DECEMBER 10, 2006
It was great to see some fellow Rams
Thursday night, after being housebound for awhile after the snowstorm.
Susan brought some homemade cookies; chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin.
Nice treat.
I had a basket of books to get rid
of, and Gemma found a few she wanted and I know Bob took at least one.
The ones left will go to Canadian Diabetes pick-up on Tuesday.
Bob brought an article about the
origins of the song “Taps”, which he passed around. He didn’t have
anything of his own to read. He did say after the snowstorm that the
only homes on his street where driveways weren’t shovelled were the ones
where teenagers lived. Only a writer would observe things like that,
right?
I read first, a piece of nostalgia
that Marilyn had written and was asking for a critique on. It was
called “Evocative Memories”, relating her memory of a pair of boots that
she had bought and which had come in a box that now stores her Christmas
ornaments. I emailed this piece to all members and asked that any
critiques be forwarded directly to Marilyn.
The next piece I read was a letter
written to a friend in Ontario about being diagnosed diabetic and consequent
actions since. There is a lot of information to acquire and lifestyle
changes to make, which is all very time consuming. The friend had
also been diagnosed at the same time, so I am interested in comparing experiences
in the health care systems of two different provinces.
Lynette read us two personal essays.
The first was “Into The New Year”, recalling how she greeted New Year’s
Day last year, taking a solitary walk at daybreak, greeting Mother Nature
as well as the New Year. Her second essay was her humourous account
of her tiny frame having to consume 36 oz. of water for an ultrasound she
had to take, and then rushing to the hospital for the procedure and having
trouble finding a parking spot, parking illegally, running in and then remembering
she was supposed to have the ultrasound done downtown Langley instead.
We laughed, although I’m sure it was only funny in retrospect. Thank
you for sharing that, Lynette.
Lynette also brought a cloth book
of “The Night Before Christmas”, which had been her father’s as a child,
probably from the early 20th century. She said her grandson
wasn’t interested, so she wanted to show it to people who could appreciate
its worth.
Nathaniel read his next chapter in
Part II of his book. We see Alexander and Jacques still out on the
prairie with a storm approaching, and only one horse between them.
There is thunder and lightening. Afraid of being hit, Alexander urges
his horse to race ahead into the valley where Jacques cabin is situated.
They are greeted by Jacques wife, Elise. She is a Metis of Cree and
French heritage, and pregnant. The two men start drinking and cursing.
And through the night Alexander awakes to see Jacques and Elise making love.
The next day, another character arrives at the cabin. -
There was discussion by the group about the amount and type of cursing and
profanity used in dialogue in this chapter. Nathaniel said he would
look at rewriting some of it. I escpecially liked his discription
of the prairie sunrise at the beginning of the chapter.
Margaret brought a book from 1824
that seemed to be a handwritten journal. It was amazing to handle
something that old. She did not have a story to read and told us that
characters in her Peabody story were fighting with each other and she was
fighting with them. We’re hoping détente is achieved by Thursday.
And our dear Susan is plagued with
the dilemma of writing “Select Availability” in first person or third person,
or for young adult readers, or for adult mainstream. Quite a quandary,
trying to fit the joy of writing into a marketable product that might also
earn some money. Do you write what you feel passionate about the most,
or do you do a market survey and write what people are buying? However,
with Susan’s talent and perseverance, maybe there’s a possibility of two
different books here from the same source of material? Who said you
had to choose only one way of doing things?
Gemma read to us a story about an
Hungarian watchmaker, Tom, who made a living “fixing” watches for the Russian
soldiers who had invaded and stolen the watches from citizens. All
he did, in secret and out of sight of the soldiers, was wind the watches.
The soldiers had never seen watches before. Tom was a wise man who
made the most of it when opportunity knocked.
The next meeting will be here at
my place Thursday, December 14th at 7:00 p.m. There will
be no meeting December 21st. But our meeting on December
28th will be our party night. Sonny will be here.
Michael told Susan he’ll be here. Marilyn said she would attend.
Bob is bringing his famous pudding, and I’ll put out wine and cheese and
crackers. The “meeting” can go all night. And anybody who leaves
early is assigned a 300 word essay on why the holidays should be cancelled.
I don’t want to end this Review,
as I am thoroughly enjoying my early Christmas present from Bryon.
I am sitting in the most incredibly comfortable office chair with all sorts
of levers for adjusting it to fit anybody. I could sit here all day.
But, alas, the laundry awaits and I have to leave you. Hope to see
you Thursday night.
Lisa