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2011-12
Next Program: December 20
Election of Officers |
Meeting of December 13
Becky Clark led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. She
then offered Words of Wisdom direct from her Frigidaire.
The Palate of the Palouse – no- that’s
Pirate of the Palouse –
aka Red Chris – took us through “Jingle Bell Rock.” Arrghh!
Bill Schink, one of two winter guests from the wilds of
Arizona – said his good-byes. He was due to steer south right after the
meeting. God speed, William! Our other Arizona visitor, Norm…but more
about him later…
Be aware that you are to be visited today by Three Alerts….
Alert # 1
- Jay Fiske announced the impending arrival of a Very
Important Visitor next week. This VIV will require that each of us
attending next week’s meeting bring three – 3 – count ‘em: THREE! –
gifts of dubious value (i.e. white elephants). One is for the member,
one is for the member-who-forgot-his/hers, and one is for the
expected/unexpected guests who attend (is Santa
really going to ask perfect
strangers to sit on his knee? Creepy?)
President Hugo led us in two standing O’s:
·
The Holiday Party planning committee
·
The Operation Warm planning committee
Jobs very well done!
Pauline – our exchange student spent a busy weekend,
interviewing outbound exchange students, and then journeying over to
Leavenworth for Christmas Lights and
snow.
Terry Jarvis – hizzoner led us through Chapter 3 (or
thereabouts) of the Saga of Grace.
He reminded us of the two years (1966-67) he and Poppa Jarvis spent
building a – gasp! - auto
parts store in the middle of –
gasp! – nowhere (“where’s
this….what…Woodinville?)
But by the early ‘80’s, his insight was rewarded by the presence of some
15 auto parts salvage operations operating in the Grace environs.
Terry tried twice to retire, but couldn’t sit still. The result
each time was a new venture, first his self storage business, then the
invention of his “Spidey Gear” tie-down gear for securing pick-up loads.
Still not content, he moved into property management, where he maintains
(a somewhat casual) oversight of operations.
Vintage Auto Parts was sold in 2002. A Denver parts dealer hauled
off some 37 truckloads of new
parts, leaving Terry with some 700 old parts cars. Not one to quit
easily, Terry spent a month conducting a unique hulk sale: Buy One –
Get One Free! At last down to
half of the initial inventory, he had the first ever Grace crushing
party, not for wine, mind you, but for old cars.
So, that’s the last of the Jarvis auto parts legacy, right? Well,
maybe not. Terry has detected signs of Old Car Lover’s Syndrome in his
8-year-old grandson. Now where’s an up-and-coming entrepreneur going to
put up the next auto salvage business? Shelton? Gold Bar? Say, how about
Start-up!?! That has an
appropriate ring about it. Too far from civilization, you say? Well,
just listen to Grampa Terry’s story…….
Alert #2
- Pam Johnstone
reminds us to please bring – wait for it….three
- 3 – count ‘em – THREE
gifts next week.
Erv DeSmet presented Daryl Eckland
with a new Paul Harris pin. This one sports
two sapphires. That means
that Daryl has met the criteria for the award a total of
three times. Nice going,
Daryl!
So, the above presentation led certain unruly members
in the audience to begin
speculation about what one does with an
old Paul Harris pin. Can you
sell to the gold barons? Can you remove the sapphires and sell them on
consignment? (Does the image of sitting in your garage digging the
stones out of the pin with a screwdriver bother you?) Just asking.
Norm Noble – the other Arizonan – gave us some insight
into his evolution into a 5 – or was it 6? – time published author.
Norm’s profession prior to retirement was in marketing for the
aerospace industry, where he naturally did a lot of writing. Combine
that with a life-long fascination with history and time on his hands,
and voila, un auteur! His
first novel was based on true events, the in-flight damage suffered by a
747 on a flight to Hawaii. A second, still reflecting his aerospace
roots, involved stealth aircraft. Then came two novels outlining the
centuries-long process of digging a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth
in Greece (begun at the time of Nero, it wasn’t completed until 1893!).
And now, Stephanie Isn’t Here,
a novel of mystery and intrigue set in recent-day southeast King County,
Washington. Norm read several excerpts from the book, enough to
hopefully whet the appetite of those of you who have not picked it up.
And, BTW, if you do pick it up, Norm will donate a portion of the
proceeds to the Club. (What more incentive do you need?!? Git ‘er done!)
Norm believes that there is a story or novel in each of us. But how does
one get started? Easy: “steal the plot!” Not the story line, mind you –
the plot. Experts in the field have declared that there are
only 36 known plot lines. Any plot you care to name stems from one
of these, and many known literature examples are rehashes of previous
“plots.” Norm’s example: Steinbeck’s
The Grapes of Wrath is really
a retelling of the Exodus story from the Bible.
Not one to sit on his laurels, Norm is already on to his next novel,
tentatively titled The Eyes of
Marsh. Kinda catchy, huh?
Norm has also striven to impart his knowledge to others. He has taught
two writing courses in Arizona. And, he encourages us all to write down
our family stories, to preserve them for generations coming along. His
own efforts in this regard have produced a 94-page synopsis of who he
is, for his family.
Moving on….
The December Club Board meeting will be on Thursday, 12/15, at 5:30 pm
in the offices of Ryan Construction.
Sergeant Green: allowed as how he grew up in the very
area of the setting of Stephanie
Isn’t Here! But, he claims no knowledge of the mystery surrounding
her disappearance…Da Sarge collected happy $ from;
·
Charlie Russell, who not only was thankful for the help
on Saturday at Operation arm, but noted that one of his own (grandson)
benefitted from the day, and got a coat of his own!
·
Eric Greenwood – who paid a $ to describe how he was
able to help during Operation Warm a young lady (Army veteran) who in
turn has just taken on the task of adopting two youngsters of a relative
who are in need of a stable home life.
Attention: Jeff Laird
reports that his group Operation Push has lost its storage site for the
wheel chairs it collects for Mexico. They are in need of a new site
to place a 40-foot trailer container (or two 20’s, if that would
work better). Please contact Jeff if you can help.
Next Tuesday, the annual election of Club officers will be held during
the regular Tuesday meeting, before the arrival of the VIV, which segues
neatly into …
Alert #3
– When do you bring those “white elephants?” (or green, or whatever?)
And how many are you bringing? (For the answers, refer back to
Alerts #1 & #2)
Bill Schink, in a parting gesture, attempted to purloin
the White Marble, in order to be able to pay for gas back to the
Southwest. He missed it.
‘Nuff said…For the good of the Order,
Sir Doc the Past |
