Welcome back to Nokomis, Florida. Yes, it’s warm but many of you in the northern climes are experiencing high temperatures as well. Here, at least, many afternoons a shower cools us off and a sea breeze sweeps the heat aside almost all day. When all else fails, we do have air conditioning.
Our friend and fellow writer Russ Heitz may have passed on, but his legacy remains. His final book, The View From Here, is published and available at Barnes & Noble book stores as well as on Amazon. We miss you Russ, but will never forget you.
Our discussion was spontaneous including memories of Russ as a co-founder of our group. Happy times as we remembered past members and those no longer with us. Some are watching from their forever home while others are simply on vacation.
Our group has always been open to young, fresh writers and support their efforts any way we can. Some of us have grandchildren, even great-grandchildren and often share stories about them. We had a short discussion about the pleasures of children, and a few of the drawbacks as well. We did agree, they are a prime source of stories and fuel our imaginations. Check out Bruce Haedrich's offering later on.
When we opened the reading portion of the meeting, eight writers were ready to present their work for critique and suggestion.
Ernie Ovitz departed from his historical rendition of Constantine's Rome to bring us something different. Reading the first portion of a tale entitled The Rock, He introduced us to a band of outlaws attempting to escape a dystopian civilization of the future fostered by an over intrusive government. A quartet of characters joins a mutual friend hiding out in a desolate wasteland. They live with an idea not unique to the future, “the truth will set us free.”
All of us look forward to Peter Frickel’s work and this week was no different. His story, Nellie, tugged at our hearts while his style and reading prowess were on display. Nellie was his neighbor’s dog and the interaction of man and dog, as Peter writes, was not an action of mindless animal and master, but a friendship forged from time and familiarity. Nellie’s puppyhood, as she left her birthplace and came to live with a new family left memories in her conscious only an insightful writer could imagine. If you get a chance, read this story.
Our discussion on grandchildren over the past years let Bruce Haedrich to pen a poem entitled, Being Grandpa. Three sections depict the interaction between grandpa and grandson, teaching the basics a man should know, a fishing trip, and a revelation. Hearing the joys of being a grandpa in verse caused my heart to swell and beat a little stronger.
Parker Converse says he started writing because it looked like a good way to make some money. The more he wrote the less he cared about the financial aspect and the more he enjoyed writing. In Maelstrom, a couple sets out on a sailing trip from New England to Bermuda. Accompanied by a black Lab and children, the woman is on her first sailing adventure with a new man in her life. Their relationship grows as he teaches her to hold a true course and maybe learns something himself. On the third day he allows her to steer in the night. The wind is rising…
A protector of the earth, Susan Haley offered her poem, The Circus is Coming to Town, for our enjoyment. Woodland creatures panic at the sound of heavy equipment as it destroys their habitat causing them to run for new homes. The metaphor is impressive conjuring mental images of a runaway circus of men and machines destroying all in their path.
Jeff Kucher’s story of Amauri growing up in Castro’s Cuba brings a picture to life all of us look forward to the next installment. Here Amauri visits a gymnasium with his older brother. Watching his brother’s proficiency in the boxing ring fosters an interest in the sport, but will another sport catch his fancy?
Poems by Don Westerfield are always fun and more often touching. This week’s offering met all our expectations. A Poor Poet’s Poem gives us a glimpse into the struggles of a poet to find words and ideas to fill the page. In The Crystal, shows the love and devotion in the heart of man searching for the perfect gift for his true love.
Ending the evening, Scott Anderson came forth with a series of poems dedicated to his wife's memory. In Desert Fathers we see God in children’s laughter; while Sirens, delivers a sense of impending doom and conjures a wave of foreboding. The Kiss I Planned, shows us a kiss that never ends. As a young couple all of us know what it’s like to have little but have it mean so much, in Our First Table, the three-legged table was a luxury and unforgettable. The Garden Path was written that appeared as it was. Blue becomes a favorite color because a lover wants it so. Photograph Found shows a picture but only the photographer knows the secret.
I hope you enjoy the meetings and reading about what we do. If you have subjects you would like to discuss, please drop me a line and let me know about them. Join us next meeting if you can, but until then, keep on writing!
