Tuesday, November 1, 2016

October 20, 2016



MEMBERS PRESENT:
Beverly Stanislawski, Sharon Buckman, Marilyn Kessler, Ruthann Graczyk, Kathy Flotz, George Miga, David Wilgus, Bob Philpot, Amy Brailey, Luneil Morrow, Helena Qi

OLD BUSINESS:
A vote of approval for the October 6, 2016 minutes was first given by RUTHANN GRACZYK and seconded by DAVE WILGUS.

LITERARY NEWS:

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI stated she had received awards for seven of her poems in the past month.  The first was from Chicago’s Poets’ and Patrons for the “The Flamingo.”  The following six were from Indiana Poetry contests: 1st place for the “Magic Carpet Ride,” 2nd place for “My Magic Carpet,” H.M. for “A Lover’s Wish,” H.M. for “Until the Bell Drops,” H.M. for “What a Hero,” and Reserve for “A Perfect Partner.”
GEORGE MIGA stated he heard from two self-publishing agencies, Xlibres and Next Century, in regards to his unpublished novels.  He is still waiting to hear back from Penquin Publishers.

READINGS:

BOB PHILPOT read four pages from Chapter 9 of his novel, Strange Friends.  After receiving a phone call from Frank, Zeb began packing his suitcases, which also included going into his hidden closet to remove a few of his guns.  One of the guns he would take reminded him of a woman he had met  years earlier as she had handed him the gun after saving his life.

GEORGE MIGA read four pages of a novel, written by one of George’s close friends, entitled, “The Head of the Snake.”  The story takes place in Chicago and begins with Tommy, a Chicago policeman, receiving a call from his aunt that his nephew has been killed by a local street gang.  The nephew, Sammy, was getting ready to enter his senior year and was up for a scholarship at  of one of the Big Ten Universities.

HELENA QI read her two page short story entitled, “Old Man Sai Lost His Horse.”  In her search for a new church, since her old church had dissolved,  Helena was reminded of a story she had heard from an old Chinese book.  The story was of an old man who people had sought out for his wisdom.  The old man kept encountering one tragedy after another but when people began to feel sorry for him he would say, “this may not necessarily be a bad thing,” and it would turn out he was right.

KATHERINE FLOTZ  read a poem she had written shortly after her husband’s death entitled, “And the Lord Said . . . . “  This beautiful poem tells of her husband’s strong faith throughout his life and how the Lord led him through all the various tragedies he encountered.

DAVE WILGUS continued with his novel, The Curse is Over.  The “curse” pertained to the one placed on the Chicago Cubs after their victory in the 1908 World Series.  This part of the novel is told by his grandfather as he relates his experience at a Chicago Cubs game with his father, eating a chocolate ice cream cone and then finding seats behind the home plate.

AMY BRAILEY continued with her novel, Jon Everett and the Hall of History.  After being punished for falling asleep in history class, Jon is assigned to a trip at the History Museum to learn about George Washington.  While noticing the portrait of Washington he realized that he possibly had a key that would fit the door in the portrait.  When he retrieved the key and placed it in the door, it opened to reveal a teenaged boy, holding the muzzle of a gun which was aimed at him.

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI first read her short story entitled, “One Scary Night.”  The story told of two boys, Marty and Jerry, getting ready to go trick and treat a mansion that all others were afraid of.  When they peeked through a window they saw the old man’s killer dog coming after them.  Marty’s foot got stuck in a floor board as Jerry tried to think of a way to save his friend.  He did.

The second reading was a poem entitled, “Beware the Baba Yaga” (Polish for witch.)  This humorous Halloween poem tells of a very scary witch that sets out to entice small children to her room with promises of magic, however, the only magic is the one that promises they will never be seen again.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 P.M. 

Respectfully submitted:

SHARON BUCKMAN

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