Today I am fortunate to report on two recent gatherings of the East Hartford Rotary. The first being the baseball game that we attended Saturday evening in New Britain at a park formally used by the Rock Cats. Do you think they want their park back yet? Do you think they feel like a goat? I know, don’t kick them when they’re down but really? Well on a beautiful evening in New Britain about 25 Rotarians and their families had the pleasure of a picnic and a chance to see the New Britain Bees. The BBQ was good and the baseball was just fine for this casual fan. The highlight was the opportunity to walk the perimeter of the field with other Rotarians and carry American flags with our Rotary banners. And, Bill Saunders did us well with the 1st pitch. He just needs to throw from the front of the mound as age has limited him to a 55 foot delivery. All good and much fun.
Skip to Wednesday’s luncheon meeting where the ducks were together finalizing their committee responsibilities for this Sunday. A lot of quaking going on so it should be just fine. An armored car pulled in with George Agnelli’s ticket sales. Thanks George!
Ruth Sheehan was sure I was a Red Sox fan until she read last week’s High Gear. Sorry Ruth. I noted
Bob Wood’s badge is sideways as he has a clip instead of the standard magnet—I have a new friend, dooW boB.
Art Bradbury was back, looking dapper than ever and it is such a pleasure to hear that classic voice of his.
He was full of smiles and based on the donations to the Sargeant of Arms in his name, many were happy to see his return. Mary Martin was perched at her table doing duck work. Very intensely I might add.
Jay Stewart said the move went well and she is enjoying the food and meeting new friends.
President Marc looked bored as he readied the gavel and bell—perhaps he is dreaming of the end of his term—we will miss your leadership. Music filled the hall and the Empress treated us to a reminded of the four way test and a request for “God bless the Duck Race”.
Off to the buffet line for the grilled burgers, condiments, salads and chips. Summer is here.
Bob Dugger was a guest from Glastonbury and continues to take the heat for last year’s softball game win by East Hartford. No game this year as they lick their wounds.
Larry Hangland and
Ted Mosebach were asked to do the welcome song. There were some dance moves by our friend Ted that may
require us to up the insurance policy to accommodate potential hip and knee injuries. All in good spirit and perhaps an encore at a future meeting.
Nick Cecere is such fun to have as the Sargeant of Arms. He sits, people drop cash in front of him and he writes down stuff. This week his writing was legible as some of my prior week’s reporting was off. He said there was no chance in hell that Mo Moshovos gave $10 last week so clearly I messed up. Trust but verify! Money was served up for: Art’s return, Jay’s move, Bob Buettner for allowing his dog to eat the club’s signup sheet for the installation dinner, Dave Amberg’s 17th anniversary, Ceil and Frank Collins happy return from South Korea, Ned Lynch proud of his son graduating from Mass Maritime Academy and Alex Wisz because the end is near for the 2016 Duck Race. There are a few more but I gotta get back to work.
We sang Happy Birthday for
Ruth, but no age was provided (
Publisher's note- the age is rapidly approaching the number of years involved in "the curse.")
Nick gave a special shout out to
whoever donated the gymnastics tickets. It was an excellent competition.
Dan Russell gave us an update on
Betty's medical condition. Keep her in your prayers.
Duck race logistics were shared by
Alex along with a signup sheet for help this weekend. Important dates are the District Installation on June 16
th and the Club’s installation dinner on June 29
th.
Bill Saunders announced his grandson will be visiting Rwanda on a trip with University of Hartford educators and is looking for sports items to share with the native children. A worthy cause.
There was a discussion of a possible conflict with next year’s treasurer Mary and Happy Jack doing the raffle. They would need to sit at the same table and collect our money. Hmmm---perhaps an accommodation can be made for separate tables. Ned won the raffle, AGAIN, and was asked his secret to winning. In perfect dead pan he responded “you have to buy tickets to win”! He should work for the CT. Lottery Commission.
The Honorable Henry Cohn was introduced by our own
Dan Firestone as today’s guest speaker. His topic was the legal aspects of the 1944 Hartford circus fire. His talk included a brief history of Hartford at the time,
the history of the circus and its owners and the series of events that led up to the fire. He then discussed how legal claims were handled as compared to today. I must admit, this was a tragedy, as was my grade in Business Law 101 in college, so I listened intently trying not to show that his knowledge far exceeded my ability to understand the nuances of the legal system. Thank goodness for folks like Henry who are advocates for the injured.
So I dispense with the rest of my thoughts as this has gone on far too long. I wish all of you well and hope to see you Sunday as the ducks meander down the Hockanum to the finish line.
