FEBRUARY 5, 2015

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Sharon Palmeri, Beverly Stanislawski, Katherine Flotz, Sharon Buckman, Dave Wilgus, Bob Moulesong, Bob Philpot, Lisa Groszek, Tom Spencer, Carla Suson, Marjorie Peterson, Mary Ellen Beecher

GUESTS:

Kay Depel

OLD BUSINESS:

A vote of approval for the January 15, 2015 meeting was first given by KATHERINE FLOTZ and seconded by BOB MOULESONG.

NEW BUSINESS:

TOM SPENCER noted that the North West Indiana Poetry Society meets on the third Saturday of each month at the Lowell Public Library, Rt. 2 and 181^st, at 10:00 A.M.

LITERARY NEWS:

MARJORIE PETERSON inquired if any members could give her any information concerning publishing through Create Space.  Several members gave varied responses according to their personal experiences.

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI told of the rewards she received after entering a Texas poetry contest.  One 5^th place award for “How to Judge a Man,” three 6^th place awards for “God’s Special Angel,” “Face Off,” and “Spider Architect.” She also took 7^th place for “Mirror Image.”  Congratulations Bev.

READINGS:

LISA GROSZEK read three pages from her story, “Becoming Memorable.”  The story began in a New York police station, centering on a possible suspect in the murder of three women.  The suspect, a Frenchman named Max, was less than cooperative throughout the entire interrogation until the very end when one of the detectives noticed that he appeared to be doing something with his hands.

BOB MOULESONG read two pages of the beginning of his newest short story, “Long Night Moon.”  The story began with detective Cogan being reprimanded by his Captain for using unnecessary force against a civilian.  The detective felt that he was preventing a robbery by attacking the man, giving him several broken bones and a concussion.  It was decided that he should be placed on paid medical leave.

KATHERINE FLOTZ read the preface and the first page of her newest novel entitled, The Journey.  This part of her story takes place in Ulm, Germany as a long line of refugees stand in front of a registration desk waiting to be cleared by the government officials.   The officials would decide their placement as well as their right to receive a ration card.

TOM SPENCER brought his ten stanza poem entitled, “Time and Punishment.” The poem told of Christmas bringing a bike to the older brother but not the younger one.  The younger brother, working hard to gain his bicycle, finally achieved his goal only to have the older brother “borrow” it.

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI read her seven stanza poem entitled, “Bubblicious.”  After loading his mouth with a large wad of bubble gum, he set out to become the Bubble King.  The end result for the “Bubble King” was a face encased with a burst bubble.

DAVE WILGUS read his query letter along with two pages of the beginning of a story entitled, “The Joshua Henderson Story.” The story, which tells of parents watching their baby boy die of a rare disease, begins in Spencer, Ohio.  The mother begins to realize that the constant crying of her six week old baby is not normal and seeks more help from her husband.

MARY ELLEN BEECHER continued with her memoir entitled, Out of Control. This part of her two page memoir told of the continued disciplinary problems caused by her son, Michael.  After being kicked out of his college dorm, Michael had to appear in court.  After the judge decided to give him a lenient sentence Mary Ellen had to find him an apartment within walking distance and sign another lease, altogether costing them over $6,000 on top of initial expenses.

BOB PHILPOT read his four page story entitled, “Strange Friend.”  The story begins with a man named Zeb, a cowboy riding his horse through an Arizona desert hunting for deer.  After removing the binoculars from his saddle bag to search for deer he instead spotted a dust cloud created by two men on horseback, herding 50 head of cattle.

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

Respectfully submitted:

SHARON BUCKMAN  

 

JANUARY 15, 2015

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Sharon Palmeri, Beverly Stanislawski, Katherine Flotz, Sharon Buckman, Paul Mulligan, Bob Moulesong, George Miga, Mary Ellen Beecher, Mike Musak, Janice Beier

GUESTS PRESENT:

Joyce Hicks, Lisa Groszak, David Wilgus, Mary Lu Cowley, Mary Hassen, Olga Zulich, Tom Saine, Robert Philpot, Christine Wilgus

OLD BUSINESS:

A vote of approval for the November 19, 2014 meeting was first given by Bob Moulesong and seconded by Katherine Flotz.

NEW BUSINESS:

SHARON PALMERI led a discussion regarding the rising expenses for Write-on Hoosiers, especially concerning the Write Celebration Gala.  A vote of approval for raising the annual dues from $15.00 to $20.00 was first given by Paul Mulligan, and seconded by Bob Moulesong. It was mentioned that this would be approximately equal dollar a meeting.

KATHERINE FLOTZ distributed her self-addressed envelopes to members so dues can be received by the end of Februrary.

READINGS:

MARY ELLEN BEECHER read two pages of her memoir, Out of Control.  In this part of her memoir, her son Michael finally confessed to being the driver of a stolen car that had been caught driving too fast around their lakeside property.  Although they took care of the expenses that were incurred, Mary Ellen was informed that the owner of the car was pressing charges and that there was a possibility they would lose the leasehold of their lake property.

BOB MOULESONG read four pages of the conclusion of his short story, “Flower Moon.”  After the long awaited conclusion, members discovered that Rhonda’s anonymous admirer was another woman who had been watching her on a train ride they had taken together.  After meeting her for dinner, followed by drinks containing a vile of strange brew, Rhonda decided the beautiful foreign lady named Katrina wasn’t so bad after all -- even though she was a vampire.

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI read her six stanza poem entitled, “Aspen Armies.”  This poem, which has been entered in a Utah state poetry contest, told of the beautiful aspen trees she has always admired. She called them “spring’s armies, clad in bleached uniforms.”

SHARON BUCKMAN read three pages of her sequel entitled, Beyond the Canopy.  In this part of the novel Max decides to return back to his normal life on the farm, only to find that his son fared much better in his absence.  His son, Harold, soon begins to find that his father has been less than truthful about where he was during his absence.

PAUL MULLIGAN continued with three pages of his novel, Be Brave – Now Die.  In this part of the novel, Carl has planned a perfect surprise 18^th birthday party for his girlfriend, Darlene.  At the end of the beautiful evening, Darlene had an even bigger surprise for him by proposing marriage.  He accepted -- after re-proposing to her.

DAVE WILGUS read two pages of his contest entry entitled, “A Tribute to My Step-Mom.”  The story told of the many sacrifices she had made while raising four children, three of them not her own.  One particular Christmas stuck out in his mind as he remembered accidentally bringing down their beautiful Christmas tree with a houseful of company surrounding them.

LISA GROSZEK read her beautiful “butterfly poem” entitled, “To Those Whom I Have Loved.” Her poem, written as though it resembled a butterfly, told of her gratitude to those she loved, making her into the person she was today.

JOYCE HICKS read her short story entitled, “Stranger than Fiction.”  The story told of a woman out for a walk to help try to rid herself of writer’s block when she noticed a red roadster being driven by a silver haired man. She soon recognized the man as Roger Sterling from the TV series “Mad Men.”  The man asked her to get in, and later asked her to write a screen play he needed for the purpose of winning back his lost girlfriend, Joanie. After the screenplay diversion, she was able to return, unblocked, to her book manuscript.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 P.M.

Respectfully submitted:

SHARON BUCKMAN