Mickey Starling
reporter3@greenepublishing.com
At the Friday, August 27, meeting of the Toastmasters, the meeting began with a theme of “lazy, hazy days of summer.” The special word of the day was “officious,” meaning “assertive use of authority in an annoyingly domineering way.”
First to speak was Jim Catron, who detailed his ordeal with trying to get hip surgery scheduled in the midst of an increase in COVID cases. Troublesome delays and potential health problems were assessed by Catron as simply “waiting on the inevitable.”
Mickey Starling was up next with a speech that reflected upon his love of animals and all things wild. His particular experiences with an animal safari drew comparisons to the everyday temptations of life and how to best handle them with God's help.
During the Table Topics portion of the meeting, Marlene Squires-Swanson brought the summer heat with a series of challenging questions for the Toastmasters to field. Bobbi Breo won first place in these speeches with her discussion of her favorite summer foods. Her vivid descriptions left everyone hungry for those sweet summer fruits. Kaitlynn Culpepper also described a memorable summer vacation that got everyone's attention. She recalled a Stone Mountain trip where her father decided to have some fun by letting Culpepper's younger sister take an unattended roll down a hill in her stroller. Culpepper's mother brought his idea of fun to an abrupt conclusion. It brought to mind the thought that if Mama's not happy, nobody is happy. All ended well, but it was a trip that no one in attendance will soon forget.
Each week, the Toastmasters sharpen each others speaking and leadership skills through constructive and encouraging discussion. The next meeting of the Toastmasters will be held on Friday, September 10, at 12 p.m., at the Chamber of Commerce conference room, located at 182 College Loop, in Madison. Everyone is welcomed to attend.