JANUARY 5, 2017

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Beverly Stanislawski, Sharon Buckman, Katherine Flotz, Bob Philpot, Hardarshan Valia, Rachael Thomas, Jackie Huppenthal, Mary Lu Cowley, Rebecca Juergens, Hayley Hardin, Amy Brailey, Dave Wilgus, Kate Ryan, Luniel Morrow

GUESTS PRESENT:

Roger Batton

OLD BUSINESS:

A vote of approval for the November 17, 2016 minutes was first given by RACHAEL THOMAS and seconded by KATHRINE FLOTZ.

LITERARY NEWS:

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI received three awards from an Arizona Poetry contest.  The first award was for her poem “Reputation,” for which she received a third place Honorable Mention.  She received a 2nd Honorable Mention for “Duet” and a 1st place Honorable Mention for “Watchtowers.”  She also received an Honorable Mention from a Minnesota Poetry contest for her poem, “Frost’s Footprints.”

HARDARSHAN VALIA read his one page GUEST COMMENTARY: “Answer Hate With Love”  Hardarshan began his commentary with a true story.   He told of attending a candlelight vigil where a leader of the White Power band End Apathy gunned down six worshipers and wounding several others.  He also saw there the former leader of that white-power band who was wondering if his lyrics were the cause of this.  The end of the story told of seeing the former leader in that same temple, “meditating intensely, and a picture of peace.”

SHARON BUCKMAN read two pages of the sequel to her novel, entitled, Beyond the Canopy.  In this part of the novel, Jim, Sally’s son returned home from the VA hospital to find that his mother and Anne had endured some terrible happenings in his absence.  After trying to verify that they had been in great danger, he discovered that there was probably more danger ahead.

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI read her four-stanza blank verse poem entitled, “Reputation.” The poem told of a man who was returning to his hometown, a town that he had left after killing a man in a supposedly “fair fight.” In the man’s absence, his brother had become the “fastest gun in town.”  Needing to prove this, the poem ends with the two brothers facing off against each other, the younger brother winning.

REBECCA JUERGENS continued with two pages of her novel entitled, In Angelic Arms. In this part of her novel, Kara finds herself sitting in her home with pictures and memories of her recently deceased mother.  She becomes even more upset when she finds her father has left the house with only a few words and some money for her,” no empathy for her basic needs.”  

RACHAEL THOMAS read one page from her children’s book entitled, One Kindness at a Time.  In this poetic story, she tells of Johnny heading off to his first day of school with his backpack full of new things, including his favorite blue pencil.  While at school, the teacher told of children who had no supplies and asked the children to donate some things for them.  Johnny puts in his favorite blue pencil.

KATE RYAN read three pages from her series of short stories, this story entitled, “Rough September,” a true story.  The story tells of a 20yr. old boy named Kyle, the boyfriend of her neighbor, who was killed in a senseless motorcycle accident, an accident caused by an elderly woman turning into her driveway without signaling.  The story ended with Kyle’s friend, coming home from his funeral on his motorcycle, and having his life ended in an equally senseless tragedy.

JACKIE HUPPENTHAL read two of her poems.  The first poem entitled, “February 14^th,” told of chocolate truffles, lobster tails, a dozen roses, a bubble bath by candlelight… only to be enjoyed by last night’s dream.  The second poem, a free verse poem entitled, “Spring Break,” told the heartbreak of a woman who had not enjoyed her “spring break.”

DAVE WILGUS continued with his novel, The Curse is Over. In this part of his novel the Kronk children are grown adults.  Lucas is married to a girl named Mary who tries to take care of his ailing mother.  The mother dies before they can make plans for her welfare.  The story tells of the curse of the Cubs baseball team in 1935. The team lost again, this time to the Detroit Tigers.  

HALEY HARDIN continued with reading three pages of her novel entitled, The Bad Habits and Dangerous Secrets.  In this part of the story, Catherine has an argument with her mother after being told that she sounded just like her father, a father who had left them several years prior.  A friend tries to console her but this ends up in an argument as well.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 P.M.

Respectfully submitted:

SHARON BUCKMAN