New Canaan Rotary Club Bulletin                                                  August 21, 2008

 

It is Losers Month in New Canaan.  If you are still here and not in Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Rhode Island, Cape Cod, Barcelona [Walberts] or West By God Virginia [Helen Tomaselli], then you are obviously a LOSER!  Two small tables of losers gathered with precious little leadership at our interim venue, the Country Club of New Canaan, for a tasty repast and friendly courteous service worthy of the Roger.  Into the leadership vacuum sprang Ex President Amy who improvised a flag for us to salute, and then, in a first for me, Ben Bilus regressed to his Bar Mitzvah days and entoned a blessing in the ancient Hebrew tongue.  Somehow eating the leavened bread in the CCNC bread baskets felt irreverent.  Gene Tonkavich experienced this especially intensely and desisted after his third roll.

 

In addition to the resident losers, Visiting Rotarians Jim Rini and Ron Barlow were in attendance.  It was generally agreed that Ron would qualify as a loser, but no unanimity on the subject of Jim’s status, voluntarily leaving summer paradise Portsmouth, N.H. in August for a short stay in the next station to heaven.  John Adams, who was in the crowd, took that question under advisement with a promise to deliver a judgement at a future meeting.

 

In the anarchy that ensued, cleverly disguised as the announcements segment of the meeting, there was much discussion and precious little information concerning our future meeting location.  We know that next week we will be back at the CCNC.  After that we appear to be homeless.  The expectation was expressed that President David would reappear in town and lead his clueless flock to the promised land.  One can but hope.

 

Amy assured those present that, had David been in the room, he would have exhorted the troops to do their bit  for the Lobsterfest.  This includes selling tickets, soliciting sponsorships, and planning to work long hours on September 19 and 20.  No sooner had she made this observation than the Lobsterfest impresario himself, Scott Hobbs, entered the meeting and exhorted the troops to do their bit for the Lobsterfest.  This, he said, includes selling tickets, soliciting sponsorships and planning to work long hours on September 19 and 20.  Redundant yes.  Important yes.

 

Ken Campbell was apoplectic that yet again we had come together anticipating an enlightening and inspiring program only to be disappointed.  To review, Ken publishes a schedule of responsibility for each week’s speaker.  When it is your week, you are supposed to arrange for the program.  That is the entire drill.  Is there anyone who doesn’t understand it?  As in professional sports, when failure strikes they can’t fire the whole team, so they fire the manager.  Help save Ken’s membership by doing your bit.

 

Billy Martin