September 18th, 2017

The menu was sweet and sour pork or roast beef, vegetable medley and salad chorus, rolls and mashed potatoes with gravy.  There was cake also, but you  couldn’t eat it and have it too. Past President Matthew Owen stood in for Bruce Smith, who had to go back in the hospital.  Visiting Rotarian-Shelly Wilson from the South West club. Keith Crossley announced that the 6 day bike ride from Crescent City to Napa raised $3800 for Polio Plus.   He also brought up Dan Heinen, who completed his requirements for being a Paul Harris Fellow.  During the “Roast Boast and Toast” session Dennis Hunter said that he went to a Giants game that started at 5pm but was rain delayed.  The Giants eventually won, but the game lasted until 3 am.  Our presenter was Jonas Anderson, an exchange student who had just returned from Paraguay. Paraguay officially the Republic ofParaguay (Spanish: República del Paraguay; Guarani Tetã Paraguái), is a landlocked country in central South America bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay river which runs through the center of the country from north to south. Due to its central location in South America, it is sometimes referred to as Corazón de Sudamérica (“Heart of South America”). Paraguay is one of the two landlocked countries (the other is Bolivia) outside Afro-eurasia, and is the smallest landlocked country in the Americas.

The indigenous Guarani had been living in Paraguay for at least a millennium before the Spanish conquered the territory in the 16th century. Spanish settlers and Jesuit missions introduced Christianity and Spanish culture to the region. Paraguay was a peripheral colony of the Spanish Empire with few urban centers and settlers. Following independence from Spain in 1811, Paraguay was ruled by a series of dictators who generally implemented isolationist and protectionist policies. Jonas sang a song he had composed, accompanying himself on guitar.  The lyrics were a mixture of Spanish and Guarani.  Jonas spent most of his time in a town near Asuncion, the largest city in Paraguay.

Escrito by Hank Ingham