Rotary Club & Starstruck

I (Neil) joined the Rotary Club of Thiruvanmiyur last week. Rotary is actually very international with clubs in over 200 countries. A 'Rotarian' friend from New Albany suggested I look into it. For those unfamiliar, Rotary is a service organization for business men and women, which encourages them to be active in their communities.

I found the club closest to me and go on Tuesday nights when I get back from work. I've found it to be a great place to meet other businessmen and also be aware of what is going on in the community. I had my induction ceremony last week were I got my "Rotary Pin" along with some other goodies. Already, we've been able to connect with some of these guys who definitely have service at their heart and are eager to invite me in.

Here in Chennai, the Rotary Club is very active and always has some sort of event or project going on. Recently, they organized a 6km run for cancer research, and Courtney and I went to it. We got there a bit late (which was actually on time), but found a large gathering going on at the starting gate. There were a bunch of people frantically gathering around someone and cheering loudly. Then, we found out that Vikram was there.

Movie stars are big in the States, but they are crazy huge here. Vikram is a "hero" (leading man) in Tamil and Hindi films, and is also the star of a movie we saw twice called Ravanan. He's pretty much the only celebrity we have any connection to. While I thought it was cool, Courtney thought it was amazing that the one movie star we know was right in front of us and she kept trying to get us closer and closer to him.

I finally asked her, "What are you going to say if we get up to the front?". She said, "I'll say, 'I loved you in Ravanan!', and then leave." It's good to know that India is getting deeper into us and touching that inner 13 year old in us all.