Yes, this is #47 and out! The magician was great, but we'll get to that shortly.

Meanwhile, ELLIOTT TURNER led the Pledge, followed by PP STEVE DAY and JACK HARRIS taking us through God Bless America. There were a few moments of early confusion, but everyone persisted, and we mostly ended together. Mr.. DAY also got in a plug for the Paul Harris Celebration (new name) which will be held on October 6th. YOE was one of the letter-writers about this year's event, and apparently others also complained - it will be a new and entertaining format, for sure. As a matter of fact, while I hate to go back on my earlier decision to skip, I am now willing to give it another chance -see you there. SUSAN ALLEN provided a thoughtful Invocation, asking our Maker to Bless America, and the many unsung heroes of WVRC - those who are behind the scenes, but vital to providing the support necessary for us to run the meetings and keep track of attendance, scheduling Greeters and Invocators - they deserve our praise.

PP DOUG DESCH announced that Opal had a massive stroke on Tuesday. She is off life support, and will probably slip away soon. They have been married for 63 years. DOUG thanked the Club for our long-time support of Opal's efforts as Secretary - but that somewhat misstates our relationship. All of us who knew them well were amazed that DOUG was able to have Opal with him as long as he did - he truly is, and remains, our Resident Saint. Godspeed to you, Opal Desch.

On another health note, JOHN QUILICO is having a tough time. He has been in the hospital twice recently - once for three weeks - but is now home again as of this week. Calls or cards would be helpful, certainly. And one more health report - Lois Dunn, wife of an old-time member, passed away this week. Services will be this Saturday, June 30th, at 2 p.m. at Westwood Village Mortuary, for those of you who can attend. MIKE YOUSEM reported none as the number of visiting Rotarians, but we did have several guests of Rotarians. RO SHAW introduced Martha Schneider , who is in hypnotherapy and KEN KILPO brought along Jay Handal, President of the WLA C of C. Jay is the owner of San Gennaro Restaurant in Brentwood, with another branch in Culver City. TODD GURVIS was with Rosalind Cade, an associate in his office. LENNY FRIEDMAN, while struggling to be recognized, still managed to remind us of the presence of DANNY SKINNER and his wife, Sharon. DANNY has also been under the weather.

And it was good to see PP YOSH SETOGUCHI - he runs the Prosthetics operation at Shriners Children's Hospital, which is downtown - and it's tough for him to get to Westwood for lunch. There was a recent, very complimentary article in the Times. entitled Mikey's World, about YOSH, who has been involved with these unfortunate kids for 35 years. YOE told everyone how impressed the GSE guests were when we visited. As a personal aside, I think maybe YOSH should be our Assistant WVRC Resident Saint! Claude was present in support of Prexy STEVE, by the way, even after PP DOUG DESCH asked him - "Why are you still here, STEVE?" "I don't know - why?" "STEVE you ARE the weakest link!"

The Bell Tolls for an absent GENE PRINDLE, who managed to drive off from last weeks meeting in PP STEVE SCHERER'S new car. The amount of fine was not announced, but it may be reduced if he returns the car…LENORE MULRYAN again brought us LEE BROECKMAN, our Ambassadorial Scholar who will be going to Amsterdam in two weeks. She will be studying Political Science and International Relations, and was most appreciative of the many friendships she has made at WVRC.

Next up was PP JIM SUMNER, assisted by PP STEVE SCHERER, with a report on the recent WVRC Golf Tournament at Los Angeles Country Club - the first such event in which NO ONE canceled at the last moment! JIM also alluded to the orthopedic collar he is wearing, claiming that Doris uses it to keep him on a chain! Results - PAUL SORRELL, low gross. Low net, KEVIN KOMATSU. Closest to the pin on #11 - PAUL SORRELL, again, but he was ineligible, so ELLIOTT TURNER was the winner. Four of our stalwarts tied for fewest putts (33) including PP JIM COLLINS, GREG ELLIOTT, KEVIN KOMATSU and the aforementioned PAUL SORRELL. BRUCE ROLF was voted worst dressed (pink everywhere, we are told) but since this was authenticated by KEN LEVER, himself the runner up in this category, the whole story may need some later clarification. (Is this sentence long enough?) Finally the Boy Scout "Be Prepared" award to STEW GILMAN, who arrived without clubs, and wearing sandals. He will be presented with a golf ball when he next appears at WVRC. PP STEVE SCHERER summed it all up when he commented, "This may have been the greatest golf tournament in the history of WVRC". Thanks for the fun report, you guys.

Two housekeeping notes, please:

It is Directory Book Time again for the Windmill. Any member having any major changes in the Directory should forward the detail to RAY ZICKFELD. Deadline is July 12th - incidentally, our next meeting, since we are dark on July 5th.

Attn.: Rotary Auxiliary Members -
Do you have a new address, phone number, email address, hobby…? Margie Downie will be updating the roster soon - deadline is August 1st. If you have any changes or corrections, please call her at (310) 394-4827 or send FAX (310)395-50ll. And, if your birthday isn't listed in the roster, please provide that information (just the day, NOT the year!).

SALLY BRANT introduced our speaker, James Warren. Now, YOE doesn't claim to be any kind of expert on Magicians, but James was GOOD - really good! His specialty is using magic to highlight the benefits of new products, and his clients include Boeing, Robinson's May, International Brands, and of course he is a feature at Magic Castle. He has given his anti-smoking/drug lecture to over 100K junior and senior high students all over California.

James carefully explained each trick (I'm sure) and then proceeded to go over all those at the Head Table, asking them to remember which card they saw as he riffed them. This was, of course, conducted with a fast, running patter which is a big part of his presentation. He sometimes appeared to be on the edge of disaster (WRONG CARD) but always recovered just in the nick of time.

His next routine consisted of activity with a length of rope, which he tied in knots, cut in half etc. - and then it appeared once again, whole. He asked RO SHAW up from the audience (claiming that she had avoided eye contact and was thus his chosen pigeon), and had Prexy STEVE stand alongside. James gave his coat to RO, so she could shield him from the audience as he tied and untied himself - and it was hilarious.

James then carefully explained to Prexy STEVE that he should assume a well-known position, holding his thumbs as pivots for a roll of TP. Various lengths of this roll were peeled away, forming a small ball of tissue, which STEVE was then asked to guess as to the ball's location. This didn't appear to be STEVE'S forte - he was NEVER right.

LENORE MULRYAN was his next subject, and she somewhat hesitantly took off her wedding ring and gave it to James. He, of course, proceeded to make it disappear, not once, but several times. After what appeared to be a series of false starts, it turned up in a zipped-up fold of his wallet - which was, of course, at that point in his back pocket!

There were many other examples of his craft, but the laughter was so loud that my tape recorder couldn't get it all. You can reach him at (310) 836-5399 by the way. This was really great finale to a great year for Prexy STEVE, and we thank him for his many hours of hard work - it showed!

Final Thought for the Day - "Practically everyone wants to go to heaven…but nobody wants to die" Red Foxx.