Casey Funk was flying solo as our greeter this morning, and was up to the task, as each and every Monaco South member received a hearty welcome.  Thanks Casey!

A relatively modest crowd today, as manmembers were likely out shopping for Black Friday deals.  Black Friday is a colloquial term for the Friday after Thanksgiving in the U.S..  It traditionally marks the start of the Christmas shopping season.
The earliest known use of "Black Friday" to refer to the day after Thanksgiving occurred in the journal, Factory Management and Maintenance, for November 1951, and again in 1952. Here it referred to the practice of workers calling in sick on the day after Thanksgiving, in order to have a four-day week-end. However, this use does not appear to have caught on. Around the same time, the terms "Black Friday" and "Black Saturday" came to be used by the police in Philadelphia and Rochester to describe the crowds and traffic congestion accompanying the start of the Christmas shopping season. In 1961, the city and merchants of Philadelphia attempted to improve conditions, and a public relations expert recommended rebranding the days "Big Friday" and "Big Saturday,” but these terms were quickly forgotten.
The use of the phrase spread slowly, first appearing in The New York Times on November 29, 1975, in which it still refers specifically to "the busiest shopping and traffic day of the year" in Philadelphia. Although it soon became more widespread, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 1985 that retailers in Cincinnati and Los Angeles were still unaware of the term.
As the phrase gained national attention in the early 1980s, merchants objecting to the use of a derisive term to refer to one of the most important shopping days of the year suggested an alternative derivation: that retailers traditionally operated at a financial loss for most of the year (January through November) and made their profit during the holiday season, beginning on the day after Thanksgiving. When this was recorded in the financial records, once-common accounting practices would use red ink to show negative amounts and blank ink to show positive amounts. Black Friday, under this theory, is the beginning of the period when retailers would no longer be "in the red,” instead of taking in the year's profits.  The earliest known published reference to this explanation occurs in The Philadelphia Inquirer for November 28, 1981.

For those looking for a toaster, Vaughan Kendall has you covered!  He brought one in tucked under his arm and fired it up.  Cold bagels no more!

 

 

Frank Middleton and Dan Rodriguez took to the stage with reminders and details regarding the 2022 MSOC Holiday/Christmas Party.  Join in the fun.  Holiday Dinner and Dance.  We plan to have lots of favorite dishes to eat and music.   It is a potluck with MSOC providing the honey baked hams, wine, sparkling water and soft drinks.  The guests can make your favorite dessert, appetizers, starch, vegetables or salad to bring. Frank will email with attendees with a request which category you should bring.  Feel free to bring liquor and your favorite mix. The DJ will be there right at 6:00.  The address is 6265 E. Evans Ave. next building west of McDonalds.  The Assistance League of Denver is providing (for a fee) their event center in the back of the building.  Park your car somewhere in the back of the building and enter from the BACK of the building using the double glass doors.  The party time is from 6 to 9 with a contribution of $16 per person or $32 a couple.  Now that is a bargain!  Please pay Frank or Dan ASAP!   It is all about having a good time.  See you on December 3.

 

 

Tom Kramis, wearing his Santa sport coat, gave us a tree lot report.  First and foremost, we need people to sign up for shifts!  Please go to www.msocxmas.org and sign up for any day or every day.  Each of the day lot managers would appreciate it, and right now the schedule looks dangerously light.

Tom expressed his thanks to a large number of men who were instrumental in getting the lot set up, trees unloaded and drilled, the signs and lights in place, and all of the other things that must be done in order for us to open today.  He mentioned:
Vaughn Kendall, Pat Bush, Greg Holt, Ken Jung, Noel Hasselgren, Mike White, Tom Glazier, Larry Pulaski, Tom Mauro Craig Eley, Greg Young, Bob Avery, Kent Gloor, Chris Dunphy and Steve Kady.  Your editor could not keep up with all of the names!  Hopefully you know who you are and that Tom and the rest of the club appreciate your efforts.

Tom says that our prices are very reasonable this year so please do not feel compelled to discount.  Remember, the trees at Safeway, Home Depot, etc. are not competition since our quality of tree is much higher.  

Craig Eley reported that the grill is in place, and starting next weekend, brats will be served for volunteers.  So, sign up!

He and his wife cruise a great deal, and his topic today is a place they have visited, the Panama Canal.  

There are two types of canals: the trench and the lock system. 
The French built the Suez Canal as a trench style and thought it would be possible in Panama.  But the terrain was more mountainous that in Africa. They started in 1881 and encountered huge problems with malaria and yellow fever.  In addition, there was not sufficient housing or medical facilities for crews. 

 

By 1889 20,000 people had died and the project was abandoned. They had moved a great deal of dirt, but not much was accomplished, and they left all of their equipment there.  The US bought the project for $40M and started in 1906 after researching the best way to prevent disease.  The decision was made to build the canal using the lock system.  There were three main people involved in the United States efforts.  John Wallace was railroading engineer and the first leader of the project.  He left after two years.  John Stevens took over and for three years, focused on building out the necessary infrastructure to begin the project in earnest.  In 1907, George Goethals took over as chief engineer, and stayed on to the canal’s completion in 1914.  Bill shared some slides with maps and photos of the history, as well as his personal photos as their cruise ship passed through the canal.

 

 The 2 of clubs held the key to unlocking to pot this morning.  Frank Middleton and Randy Bruns took their shots at the big money, but is wasn’t in the cards for them. 

Cups of cold hard cash went to:
Steve Kady (twice!)
Mark Metevia
Pat Bush
Gary Strowbridge
Phil Perington

Nametag drawing: Dr. Bob Finkelmeier, having recently purchased a new alarm clock, was not only in attendance but was also sporting his snazzy nametag at the right time.  Despite possibly having some inside scoop on the location of the winning card, he came up empty.

The reciting of the Optimist Creed was kicked off by today’s speaker, Bill Ashbee. Promise yourself, to be so strong…