Life and Random Thinking

Special Events – Toastmaster Style

Posted on January 21, 2011 by dfolstad58

Image by slworking2 via Flickr

One of the challenges for me as VP Education in our Club, and there are a few!, is to keep meetings fresh and interesting. Our meetings are an hour a week and this year has brought some new ideas that we have been pleased to export to other clubs in our area. Right now I am sharing two ideas with YOU!

One idea we had at Christmas for a special meeting was called “Christmas Court.” We held a court with a judge, a bailiff, witnesses and the Grinch was charged with stealing Santa’s sleigh. Only the meeting planner knew the whole idea, there were even hecklers for the witnesses and a surprise confession to spare the Grinch. The confession was very emotional and deserved an Oscar. A very interesting meeting and a great opportunity for our Club (no. 641259) to invite guests and have enjoy a special theme for stretching our boundaries.

Valentine’s Day is coming up now and here is the idea presently being planned for a special meeting. It will be an Vegas wedding and the list of characters will be secret until the big day in February.

The February Wedding event will be fun. There is so much opportunity for people with roles to be creative. A good meeting for guests and Toastmasters includes laughter and fun by all. You can imagine the different speaking roles you could add into the situation of a wedding. In these special events, people have roles but no one has a “script” but they usually have some information that is provided. You need to provide multiple speaking roles just like a regular meeting.

Thank heavens I have Club members with imagination and willingness to plan and hold these special events!

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Five Man Electrical Band – Everywhere a Sign

Posted on January 18, 2011 by dfolstad58

I wonder if everyone has songs buried in their subconscious.

A little bump, a phrase in a conversation and a song springs into my mind – all the way through the cobwebs. ♥

A song that really represents for me the Seventies is this song from the 1974 called “Signs” by Five Man Electrical Band.

[Verse 3]
And the sign said, “Everybody welcome. Come in, kneel down and pray”
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all, I didn’t have a penny to pay
So I got me a pen and a paper and I made up my own little sign
I said, “Thank you, Lord, for thinkin’ ’bout me. I’m alive and doin’ fine.”
Wooo!

Of course that song brought back a memory.

When I was young, my family tented and at one campground my family met a young man who traveled in his VW camper.

That old VW camper of his was hand painted on the outside to his whimsical sense of style. It had bright yellow bumpers, hand-made bumper stickers with sayings like ” Insured by Mafia Mutual” and a really cool sounding “AH-WOOGA” horn. (sorry no photo).

He used to visit my parents now and then. I still remember him picking me up from high school and giving me a ride home and playing that aw-wooga horn.

Flower power, peace signs, that was the Seventies !

Even if YOU missed the 70’s – you may like the message of the Five Man Electrical Band.

Peace OUT !

For me, this song “Signs” will always make think of that VW bus and those bright yellow bumpers.

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What does “Sage” mean?

Posted on January 15, 2011 by dfolstad58

Image via Wikipedia

Sage is a word that has several meanings, but in this context for the May 2011 – District 21 Toastmasters Spring Conference in Osoyoos, BC; it has a dual application. One of which is the plant that I envisage to be similar to the tumbleweeds you can sashay through on the grounds at Spirit Ridge, in the desert environment of Osoyoos, BC. The dual meaning, that I am personally drawn to, is also the wisdom aspect for the word “Sage”. Sage means “wisdom” and “sage advice” is the VERY BEST ADVICE and you should follow it.

We all receive and give advice during our lives. A wise, sage man told me that the day will come when I will look back and I will reflect on my life. Everyone does. He said you will wish that you took more chances. He said you will wish you took more opportunities. You will wish you spent more time with the people who really mean the most to you.

I look ahead to the May 2011 Toastmasters conference in Osoyoos, BC because of the “sage” advice I was given. I will venture out of my bubble for those few days and make new friends, meet new people, get out of my rut and have a great time. I will go back to work the following week and know I did not miss an opportunity. So here is some “Sage” advice for you. If you live in Canada, if you live in BC, if you live in the Okanagan, if you live in Washington USA ~ give yourself a fun experience, space is limited; book today.

I hope I see AND meet you there.

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Education – In a deep dark jungle…..lived a lonesome caveman

Posted on January 10, 2011 by dfolstad58

If you like your music a little rockier, then you will love “Kinks” – Education from Schoolboys in Disgrace ~ wait for the bridge near the end. “Oh you can’t tell me why I am!” – Lyrics below !

In a deep dark jungle, long time ago
Lived a lonesome caveman
He was a solitary soul
And he spent his playtime
Chewing meat from bones.
He didn’t know how to talk much
He only knew how to groan
Then he lifted up his hands and reached to the sky
Let out a yell and no one replied.
Frustration and torment tore him inside
Then he fell to the ground and he cried and he cried.
But then education saved the day.
He learned to speak and communicate
Education saved the day.
He thanked God for the friends he made.
‘Cos everybody needs an education
Everybody needs an education.
Black skin, red skin, yellow or white,
Everybody needs to read and write
Everybody needs an education.

Thank the day when that primitive man
Learned to talk with his brothers
And live off the land.
He left his cave and he moved far away
And he lived with his friends in a house that they’d made
He learned to think and to work with his brain
And he astounded his friends with all the knowledge he gained

He wrote it down on a rock that he found
And he showed all his friends and they passed it around
And then education came that day.
The day it came was a sacred day.
Education came that day
He thanked God for the friends he’d made.

Well man built a boat and he learned how to sail
And he traveled far and wide
Then he looked up above saw the stars in the sky
So he learned how to fly.
And the inventors with their high I.Q.s
And the professors in their colleges
Trying to feed me knowledge
That I know I’ll never use.
Thank you sir for the millions of words
That you’ve handed me down and you’ve told me to learn

But I’ve got words in my ears and my eyes
I’ve got so many facts that I must memorize
Because education’s doing me in
I want to stop but my head’s in a swim
Education drives me insane
I can’t recall all the facts on my brain.
Education came that day
The day it came was a sacred day
Education saved the day
He thanked God for all the friends he made.

Teacher, teach me how to read and write,
You can teach me about biology,
But you can’t tell me what I am living for
‘Cos that’s still a mystery.
Teacher, teach me about nuclear physics
And teach me about the structure of man,
But all your endless calculations
Can’t tell me why I am.
No you can’t tell me why I am,
No you can’t tell me why I am.

Everybody needs education,
Open Universities, education.
Every race, every creed, education.
And every little half-breed.
Every nationality, education.
All the little people need education.
Eskimos and pygmies need
And even aborigines, education.

Well, physics and geography, education.
Philosophy and history, education.
Science and biology, education,
Geometry and poetry, education.
Well, education, education, education, education

[Repeat ‘education’ till end]

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A Special Day from 2010

Posted on January 10, 2011 by dfolstad58

Smiles and Sunshine June 12, 2010

I decided to make this collage of pictures because this day was such an important one and great memory. A wedding is a special event of commitment, joining together of families, and celebration (and we celebrated)with Amanda & Tyler, friends and family. With love, smiles, tears, and joy.