TAKING A DRIVE

By Greg Lynch, President, NY6

There’s just something about having a birthday that falls between Christmas and New Years that has given me the incentive to be on the move that day. Most years recently, that has meant some warmer destination where I could polish my Spanish. This year was a bit different. Maybe it was Code Orange, my plan to listen to the complete Wagner Ring in anticipation of the Metropolitan Opera presentations this spring, or perhaps I just wanted to take my ride on a good long road test. Whatever the reason, I found myself heading south by car.

The first stop was Charlottesville, Virginia, home of my alma mater, the University of Virginia. I was having breakfast at the Boar’s Head Inn, chatting with the Brazilian waitress about my time as a GSE Leader in Northeast Brazil in 2002. She was a little puzzled about my affiliation until, in the best Portuguese accent I could muster, I said “hotario”. “Ah”, she exclaimed, “they do much good in Brazil”. At that the gentleman at the next table turned around and with a big smile gave me the thumbs up. Turns out, he was a member of a local Rotary club and was enjoying my awkward explanation of Rotary. We parted good friends. I took the Skyline Drive south. The route is breathtaking. It was sunny and lots of snow on the ground. Before long, I found myself in Tennessee.

The morning of same day as our big Xmas party for the kids, December 18, I had had breakfast with John and Judy Germ – John is a R.I. Director – and Harry and Sara Fields – Harry is a former Governor of District 6780. (John was the Representative of Rotary International to a District Conference I co-chaired in Bermuda several years ago. We’ve kept in touch and then recently I ran into John and Judy in Brisbane.) They are all from Chattanooga. So after “roughing it” a night in the Smokey Mountains, I had the pleasure of having dinner with the four of them, and what they say about southern hospitality is certainly true. Most particularly, when I have the opportunity to share time with other Rotarians there always seems to be a common chord. It’s as if, well even though you don’t really know one another, the spirit and values of Rotary shine through. It was a memorable evening. There is nothing like making new friends and no better friends than Rotarians.

After a sojourn in Atlanta, my next stop, and where we welcomed the New Year, was Savannah, Georgia. What a gorgeous town! I’m told that General Grant ordered that the city be sparred from burning because of its great beauty. Early in the morning of January 1, I went for a walk through the historic quarter. At Forsyth Park, I noticed that around the Fountain, members of the community had contributed bricks with their names embossed, symbols of support and solidarity. There among all the others was one with the Rotary name. The symbolism jumped out at me. Among all the building blocks of Savannah, there was Rotary – part and parcel of the fiber of that community and of tens of thousands of communities around the world. It was a good thought for the New Year.

As I checked out of my hotel later that morning, the young man helping me to the car said: “Hey, you’re a Rotarian”. I guess he spotted the pin on my blazer. Turns out he was a member of Rotary himself from a place called Americus and had come to Savannah to seek his fortune. There is a special link among us, no doubt about it.