We are happy to welcome Barbara Frickel and Linda Ovitz to this meeting and hope to enjoy their company many times in the future.
What can the FWA do for our group? Please, send any specific ideas and requests to Rod DiGruttolo at rodshs62@hotmail.com; or Ernie Ovitz at egovitz@gmail.com; we will contact FWA and forward your views. We are always open to your suggestions. This group is yours. We will attempt to incorporate changes the group wishes into our bimonthly schedule.
We want to wish Bruce Haedrich a quick recovery and hope to see him back at a meeting soon.
Why do we write? Ernie Ovitz read an essay by Spc. James Ralston. Published in The Epoch Times, May 30, 2023, entitled
Write My Way to Freedom: An Army Ranger Reflects.
Spc. Ralston gives us an insight into his life, the stress, and his need to find a way to a healthy mental status. It is a powerful essay that sets forth a look into a person’s life. The following is the opening paragraph of Spc. Ralston’s essay.
“I’ve discovered writing to be a tremendous tool to analyze my mental health status because I’m forced to describe my actions, explain my beliefs, and articulate my captivating perspectives using creative wordplay and fluid sentence structure. Drifting away with the tide is often sought after and an easy route to isolation. But, writing helps keep me connected to the tangible. I first discovered writing as a tool for a healthy dose of disassociation when I was overboard and drowning in real-time.”
Why do you write? What do you write? Is it fun? Is it therapeutic? There are members of our group who write to heal. Those who bare their souls to help themselves help others. It takes a brave person to print their worst fears and dreaded memories for all to see. Standing before your peers and reading your writing takes guts, even if it’s fiction. Imagine what it feels like to read about an episode in your life that is immoral, illegal, or unethical.
Gary Conkol took the floor; being new to fiction writing, he asked for help forming his characters and pacing his story. We advised him to write a few pages or even a few paragraphs as he tries to bring out his character. At our next meeting, we hope to be able to help him in his quest to bring the characters to life. As always, our goal is Writers Helping Writers.
Poetry is Don Westerfield’s specialty. This week he read two poems. I Am Here. his first selection asks: Do we make the choices in our lives, or are they fate? Do we choose or is our path preordained? * Being a longtime fan of aircraft and having spent a lifetime keeping the Indiana Air National Guard planes flying, Don shared his poem I Would Dance The Skies with us. From childhood to twilight, Don recalls the joy of imagination and the thrill of flying “ Up where only eagles dared to fly.”
Although Scott Anderson had not planned to read tonight, he relented and read an unfinished, untitled poem. What is it like to take your own life? Scary, but I can’t wait to hear the final stanzas.
Military life is unique; only those who have lived it can attest to the rigors and benefits of such a life. James Kelly can, and he writes of a time in American history when the US Calvary rode against Native Americans in numerous wars and battles. Among those people was a young boy, Tremain, who Shadow Hawk, the boy’s father, placed in the care of MacKenzie, a cavalry officer. Shadow Hawk knew the nomadic way of life for Native Americans was ending and wanted his son to know both worlds, the white man’s ways and the ways of his tribe. Assigned to a base in Texas, MacKenzie is in command of his troops near San Antonio. These men have taken Tremain under their wing and intend to make him a first-class cavalryman. This chapter introduces a teenage Tremain to the ways of the girls at Miss Loraine’s Parlor. Look for Jim’s book soon on Amazon to read the lad’s adventures.
That brings us to a close for the first of this month’s meetings. We meet next on June 21 at the Firehouse in Nokomis. Until then, KEEP ON WRITING.
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