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“Show Time” Terry Koehne brought his road-show to San Ramon and beeped us into order. We ran through our list of mottos: “Serve to Change Lives” and “Reconnecting – Back Together Again.” Terry paid proper obedience to the R.I. President Shekhar Mehta, whose last name inspired Mark Zuckerberg to change the name of Facebook to “Meta.” The Greeter, Dr. Bill Harlan, led us in the Salute to the Flag and offered a piece of incidental Shakespearean wisdom: when told by his friends that he shouldn’t feel sad about a loss but rather should use philosophy as a consolation, Brabantio replied, “There never was a philosopher who could abide the pain of a toothache.” Dr. Harlan reported that he was glad to be back to in-person meetings. Our guest was a former Rotarian from Fresno, Cara, with five kids who is looking for a new club. Based on our general group behavior, she will probably continue looking. Our Welcome Song was the greatly missed Mexican Medley, “Arriba,,,etc.” Foundation News: Glen Weber, doing his best Ray Giles’ imitation, awarded a Paul Harris pin to Cathie Opila. Then he gave Terry Koehne his second Paul Harris. Then Ray Giles himself took over and gave Glen Weber a fancy award as a Major Donor of over $25,000 to the Foundation. As Glen pointed out he was one of the founding members of the club. He and Ginny have been giving for over 35 years. It adds up. As Glen observed, “Where else can you help decide how your contribution will get spent?” Announcements: Hermann Welm shared that he had cared for the peregrine falcon that was injured in a nasty lovers’ triangle at the UC Campanile. Everyone is waiting to see if she comes back to Grinnell or sticks with the new guy. Herman also warns us that now is the time to trim trees and shrubs to protect baby squirrels. Do it before January 8, 2022. Norbert Walz made it official! The Auction made $43,000 before expenses. Doctor Bill announced that we had distributed dictionaries to every third grader in San Ramon schools. He thanked Colette Lay, Pat Paterson, Gary Sloan, Mike Roberts, Patti Hennigan, Dennis Harvey, Guy Greco, and Mike Thelan for making it a success. Colette Lay says our annual Rise Against Hunger Fundraiser will be 2/15. Carolyn Degnan announced that the Holiday Party this year will be on 12/16 from 5 – 7 p.m. outdoors at the Lot at City Center. Contact her to sign up. Karen McNamara says the Senior Lunch will be coming up, as well as tours of the Trinity Center in Walnut Creek. Gary Sloan tells us about an exciting Interact project. Partnering with an Interact in Marrakesh, Morocco, Cal High kids will raise money to fund a school in a rural village in the mountains. Our club will match whatever they come up with. Terry Koehne made a big announcement: Beginning next year we will return to meeting weekly in person! The decision was reached by the Board after Barry Toby kept showing up for Zoom meetings at the Country Club. Good going, Barry! We will be looking for more speakers. Recognitions: Karen McNamara celebrated a birthday by taking her family to Hotel Del Coronado. Hermann Welm was reminded that he and Suzette had an anniversary. He had forgotten. Program: Ben Cohn, a Family Service Counselor at Lone Tree in Oakland, was our speaker. As he said, he works at a place where people are dying to get in. The cemetery dates back to the 19th Century. As legend has it, a young couple had a tryst at the tree atop a hill. When their families forbade their romance they killed themselves and were buried at the site. The Praying Hands which symbolize the cemetery today were supposed carved from the wood of the original tree. Ben explained the various options that one could consider. These include Ground Burial, with upright or flat monuments; entombment in private mausoleums, inside or outside or in single or double crypts; cremation and interment in niches. If you opt for the endowment through the Lone Tree Cemetery, you will invest in the perpetual care and upkeep of the property. He urged that we make our burial wishes as part of our estate planning to make clear what our wishes are and to protect our heirs from having to make the decisions. Be sure to sign up as an organ donor. Mr. Cohn made some interesting observations about how funerals have changed: the ceremonies are becoming far less formal in dress and services. Family plots are going out of style. The trend is more toward cremation. Reburial and scattering of ashes often require extensive permits. It was a thought-provoking program. Raffle: Norbert Walz won the Greeter’s Gift and deserved it. Dennis Harvey drew blue to the bitter disappointment of his friends. |
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