Upcoming Events
May 5 - Board Meeting **Note Change of Date**
May 15 - Gov. Visit
May 20 - Special Games
May 22 - Tour de Cure
Pencil These Dates In
May 10 - Bev Poellet, International Justice Mission
May 17 - Carole Firenze, The Passionate Olive -- PLEASE COME TO THE MEETING 15 MINUTES EARLY TO PARTAKE IN A TASTING
May 24 - Anita Eubank,
Happy/Sad Dollars
Richard paid a happy dollar to report that he took pictures at a fashion show on Saturday night. He has decided he wants to make photography his second career and actually get paid for doing what he loves so much. So, people, if you have any photographic needs, you know who to call. Editors Note - I'd like to see him photographing puppies and small children rather than 22 year old models, so try and help me out here.
Betcha Didn't Know
Here is a story told by some of the old-timers at the McDonnel-Douglas Aircraft Company (now Boeing):
- After the (very hostile) merger between McDonnel and Douglas the two facilities had their pencils printed both left-handed and right-handed. At the Douglas Aircraft facility in Long Beach, CA, the printing read 'McDonnel Douglas Aircraft Company' from point end to eraser end, while at the McDonnel Aircraft factory in St. Louis, MO, the printing read 'McDonnel Douglas Aircraft Company' from eraser end to point end. Each then sharpened off the name of the other facility! Petty for sure, but that summed up the relationship between the two until the Boeing buy-out!
- The typical pencil can draw a line 35 miles long!
- A pencil can write 45,000 words!
- Most pencils sold in Europe do not have erasers!
Special Games Sign Up Time
The Special Games are fast approaching and this year, in addition to handing out the beverages, we have our own game. This means, of course, we'll need lots of help. A sign-up sheet is available if you are interested in helping out on May 20th.
Sending Out Lots Of Love
Richard missed last week's meeting and was stunned to learn today that our beloved Nick has had a series of strokes and is now in an extended care facility. I'm sure he's not able to see this week's newsletter, but I hope he knows he is in all of our thoughts and prayers. I just spoke with his nurse and am told he is eating well and doing well in his therapy.
If anyone would like to call and check on him, the phone # is 249-0344. He doesn't have a phone in his room, so the best you'll get is his nurse.
Out 'n About
Dave M. spent 8 days in Hawaii and then several days in Morro Bay. He owns the fine-free badge this month, so the sojourn cost him nada.
On the other hand, Brian's trip to Texas to see his brother wed cost him $18.
Joker-Joker
Apparently there was no draw last week (cards must have been missing again) so Ken took his turn today. He drew a Jack and got $10.
Then today's winner, Elsie, took her turn and walked off with $7.
Speaker
Diane Carty Speicher can recall the exact moment
her life changed. It happened when she was 21 years
old and found herself standing directly in front of
Pope John Paul II. What transpired during her
meeting with the influential religious leader that day
prompted her to begin a journey that continues
today, more than 25 years later.
Diane was a senior at Santa Clara University, majoring in humanities and communications, when she enrolled in studies abroad at the Loyola University Chicago Rome Center. One day in November, her teacher told her group that he had reserved a spot for them at the regular papal audience in St. Peter's Square. "Sometimes he would just peek out of the window, but if you were lucky, he would speak to the crowds," Diane says.
When the day came, Diane was the last student to board the very last bus to Vatican City. "When I got there, I was met with a wall of people--hundreds of thousands of people," she says. It appeared that particular Wednesday was one of the lucky days--Pope John Paul II was going to greet the crowd. She says a strong feeling compelled her to push her way through the masses that day. "Something told me to make my way to the front. So I did, and when I was about 2 feet away, I had a priest and two nuns simultaneously reach out their hands to me and pull me to the very front," she remembers. It was like it was meant to be.
As she made it to the front, Pope John Paul II began speaking to the massive crowd in the square. Then, he turned and faced the group of Loyola students--including Diane--and spoke to them directly, with a very special message. "You are the youth of today, the leaders of tomorrow," he said in English. "Go out and be messengers of God. Help the needy, the poor and the sick; use your life to make a difference in this world." Pope John Paul II then stepped forward and began shaking hands, making his way quickly through the crowd and getting ever closer to her. When he was only a couple of feet away, Diane says she had an incredible feeling--one that words can hardly describe. "I was filled with a presence so strong and so profound, I just knew it was the Holy Spirit. I felt it on a very spiritual and physical level." Filled with this feeling, she stretched her hand out toward the pontiff, and he shook it. In the best Italian she could muster, she thanked him on behalf of all the Loyola students for his message to them. Pressing forward, lacking any nervousness in her fervor, Diane asked the pope for a personal blessing, for her life and her journey forward. With hundreds of thousands of people watching and waiting for his attention, Pope John Paul II obliged her. "In that moment, it felt like he and I were the only two people in St. Peter's Square," she says. "He looked into my eyes, and I felt like he could see directly into my soul--like you were literally standing in front of one of the most holy people on the planet, like he was a modern-day prophet, a modern-day Jesus."
Diane says that day, Pope John Paul II gave her a personal, and very powerful, message--a call to action. "He blessed me as being a messenger of God. "He told me to go forth and not be afraid, and to use my gifts from God to make a difference in the world. Those few minutes changed my life forever," says Diane as she looks back on that day in 1979.
Since that day, her life has never been the same. She returned to the Santa Clara University campus from Rome shortly after and has spent the last 25 years devoting her life to children and to spreading the inspirational messages of the Holy Spirit and of Pope John Paul II.
Diane's life has been one of devoted volunteer
work. Since her blessing by the pope, she says, she
has felt like she has learned her life's true
purpose - working with children, bringing them
closer to God and helping them believe in
themselves. Diane has volunteered with the Special
Olympics; she has worked with and visited
critically ill children at the Lucile Packard
Children's Hospital at Stanford and for many
years she has taught Sunday School at St. Mary's in Los Gatos. Diane has written a book for children called “Brighton, One Stars Journey to Shine.” "It's all with the intent of bringing children closer to God," she says.
You can find out more about the book or purchase copies by visiting www.shineonpublications.com
Guests
Paula Davis, was with us today for her 3rd visit. It's good to have her back!
Board Meeting This Thursday
Remember the board meeting has been moved up a week this month due to Prez Dave's travel schedule. The meeting is this Thursday, May 5th.
Fine-Free Badge
Don was the lucky bidder of the fine-free badge for May. He took possession of it for on $14.
A Quickie
If the #2 pencil is the most popular, why isn't it #1?
