This meeting was the last of 2019 and the group celebrated the Holidays with a spread of food. Walking by the table laden with cookies, brownies, cakes, candies, and a delicious spread of delectable sweetmeats, I seemed to gain three pounds. The fare was as plentiful as it was delicious.
As is our semi-annual custom, we presented the Nokomis Fire Department a donation of $210 in appreciation of their allowing us to use their facility twice a month all year long. We advised the on-duty personnel how food usually remains after the meeting as most of us bring about four times as much as we can ever eat. The firefighters assured us, “the leftovers will be disposed of in a proper manner.” One firefighter whispered, unaware I might have overheard, “I have dibs on any leftover brownies.”
Despite enjoying the culinary delights, we had time to hear from seven of our authors.
Leading off the evening, Bruce Haedrich brought us a wonderful poem, A Christmas Story. Written much like the classic, The Night Before Christmas, Bruce took us on a journey to the North Pole. There, among the frozen sheets of ice, drifts of pure white snow, and not far from a little-used airport, he used a directional microphone to detect the sound of elves hard at work. It seems some enterprising young alumni of MIT had launched a plan to kidnap Santa, and Bruce was determined to warn the jolly elf of the impending danger. If Bruce doesn’t publish this, we’ll have to wait until next Christmas to hear it again. It’s worth the wait.
Whimsical seemed to be the theme tonight. Peter Frickel read a piece, My Other Heart, about his time with a Witch Doctor in Africa. It seems Peter developed a second heart, due to the administrations of said Shaman. On a visit to his Cardiologist, Peter had occasion to chat with another patient in the waiting room. He explained the phenomenon to the man. After hearing that it not only made Peter very happy, it also stopped him from ever having a broken heart again. The man tried to buy the extra heart, lots of cash was offered... Peter still has both of his hearts.
It was time for us to hear from our poets. Don Westerfield took center stage with two remarkable poems. Homeward Bound, gave us a glimpse into a man’s life as he took his sailboat out of the harbor on his final voyage. The small boat may someday be found, but will the passenger still be aboard? Why is the question, and the answer is, it’s The Nature of Things. Why can’t flowers bloom in Autumn? As usual, Don’s work gives us reason to want more.
Poetry begets poetry often in our writer’s world. Scott Anderson presented a couple short, but poignant, pieces. In Spring Training Scott recalls watching the Yankees with Mantle and Maris in the lineup and Dad beside him with a mustard stain on his gleaming white shirt. Oh, how we wish we could but go back to those wonderous days. Today's world is teeming with memories yet to come. In Morse Code, the horn of a Taco Truck sounded … – …. as it approached. No matter what the dots, dashes, and spaces mean, to Scott it will always mean TACOS!
Murder mysteries are always in vogue. Barb Marn is working on the fifth in a series and shared Chapter 5 with us this evening. A former Detective, now teaching a law enforcement class at a local college, gets a call from a colleague from the Tampa Police Department. As she also runs a startup Private Detective Agency, he asks her to find out if his nephew’s wife is cheating on him. Oh boy, right up her alley. There’s also this student who shows promise but seems to have his eye on developing a more personal relationship with his comely professor. Stay tuned…
James Kelly has published his two-volume tome on the life and times of General Winfield Scott Hancock, a Civil War hero. Look for, I am a Soldier First and Always, on Amazon. Not one to rest, he is diving into another project. Reading the opening gives us insight into his story. The 13-year-old son of the commander of a frontier fort interacts with an Indian boy about the same age. Their story is interwoven into historical fiction following three generations.
Visiting our group for the first time in several years, Jane Forgey introduced us to, her Window to the World. Jane takes us back to when an automobile was a luxury and on those wonderful trips to visit cousins, grandparents, or old friends, we watched the world go by through the window of a moving car. Good work Jane, keep going, we’d like to hear more.
We took several breaks to scarf down goodies, stretched our legs, and came back for more. When it came time to leave, we were almost hesitant to say goodbye, but all good times must end. Thankfully, we will be back in January, not the first and third Wednesday, but the second and fourth for January only. We hope to see you on the 8th and 22nd. Until then, Keep on Writing.
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