THE BEST THING AT THE TABLE

This coming Thursday is for most people a great day of feasting. Feasting is a great word for overeating and over-indulgencing. But it’s also a time for being with loved one and special ones. I hope it is for all of you reading this. My favorite memories of feasts and holidays are numerous, but topping the list was when my bride on our first holiday together roasted an awesome turkey for we thought just the two of us. Being newlyweds and living in an apartment in Dallas, we attracted a lot of classmates and spouses to come and feast with us. Nellie has always made an awesome feast with turkey, dressing (stuffing for those who no comprenden ‘dressing’.), mashed potatoes, green beans, a homemade cranberry sauce, and pies galore. During my youth, the favorite thing on the table was my mom’s macaroni salad. She never gave us the recipe and besides missing her tremendously during this time of year I miss that salad. Of course, it’s no longer on my diet and I couldn’t eat it if I could. But it would be nice to smell and look at! But the greatest thing on the table and around the table should be love. Love for what God has given and blessed us with as well as for the lives of those around the table. There may be some empty spaces around your table on this special day, but remember our Lord promised good seats at the banquet when He would celebrate with us again that which He did for us. So, take time to give thanks this coming Thursday (which I know you do every day!) for all God has given you. Use the time to make up with those with whom strained relationships have been the order of the day - is it worth it in the long run, to stay mad at one another? Use the time to express your thanks for each other and how their lives have blessed you. And remember it’s been God’s generosity that has brought us this far and will see us through all that is still before us. On Thursday, let’s join together in our own homes and hearts to thank God for His blessings, for your contributions to this Rotary family and the hope and faith we have for the coming year. We’re also going to thank God for each other; our being family helps us see each day through. Happy Thanksgiving! Thank You for being you and for sharing your best with us!

LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

e-Musings: As many times as I have wandered through our mall I had not stopped to realize that the answer to all my dreams was right there! Did you know that? Right here in the Harlingen Mall, there is a portal to help us all “Live (Our) Dreams.” I’m referring to a machine that looks like it once sat on the Empire State Building or on the Hemisphere Tower of the Americas. But instead of helping us get a telescopic view of skyscrapers and other area attractions, this machine says, “Live Your Dreams.” And for the price it charges (I didn’t look that closely!) you peer inside and I suppose you will see the places one only dreams of visiting. I am not knocking this, for I know that for many that is as close as they may come to seeing faraway places, but our dreams help us soar in so many ways that we can’t let one machine do the traveling for us. I would pray that our dreams go beyond standing by the Falls of Niagra or the top of the Sears tower. Come to think of it many of our dreams have already been realized in far greater ways than we could have ever imagined. I have stood proudly by the stages where my four children have received the high school diplomas. I have seen three of those four walk across the stage of a university. I have walked three of my children down the aisle to be given in marriage to good men. I have held the hands of the one who gave birth to me as she was preparing to leave this place for a better place; I have held the promise of God in the tiny hands of my grandchildren. My dreams are coming true. I have seen folks’ lives changed by what I have tried to teach and share in my profession. I have seen comfort come from above to those who seemed to have little comfort coming. My dreams are coming true.
This Saturday in the muggy morning of our Golf Tournament, our being there and doing whatever it is assigned or given to us, will also be a part of our being involved in the helping make dreams come true for so many who might not otherwise have had a chance or hope of seeing their dream come true as they walk across the stage getting their high school diplomas.
Make someone’s dream come true. And I’m not talking about giving someone seventy-five cents to peer into someone else’s pictures.

DISTRICT GOVERNOR ROBERTS TO VISIT US THURSDAY!

Dear friends, we are honored to receive on his first official visit to our club, District Governor Dennis Roberts. Gov. Roberts is married to Migdalia and they make their home in Ingleside, TX. Gov. Roberts will address our club and share how we can indeed make real the future of Rotary in keeping with our theme for this year: The Future of Rotary Is In Your Hands.

Make plans to be here with us!

WHERE'S THAT LINE?

One of the most marvelous inventions for men has been the television. Images take the guesswork out of who did what, and how one looks years later, etc. But among the neatest inventions on television is the yellow line that is used to mark for us the First Down spot on the football playing field. Now we don’t have to guess how far the ball must travel to be counted as a First Down. For you folks that don’t know or understand football, the first down is like the Community Chest card that lets you move four more spaces without having to pay huge amounts of money, unless of course you own the football team, then you’re paying by the minute, by the yard for some very highly priced players. Truth be told, you’re also making tons of money by the second, especially if you broadcast your games to a limited audience on a monopoly style NFL Network. But that’s another story. Then again if you’re an owner (think Jerry Jones) you’ve spent a ton on money on a facelift which makes it hard to smile even while you’re making a ton of dough. But that’s another story. And you’re probably making plans to have yourself frozen once you die in the hopes that you can be an unfrozen Popsicle and back to a frozen living robot. But that’s another story. Maybe a baseball story.

At one game I attended in person I overheard two ladies ask, “Where’s that yellow line we see on tv?” Indeed. Where is that line in person? Why don’t we get a line that helps us know when we’re dangerously close to crossing it in terms of hurting someone’s feelings or getting ourselves in legal trouble. A few years ago there was an article in Newsweek about that line and how it gets shifted over slightly through the years to allow for things that weren’t allowed before. One of the examples they gave was the changing of attitudes towards Las Vegas. At one time “sin city” was seen as a place only for businessmen on trips; later for adults, then in a smart move the powers that be in Vegas changed the atmosphere and made it a place for families. While it may make for a great vacation that line has shifted and Vegas would love for one day your grown up kids to come back, enjoy the shows, the food, and of course, leave a ton of money in their machines or on their tables.

This is a message about who we are as Rotarians and the line that guides us. We can sum it up in terms of our Four Way Test. As we apply each of those principles to our lives, the line stays clear and we stay right where we need to be.

Is it the truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will it build goodwill and better friendship?
Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

There’s our line!

TUESDAY, FOUR CLUB MEET & GREET

Tuesday night at 6 p.m. (Aug. 25) at Camelot, please come out and meet other Rotarians as well as District Governor Dennis Roberts. This is a great opportunity for fellowship and for meeting our new governor.

EVERY THIRTY SECONDS

Right before our morning program began, Tim asked me to ring the club bell every thirty seconds (30). I suspected what the bell ring would symbolize but was not aware of it until the first peal keep ringing longer than I hoped. One life lost. A child died because of a mosquito made its way to that child's skin, pierced it and infected the baby with the organism that starts malaria. The bell rang 12 times during Tim's program, twelve children died during the six minutes that Tim spoke about this new program that the NBA, the Bill Gates Foundation, and The United Methodist Church is sponsoring to provide netting to countries where such protection against mosquitos is not available. Tim mentioned one area of our world where the death rate has been reduced by 65% because of the nets made possible by this program. Our table jars this morning collected money to battle malaria. If you still want to do more, please talk to Rev. Tim Brewer.

Our thanks to former president Tim Brewer for his outstanding program on Nothing But Nets.

TENETS OF ROTARY: EDUCATION

e-Musings: Rotary’s commitment to education is another reason I love being a Rotarian. Our fund-raising efforts open doors that might otherwise be closed. I attended college and seminary thanks to scholarships given by the church, so I know that any scholarship given by a church or a club such as Rotary helps a young person who might not otherwise have attended school. I was the first one on both sides of my parents’ families to graduate from college. My mother, as brilliant as she was, never finished grade school because her mom died when she was 11 and she took over the chores of the household. My father chose not to finish middle school, but was and is, a very smart man. I only wonder what those two might have done with a college education. I am proud of their hard work and their insistence on my attending school beyond high school. As the oldest of five kids, I’m proud of the fact that all five of us finished college. Scholarships helped us all.
So, those hours we might spend in the hot sun working a golf tournament or inside an air-conditioned setting serving shrimp may not seem like the most attractive thing to do at the time, but if we remember that we’re there not for ourselves but for the needs of others in our community, those hours will pass quickly and we will be the better for it. Speaking of hot hours working a golf tournament, I know that Tim Elliott has several slots that have yet to be filled and could be filled if we volunteer our time and talent to help raise money to open doors!
Long live Rotary and our commitment to helping dreams become reality in the lives of those who dream of a college education!