|
Holiday Greetings – Friday, Dec. 18, is the deadline for submitting holiday greetings to be shared with your fellow Rotarians and their families. President Ashley Wesley welcomes videos, photos, or messages. Send them to ashleysullivanrotary6580@gmail.com.
|
|
Jeff Baldwin (left) and Jim Sims at Kroger-South last Saturday
Wanted: Bell Ringers – Volunteers are needed to ring the Salvation Army bells for the 11 a.m. to noon (2 people), noon to 1 p.m. (2 people), and 1 to 2 p.m. (1 needed) shifts on this Saturday, Dec. 19, at Kroger East/College Mall. Sign up here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b094ba9ae2fa64-rotarysalvation
Teachers Warehouse will be closed to shoppers from Dec. 20 to Jan. 3. We have two shopping days left this week: Wed., Dec. 16, and Sat., Dec. 19. We will reopen on Mon., Jan. 4th.
ROTARIANS IN THE NEWS
|
|
|
District Governor Jessika Hane of Bloomington Sunrise Rotary has been invited to serve as a breakout presenter at the June 12-16, 2021, Rotary International Convention in Taipei. Jessica, shown with her husband, Bryan, will be the first Rotarian from our district to present at a Rotary International Convention. Use this link to register: Register | Rotary Convention.
|
|
THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM:
TALK ON VP-ELECT KAMALA DEVI HARRIS RAISES QUESTIONS
|
|
|
In this week’s program, IU Media School Prof. Radhika Parameswaran and Ph.D. candidate Pallavi Rao talked about U.S. Vice President-Elect Kamala Devi Harris as the first woman, Black, and South Asian/Indian to fill that role.
Kamala was influenced from the start by both of her parents, Shyamala Gopalan of India and Donald Harris of Jamaica. Her parents both attended the University of California Berkeley for grad school.
Shyamala, daughter of an Indian diplomat, was born in the southeastern state of Tamil Nadu. She graduated from India’s University of Delhi at age 19 and moved to Berkeley to get her doctorate in nutrition and endocrinology. Donald graduated from Jamaica’s University College of the West Indies before studying at Berkeley.
They met after joining a group of students to talk about Black writers and to debate about politics and activism.
Her parents, both huge civil rights activists, divorced when Kamala was 7.
Kamala visited the home countries of each of her parents but, while she lived with her mother after her parents’ divorce, she seemed to identify more with the Black culture.
Radhika and Pallavi’s talk raised many questions, including:
- Is Kamala using her cultural capital/ethnicity/race to her political advantage? They believe Kamala used her Black heritage effectively, especially in the primary race, but to a large extent she has ignored her Indian background.
- Should she be more progressive in doing so?
- If she doesn't use her cultural capital, will the media in the U.S. and in India try to construct a more defined image for her?
More than 50 Rotarians and guests tuned in for the Zoom session. To see a recording of the program, click on this link: https://youtu.be/IR41TB8WgNY.
|
|
DECEMBER 15
This Week's Meeting
|
|
President Ashley Wesley presided.
To celebrate the holiday season, we enjoyed reflections from five fellow Rotarians.
|
|
Dave shows a “Santa Fossil,” decorated by his wife, fellow Rotarian Cindy Neidhart
DAVE MEYER – Through his new hobby, fossil collecting, Dave Meyer has found shellfish and coral fossils from the Ordovician Period, more than 445 million years ago. Dave says it was climate change that caused the mass extinction of these creatures from that period. That reality has led him to join others to reflect on the effects of climate change today and to encourage our country to slash emissions and protect our loved ones and our future.
|
|
SALLY GASKILL – As the winter solstice approaches, we notice the changes. Days of light are shorter, the darkness is longer, the weather is cold, the trees are bare, and snow is often on the ground. Sally shares these thoughts from the author John Matthews: "The Solstice is a time of quietude, of firelight, and dreaming, when seeds germinate in the cold earth, and the cold notes of church bells mingle with the chimes of icicles. Rivers are stilled and the land lies waiting beneath a coverlet of snow. We watch the cold sunlight and the bright stars, maybe go for walks in the quiet land … All around us the season seems to reach a standstill — a point of repose."
“ROSIE THE CLOWN” LEVY – “What makes a clown?” she asks. Is it colored hair? A costume bright? Funny red nose? It’s a warm smile. A laugh that’s shared. A spirt lifted to make someone glad. A gift of heart from the clown … This is what transforms a frown. What makes a clown? A gift from the heart. All of this and nothing less.”
GLENDA MURRAY – May your holidays be filled with happiness and health, good cheer, and the precious warmth of family. May each of you receive these blessings: Happiness deep down within, serenity with each sunrise, success in every facet of your life, close and caring friends and love that never ends, special memories of all the yesterdays, bright todays and with much to be thankful for a path that will lead to beautiful tomorrows all through the coming year.
|
|
CHARLOTTE ZIETLOW reflected on the Moravian Star, a symbol of the Moravian Church in northern Czechoslovakia.
Early in the morning on Monday, Dec. 21, Jupiter and Saturn will cross in the southwest sky. They will appear to come together to form one extremely bright star. This may have been “the Star of Bethlehem.”
“Stars are everywhere,” Charlotte says. “Our stars are in our hearts. Merry Christmas … I love you all.”
Thanks to producers of the Zoom meeting: Michael Shermis, Natalie Blais, Sally Gaskill, and Earon Davis.
Guests
- Dennis Elliott, IU journalism professor (retired)
- Katelyn Lipa, Findlay, OH
- Randy Wheeler, District Secretary, Rotary Club of Evansville
- Anne Bright, wife of Jim Bright
Birthdays
- Amy Osajima, December 25
- Katie Beck, December 27
- Ann Wrenn, December 27
- Jon Barada, December 28
- Lee Witt, December 29
- Tom Boone, December 30
Membership Anniversaries
- Peggy Frisbie, 23 years
- Wendell St. John, 1 year
- Paul Hazel, 34 years
Correction
The readings at the Dec. 8 meeting were from Ross Gay's Book of Delights, not Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, and they were essays, not poems.
Reporter: Jim Bright
|
|
|
|
|
|
