THE SENIOR MEN'S CLUB OF NEW CANAAN
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of November 1, 2002
President Bob Witt opened the business meeting at 10:00 on a sparkling autumn morning with 162 members present. Total SMC membership is now 500, with an additional 25 invitees and another 18 waiting. We greeted new members George Preis and Maurice Chesney, as well as guests Bill Evans and Seth Wolworth.
Membership Concerns: Frank Perron is home from Waveny; call in advance of visiting him. Elly King is entering Waveny today, following a stroke. Copies of the heart attack self-care instructions are on the membership table.
Activities: Bowling has dwindled to 1, which is half the racquetball turnout. By contrast, 12 showed up for a bridge lesson, and 18 swarm the paddle courts. More are welcome for either activity. 4F's will head for Nino's on the 22nd. And Jack Murray's Trailblazers, though officially in hibernation. may re-emerge if we get an Indian summer day.
Couth: Jim D' Acosta said the bus for West Point would leave on the 9th at 8:15, returning about 10:00 PM. The Newport bus leaves December 5th at 7:30. We head for a Philharmonic rehearsal January 30th, MOMA in February, and Mama Mia in March. The latter could use more sign ups.
Announcements abound: Pete Stair said local election results will be on the town web site by 10:00. Bob Shafter urges us to vote. Pete Luke and Rod Geist reviewed financing and construction progress at the "Y". Of the 7.5 million total cost, we have 5.1 and will bond 2 million more. SMCers, particularly those holding back, are urged to help with the $400,000 still needed from private sources. We will be back in the "Y" 1 August '03, regardless. Huck Wood passed on a request from Tony Pavia. H.S. principal. for a comprehensive list ofSMC veterans; Huck will
take signups. And finally, Charley Morris priced the Christmas lunch on December 6th, at $35.
Resident Humorist: John Berg expounded on the efforts of a certain blonde to repair hail damage to her vehicle, and the invaluable advice offered by a second blonde.
Speaker: VP Bob Shafter introduced Patricia Brooks, our NC neighbor in her fourth appearance at SMC, and this time talking about her 23rd book Where the Bodies Are. This is a compendium of cemeteries and their famous and infamous permanent residents. Visiting burial sites is not a new idea, witness the Taj Mahal and Westminster, but now it seems to be a subject of interest for younger generations. Pat's book includes 155 cemeteries, most of which she visited herself, a
thousand names, and 250 obituaries. In her talk she dropped famous names like the spring rain with informative anecdotes about the resting places of Benny Goodman. Babe Ruth, Al Jolson,
Jim Fisk, J. Edgar Hoover, Al Capone, Mel Blanc, Elvis, and Lee Harvey Oswald, among many others. She contrasted the graveyards of Colonial days with the "garden" cemeteries begun in Victorian times and noted that decay of the former is a serious problem. Responding to many questions, Pat listed Mt. Auburn. followed by Woodlawn, as her votes for most beautiful. Prizes for originality went to Kit Carson Park in Taos, and the grave of D.H. Lawrence in the same area. She expressed regret concerning the current (but necessary) trend to wall mausoleums. All in all, Mrs. Brooks gave us an entertaining and informative look at a type of property which may some day become our long term residence.
Peter Schurman - Assistant Secretary