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Newsletter – 29 May 2008

President’s Message:

The garage sale was last Saturday, and we received the following from Tim Chiu: The results of last Saturday’s Garage Sale are: (1) Thank you letters were sent to: (a) Penneysaver (For free ad), (b) Light House Museum (For use of their pop corn machine). (2) St. Francis House picked up most un-sold clothes yesterday. (3) Sale Data: (a) Gross Sale -$616.10 (b) Expenses - $98.52, (c) Net sale Income - $517.58. A cashier’s check for $517.58 will be presented to our club at the weekly meeting. The weather was perfect last Saturday. Lots of visitors came by. Overall, it was a successful scholarship fund raising for our club.

      Thanks Tim for all your hard work. I had hoped for a little better take, but I guess we learned that we need to get a little more organized and hold these sales on a day that is not a big holiday time.

      Welcome to the fold, Tim Forsen. Tim is with the County School System, and was finally roped in by our own Skeeter Key, and we inducted him last week. 

Coming Events: [Advise the editor of events of interest at 797-4332]

31 May 2008: Uptown Saturday Night, check out the local galleries uptown on the last Saturday of each month, and taste their food and wine.

6 June 2008: First Friday Art Walk, check out the local galleries downtown and taste their food and wine. 

Guests: I didn’t see any guests, so if I missed your guest please let me know so that I can acknowledge them and we can charge it on your monthly statement 

Programs: (Check the website for your speaker assignment date.)

LAST WEEK: Wayne Howell wasn’t present, but he sent in a very good speaker and had Dave Thompson introduce him. He got John Birney to come talk to us. John is a colleague of Wayne’s, and his subject was The Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Well, he mentioned Dolly Parton and imagination in the same breath, and mine had already gone there and I didn’t catch much else of the talk. Actually, this is right down our alley -- books for kids. A literacy program that Dolly started geared to get books into the hands of kids from birth. If you know of a child that lives in Putnam or St. Johns County AND was born on or after 1 May 2008, make sure that child is in the program. That child will receive one book per month from birth to five years of age, potentially 60 books. How many households do you know of personally that has 60 books total, much less just for kids? Locally this is ramroded by the Early Learning Coalition. They have to fund the postage to get the books to the child, evidently Dolly or her foundation is funding the purchase of the books. Sounds like a project we could help with.

THIS WEEK: Art Liepold has the honors for this week. I understand he may not be here and has arranged for a speaker. (He’s probably checking out that new airline that just started operating at the airport. You know the one that will fly you to Vegas or Biloxi.)

NEXT WEEK: We will have our monthly committee meetings and Board of Directors meeting. Come with some great ideas for next year’s administration. 

50/50 DRAWING WINNERS: Last week’s winner was one of our own, Dr. Frank. We saw his son, Peter, in the newspaper this week. Building Green Buildings it said. I’d like mine Blue, if you please. Mix those tickets real good, and make sure mine is on top. 

NEWS OF NOTE:

The race for the nomination of the Democrat party is moving apace. I guess it depends on which one you believe is telling the truth about being ahead. My question is: What is Howard Dean going to do about the states of Michigan and Florida? I guess the Democrat’s new motto is: “Every vote counts and count every vote…unless you hold your election on a day we don’t happen to like.” I haven’t looked forward to a convention as much since 1960, when Kennedy picked Johnson. Everyone is saying that Obama is the new Kennedy, so does that mean he will pick Hillary as his running mate? If Bill wasn’t in the picture I could see it. However, Obama doesn’t want to attempt to control BOTH of them, especially when Hillary can’t control Bill all by her lonesome.

      Good news if you’re Chinese; you aren’t restricted to just one child any longer. They just lost close to 100,000 people, which was one devastating earthquake, and its aftershocks. At least they are letting aid into the country to help those poor people.

      On the other hand, Burma is not allowing aid into the country, and the small amount that has gotten in has been scarfed up by the ruling class. That cyclone will wind up killing a million people if the government won’t let the aid in. (All in favor of taking over that country, raise your hand.) 

Quotes You Can Use (or Not):

“Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.” —George Washington  
 
“Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your objective. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson  

“Big Brother’s ideas about what and how children should be taught are not always those of mom and dad. Americans differ on same-sex marriage and evolution, on the importance of sports and the value of phonics, on the right to bear arms and the reverence due the Confederate flag. Some parents are committed secularists; others are devout believers... Americans hold disparate opinions on everything from the truth of the Bible to the meaning of the First Amendment... With parents so often in boisterous disagreement, why should children be locked into a one-size-fits-all, government-knows-best model of education? Nobody would want the government to run 90 percent of the nation’s entertainment industry. Nobody thinks that 90 percent of all housing should be owned by the state... Yet the government’s control of 90 percent of the nation’s schools leaves most Americans strangely unconcerned... In a society founded on political and economic liberty, government schools should have no place... Education is too important to be left to the government.” —Jeff Jacoby