The Program:
VP of Programs Laurie Harrison introduced President Jim Kitz as the Rotarian of the Day. Jim has been a member of Rotary since 2014. Something you might not know about Jim is that he loves the Hallmark channel’s Christmas in July movies.
Jim introduced our speaker of the day – Susan Sussman. Susan calls herself the comedian with the Southern swag and a Brooklyn attitude. Two events sparked her comedy career -- the real estate crash and the birth of her granddaughter. She was a Norfolk resident for 21 years but moved to Orlando, FL two years ago. Susan loves to talk about family, marriage, cultural changes and aging...not so gracefully. Her comedy bridges the generational gap which audiences find funny and relatable. Susan asked that we all UNMUTE ourselves so that she can hear all of our laughter during her talk.
Susan started by letting us know that this was her first Zoom performance. She was thrilled to have 50 people in her bedroom, however looking at us all—we look like our DMV pictures. Covid has exposed us all to a lot of new and strange experiences - masks, cleaning and for her...talking to her husband. She’s learned that her husband avoids showering and she thinks he may be growing his own virus. Susan has also learned that men ARE able to multi-task...they can walk and fart at the same time., Now she needs another type of mask.
Susan has been watching what people do on the internet. She’s learned that there are apps that you pay for to introduce you to the opposite sex for possible relationships...isn’t that what we all went to the bars for free?
To find someone’s phone# people used to use the phone book (she was so thankful she was speaking to people who knew what they were). Now the phone book is a thing of the past and she wonders how short people are driving without them? Susan is under 5’ tall and as we age, we shrink. She’ll be gone next year.
Susan went to have her annual gynecological check up and mammogram. This is a very important exam for every woman. When she was younger, she had a rose tattooed on one of her breast. After the mammogram, it’s become a long stem rose. Susan also said that her doctor told her that her uterus is falling. It would figure she said, “the kids have left the nest and now the nest is leaving me.”
After her performance, Jim Kitz asked how was it performing at Dangerfield’s in NYC? She said it was 5 minutes and very scary!
Michael Desplanes asked if coming from NYC if she had to tone down her “ruffer and tuffer” humor. Susan answered that she started her comedy work in Norfolk when the real estate market turned and no she was used to the Southern, more genteel sense of humor. Marty Raiss asked who was her favorite comedian? Susan couldn't narrow it down to one, but she said...Natasha Leggero, Angela Johnson, Jim Gaffigan, Brian Regan, Ellen DeGeneres and Lewis Black (who she met at The Chrysler). Sally Hartman asked if she ever took classes at The Muse and how does stand up help you with the rest of your life? Susan said that she learned to keep her mouth shut. Not everyone appreciates your humor. It taught her control and to be humble. It also helped her get over her shyness.
Susan ended it by telling us that “life is short, do what you feel and have a passion to do.”
You can follow Susan Sussman on:
Facebook: Susan Sussman Comedy
Instagram: @susansussmancomedy
Email: sbsussman@gmail.com
YouTube: Susan Sussman Comedy
The Meeting:
President Jim introduced our Rotarian visitor - Linda Nimershiem, who had many Rotarian friends. Joe Massey reported that there were no Rotarians that he was aware of for the visitation report but asked that if anyone knew of someone, to please give him a call. There was a request to keep all of the residents of Bertie County in NC in our thoughts and prayers (after the tornado touched down the day before).
Club Business:
President Jim informed the Club that the August 18th meeting, that we planned on being a virtual/in person meeting will be postponed due to the increased cases of Covid-19 in Hampton Roads and we will hopefully schedule a blended meeting for September.
A reminder to all members that our Rotary invoices have gone out.
President Jim announced that we can now pay our fines and “Happy Bucks” using our new Venmo account using the @Rotaryclubof-Norfolk account.
Congratulations to our newest Honorary Club member, Ann Baldwin.
President Jim read out the August birthdays and we all sang “Happy Birthday” He also read the list of August anniversaries both wedding and Rotary anniversaries.
Happy Bucks:
- Ann Baldwin has a lot to be happy about...her grandson recently married “Plan B”, graduated college and got a job. Since they had to go to “Plan B”, Ann asked Jim Sell, Rotarian and retired clergy, to officiate at their wedding.
- Bob Heely said that he and his wife Lush have been very busy packing as they put their house on the market and will be moving to Monticello Station this week.
- Diane Starkey is “Happy” because there are no trees or tree limbs in the pool after yesterday’s storm and it’s her husband’s 72nd birthday AND she’s very “Happy” to have a stable job!
- Eleanor Schoonover is “Happy” that they had no tornadoes in their area.
- Tom Ambler is “Happy” that he is back from a wonderful trip to Utah where he visited with his daughter and son-in-law.
- Lisa Chandler paid “Happy Bucks” upfront for her and Webb’s upcoming 40th Wedding Anniversary
