The REDWOOD BARK Newsletter For FEB. 17, 2017 Meeting

For Excused Absences, Guests Lunches or Alternate Lunch Selection, please, you must call or email before 10:00 am on the Monday preceding the meeting for an excused absence, otherwise you will be charged for a meal.

Contact: John French, sonomaink@yahoo.com 707-280-4120 or Marv Schouweiler, mschouweiler@att.net 707-484-3070

Monthly meetings are held on the 3rd Friday of each month at the Scottish Rite Center, 600 Acacia Ln., Santa Rosa, CA

Meeting Schedule

Board Meeting: 10:15 am Social Hour: 11:00 am

Garden Club Meeting: 11:15 am

Lunch: 12:00 noon

Speaker: Steve Smith, President of the Valley of the Moon Observatory Association, talking about the Robert Ferguson Observatory at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park.

Adjourn by: 1:30 pm

Please place your badges into the collection buckets when leaving.

Lunch Menu 1st Course: Caesar salad with gar licky croutons.

Main course: Choose from either:

Chicken parmesan spaghetti with mar inara along with roasted seasoned veggies.

OR

Eggplant parmesan spaghetti with mar inara along with roasted seasonal veggies.

Dessert: Cheese blintzes with raspberry sauce.

Either entrée served with: Local Sourdough bread, butter, coffee, iced tea and water.

BIG SIR Ted Scapeccia’s Message

tescape@sbcglobal.net 707-539-5049

I am sure each of you have your unique observance

of those special days. As I write this, I can't help but

wonder how much rain February will bring.

At the January Luncheon we announced that the Scottish Rite building is being sold. At this time there

are more questions than answers, but I thought I would

share what little information I have with you. We have

a clause in our contract with the Scottish Rite that re-

quires a period of 90 days following written notice of

their intent to terminate. We have not yet received that notice.

This past year we looked into several alternatives to

the Scottish Rite as a cost cutting measure. The three

most viable alternatives that surfaced were St. Rose

Hall located on 10th and Washington, north the Rail-

road District; The Flamingo Hotel located on the corner

of 4th and Farmers Lane, and Legend's, located at Ben-nett Valley Golf Course. (message continued on page 3)

On January 20, 2017, the day a new President of the United States was sworn in, I attended our Janu-ary meeting participating in my first meeting as the Little Sir.

Here we are in February, best known for the Super Bowl, Presidents’ Day and Valentine's Day.

LITTLE SIR Robert Reuther’s

Message rareuther@yahoo.com 707-588-8954

While watching the Inauguration, I could see the for-mer Presidents, regardless of party affiliation, attending the swearing in ceremonies to show the orderly transfer of government.

Likewise, my job as Little Sir was made easy be-cause of the help of the outgoing Big Sir Jim Gurke, and the incoming Big Sir Ted Scapeccia. I would like to thank them both as well as the other officers who made the job easy.

My hope is that more members will step up to the plate and take on a leadership role in this organization. Every current member is a leader or they would not be a member of our SIR’s Branch. At present, we have several positions on the board and chairs that need to be filled. To keep the organization vibrant and healthy, we need these positions filled. I hope that you will serious-ly consider stepping forward and become the leader that you really are. “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Winston Churchill

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January Attendance John French, Chairman sonomaink@yahoo.com 707-280-4120

There were 67 members & one visitor that attended the meeting. Please be sure to notify me by Monday before the Fr iday meeting if you aren’t going to attend.

January Membership

Doug Weber, Chairman zzzweber@aol.com 707-545-3188

There were no new applica-tions and no inductions to pro-cess. We now have 96 active members and only 4 inactive members. Fred Read resigned.

Contact Branch 17 at our website: www.branch17.sirinc2.org or email: sirsrbrn17@gmail.com

OFFICERS:

BIG SIR: Ted Scapeccia . . . . . . . . .

LITTLE SIR: Robert Reuther . . . . . . .

SECRETARY: Jim MacMillan . . . . . .

ASST. SECRETARY: (Vacant) . . . . . .

TREASURER: Stan Borges . . . . . . .

ASST. TREASURER: Glenn Seime . .

IMD. PAST BIG SIR: Jim Gurke . . . .

DIRECTORS FOR ONE YEAR John French Lance Thompson

. . . . . . . . . . . .

DIRECTORS FOR TWO YEARS Barry Bialkoski Dennis Mangan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WEB MASTER James MacMillan

BARK EDITOR Jim Fenstermaker

AREA 13 GOVERNOR . . . . . . . . . . . . REGION 10 DIRECTOR James Filippo PRESIDENT OF SIRinc. Jerry Strain

Phone:

707-539-5049

707-588-8954

707-569-1680

. . . . . . . . . . . .

707-545-0699

707-571-7976

707-843-3464

Email:

tescape@sbcglobal.net. .

rareuther@yahoo.com . .

jmacmillan@ieee.org. . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

stanborges@comcast.net

gseime@sbcglobal.net . . .

1jgurke@gmail.com. . . .

Luther Burbank Branch 17 is in Area 13 of Region 10

The following is a list of your 2017 Officers and Directors

Chaplains’ Corner (by Herb Percy)

If I choose to bless another person, I will always end up feeling more Blessed. Marianne Williamson

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he (she) knows that you are slightly cracked. Bernard Melter

After reading the above quotes, I was thinking this is a good month to celebrate ourselves, our family, loved ones, friends and neighbors. I am glad we set aside a day to celebrate love as we call it Valen-tines Day. We all get so tied up in the hustle and bustle of every day living and don’t take time out to celebrate what God has made, “US".

It is my prayer that we take time to thank God for all he does each and every minute of the day and celebrate Valentines day joyfully.

Let this be the year we really make a lasting “friend" relationship and not just a acquaintance where there is no relationship.

Contact Herb Percy, email dadpercy@yahoo.com or call

707-575-7787 OR assistant chaplain Mike Heinzelman email

mdheinz2@gmail.com or call 707-579-6615.

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BIG SIR Message (continued from page 1)

Each of these venues has their own set of circum-stances that we would have to deal with. St. Rose doesn't have a storage locker that we need for storing things like our bar, our podium and the SIR Banner we use at the meetings. The kitchen at St. Rose would need to be approved by our caterer to see if it is up to their standards. Lunch at the Flamingo would be $26.00 and we could not operate our own bar. We could use our annual $40.00 fee to subsidize lunch cost if we choose the Flamingo. Lunch at Legends costs $22.00 and is a buffet. Provision can be make for those who would have difficulty negotiating a buffet line. Here again, we would not be able to use our own bar.

At this time we are still looking for alternative loca-tions so we might have more options to choose from. Some of the recent suggestions include the Friedman's Center, St Francis and the Veterans Building. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

In January we had no guests and we did not induct any new members. So, we made no progress towards our goal of exiting 2017 with 102 members.

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Activities:

Boys Night Out (Picture & article by Dennis Mangan)

BNO for January 11th was at the Best of Burma 2 on 7th St. Organized by Jim Gurke, BNO decided to try this relatively new restaurant in Santa Rosa. We were pleasantly sur-prised by how good everything turned out. The food was terrific largely due to the wonderful spices used in Burmese dishes. The aroma from all the garlic, onion and ginger was mouthwatering. Dinner conversation was non-stop and ranged from pruning rosebushes to repairing damage after the heavy rainfall, to fixing the world’s problems. All in all, a very enjoyable evening with SIR friends.

Our next scheduled outing will be quite different. Plan to travel to the Washoe House at 2840 Roblar

Road, (NW corner at Stony Point Rd., SW of Cotati). Any questions call 707-795-4544. They do not have their own website as yet. If you have never been here before you

do not want to miss out on this “special place”. If you have been there before then you will know what I mean.

As you know, reservations are a MUST, so get your reservation in NOW before it’s too late!

RSVP Mark Burchill by Sunday Feb. 5th. Email to marknick@sonic.net or call 707-542-2529

Hope to see lots of SIR members there in their cowboy hats and boots! (PS, bring a spare dollar bill and/or a busi-ness card to attach to the ceiling of the bar area.)

Bowling (Article written by Mike Heinzelman)

If you have an interest in joining the SIR bowling league, or just want to see how Bob is progressing, come-on-down to Double Decker Lanes in Roh-nert Park any Monday at 10 AM. Ask for the SIR bowling group. (Remember, it’s not a weekly commitment--just come when you can). Whether you are a good bowler or a beginner you are welcome. For more information call Mike Heinzelman at 579-6615 or send an email to him at mdheinz2@gmail.com.

Calendar of SIR Events for February 2017 Any Monday Golf at BVGC Any Monday Bowling, Double Decker Lanes, R/P, 10 am Feb. 2 Ground Hog Day

Feb. 5 Super Bowl Football Game Feb. 8 Boys Night Out, at the Washoe House, 6:00 pm Feb. 10 Global Forum meeting, Adu Ebrahim’s, 9:30 am Feb. 13 Bridge Club at Legends, BVGC at 10:00 am Feb. 14 Valentine’s Day Feb. 16 Poker Fest at Legends, BVGC, 1:00 to 4:00 pm Feb. 17 SIR Luncheon, 11:00 am Social Hour Feb. 20 Presidents’ Day Feb. 22 Couples Night Out, La Gare French Rest., 6:00 pm Feb. 27 Bridge Club at Legends, BVGC, 10:00 am Feb. 28 Mardi Gras

Program for February 17, 2017

Have you ever looked at the sky through a tele-

scope and wondered about your life in our never-

ending universe? Every day we are learning more

and more about what is in outer space. In our

backyard, the Robert Ferguson Observatory (RFO)

at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park has many treasures.

One is the very new 40-inch telescope which is one

of the largest on the West Coast.

At our next meeting, we are fortunate to have

Steve Smith, President of the Valley of the Moon

Observatory Association which operates the RFO

as our guest speaker. He leads the new docent

training and teaches astrophotography and photom-

etry classes. Steve also gives astronomy talks and

operates telescopes for the public.

The observatory is open to the public for viewing

and classes. In fact, the observatory can be rented

out at a reasonable price for private star parties.

For those interested visit www.rfo.org and Steve

can tell you more.

Fatherhood is great because you can ruin someone from scratch

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Bridge Bridge is an important ac-tivity with many of our members not only within our own branch but with partici-pation of members from oth-er branches in our area. Bridge activities are coordinated by chairman Al Black, email to rosaridge@comcast.net or call 707-578-3210.

We welcome new and interested members to think of joining the pool of players.

Bridge days scheduled this month for play at Legends Restaurant Bennett Valley starting at 10:00 AM on Tuesdays, February 13th and 27th

The Poem of the month!

Speech to Officer’s Coup, March 15, 1783 George Washington 1732-1799

And let me conjour you, in the name of our Common Country, As you value your own scacred honor, As you respect the rights of humanity, To express your utmost horror, And detestation of the man who wishes, Under any specious pretenes, To overturn the liberties of our country.

List of the FEBRUARY Birthday Boys!

Chuck Bartley

Jim Fenstermaker

Jim Lamar

Jim MacMillan

Robert Tuttle

Couples Night Out For the January CNO, five couples met at The Pullman Kitchen for a delightful dinner and even-ing. It is a very small restaurant with a limited menu but we all found something to our liking that was very good and well seasoned. Being a small area and our smaller group, the noise level was much better and we could talk to one another.

On Wednesday February 22nd come to La Gare French Restaurant, 208 Wilson Street, S/R.

(In Old Railroad Square)

We are going to be doing something a LITTLE different. We will be sitting in the center of the dining room, adjacent tables of SIX! If you want to sit with someone in particular, you should get together with two other couples and send me

a joint reservation.

For more information call 528-4355 or to view their menu and other items, check out their web site at lagarerestaurant.com .

Mark your calendar for the above date:

6:00 pm cocktails, order dinner at 6:30 pm.

As always: Reservations are a MUST, especially

with your seating arrangement request !

Contact Fred Rose at fredricrose@comcast.net

or call 707-548-5797 by Friday February 17th.

Hope to see lots of new SIR members there!

Fishing (Article written by Don Salazar)

As of our last luncheon meet-

ing, we have 5 SIR members and

1 guest committed to the salmon

fishing trip. I placed a call to

book the trip for Wednesday July

12th “weather permitting.”

Remember, cancellation of the trip must be made

3 weeks before the departure date to receive a re-

fund. If there are other members still interested in

going, we will have access to another similar boat,

just let me know.

Ted and I have discussed the possibility of a 2 or

3 day over night camping trip, “RV or tent” to

either Lake Pardee or Don Pedro. Both are near

Jackson, CA. Both sites allow waters edge camp-

ing and rental fishing boats would be available. The

concession sites will open in mid February. Pardee

is within 12 miles to the Jackson Casino, so good

food and gambling is close by.

Let me know if any of you are interested and

when you would like to go. In the meantime, call

me at 707-545-0873 for more information.

PS: This offer is open to ALL SIR members from

ALL the Branches in our area, not just Branch 17!

(Article by Fred Rose)

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I find it ironic that the colors red, white and blue stand for FREEDOM, until they are flashing behind you!

Jokes of the day!

GLOBAL FORUM (Article written by Thomas Johnson) The January Global Forum was once again kindly hosted by Dr. Adu Ebrahim at his gor-geous house. Topics include North Korea, ISIS, South Chi-na Sea, Palestine, Iran—the monthly GLOBAL FORUM provides a place for SIR members to discuss major is-sues facing our world. It’s a friendly group that fre-quently disagrees, but we enjoy exploring our di-verse information and opinions over coffee and refresh-ments.

To all SIR members interested in exploring our global environment, you are invited to join the monthly confab. We meet from 9:30 to 11:30 am on the second Fri-day of the month and the next gathering will be Friday February 10th at the ADU and Sally EBRAHIM home: 3576 Lake Park Drive, Santa Rosa (just off Bicentennial

one block north of the Lucky/Home Depot complex).

Should you have any questions, please email Adu at aebra@aol.com or if you do get lost, then call him at 707-566-4786 for more directions.

We hope to see more new SIR members there for our discussions!

Golf

Rain, Rain, Rain. Recent storms left us with a reserve of surface water that just won't go away. We haven't seen Jan-uary golf cancellations like this for as long as I can remember. Even though BV Golf continues to im-prove, it's not quite there yet - we'll keep you post-ed.

The warming sun peeked out from behind the clouds the last days of January, and as always, hope springs eternal. Keep your clubs dusted and your knickers bloused, 'cause when we hear the "All-Clear" sounded, it'll be;

Golf, Golf, Golf. Until next time, Good Golfing.

Roy Thuestad

email at: roymond@comcast.net or call 975-4406

Garden Club Announcements We meet at one of the tables near the door to share our gardening interest at 11:15 am on our next SIR meeting day which will be on February 17, 2017.

Since our last newsletter, I come back to a misunder-standing in our Gardening Club. I would like to clarify this for the general membership. We did have an agree-ment with Mike Mouat. He was to send back gardening pictures from his Hawaiian vacation. But other than the half eaten banana cluster (please confirm this Mike), the pictures were only of the fancy hotel gardens, and one very nice flower picture.

The instructions, as I almost cannot quite remember, were to be of working gardens, such as people harvest-ing carrots. Over the top of it all, Stan joins Mike in Hawaii with further instructions. I would have thought Stan would have put Mike straight. Yet it now seems the solution to all of this is to send both Mike and Stan back soon for another vacation trip!

Now to the minor Club news, Carlo and this writer are planning a trip to a seed exchange in Sebastopol for a possibility of a future Club outing.

For outing suggestions, please let me know of any. Also, pass on to me emails and contacts as I will then contact those on the list for an impromptu outing (preferable during the week).

Any questions, contact Lance Thompson at: lance@pon.net (please put SIR in the subject heading) or call 707-527-3438. (Article by Lance Thompson)

Susie was our pet cow, and every day Mom would take stale bread down to the pasture to feed her. One day Kate, a neighbor who lived on the next farm over, headed on to visit, taking the path across Susie’s pasture we used as a shortcut between our houses. Kate came to the door all out of breath. “I didn’t know that cow was so cross!” she panted. “She chased me all the way up the hill. I just barley made it through the fence before her.” We just couldn’t understand. Susie had never chased any-one before. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a gentler or nicer cow. Then Kate handed Mom the bag she was carrying. “Here’s that loaf of bread I owe you,” she explained. Mystery solved!

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Traveling Golf (Article by Jim Jones, Branch 76)

NON-RESPONSIBILITY DECLARATION All activities arranged for, or by, or sponsored by, SONS IN RETIREMENT, INC., and its Branches, are for the convenience and pleasure

of the members and their guest who desire to participate. SONS IN RETIREMENT, INC., and its Branches do not assume any responsibility for the well being or safety of the participants or their property, in any matters pertaining to said activities.

POKER FEST (Article written by Steve Edelstein)

This new activity has gained quite a popularity since its start in Sept. which has prompted a mov-ing and scheduling of future Poker Fests now to be held in Legends at the Bennett Valley Golf Course area.

The new date is Thursday February 16th from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. If you would like to join this exciting new group in a rousing game of Poker, then contact Steve Edelstein by email at:

1hatisland@gmail.com or call 707-206-8084.

There will be NO Travel Golf activity for the

months of December, January and February, so I'll pick

it up again in March 2017.

Recap of Program for January 20, 2017

It was a great opportunity for us to have Rosemary Robles as our speaker at last month’s meeting. She is one of four DMV Ombudsman and her ter-ritory covers Paso Robles to Willits. Her duties include help-ing drivers with special needs. She left us with some valuable tips. First, she sug-gested making an appointment with the DMV ra-ther than go to the office to “speed things up.” She said it’s not a good idea to go to the DMV on Monday, Friday, or the day after a holiday because these are the busiest days. Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday are the best days. To avoid long lines don’t schedule an appointment at 8 a.m. Rather schedule it between 9 & 10 a.m. to avoid the long line-up at the receptionist desk.

After the age of 70, the DMV wants to see you in person to renew a driver’s license. They want to check your vision, have you take a written test, and look at your physical ability. You have the choice of the standard monitor test, paper test, taped test, or a person-to-person oral test. They are concerned if you have an altered state of con-sciousness. If they see a problem they want to give you a license restricted to your needs and ability. Physical driving tests for license renewal are not mandatory at age 70 and are only given when it appears that a person has a physical or mental problem. If they ask you to take a physical driving test, make sure that you do every required action such as looking back when backing up; using the rear view mirror is not sufficient.

No-driver vehicles are not regulated yet in Cali-fornia and it appears that it will be some time be-fore they will become a reality.

If you have a problem and need some help, call Rosemary at (510) 563-8998 or email her at rosemary.robles@dmv.ca.gov. She is there to help you.

What goes around the world but always stays in a corner?

A postage stamp!

Valentine's Day in the United States

Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14. It is a festi-val of romantic love and many people give cards, letters, flowers or presents to their spouse or partner. They may also arrange a romantic meal in a restaurant or night in a hotel. Com-mon symbols of Valentine's Day are hearts, red roses and Cupid.

What Do People Do?

Many people celebrate their love for their partner by sending cards or letters, giving gifts or flow-ers and arranging meals in restau-rants or romantic nights in hotels. People who would like to have a romantic relationship with somebody may use the occasion to make this known, often anonymously.

Background

There are a number of Saints called Valentine who are honored on February 14. The day became associated with romantic love in the Middle Ages in England. This may have followed on from the Pagan fertility festivals that were held all over Europe as the winter came to an end. Traditionally, lovers exchanged hand written notes. Com-mercial cards became available in the mid nineteenth cen-tury. (reprinted from internet web sites)