Big Toes and Thumbs
By Frank Deaver
Rotary Club of Tuscaloosa, Alabama USA
 

     Rotary has big toes.  Rotary has thumbs.  And without our big toes, without our thumbs, Rotarian accomplishments would be severely handicapped.

     Rotary's big toes provide balance.  A function of the toes, especially the big toe, is to help us balance.  A table or chair cannot stand on two legs, but we humans can, and it's largely due to the variable pressure we exert on our big toes.  We use those all-important big toe muscles when we walk, stoop, climb, or even stand.  In a normal walking motion, the big toe bends upward just before the foot lifts from the ground, then presses down to propel us forward – all without losing our balance.  Just try walking without the big toes helping maintain that balance.

     So it is in Rotary that we maintain a balance between serving ourselves and serving others.  We do spend a lot of money and effort on ourselves.  We travel to weekly meetings and pay for food and drink.  We go to District and Regional meetings, and we gather from great distances for the annual RI Convention.  To participate in these meetings, we spend countless millions of dollars in travel, lodging, meals, and entertainment.

     More accurately, however, that money is not spent, but invested.  As we meet in Rotary fellowship, we learn, we are challenged, we are inspired, and we bond together in support of Rotary projects and services.  The payback is in RI Foundation programs that serve immeasurably, and in local service projects that benefit our respective communities.  Rotary maintains a healthy and productive balance!

     Rotary's thumbs provide grasp.  As humans, we are equipped with that marvelous opposable thumb, absent in most animals.  The thumb allows us to grasp things and hold them firmly.  Working with the other fingers, the thumb enables rough motor skills, such as wielding a hammer; or the finer motor skills, such as tying shoelaces.  The thumb facilitates the simple act of writing, and of holding tools with which to accomplish things otherwise difficult or even impossible.

     In the Gallic wars, two thousand years ago, Julius Caesar ordered that captured enemies should have their thumbs cut off to insure they would not again be able to use weapons.  Brutal as was this action, Caesar recognized the handicap of having no opposable thumb.

     And so it is in Rotary that we are able to grasp an opportunity of service, and see it through to completion.  As in a friendly handshake, we grip the hand of a fellow Rotarian and we pull together in a humanitarian endeavor.

     Rotary is the oldest and largest service club in the world.  We fund more international scholarships than any other non-governmental entity.  We are progressing toward worldwide elimination of polio.  And our local clubs are major contributors to community projects.

     How is it that Rotary has had, and is having, these successes?   They are made possible because we have big toes and thumbs.  We have balance and grasp.