The aftermath of hurricane Ian is still with us. Debris strewn along the path of the killer storm still haunts the residents. But we are making progress. I’m sorry I couldn’t get the blog completed earlier. I took a short vacation. Nine participants attended this meeting, and seven had work to share. We did have a brief discussion before getting on with the reading portion of the meeting. One or two members of the group suffer from hearing impairment issues. At least one uses an app on his phone to translate the speech into written words so they can follow along. That led to a recommendation that we use Google Translator to translate languages into ones we are familiar with, such as Spanish to English. I’ll have to try that.
I received this email from Ed Ellis
Edwin Ellis
Dear Rod, It is with much regert that things need to change as Diana started to enter a new phase. She has been diganosed with old age dementia.
Diana helped me through my issues with the spirit of a caring wife, now it’s my turn to provide the same.
Blessings and all the best.
Ed
***
As we moved into our reading time, Ernie Ovitz led us off by reading from the third book of his work in progress, Imperium. The third book, The 13th Apostle, depicts an evening out for young Romans as they gamble in a game of dice and imbibe with their favorite beverages. The combination of friendship, drink, and gambling results in loose talk and gossip. Junius Basis is the Praetorian Prefect and is facing substantial fiscal issues. How will he handle them?
Gaia is not too worried about her lifespan, but she does send a warning that the human race could cause an extinction–their own. Bruce Haedrich reads his latest letter from Gaia, in which she explains; what is comfortable for humans as far as the CO2 concentration is bordering on being much too low for the biology on earth. During the Jurassic Era, CO2 levels hovered near 2500 ppm. Today it is 180 ppm, a dangerously low level. At 150 ppm, plants will die of CO2 starvation, and animals, including humans, will also die of hunger.
Peter Frickel shared some thoughts which came to him during the fury of the hurricane as poetry. Six insightful and enlighting poems, short and sweet, came borne on the wind and rain. My Body Was Speaking To Me; In The Mountains Of Africa; She Was A Lioness; Recent Interlude; Dreaming In Africa, and My Heart, were all too beautiful for this writer to describe. You must hear them and enjoy their meaning entirely.
Don Westerfield delves into a different genre, far from his norm. The Age of Bots looks at the future when humans have developed Artificial Intelligence in machines to the point where they supposedly think for themselves. Unfortunately, that may not work as well as intended. One little glitch…
The Pencil is an instrument that writes but cannot write. You are the writer. The pencil must be pushed to form the words on the paper. Scott Anderson gave us a poem about his favorite pencil with Japanese graphite and California redwood. And, as an extra special treat, he shared a photo of his dog dressed in the Halloween costume, a delightfully cute dinosaur. Scott also explained, What Constitutes Haiku?
When Richard Cope took the floor, we looked forward to hearing more of Le Cent. Vauchon reads Victor Hugo’s Notre Dame de Parie to Sophie, and a relationship develops, even though it cannot move forward. Vauchon is a leaper, and Sophie is enamored with a rapscallion sailor.
Terri Weintraub shared an essay entitled Why I Swim. Not a fan of aquatic critters or waves, Terri prefers swimming in her pool as it is therapy for sorrow. Her father died in a boating accident on a fishing trip. He either drowned or suffered extreme hypothermia, and none of the rest of her family enjoys swimming. Besides, not going to the beach saves her from putting up with Grinches in Speedos.
Okay, that’s about all for this edition. My memory is foggy after being away for almost a week and having fun. But I do remember, KEEP ON WRITING! Till next time, I’m looking forward to seeing y’all again. No, I’m not changing this word. That’s the way I speak.
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