Is Rotary for Old People?

Several weeks ago I walked into a retail store in SE Portland owned by two attractive and sophisticated 30-something women. I was visiting on behalf of my rotary club and handed them a printed invitation to join us for lunch. We chatted for a while about their business and about Rotary, and when one of them asked, "Isn't Rotary for Old People?" I found myself laughing in spite of myself.

"Listen," I said. "None of us are getting any younger, and yes, some of us are further along in years than others, but rotary is for anyone who cares about the kinds of values that Rotary promotes." I explained that Rotary grew out of the desire of its founder, Paul Harris, to establish amidst the corruption, unrest, and moral and ethical ambiguities of turn-of-the-century (20th Century) Chicago, relationships with people he could trust. Paul Harris was raised by his grandparents in a small town in Vermont, where people looked out for one another. Not surprisingly, many of the earliest Rotarians had in common a yearning for the values that one would have been exposed to growing up in a small town or an agrarian community--values based on a respect for and appreciation of the interdependence of life.

And make no mistake: interdependence in life is the rule and not the exception. This is true whether we're looking at life through a microscope or, say from a spacecraft orbiting the earth.

There is ample scientific evidence to suggest, for example, that mitochondria, the organelles in animal cells responsible for converting oxygen and food into the energy that powers all of life's vital processes, are descendants of bacteria that were just hanging out in the primordial ooze millions of years ago. So way back when, some of these bacteria got gobbled up as food by other cells. Although the gobblers were unable to digest the gobbled, the gobblers were able--figuratively speaking--to make lemonade from lemons. After getting over the heartburn, it must have become apparent to the gobblers at some point that there was a tremendous advantage in living symbiotically with the gobbled: energy! Lots and lots of it--energy to grow differentiated colonies of cells that could take on highly specialized functions and make possible ever more complex forms of life.

The chloroplasts found in the cells of the green things of this world had similar humble beginnings as bacteria that developed a symbiotic relationship with a host cell, allowing the host cell to convert carbon dioxide and water to food and oxygen.

Take a more expansive view of this, and you see symbiosis taking place on a grander scale: the green things of this world convert the waste products of animal life into something useful, and vice versa. Step back far enough from all this and we recognize that the earth itself is an incomprehensibly large and vastly complex organism.

The imperative at work here, of course, is survival. The unique role that humans play in all this is that we are capable, as fully conscious beings, of behaving in ways that maximize the survival potential of all of life and the physical universe as well. Perhaps this is a grandiose statement, but to me, that's what Rotary is about. The four-way test teaches us to ask ourselves, "of the things we think, say, or do, 1) is it the truth, 2) is it fair to all concerned? 3) will it build good will and better friendships? and 4) will it be beneficial to all concerned?

So, in the end, Rotary is for anyone--irregardless of age--who cares enough about behaving in ways that promote the greatest common good. In the near future, I hope some of  the SE Portland Rotary Club members make contributions to the blog to describe our club's efforts to make a positive impact on our community and the world.

A pleasant half-hour on Woodstock Boulevard

Several weeks ago, I began visiting businesses in southeast Portland on behalf of the Southeast Portland Rotary Club, which I joined last summer. Rotary clubs are essentially about friendship and service. To be completely honest, I've yet to really identify how I wish to serve the southeast Portland community. I figured that finding a way to serve my club was a good start.

We would like to expand our membership, of course (what vital organization doesn't?) There are lots of ways to promote an organization, but intuitively, I felt a personal touch was best. So, I took to the streets about a month ago with the simple intention of inviting people in local businesses to join us for lunch (on us) at Our Lady of Sorrows Parrish Hall where our club meets every Monday.

My efforts haven't resulted in any new members yet, but I have confidence that that will come in time. Truth is, I've really enjoyed simply getting out into the community and meeting local business owners. It's been satisfying in ways I will do my best to communicate as I continue to make weekly reports.

This blog actually wasn't my idea. I was talking with incoming club president Fred Kupel (I think of him affectionately as Fred the Kupel, a nickname inspired by my memory of the 70's English rock band Mott the Hoople) about some of my adventures, and he suggested that I write the blog to document my efforts on behalf of the club. So Fred, this is for you.

Today I had a fairly limited amount of time, so I drove directly to The Floor Store at 5628 SE Woodstock, which is actually just a few blocks away from Our Lady of Sorrows. One of our patients at Beeson Wellness Center, where I work as an associate chiropractor, suggested to me recently that he thought the owners of the Floor Store might have an interest in Rotary. So I went to explore that possibility. Unfortunately, they were not there. But I took their contact information and added their email addresses to an electronic mailing list I send out every week to prospective members.

After I left the Floor Store, I walked across the street to Alive MMA, a Brazilian martial arts studio. A class was in session (it reminded me just a tiny bit of the scene from the movie "The Karate Kid" where the bad-ass sensei is teaching the Cobra kai to "show no mercy."  I left a flyer at the front desk, and on the way out, I met Winslow Jenkins, Gym Manager. Apparently, he runs the place for owner Bill Bradley.

My last stop today was at Mezza Middle Eastern Cuisine, where I talked to the owner, Vivian Semaan. I had a delicious bowl of lentil soup before I left. I really wanted falafel with hummus and tahini and other yummy stuff. But when you work as closely as a I do with patients every day, garlic and onions is not such a good idea. Anyway, the soup, served with pita bread hot out of the oven, was amazing! I said I'd spread the word, and so I have.