THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF OPPORTUNITY

THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF OPPORTUNITY

Nature called. It was 3:10 a.m. It was not for me, it was for Gweenie , our aging dachshund. Gweenie was a gift from a friend when we lived in San Antonio. She was found wandering the West Side (brave dog!). In the few years we’ve had her we know several things about her: She hates the sight of police officers in uniform. This includes our son-in-law, an Austin police officer. She hates cars to honk outside our home. She hates the sounds of big throated motorcyles. She hates to hear someone do the old “wolf whistle” (not that she’s ever heard it from me! I swear!) But when nature calls, she gets up and shakes as if she were fresh out of her bath. Her metal ID rattles enough to wake me. And I woke up, opened the sliding glass door leading outside and I walked out with her and with Lucy, our other Heinz 57 Variety mutt. The reason I joined them was not to help the greening of the grass, it was to see if that meteor shower was anything like it was supposed to be. It wasn’t or at least not from our vantage point. Later that morning I awoke again at about 5:25 a.m. and aroused Nellie and our daughter Carli and asked if they wanted to go outside and see the meteors. They did. We stood in our front yard with our lights off and saw nothing but the brilliance of lights all around our community. The brightness was dimming the view to the stars. Carli suggested we drive somewhere and Dad thought it would be good to go out by 5 Mile Dam. Of course, Post Rd was closed and up 35 we went to Harrington and then back down to the dam/county park area and we decided to head a bit further up that road. The view was a little better, but not by much. Final tally: Nellie saw one out of her window, as did I out of mine. Carli heard a coyote and asked that I roll up her window and for us to head home. We did.

The bright lights haven’t always been here and the reality is that they will get brighter in the months and years to come. It is a sign of progress and growth. People are moving here. Businesses are moving here. Jobs are coming our way. And the Rotary reality is that with these new people comes the opportunity to grow our club. As you hear of new people moving here and finding work here, celebrate with them and talk to them about our club. Invite them to come and be a part of a service organization that can help them help others while helping them become better people.

Rotary Shares, so why don’t you?

Rotary Shares,

President Eddie

Membership Commitment

Membership Commitment

Before the serious stuff: Ponder These:
1. I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
2. Police were called to a daycare where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
3. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference.
4. To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
5. When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate.
6. The short fortuneteller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
7. A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.
8. A thief fell and broke his leg in wet cement. He became a hardened criminal.
9. Thieves who steal corn from a garden could be charged with stalking.
10. We'll never run out of math teachers because they always multiply.
11. When the smog lifts in Los Angeles , U C L A.
The old ad said “Membership has its privileges.” That may be with the credit card company selling it, but membership in service organizations, such as Rotary, has its responsibilities. Ours is to develop our membership. This is a two-pronged effort: We must motivate ourselves and our fellow club members to be men and women of service (in other words, we not a “chat and chew” club. And we must go out and seek new members. Rotary International says that every good Rotarian must do the 5Ps! (and that’s not a reference to nightly journeys to ones privy!). The 5Ps are:

Projects ALL members need to participate in the club projects every year. Provide a project list for our Club and make sure every member knows about the many Rotary International Projects.

Programs Have all members know that we expect them to be participating in providing speakers to assure excellent club programs every week. Programs give the members a chance to find out about the needs of others. We also need a good brochure for every club that describes what we say about being a Rotarian and our history so our guest speakers will know who they are talking to.

People We must reach out every year and bring at least one new potential member to our club. We need to remember that fundamentally it is the fellowship in Rotary that brings us together. The wanting to be with like-minded people and sharing in the experience in doing good for others. It is a compliment to ask someone to join!

Public Relations We need to be an advocate of the work of Rotary. Tell the Rotary Story to our friends, fellow workers, children, neighbors and others. They will want to join good projects!

Persistence We must take action that will move our goals forward in a constant way. We all must take on a quality of continuing steadily despite problems or obstacles.

We can do it! We have a great club and we can only make it better!

Rotary Shares!

Eddie Valverde