Fa Sillapajarn, our Club's Rotary Exchange Student from Thailand, told us that she enjoyed her Christmas in America last month. In the morning Fa opened present with the Swensons (her host family), and followed that with a trip to the ocean. She said that it was "beautiful - but cold!"
SUPERHEROES!
When Kahuna Kavinta (a.k.a. President George) showed a slide with the title "Superheroes", most of us thought he was referring to the members of the Spring Fundraiser Committee, who were listed on the slide. While they certainly qualify, "Superheroes" is actually the theme of this year's event - specifically classic Marvel superheroes. Our goal is to host a fun-raiser in addition to being a fund-raiser.
The fundraiser will be held on March 9th at the Arcata Community Center, it's an all-hands event. The first order of business is ticket sales - tables for 8 are available for $600, and individual tickets are $75 each. Also, please be thinking about what you plan to contribute to the silent auction and the raffle.
SPECIAL DAYS
On January 2nd, Rebecca and Abe Crow celebrated their anniversary. According to past issues of the Sunrise Spirit and my dubious calculating ability, it was their 10th. The festivities included wine tasting in Calistoga and a remote for their car.
The Club met on Lynda Moore's birthday - January 4th. Lynda was nursing a cold, so she took the opportunity to sleep in. The next day was Randy Mendosa's birthday, but he was also suffering from a viral malaise, so the celebrations were subdued.
At least it was Bryan Plumley who got the worst of it ... maybe. His kids wished him a happy 45th birthday, then his son cheerfully announced, "That's halfway to dead!"
DIVEMASTER SCOTT ON HIS HONDURAN ADVENTURE
In the fall, Past President Scott Heller made good on a promise to himself - that he would take the time following his Presidential Year to become a Divemaster. The process would take three months, but he would be "Showing Rotary" throughout his trip, courtesy of his then-new tattoo of the Rotary Wheel on his leg (see the June 22nd Sunrise Spirit for a photo).
Last Friday, Scott told us that when he arrived in Roatan, a Caribbean island off the coast of Honduras, he was renting a place on the island's West End. It was a happenin' place, with parties every day, all day. Fun? Yes, but not conducive to the hard work and long days required for the program. So he packed up and moved north to get away from the festivities; now he was living just a short walk from the dive shop (Reefgliders Dive Center). Scott's training program was actually an internship. He worked six weeks as an unpaid worker at the dive shop, and when he wasn't there, he was out on dives or studying. The program was grueling - Scott said that he had thought that he was in shape, but he soon found that "in shape" is a relative term. He added training swims to his already busy daily routine.
Scott said that all the hard work was definitely worthwhile. As he said in his "Sun Blog and Roatanning", "[Diving] ... is the most challenging and rewarding effort a body can make. It is, at the same time, both thrilling and calming. The creatures and textures are unlike any you have encountered on land. and the colors are indescribable and uncapturable on film." Be sure to check out Scott's Blog for more information and for some fantastic photos.
