The first meeting of the month features 3 or 4 speeches and no table topics.
24 HOURS OF LEMONS
Sam Hauxwell's desire to drive a race car took him to Shelton, Washington, and the 24 Hours of Lemons race. Race teams are only allowed to spend $500 on their car ... the term 'hooptie' comes to mind. Sam's team drove a '92 Nissan Sentra painted orange and white. They called themselves the Rogue Squadron. They barely made the start as they managed to burn up the transmission during the Friday practice run. After an overnight sprint to Portland, Oregon to purchase a working transmission, they returned with just enough time to install it before the race began Saturday morning. Sam was the third team driver. Unfortunately for Sam, he ran the car off the track resulting in a 'black flag'. As punishment for this driving error, Sam was saran-wrapped to the top of the car and driven around the track in shame.
WHAT MAKES A PUN SO PUNNY?
Curtis Edwards told us a fish tale, actually what two fish say to each other when they swim up to each other. He told it three ways - two in English and one in Spanish. The English fish said "swim" or said nothing at all. But when the joke was told in Spanish the word for "swim" and the word for "nothing" are both "nada". So the pun makes perfect sense in Spanish with a double meaning.
CYCLING ADVENTURES
Christina Grijalva loves her bicycles. In fact she owns three - a road bike, a mountain bike, and a beach cruiser. She rides her road bike to work every day. She shared her experiences, both the good and the bad. The bad includes exhaust, smelly cans on trash pick up day, and a headless squirrel. But the good makes up for it. Seeing the beauty of nature that changes with the seasons. Then there are the wonderful smells of breakfast lofting into the street. The aroma of bacon and biscuits fills her lungs and puts a smile on her face. Her advice to all: Go for a ride!
ADVENTURES IN MENTORING
Bill Martin shared three funny stories of personal mentoring. The first was a woman who attended Toastmasters many, many years ago. One day she admitted to Bill that she drank a six pack of beer prior to each meeting. He suggested this wasn't the best idea, that she just needed to take the plunge. At the next meeting she participated in Table Topics. She considered this to be such a milestone that she left the meeting and never returned. The other stories featured an ice cream mishap prior to a television interview that ended badly, and the tale of a surrogate mother tasked with giving birth to a baby boy, only to produce a baby girl. Talk with Bill for more details.