PROMISE YOURSELF Jim Alley, President

Optimist Club of Coronado Pres.08-09 Leslie Crawford

Post Office Box 180251 President Elect John Bowen
VPs-Irish Flynn & John Bowen
Coronado, CA 92178-0251 Stu Powell, Secretary
July 10, 2008 John Freeman, Treas.
Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk USNA ’45 Publishers
ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me A group that’s too noble for fear
www.sportsfiesta.net
either. Just pretty much leave me alone.
Meetings at 7AM on Thurs at Coronado Yacht Club

Executive Summary
Two new old members. Cheap tee shirts. Parade recap. Cargill’s search for miscreants. Dawson wins half a
tank of gas. Don Hammer wants to brainwash the youth with TRUTH. Wear goldenrod shirts next week and
comb your hair (those who can) for the annual Sports Fiesta Photo Shoot.
End of Executive Summary
Well wasn’t that a kick. Jim Alley started us off on Coronado’s version of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Pat Kelly
advised prayer. Joan Gillem pledged to the flag. Casey Reynolds took his old spot at the noisy table.

Jim Alley thanked John McKechnie for doing two inductions last week, but said that John still owed him two. So
John picked two guests out of the crowd, two that already knew the routine, and inducted the Blumenthal boys.
Dave and son Mark are old friends and probably still have their old style yellow shirts, probably covered with
beer and other mysterious stains from the collect-a-can program. Dave and Mark got new pins and promised to
forget the mistakes of the past. Glad to have this pair back in the pack.

The board meeting was reported on by your President. He said that Joe Ochoa continued to dazzle with ideas
for marketing the Sports Fiesta. Joe had marathoner Dave Wilcox with him as guest this morning. Dave had
beautiful posters pushing participation and Coronado Family Gym as the way to true happiness. Get the
posters to your ad sales folks for their store windows. If you have missed Joe’s banner on the beach go on
down and take a look. You may even get talked into signing up for a rough water swim.

Jennifer Landry told us that the Bullshirt folks are waiting for you with goldenrod shirts. Stocks on hand are
limited so if you need one for the picture next Thursday get down there today.

Dick Madouse reminded us all to ensure that we get that beautiful Sports Fiesta Program into the hands of all
those who bought ads. They need to be astonished by the slick new style of the once stogie old Optimists. Do
it today.

Jim said that the anniversary list was impressive and so it was. From high to low—Christian Esquivan (20
years), Gooch (19), John Porter (15), Jim Hutchinson (12), Tom Golden (16), Art Jones (7), Jenks Jenkins (3).

And Birthdays: Carla Fargo away in Indiana (39), Lee Cargill (38), BJ Adelson (37), and Irish Flynn (36). We
sang in a fine Irish tenor style, holding on to high notes and with a slight collective vibrato. It was lovely.

Lee Cargill had spent his parade taking note of others’ mistakes of the past, particularly those who wandered in
the crowd disguised as non-Optimists or those who sat drinking socially in goldenrod while the others marched.
In the spirit of forgiveness I will not mention the names—except for Jack Chilton. When I asked on parade day
where Jack was, a lady on a Segway said, “Oh, Jack is back in the Prius. They can’t get it started.” Well, they
did get it started and Jack rode and Jack paid a buck. Jack Larison got our thanks for a fine parade.

Dick Madouse introduced his son Mark and their good friend Don Hammer who is a pastor at Zion Christian
Fellowship. Don is also the founder of a K-12 Christian school and is involved in other good works in East
County and in Chula Vista where he lives. Don told us a remarkable story of what he does and why he is
involved with the youth of our age.

He says that the kids are taught that your truth is just as good as my truth and neither one is an objective truth.
In other words, do what you want because in the end we all get to write our own tickets. Is it any wonder that
the kids are confused, when adults tell them this? Don said that our biggest job as Optimists is to tell children
why we are the way we are—what you think about right and wrong; what you have learned about life and truth.

In this we are bucking much of our society, but the children deserve to have a different message given them
beside the easy idea of “Do Your Own Thing”. I think we know that children crave order and welcome rules
even when they want to rebel. Our culture has created a climate where as a kid you can get yourself into a
bunch of trouble before you know it. You can tattoo yourself and pierce yourself so you look like a freak. You
can learn to act like a barbarian by watching your favorite music group or socialite airhead. We shouldn’t be
afraid to say, “Wait a minute!” to this harmful behavior. This is the OUR generation and we shouldn’t write IT off
because we can’t be bothered or it’s too hard.

So next week wear goldenrod and a smile and Promise Yourself…