Rotary Club of Marana  Meeting; July 21, 2020 Today was a pleasant meeting of fellowship. We missed some members but kept them present by telling stories behind their backs (see what happens…). Announcements: - Jill Jorden-Spitz, Senior Editor of the Daily Star, will be our speaker next week, the 28th.
- Jamsheed Mehta, Town Manager for the Town of Marana, will be our speaker on Aug. 4th.
Service Project Update: Marana’s Town Manager and Mayor would like us to place a Peace Pole prominently in the area of the municipal building complex. We will wait until a time when gatherings are safe so the pole can be dedicated with a ceremony. Landscaping around the Peace Pole will be discussed at a later date. Suggestion was made to include a Rotary Peace Scholar as a speaker at the ceremony, and a suggestion was made to invite the Marana Chamber. Speakers and invitations for the ceremony will be confirmed at a later date. A wide range of topics emerged from our Happy Bucks: - Don is in Seattle and had a beautiful view of the comet over the Puget Sound. Many of us expressed envy because of our prohibitive cloud cover. Peter dashed any hopes that may’ve been for seeing the comet in the coming days; heavy rains are in the direct forecast. Bad comet timing, but bring on the rains!
- Despite contending with Phoenix rush hour, Peter spend a lovely few hours in Flagstaff, scoping the site where he will be installing a new telescope for the Navy.
- With his normal cheer, Bob lamented 97 degree weather at his home in Virginia. He also told us the story of his step-daughter’s family suffering COVID after attending a social event. After treating COVID prevention as if it were prevention of Anthrax exposure, Bob and his wife are trying to make wise decisions about caring for their grandchildren, who may or may not be carriers, while their parents endure and recover. Our hearts go out to all.
- Harold has taken advantage of sheltering at home to sort through 31 years’ worth of collected papers and things. Things included boxes never opened. He also took his first venture outside of home to one of his local restaurants. Beside enjoying getting out and eating, he was heartened by seeing and saying hello to familiar people. A good reminder to all of us that connection to others is important.
- Becky beamed telling us that she is busy daily with work until the afternoon when June knocks on the door for Grandma time. I don’t think Becky could be a prouder grandmother. She and her husband have been doing driving tours of new housing developments to stave off the weariness of sheltering at home.
- Laura shared with as a video of black sludge and debris running down a local wash; by-products of the fires that devastated over 95,000 acres. She also weaved together moments from others’ stories to wander down her own memory lane: Laura spent 15 years in Flagstaff where Peter had just been. There, as a reporter, she was privy to unrevealed information about a scientist there tasked to trace Anthrax (Bob mentioned Anthrax). One of Laura’s pastimes while living in Flagstaff was, like Becky, driving to see new houses being built. When, after 15 years, Laura left Flagstaff, she, like Harold, found unopened boxes that she had to contend with.
- Dave took some time off to go to Pinetop, lakeside, with his kids. There they all hiked and frolicked and, generally, had a wonderful time. Now, he’s back at work.
- John took his three 14-yr old grandsons, none of which are siblings, to Mt. Graham to camp and fish. The fishing was horrible and John suffered the night cold after he sacrificed his sleeping bag to one of his grandsons. However, a great adventure and a nice reprieve.
With time left before adjourning, we digressed into pet stories, some too tragic to tell. Upshot, don’t ever entrust your pets to John or Randy. Submitted by Mary Straus |
