MEMBERS PRESENT:
Al Koch, Gordon Wilder, Bob
Philpot, Katherine Flotz, Amy Brailey, Pam Maud, John Hunt, Sharon Palmeri,
Caren Von See, Sharon Buckman, Dennis Mclean, Dianne Stratton, Beverly
Stanislawski, Mike Ripley
OLD BUSINESS:
A vote of approval for the October 17, 2019 minutes was first
given by KATHERINE FLOTZ and
seconded by AL KOCH.
NEW BUSINESS:
CAREN VON SEE stated
her newest book, My Treasure Chest, is in the process of being published by
Balboa Press, congratulations Caren.
SHARON BUCKMAN
announced to the members that she would
like each remittance, that is to be read by the members during the
meetings, to have a small summary at the
beginning of the story, poem, etc. This
will reduce the time that the secretary
needs to complete her job.
LITERARY NEWS:
BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI announced that she took first place in the Ohio
State Poetry Contest for her poem, “Just
a Paris Friday Night.” She also
stated she took an Honorable Mention for another three of her poems, “Tribute,”
“When
We is Just Me,” and “Sisters.”
READINGS:
AL KOCH read
his very comical short story entitled,
“Doctor’s Orders.” The story told of
a traveling salesman entering a restaurant and ordering his meal along with a
cup of soup. When the waiter brought the
soup, the salesman got very upset when noticing he kept his thumb in the
soup. After hollering at the waiter he
asked why he would do this. The answer
the waiter gave was very funny, also very grouse.
GORDON WILDER
continued with his short story entitled,
“A Parable for Christmas.” After Omar’s wife and grandson were
killed in a car accident, Omar tries to continue going on with his life by
seeking employment as Santa in a department store. A small boy, Jimmy, climbed on his lap and
began telling him a sad tale of he and his mother living under a bridge
following the death of his father. The
tale continued and Omar learned that the father was the drunk driving the car
that killed his family. The boy was
there to ask Santa to try and find a job for his mother. The story ended with Omar hiring her to help
him with his former business.
BOB PHILPOT
continued with his novel, Strange Friends. The story begins with Zeb rescuing a deputy
sheriff from a cattle rustler that is having him dig his own grave. Chapter 3 continued with Jim Shack, Chief
Communication Officer, knocking on his partner’s office door. He needed to let his partner, Tug, know what
had happened to Zeb and to recommend a
way to keep the Sheriff in Yuma from finding out that Zeb was actually working
for them . After working out a solution,
Jim makes a date with his partner’s secretary on the way out.
KATHERINE FLOTZ
read her short Christmas story entitled, “Mother
and Child.” The very delightful
story takes place in Southeast Europe during the Second World War, where
countless ethnic Germans were starving and freezing in concentration
camps. One of the women, Maria , was
pregnant and about to have her baby when a caring guard came to her rescue and
managed to sneak her away, finding an old barn to hide her in. After her son was born the guard later
returned, having told the other guards she had died, he put them on his horse
and led them away to a safe border.
AMY BRAILEY read her short story entitled “Cat Burglar.” The unfinished story told of a world famous
thief being foiled in his attempt to steal a famous pearl called “La
Peregrina.” After honing his skills as a
professional burglar for years, he
finally felt he was ready for the “big one.” After entering the Smithsonian
Institute he put on his badge that he had recreated from noticing the other
employees badges. All had gone as
planned that day until entering the hall where the pearl was displayed,
whereupon, he hears a “meow.”
CAREN VON SEE
read four pages of her newest novel, My Treasure Chest. In this part, Chapter Sixteen, frustrated
Antonio begins to tell Sara how upset he is whenever he is with his Uncle
Lorenzo and his brother, Angelo. He explains that the two of them are always
bickering and nothing gets accomplished.
Sara tells him that a trip to Rome would help them both, but before
leaving he needs to speak to them.
SHARON BUCKMAN
read her four page true story entitled, “Weekend
Best Forgotten.” The story, written
several years prior, told of one of her husband’s employees murdering his
wife’s boyfriend and then hiding out in her husband’s fishing cabin. After finding out what he had done, Ray, her
husband, explained to Sharon that he had
given Roger permission to go to the cabin. After finding him there Ray talked
Roger into going for breakfast at a local restaurant. Ray then called Sharon, telling her to notify
the police that Roger was turning himself in but to be sure to meet them
outside of the restaurant so no one would be hurt. Roger was found “not guilty due to temporary
insanity” a year later.
DENNIS MCLEAN
continued reading his novel entitled, The Eye of the Gift Horse. The story
takes place at Pear Orchard School and tells of a picture that had been passed
around the schoolroom of an undressed woman.
After the picture was turned in to the teacher and taken to the
principal, the children begin to surmise all the various punishments they are
about to receive. Finally, Pete, the boy
who had brought the photo to school, stands and confesses that he is
responsible.
DIANE STRATTON read
her three-page short story entitled,
“Follow that Hunch.” The true story
tells of Diane driving down Main street of her home town when she notices an
elderly woman walking down the sidewalk in the rain. Diane had a hunch she needed a lift and after
turning around she offered her one. The
elderly didn’t seem to know where she was going and Diane realized that she was
going in the wrong direction from the address she was given. Diane later found the woman’s house and
talked to her nephew who was in the driveway, explaining to him that she had
been lost.
BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI read her four poems, which she had taken awards
for. The first poem, “Just a Paris Friday Night,” told of
the tragedy in Paris when terrorists attacked party goers on the street. The second poem, “Tribute,” tells of giving our vets the proper respect they are
due. The third poem, “When We is Just Me,” tells of the
sadness a loved one feels after their mate is taken away. The fourth poem, “Sisters,” tells of the opposite appearance and nature of two
sisters.
MIKE RIPLEY tells
of a woman, his wife, who already has her mind made up, never subject for
change, in his short story entitled, “The
Book.” As his story continues with
various examples of their lives
together, he is suddenly shocked when he hears her saying she is going to take
the advice of the fortune cookie that she is about to open.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30
P.M.
Respectfully Submitted:
SHARON BUCKMAN
