March 28, 2013

New Canaan Rotary Club Bulletin                                       March 28, 2013

President Marty made his appearance exuding a ruffled masculine vibe swathed in denim and with a tousled coif.  He opened on time, hit his marks and followed the script to perfection.  Eric had another intimate chat with God before asking her blessing on our gathering and our meal.

As we finished another excellent Roger Sherman repast Marty strode to the lectern and tapped the bell.  There being a significant cognizant dissonance between Marty’s manly appearance and his timid attack on the bell caused the audience to act as though it never happened and thus, to continue to talk unabated.  At that point Marty gave the bell a tremendous wallop and the room came immediately to attention.  Marty asked for the introduction of Visiting Rotarians and visiting guests [only two and a half months left to get it right].  Paul Burnham was visiting from the Wilton Club and Bob Tora was a visiting visitor from the Bank of New Canaan.

In the announcement department John Marlow called for yet another meeting of the highly secretive New Members Pop-up Art Project Committee following the less selective meeting we were in the middle of.  Marty reminded the membership of the opportunity afforded for family fellowship through our April 20 Clean Your Mile commitment.  He promised treats for children and grandchildren  while inviting members to bring their own.  Incoming President and CYM Chair Fireman Fred, in an effort to ease the transition from the Skrelunas to the Baker regime, has previously promised adult treats at 9:00 AM in the Saxe parking circle.  Note:  Don’t nobody say again they don’t know when the CYM event is scheduled.

Marty teased us with the announcement that Ad’s Bench will be dedicated at a date to be announced sometime this spring.  Those wishing to jump the gun and recline on the bench will find it suitably marked in memory of our beloved brother in front of St. Aloysius School on South Avenue.  Amy announced that one Friendship Dinner will be held on May 14 and three more on May 27.  She summarily rejected the plaintive requests from some clueless members to make belated reservations.

John Engel reported that the membership is living up to its reputation as a last minute group by refusing to react to his continued entreaties to forward their foursome reservations and raffle prizes to him [or Brock or Carolyn or Laura].  Stamford’s response has been strong and Ben is reaching out to several other area clubs.  Treasurer Rob pointed out that the end of the first quarter is rapidly approaching which presages the imminent arrival in your mail box of your dues notice.  It will be the truth, will be fair to all concerned, will build goodwill and better friendships, and be beneficial to all concerned if you will pay said dues in a timely fashion [i.e. by return post].

Sergeant Scott then told an endearing story reflecting the sensitivity of our male friends of the Italian persuasion.  This was followed by fines from Rob on the occasion of his oldest son’s 12^th birthday, Carolyn’s sybaritic cruise on a friend’s 150 foot private yacht, Chris Snyder for a confusing report on the state of the NC Rotary website password, and Scott for the steady progress being made by the student/athletes of Duke University through the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.

A quick Polio Plus update.  Only three countries, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria, have never stopped the transmission of polio.  Twenty million volunteers have immunized more than 2.5 billion children world-wide over the past 20 years.  It is estimated that the eradication of polio will save the world $40 – 50,000,000,000 over the next 20 years.

In a walk down memory lane, recently deposed Program Chair Ken Campbell rose to introduce our speaker, clinical social worker Dr. Annie Abram who, assisted by her amanuensis Anya Kunye,  addressed the topic of  21^st century parenting and grandparenting.  There have been many changes in recent years including a transition from autocratic to democratic parenting, the recognition that new neuropathways can be established throughout one’s life, life expectancy increasing by ten years since 1970, and the appearance on the scene of Skype, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  She discussed how these developments have impacted the relationships among grandparents and their adult children as well as their grandchildren.  She offered the following tips for grandparents:  The parent is always right.  Bite your tongue – think twice before you say it.  Address concerns as they come up; don’t let them fester.  Establish clear boundaries.  Good boundaries make for good lifelong relationships.  And finally, being a grandparent can be reparative for you and your adult child; recognize this opportunity for personal development.  Verrrry interesting.

Bill Cosby