MEETING OF FEBRUARY 7, 2002
By Steve Yarbrough
Editor - Dick Blanding
Webmaster - Steve GruberOur celebration of the Chinese New Year: The Year of the Horse , Year 4,699. Catered by Lawrence Chu, featuring Chef Chu's famous salmon, pork ribs, vegetable steamed rice, bok choy, and fortune cookies. Each place was decorated with an envelope containing a good luck gold coin (chocolate) and an orange. Chef Chu says that in Chinese the word for orange sounds like the word for good luck.
Following the pledge of allegiance, Paul Nyberg provided us with several thoughts for the day from Confucius who, in 500 B.C, wrote in the Book of Odes,: "Think no evil."
Song master Rick Glaze lead the group in Home on the Range. President elect Mary Prochnow introduced visiting Rotarians and guests.
Sam Pesner reminded everyone that the Rotary Art Show is the weekend of May 17-19 and that everyone is expected to volunteer to help. Mona Armistead and Wyatt Allen introduced Dennis Young, who presented his bride Roberta with a Paul Harris Fellowship. Cindy Leudtke announced that the "Sort-of-Annual Cioppino Feed" will be held at 6:30 p.m. March 8, 2002 at the Shoup Park community center. Cost is $35 per person.
Alex Ng introduced Professor Chang to provide Rotarians with a brief explanation of the differences between manners, East and West. Professor Chang is the author of seven books and now retired from a 50 year teaching career, a graduate of V.M.I.. and University of Illinois, Dr. Chang served as Santa Clara University professor and Dean of the Electrical Engineering and Math Schools from 1963 through 1992, when he founded a private University. A graduate of the Chinese Military Academy at age 19, Professor Chang led troops in combat against the communists until the retreat to Taiwan in 1950. He emigrated to the United States in 1951. He notes the following differences in manners between East and West:
1. Greeting: In the U.S. you are expected to greet a new acquaintance with a firm handshake. In China and the East, you do so gently, with moderation.
2. Hugging is definitely to be avoided in the East as being rude, while in the U.S. it is an expression of compassion and friendship.
3. Chinese table manners allow for loud slurping of hot soup as a sign that it's delicious. In the U.S., slurping is considered vulgar.
4. After dinner, Chinese are being polite and expressing their satisfaction by a loud belch. Here, well, . . .5. In China, your host will encourage you to "bottoms up" every drink, soon causing you to be drunk unless you decline. Here, it's polite to sip your drinks.
6. Another fine point of Chinese manners is that the Chinese host will serve you a 10 course meal and apologize for his failure to satisfy you with his small offering of food.
Thanks to Professor Chang for the lesson in contrasts!
Fine master Marge Bruno picked the pockets of Jack Heidmiller, John Moss, Mona Armistead, Dick Hasenflug, Chuck Lindaur, and Bella Berly on behalf
of President Firooz.Rotarian Steve Anderson introduced guest speaker Gwen Jones. Ms. Jones is a mother of two sons, a grandmother and a 25 year resident of Los Altos Hills. She is a black woman in an unusual occupation: She is CEO and President of Gregory Truck Body and Fire Apparatus, Inc. She's the only woman in the United States who builds fire trucks for a living.
Ms. Jones recounted a story about building her house in Los Altos Hills 20 years ago. She said that while the house was under construction someone dowsed it with gasoline and attempted to burn it to the ground. The arson attempt failed to deter her. In another example of racism, she was the target of racial epithets by a carload of white youth and pelted with full cans of sodas while she jogged down Fremont Avenue.
For eighteen years, Ms. Jones studied classical piano, but life's twists and turns brought her to a completely different career. Now the fire trucks that respond to fires in Los Altos Hills may someday be built by her company and the beverage trucks that hauled the soda cans she was pelted with are constructed by her factory. In fact, the trucks that haul beverages to the casinos on the strip in Las Vegas are built by her, including 15 distributors of Budweiser beer nationwide. Marin County has purchased 12 of her fire trucks.
For 40 years, Ms. Jones has been involved in another project - going into maximum security prisons and teaching that prayer is the answer to turning your lives around. She created a foundation called Ishua, Second Chance (Jesus in Hebrew) to provide employment to convicted felons who have made the commitment to change their lives. It works, she said. One former inmate of Folsom prison who has been employed with her company for eight years built the fire truck that recently was purchased for the prison. She revels in the field trips she sponsors each February for youngsters from local schools who visit her plant, and she has been invited to appear on the Oprah Winfrey show.
Ms. Jones advised Rotarians that we can all make a difference and we can all change lives. We each have a gift, it's up to us to use it. Thanks to Ms. Jones for an inspiring meeting.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Thanks to our Program Chair/ President-Elect Mary for another superb program! Our speaker Gwen Jones certainly seems to understand how to turn an adverse experience into a lifelong positive experience. For a person living this kind of life, words such as retaliation seem to have no role in the thought process.
You will remember that next Thursday is Valentine's Day! As a special treat we'll have a highly talented opera singer from West Bay Opera sing for us from the Marriage of Figaro. Director David Sloss will be joining us. Most definitely this would be a great occasion to share with your loved ones!
Once again we want to thank Lawrence Chu for the delicious meal and for his generosity at our last luncheon.
-Firooz
Programs
February
February 14 - Los Altos Police Chief Don Johnson
February 21 - Francesco Sciortino, Consul General of Italy, "Celebrating Italy"
February 28 - KLASS - Keep Los Altos Schools Strong
March
March 8 - Cioppino Night, 6:30 p.m., Garden House $35.00 per person
"Information in this newsletter is intended for the exclusive use of the members of the Rotary Club of Los Altos to facilitate the work of the club and to promote club fellowship. It is not to be used for any commercial or outside, unrelated, non-profit purposes. No publication of material in this newsletter should occur without the express permission of the club President or the Editor of the Rotator."
Copyright 2002 The Los Altos Rotary Club
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