Spinnings SERVICE ABOVE SELF

Spinnings
Rotary Club of San Mateo 2007-2008
SERVICE ABOVE SELF
Welcome to the Electronic Version of Rotary Club of San Mateo’s Weekly Newsletter
VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.SANMATEOROTARY.ORG
UPCOMING MEETINGS
AUG. 2 - Gene Gonzalo — “What’s Happening with Bay Area Roads?”
Gonzalo represents the California Department of Transportation
AUG. 9 - Toby Ewing, Research Director of New California Networks — “Toward a New California; Enhancing
Public Outcomes and Public Confidence”
THE MEETING OF JULY 26, 2007
PLEDGE
John DeRussy put his right hand over his
left heart and everyone followed.
THOUGHT
John “Back to School” Horgan said to
think about it being back to school soon.
We did, and no one learned a thing.
WELCOME TO THE CASBAH, REDUX
President Hark I-have-it-all gestured to
the white chintz streamers festooned
from chandelier to chandelier (I don’t
know if it’s really chintz; can’t you wait for
the next Men vs. Women quiz show and
ask Anne?) and observed that wedding
season apparently still was on at Poplar
Creek. The gauzy curtain was gone —
apparently the newest bride is a golf fan
and didn’t mind looking at pictures of
Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods and had it
removed from in front of them. Where do
they make brides like these and where
can I get one? Just kidding, honey.
NEWS
Sheila Canzian filled in for the Missing Ro,
not to be mistaken for the Kissing Beau
who had the good fortune to snag the
golfing bride. She delivered the chestnut
about the funeral for the lyricist who
penned the Hokey Pokey (“The trouble
started when they put his left arm in, took
his right leg out,”) but the tampon story
was worth the wait. Might as well repeat
it: Two little boys in the pharmacy; the
eldest one, about 7, tries to buy tampons.
“What do you think you’re going to do
with these?” the clerk asked. “Well,” the
lad said, gesturing to his little brother, “it
says on TV if you use these you can swim
and ride a bicycle and my brother can’t
do either one.”
SUNSHINE
Former San Mateo Rotarian Bill Tyo, who
had lived in Rancho Cordova for many
years, passed away July 1. He was remembered fondly for his humor and lively
banter.
GUESTS
Jennifer Colosi of the Financial Women’s
Association of Silicon Valley.
ROTARY MINUTE
President Just-a-bit-‘o-Blarney issued
well-deserved plaudits to Dick DeLuna,
who, with wife Matilda, hosted a hundred
or so of his closest friends at his Woodside home July 21. Mr. President thanked
Shawn DeLuna, Sheila Canzian and
Margaret Taylor for their hard work, even
promising another presidential cartwheel
in their honor if the proper venue came
to hand.
THE BOOK IS OUT
President Don’t-sink-the-Ark-help-it-float
waved aloft a copy of the 2007-08 committee assignments book. If you don’t
have it, watch for it at future meetings.
Mark claims he honored 100 percent of
all change requests; however, Spinnings
can dispute that claim. I’ve never broken
70 in eighteen holes of golf, and I’ve
always wanted that to change.
AZEM, AHEM
Rosemary Azem was exposed for all she
is: Assistant District Governor and
member of District 5150’s World Community Service Committee. She is also chair
of our club’s World Community Service
Committee, a fact you could have anticipated if you’d picked up your copy of the
committee assignments book and turned
to page 15 and read it, bam!, right there in
black and white. Rosemary, however, only
saw the green of her Franklin fly away to
the President’s Club.
OTHER BOOK BUSINESS
Speaking of committee assignments,
Page 6 of the assignment book has grim
news. Five members of the Spinnings
Committee are listed, but apparently a
couple made change requests of the
President because we’re down to three.
And the further grim news is that it
means of about 150 members of the club,
only two can bear to work with the
Spinnings chairman. I promise I will never
speak again if we can get three or four
volunteers to join the committee. If that
doesn’t work, I’ll hold my breath until we
do. Here we go…
Just…three…volunteers…
FINE STUFF
This is being written from beyond the
grave. Thanks for stepping right up and
volunteering for Spinnings. Not.
John Barrett, the little Barrett, Eric, Dave
Bennett and Lee Osborne all posted
makeup cards from the same club in
Alaska — quite the co-inky-dink. They
had a little bonding time fishing in the
cold northern waters. So the President
had John, Dave and Lee (Eric was missing,
but that didn’t spare him) each whisper
to an innocent bystander the name of the
individual who caught the biggest
piscine, at the risk of a fine for a wrong
answer. Dave said Dave, Lee said Lee and
John said…Lee? “How do you explain
giving Lee the credit?” Mark asked. “You’re
awfully generous.” “What if,” John countered, “I’m just stupid?” But he joined the
President’s Club, along with Lee and Dave
and in-absentia Eric, anyway. Smart
men.
President Mark also displayed a photograph of John DeRussy in an Ecuadorean
jail. “What were you doing there?” he
asked. “I saw your brother there,” John
shot back.
Turns out John actually was vacationing
in Central ‘Merica with the green sea
turtles and the blue-footed boobies, a
phrase he confessed he’d always wanted
to say. Even if it cost him $100.
RAFTING THE COLORADO, TRAVELING BACK IN TIME
Tom Holtzer of the U.S. Geological Survey
in Menlo Park and tennis partner with
Walt McCullough, brought his fascinating
vacation slides — fascinating because he
saw the 15-day excursion through a
geologist’s eyes.
The Colorado’s geology gives the experts
a look back 4.6 billion years in time,
almost to the Earth’s beginning, which
was only around 6 billion years ago. He
charted major milestones in the geologic
record, including the point in what we
hope was the far, far distant past when
pre-humans were still in-breeding with
chimpanzees. Thanks, Horgan, for stealing
that line for your Times column, but at
least you didn’t attribute it to Rotary so it
can sound original here.
Aside from the sexy angle, Holtzer had
lots of data about the river. We will quote
it now for the Womens’ trivia team
because we know they won’t read this far
and, if they did, they wouldn’t retain it
long enough to be able to field the
question during a competition against
the men: The Colorado River is 1.1 miles
deep, one mile wide, and drops 1,709 feet
in elevation in its 278-mile length.
See, their eyes are already glazing over.
—Don Shoecraft, Ed.
REGULAR COMMITTEE
MEETING SCHEDULE
Board — 2nd Thursday, 7:30 a.m.
Program — 4th—Friday,
7:30 a.m.Ed.
Don Shoecraft,
(Board and Program meet
at Park Towers, 700 Laurel Ave.)
COG — 1st Thursday, 7:30 a.m.
(Nick Rogers’ office, 400 S. El Camino Real,
Suite 900)
MAKEUP SCHEDULE
Subject to change — visit http:/www.rotary5150.org for
latest information
Monday
Belmont, 12:15, Van’s Restaurant
Burlingame, 12:15, Sheraton Gateway
Tuesday
Millbrae, 12:15, Green Hills CC
Pacifica, 7:15 am, Sharp Park GC
Peninsula Sunrise, 7:30 a.m., Harbor House Rest.
Redwood City, 12:15, Sequoia Club
San Francisco, Noon, Kensington Park Hotel
San Francisco Greater Mission, 7:45 am, Double
Play Restaurant
Wednesday
Daly City, 12:15, Marie Callendar’s Restaurant
Foster City, 12:15, Crowne Plaza
Menlo Park, 12:15, Menlo Park Rec Center
San Bruno, 12:15, El Rancho Inn
San Francisco Bayview, 6 pm, So. Seafood Village
SFO Airport, 12:00, Firewood Café, Int’l Terminal
Woodside/Portola Valley, 7:30 am, Woodside
Village Church
Thursday
Fisherman’s Wharf, 7:30 am, Franciscan Restaurant
Half Moon Bay, 12:15, United Methodist Chuch
So. San Francisco, 12:15, Basque Cultural Center
Friday
San Carlos, 12:15, Piaceri Restaurant
San Mateo Sunrise, 7:30 am, Poplar Creek GC