Opti-B-Bull 1-13-11

My secretary has disappeared to Depot Bay to play pinochle and eat clam chowder. So I am left to report on our meeting and deal with the tragedy which happened this week! (I speak, of course, not about Arizona or the loss of our police chief, but my own devastating loss of my zodiac sign.  More of this later…)

We opened the meeting with our pledge to the flag lead by ex Scout Master Bob (we don’t sing to Canada because some of us can’t even remember happy birthday songs when called upon) and the invocation by American Legion Commander Marv T. reminding us of the loss of all those marines over the last week. Chaplain Wally decided to go to the coast and teach other Chaplains about dealing with loss. Thank goodness for Marv T who I accidentally will lose Feb 17^th to the Community Leaders Breakfast. The Beaverton Together group who spoke to us in November organizes Prom Perfect which gets our high school students to attend this party after the dance instead of private parties where they drink and whatever and drive drunk. I also accidentally mentioned Dick Schouten and Wally and Dave Chrisman so our meeting that Thursday morning will be shrunken. Beaverton Together also organizes an Inter-cultural Basketball Tournament and needs referees and coaches to help out. This is for kids who aren’t on the high school teams.

Our Secret Greeter Susan wasn’t able to fine anyone because she sits near the front and had to leave early for some tests so Joe Coss who came in just under the bell was able to shake her hand. (Note to me…pick greeters way in the back!) Our Sheriff is so dedicated that he fined himself and someone else for neglecting to wear a pin or name badge. The raffle winner turned out to be Richard Hose who hobbled in with his new titanium knee and no crutches. He picked titanium so that it would match his other knee. Turns out he played football besides rugby and I believe there might be a lesson here? He returns to work next week so he can’t collect his winnings and donated them to our scholarship. (Well, perhaps, of course this will have to be discussed with the appropriate sub committees and we can only hope no filibusters occur! And your dedicated leadership will need funds to register with the Second Quarter District Board meeting scheduled for next week in Seattle.) Maybe Bob will return in time to lead our meeting?

Richard filled us in on his peripatetic trip by train to all his old stomping grounds across our nation which enthralled Jack who wants to take the train south despite his new trailer. Bruce Buffington showed up to collect his raffle winnings from last week. He reported on his birthday bike ride in the rain yesterday and the pizza party he organized to raise funds for the Northwest Bicycle Safety Council. They provided two thousand children with helmets last year so need funds to purchase more for children who can’t afford to buy them this year. If you have a bit of cash left over, I think he might be happy to accept it.

He promised to sing a brand new birthday song to us once I reminded him of his 65^th birthday celebration which he apparently had forgotten since it happened yesterday. (Old age can be a terrible thing) Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember this secret song despite the fact he tried to sell us on an upcoming barbershop quartet production. He did finish off the old standard with a flourish and he does have a nice voice.

Our speaker this week was Jocelyn Taylor from the PAL Club. They have been in business for ten years and our Club helped to sponsor them and some of our members were on the Chief’s Advisory Committee involved in their formation. She accidentally mentioned Rotary’s $550 grant to PAL so that when I gave her our $500 donation check we came out a bit behind. She did hug me most graciously but I noticed she hugged Bob Arneson at the start of the meeting so she can be fickle. Their boxing program is quite successful. They even have gals boxing…I thought they were just working out. They had the mayor come to visit the kids and answered questions which delighted one of the kids who explained to his mom how he’d shaken the mayor’s hand. The Mayor’s Ball is scheduled for Feb 12^th at $85/ticket to raise money for PAL. Jocelyn loaned six kids to Bruce for his bike TV program and they answered safety questions sort of like Jeopardy with our past member Wayne Faligowski acting as MC. That progam is still running on the community access channel I think.

But, back to my  own devastating loss of my zodiac sign. Apparently 

"Astronomers have known about this since about 130 B.C.," Kunkle told The Associated Press Friday in his office at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College!” Astronomer Parke Kunkle says that due to changes in the Earth's alignment the dates of many zodiac signs have changed, according to NBC. In addition, there may be a 13th Zodiac sign: Ophiuchus. Kunkle says that as the Earth and Sun slowly move the signs gradually change, as expected. The change didn't happen over night either. The 12 signs were designated to different periods of the year almost 3,000 years ago, when astrology began, and since then the Earth's position in relation to the sun has changed. 

Linda Zlotnick, an astrologer for 32 years in St. Paul, Minn., said she and fellow astrologers have long known of the issue raised by Kunkle, but that the most commonly used zodiac – tropical – isn't affected by it. Zlotnick said the sidereal zodiac, which isn't as widely used, IS based on the constellations "Will my personality change?" she mused. "Capricorns are diligent and regimented, and super-hard-working like me. Sagittarians are more laid back. This is all a little off-putting." 

By the reckoning of Kunkle and other astronomers, astrologers are not only a month off in their zodiac signs, but they are neglecting a 13th constellation, Ophiuchus (Ooh-FEE-yew-kus) the Serpent Bearer, for those born from Nov. 30 to Dec. 17. According to myth, Ophiuchus became a healer when he killed a snake and another appeared with an herb in his mouth that revived the dead one, said Amy Sayle, an astronomy educator at the Moorehead Planetarium at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

All I can say is , thank goodness I didn’t get a tattoo. I know Bob was in the navy so I can only hope he didn’t put Sagittarius on his butt.