Struldbrugs

     In Gulliver’s Travels in the land of Luggnagg, Gulliver describes immortal human beings called “Struldbrugs”.  They are normal creatures except for one thing—they never die.  After 80 years or so, they suffer all the pains, losses, and indignities of old age.  Release from their infirmities is not possible since they are immortal.

     We started this week off with a Monday morning funeral for a lady who has been in an Alzheimer’s unit for the past five years or so.  The obituary and eulogy reminded us of the gregarious fun-loving person she had been.  Thank God we are not immortal.

     Meanwhile, life went on.  The day ended with a Lions meeting.  Lions clubs do a lot of good things, working to protect people’s eyesight around the world, providing disaster relief everywhere.  When you donate to Lions Clubs International Foundation, most of your donation goes to help victims, not the fund-raiser, because administration costs are provided by Lions members’ dues.  And of course, there’s all the work Lions clubs do in the local communities.

     But the flip side of Lions is the huge bureaucracy that runs the organization.  Local clubs have to have at least three officers, president, secretary and treasurer.   The secretary has to fill out monthly reports on membership and club activities.  (I’m not sure who reads those reports.) No one wants to be secretary.

     Clubs belong to zones.  Each zone requires a zone chairman.  Zones and clubs belong to a district.  A district has to have 1000 (or more) members, with a governor.  The district governor has to visit each club at least once.  As membership has shrunk, districts have expanded geographically.  The job of visiting every club is too onerous for one person so now we have vice-district governors.     

    Like most volunteer organizations, Lions Clubs are losing members.  Many small towns have closed their Lions club and started a community organization to do what Lions used to do.  They don’t have to file all the reports or have meetings all the time.

      One sociologist suggests that people born in the 60’s and later follow a different paradigm than older generations.  The new guys aren’t willing to sit through a meeting just for the sake of sitting in a meeting.  The new guys aren’t lazy.  They will work on a project that they see will help the community or be worthwhile in some way.

     The sociologist also suggests that the newbies are looking for fulfillment of the need to be creative, and the need to develop personally.  They also want to feel needed and wanted.  Organizations that don’t appeal to those needs will fail, he says.

    Finally, time is important.  The new guys are used to having every second of their time filled up, usually with something electronic, something they have control of.  So, at a meeting or activity, when there is dead time, out comes the smart phone.  Not a minute to be wasted.

     My sociologist says that the club or organization that doesn’t adapt to the new paradigm is doomed.

     Here is our Vice-District Governor (in the yellow shirt) with some of our most devoted members.  Two guys in the picture are under 80, and one of them isn’t a member.

    Here endeth the sociology lesson.  On to the rest of the week, if you haven’t changed channels. . . .

     Much of my time this week went to the rental house in town.  It was a four door model when I started.  It’s now a three door model, with two new doors, a deadbolt added to one old door, and a couple of scars from the door-obliteration.

     I tore the door out on Tuesday.  It seemed a nice enough day.  I had the studs in when the snow began to fall.  Fortunately, it was a spring-like storm.  In five minutes, the sun was shining.  Then it snowed again.  It forced me to cut the sheetrock first and get it inside, through the hole where the door used to be.  That saved me carrying it around and through a new door, which I would have had to do if I sheeted the outside up first.

    On Thursday it was so nasty and windy, I decided to take a trip to get the siding, not available locally, rather than work outside.  The trip wasn’t a very good idea.  I passed through an area that was near-zero visibility due to blowing dust.

     As I began my return trip, a police car went whizzing around me.  Soon I saw traffic stopped, so I took an alternate route.  Later, I learned that three people died in a pile-up in the dust-blowing segment of that road.

     Back to the deck next week.

     And then there’s a colonoscopy on Thursday.