Anemic pandemic, curmudgeons and polls - a fun Early Birds meeting!

 

0:00​ Start 19:06​ Table Topics 45:07​ Speaker 1 - Aleta Richmond 52:28​ Speaker 2 - Chris Guld - How to do Polls in Zoom 1:12:42​ Evaluations

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

TM Pam embarked us on a dreamy world of a dissipating pandemic where you can actually stop insiding and start outsiding.  What a concept!  And so we learned that….

 

• I, TM Ana, was welcomed into my first home with icy pipes in a Chicago suburb by some friendly lady neighbors with a tray of homemade frozen cookies.
• Since Spain is always “different”, the lockdown only allows family members into the home, so he’s waiting for my flight from Florida to arrive.  In the meantime, he spends his time at bars and cafes, where non-family members are allowed in tables of 6.
• Soon-to-be Early Bird TM Paolo Italianly said “Non tutti I mali vengono per nuocere” (“no hay mal que por bien no venga” in Spanish) (“every storm cloud has a silver lining” in meteorological English) and his has been that he has spent the year on Toastmasters Zooms and Early Birds Club is the finalist!!
• TM Lorena has recently discovered that supermarkets don’t sell life so she is urging everyone, instead, to fly the friendly skies to visit family and friends.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.
• DTM Jim D. has not gone to restaurants or weekend outings during the past year and as a result he has become extremely rich.
• Guest TM Hannah marveled that this time of seclusion has allowed us to take up old hobbies which we could not pursue when we actually had a life.

 

And then came the prepared speeches…

 

• From her satellite dish outpost, TM Aleta is leading a volunteer a women’s professional organization whose motto is “Anything worth doing is worth overdoing” and which mostly refers to eating and talking.   To boot, this completes her Level 5 project in Pathways.  She Won Best Speaker Award.
• Self-appointed DTM (Dinosaur Toast Master) Chris G. explained that the key to creating polls is to have clout with the Zoom account owner.

 

As far as evaluations go….

 

• TM Tom praised TM Aleta’s simple, concise and constructive explanation of what it’s like to herd female cats.
• TM Joe commended TM Chris for using plain English to take us down technological rabbit holes.  He Won Best Evaluator Award.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

CURMUDGEON, noun

 

A cranky old person – often loveable underneath it all.

 

Ex. Early Birds Club is instrumental in removing curmudgeonry from the most curmudgeon-proficient of us.

 

 

Link to the YouTube recording: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmsS78wklqk

 

 

See you next week!

 

Ana I.

Recap Writer

Quotable quotes, HOA Hedges and Networking Follies - a fun morning at EarlyBirds

 

 Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

Commemorating Black History Month, TM Marie raised some notable quotes.

• TM Joe often exudes confusion due to shyness and coaches no less than 125 rowdy kids that propel him onto his field of dreams.
• TM Paolo doesn't limit himself by the limited imagination of others and that's what successfully landed him in Miami 25 years ago, and counting….
• TM Lorena confirmed that timing is always right when you're taking care of yourself and not concerned about others.
• TM Carmine asked us to hold fast to our dreams and help each other fly.  He's tired of hanging out with turkeys.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.
• TM Chris is made to feel that what other people say or do is mostly not worth remembering. 
• TM Pam thinks character is power when you have time to use it – certainly not when raising kids and surviving.  Now she's finally thriving.

 

Along came the prepared speeches…

 

• TM Tom felt like the out spoke (no pun intended) of the wheel but an angel who shall remain nameless (for now) steered him into becoming President of his HOA.  Tom is currently focused on Hedge Trimming for Pathways.
• TM Jeff wrote a letter to a legendary favorite coach who taught him to eat the breakfast of champions! He Won Best Speaker Award.
• DTM (Dinosaur ToastMaster) Kip, speaking from a Honda Dealership on the Bay just north of Key West, gave us a 3-minute crash course on storytelling for non-profits.

 

As far as evaluations go….

 

• DTM Mary Helen revealed she is the angel protagonist of Tom's speech – or was it perhaps her twin?  Tom's HOA adventure is irrefutably called Hedging your Hedges.
• TM Joe exuded vulnerability revealing how TM Jeff's speech touched him at his core and, once again,  stirred up his lifelong addiction to the Jets.   He Won Best Evaluator Award.
• TM Pam praised DTM Kip for coming out of the dark (to the tune of Coming Out of the Dark by Gloria Estefan) and reflecting on his latest – never last - networking event.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

EXUDE, verb

 

1. To ooze out
2. To display conspicuously or abundantly.

 

Ex:  If a sticky substance abundantly oozes a pine tree smell, it's definitely a scented candle.

 

TM Chris took a poll about creating polls and the results surpassed polling expectations.  Now a speech is in the imminent future (ie next week).

 

Below is the link to today's recording:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KRL-lpm4fQ

 

Ana I

Recap Writer

 

Dual realities, Optimism and UFOs - an esoteric EarlyBird meeting

 

TM Carmine started us off with the lighter side of idioms. We came to find out that….

• TM Lorena is beginning to trust that the light at the end of the tunnel is beautiful daylight, not an oncoming train as she had previously thought.
• Guest Dianne confirmed that in order to straighten out those pesky wrinkles in shirt collars, you must strike while the iron is hot.
• TM Jose bites more than he can chew at every meal but pulling a thumbnail sketch out of hat at an interview landed him a lucrative job.
• I (TM Ana) burn my bridges and shoot myself in the foot as part of my favorite daily activities.
• TM Paolo compared table topics to skydiving and when the red timing light strikes, he upset the dot dot dot without losing his adrenaline rush. He Won Best Table Topics Award.
• TM Jim D. confirmed that you break new ground when you fail to open the parachute on a red timing light or run into the train when chasing the light at the end of the tunnel.

And then came the prepared speeches….

• I, TM Ana, stated that dual realities are just one big fat lie invented as a marketing campaign by the lenscrafters chain. I Won Best Speaker Award.
• TM Aleta revealed that -as suspected by our group- she is an eternal optimist who finds the donkey in the you-know-what… in the divorce, what were you thinking???
• DTM Kip asserted that he just got off a flying saucer and became a consultant who gets paid to give people esoteric choices about their devices. His Pathways advice is for fun and for free.

As far as evaluations go…

• TM Pam asked me to spend a little cash and get better lighting and to put down the dang prop gently to avoid giving the audience an earache. She Won Best Evaluator Award. Besides that, she loved the speech….LOL (eerily reminiscent of “Mrs. Lincoln, besides that, did you enjoy the play?”)
• TM Marie commended TM Aleta for her cheerful disposition and her ability to make a sno-cone out of a blizzard of multi-marriages.
• TM Tom asked DTM Kip to stop fluttering his eyes and declared his undying friendship to this friendly martian.

The Word of the Day was



ESOTERIC, adj.

Understood by only a select group of people.



Example: The word esoteric stuck TM Carmine in a spinning wheel between Esoteric and Exoteric. As much as he tried, he just couldn’t get unstuck. Will he move on by next Thursday??? (To be continued…)



The link to today’s recording:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPvLM6nKQkg





See you next week!



Ana I.

Recap Writer

From the horse's mouth to the Andes to blurred backgrounds - a fun morning at EarlyBirds

 

On this frigid South Florida morning, TM Tom started us off with the most obscure idioms he could possibly find. We learned that….

• I (TM Ana) live in a tropical igloo and I exercise being as cold as charity because I have cold hands and feet.
• TM Carmine repeatedly stated “I am that I am” calm it strong which clearly proves that he has been reading Dr. Seuss again.
• DTM Mary Helen believes where there’s muck there’s brass, although her sink is stainless steel but the muck is there in her dirty dishes.
• TM Chris has lots of bright ideas while hubby Jim carries them out, which proves the devil is in the details. She Won Best Table Topics Award.
• TM Jim is always right in carrying out a certain someone’s bright ideas to later be told he’s wrong, so he knows he simply errs on the right side. It’s comforting.
• 
  
• TM Marie ran out some of the clock with laughter (new Table Topics trick) and tells the circling vultures ‘not the dickie bird!’.

And then came the much-awaited Icebreaker….


TM Lorena told us about her breakneck-paced childhood in oxygen-deprived high altitude Quito and her move to the US at age 19, where she became free to breathe normally again at 13 ft above sea level. She Won Best Speaker Award.





And our second speaker was none other than one of the Club’s favorites…


TM Pam is sticking to her New Year’s Resolutions of recent-past-wearing Not Your Mother’s Jeans to presently-wearing Your Mother’s Jeans to imminently-wearing Your Daughter’s Jeans. The secret to success is in the LGOreos!! (pronounced Ligorious)



As far as evaluations went….

• TM Jeff was impressed with TM Lorena’s icebreaker for its organization, conciseness, clarity of delivery, eloquence, purpose. Besides that, please tell us, did you like the speech, TM Jeff? He Won Best Evaluator Award.
• TM Aleta confessed that TM Pam is one of her favorite speakers because the light bulb has to want to change if the therapist is going to be any good, and for the reminder that hope is not a plan and we must actively deter increasingly snug jeans.

Technical Tip: Use a blurred virtual background so your dishes can stay dirty indefinitely.



Moral of the Meeting: Avoid adverbs and put your punch into your verbs. We will all take this blurred message today with us wherever we go (from the kitchen to the living room, for most of us).



The Word of the Day was



FAVORITE, adj.

(Origin: from the Latin Favoritus)



Preferred, favored



Example: All of us think we are a certain someone’s favorite. Hah.



See you next week!



Ana I.

Recap Writer

Surrender, Perspective, Gourmet Dining and Interplanetary Landings - speech contest at its best in EarlyBirds!

 What a fun morning of interesting, varied speeches!

• TM Tom started us off with a tale of Eli Parker, an Iroquois who crafted the Civil War Surrender Document. Goes to show the importance of ESL (English as a Second Language).
• TM Carmine proved that life’s perspective is all about different sizes of cardboard boxes and a Timex watch. He Won First Place Award.
• TM Jose took us down a mouth-watering culinary trip of Spain’s most revered national dish – the Tortilla de Patatas. The existential question is: With or Without Onions???? He Won Third Place Award.
• DTM Kip confirmed what we suspected all along: he comes from an intergalactic universe and first landed in a farm in Southwestern Kentucky…. He Won Second Place Award.

The Area 21 Speech Contest will be held on Friday, February 4, at 7 pm, at a still undisclosed location. Stay tuned.





Link to the recording: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bmY3kbhv08





See you next week!



Ana

Recap Writer

Perspective, Perspective, Perspective - A Table Topics Contest at EarlyBird Toastmasters

 

TM Lorena V. was inducted as our newest member. Welcome, Lorena! You’re a great addition to the club.



The Table Topics Contest was ably run by TM Marie R., deftly assisted by Chief Judge DTM Mary Helen. A dynamic duo! Polifacetic TM Jim G. was Sargeant-at-Arms, Timer, Poofed contestants in and out of the room, while TM Chris decided to go back to basics to re-learn how to unmute.



There was a moment of panic at the start of the meeting when we experienced double vision of TM Carmine but we quickly sobered up.



The Topic was: P E R S P E C T I V E

• TM Jose realized perspective has evolved in his life – from carefree student to employability to parenthood to enjoying life with Zoom. He Won Second Place.
• TM Aleta’s perspective is overwhelmed by the overwhelming number of our planet’s inhabitants and their very different perspectives.
• TM Tom stated unequivocally that perspective is what kind of sauce you ladle onto your spaghetti.
• I, TM Ana, compared myself to a horse with side blinders (sorry PETA) and seek other people’s perspectives before totally ignoring them. I Won Third Place.
• TM Jeff won First Place and will represent our Club at the next level. His perspective is laser-focused on winning the Contest.

We did not have a Word of the Day because we couldn’t allow anything to cloud our Perspective.



Next week is our International Speech Contest. Get ready for some terrific speeches!



Here's the link for the recording: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_YPepPbWGs



Have a great week.



Ana I.

Recap Writer

Time Travel, Food and Saturn's cycles - a fun morning at Early Birds

TM Jeff took us on a Time Travel journey. We thus heard that….

• TM Jim G. has attained nobility in spite of an unauspicious academic track. Another day when he hasn’t needed Algebra.
• TM Marie would like to become the artist formerly known as Cher and sing If I Could Turn Back Time to all her relatives.
• TM Carmine became a Reverend in front of our very eyes and revealed that he simply adores his wife ever since she has recently learned how to read.
• TM Tom is diligently learning Spanish so he can join the millions of American and British pilgrim tourists that line the Camino de Santiago in Spain. He Won Best Table Topics Award.
• Soon-to-be TM Lorena would transform into a butterfly if she had the power to first become a caterpillar. First things first.
• Since TM Joe is a reckless driver, his family guilted him into not flying, but his goal is to fly like an eagle as soon as his daughter checks into her college dorm.
• TM Aleta does not want to quit any of her habits because she’s totally habituated. The only innocuous habit she can talk about in polite company is her chocolate addiction.

In the prepared speeches…

• I, TM Ana, revealed my shameless former predilection for coconut flan and how the Twelve Steps of Flan Addicts Anonymous straightened me out… till I check out singing My Way…..
• DTM Mary Helen talked about Saturn recycled vehicles, purchased by young turks at the nearest Gallaxy dealership, which provide us a sense of achievement, consolidation and finally pull us out from Subaru obscurity. She Won Best Speaker Award.

And then came evaluations….

• TM Marie enjoyed the clarity of my voice and encouraged me to avoid roving eyes, blinded by Klieg Third Degree interrogatory-style lights. She Won Best Evaluator Award.
• TM Joe praised DTM Mary Helen’s surprising penchant for the obscure and supernatural - astrology at its best. Who knew? She looks so down-to-earth!

The Word of the Day was



NOBLE, adjective



Having eminence and renown; of illustrious behavior.

Of high moral qualities.



Example: A misspelling in the family name was recently discovered in Alfred Noble (formerly a person, now a Swedish prize)’s birth certificate.





YouTube link to today's recording: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTctw8-DOEY



Next week is the Table Topics Contest. Come ready to participate in this noble (nobel?) cause.



Respectfully submitted,





Ana I.

Recap Inventor

missing recap for Jan 7

 

Christmas movies, Inner Photo Organizer and A Visit From St Nick - a great EarlyBird meeting

 TM Joe started us off with vivacious Christmas-related Table Topics. We

discovered that...

* TM Paolo has disconnected the tv for his progeny and instead, they
do family Table Topics around the tree. The 1-week-old newborn has
vivaciously wailed for the Disney Channel to be reinstated into the home.
* TM BeckyJo was completely taken aback at the notion that there is no
Santa Claus. All these years she has been trying to sell Santa on a board
game she invented and has not heard back. She will definitely approach
Matel.
* TM Marie proposed to her son the idea of giving a gift to his noisy
neighbors and received a grumpy grinchy resounding NO.
* I, TM Ana, recalled a boss who turned down my brilliant negotiation
approach of keeping my salary and benefits while slashing my workhours by
half to fulfill his wistful remark that he would pay me double if only he
could. He wasted a golden opportunity.
* TM Tom looks for a wonderful life ever since watching the movie of
the same name from the basement of his grandpa's home. He Won Best Table
Topics Award.

And along came prepared speeches, and oh, what amazing speeches we had -
it's all in the G family!

* TM Chris vivaciously displayed her multitasking inner child photo
organizer on the IPO Freudian Scale and introduced us to her Magic Attic,
where photos are date sorted by artificial intelligence. Piece of cake!
She Won Best Speaker Award.

* TM Jim surpassed his prior renditions of A Visit from St Nicholas,
with back visual images and a description of the origin of this 200-year-old
poem.

As for evaluations....

* DTM Mary Helen admired TM Chris's professional mastery which makes
organizing 25 million photos - in Chris's own words - "as easy as 1-2-3".
She Won Best Evaluator Award.
* TM Carmine thoroughly enjoyed TM Jim's rendition of A Visit From St
Nicholas, which he has heard before and wants to hear again and again.

Overall, aside from having a great time, we reached several profound
conclusions:

1) People just don't use enough adverbs
2) What's a selfie without a bomber?
3) It's imperative that we enunciate the ends of words
4) We all need to find our Magic Attic to store our shoeboxes.

The Word of the Day was

VIVACIOUS, adjective

Lively in tone, conduct or spirit

Below is the link to the recording:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbjUVUcY1PQ

See you on January 7th!


Ana I.
Recap Writer

Team Turkey Reports Back, of Mice and Mentoring and Virtual Virtuosity - a great meeting at EarlyBirds!

 TM Carmine prepped us for the upcoming Table Topics Contest with 2-word Table Topics.  It became clear that…

 

• TM Jeff is writing a book titled “Life According to Golf Supersedes Pesky Imperfection”.   We EarlyBird members all want a signed copy.
• DTM Mary Helen pondered about hoax versus reality and concluded that she’s living in a universe of parallel reality.  So there.
• TM Denis cheerfully stated that the pollution party is coming to a screeching halt and we will all drown in a cesspool disinfected by ample reserves of Jack Daniels and Johnnie Walker.
• TM Jim prefers to talk about women’s rights versus women’s lefts and is looking forward to a matriarchal parallel universe.  We know he’s sleeping in the big bed tonight, Bada Bing Bada Boom.
• I (TM Ana) try to discard the heavy suitcase of punishment that I sometimes carry along because the subject of my unforgiveness is usually dancing at the Bada Bing Bada Boom nightclub and lounge.
• TM Marie said despair is self-inflicted, the unexpected surpasses all expectations and happily concluded that hope is indeed eternal.
• TM Chris said power is often not accompanied by justice – or else what’s heaven for?  In an unexpected Book Club-inflicted detour, she took us to the Presidential Palace in Santiago de Chile, bombed to smithereens along with Salvador Allende in 1973.  Bada Bing Bada Boom.
• TM Roosevelt chooses wealth over poverty, but is well aware that wealth does not equate happiness – just look at happy shirtless kids under mango trees in Port-au-Prince and those jumping off the towers of high finance in Wall Street when the Dow goes down.   He Won Best Table Topics Award.

 

We heard some excellent speeches….

 

• TM Pam regaled us with the good, the bad and the ugly - her fantasy of a Thanksgiving/Birthday celebration with her scattered progeny.  Lessons learned:   cranberry cement over crackers is now a trendy appetizer, your chronically unpunctual offspring are chronically unpunctual and  the smell of roast turkey overrides Covid hypochondria.  She Won Best Speaker Award.
• DTM Kip’s Harry Potter/Dickensian boarding school and if nothing else, his trusted mentor Professor Hogwart Donnelly fully prepared Kip for his legendary annual Halloween speech with a smoking cauldron of New Ageism.
• TM Aleta survived the obstacles in her otherwise virtuous virtual arbitration hearing while her dog Bogie, like the late actor who bore the same name, was totally strung out on prescription drugs.

 

As for evaluations….

 

• TM Tom marveled at TM Pam’s air of command and organization while herding family turtles and he, for one,  would never dare be late to her birthday party.  He hopes this will get him an invitation to the next one, in spite of the pervasive Covid miasma.
• TM Denis fully enjoyed hearing about DTM Kip’s college advisor who play-acted historic eras and inspired DTM Kip to persevere in his failed experiments with photocells which naturally resulted in Kip’s lifetime animosity toward hapless Puritans.
• TM Roosevelt praised TM Aleta’s endurance to low bandwidth and encouraged her to always have a “Plan B”, whose name is Jim G (it rhymes), for shared screen expediency and timing requirements.  He Won Best Evaluation Award.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

BADA BING BADA BOOM

Exclamation, North American, informal

 

To do something effortlessly and smoothly.

 

Example:  Watch ineffable episodes of Tony Soprano spending time at his club, Bada Bing, and doling out Bada Boom to those who stray.

 

Here is the link to today’s recording:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc-iMXxBqQU

 

See you next week!

 

Ana I.

Recap Writer

My Way, Hand Gestures and The Proposal - a fun morning at EarlyBirds!

 I, (Ana) introduced Profound Revelations as Table Topics.  Hence we learned that…

 

• TM Marie does have a magical bed where To Do lists get promptly completed… and then she wakes up!
• TM BeckyJo wants to buy a home in Miami formerly owned by a Cocaine Cowboy and find a serious stash of bills buried under a tropical palm tree.   She Won Best Table Topics Award.
• TM Aleta thoroughly enjoys being in the best company – herself, and doing something productive -  I can think of knitting a coat out of dog hair?
• TM Paolo confessed that his favorite activity is sitting on a park bench laughing at joggers – as we all know, laugher is healthier than jogging.
• TM Denis suffered a panic attack at the thought of skydiving and instead got stuck in traffic on the way to Toast of Las Olas.
• Guest Lorena compared her life to falling into the same pothole repeatedly and euphemistically called it experience.
• TM Jim G. blames the pandemic for his morning drinking but still manages to keep accurate time at the group.  Hey, it’s five o’clock somewhere, especially with Zoom!

 

We heard some outstanding speeches from the renowned “Jingston Trio”…

 

• TM Jose took us on an amazing visual travelog to The Way (Pilgrimage Route for foodies to the burial site of St. James- aka Santiago).  Sign up for a tour at Jose’s virtual travel agency!  He Won Best Speaker Award.
• TM Joe made a clear distinction of what can be a friendly gesture anywhere and the same, not-so-friendly gesture in NYC.  It’s just a geopolitical zoning thing.
• TM Jeff succumbed to parental and societal pressure and proposed marriage (he calls it pulling the trigger) to his beloved at Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth.  So far it’s working – we all know it’s all about the design of the ring!

 

As far as evaluations go….

 

• TM Carmine was so impressed with TM Jose’s speech that uncharacteristically, he actually ended up his evaluation on time.  The room was speechless!
• TM Tom praised TM Joe for his wit, his eloquence and his screen share of the unforgettable Gina Lollobrigida. 
• TM Chris lauded TM Jeff for making the decision to propose and in so doing, has lightened the load for some of us – who at times do want to pull the trigger… on The Knot!  She Won Best Evaluator Award.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

PANDEMIC, adjective

Epidemic over a large area

 

Ex.  The pandemic has created pandemonium and the idle overuse of Immodium has caused an excess of acrimonium.

 

Here’s the link to the recording:

 

https://www.facebook.com/EarlyBirdToastmaster/videos/3357436951052480

 

See you next week!

 

Ana

Recap Writer

Food, Virtual Arbitration and Robert's Rules - an informative morning at EarlyBirds

 

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,                                                                                                                                                                           

 

To honor the forthcoming holidays, TM Marie started us off with non-altruistic holiday food topics.  We thus learned that….

 

• TM Jose has bittersweet memories and has long practiced the seafood (aka see food) diet = eats everything he sees.   To uphold American tradition in Spain, two turkeys are on order and he and his wife and their more than 6 friends will soon join the ranks of Covid derelicts.  Shhhhh.
• In what is widely believed to have been a planted topic, TM BeckyJo showed us her collection of black salt from the Himalayas,  Aymara salt from the Bolivian salt flats, purple salt from the Dead Sea and everyone’s all-time favorite -  iodized Morton’s Salt from Publix.  She Won Best Table Topics Award.
• First-time Table Topics participant Guest Alexandra described herself as a party goer who actually stays to do dishes and clean up till the bitter end.  She has already received several Thanksgiving invitations from the group.
• Sipping her favorite morning tea, Guest Lorena receives sweet inspiration about the beauty of life and being alive.  She also revealed she knows an indecisive bee.  See attachment.
• TM Paolo will not be savoring the exquisite tastes of his mother’s cooking in Italy for Christmas due to that pesky virus but mostly due to the impending arrival of his new (soon to be pesky) bambino(a).

 

Along came the prepared speeches….

 

• TM Aleta, the inveterate and prosaic labor arbitrator, virtually conducted a 6-hour hearing involving excessive force and put into context all the tips learned from our resident tech gurus.  More will be revealed.
• DTM Kip reminisced about chaotic Zoom meetings he’s attended lately where Robert’s Rules of Order have been blatantly ignored.  We all need to learn the lesson from Custer’s Last Stance, where Custer got slaughtered because the Mohicans would not second the motion.  He Won Best Speaker Award.

 

Regarding evaluations…

 

• TM Carmine lauded TM Aleta’s vast experience as a speaker and as an arbitrator and insisted on a second speech to be titled  “Excessive force The Sequel”. He’s claiming the movie rights.
• TM Joe loves DTM Kip’s dainty expressions, such as solitary whackjob and cacophony.  Like many of us, Joe is in awe that Kip’s wife has stuck around for 40 years. He Won Best Evaluator Award.

 

The Word of the Day was

 

CONTEXT, noun

The parts of a discourse that throw light on it.

 

Our fun meetings take place within the context of public speaking skill-building.

 

Below is the link to today’s recording:

 

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

 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  Happy Birthday, TM Pam!!  May you survive the festivities….  And Happy Birthday, TM Carmine! Lots of Scorpios in EarlyBirds….

See you in two weeks!

 

Ana

Recap Writer

Obscure holidays, Greek Life, Teamwork and Around the World in 80 days

 

Dear Members, Guests and Friends,

 

TopicMaster Jim G. helped us uncover and discover some obscure but highly meaningful December holidays, sadly overshadowed by the commercialism of the better-known ones.

 

• TM Denis – soon formally joining EarlyBirds and already voluntold to multitask – wistfully pondered about a world made of sidewalks lined with fruit trees to feed hungry children.  Then they would all grow up to be well-nourished Applebee’s servers.
• I (Ana) reminisced about crisis days in my past when a good friend would direct me to take relaxing bubble baths – if only to get me off the phone- until she discovered that I don’t have any bathtubs at home.  I am a bathtub-deprived member of American society and my mental health is solid proof of the dire consequences.
• TM Tom vehemently protested against the fact that there is only one single solitary National Cotton Candy Day and bitterly decries being so limited by arbitrary impositions.  He Won Best Table Topics Award.
• Guest Lorena gave us a mouthwatering description of childhood family evenings savoring grandma’s exquisite hot chocolate.  Great job, Lorena!
• TM Marie is baffled by the quandary of making up her mind about which of many projects to take on.   Clearing out her drawers or planting an orchard in her back yard* (*see first table topics).  More will be revealed.

 

We heard some fabulous prepared speeches…

 

• TM Jeff told us that after exerting himself pretending to be who he was not during his fraternity years, Greek Life taught him to be a results-oriented, proud introvert.  Authenticity is the name of the game.  Note from Recap Writer:  Did anyone else notice that he’s also somewhat obsessed with the Masters?  He Won Best Speaker Award.
• TM Pam – a.k.a. Woman of La Mancha - is leading a nearly impossible quest – to gather her family for a conflict-free double birthday party and Thanksgiving Day dinner.  Note from Recap Writer:  I can recommend some good Orlando-area mental health professionals for the aftermath.
• TM Chris led us in a bright and visual map of her life full of adventuresome destinations and she offered to dance the hula for us in the near future.

 

As far as evaluations go…

 

• TM Aleta praised TM Jeff for sharing another part of his life with us and pointed out the adage “To Thine Own Self Be True” by old Billy S.  She Won Best Evaluator Award.
• TM Tom extolled  TM Pam’s loyalty to those now seemingly passe virtues of love of family and of eating pumpkin pie with whipped cream for breakfast.
• TM Carmine highlighted TM Chris’ wanderer soul and looks forward to more speeches about lawful lobster-catching in the non-Caribbean seas.

 

 

 

The Word of the Day was

 

TRADITION, noun

 

A tradition is a belief or behavior passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past.

A component of folklore, common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes, but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings.

 

Below is the recording for the meeting:

 

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

 

See you next week!

Ana

Recap Writer