April 18, 2019

The Meeting began at 6:15 P.M.

MEMBERS PRESENT: 

Katherine Flotz, Amy Brailey, Caren Von See, Shirley Vaughan, Hardarshan Valia, Diane Stratton, Corri Stephenson, Paula Stephenson, Mike Ripley, Sharon Palmeri, Danielle Johnson, Tim Phillapart, and John Hunt

OLD BUSINESS: 

A vote of approval for the March 21, 2019, minutes was first given by KATHERINE FLOTZ and seconded by CARON VON SEE.

Great thanks to Sharon Palmeri and others for putting together the banquet.  Hardarshan Valia reminded members that Sharon has the meeting notes (like these) and newspaper clippings on the group for the last thirty years.  An amazing legacy for Write On Hoosiers!

NEW BUSINESS: 

REMINDER: We will return to Merrillville May 2, 2019.

LITERARY NEWS: 

KATHERINE FLOTZ will be speaking at Wittenberg Village in Crown Point on April 29.

TIM PHILLIPART shared that some of his writings can be found on Imaginiscent.net. 

READINGS:

TIM PHILLIPART read four free verse poems.  The first, entitled “The Wizard of My Own Life”  shares about the change from seeing The Wizard of Oz entirely in black and white to seeing it with Oz being in color.  “Exit Wanda” gives a delightful description of an exit scene that turns into an unexpected date.  “The Moon Has Lost Her Memory” plays on T.S. Eliot’s inspiration of Cats and looks at the painful things we wish we could forget but can’t.  Finally, “Box of Predictions” is the mysterious telling of a boy who finds a magical box at auction labeled “Predictions.”  When told that if he opens the box, the predictions will come true, he chooses to wait 50 years to open it. 

HARDARSHAN VALIA shared “A Bird, a Tree, and a Volcano” in which he examines the cycle of life.  A bird and a tree have a close relationship.  When a volcano comes that destroys the tree, the bird takes a pod of seeds, which will later be planted in the lava-rich soil to grow a new tree.

CARON VON SEE read the end of Chapter 12and the start of 13 of My Treasure Chest.  In this section, we learn that the ghost has a child.  She tells Sara she can communicate with her, but Sara is more scared than encouraged.  She takes a few clothes from the chest and leaves.  Antonio reveals his aunt had died in childbirth.

KATHERINE FLOTZ read “Sacred Treasure,” the amazing true story of how a bell from a church in Yugoslavia was saved from destruction by a farmer who hid it on his property.  This allowed it to be preserved and placed in another church in Hungary, drawing residents from the initial town to its placement.  

JOHN HUNT shared “The Commencement,” a humorous telling of a graduation ceremony of a less than stellar pupil and the celebrations of the adoring mother and the longsuffering father who always lets her have her way.

MIKE RIPLEY read Chapter 3:  In this installment, we are introduced to the other boys in the gang and some of their families.  Changes occur to the baseball diamond as one generation grows old enough to leave the games behind for other pastimes—more changes to the neighborhood.

DANIELLE JOHNSON read a section of Love, Death, and Socialism.  In this section, Karina is in class when her teacher brings in a gun to begin training.  When he pairs them up to begin training, Karina is chosen by the most popular boy in class, the rich Maksim whose parents are high up in the party. 

  

The Meeting Adjourned at 7:50 P.M. (by external library pressure J)

Respectfully submitted by 

Amy Brailey