Special Christmas Gift

The Envelope

Good morning my fellow Daybreakers. This is our last meeting before Christmas and I thought I would share a story with you that fits who we are as Rotarians. It is called “The Envelope” and it goes like this…

It's just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, just plain. It has been in the branches of our tree for 10 years or so. It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas -- oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it -- overspending... the frantic running around, the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else. Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way.

Our son Kevin, 12 that year, was wrestling in junior high and shortly before Christmas, there was a match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes.

As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, I thought wow, they need the protection. Obviously they could not afford the gear. Well, we ended up beating them, taking every weight class. Mike said sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won. They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them."

Mike loved kids -- all kids -- and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That's when the idea for his present came.

That afternoon, I went to a sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the church. On Christmas Eve, I placed an envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition -- one year sending a group of mentally disabled youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on.

The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.

As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. The story doesn't end there. You see, we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more.

Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope. Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.

I believe this story also represents the spirit of Rotary locally and around the world. Giving gifts to those in need on behalf of others is what we do, except we don’t just do it at Christmas time, we do it all year long.

May we each remember the true spirit of Christmas and the very special gift that was given to mankind over 2,000 years ago. It is the true reason for this season. May your holiday season be one of many blessings as you enjoy your time with family and loved ones. And that my friends is the Bottom of our News on this Friday, December 19, 2014!

Merry Christmas!

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Thankful

Thankful for Thanksgiving

Good morning my fellow Daybreakers.  I recently came across a blog that did some fact-checking regarding the history of Thanksgiving.  Here are some common myths:

• In 1621, Pilgrims held a feast in Plymouth Colony to celebrate their first harvest.  False.  Nobody knows for sure. Historians know of harvest celebrations each year, early on shared by the colonists and local Indians.
• The Pilgrims dressed in black and white and wore buckles on the their shoes.  False.  Both men and women typically wore a variety of colors when they dressed up in the 1600’s and it was unheard of to wear black and white.  And NO, there were were no BIG buckles on their shoes.
• Americans have always eaten Turkey at their Thanksgiving feasts because that is what was served at the first Thanksgiving.  False. In the mid-1800’s author and magazine editor Sarah Hale started the idea of a Thanksgiving holiday similar to what we celebrate today.  She used her popular Godey's Lady's Book of recipes to promote turkey and stuffing, pumpkin pie and cranberries along with other traditions that had nothing to do with the colonists. She successfully lobbied President Lincoln, who in 1863, declared Thanksgiving an annual holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November every year. 
• After the first Thanksgiving in 1621, Americans have been celebrating Thanksgiving every year since.  False.  Early on the different colonies celebrated their own days of thanksgiving during the year.  In 1789, George Washington made Thursday, Nov. 26, a Thanksgiving holiday, but only for one year and the holiday continued to be sporadic.  Lincoln’s fourth Thursday held until 1939 when President Roosevelt changed it to be the third Thursday of November primarily to help the economy by making the Christmas shopping season longer. There was so much opposition to the move that two years later he changed it to the fourth Thursday in November.
• The Thanksgiving holiday is uniquely American.  True. The Thanksgiving holiday celebration fits perfectly into the story of American history.  To be thankful to God for the abundance of this great land was only natural for our forefathers and making it a national holiday made perfect sense.  Over time other countries followed suit.  More and more, however, due to the expanding commercialization of Halloween and Christmas, it is a holiday that could get lost.  But as Rotarians we can do something about that by embracing the idea of having a mindset of being thankful year round.

Enjoy your time with family and friends and have a great Thanksgiving next week.  And that is a “thankful” look at the Bottom of the News for this Friday, November 21, 2014!

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Doughboy Demise

Doughboy Baked!

Good morning my fellow Daybreakers.  SAD NEWS from MINNESOTA this week.  Please join me in remembering another great icon of the entertainment community.  The Pillsbury Doughboy died on Wednesday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The gravesite was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Born and bread in Minnesota, Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes.

Despite being a little flaky at times, he still was a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll-model for millions. Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, three children: John Dough, Jane Dough and Dosey Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.  Please rise to the occasion and pass it on to someone having a crumby day and kneading a lift. 

And that is the bottom of our news on this Friday, August 22, 2014.

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Robin Williams

Loss of a Comedic Genius

Good morning my fellow Rotarians.  This week the entertainment world lost a comedic genius.  Robin Williams did it all.  What he did most was make us laugh. 

His physical comedy and funny voices launched his TV career in the 1970s as the oddball alien Mork and everyone's friend with his all-purpose greeting, "Nanu, nanu."

His death on Monday, from an apparent suicide, left a hole in the entertainment universe.   

Williams’ guest appearance on Happy Days in the 1970’s gained him immediate fame that morphed into the long-running sitcom, "Mork & Mindy."  In the ‘80s he moved to the big screen, playing a rogue radio DJ in Good Morning Vietnam in 1987 and in 1989 he was an inspiring English teacher in Dead Poets Society. 

He went on to play a grown-up Peter Pan, a divorced father who posed as a housekeeper, Mrs. Doubtfire, so he could spend time with his kids, and the voice of a freewheeling genie in Aladdin, where Williams showed incredible wit and his uncanny ability to ad lib. 

Robin Williams won his only Oscar in 1998 for his role as a therapist counseling the math genius with a troubled childhood in Good Will Hunting.

For many years he worked with Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg to aid the homeless with the annual Comic Relief shows and he did several USO tours overseas.  Williams was known for his avid support of the Red Cross, St Jude’s and many other organizations and families.

Born in Chicago in 1951, Williams was the youngest of three boys.  His mother was a model and his dad a senior executive at Ford Motor.  As a child Williams was shy, but always funny; typically accused of doing anything to get attention.  He attended HS in San Francisco and his senior class voted him both “Most Likely Not to Succeed” and the “Funniest.”  His college career landed him with a full scholarship to the Juilliard School in NY City, where we was classmate and friends with Christopher Reed and William Hurt.    

Entertainment Weekly called Williams "the funniest man alive.”  Williams credited comedian Johnathon Winters for having the most influence on his comedic career. He was 63, still a sought-after star. 

For me personally, I thought one of Williams best roles was as Patch Adams, a controversial  doctor, based on a true story, who used humor to help his patients.  He said, “You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you, you’ll win, no matter what the outcome.  You always win.”  

Robin Williams, a special man who left an indelible mark on pop culture.  And that is the bottom of our news on this Friday, August 15, 2014. 

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News from Archives

Local Man Loses Car!

Good morning my fellow Daybreakers, what a beautiful day in the neighborhood.  Every so often check our news archives to see if there may be some stories from the past worth telling again.  And I came across one very special story that was too good to pass up.  Here is how it goes as reported by the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

Dateline: Cedar Rapids, IA, Tuesday, July 17, 2007.

So what do you do when your vehicle vanishes into thin air?

A Cedar Rapids man faced that question yesterday.  After getting out of his BMW in the pouring rain and running into his building to open his shop garage door, he noticed, as the door was opening, that his car was gone. 

"I thought someone was messing with me, or perhaps an alien spaceship had taken my car," said this Hiawatha based business owner.  “I was only away from the car for 10 seconds, I can’t believe it!” 

After initial confusion and shock he realized with the pouring rain, for quite some time, that his car might be in the worst place possible - a water retention basin behind his parking lot.

And yes, he was right.  As he bolted to the pond he realized that his laptop, digital camera, PDA and other items were also in the car, as he watched it fill up with water.

His confusion escalated…  “Do I take off my new pink shirt, or just dive in to save my stuff?”  Time was critical so he finally took the plunge.  He managed to salvage most of his items, except for the car as he helplessly watched his new BMW filled up with water. 

One eye witness shared the reactions of employees as they came to work.  “We couldn’t believe it!  We know he is a dare devil when it comes to anything with wheels, but what was he thinking?”  This employee asked that his name be withheld.   

Insurance authorities reported the BMW as totaled.  The only serious injuries were hurt feelings of the owner.

And finally, I quote Mr. BMW, Bart the Man Woods, as he reflected on his unfortunate event.  “Life is good, most everything was reclaimed (except for the car) and no one was hurt.  BUT, I’d still like a redo for about 15 seconds of that fateful Tuesday morning.” 

And that’s a story from the archives, 7 years ago this week, as the bottom of our news on this Friday, July 25^th, 2014. 

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Crazy English

Crazy English Language!

Good morning my fellow Daybreakers.  I thought I would share some interesting things about our English language.  Some would say that English is a crazy language.  Anyone who has learned another language would probably agree.  So, here are some examples… 

There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand works slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

So, if the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth?  Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?   Who invented the English language, were they verbally insane? 

In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?  Why do we ship by truck and send cargo by ship?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?  You have to marvel at a language in which an alarm goes off by going on. English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all.

That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.  And one other thing, why do we have noses that run and feet that smell?

And that is the bottom of our news on this Friday, July 11, 2014.

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