Our warrior was chafing at the bit... 10-5-06

ROTARY BULLETIN

October 5, 2006

Last week it was peaches and plums aplenty, but this week it’s the berries on a glorious 65 degree Fall day The old warrier, himself, Christopher “veni, vidi, vinci” Shays was with us from the start. He and Nancy led the pledge and chimed in to cut short Pastor Kerchoff’s blessing. The sounds of conviviality were silenced as Chris snapped Nancy to attention with a “let’s do it” Well, she stood ramrod tall, announced she was baaaack and proceeded to heap praises on hubby Ron, who has blessed her quest for the ultimate abode, with Nancy as the presiding architect. The timing is a little baffling, however, as they are now empty nesters, albeit surrounded with countless grandchildren. Hint: if you drive by an edifice on Country Club Rd in Stamford that resembles a large shoe, you have happened upon her latest creation. Meanwhile, back at the Roger Sherman, Nancy dispensed with the housekeeping chores. Alas, no visiting Rotarians and no guests either. She called on Fred Baker to summon a work crew for a service project at 16 Whitney Avenue. Fred will engineer landscape resuscitation for an elderly lady beginning at 3 on Wednesday afternoon, but he needs your help. Next, John Engel was presented with Rick Kellam’s magic disk containing pictures and pertinent data of our Rotarians circa 2003 and told to update and conform to the reign of Nancy. David Rucci refused to be bullied into revealing the net proceeds from the Lobsterfest, pending receipt of Ad’s ticket money. Sgt@Arms Scott Hobbs began his spiel with a reminder that land mines continue to plague the earth. He had a story about Barbara Walters in Afghanistan and you can bet there will be no story about Katie Kouric on location in a war zone. On a happier note, Sandy Parks plunked down extra quid in honor of daughter Cara’s 14^th birthday. The best Bill Walbert could do for 23 years of wedded bliss was $10. He was in a huff because he missed the YouTube commotion. Ad just returned from another reunion of his W.W.II shipmates. The original 222 has dwindled to 17 hardy souls, for which he contributed, happily, a dollar.

Our warrior was chafing at the bit as Mike Bruneau rose to introduce his Darien High School classmate and Chris wasted no time in getting to his credentials. He is in the battle of his career. Determined to get a handle on conditions in Iraq, he has made close to 20 trips there, and he speaks with authority when holding out for cautious optimism He refutes the claim that 1400 years of Shiite-Sunni animosity precludes a peaceful resolution. Iraq and terror clearly have priority, but he does strive to cater to the needs of his constituency here in Connecticut. We take no bets on the Farrell race, but can point to the fact that since 1998, 98% of incumbents in house races were reelected.

Dick Morris