High Gear, September 10, 2014

Enjoying  the Dessert Line

It was another beautiful day for a trek to the Ridge and our weekly Rotarian friendship and lunch!

Entering the dining room, the first thing I noticed was the lemonade alongside the iced tea, in inviting icy cool, sweating, glass servers.  Now, I can be scatter-brained and an embarrassment to my gender which is supposed to be good at directions (I’ve been told that I could lose my way coming home from church.), but I recognized the room and the people so I was sure I was at the right place.  Then I heard someone say that we had a different caterer!

Our Empress, ever full of surprises, told me that she had arranged for another caterer to serve us a sort of trial lunch.  I have had many lunches and really did not need to try it, so I just ate it. I hope that was alright.  There was roast turkey, tender beef, stuffing, mashed potatoes, salad and roll.  President Mary asked the club to rate the meal and told everyone that additional caterers would be requested, over coming weeks, to serve a lunch that we could evaluate and then a selection of the caterer could be made to whom the club might want to extend a permanent contract. If there are not enough regular Wednesday meetings coming up to give all the caterers a try, and volunteers are needed to eat extra lunches, being well experienced in lunch, I could do that. 

This afternoon’s caterer was VISION Hospitality Management, located on East River Drive in East Hartford.  I give the meal an A.

Not to overdo the subject of lunch, but one more thing.  President Mary explained that our regular caterer, Krause, would like to either raise the cost per meal by two dollars or discontinue dessert.  Most of the club stayed calm when hearing that, but I was sitting next to Jim Fruit Is Not Dessert And I Like Candy Very Much Fallon. Everyone at our table talked soothingly to him.  And just when we needed her most, Our Wonderful Empress, whose timing might never be improved, announced that dessert for this afternoon’s meal would soon be served and it would be all you can eat apple crisp and vanilla ice cream.  Happiness was restored, but it was tense for while.

After a serious rapping of the bell (I trust she didn’t pull anything), President Mary called the club to order.  The speaker being the only guest, Our Gracious Empress identified those to lead us in the Welcome Song as the lovely Ruth Sheehan and the handsome Frank Staples, and Frank newly married as well.  Yet after that introduction some wise guys at Frank’s table had to add, “and he’s already going out for lunch!” I wouldn’t want to publically shame those who said it by mentioning their names, but I was not one of them. It was Doug Willett and Neal Cunningham.

Nice guy Dan Firestone tried again to be a stern Sgt @ Arms.  He called to the podium new member Tim Coppage.

Dan makes a Deposit

  Dan had some trouble pronouncing names today, and Tim’s was the first to suffer. Dan did well enough with it that Tim realized it must be his and he came forward, but still.  I say, if you’re going to fine a guy, you need to get his name right.  Our Empress, all grace, still has a keen mind for justice, and she soon opened up Dan’s own Sgt@ Arms pouch right in front of him and had him pay for his misnomer infraction.  It was satisfying to see the Sgt @ Arms get rank pulled on him. Anyway, after explaining to poor Tim that Tim had an obligation to the Sgt @ Arms to report Tim’s birthdays, anniversaries, et.al., and then Dan acting sort of confused about what all those might be, and then Tim’s getting even more confused then Dan, Tim decided to just bring it all to conclusion by giving Dan five bucks for the pouch.  Like I said before, Dan’s nice, but he’s not stupid.

Dan continued on in his bumbling like a fox Colombo approach by mispronouncing Bob Buettner’s name, I can hardly begin to phonetically describe to you the sound Dan made.  It seemed to my ear to be something like the AFLAC duck saying beautiful.  But the best part was when someone called out “boutonnière!”  I like that.  It fits. Bob paid in celebration of his granddaughter’s selling $197 worth of hand made bracelets for “Expo for Cancer.”  She calls her efforts, “Sage’s Bracelets for Hope.”  I trust Bob paid well.  He should be very proud! Doug Willett made a contribution in honor of the birth of his sixth

Introducing Miss Ada Rose!

grandchild, Ada Rose Willett. Congratulations Doug!  Finally, Dan got Janice Freschlin and Hope Firestone for leaving early.  And I was remiss to mention last week that Jay Stewart’s grandson got engaged.  I should have paid a fine for that but Dan was too nice to ask me.  Not that I’m tight, but I didn’t volunteer.  Yet I am a man of conscience. Was I a bad Rotarian?

Alex Wisz won the raffle, the winning ticket drawn by Bob Boutonnière.

George Schoen reported that the golf tournament is taking shape but we could still use a few more players and the sponsor list could be strengthened. 

Bill Saunders added that the Manchester Club is holding a golf tournament on October 1st to benefit breast cancer.  As they will have players in our tournament there may be those who wish to be a part of theirs.

Doug Willett passed around the list for hosting and leading Fireside Chats. There will be four Chats this year during the first half of October.

Neal Cunningham informed us he is starting to pass around the list for serving at the water station for the Hartford Marathon.  Which announcement segued well into the introduction of the afternoon’s speaker.

Her name is Elizabeth Shluger and she is the CEO & Exec. Director of the Hartford Marathon Foundation.  As soon as the title, Hartford Marathon, was spoken, from our table, and again, I don’t wish to mention names, Doug Willett, as if in correction said, “the George Agnelli Memorial Marathon!”  Well, first of all, George is very much alive.  He was sitting right across the aisle.  Second, he’s not the only one who loves the marathon, especially the way its course ran down Main Street in East Hartford past his store.  

The Hartford marathon was Ms. Shluger’s idea and creation twenty-one years ago. It started with a bit over three hundred runners and now welcomes over twenty thousand.  She told some humorous stories of runners going off course (Maybe they were they looking for the businesses on Main Street?) and some touching stories of people whose lives were enriched by taking part in the different running events on marathon day.

Remarkably, the event has raised over six million dollars for charities and has had an impact on the local community of over seventy eight million dollars. (She didn’t mention much of it being increased sales at Anderson Jewelers.)  The Hartford Marathon is now rated one of the top marathons in the nation.  I found the presentation sometimes heart warming and often fascinating.

Marathon CEO Beth Shluger

Nick Cecere raised some questions about the senior Olympics, where they are held and when, but Neal Cunningham said that Nick is too old for the senior Olympics.  Is that true?

One final comment: It is remarkable to me how much fun we have giving each other a hard time, matched only by the love and respect we share among us.  For such friendship, I am grateful.  And that’s Rotary!

See everyone next week!

Ted Mosebach