Miscellaneous
Repeat from last week or until no longer relevant or until I delete it:
Our Garden City Lands clean up will be on Sunday May 30th 2021 9 - 10 AM. Meet across from the Walmart Parking lot on Alderbridge Way. Thanks Amanda and the social committee. Bring gloves, garbage bags and sanitizer.
Saturday June 26, 2021 at 6:30 Zoom meeting with dinner lasting 1 hr. Dinner will be provided by the Ghirra’s. Pick up will be from 4:00 – 4:30 pm. More details will follow.
Zoom Meeting Rules
THE LINK TO OUR THURSDAY MEETINGS WILL NO LONGER BE EMAILED BUT ACCESSED THROUGH THE LINK BELOW.
Meeting ID: 868 5522 9058
Passcode: 473892
1) Mute your microphone if you aren't already muted. Background noise is distracting.
2) If you are not engaged in the presentation, turn off your camera.
3) Chat function should only be used to address the speaker, not for Club member remarks during the presentation
4) Unmute when harassing the Sergeant at Arms or taking your turn during Sergeant at Arms.
Presidents Report
All meetings will be by zoom until further notice.
Please direct any questions to me or a board member of your choosing and we will discuss any and all questions or concerns during our board meeting. Also please refer anyone who may be interested in attending a meeting or joining the club.
Be kind and be calm and safe...
Send in your volunteer hours to Sandra
Announcements
Red Dress Day Oh Canada best one yet honouring missing and murder Indigenous woman.
Few things have such an impact on our lives as our friendships!
9 face masks left for sale by donation. Sorry sold out!
Visitors
Robert Gifford our Speaker.
sergeant At Arms Tidbits
Susan was coping with the bright light of the morning having breakfast at home as opposed to the front seat of her car in the Costco parking lot.
Amanda had a dear friend pass away from pneumonia. Loves her hanging basket and her straightened teeth.
Debbie T. said her family has now all had their first covid shot. Recently had a colonoscopy and had polyps removed. Described in nonvivid detail the toilet experience for those who are in the know. You know who you are!
Chris B. just finished her second week of practicum with only half the number of E/A students. Nice lunch on the Steveston waterfront.
Chris M. is receiving little gifts hidden in her office and desk as the children know she is retiring. She is being invited into each class and is showing her home made stuffed bears like a show and tell. Will be spending retirement continuing to make the stuffed bears and writing stories about them to read in the class room.
Elena received a call from a Rotary Club in Minneapolis to explore doing a project in Kazakhstan and Elena gave the person a contact in Russia. International woman of mystery.
Bobby is biking and gardening and paying double for strawberries.
Richard gave us an example of the bright side of covid as he had a zoom conversation with a bunch of cousins he had not spoken to in 70 years. Wow longer than I've been alive by a whole year.
Micheal enjoyed mother's day and his baskets. He has finished watching Serpent and now into White Lines??!!! Sounds like he has regressed to Ozark and Pablo.
Dalbir had some friends who wanted to donate to India to help the covid disaster there but could not find a Rotary Club that would help.
Melinda just wished everyone a happy day.
Garth is starting choir rehearsals with eight people in a church in East Van on Napier. Did not know this little gem was there.
I showed Brian some pickleball stance fundamentals and I notice he was taking notes. Also Darcy's cleaning business is picking up steam (cleaning! oh I am soooo funny) five employees and charging a jaw dropping $100 per hour!
Brian was in his RV at Cultus aka Happy Place. Will be vaccinated Saturday - another happy place.
Carolyn is enjoying peanut whiskey? Seriously? Daughter is getting vaccinated.
Marg reported that Don made her an egg salad sandwich for mother's day. Ben loves his work, they love him, and he is vaccinated.
Kal congratulated Don for his contribution to the Hospital Foundation.
Peter navigated the downtown rats nest of traffic so Jane could have her cataract surgery.
Ron has planted 60% of his vegetable garden and his plums and pears are undergoing bee conception.
Gordon's windows are almost all replaced and enjoys the sunny walks around Steveston.
Sandra had an outdoor family lunch on Mother's day but suffered a sun burn. Vaccinated Thursday and recommends watching Succession. (me too)
Mary Lou avoids the downtown rats nest by commuting in her slippers. Loved the Oh Canada. Oscar took her to Kits beach for Mother's Day with entire family.
Kathy's Rachel brought her some really good food for Mother's Day and had a wonderful one on one with her daughter.
Debbie S. has taken a leaf out of Chris M.'s gardening manual and has planted vegetables among the flowers and plants. May be eating petunias and impatiens if not careful during harvest.
speaKER
Robert Gifford is an eco-psychologist from the University of Victoria with many awards and publications to his credit. He spoke to us about the "Dragons of Inaction" surrounding climate change and how to work toward solutions. Although the majority of people are in favour of helping the environment many are not doing as much as they feel they should. We have excuses or rationalizations for not doing anything. Environmental damage is mostly caused by humans. We are in unprecedented climate territory with urban heat waves, loss of permafrost, winter ice, and coastal flooding to name some. The consequences reach everyone through temperature change, sea levels, precipitation, pollution, food supply and civil conflict. President Biden and Mark Carney have recently called climate change the number one issue and a crises. It is a moral obligation to have a plan of action and the question is what is your plan. Robert stressed that it is about us. People are the agents of emissions and both government and industry are all still people. We make choices everyday and Governments do not lead but follow and industry depends on purchasing choices. The solution is in acting collectively. He boiled down 38 rationalizations for not individually acting to impact climate change into 7 dragons. He described them as limited cognition, ideology, other people don't do enough, sunk costs, perceived risks, discredence or mistrust, and limited behaviour. Robert provided many solutions to these "dragons" but in summary he provided seven solutions or paths forward. They are learn what counts, monitor local changes, work together, join the policy process, reward the mules(the individuals who are doing the most), reward the honey bees(those doing the right thing but not because of climate change) and diagnose your own behaviour - have an individual plan. For those who want Robert's chart you can email him at rgifford@uvic.ca.
Meanderings
Our Oh Canada today was in Honour of Red Dress Day so here are the details.
May 5 is Red Dress Day in Canada, and Canadians are encouraged to wear red in order to draw attention to the more than 1000 missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada.
The REDress Project was the idea of Metis artist Jaime Black, who is based in Winnipeg, MB. Black was inspired to commemorate missing and murdered aboriginal women while attending a conference in Germany, where Jo-Ann Episkenew – an indigenous professor, writer and researcher – spoke about the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women.
According to Black’s website, “The REDress Project, focuses around the issue of missing or murdered Aboriginal women across Canada. It is an installation art project based on an aesthetic response to this critical national issue. The project seeks to collect 600 red dresses by community donation that will later be installed in public spaces throughout Winnipeg and across Canada as a visual reminder of the staggering number of women who are no longer with us. Through the installation I hope to draw attention to the gendered and racialized nature of violent crimes against Aboriginal women and to evoke a presence through the marking of absence.”
Black chose the colour red after speaking with an indigenous friend who told her that red is the only colour spirits can see and is a way of calling the spirits of missing and murdered women and girls back to their loved ones.
Here is a link to Ms. Black's website The REDress Project – Jaime Black (jaimeblackartist.com)
Upcoming Events
All meetings by Zoom until further notice.
Please note the new date for the Auction
Friday September 24, 2021 Auction Fundraiser with final details to be determined but anticipating live and in person.
May 30th, 2021, Garden City Lands walk and clean up. Across from Walmart Parking lot 9:00 AM. Not too late to register.
Saturday June 26, 2021 at 6:30 Zoom meeting with dinner lasting 1 hr. Dinner will be provided by the Ghirra’s. Pick up will be from 4:00 – 4:30 pm. More details will follow
Committee (and other) Updates
TODAYS CHUCKLEs
🤪
Okay so here are some animal jokes.
How do you know a cat is agitated? He's having a hissy fit!
Another Schrodinger’s cat joke. That jokes been done to death. (or has it?)
Why do cows wear bells? because their horns don’t work.
In the never ending debate between what came first the chicken or the egg, the egg was awarded first place as the chicken tested positive for illegal steroids. The chickens name is Medina Spirit!!! Whaaat? The results are under appeal.
I am here all week folks!!!! WAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
