Sept. 2, 2007

It was nice to see a crowd here Thursday night. Bob and I had each received a letter and pictures from Susan. I read the letters and we passed around all the pictures. She did say she hadn’t time to communicate much until the kids were back in school. And she has been joyously busy with all her family and friends now that she’s home again.

Bob read more of his rewrite. He told us one fellow’s slogan, which was “If you can’t nugget it, or eat it, then f__k it.” Bob told us about apprenticeship classes in jewellery making, and about Sen. Ray Perrault helping to get funding for the trade. In 1963, Bob did another long sales trip east to Winnipeg, this time in a Mercury Comet. By the late 1960s, they were still selling a bit in Alberta, but mostly just B.C. In 1969, they moved to 568 Seymour and had a grand opening that was a major social event of the year. By 1975, jewllery manufacturing was no longer a designated trade and standards have since declined.

Ellie read more of her three amigos in the cavern, trying to convince plump Sevrio to climb up the shaft between the other two. Dafen and Tatro talk him into doing it, and the three reach the cave at the top, inside a huge tree.

Margaret had said she was tired of medical appointments and so she had her son Marshal bring her to our meeting and we were so pleased to see her. She read about Marie taking the lineage sketch she had made and going to show it to Jane, the mother of the bride, at Castle Lorne. She and the mother get along famously and Marie does not tell her about the relationship of the bride and groom. Marie leaves, promising to attend the wedding.

Carolann was finally able to leave her convalescing husband and join us for another meeting. But she also came to retrieve her cat, whom we had tried to adopt, but he was too homesick and traumatized. Seniors Today Newsmagazine published her poem, “A True Friend” in its September issue, but forgot to put her name to it. Amanda read that poem out to us, and then Carolann read her poem, “Halloween”, an amazing depiction of that night’s events.

Amanda brought a chapbook she and other students in her creative writing class had produced. Two of her poems were included, “Time Falls Away” about eating a revel, and “Island” about a young woman sent to an island home for unwed mothers. The first one had us craving a revel, and the second one was very poignant with a line about the girl having one foot in childhood, and one in motherhood. One poem, “Broken Roads” by another student, was also read. Very succinct comment on life.

I read the next two chapters in my novel, the first one showing Bert finding Fiona in the shed and attempting to untie her when Dan shows up and downs Bert. Meanwhile, in the next chapter, we see Cam finding Tanner and telling him his fear about his mother’s safety and the two of them heading to the office, when they encounter a fire at the back of Cam’s townhouse and they have to evacuate the neighbours. There was a lot of tension in these chapters and people were nonplussed when I stopped reading. I hope they wanted to hear more.

Gemma is rewriting her story with the injured woman in the elevator. This time she has her out of body, seeing her injured, bleeding body, and deciding it isn’t time to die yet. She returns to her body, in pain and confusion, and then lapses into unconsciousness where she is remembering how it all started when she married her husband, who was a drug dealer. Everyone wants to hear more of this story.

We finally had a call from our roofers who said they would show up here at the end of this coming week. The first step is to drop off a disposal bin in our driveway, and if that is all that happens by Thursday night, we can still have our meeting. But if actual demolition is underway, then I will cancel the meeting. I have alerted all who were here to check their email before they come, in case I’ve had to cancel. Otherwise next meeting here at my place Thursday, Sept. 6th at 7:00 p.m. We hope. Happy writing in the meantime.

Lisa