You could feel it in the air! Puddles of melting snow. A gentle breeze. Pitchers and catchers report in 24 days. Is Spring just around the corner or maybe the Ground Hog will see its shadow? Thirty-four Rotarians found their way to The Ridge for a lunch of beef stroganoff over noodles, grilled squash, and bread pudding.jpg)
with ice cream. I have it on good authority that lasagna is on the menu for next week. Not sure if broccoli will be, too.
Wishes for “feel better” are sent today to Jay Stewart as Art Bradbury handled the Invocation in Jay’s place. It’s nice to share a quiet moment of reflection together to ponder fellowship and the hope for peace in this world.
Having only the guest speaker as our “guest” did not stop President Marc from naming Jessica Leroy and Kevin Kickery as co-maestros for the Welcome Song. It seemed we were going to witness a viral video moment-in-the-making with a surprise dance rendition of the song, but sadly it was not to be. Wouldn’t that be a hoot? I’m just saying, is all.
Sergeant-at-Arms Jim Watts took his last-of-the-month turn at reporting fines: early leavers were Bob Buettner, Jim Fallon, and Sheryl O’Connor (with Sheryl also acknowledging that her – and John’s? – son and 
girlfriend bought their first house; Bob Wood was made to cough up some dough for showing off a photo of his Amherst football days just seconds before he got a concussion (note: photo dated 1957 - - - the year this author was born!); Dave Amberg was deservedly happy that his son is showing signs of improvement.
And: Dan Larson paid a fine to celebrate the birthdate of his 39 year old son, Glen, and also so he could be absolved of murderizing Guy LaBella for not putting in an appearance today. Michael Kerrigan was honest that he had no pin; Ned Lynch was happy to be unloading his son on Singapore for a month and unhappy for not getting his money’s worth last week out of the Patriots.
Susan Hansen celebrated her 29th birthday by having the entire Club sing. No, that is NOT a typo. I know 
because she is one year older than me. Disregard note above. She also thanked us all for the kitten cards and prayers for better health for her son, Brendan. He has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkins Lymphoma, not Stage 4 (yay!) and will be beginning six months of chemo and radiation. We all need to keep those cards, wishes, prayers, and good thoughts coming. It will be a rough road ahead.
Wes Willett’s uncle, Doug Willett’s brother, Bill, passed away in Maine on Tuesday. He was 81 and a former director of the Glastonbury Housing Authority. If you would like to send a note of condolence to Doug the address is: 2625 Stonyhill Court, Cape Coral, FL 33991.
Up-coming dates of note: Friday, February 12 is the date to have breakfast with the new President of the Greater Hartford YMCA at the Farmington Valley Y. Michael Kerrigan has more info. Wednesday, April 13 will be our evening Paul Harris Banquet (no noon meeting).
The District Conference will be held in Hyannis from April 29 through May 1. Cost per couple is $690 including room and food. The theme is “Hawaii” which means we will enjoy the presence of President Marc attired in a grass skirt and strategically placed coconuts. No joke inserted here lest I be forever banned from writing High Gear. John O’Connor, please practice on that new ukulele!
This Sunday the 31st at 2 p.m. is the annual Rotary-sponsored concert at the Wood Library as part of the South Windsor Cultural Series. Call Sheryl O’Connor should you like her to reserve seats for you.
Good news about our District Grant-funded project to do renovations at the EH Homeless Shelter! Michael Kerrigan was able to get the washer/dryer fixed and the flooring donated. Now it looks like most of our work will involve painting. If anybody has a lead on procuring the donation and or installation of a bathroom vanity and toilet and the purchase of two televisions, please let him know. We will have two work dates at the Shelter at 385 Main Street (large gray house across the street from the big smoke stacks at Pratt and Whitney). Call Michael at 860-289-6612 if you still need to sign-up or can put us on to the items listed above.
Ned Lynch won Happy Jack Martin’s raffle today. Ned, how many freaking times have you won this year?!
This afternoon’s speaker was Susan Rabinovich, the owner of a company called “Home to Home”. This company specializes in helping folks downsize their household possessions prior to moving to smaller digs and can also assist with staging homes to look their most attractive for sale. She gave us a look into the sometimes very emotional job of decluttering a house of clothes, books, furniture, and sentimental items that in reality do not “add value” to our lives.
These are very hard decisions but Susan did offer some tips: limit decluttering sessions to 3 hours at a time; divide items into piles to be donated or sold or kept or given to family and friends; organize your living space to reflect the way you really live (maybe you pay your bills at the kitchen table but keep the checkbook in your home office?). She recommended having a buddy on hand to keep you focused, or you can try contacting her company to get professional services such as renovation assistance or using auction houses. To contact her call 860-558-4625 or email at susan@hometohomect.comWell, that does it for me for the month of January. Thanks for listening!
Mary Martin
Empress of the World
