NOVEMBER 21, 2019

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Sharon Palmeri, Beverly Stanislawski, Katherine Flotz, Sharon Buckman, Bob Philpot, Amy Brailey,  Ruthann Graczek, Dennis McLean, John Hunt, Gail Galvan, Pam Maud, Mike Ripley, Diane Stratton

GUESTS PRESENT:

Savannah Allen, Zoe Staples, Alexandrya Cox, Thomas Pagan, Olivia Carroll, Alisha Roberts, Shirley Hinman

OLD BUSINESS:

A vote of approval for the November 7, 2019 minutes was given by RUTHANN GRACZEK and DENNIS MCLEAN

NEW BUSINESS:

KATHERINE FLOTZ reminded the members that our Christmas Party this year would be at Pappas Island in Crown Point on December 12, 2019.  Members would pay for their own meals and bring a book for the book exchange if they wanted to be in it.

READINGS:

JOHN HUNT read the beginning of his short story, “Eventide,” a tale of a married couple on the cusp of senior adulthood.  As the introduction reveals, the wife, Phyllis, appears disproportionately concerned with the appearance of their home.  Walt, her husband, meanwhile, has become withdrawn and preoccupied with his iPad as well as a project in the garage, the content of which has yet to be revealed.

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI read her eight-stanza poem entitled, “The Real Thanksgiving Feast.”  The poem tells the real story of how the original Thanksgiving meal should have been told by the colonists who lived by the sea.  Since their provisions were sparse, there was no pumpkin pie and since there were no turkeys by the sea, they ate fish.

MIKE RIPLEY read the start of the feature story of his book, Dreamrail; Connected Short Stories.  The story is also called “Dreamrail” and features the narrator starting his own story, which later will lead to the collection of five writers, each telling their own tales.  In this first story, Samuel tells of his heroic part in the lives of families who were taken from their homes and held until he saved them.  He also put in a shameless plug for the book, which is available at amazon.com for just 99 cents (E-Book version.)

BOB PHILPOT continued with his book, Strange Friends.  This part of the book, (Chapter 4), begins with Cob’s horse getting spooked by a rattlesnake and starts to buck.  Complicating matters, a helicopter begins to circle overhead drowning out the rattle of the snake, which would have given Cob advanced notice.

DENNIS MC LEAN read four pages of his book, The Eye of the Gift Horse.  This part of the story begins with Morris and his gang intending on avenging Pete, who has been punished for his role in introducing an illicit picture to the classroom.  Their target is Bob Johnson, the boy who turned the picture in to the teacher.  They persuade Sidney to lure Johnson to a vacant wooded lot where they will be lying in ambush.

GAIL GALVAN read her seven stanza poem, “ A Million Songs.”  This lovely poem describes the importance of dreaming.  “If you never wish, if you never dream, you’ll never truly let yourself be you.”

DIANE STRATTON continued with her true story entitled, “Follow That Hunch.”  On a rainy evening, she saw an old woman walking and had a strong hunch to offer her a ride since she didn’t even have an umbrella.  Once she was in the car Diane asked where she lived, it became evident that she might have dementia from the way she answered.  The woman was able to produce an envelope with her address on it .  The elderly woman was quite a long distance from where she lived and believed she had someone walking with her.

PAM MAUD read her two-page short story entitled, “God’s Fingernail.”  The story starts with the revamping of a woman’s kitchen and the mess it entails while she tells her husband that she intends to start on his office after it is finished.  

AMY BRAILEY read her two-page short story entitled, “Save the Planet.”  The story tells when the Government is taken over by a militant environmental group, three teenagers use art as a way to rebel.

THOMAS PAGAN, a student guest, read his one page short story, which did not yet have a title.  The science fiction story began with a woman desperately needing assistance from Charlie-Delta squadron.  The squadron arrived on time to set up a biohazard decontamination system.

SAVANNAH ALLEN, ZOE STAPLES, ALEXANDRA COX, OLIVIA CARROLL AND ALISHA ROBERTS all brought their very original and colorful art projects and displayed them to the members.  They are all students of AMY BRAILEY.

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

Respectfully submitted:

SHARON BUCKMAN