Well done throughout. I liked that you helped us visualize the cartoon. Great
skill to have when technology fails (which is more often than it should).
Robin
Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10
From: J. K.<mailto:jonathan.kolber@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, June 4, 2021 10:15 PM
To: frtm<mailto:frtm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: FRTM - Re: Notes from last night's meeting
Hmmm, my cartoon was erased by Gmail. Their purpose may be "Don't Be Evil", but
they get to define the word.
It showed a picture of a group gathered around a table. The leader spoke. She
said, "The purpose of this meeting is to hold the shortest meeting ever. If
you're ready to end it, say aye. The ayes have it. Meeting adjourned."
On Fri, Jun 4, 2021 at 10:07 PM J. K.
<jonathan.kolber@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:jonathan.kolber@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Meeting Recap for Thursday June 3 2021
I played Secretary in Alan’s absence. The meeting started on time at 7 PM, and
ended at 8: 12 PM. No, that is not a typo. The Toastmaster was Jeff Stoll. No,
that is not a typo either. Jeff led the shortest FRTM meeting in at least 5
years, perhaps much longer.
The theme of the meeting was No Theme. (Is that a Zen koan? Is what a zen koan?)
Roles were played as follows:
Table Topics Jennifer Dunne
Speaker Katelynn Pau
Evaluator Bill Farrand
Ah Counter Elizabeth Wong…
Who also ably played Quizmaster
Inspiration was Revathy Sukamaran
Timer/Joker was Eddie Leon
Grammarian was Robin McIntosh
General Evaluator was Minjun Zhao
Robin filled in for Pattie as President. He asked Jonathan if there were any
District business, and I reported that Pattie has been appointed F2 Area
Director. F2 includes FRTM. Also, Katelynn has been appointed (as she recalls)
F1 Area Director. Speaking as Division Director, I am excited to have two such
able and committed people helping me to make our Foothills Division the best it
can be next year. Now we just need the remaining three Area Directors to be
appointed…)
As Toastmaster, Jeff opened by joking that he was likely going to run the
meeting, which was scheduled to run for 1 ½ hours, for 2 ½ hours. (Little did
he know… !!)
Eddie ably introduced the Timer function and delivered the week’s joke so well
that comparisons were made to Robin, his mentor.
Katelynn’s speech was for the Connect with Storytelling project. Hers was an
adventure on study abroad in China, entitled “Train from Xian”. She shared life
lessons learned in a 24 hour train ride.
Table Topics was a game of Truth or Dare. The Word of the Day was Expeditious,
and it was required. (Some of the participants, myself included, pushed the
edge of legitimacy in our use of the word.)
We were called upon, then asked to choose a number from 1 – 7, and either a
flaw or a focus.
I was called upon first and declared the idea that things will just work out in
life to be not only a flaw but a delusion. (Others disagreed with me later!
This club needs more debates.)
Andy agreed with the proposition that now matters more than past or future.
Revathy agreed that one should seek out people who believe/admire/help you in
life.
Robin disagreed that the past limits our future potential.
Eddie disagreed that each choice/action affects only that circumstance.
Elizabeth disagreed that life should be about avoiding pain and pursuing
pleasure.
Bill disagreed that the limiting beliefs of one’s friends and family limit what
is possible.
Minjun discussed working on yourself.
Jeff discussed the idea that how you do anything is how you do everything.
Katelynn discussed responsibility and accountability.
(Speaking of that, I regret that I failed to get clear on whether the last
three people were agreeing or disagreeing with their selected proposition.)
Bill evaluated Katelynn’s speech, which he basically loved. (He commented that
she had told him that she didn’t have enough time to prepare, and that he was
glad that she didn’t mention that in her speech because it sounded well
prepared.)
Robin as Grammarian found a few choice and memorable phrases used by members
and few errors of grammar.
Minjun as GE had thoughtful comments on the various roles performed tonight.
DID I MENTION THAT THE MEETING ENDED AT 8:12, a scant 1:12 after it started?!?
Did we see the emergence of Jeff 2.0 tonight?!? Only …well… time will tell.
We had a brief meeting after the meeting, which mostly included Robin, Eddie
and myself. Robin clarified my evaluation of Eddie last week, after which we
agreed that the more experienced members rightly critique each other harder
than we do the newer members, and that includes when we don’t fully or clearly
evaluate the newer members. We all grow through a willingness to stretch
ourselves, to try new things, to make mistakes, and to own up to those
mistakes. Simple principles, rarely seen in organizations. FRTM has such a
culture.
Next week: a “family feud” as our very own married couple vie, perhaps with a
third person, to see WHO WILL BE BEST SPEAKER!??
Appropriate cartoon:
Bonus joke about time:
Some American tourists were visiting the French countryside. They happened upon
an apple farmer, who was patiently holding a duck in his arms while the duck
ate an apple from a tree, despite fallen apples being scattered on the ground.
When the duck finished its apple, the farmer moved so that the duck could eat
another apple.
The tourists watched. After about 15 minutes of this, one of them blurted out,
“Excuse me, monsieur!” (the mixture of English with another language obviously
being good enough for foreigners to understand), “Why don’t you just put the
duck on the ground, and it can eat the apples faster?”
The farmer turned and stared at the idiotic American. Finally, he replied, in
perfect English, “What’s time to a duck?”
