Our Wednesday meeting,
May 16th, was a special night for several reasons.
Besides having a “Full-House,” we also listened to a special
half-hour program given by the Chief of the Nokomis Volunteer Fire
Department, Frank Palmer. Chief Palmer took center stage after our
usual 6:00pm “meet and greet.” That was after our “Firetruck”
quiz from Ed Ellis, which was a nice warm-up for Chief Palmer. Chief
Palmer's program covered many aspects of community programs that are
to be enhanced through a grant that will be written later this year.
He asked for writing contributions from the group to help “seed”
the project.
Susan Haley sadly
announced fellow writer and group member Irv Newman is not recovering
well from his recent cardiac event. Irv, author of “Living on
House Money,”
Irv Newman
8767 Midnight Pass Road
#407F
Sarasota, FL 34232
The meeting kicked off
in earnest with Ed Ellis at the helm, minus the cow-bell he used last
time. It wasn't needed as everyone had a great time and enjoyed
themselves with another evening of eclectic writing. Richard
Zimmerman of Athens, Georgia, attended as a guest of George
Mindling, and we welcomed back writer and editor Patricia LaBarbera.
Patricia announced she
will hold a class on self-editing this coming Saturday, May 19th,
at the Selby Library. This free, open to all class will be at 1:30pm
in the Conference Room.
Rod DiGruttolo started
the evening's readings with a piece written by Malcolm Forbes
contributed by Ed Lyman. Rod read the story about the infamous
encounter with Mr. & Mrs Leland Stanford and the then president
of Harvard that led to the establishment of Stanford University.
Always a lesson in humility.
Next, Joanne Phillips
continued, albeit not in sequence, with Chapter 17 of her book,
“Memoirs of a Sea Hag.” This time evoking visions of lost
treasures, well, at least $500 dollars worth, and of an overly
amorous Porpoise. Joanne was disappointed she didn't draw serious
criticism of her work. The discussion and critique then erupted just
to make her happy. Good stuff.
Patricia LaBarbera then
read a short story called “Big Mouth” that hooked everybody.
Outstanding piece that broke her own rule about using inanimate or
non-human subjects. Good writing.
Cecile Bell Kennedy's
short story “Are You A Doctor?” about a young boy who has to give
himself insulin injections was obviously rooted in personal knowledge
and concern. The well written piece using dialog only brought
another round of applause.
Don Westerfield read two
of his excellent poems. The first, “When You Go” touched
everyone who has raised children when those children finally leave
home on their own. The great writing just keeps coming! The second
poem, My Poem As a Painting” drew great response as well.
Kerri Dieffenwierth read
“Ranch Hand” from her upcoming “Homemade Rodeos,” and once
again showed her ability to use narrative, dialog, and description to
pull the reader into her world. One of the longest sentences ever
written, or at least one of the longest I have ever heard, worked
like a charm and drew gasps of delight and appreciation. Good
writing, Kerri.
Ed Ellis dipped into the
past through his “Time capsule” and read two pieces he wrote back
in his corporate world days. Ed co-authored an unofficial company
newspaper for GE many years ago, and recently received an old copy
from a friend. Reading from an old copy of the “Flair Facts,” the
prophetic “Department of the National News” and the “Banana
Award” for funny happenings showed Ed had the flair and the talent
back then.
Susan Haley coaxed Rod
DiGruttolo into reading his piece “Snakes, Spiders and Snails,”
about Florida's denizens, all real but seen differently through the
eyes of youth. A young boy capturing a snake with his bare hands had
everyone's attention.
Peter Frickel read a
piece that enthralled everyone, but didn't disclose the author until
he finished reading. The great piece from “Log from the Sea of
Cortez,” by John Steinbeck about the “virtue” of giving and the
responsibilities of receiving caught everyone off guard.
Ed closed the meeting
with the announcement the next meeting will be in three weeks. The
after-meeting session was as much fun as the before-meeting session,
but we eventually said goodnight, turned out the lights and went
home.
See everyone June 6th.
George
