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The Commons and the Lords

The Source

I can’t seem to get the show on our local cable network but several years ago one of my favorite programs was the broadcast of England’s Prime Minister standing for questions in the House of Commons. It’s a hilariously raucous affair with the usually restrained British legislators shouting, hooting, snickering, and lambasting the P.M. and each other. It seems so out of place in that land of the stiff upper lip and raised pinkies at teatime. Then compare this to Great Britain’s House of Lords, where decorum is the keyword, hardly a voice is ever raised and the room takes on the tone of a serious-minded university library. I have been reminded of these two extremes in recent weeks when Jacksonville’s two largest service organizations found themselves without pianists for a short period of time and I was called into service to play for both meetings, back to back on Thursdays and Fridays. The two clubs start out on even ground, both call Hamilton’s Fireside Room their home base, both begin their meeting by singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” and both enjoy a tasty buffet as the meeting progresses, but it’s there the comparison comes to a crashing halt. The Rotary takes on the demeanor of the riotous House of Commons while the Rotary more closely resembles the unruffled nature of England’s House of Lords. The Kiwanis and Rotary serve similar functions in our community and their goals are pretty much identical even if their methods vary. And they are happily joined by other quite wonderful organizations who strive to make Jacksonville a great community. . . The Ambucs, Lions, Pilot Club, Morning Rotary, all contribute to the quality of life in our community but only the Rotary and Kiwanis required my music services so those are the two with which I’m most familiar. I’ve never been asked to play piano for the House of Commons or House of Lords so I’ll have to confine my comparison to our two local service clubs. The two clubs comprise similar acreage as they spread out around circular tables in the Fireside Room and in both cases the president presides in front of the faux fireplace. Let me be more correct: the Rotary president presides. The Kiwanis president simply tries to ride herd. When I was in 4-H we’d take our Angus heifers to the county fair where we’d be surrounded by other young cattlemen who’d spent weeks training their cattle to lead, stand, and smile for the judges. When the Bradbury truck unloaded it was more like the Calgary Rodeo. Our heifers were Kiwanis surrounded by a see of Rotarian Herefords. Even a casual visitor to a Kiwanis meeting will quickly notice what is referred to as “The Bad Boys Table.” This is a curious group thankfully located in the rear of the convocation, and it’s peopled by a former superintendent of schools, a dentist, a retired banker, a present bank president, and a former superintendent of parks and lakes recently out on parole. It’s been rumored that the Trump campaign would hire rowdies to purposely interrupt Hillary Clinton’s rallies and the Clinton campaign in turn did the same thing to the Trump gatherings. I think that some of the inhabitants of the Bad Boys Table are holdovers from these campaigns. The Rotary has a session called “Rotations” where the various club members are sited for making the week’s news in various and honorable ways. When a Rotarian is mentioned for having given of his or her time to a worthwhile cause the room explodes in warm applause for their fellow Rotarian’s accomplishment. The Kiwanis have a similar “Good News” section in their meetings but instead of just applause the accomplishment might be greeted with hoots, a passing mention of the member’s sordid past, or perhaps a thrown napkin. All in good fun, but definitely the House of Commons and not Lords. Another small but telling difference in the two groups occurs when members stand to speak. It’s common practice that each speaker is handed the microphone since neither group is getting any younger nor ears any better. If a Rotarian forgets to call for a microphone, she or he will be politely reminded to grab one. If a Kiwanis dares to speak without mic in hand she’ll be greeted by shouts of “I can’t hear you!” “Get a microphone!” “Somebody help this woman!” Same destination, different roads. But aside from good fellowship both groups have in common their purpose of making our town a better place to live with a special emphasis on encouraging and promoting the youth of Jacksonville. Whether they sit politely like the House of Lords or tear up the wallpaper like the House of Commons, both organizations give freely of their time and resources to make a better world . . . and at least recently they’ve both had great music.