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Lion Tales
Volume 7 - Issue 6
February, 2002

This Year's Bottom Half

Editorial  

I  have  just received  the  Governor's Newsletter and after reading his first page I have come to the conclusion that I must re-write my edi­torial or be accused of Plagiarism.   Having said this my editorial will cover the same subject from a some­what slightly different angle. All club mem­bers must keep in mind that we as a club still have quite a few major projects in front of us. Some  that  come  to mind are our 35th An­niversary,   Farmers Night and the up and coming  District  A-I Lions Convention and all the items involved therein. Remember that our own President has thrown his hat into the ring and will be running for the Zone 2 South Chairperson's position. Our new food trailer that is in the planning stages and the work that will be involved in its interior construction comes to mind. We must also start now to think about next sum­mers and next years projects. Looking for­ward   we must be ready to except and volunteer for executive and  club  committee positions and the chair­ing of various func­tions which will be de­bated shortly.  If you are a new member or a senior member inter­ested in a certain posi­tion or in helping in the up and coming events as  those  previously mentioned,  I  would suggest that you let it be known. With all of the experience that our club members involved in golf or curling possess  I  wonder why someone has not come forward and organize tournaments.  As has been shown we have a great variety of items before us that will re­quire our attention. I myself have enjoyed being  your  "Lions Tales" editor, although a year or so ago I would have said differ­ently and at times did. With your concurrence I am planning on re­maining so in the com­ing year. In closing I would like to plagia­rize  somewhat  if I may. "LAST  NIGHT I ALSO WENT FOR  A WALK IN THE SNOW  AND I'M STAYING" as your editor,  if  may. As our Governor has suggested and stated, in his bulletin, we must all, "GET INVOLVED"

Spotlight on a Lion

Lion Mike Gardiner

Lion  Mike Gardiner first became involved in Lionism as a youngster while play­ing Tuba in the conceit band and Sousaphone in the marching band for the Regina Lions Band now called Pryde of the Lions marching band  in  his  native province of Saskatchewan. His father is a Past President of the Regina Central Lions Club. Lion Mike was also involved with the Lions  indoor  swimming pool project that was built in Bienfait, Saskatchewan  and  a club that was chartered through the efforts of his father and the main motivator in the local swimming pool  project.

Lion  Mike and his  wife  Caryl moved to Ontario in 1987  due to a job transfer and moved to Dutton in 1989 after finding  London  was just a little to big and busy for the laid back slow  paced  lifestyle that  Flatlanders  are more accustomed to. Since being a member of the club Lion Mike has served as Secretary for three years  and President for two separate terms and served on   the   Dutton/Dunwich  fundraising committee   which helped raise funds for the local daycare, library, seniors housing project and recreation facility/food  booth which now serves as our Lions Den.

He has been a member of the Dutton/­Dunwich Chamber of Commerce for the past ten years and served on municipal council for  one term and has also been known to dabble in Provincial and Federal politics for a party that also starts with the letter "L".

Currently Lion  Mike has just started a new job with Rogers Video as an Assistant Manger following a six year stint with  a  dollar  store company formerly located  in  downtown London while his wife works as a secretary for the Catholic School Board of London.

As  can  be seen Lion Mike is a dedicated Lion a has certainly  served  the Lions and his community. I just wonder if he would like to serve a third time as President and thus scoring a hat trick? I know that its not football Mike but what do you say.?

 

 

(above - our 35th Anniversary Pin)

E-mail Received

Who says that the Dutton & District Lions Club is not on the map. E-mail received by Lion Ken W. in reference to our web page guest book reads as follows:

Thanks for your E-mail, Ken, Good to see you up and running again, and I certainly appreciate the amount of work required. May I pass on my best wishes to all your Lions from those here, in my Club, and on behalf of all in MD2O1, District VS.

(http:// www.lions20lV5.org)

E-mail sent by Lion Jenny Granger Cjennyg@,spamcop.net)

                                From: Croydon, Melbourne, Australia.  

 

Take a Step Up (dry humour with meaning)

One day a farmer's don­key fell down into a well. The ani­mal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He  invited  all  his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and  began to shovel dirt into the well.   At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.  Then to everyone's amazement, he quieted down.  A few shovel loads  later,  the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished  at what he saw.  With every shovel of dirt that hit his back,  the donkey was doing something amazing.  He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbours con­tinued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.  Pretty soon, every­one was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!

What Lessons can be derived from this simple story?

  •      Your donkey is never to old;

  •    You can always count on your neighbors for help;

  •     Life is going to send many trouble your way;

  •    Shake your problems off and take a step up;

  •     If you fall into a well never give up; and

  •       Maybe its just, to never let your donkey graze near a well. One should always grab his donkey by both hands, to be on the safe side and lead it away.

Zone Advisory Meeting Pt. Stanley on Jan. 16th, 2002

On the night of Jan. 16, Lion Ken & I left Dutton at 5 pm in a slight snow storm for Pt. Stanley.  We arrived at 6:45 pm after travelling through a full blown storm.  Others who arrived had the same poor visibility to drive through.

At 7 pm we settled down to a superb supper of roast beef was served. I found myself sitting to the right of Lion Ken and thoughts of the last meeting we both attended in St. Thomas came to mind. Across the table was seated Lion Ray of Pt. Stanley. Two members had brought their Labrador pups who were in training. These two were being raised in individual homes until the age of approxi­mately one year at which time they will enter the formal train­ing program. Being a person who likes dogs I was full of questions when I found out that in the past Lion Ray's family had devoted a year and trained one of these pups in their home.

Lion Ray explained that the training is directed toward the very important job that is expected later of these pups. For example they are never left to run lose and play with other dogs or run after a ball or Frisbee When one stops and thinks about it the ex­planation given by Lion Ray made perfect sense. These dogs

are trained for a specific job. If you were to play Frisbee with them for example and their blind owner was to take them to a park the dogs might not listen to their owner and chase the Frisbee or ball that children might be playing with. As can be seen this would pose a very serious problem. He also went on to say that petting, or offering the dog food, may be a distraction. The master depends on a well-trained dog.

Following ZC Lion Dennis introduced the guest speaker, Ryan Chin, from Lake Joseph.  Ryan told about the centre and the troubles they were having with the buildings, the plans for the future, and whta they hoped the Lions could do for the Centre.

There was a presentation of cheques for the Zone Project (amounting to $2305.00).

During Club Announcements Lion Ken announced that our President, Lion Wayne Gaudon, would be running for Zone Chair for 2 South.

The drive home was much better as the storm had mostly passed over.

Lion Ron Poisson

Are you a Diabetic?

As a member of the Lions organization one of our thrusts has always been in the area of raising funds for diabetes research. The importance of this was once more brought home to me recently when I read an article in a magazine. I would like to share some excerpts from this article with you.

"A 59 year old Talbot Nelles, in 1994, was helping his daughter prepare for her upcoming marriage when he noticed a blister on his left foot. It wasn't sore but it wasn't healing very quickly. He was convinced that it would heal on its own so he bandaged it and ignored the problem.  After three weeks he realized that his toe was turning blue so he decided to go to the emergency department at his local hospital. After two days of tests a vascular surgeon told him:

"You have gangrene resulting from

non  insulin dependent diabetes. \\'e're going to have to amputate yow leg below the knee."

This man knew he was a diabetic but wasn't aware of all the possible consequences. Flow is it that even diabetics sometimes don't know all the ramifications of the disease? Do You? Are you even aware of some of the warning signs? Are we as Lions missing the boat? When was the last time that your Lions Club made a conscious effort to educate those in your own community? I know that the infor­mation is out there, but it is human nature to not want to believe what

you read or hear. As a former school  teacher, I know that with children you often have to repeat things before they begin to sink in and be remembered. We need to be repeating this information on a regular basis. How many of the fol­lowing do you know?

a.   About 85 % of diabetes related amputations are preventable;

b.   About 5 % of the population (1.5 million people) have been diagnosed with diabetes;

c.   By the year 2010 the Canadian Diabetes Association predicts that this number will double due in part to our aging popula­tion;

d.   Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the country;

Uncontrolled  blood  glucose leads to a catalogue of ailments including stokes, and heart at­tacks which cause more than 80 % of deaths related to dia­betes in Canada;

f     Diabetes leads to nerve and vascular damage;

g    There are numerous people out there that have diabetes and don't know it, yet and

h    Diabetes can damage the blood vessels in the retina eventually causing  blindness,  or  near blindness.

 

Do you know the possible warning signs?

  1. Unusual intense thirst; 

2.   Frequent urination;

3.   Unusual weight loss;

4.   Extreme fatigue or luck of en­ergy;

5.   Frequent infections;

6.   Blurred vision;

7.   Recurring skin, gum or bladder infections;

8.   Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet;

9.   Cuts and bruises that are slow to heal;

10. Nausea or dizziness;

11. Irritability;

12. Stomach cramps;

13. Sweet-smelling breath and

14. Recurring leg cramps

 

Who is at risk?

A.   A diabetic in the family means you are suspect;

B.   Having high cholesterol;

C.     Pregnancy can bring diabetes to the surface;

D.     Overweight people;

F.   High blood pressure;

What do you do if you are at risk or have some of the signs?

a.   It is extremely important that you see your doctor. If you have a close relative with diabetes you should be having your blood sugar checked on a regular basis;

b.   Exercise because this helps your body use the insulin that it produces more effectively and

c.   Watch your diet.

As Lions, lets get the message out into our communities.

Information provided by Lion Ken Willson.