– Time For A Tiara: Column by Ginna Young – - We serve. It’s as simple as that.

– Time For A Tiara: Column by Ginna Young –

It’s been many years since I’ve watched the Back to the Future trilogy, but with them leaving Netflix this month, I decided to catch up on the action- packed comedies. I mean, they have Christopher Lloyd in them, need I say more?

Anyway, when re-watching the second installment of the movie, I noticed something I never have before, when teen Marty McFly and Doc Brown go forward 30 years, from 1985, to the year 2015. No, I’m not talking about the prediction that was only a year off, about the Cubs winning the World Series (they broke a 108year streak in 2016).

In the imagined future, which for us, is now, was just nine years ago, there are flying cars and most things are run by artificial intelligence – even books can be read online. It’s a little spooky how close they came, in terms of technological accuracy, with or without flying cars.

Thankfully, paying $50 for one bottle of soda has not come about, but I am very disappointed that we still have to wait as long as 10-15 minutes for a pizza to cook, considering the imagined 2015 people open a packet, pop the cookie-sized pie in the “hydrator” and about 3 seconds later, it’s expanded to full size and is done.

I also cracked up at the clothes the future people wore and the hair styles, but man, those light switches are dead on! If you look close, you can see them in scenes, you know, the new, schmancy ones some homes have, what Amazon calls “paddle rocker interrupters.”

Anyway, the biggest thing I noticed when Marty, Doc and Marty’s girlfriend, Jennifer, fly into Hill Valley, the town where the future McFlys live, they go by a large electronic welcome to town sign...floating in the air, of course. Like any town sign that greets you upon entering city limits, it has population listed and along the sides, organizations that work to improve the community.

Well, one of those organizations, even in a futuristic movie, was Lions Clubs International. When I saw that, my heart burst with pride. I know it wasn’t real, but to have a movie recognize how important the Lions are, made it even clearer why we do what we do.

Yes, I can proudly say I am among the ranks of Lions, who live to serve others. Literally, that is our motto – we serve. Until recently, I wasn’t aware that we provide aid, such as during an earthquake or other disaster, not just in funds, but in boots on the ground, by handing out food, setting up shelters and picking up a shovel to clear debris.

Funding is a large part of what we do, not just for worldwide relief or projects, but locally, for needs like youth parks and food pantries. If there’s a need, there’s a Lion there to help.

That’s why we hold our chicken dinners, raffles and breakfast buffets, to keep coffers full to donate when needed. There are so many other things, I can’t even list them all, but you can visit lionsclubs.org to see for yourself.

While there, please note the astounding 1.4 million members, spread over 49,000 clubs, in nearly every country in the world. I’d love to see that number grow even more, and encourage you check out a local club or contact me. I’d be very happy to welcome you as a fellow member of the Lake Holcombe chapter and we need new blood, to keep doing what we do.

If giving back is as important to you, as it is to me, that motto can continue to live on, far beyond even what Back to the Future imagined. We serve, now and for as long as there is heart to do so!