing problems of an affluent lifestyle.  

Here's the link to the recording:

https://youtube.com/live/Un8NAUoJTaE?feature=share

See you next week on Independence Day!

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Summertime, Milei and Letter to My Son - no fake news at EarlyBirds today!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Pam's Solstice Invocation in memory of DTM Kip started us off.

I, Ana, led with summer-themed table topics.  We realized that...

* TM Paolo's favorite summer activity as a teenager was chasing girls, and his favorite summer activity as a father of teenagers is watching the teenagers without blinking.

* TM Marie was spat upon by a large fish in Universal theme park which grossed her out but managed to keep her cool.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Tim loves all food but his favorite summer food is eating watermelon near the Ohio River and having seed-spitting competitions with his brother.

* TM Jose's favorite summer song is Alice Cooper's School's Out, school's out for the summer, school's out forever, I'm bored to pieces - and then he chased the girls....

* TM Aleta wore a skimpy itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polkadot bikini... and in the water, she wanted to stay...One, Two, Three, Four, Tell the People What She Wore!

* TM The Tom's favorite summer childhood memory was staying cool with the Maid of the MIst waterfall in Niagara Falls.  Oh what a summer that was!

Along came the prepared speeches...

* TM Ricardo shared the sad decline of Argentina as the top country in the world to the 70th - or 140th by some accounts - due to generations of widespread corruption and how the current President, Javier Milei, is attempting to right that ship of state.  Viva la Libertad, Carajo!!

* TM Randolph read us a heartfelt letter to his son, where Randolph now has allowed space for his son's dreams to play into his son's life, and he, Randolph, is just a loving father.  He Won Best Speaker Award.

Regarding the evaluations...

* TM Aleta praised TM Ricardo for the educational nature of his speech where we learned that a President's hair does not need to be coiffed to decrease inflation and eliminate corruption.

* TM The Tom totally related to TM Randolph's letter to his son and agreed that parenting does not come with a User's Manual.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

FAKE NEWS, noun

False stories that appear as news, spread on internet and other media, and are created to influence political views or intended as a joke.

Example:  In this day and age of instant communication and Artificial Intelligence, everything is technically fake news.  That's the story - and we're sticking to it!

Here's the link to the recording

https://youtube.com/live/q3b2zhgUjpY?feature=share

See you next week!

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Eclectic topics, Musical Gasps, Tales of the South Pacific - an undiscombobulated morning at Early Birds!

Dear Members, Guests, Friends:

TM The Tom led us with eclectic topics, from whence we gathered that...

* TM Terri would invent "Rest Your Bones Day" as a national holiday, when you simply do nothing, nada, niente, or if you're really dynamic, you take yourself to the beach.

* TM BeckyJo would fly around Epcot with a drunken space alien and ride Space Mountain, again and again.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Ricardo was petrified - and made the rest of us petrified by association - by reading the bathroom scene in The Shining, second only to the bathroom scene in Psycho.

* DTM Mary Helen, calling in from Babylon Berlin, is no longer a mere lurker in FB Aldi's Aisle of Shame but a full fledged participant.

* TM Marie faced the majestic ocean in Atlantic City after spending days at her father's quarry in her rural home - and her life has just never been the same again.

* TM Paolo would become Domenico Modugno or preferably Rodolfo Valentino (both Apulia's favorite sons) if he could be the Master of Disguise.  For now, he's flying back to meet Chair Giorgia Meloni at the G7 summit.

We had 2 prepared speeches...

* TM Pam took us all down memory lane in a humorous speech about becoming concert singer groupies in the chapter of our lives called The Last Gasp... of our octogenarian favorite bands.  She Won Best Speaker Award.

* I, Ana, shared how overwater bungalows in French Polynesia came into existence and how Tahitian television has spread to Jamaica, Maldives, Mexico, hither and thither.

And along came evaluations....

* TM Randolph praised TM Pam for her funny, funnier, funniest speech about old musical glories that are literally taking their last gasps.

* TM Jose enjoyed learning the history of overwater bungalows and was glad there were no shark encounters - especially since there were 3 attacks in the Florida Panhandle in knee-deep water over the last week.  Yikes!  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

The Word of the Day was

DISCOMBOBULATED, adj.

Confused, disconcerted.

Example:  Discombobulated is the natural state - most of the time - of some of our EarlyBird members, who shall remain nameless....

Here's the link to the recording

https://youtube.com/live/376Btvobelo?feature=share

See you next week!

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Vacations, Bahiamar and Bitcoin - a lucrative morning at EarlyBirds!

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

TM Aleta inspired us with enlightening thoughts from President Theodore Roosevelt.

TM Marie led us with fun, lighthearted topics.  We found out that...

* TM Emmanuel's daughter's recurring dream is to go see lanterns in China. Let's go! Let's go! Let's Go!  He Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM BeckyJo packs her entire worldly belongings in case winter, summer, spring, fall, thirst, hunger happen in her 5-hour road trip. She Won Best Table Topics Award.

* TM Pam is the only person in America who has not been fingerprinted so if she starts a life of crime she will not easily be tracked down.  She votes for security screening MRIs at the airport.

* TM The Tom fondly reminisced about unforgettable road trips with 4 young 'uns one year apart constantly asking "Are we there yet?" and fortuitously finding a drill sargeant to tell them they're not there yet.

* TM Jim G. has mastered phone photography from the best phone lens by urging people to say "Sex" instead of "Cheese" which expands their smiles to unforeseen limits.

As far as prepared speeches go...

* I, self-appointed sagacious reporter on the Broward Beat, revealed the lucrative deals happening downtown concerning our former landmark soon to be demolished, Bahia Mar.  I Won Best Speaker Award.

* TM Chris revealed her BitCoin seed phrase so let's take advantage of the blockchain interconnected public ledgers and trace her cryptocurrency wallet to make a lucrative digital transfer.

Along came evaluations...

* TM Pam was dismayed to hear what city hotshots do with our tax dollars but at least she did not see my notes anywhere so that's a relief.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

*TM The Tom’s evaluation of TM Chris Bitcoin.  He has converted and is moving to El Salvador, where Bitcoin is Legal Tender.  He’s tired of worthless and bulky wads of dollar bills lining his pockets….

The Word of the Day was

LUCRATIVE, adj. 

producing a lot of money; especially of a business, job or activity.

Video games are one of the most lucrative industries on Planet Earth.

Here is the link to the recording:

https://youtube.com/live/1tahS5hFFhc?feature=share

See you next week!

Ana I.

Recap Writer