With two notable exceptions to be discussed later, we seem to be a fan of pets.  Maria, our Toastmaster, has a dog purse.  Nora, our timer, has a sixteen-year-old dog named Reggie. Bert, our grammarian, has a standard poodle who chases rabbits but not bunny rabbits?  Yes, that’s what we’re told. (It didn’t make a whole lot of sense, but coming from Bert, I’m not sure anyone was terribly surprised.)

Brian did a wonderful job as table topics master, telling us about his own thirteen-year-old lab who apparently likes to poop in the house.  Brian targeted four members and one guest (!) for table topics.  John, who is one of the two notable exceptions, told of Fat Cat, his favorite childhood pet who was so large they thought she was pregnant but they eventually realized she was a he.  Teresea explained that guys are very much like cats, which is why they can’t like cats.  They are aloof and come when they want attention or are in need of a scratch.  Russell, who used to have a Rottweiler mix, defended various breeds of dogs.  Zahra, who is exception number two, was irked by the dog she pet-sits who whines though he has absolutely nothing to whine about.    Finally, Allison told of Rebecca, the pigeon, she raised until the chicken hawk showed up and grabbed up the pigeon to…elope.  Great job to everyone, especially our guest for tackling a table topic voluntarily!

Somehow, we managed to have two pet-themed speeches as part of our pet-themed meeting.  Lee spoke of his German shepherd husky mix who seemed to gain some youth and spirit with the appearance of a young pup named Wendy.  Susana, whose favorite pet is Queta, the horse she rode when she was thirteen, spoke of her experience working on a horse farm for a year out of college.

Rey, Wendy, and Louis evaluated.  We were reminded to be aware of what our hands are during while we speak.  We were also reminded to keep our eyes on the audience rather than the floor.

Maria, you did a wonderful job as Toastmaster.  And everyone, attendance was phenomenal last week.  We had a number of unspoken Toastmasters despite having done five table topics.  Eric, who wanted very much to tell about his greatest failure, which is never having had a dog, asked specifically to be called on for table topics at the next meeting.  (Turns out he may be wackier than Bert.)  And Laura, who is apparently still struggling with her vegan diet, asked, “How much stew could a stew cook cook if a stew cook could cook stew?”

Ribbons were awarded as follows:

  • Best Table Topic:  Allison
  • Best Speaker: Lee
  • Best Evaluator:  Stuart
  • Best Humor: Stuart
  • Most Enthusiastic: Susana

Great meeting, everyone.  This week, the theme is “You Might Be a Toastmaster If…”  You won’t want to miss us laughing at ourselves.