Manfred Takes Debunking Like a Mannie!
Upon arrival, Mannie was relieved of his traditional Rotary shirt and given a Tiger-Skin shirt and cap. Although he had never seen garb like this in Africa, and although it was less then flattering if you have ANY tummy, he re-dressed without hesitation.
Soon
after many Rotarians and guests arrived at the Thompson's home to find the Bar
open and tasty appetizers being served. Ron
Thompson graciously hosted the party and many Rotarians admired his Wine
Cellar.
After a delicious dinner, George Osborn kicked off the evening with a welcome to all. He was a little frustrated when he announced the first act on the program. It seemed that it was taking a long time for the local talent to get up on stage. Although we could see their white-topped heads moving side-to-side, their forward progress was measured and somewhat plodding.
The
first act was local talent doing a take-off of "That's My Line" which
they called, "Who's Your Mannie?" Local talent included Sherri
Lum-Alarcon, Cris
Alarcon, Courtney
Mattson, Dave
Nelson, and the ubiquitous N. Manfred Shaffer. 
The
questions revolved around Mannie's life including his career, travels, and
hobbies. Questions as obscure as annual rainfall total in a most arid
plains near Lake Victoria in Kenya Africa, to as common as what time Rotary
meetings start. What time DO Rotary meetings start? Maybe incoming
President Terrie Prod'hon
will clear this up for us!
Mannie
has been our President for the whole year, but as questions were asked, and
answers given, the identity of the real "Mannie" became less
clear. All the panelist looked like a retired professor, they seemed to
know a lot about traveling, They all seemed to have a hard time hearing the
questions and just answered what they thought they heard. Finally the audience
was polled and the vote was split between imposter #1 and imposter #3, but no
votes for the real Mannie. (Some say the fix was in - or someone simply
forgot to print any #2s)
After
this skit, the Professional came on stage. It should be noted that the
local talent asked to go before the Pros as they were afraid to follow
them. After seeing the next act, the locals were right to not want to
follow this act. The audience was enrapt with the comic, who was stopping
by on his was to Vegas. He admitted that he was use to performing for
rock-n-roll type audiences, but after looking around he concluded that most of
us were younger the the Rolling Stones.
After
much help from Rotarians, the comic was able to perform his card trick, but he
got the wrong card! He was willing to retry, but his helpers
refused! After this he moved into an act for the youth, balloon sculpturing.
Soon we realized this was his talent to make shocking realistic balloon sculptures.
This balloon contained a lot more then just hot air!
Great
fun was had by all. The acts were just the right amount of raunchy without
being offensive. Rotarians may be use to Hot Air, but this balloon trick
caught them by surprise. Then it was Mannie's turn to "help" the
comedian.
Mannie took the stage to help as a partner for the comedian in a vaudevillian act that ended with a bit of Vegas showgirl like antics.
After this show Rotarians suffer from side aches and leaky tear ducts.
Mannie
then put on HIS shirt and re-took the stage to thank those that had helped through the year. He
also gave out gifts in the form of Placerville Rotary Club briefcases with
custom embroidering of the club name, logo, and recipient's name. A very
nice gift indeed. He received a clock commemorating his year as Rotary
President and then called on Terrie.
After
guarding the "Bell" for twelve months, he was grateful to pass that
onto our next President, Terrie Prod'hon.
N. Manfred Shaffer, Placerville Rotary Club President 2006-2007.
More picture to come, check the site after the 4th.
Cris Alarcon.