Lakewood Salaried Retirees' Club in Case You Didn't Know

Lakewood Salaried Retirees’ Club

February 3, 2021

Dear GM Lakewood Salaried Retirees' and Surviving Spouses,

Hello! This letter is another in a series "keeping us together" during the pandemic scare since we cannot meet at Petite Violette for our regularly quarterly meetings. I am sending out a note or two just to say hello every month so we can still keep up with each other. After all, there is a life even though it is sometimes confined to house visits by our family members.

In case you didn't know ...

Just think, you might be on a quiz show and need to know a fact or two about February to win a million dollar grand prize. February traces its roots to the Roman month Februarius, named after the Latin term februum, which means "purification." The Romans' celebration of "cleansing" stems from their belief that a purification ritual, Februa, held February 13 to 15 would help avert evil spirits and purify Rome, thereby releasing health and fertility. January and February were the last months added to the ancient Roman lunar calendar by the legendary Roman king Numa Pompilius in approximately 713 B.C., as the ancients originally considered winter a month-less period. Februarius remained the last month on the Roman calendar year until around 450 B.C. when it became the second month. Februarius -- or February in English -- retained its position sa second month when Julius Caesar proposed the Julian Calendar in 46 B.C. in what would become the dominant calendar in the Roman world and most of Europe for nearly 1,600 years. In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII announced that the Julian Calendar's mathe- matical inaccuracies would be corrected and a new Gregorian Calendar was introduced. This calendar is the basis for what most of the world uses today -- and, you guessed it, February was still the second month of the year. Aren’t you glad February is a short month? Look what can be said about a short month. After reading this, I can fully understand if you dislike history. It is boring, boring, boring.

February Special Days of Celebration:

February Retiree Birthdays February Spouse Birthdays Who is older ... The executives celebrating birthdays or the Joseph Benton February 7 LaVonda Baker February 3 Chevrolets below? Dave Snellings February 9 Harriett Green February 4 Alexander Sattler February 12 Mary Ann Brown February 6 Harold Ridley February 13 Sharon Snellings February 10 Gordon Hall February 14 Terry Stephens February 23 Mary Frances Holley February 14 Anna Saadatjoo February 16 Jerry Dabbs February 17 Charles Brown February 20 Roger Brewer February 22 Wanda Sherwood February 22 Alice Smith February 24 James Moore, Jr. February 26 Laymon Bailey February 27

If you don’t know who’s older — the car or the retiree — ask the retiree and dodge anything a lady might throw at you for asking the question.

Trivia Time!

We're not snooty, pretentious or snobby, but the GM Lakewood Salaried Retirees' Club has been voted the best ever to retire from any GM Plant. The vote was unanimous. All registered voters are members of the GM Lakewood Salaried Retirees' Club. Because we are the best Club, we are the smartest Club. Now, smartness is based on two things: first is book-learning or book smarts and second is street experience otherwise known as street smarts. Now put your smartness to work. Below are a few questions, or should I say riddles, which have purely logical answers. You should have no problem answering these riddles. However, the answers are upside down following the riddles. This is to prevent your cheating, reading the answers and not using your "smarts." O.K. Here goes ...

1. Why did the fish have a bad report card? 2. What does one icicle say to the other icicle before leaving? 3. Why did the teacher jump in the pool?

4. What’s the best side of the house to put the porch on? 5. What’s a tree’s favorite drink? 6. Why do owls always get invited to bird parties? 7. What did the volcano say to his girlfriend? 8. What kind of pets does a band have? 9. What did Mr. and Mrs. Hamburger name their daughters? 10. How does thread get to school? 11. What can you steal and not get in trouble? 12. How does a computer catch fish? 13. What do you say to a tent with a split personality? 14. How did the barber win the race? 15. What is a mouse’s least favorite weather? 16. What did the Teddy Bear say after dinner? 17. What has three feet but no toes? Riddles? 18. What did one hat say to the other hat? 19. When is door not a door? 20. Why is it a bad idea to work for the Gainesville High School Red Elephants?

Answers!!!

Now that you have finished your mental exercise for the day go enjoy a well deserved rest and eat your peanuts. If you have any riddles that you'd like me to include in my March letter, just send me an email listing the riddle ... and the answer. Please stay healthy and wear your protective masks. Adhere to all of the medical safeguards so that we can all be present at our next GM Lakewood Salaried Retirees' Club meeting. A little bird told me that the virus may have subsided sufficiently to allow our meetings at the Petite Violette Restaurant in Atlanta to resume at least by September or -- for sure -- December. We're counting on these forecasters to be correct! I look forward to seeing your smiling face by that projected date.

Remember a special event in February?

Valentine's Day is on February 14. If you have not already decided upon a present for your special one, do it now. The very least you can do is send a Valentine card! If you think have no special person, you are wrong. The whole Club wishes you a very, very Happy Valentine's Day and all the love and wishes that go along with it.

How about an old fashioned southern, stuffed baked potato?

February is still a cool month and an ideal evening supper would be an old fashioned southern, baked potato filled with vegetables just like Grandma used to make. It’s not a quickie as this is a slow-cook recipe — 7 hours, would you believe.

You will need: 4 medium-sized baking potatoes, each about 6 or 7 ounces, half of a summer yellow squash cut into 3/4-inch sec- tions, half of one medium onion cut in half-inch wedges, a scant cup of feta cheese (crumbled), half of a sliced red sweet pepper sliced into half-inch pieces. That completes your big items. Now for the smaller flavorful items: You will need one fourth of a teaspoon of dried mint, one eighth of a teaspoon of salt, one eighth of a teaspoon of whole peppercorns (ground), one fourth of a cup of fat-free sour cream (go ahead and enjoy the other half now), one teaspoon of quality olive oil, two tablespoons of toasted pine nuts and one-half of a teaspoon of oregano (crushed). Now with the needed items collected, you are ready to cook. Wash the baking potatoes to remove grit. Pat dry. To ensure even cooking, prick each potato with a fork. Wrap each potato in aluminum foil. In a medium bowl combine all ingredients except sour cream, feta cheese and pine nuts and transfer con- tents to a heavy piece of aluminum foil. Bring two opposite ends of the foil together, seal foil with double fold. Fold in the other two ends to completely enclose ingredients. Leave small space for steam to build. Add to cooker. Now add potatoes into the slow four-quart cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Remove potatoes from cooker. Unwrap potatoes, cut them length- wise, but not through the bottom. Fluff potatoes with fork. Carefully open ingredients in heavy aluminum foil. Top potatoes with sour cream, feta cheese and vegetables from foil, sprinkle with cheese and pine nuts. Eat and enjoy!

Thanks for all the Donations over the Years!!!

Our Lakewood Salaried Retirees' Club does not sell doughnuts, raffle tickets, flowers, apparel, gadgets or anything else youcan name. Yet, we always prosper year after year. How did we do it? We didn't. You did. Thank you to the many, many Club members who have made donations over the years -- both large and small. However, you've never seen a donator's name nor will you ever see one now or in the future. To all of the donators, the Club says a hearty "Thank you!" The distribution of the new Lakewood Salaried Retirees' Club Directory costs money and we're not broke as we have an experienced "bean counter" second to no one. That person is Phil Sherwood. With no quarterly meetings at the present time, our donators are not in attendance at meetings to drop off a penny every now and then -- and we miss them. If anyone would like to mail in a donation for the Club operations, your identification will never be revealed, but the Club's appreciation is greater than can ever be ex- pressed. Should you decide to add another penny or two to our financial status, simply mail a check to Phil L. Sherwood. His address is: 244 Bakers Farm Circle, Braselton, Georgia 30517.

Take care, keep your distance, wear your masks and have fun!

Larry Larry A. Whitfield, President GM Lakewood Salaried Retirees' Club Home: (706) 354-8166; Cell: (678) 772-1046 email: [email protected] February 1, 2021 3