Isn’t the Internet great? A couple of keystrokes and I was able to discover it was Groucho Marx who coined the phrase, “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.”
Perhaps that is one reason I have not been much of a joiner during my community newspaper career. However, I’ve started to wonder lately if I’ve missed out on some wonderful opportunities to be more involved in this crazy, cooky world that is the only one I have.
Many years ago, I recall coming in to the office on Main Street in Seal Beach on Saturday mornings. Occasionally, I would try to stretch my legs – which in fact has never made me any taller – and peer out of the front door and my window on the quaint scenes of small town life passing me by. I distinctly remember seeing local realtor and long time Seal Beach resident and Seal Beach Lions Club member Jim Klisanin (not to mention his many other community involvements such as spearheading the creation of the now famous Seal Beach Christmas Parade).
It would be in the morning, half past dawn and Jim would be pounding down Main Street toward the pier. Trying to get an early start, he was “up and at ’em,” getting the prep work done for another Lions Club Fish Fry or some other activity that helps make all our lives here more special and worth living.
As time went by, I became friendly with Jim and one day he suggested I might consider joining the Lions Club. I remember telling him that I would consider it but that as the editor of the local paper it might be difficult to be a member of one particular club and have people think I was showing favortisim any time I put something about them in paper. Through the years, however, there has probably been no other club, group or organization I have had more coverage on in this paper.
The reason has nothing to do with favortisim. The truth is that the Lions just seem to do more than most anyone else. Meanwhile, I have had some wonderful working relationships with people who have been leaders and standard bearers for the club for longer than I really care to remember – considering how swiftly our time goes by. I must admit I am sometimes taken aback when I realize that some of these folks have been a part of my day-to-day life for longer than anyone, except for my parents and seven siblings. And I really don’t see much of them as we are spread out between two coasts.
I still have not joined a club, but if I did I would I probably join the Seal Beach Lions. After this past Saturday, I’m sure of it. I decided to step outside of the box I have created for myself and participate in the Lions’ annual charity golf tournament. It is an event to raise funds for the Lions’ efforts for eye care and blindness.
The day is filled with merriment and mirth, with not too much seriousness about how well or poorly you play golf. That was lucky for me as my teammates and Lions Club members Scott Newton, Robert Aguilar and Victor Grgas can attest to. I had to be the worst golfer at Bixby Golf Course that day. It’s not really my fault or that I lack any physical dexterity. It has to do more with the fact that I was forced to work as a caddy as a youth and teenager at a course for Nouveau riche snobs on Long Island in New York. I grew up hating golf and golfers even more.
Despite all of this, I had a great day. The guys I played with treated me like family and friends and seemed to actually appreciate my imitations of characters from the silly movies “Caddy Shack” and “Happy Gilmore.” If I had to fill the role of comic relief, I was glad to oblige. Following the game we all adjourned to the Mary Wilson Library for the awards banquet. Everyone seemed to have a great time together, sharing the day, the food and refreshments. During the dinner I sat for about an hour passing time and conversation with Jim Klisanin. I couldn’t help thinking about the time, all those years ago, when he suggested I become involved as a member of the Lions. I also wondered just how much I had missed out on during the interval. It was one of those crazy things you learn along the way in this life – that the more you give, the more you get. Perhaps it’s too late for Crazy Horse and General Custer, but maybe it’s not too late for me.
Dennis Kaiser is the editor of the Sun Newspaper.
