September 19, 2019

Attendance: 

Al Koch, John Hunt, Katherine Flotz, Dennis McLean, Beverly Stanislawski, Marilyn Kessler, Sharon Palmeri, Gail Galvan, Mike Ripley, Helena Qi, Shirley Vaughan, Amy Brailey,    Guests: Pam Maud, Neal. Bedeker 

Minutes: Read and approved by Shirley Vaughan and Dennis McLean

New Business: Al Koch had his new book, Koch’s Choice.

Readings:

Al Koch considered “The Sameness of Us” where our sameness and differences increase the quality of life. 

John Hunt read from Chapter 2 of his work, The Sparrow’s Sad Song. We learned more about Caity and her mother’s troubled relationship and Ryan’s health issue.

Dennis McLean offered Chapter Three, “The Unicorn’s Horn” from his novel, The Eye of the Gift Horse. Children in Miss Knott’s class don’t seem to know where Russia is on the map. Morris knows how to challenge the teacher’s authority. Her punishment threats were unconvincing.

Beverly Stanislawski presented two poems. “The Luck of Canary Jones,” was about a junkman and his activities as he travels around the alleyways. “The Eagle Has Landed” relates the once greatness of an eagle, now found dead.

Marilyn Kessler continued in Chapter 7 Life goes On. John is preparing to take his injured brother, Kiddo, back home. It was an arduous journey. However, John was happy to meet his brother’s family when they made it home, safely.

Sharon Palmeri’s “On Call” told of the moon being “responsible” for an increased number of babies born nocturnally. Sharon also related some interesting first-hand accounts of dealing with pregnant women when she was on call.

Gail Galvan’s poem, “Miracle Million Dollar Baby,” praised the winner of America’s Got Talent. Young Kodi, is an autistic, blind pianist and singer. She also offered some poems about the creative spirit and holding on to your dreams: “Tree Climbers,” “Choices,” “Helen’s Vision,” “That Fire,” and “Dream Keepers, Dream Makers.”

Mike Ripley presented more of his novella A Reason to Come, a crime mystery story. Officer James Palmer learns a little more about people and events concerning the murders of the four men. He decides to visit the relatives of the victims to get more information to help solve the cases.

Helena Qi took us on another travelogue adventure, this time to “Pisa, a flourishing mid-sized Italian city.” She stated fascinating facts about the famous 800-year-old tower, including why it leans and what they tried to do to get it to stand upright. The photos she included helped us to see various sights that she witnessed on her trip.

Shirley Vaughan read Chapter Three, “Chaos,” from The Path of Their Existence. The Military in Unified Nation believe they were being attacked by other countries, so they set off their nuclear weapons, not realizing that the only threat to their country is from a computer hacker. There is suddenly a strange lightning in their area…”

Meeting adjourned 8:30

Respectfully Submitted,

Beverly Stanislawski