Patricia Anderson served as greeter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

President Michael Scar opened the Zoom meeting at 12:08 p.m. with a warm welcome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Candice Alexander gave the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Weaver gave the invocation sharing February is Rotary month of peace.  After the tragic events of January 6^th, this invocation seemed especially poignant;

 

 

 

 

Michael thanked all those contributing to the meeting.

 

Guests: Our speaker Kenneth Strange was introduced by Bret Bradigan.

 

 

Therese Brown described upcoming programs:

 

February 26th--Michelle Sherman:  Being a people pleaser can be dangerous to your health.

 

March 5th--Rebecca Anderson:  Lotus Land

 

March 12th--Karyl Lynn: Rubicon Theater  "Theater in the CoVid era"

 

 

 

Announcements

Congratulations to Dr. Tiffany Morse for being named Regional Superintendent of the Year.

 

 

President-elect Betsy Watson announced President-elect nominees for next year. Accepting the challenge will be co-presidents Kay Bliss and Marty Babayco. Betsy thanks the nominating committee for their work. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catherine Lee shared that today is the first day of rest of your life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Confessions and Fining
 

Christine Golden began with confessions.

 

Tara confessed how much fun she had at the creek restoration project.  The group planted 200 black walnut seeds.  There is generally a 15% yield. She looks forward to seeing the trees grow.  There are three more opportunities to volunteer coming up, 9 to noon, not this Saturday but next.

 

Jennifer Berry confirmed that Tara is real, not a hologram. 

 

William Weirick praised Christine for how uncharacteristically non taciturn she was at recent City Council meeting shepherding a new mural ordinance to approval.

 

Andy Gilman invited members who may want to dig deep to join him on Wednesday 4/28 for a four month session on American History.  For more information go to:

 

 www.agorafoundation.org

 

Bob Davis had a second vaccination and encouraged everyone to get one.

 

Christine began fining fielding trivia questions regarding presidents.

 

Jennifer Berry - Who was the “dude” president?  Chester Arthur who owned 80 pair of pants.

 

Cheree Edwards – Who died 32 days after becoming from a cold that he got standing in the rain after giving his inaugural speech?  William Henry Harrison

 

Bob Davis – Who was the practical Joker would ring the White House doorbell and then run and hide?  Calvin Coolidge

 

Fred Coleman – Who was the president that liked to skinny dip in the Potomac river in the early morning? John Quincy Adams

 

Bret introduced Kenneth Strange:

 

“Ken fell in love with Spain during a high school trip to Madrid. He spent a Junior Year abroad in Madrid, Spain where he first learned about the 500-Mile Camino to Santiago de Compostela. A chance encounter in Mexico with Martin Sheen, actor of the movie “The Way,” was part of the inspiration for he and his wife embarking on a journey of a lifetime. He wrote his first book based upon that journey - “It’s Your Camino: One Couple’s 500-mile Pilgrimage Across Spain” which can be found on Amazon in English and Spanish. A former FBI and DOJ OIG agent and current Private Investigator (Strange Investigations), he has a thirst for adventure and travel that has taken him to more than 65 countries. Ken lives in Thousand Oaks, is married and has twin daughters."
 

The “Camino” is a historic social and cultural phenomenon, a personal journey into the soul.  Camino means “way” or road.  There are 13 Caminos. Ken and his wife walked the Camino Frances.  That Camino begins in a small Basque village and finishes in the Santiago del Compostela Cathedral where the remains of Saint James are located.  The Camino route was fraught with danger in early years. There were bogus tolls, inclement weather and limited lodging.

 

 

 

Now, there is lodging in a variety of options; hostels, alberques and other places. The popularity of the Camino has increased. Prior to COVID, the Camino was experiencing a revival.  In 1975, there were 74 pilgrims.  Today there are 327,000 pilgrims.  Pilgrims are from all over the world - 45% from Spain, 5.5 % from US.  Pilgrims walk the Camino for many reasons. Many famous walkers have written books or made movies. 

 

How did Ken arrive at walking the Camino?  He has had a long time love affair with Spain.  He studied there in 1975 and he and his wife are practicing Catholics. Visiting the Camino is considered part of a trifecta – Jerusalem, Rome and the Camino.  He described a chance encounter with Martin Sheen in Tijuana, Mexico. Sheen was an inspiration to Ken to write the book that came out in 2019.

 

Ken showed a slide montage of his pictures from the trip. 

 

Questions:

 

The best time of year to hike is spring and fall. The walk took he and his wife 31 days.  The last two weeks there was a storm system. The weather made walking a real challenge.

 

Accommodations usually were generally available. Once, he and his wife had to take a bus back to find a place to stay and then in the morning took the bus forward again. Crowds are common.     
 

He and his wife averaged 16 to 17 miles a day. At the end, walkers receive a Compostela certificate.  All one must do to receive the certificate is to finish the last 60 miles on foot. That journey is 5 days

 

There is an emotional ceremony at end in the cathedral – a Mass, swinging incense, and hugging the statue of St. James the Apostle.

 

After the journey what kind of revelation did you have? Ken shared that the outside world seems to disappear.  He had a lot of time to reflect. He wanted to let the Camino come to him. He shared a significant meeting with a blind couple from Minnesota.  He and his wife spent a whole day hiking with them.  When they arrived in the village at the end of the day, his blind friends asked Ken to describe what he saw. Ken was moved because he had taken his sight for granted his whole life.

 

Ken’s entire slideshow is viewable on YouTube at:

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNGz0VzUQqc

 

 

President Michael Scar ended the meeting at 1 pm with a quote:

 

 

 

The meeting ended with wishes for a “buen camino” to all.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Therese Brown, Reminder Editor