Welcome back. Yeah, I know, I’m late again. What the heck? It’s
Christmas, and I have 10 Great-grand-kids to enjoy, so I’m a few days
late? That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
The firehouse was filled with goodies, and we had a good time at the last meeting. Our annual donation to the Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department amounted to $225 this year. The Battalion Chief and on-duty firefighters accepted it along with a card signed by our writers. Thank you, NVFD, for allowing us to use your training room.
A first-time attendee joined us this week. Katie Lynch came to see what we do and shared an insightful piece after hearing several of our writers read. Her essay entitled Austin and Zelda, in rough draft form, tells us Katie is an accomplished writer and will do well with her endeavors. – We look forward to hearing more of her work.
Our reading session was abbreviated as we often paused to sample the goodies. Cookies, cupcakes, sandwiches, and candy adorned the table. More than we could eat as a group. The firefighters promised to give the leftovers a good home.
Don Westerfield started us off with two poems appropriate for the evening. Recalling events from years past, Don tells us of snowball fights, Threshold bells, Carols, Decorated trees, and the company of a faithful dog, all in “A Christmas Eve.” Then, as he explores the time “Beyond Christmas,” we are introduced to a bewhiskered old man with soot-stained whiskers and a red suit, torn and dirty, trudging toward nowhere. Does anyone believe in love and goodwill anymore? “Is this where Christmas ends?”
Peter McNally stands out as a burgeoning storyteller among our group of writers. Peter tells of his life after suffering several debilitating strokes and Gran Maul seizures. The strokes destroyed his memory and wrecked his life. It’s taken years to rebuild a life, but as his efforts to tell his story continue, bits and pieces of the lost memory return. The heartbreak of losing a family he barely knew at the peak of his struggle is becoming more and more available in his mind. But our writer presses on. His skills are improving daily, as are his memories. Write Peter, Write!
Taking the season’s spirit in hand, Bruce Haedrich tells us of a plot to steal Santa’s secrets. His poem, A Christmas Story, reveals a plot hatched at Murphy’s Pub by five guys from M.I.T. to kidnap Ol’ St. Nick and steal the technology that makes him able to travel so fast and enter places in magical ways. Efforts to warn Santa are met with an “oh, we know about that” attitude. Armed with five pills to be placed in the would-be… well, does the plan succeed?
James Kelly continues his story of Tremain Mackenzie as he joins the Calvary forming up and preparing to ship out to Cuba. The newspapers nickname the group The Rough Riders. Jim tells the story well. He received several ideas on how to approach the telling of how the women left behind by the men going off to war react and handle the stress. Kelly’s knowledge of military operations and life in service makes his story rise from the page and take shape in the reader’s mind. Good work, Jim.
We hope you've had a great Christmas, we did, and we wish you a Safe and Happy New Year.
That pretty much sums up the last meeting of 2023. We begin a new year at the Firehouse on January 3rd, 2024. We look forward to another bountiful year filled with new stories, poems, and projects. Make all your wishes come true, and KEEP ON WRITING!
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