Champaign Lion's Chatter

1. Champaign Lion's Chatter (Click here to go to our website) 14 August 2013 Call to Order – President Weldon Garrelts called the meeting to order and led in the Pledge of Allegiance.

2. Invocation – David Hunter: We thank Thee for this food, dear Lord, for friends and family too. May we always pray with great respect and never call Thee "You." Amen. Vittles – Salad and Toppings. Beef & Noodles, Mashed Potatoes, Vegetables, Rolls and Butter, and Banana Cream Pie.

3. Birthdays – Paul Peter (8/17). Attendance – 17 members. Guests – Fonda’s husband Larry Bowden.

4. Lions Report – Pat Bryan has a card for everyone to sign for Homer Kuder who is in the Country Health Nursing Home in Gifford. If you are ill or know a fellow Lion who is under the weather, please call Pat Bryan at 586-4535.

5. The Club received a letter from Carle Hospice. They need volunteers with a wide range of skills and a desire to support the community. Playing games, watching TV, companionship and kind conversation to help them forget about being ill. Training sessions will be held at Carle Home Care, 206A Anthony Drive, Champaign, from 2 to 7 pm August 22, August 29 and September 5. For map see: http://www.thirdage.com/d/hha/2926/carle-home-care-champaign-il

6. Marvin Paulsen received an e-mail from the Mahomet Club that President Garrelts shared. They need up to 5 lions to help out with the Sangamon River Music Festival, August 24, from 7 to 11:30 pm, by serving beer, food or taking tickets and monitoring entry/exit from the beer tent. A signup sheet was circulated for members to indicate their availability/willingness to help. Might get a free beer out of it…

7. Lottery – The $10 lottery was won by Fonda Bowden.

8. Announcements: David Lin said the picnic is set for this Saturday, the 17th, at 5 pm and has been moved from Burwash Park to the Regency Ballroom due to a mix up with the park reservation. Pulled Pork BBQ, Baked Beans, and Cole Slaw from the Black Dog restaurant, will be served at no charge, thanks to Lion Pedro Heller.

9. Sam McGrew and Rich King are in charge of games. Members are invited to bring side dishes to share (such as fresh fruit or dessert). Invite family, friends, and prospective members. Please let David know if you are attending and the number of guests.

10. Program – Charlie Osborne introduced Andy Dallas, a world renowned magician, hypnotist, lecturer and escape artist. He is the owner of Dallas & Co. in Champaign. Andy Dallas is Past National President of the Society of American Magicians, representing over 7000 magicians worldwide. He is a member of the Magic Circle in England, holding the highest degree. He is on the board of the Society of Young Magicians, Chairs the Paranormal Investigation Committee, was nominated as one of the top five escape artists in the world in the 90's, and was the first to teach magic in the U.S. for college credit. He is an award winning comedy writer and actor, has appeared in five motion pictures and has been a local businessman for over 37 years.

11. Mr. Dallas said he saw his first magician at the age of 5.

12. The first trick he learned was the six card trick.

17. He wanted to learn all about magic.

18. He worked 3 summers at carnivals where there were side shows like “Lena the headless woman.” He met Bruce Walstad, a detective in Chicago who investigated and wrote a book on carnival crime. Games are mechanical and are rigged so they are almost impossible to win. Carnival people speak to each other in “carney talk” when they do not want the public to understand them. He demonstrated, and it sounded like pig Latin.

19. With audience participation by Lion Byron Balbach, he showed three carnival games starting with the scissor bucket game.

20. The player is to toss three balls into a shallow, tilted bucket, so that the balls roll out of the round hole on the downward and will not bounce out over the rim again.

21. The player may make a couple, but tosses one ball a little too hard and it bounces out.

22. The next game he showed us was a trap game called the over the rail, or the red box game.

23. This game has been illegal since 1959 and is now a collector's item. Frank Duff will give it a shot.

26. It was rigged so it is impossible to win.

27. If you think you see that a game is rigged, do not touch or reveal it. Just walk away. The carnival people will hurt you. Games are their livelihood.

28. The bottle game is played by using a two tine fork to pick up a bottle from resting on its side to standing upright.

29. It is easy if the bottle is placed just right.

30. Otherwise the bottle has a heavy side and, if placed with its heavy side toward either side,

31. it is impossible to stand it up without its falling over. Careful, Pat…

32. Pat Bryan did it!!!

33. Nowaday’s games are electronic and can be rigged using remote controls. Even the big casinos are rigged.

34. The slot machines are the biggest money makers. They usually take 4,000 pulls to hit a jackpot.

35. Card games can be rigged using B deck cards with no white borders.

36. If a player is winning too much, casinos will switch dealers. If that doesn’t work they will bring in a knock out dealer. Finally they will just ask you to leave.

37. Tailtwister – No Tailtwister today. Awwwwwww…..

38. Coming up Greeter: Tom Yaxley Aug 28 – Mike Haile - Radio personality September 4– Business Meeting, Know Your Lion Sept 11 – Mike Schlosser - U of I police training academy Click here sammcgrew@att.net to email Sam McGrew and let him know what you would like to see in a Lions Club program some time. Aug 21 – John Thies – President, Illinois State Bar Association

39. Thank you for watching Editor Fonda Bowden Publisher David Hunter To email Dave with your comments, click here → hunter4000@comcast.net To go to the our website, click here → http://www.champaignlions.org/