The Presidential Piercing

THE PRESIDENTIAL PIERCING

Bröckedde is located in the heart of Germany - where the Rhine and Danube flow into the beautiful Bröckeddesee. This is where RC Bröckedde meets in the Bröckedder Hof - every Wednesday at 1 pm in the Salon Hindenburg.

Alexander Hoffmann                                                                                                    01.05.2023

Sometime before his designated successor was due to takeover office, President Pröpke invited, Friend Bolkbrecher, to visit him at home for some private discussion on the finesse of Club leadership, etiquette and the many unwritten rules on how RC Bröckedde really functioned.

They sat in Pröpke’s study and his guest was staring at the man-sized tailor’s dummy, dressed in a jacket which stood beside the desk. “That’s Theodore” said Pröpke said in answer to the questioning look, “and this brings us to the important point of whether you will become a great President in the Club’s history. How are your fine motor skills?”

“I beg your pardon – my what?” came the perplexed reply.

“I mean do you play the piano or mend antique clocks in your spare time? Those are the types of fine motor skills indispensable to presenting a Rotary pin to new members, particularly our increasing number of ladies.”

“Well, I’m more of a hands-on type” answered a rather uncomfortable Bolkbrecher, “as a student I used to moonlight on building sites and now my favourite form of relaxation is chopping logs in the garden.”

“Hmmmm..” sighed our President and picked up a Rotary pin as he advanced on Theodore. “We can have a little rehearsal. You need style and flourish, ceremony but absolute precision. There mustn’t be any fumbling, just a fluent, accurate movement and our new member also has to survive” yet as he was delivering this lecture on Rotarian protocol, he was also giving a skilful masterclass on poetry in motion.

Bolkbrecher then picked up another pin and advanced determinedly on the dummy, rather like a bull to a matador. With an enormous hand he rammed the Rotary into the jacket’s lapel, making Theodore rock backwards.

“A rather lighter touch, perhaps?” came Pröpke’s gentle advice.

The second attempt still left the pin stuck firmly in the dummy and the third try actually broke the pin.

Truss-like, Bolkbrecher’s era of President came to an end before it had really begun. He gracefully withdrew and the concerned membership pleaded with Pröpke to stay on as President for another year.

On returning to his study, our President gave his dummy a friendly slap on the shoulder and congratulated him on a job well done.