TODAY IN HISTORY
On April 24th, in 2003, Willie Shoemaker won his 8,000th race—200 more than any jockey in history. (And you should have seen how tiny he was. Willie Shoemaker was no bigger than a second. His father was smaller; he was no bigger than a minute.)
THOUGHT FOR TODAY.
This is the second anniversary of the day on which Richard Nixon was officially designated “a wet blanket.” I believe the Reverend Billy Graham came in second.
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OPENING CEREMONIES: Our weekly meeting was begun precisely at 12:17 and was celebrated with a dazzling fireworks display and a lengthy “Praise the Lord Shout-Out” from Reverend Lee
SALUTE TO THE FLAG, PATRIOTIC SONG, AND PRAYER: The Salute to Our Flag was led brilliantly by our very own Paul Rosen. The patriotic number, sung by Sy Yuter, and the prayer, led by Bishop John, sadly fell short of Paul’s high standard.
PRESIDENT FULFREE’S REMARKS: President Fulfree, after introducing our guests,
called for Community News. Paul Rosen (he was everywhere today!) responded by mentioning the Big Sale at Wustoff’s on Rt. 9. Knives, carving boards, and other house-hold items can be had for a song. President Fulfree followed by pointing out Briarcliff Rotary’s ad for the upcoming “Truck Day” in this week’s edition of The Gazette.
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND HAPPY THOUGHTS: Mark Seiden mentioned that his picture was in a recent real estate version of the N.Y. Times, under “independent agency folk.” Frances Chu reminded us of the imminent, fun-filled Asian-American Heritage Festival. And Don Wilde brought the meeting to a new low by whining about his and “Battling Bob” Maher’s recent tennis loss to Zen Eidel (Boo!) and Ernie Pacchiana. (Hiss!)
NEXT WEEK: Our speaker next week will be delightful.
OUR SPEAKER TODAY: Today’s speaker was Gili Zilca, who charmed us with her Israeli accent and her delving into “the mysteries of soap making.”
Ms. Zilca, the proprietor of the Skin Care store, “Luisa”, founded six years ago in Pleasantville---startled us by announcing that soap-making was very much like baking a cake, the chief difference being that it takes somewhat longer to make soap.
The reason that soap-making process is so lengthy is due to the number of ingredients in a bar of soap and their complexity. The ideal soap requires a delicate balance of oil, butter, and beguiling scent. The butter Ms. Zilca uses is Shea butter, from Africa, and comes from trees; the oil is Jaiba oil, and the scent is lavender.
A top-tier soap is defined by what it does: it must clean, exfoliate, nourish the skin, moisturize, and protect against nasty things in the environment, all at the same time.
Her list of necessary soap ingredients included--of all things--goat milk (!) and wonder-producing oils, distilled lovingly from flowers, stem, and fragrant leafs. Needless to say, all are present in the specialty soaps sold in her Pleasantville store.
The perfect soap should never clog pores, be good for both oily and dry skin, and be a perfect moisturizer into the bargain, she observed.
Before the advent of soaps, Ms. Zilca pointed out, people cleaned their bodies with sand (Oh, that really smarts!) and whatever water was handy. Of course, some people didn’t bother to keep refreshingly clean, but we won’t talk about them.
Altogether, it was an excellent talk. Thank you, Gila.
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THE DRAWING: The first cash prize in our weekly drawing was won by Dr. Bob Amsterdam; the second by the lovely Shelly Lotter. In furious protest, Father John announced that henceforth he would no longer enter the lottery, intending to take up snake-handling, instead
MEETING CONCLUSION: The meeting was adjourned promptly at 1:32 pm, and was marked by a memorial service for Zen Eidel, who is wandering around someplace upstate.
Respectfully submitted by Recording Secretary, Don Wilde
4/24 Attendance - Robert Amsterdam, Lee Carrozzi, Frances Chu, Antonia Conte, Etrusca Cosentino, Zachary Cosentino, Rodney Ertischek, Peter Fulfree, Peter Garth, John Herzog, Eric Lebenson, Rachel Leihbacher, Shelley Lotter, Robert Maher, Geraldine Mahoney, Ernest Pacchiana, Paul Rosen, Mark Seiden, Carl Weiner, Donald Wilde, Elinor Yuter, Sy Yuter – Total 22
