09_23_03 Geospeakers Meeting Summary

23 September 2003

GeoSpeakers was called to order today by V.P for Education Ann Gunderson filling in for President Mitch Smith. Business items included pleas for GeoSpeakers to provide warm bodies for the Train the Trainer opportunities for the District as well as volunteers to help with a Toastmasters public service effort at the Menlo Park Library -- speakers and presenters are needed for a Halloween Safety Extravaganza. Ann will get more details and share them with GeoSpeakers. Ann and Master Evaluator Cynthia Ramseyer filled roles for missing participants.

Toastmaster Fran Hostettler called briefly reviewed the theme of the day, apologized for having to miss most of the meeting due to another commitment, and disappeared. Fortunately she reappeared in time for the Evaluations and close of the meeting.

Two excellent prepared speeches were delivered. Joanna Dickson spoke first about "The Wedding Tempest" and recounted the trails and tribulations encountered by her planned outdoor wedding at Clos Pegase. As always, Joanna had witty and perceptive observations about "Scottish cuisine," "wedding is a product, marriage is a process," and the effects of a torrential downpour on the morning of her al fresco wedding. Fortunately she and her husband-to-be found this lack of control over the weather hilarious, and by 5 in the afternoon the "clouds had parted and a most glorious sunset" graced their wedding vows. No doubt their sense of humor has graced their marriage as well.

Stephanie Ross delivered a very effective "Interpreting Poetry" speech by providing an illustrated background of the works of American artist Georgia O'Keeffe and the Canadian artist Emily Carr to illuminate her reading of excerpts from Inward to the Bones, a fictional journey between Georgia O'Keeffe and Emily Carr, by Kate Braid. The excerpted poems were lovely, as was Stephanie's carefully modulated delivery and thorough preparation.

Evaluators Chris Gutmacher (for Joanna) and Ann Gunderson (for Stephanie) gave thoughtful, supportive and excellent critiques of both presentations.

Neil Shapiro then tackled Table Topics ("ART") with his usual panache in describing his approach to (or rather his appreciation of) art as his wife telling his to "come away from those pictures of dogs playing poker." Participants were given the option of speaking about one or more of the O'Keeffe or Carr works posted on the wall, or a grab bag from books in Neil's hands. Had any of the Table Topics trophies been present, Joanna would have gone home with Most Humorous for her description of an antique 1425 bronze statue being "one of husband's ancestors of the Pictish people." Guest Aldora Lee was Most Eloquent in her description of Imogene Cunningham's photography as an art form along side O'Keeffe and Carr. Carol Reiss delivered a Most Interesting description of one of her uncles being photographed by Ansel Adams at Manzanar Relocation Camp during World War II. She has a print from the original Adams negative hanging in her office.

All in all, a delightful meeting. Hope to see everyone back in town on October 14 in Rm 1103 in Building One - all the other conference rooms on campus will be taken over by about 1100 school children for Earth Science Week.

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