Ever since I started a blog, people have been asking if I was going to tell stories about OJ. So far I’ve managed to avoid it, but I was asked again yesterday, so I guess it’s time. Ladies and Gentlemen of the internet, I would like to introduce you to Kimelle’s Optimum Jive, my very talented standard poodle.
Now before I tell you the stories, promise me that you won’t lecture me on what a bad poodle parent I am, okay? I know that if I was a responsible dog trainer, OJ would never do any of these things. But he came to us as a two year old, already well set in his ways, and because he’s a brilliant, charming, manipulative poodle, we have been unable to break his bad habits over the last eight years. We have a grudging admiration for him, to be honest. This may not be a talent we wish he possessed, but we have to be impressed at how very skilled he is.
In the canine intelligence studies, only one breed is smarter than the poodle. It’s the border collie. If you know border collies, you know that they are intense, dedicated to their task and motivated to succeed. They affix their famous stare at sheep, children, or cattle and they follow whistles, hand signals or calls without deviating from their orders. They are amazing to watch on an agility course as they obey faultlessly and repeatedly. This is not the way poodles operate. Poodles will learn every task they are given in moments, but then they take it upon themselves to figure out another way, and good luck trying to get them to do it your boring way! If you do manage to convince them to do the task your way more than a couple times, watch out. They will look for a new and more interesting way to do it before long, when it is most inconvenient for you. They are inclined to show you that there is always another, better, more entertaining way to do something. They are adept at figuring out their own agendas, and doing whatever they need to do to achieve their own goals.
OJ’s goal is to fill his belly. (He has tried to convince us that his goal is to keep our kitchen clean, but we are not fooled). His talent is counter-surfing. This talent requires stealth, balance, and ingenuity. OJ excels at each element. As a demonstration of his stealth, I offer this: around my house it is unwise to leave coffee, hot chocolate or chocolate milk on a coffee table. While you are distracted, talking to someone beside you on the couch, for example, OJ will casually walk by, tilt ever so slightly, and take a slurp out of your cup. He doesn’t care if the coffee is black or double double, however, he prefers cafe mocha, and he adores hot chocolate. If you are so foolish as to walk into the kitchen and leave your full cup completely unattended, you are likely to return to find a circle of cocoa spray on the table and an empty cup. If your cup was less than half full, you will just find an empty cup, and a confused contemplation about whether you really did finish it or not. OJ will be lying innocently on the couch, as if he never left it. If you wish to avoid sharing your beverage when visiting at my house, I suggest you have tea. OJ does not seem to care for tea.
As I typed this blog, OJ was yelled at to get off the counters 5 times. I intercepted him once with an ice cream lid he’d just taken out of the sink, and once sneaking down the hallway with a spatula in his mouth.
Apparently he requires some attention, so I will continue with his adventures in another blog post.
Shawn L. Bird 
Why I Am a Rotarian. July 9, 2010
Tags: District 5060, Rotary, Rotary Club of Salmon Arm (Shuswap), Rotary International, Rotary Youth Exchange, Shuswap Rotary
My daughter was raised knowing that we had ‘family’ in Finland. Every Christmas would come plates, glass, ornaments, and textiles from companies like Arabia, Iittala, Aarikka, or Marimekko. She knew they were very special people because they were my host families. We hosted many exchange students ourselves over the years, and the kids learned about other places, cultures and experiences from their foreign siblings. My daughter dreamed of becoming a Rotary exchange student herself. When the time came, she studied the history of Rotary, the purpose of exchange, and the projects of local clubs. As a result, she did well on her interviews, and was chosen to represent the Rotary Club of Salmon Arm (Shuswap) in Spain for 2005-06. During her year of preparation we were invited to attend several Rotary meetings. My past experience as an exchange student was made known. At one of those meetings a Rotarian asked, “With all your history with Rotary, why aren’t you a Rotarian?” I responded frankly, “Because I was never asked.” Needless to say, within a few months, I had become a member of the club.
Was it just nostalgia for my own involvement as a student? Perhaps. But I still believe in the things that I respected most about Rotary back in 1982. When I was a student, there were no women members in Rotary. When I heard on the news in 1989 that women were being accepted as Rotarians, my first thought was that it was now possible that I could actually join this amazing organization. It was a delightful prospect. Of course, it was years before the opportunity presented itself! I am fiercely proud of Rotary’s international and local service projects. I am honoured to be part of the battle to eradicate polio from the planet. I am thrilled to support literacy projects. I am delighted to see lives changed because of who we are and what we do. Our communities are better because of us.
My little club stuns me on a regular basis. The members are a poster for Margaret Mead’s famous quote, “Never underestimate the power of a small but committed group of people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The twenty-five members raised over $40,000 to fund a CT scanner for our local hospital. We have built and maintained trails, built fences for a shelter, provided an industrial shredder that allows mentally
challenged adults to do meaningful work. We support single parents going to college. We support innumerable community projects, particularly for youth. Internationally, we’ve provided funds to vaccinate twenty-six thousand children against polio in the last two years. We support mid-wife training in Guatemala, are putting two girls in Africa through high school, and have provided dental care to orphans in the Ukraine and to the poor in Ecuador. We have sent youth and young professionals to participate in year long high school exchanges, short term Ambassadorial Exchanges, Group Study Exchanges, and this year we sponsored a graduate student who is now a Rotary Peace Fellow. We are making a huge difference in our community and around the world.
That’s why I am a Rotarian.
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