The Meeting began at 6:15
P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Marilyn
Kessler, Dennis Mclean, Tim Phillapart, Gail Galvan, Mike Ripley, Bev
Stanislawski, Katherine Flotz, Caron Von See, Danielle Johnson, Heleni Qi,
Sharon Palmeri, Al Koch, Amy Brailey, Diane Stratton, Shirley Vaughan, Corri
Stephenson, Paila Stephenson, and John Hunt
OLD BUSINESS:
A
vote of approval for the May 2, 2019, minutes was first given by CARON VON SEE and seconded by KATHERINE FLOTZ.
NEW BUSINESS:
No meeting on July 4!
A
vote to keep the banquet in the spring was affirmed, and Al Koch recommended taking the banquet picture at the beginning so
we don’t miss members who have to leave early.
Sharon Palmeri also
recommended a holiday get together.
LITERARY NEWS:
BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI received several awards
for poems entered in the Oklahoma poetry contests. Among those that placed were “Lonely Suitors,” which received a Third place; “Frost’s Footprints” and “Long Song” which received Third
Honorable Mention; “Loving You” was
awarded a First Honorable Mention as was “Captain
and Lady”; finally, “Husband’s Love”
and “My Dad, the Farmer” gained
a Second Honorable Mention.
Congratulations, Beverly!
AL KOCH shared that his book
is currently in progress, albeit having issues with Technical Publishing
Elements. We all eagerly anticipate it
being complete.
READINGS:
GAIL GALVAN read her poem entitled
“Super Moonlit Ride Home,” composed
in admiration for the beautiful moon
on her way home from last month’s meeting.
AL KOCH shared “Remembering Mrs. Harmon.” In this
memoir about a childhood experience, a child works diligently for a neighbor
and is rewarded with not just the usual pay, but also a treasured gift, which
allows him to learn many valuable lessons.
MARILYN KESSLER read “The Red Germanium” based off the
writing prompt posted on the Write On Hoosiers site. In this version, an older couple is
vacationing in a resort area of Florida.
While they are gone, after hearing all the wonderful things about their
new location, their kids and grandchildren remodeled their home. Now, they have to decide whether to stay or
go.
DENNIS MCLEAN read the first four
pages (Prologue and beginning of Chapter 1) from The Eye of the Gift Horse
in which we are introduced to the main family in the story: Grandma Alice, mom, dad, Sidney, and
Maddie. In this scene, they are late to
the house because the dad couldn’t find his keys. We learn that Grandma Alice helps balance
Sidney’s behaviors.
TIM PHILLIPART read four free verse
poems. The first, “When Writer’s Block Breaks” compares the feeling to a fish coming
off the hook to arrive back in the water.
“Cure for the Tepid” explores
what would happen if the moon was really the stopper of a tub and it were
possible to get sucked out into the sky with the retreating water. “I
Write the Check” expressed the feelings we experience when a friend tree
has to be cut down. Finally, “Master” plays with the idea of who
really is the master in the person-dog relationship.
BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI in her poignant poem “Homecoming,” perfectly captures the feelings one experiences when
returning to a childhood home only to be confronted with all the differences
between the current reality and the memories one has in a place.
SHIRLEY VAUGHAN continued reading
Chapter 1 Tarueus from her novel entitled The Path of Their Existence. In
this section, we receive introductions to several main characters, both the
military members who are flying back to base and two couples who are watching a
band perform.
JOHN HUNT shared pp. 9-12 of The Sparrow’s Sad Song. In this section, Ryan wakes up in the
hospital where they are getting ready to take Caity out to airlift her. He makes sure to apologize for the words he
said before she is taken away.
CARON VON SEE read the Conclusion of
Chapter 13 of My Treasure Chest. In this section, Sara and Antonio discuss
Sara’s meeting the ghost of Antonio’s aunt.
He’s trying to help her make sense of what happened in the attic and
what they can do to court the favor of this ghost and calm his wife’s
fears.
MIKE RIPLEY read the start of
Chapter 1 of A Higher Self, which her wrote after seeing a gallery image of
a woman made by overlapping images. He
began to wrestle with the concept of what it means to become your higher self
and where all that you shed in the process goes. In this chapter, we are
introduced to John and Jody who live on a 6th floor apartment in
Chicago. Jody has walked home in the
driving rain, despite her rheumatoid arthritis.
John gets home soon after, having taken a cab. Jody is considering a trip to California to
see her parents.
DANIELLE JOHNSON read a section of
Chapter 2 of her book Love, Death, and Socialism. In this section, students are broken into
groups to do a project on other countries in the Soviet Union. The group we are observing contains a party
member’s son, a shy girl, a quiet boy, and an anti-party girl.
HELENA QI read a speech script
entitled “While Waiting” reminiscent
of John Milton’s line in “When I consider How My Light is Spent” which states,
“They also serve who only stand and wait.” In this speech, she describes the process of
moving from a church disbanding to the process of waiting to re-establish
fellowship. She also reminds that like
Old Man Sai, we cannot always decide what is good or bad initially.
The
Meeting Adjourned at 8:30 P.M.
Respectfully submitted
by Amy Brailey
