In the Beginning...
The virtual gather-up of Rotarians took place amid a welcome respite from the latest heat event. The cooling temperatures gave us a renewed sense of joi de vivre and other French terms that don’t translate well to English. A little je ne seis quoi anyone?
Pre-meeting chatter from greeter Patricia Anderson focused on the new national holiday of Juneteenth commemorating the date in 1865 when those in bondage in Galveston, Texas learned of their emancipation, as well as the fact that it was the final regular meeting of the Rotary year.
Greg Webster’s son 3-year-old Carter let us know that his motorcycle was in the garage. And baby Wrenly — who was described by her father as "squirrely and chunky” — graced us with her endearing smile.
With president Michael Scar and Suzanne back in Ohio for Michael’s mother’s memorial service, our president-elect Betsy Watson guided the gathering. Betsy called meeting to order at 12:10 pm.
Thank you, Don for the Pledge, Bill for the invocation, Tara for facilitating our Zoom meeting, Patricia for being our greeter today and Bret Bradigan for serving as our Reminder Editor. And I also want to thank Terry Becket for sending out the Zoom link every week.
Guests: We welcomed special guest Kevin Davis.
Don Reed led us in pledge of allegiance.
Bill Weirick gave us an invocation from the Universalist tradition about the contrasts in the world and the pursuit of good and kindness against the “fear, sadness and anger.”
Rev. Dr. Justin Osterman June 29, 2018
Slightly edited from original
A Prayer for Difficult Times
It is hard to know what to say,
hard to know what to pray sometimes
when fear, sadness anger, and confusion come over me.
This world is so beautiful and so terrible at times,
people so magnificent and so malevolent.
It’s hard to know how to feel
with all the wonder and horror happening at the same time.
I want to make things right, fair, clear.
I want to help people be kind, merciful, and just.
I want to end violence, heal brokenness, prevent pain, restore hope.
My longing is so big and I am so small.
Sometimes despair speaks to me in poisonous whispers.
Please help me find that still, small voice that speaks of love, comfort, and hope;
be my calm amidst the storm.
Be the fragile, beautiful flower that catches my eye to remind me
that seasons come and go, in nature, in life, and in history.
Be the kind eyes that remind me
that there are open hearts and hands all around me,
waiting to love and to help,
if I will only open myself to them.
Remind me, in every way,
that I always have the power to choose how I will respond to life,
and then to help me to choose wisely, act justly, live peacefully,
and embody every value and virtue that I wish to see in the world.
Help me to be and become
my best self
In thought, word, and deed
Today and every day of my life
Amen
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Betsy reminded her board members of the Board retreat on the 19th.
Cheree Edwards reminded everybody about the big event on June 25th to celebrate Michael Scar’s year of presenting. “We have 40 confirmed, plus 20 people haven’t opened invite yet,” she said. The event takes place at Boccali’s at 5 p.m.
Nathan Kaehler let us know that we have reached our Polio Plus goal for the year, but are significantly short of our The Rotary Foundation pledge and that we still have time to close the gap. Send checks to TRF, P.O. Box 511, Ojai, CA 93024.
BIG NEWS!
The Club will resume in-person meetings on July 9th, with a six-month trial at the St. Thomas Aquinas Center. Betsy thanked Bryant Huber and Michael Malone for bird-dogging the project, and that she and others had just met with Father Kirk to “learn the ins and outs of the building."
Cartoon...
Perils of a medical school education...
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FINING — with Greg “Papa” Webster.
Confessions
Tony Thacher is celebrating 56 years of marriage with Anne on June 19th. “And it’s now a federal holiday” he quipped.
In a remarkable coincidence, Don and Susan Reed were married exact same day, June 19th.
Bill Weirick informed us that his parents, Dick and Jane, have made the milestone of 70 years of connubial bliss.
Bill Prather owned up to celebrating his 73rd birthday.
Fine Questions from Greg focused on the Channel Islands, and in doing so he rang up a tidy sum for the club from Mike Malone, Deirdre Daly, Tara Saylor, Kevin Davis, Janet Mahon and Bret Bradigan with such questions as how old is the Arlington Man, the oldest known human remains found in North America; how many islands are there; which island hosts the USC research station, and which island did Greg’s grandfather herd sheep? Only Cheree went unstumped, guessing correctly that Santa Catalina hosts the USC research station.
Program:
Annemiek Schilder, representing the University of California Extension and the Hansen agricultural research center, talked about the important work of keeping farmers and scientists up to date on the latest research. She herself comes from a family of dairy farmers in Netherlands and has spent time in upstate New York and Africa studying agriculture.
The Co-op Extensions developed out of the Smith-Lever Act in 1914, in cooperation with the USDA and land grant universities. They are responsible for youth programs such as 4-H, ag and pest control, environmental and natural resources, food and health, innovation and yard and garden. They also teach the Master Gardener certification. “And we are present in every county, bringing the latest in science to farmers,” she said.
Schilder introduced us to her crew, and told us that a move may be imminent from Santa Paula on the Falkner historic farm, re-envisioning moving to Oxnard plain. Farm advisors included Ben Faber, James Downer, Oleg Daugovish, Andre Biscaro, Matthew Shapero, Sabrina Drill, Susana Bruzzone-Miller and Alexa Hendricks. They’ve been underfunded for years and have fewer than half the advisers as once upon a time, but are looking forward to the state increasing their funding.
Among the issues the Extension deals with are climate change and pesticide use, water restrictions, etc. Bob Davis said that he “appreciates what the organization does. I think you’re underselling yourself. You need to toot your horn a little louder.” Kevin Davis asked about food deserts, of which Schilder said Ventura County has no significant gaps in nutrition, being amid one of the country’s richest farmlands.
Pesticide use came up and Schilder said the issue is most directly addressed through the state
Betsy closed us out with a quote:
"There is no wi-fi in the forest, but I’ll promise you’ll find a better connection."
