Our Flag salute was led by Dave Chrisman and Marv Doty gave the invocation. Prior to the opening bell, Lillian called with a sprained back still snuggled in bed with a heating pad while popping pain pills. This should have been an indicator that events might go catywhompus and not follow my typed agenda. Then some complained that I had set the picture screen in such a way as to obscure their view of our flag. I moved the screen to quiet the complaints but it turned out our man with his projector didn’t make it to the meeting. This was a bit of a snag in my plans as I was going to screen OI’s Internet Safety Program. Next week our speaker (which Lillian scheduled) is to be a gal from the Red Cross so I am crossing my fingers that we don’t have an emergency event here on the Pacific Coast. Thank goodness we disassembled our Trojan Nuclear Reactor and shipped it up to the Hanford Reach by Richland, WA. Hopefully they took the old fuel rods with it! The darn name should have been a dead give away that it was nothing but trouble.
Lillian’s car refused to run correctly anymore so we had gone yesterday to get a rental so that she could search for a replacement to last her a couple of more years. If anyone has any leads or suggestions, please give her a call. We did hold our raffle as scheduled and were amazed to find that Marv D didn’t win again this week? (He generously donated his winnings to the Candlelighters this time.) Joan gave a little victory dance and we presented her with our official St. Patrick’s lea of shamrocks in celebration but she will have to wait until next week to cash in on her winnings. It’s only $4.00 but perhaps that’s enough to take me to coffee?
Our This Day in History Section
In keeping with the beginning of our meeting, I left my notes on the history of Saint Patrick at home so had to wing it. I managed to remember how he had been abducted by Irish marauders and enslaved at age 16 but managed to escape and get on a boat back to Britain and go home to Scotland. He was a trifle religious and became a priest and was ordained as a bishop. He dreamed that he heard the voices of Irishmen pleading with him to return to their country which he did in 433. For forty years he traveled about building churches and preaching the Gospel. He died on March 17, 461 in Saul where he had built his first church. The Irish believe he drove the snakes from Ireland but since he lived in poverty I sort of wonder if perhaps he just ate them? Thefirst St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held in New York City in 1762 by Irish soldiers serving in the English military. The Irish were persecuted here so the parades became a show of unity and strength. In 1995 the Irish government said, “hey, this is a good thing let’s promote it.” Today it is an international celebration. We had our special napkins out to mark the day. (Hurry back Wally, they don’t like my history as well as yours!)
We had a guest show up and ask to talk with us. She is a neighbor of Jack’s and our old member Steve Wabnitz who moved toWest Virginia and a friend of Jennie Moton. She invited us to attend a music program on Saturday, April 16th at 7 PM to raise money for a child suffering from a very rare cancer diagnosed a year ago. Alena was diagnosed with Group4, Stage IV Alvelolar Rhabdomyosarcoma with 250 cases a year in the US and two in Oregon. Alena was in the hospital at the same time as another sibling with a different problem. Sort of like Japan with an earthquake and then a tsunami. Michael Allen Harrison the pianist and Julianne Johnson the vocalist are presenting this program at the Cedar Mill Bible Church to help the family and Alena out. The tickets are available from www.ticketsoregon.com for $25, $35, and $45 or we can make donations at any branch of the US Bank just ask for the Alena J. Marek Medical Fund Account c/o Acct # 153-662-744-777. If you would like more information about Alena’s story you can check it out at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/alenamarek . If you can’t make the concert, you can still buy the tickets on line and email them back to the family so that Alena’s friends in her class can attend. It is explained on the caringbridge site.
I didn’t take notes while I tap-danced throughout the meeting but remember asking Jack to discuss trailer camping while shampooing at some park and he did give some good news. His son is already back to work and we discussed the names of bones in a person’s arm and the horrendous pictures of the car from which everyone emerged alive. Jack plans to leave us for a couple of months and as near as I can tell he will be following Sarah Pale one and various politicians to Iowa where he was born but hasn’t settled on a platform to run on. He claims running for office once was enuff but you know these politicians. (I always wondered if he was really born in Oregon or perhaps Kenya?) He also claims to have a certificate for living in Oregon for 50 years which makes a person a pioneer and you can get free fishing licenses? Why don’t I know these things?
Joe Coss also had to admit he had bought a house over near Bend and his wife plans to retire from Nike and the two will be moving next year so Joe can take pictures of the Three Sisters and Three Finger Jack at various times and lighting out his window. He offered to present a power point program (since he and Dave Chrisman are next month’s Program Chairmen.) Perhaps we can discuss at our next Board Mtg.?
We discussed an upcoming yard sale to get rid of stuff in our storage shed over at Tualatin Hills Park and Rec. Hdqtrs. We learned sort of by accident that the steel we had used to put up our booth to sell buttered corn-on-the-cob has been cut down to make the trailers we used to build the trails in our Regional Park. Perhaps the lights we used to sell Christmas Trees with the Girl Sea Scouts are still there…who knows? We discussed at our Board Meeting having our new member Meredith help with this wonderful sale and a chance to be involved but I forgot to mention at this meeting. We did announce that the Board had helped Scott to decide in helping to find new leaders for next year. And we decided that having a walk for Childhood Cancer might be above our ability to organize. Joan discussed our upcoming evening meeting and the planned silent auction. She had to sort of explain how these auctions work. You would think that folks who have suffered through our Christmas Gift Exchange would already infer the pain involved in having someone trump your bid while your back is turned. Anyway, our speaker at the event will discuss the plants which will be available at the upcoming sale at THPR Regional Park so you don’t have to mow your lawn?! Please plan on bringing friends who might join us as well as your significant other.
Please stay up to date with our activities at our club website: http://beavertonoptimist.webs.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment