Next NETWO meeting is Volume 23, Issue 9
Thursday, Sept. 10, at 5:30 p.m. September 2009
Western Sizzlin, Mt. Pleasant
Minutes for NETWO August
6, and August 27, 2009 Meetings
At the July Meeting, members voted to change the August meeting to be the first Thursday, August 6. This was a onetime change – only for August. The September meeting will again be back on the second Thursday of the month.
The August meeting consisted of critiques by Jory Sherman of five readers. Readers were not restricted to NETWO members.
Readers at August 6 meeting:
Skip
Hughes read several of his poems; Jerry Clark and Jim Callan read portions of
novels, Mary Satterwhite read a children’s book, and
Ted Rankin read a short story.
A total of thirteen people attended the meeting held at the Pizza Inn in Pittsburg.
Submitted
by Jim Callan
Photo by Bryan Freeman
Standing: Georgia Henson,
Skip Hughes, Jerry Clark,
Jim Callan, Mary Satterwhite,
Ted Rankin
Seated: Jory Sherman
A second critique session with Jory Sherman was held at the Pizza Inn on August 27th. Sixteen people attended.
Standing are readers (l to r): Susan Royal, Stephen Woodfin, Karen Watt, Galand Nuchols, and Georgia Henson.
Seated is Jory Sherman. ? Photo by Bryan Freeman
Eddie Hancock has advised that after talking with Dan Case at the Spring Conference, he submitted his manuscript to AWOC Publishing. His book, Mouring Reign, will be published this fall. Congratulations, Eddie, from all of NETWO.
President Ted Rankin had a story, “Rising Waters”, published in Spice, a magazine for Seniors Loving Life in East Texas. The story told of an incident that happened to him right after pre-med school which solidified his resolve to become a doctor.
The August issue of East Texas Journal features a story by Galand Nuchols, entitled “Pay Scale Slashed! Retirees rescue anybody needing it”. The story, a true one, tells of a retired builder whose life, along with members of his family, is now devoted to demolishing dangerous buildings after storms and floods, repairing homes and sometimes building churches. This work has taken them all over the world.
NETWO member Gay Ingram was named Inspirational Writer of the Year by Inspirational Writers Alive! at a recent Texas Christian Writers Conference held in Houston. ?
J J J J J J J J
So the English teacher says:
“We understand that in English, two negatives make a positive. But, there are some languages where two negatives can still be negative.”
He smiled. “But, you can’t find an instance where two positives make a negative.” He looked smug.
From the back of the room came, “Yeah. Right.”
KAREN WATT
A Profile
By Jackie Brown
One of our newest members, Karen Watt,
was born on January 6, in Pittsburg, Texas.
When Karen first married, they moved to Southwest Ohio, back to
Pennsylvania, then to the North Carolina area.
After several years there, they moved to Pendleton, Oregon, for another
five years. At that point, she divorced,
and decided to do travel nursing.
She went to Hawaii and stayed there for seven years. She met and married husband, Mike, and they have now been married for 16 ½ years. They were married on Valentine’s Day.
She and Mike lived in New Orleans for six years, moved to Meridian, Mississippi for three years, and have been in Pittsburg, Texas for two and one-half years, and plan to stay! All this traveling is quite natural for a Capricorn, Karen’s sign, and one that tends to produce gad-abouts!
Karen attended the University of Pennsylvania and received her B.S. in Secondary Education and English. Later she attended Mercy Hospital School of Nursing at East Carolina University, and received her MSN in Nursing. Later she attended the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing, receiving a Certificate in Midwifery in1995. She’s been a Nurse Midwife for 14 years and says she loves what she does! She’s currently employed by Titus Regional Medical Center, where she
sees pregnant women in their clinic and “catches babies” at the hospital. She was always told one should write about what one knows, so her current writing project is: “Memoirs of a Birth Junky.”
Karen has done some writing for a newspaper. In the future, in addition to the memoirs, she may write a novel and plans some poems, also. When she writes, she doesn’t listen to music as it tends to distract her—she prefers silence.
Karen’s favorite genres of literature are: sci-fi, mysteries, biographies, and inspirational books. She’s also a “closet” romance novel reader. Shhh! She joined NETWO to push herself to write.
Her favorite book is One by Richard Bach. Other favorites are by Ray Bradbury and Michael Crichton. Lately, she’s enjoyed A Pace of Grace, by Linda K. Popov, insights into living a focused, spiritual life from some of the world’s great thinkers, and gleanings from the writings of Bahá’u’lláh. Her favorite historical period is medieval times. She likes the clothes!
Her favorite magazine is The Week, a weekly magazine which is a compendium of international news. Her favorite movie was Harold and Maude, she loves the celebration of life. Her favorite subject in school was English, and her favorite sport is baseball.
The person having the strongest influence in her life was her mother. Her biggest writing ambition is to finish her memoirs and find a publisher. Her idols include anyone who can get published!
She enjoyed being a teacher, but not a disciplinarian. She was inspired to return to school to be a nurse, then a midwife, because her son, David, was born with the help of a nurse midwife in1971. They also adopted a daughter, Mee Heal (Beautiful Blessing) from Korea in 1977. Karen has four grandchildren, all of them living with her children and their friends and families north of Chicago.
Karen says, “My husband and I have portrayed Louis and Louise Gregory, a black/white couple married in 1912, in our travels around the country. We are Bahá’í, and are often invited to perform. We also enjoy singing and dancing.
“I’ve traveled to 45 states, and have visited Yugoslavia, Israel, Korea, Panama, Japan, and London. For leisure at home, I enjoy vegetable and flower gardening, bird watching, reading, and studying world religions, including the Bahá’í faith,” Karen says.
Karen says she is inspired in her writing by the women and families she writes about, and the knowledge that truth is always stranger than fiction. Also, a particular incident that troubles her may engender the writing of a poem, and she is inspired by her faith. She sets goals for herself, which inspires her to meet them.
Her advice to people who want to become writers is, “Write! Every day, write something!” She would enjoy a writing retreat.
She says one word to sum her up is “Caring.”
Karen’s life has
been so rich and varied that she has material for dozens of novels, stories,
and articles. We’ll look forward to
reading them. ?
INVITATION
East Texas Christian Writers Group invites you to their meeting on Tuesday, September 22nd at 7:00 p.m. in the fellowship hall of New Horizon Church of God at 1306 Jenny Street in Longview, Texas. The church is located on the corner of Gilmer Road (Hwy. 300) and Jenny. For more information, contact Vickie Phelps at 903-734-7034 or
NEW WRITERS’ GROUP
The Ark-La-Tex Writer’s Circle, a group intended for writers of every genre is a new addition to this region. Meetings will be in Logansport, Louisiana at 5:00 p.m. on the fourth Saturday of each month at the Calvary Abundant Life Tabernacle located on the Bethel Road right off Highway 84 East in Logansport across from the dumpsters (2413 Bethel Rd.).
For full information, contact Marcy Simmons at 318-609-4751 or 318-697-5649, or the website: http://arklatexwriterscircle.homestead.com.
THE WRITER’S NOTEBOOK
This is an online magazine debuting in September 2009 for beginning poets and writers and will be published every two months. Publisher Marcella Simmons, also affiliated with the Ark-La-Tex Writer’s Circle, encourages new writers to subscribe and start writing today. They need articles and feature stories ASAP. At this time, they are not a paying market but offer a byline and credit for your stories and artwork.
They encourage writers to write book reviews on magazines and books for
writers—anything pertaining to writing. How-to’s are especially needed.
They are geared to new writers, and work with new writers.
Submission guidelines:
How-to’s & Features: (250-1500 words) How to break into print, how to write feature stories for magazines and ezines, etc., etc.
Personal Experience: (250-1000 words) How I became a writer, etc.
Fillers: ((50-250 words) My First Sales, etc.
Acceptance Policy: We accept only emailed material. Rights revert to the author after we delete off our website. We accept previously published material.
Deadlines for Articles: Manuscripts must be emailed to us at marcies04@bellsouth.net by the 25th of each month.
For full information, check the website:
Http://writersnotebook.homestead.com. t
J J J J
After Jackie Brown read from her vampire story at the July NETWO meeting, Bryan Freeman was inspired to write the following:
THE
FIRST BITE
By Bryan Freeman
I sleep by day
And fly by night
Searching for my play
Thrusting for one that’s right,
Chinese, Mexican, Italian, or French,
I love the fare.
Type A or B or Positive O
Sometimes I get one that is rare.
Here comes one that is slow.
Goodness, she is so fair.
I swoop down and caress her neck,
Teasing my buds with a little nick,
I start the drain, what the heck!
The taste is nothing, is this a trick?
She laughs at me, this little hick,
“Ha, ha, I’m anemic.”
And that’s my story, and I’m sticking to
it. ?
Continuation of….
CALEB’S JOURNEY
By Janice Monk Glass
(At the end of the first installment of “Caleb’s Journey” in the August “With Pen in Hand”, Sam and Millie Adams had been reluctant to see Caleb leave, but knew he wanted more than anything to go home. Now he continues his journey.)
Andrew and Claire Coleman stopped to eat in a pleasant Georgia town near the Alabama line. They were compelled to come on this mission. Maybe it was because of the photo a neighbor took of the battered maroon van parked near their home on the day Caleb disappeared. The license plate was clearly visible and was given to law enforcement agencies in three states. But they couldn’t sit and do nothing after the stolen van was found abandoned near the Alabama line. If he’d taken six-year-old Caleb, they had to still be in the area.
Andy pulled a photo poster of Caleb from a brown manila envelope and laid it on the counter. “Miss,” he asked, “do you have somewhere I can post this?”
The waitress leaned over the poster. “Sam,” she called across the café, “would you come here and look at this.”
Sam Adams got to his feet and came over to stare at the poster. “That’s the little feller who was at my house several days ago. Half starved he was.” He laughed. “Came into the kitchen and ate my plate of fried chicken Millie made for lunch. Wife and I wanted him to stay so we could find his family, but he was on a journey. Gave us both a kiss after supper that night and headed east across the field. Two days later he showed up here in town, spent the night behind the bakery and left the next morning. Haven’t seen him again.”
Claire asked, “Are you sure no one has seen him around town since then?”
Sam called out, “Has anyone seen the little black poodle that old Hatfield put out on the parking lot last week?”
Everyone shook their heads except one man who turned and said, “Name’s Russ Jacobs. Live twenty miles east of here. Little curly black dog came into our backyard where I was grilling burgers ‘bout four nights ago. Came up to me, sat up and begged for something to eat. Kids fed him ‘til he nearly popped. Poor little feller was really hungry. He stayed the night with us and left early the next morning heading southeast. Seemed determined to go in that direction.”
Russ got up and looked at the poster. “That’s him alright. Tag on his collar said his name was ‘Caleb.’ Kids bawled their eyes out when he left, but I told them that he was just passing through and was going home to his own family.”
He smiled, “Wife and I went to Animal Rescue the next day and got them a fuzzy black pup just like him. We named him Caleb.”
Sam added, “He was traveling about ten miles a day. He may be forty – fifty miles east of here by now. He was following the highway. You need to go back the way you came.”
Russ spoke, “Little feller was really tired. He was just plumb tuckered out. His feet were raw and bleeding like he’d come a long way. Wife cleaned and bandaged them. Kids gave him a bath and brushed him. Probably won’t get very far on those sore feet ‘til they heal some.”
He turned to Andy and Claire. “It’s getting late and I’m on my way home. You’re welcome to stay at my house tonight and go back east from there in the morning.”
“That’s really kind of you to offer,” Andy told him, but I think we’ll turn back east and look for him tonight.”
Elderly Gladys Miller stood by the right front wheel of her antique Cadillac, sobbing into a lavender scented handkerchief. She looked down at the crumpled body of a small black dog.
Gladys told the police officer who’d stopped, “I’m so sorry I hit him, but he just ran out in front of me. I wasn’t going fast. Poor little dog.”
“Ma’am, it couldn’t be helped. If you’ll move on, I’ll call someone to pick him up.”
“Oh, but you can’t,” she cried, “I have to take him to a vet.”
He looked at the still body. “Ma’am, it’s too late. The little dog’s gone.”
“No, he’s not. I felt of him and his heart’s still beating. I have to get him to a vet now,” she insisted.
The sympathetic officer bent over and felt a beating heart. He gently picked up the limp little body and placed him in his cruiser. “Follow me,” he told Gladys, turning on his emergency lights. “We’re on our way to the vet’s office around the corner.”
An aching Caleb awoke and looked through the wire cage where he was placed after treatment. He whined. This place smelled of medication. It reminded him of shots and he didn’t like shots.
He didn’t know how he got here. The last thing he remembered was running into the street after his parents’ car when he saw it passing down the street. They didn’t hear him barking, calling to them.
They were nearby and looking for him. He had to escape from this cage and find them. He scratched and gnawed at the fastener on the cage for several minutes before he finally pushed it open.
Caleb could smell his ocean when the cleaning lady opened the backdoor that night. She was startled by the small black dog escaping past her feet and racing up the street in to the dark night.
The next morning Andy and Claire left the inn and drove to a busy convenience store for gasoline. Two police officers were leaning against the counter, drinking coffee. The men nodded to them as they approached to pay their bill.
One officer
turned to the other and continued his conversation. “The little pooch just ran out in front of
Mrs. Miller’s car, but he was still alive.
We took him to the vet. Cute, bedraggled little dog – black poodle. Don’t know why he was running loose. Sad. Probably someone’s lost pet. Tag on his collar said his name was ‘Caleb’.”
The couple spun around to the officers. Claire shouted, “Where is he? Where’s Caleb? We’re looking for him. He was stolen from us three weeks ago.”
Taken aback, the officer replied, “He’s at Doctor Amy Johnson’s office on Main Street. Carried him there myself. He’s alive.” He set his coffee on the counter. “Follow me and I’ll take you there.”
“I’m so sorry,” Doctor Johnson told them. “Somehow he got out of his cage and ran out the backdoor when the cleaning lady opened it last night. We contacted Animal Rescue and they’re looking for him.
Claire collapsed into a chair and sobbed. “He was so close to home and we were so close to finding him. How badly was he hurt?”
“He was knocked unconscious. We x-rayed him all over. There are no broken bones and no permanent damage, but he was bruised and is probably really sore today. His feet are raw and bloody. He can’t go far on them. I’m really so sorry. We’re doing everything we can to find him.”
“He’s walked over two hundred miles trying to get home,” Andy told her.
Claire added, “We only have today remaining to search for him. We have to return to work tomorrow.
“We’re going to keep looking for him. He has to be in the area,” Doctor Johnson assured them.
The devoted, exhausted little dog could journey no farther. On bleeding feet he dragged his thin tormented body up the steps and dropped on a mat by the front door. He rested his head on his paws and passed into a healing sleep.
At midnight, Andy and Claire almost stumbled over the sleeping little traveler when they crossed the dark porch to the front door. Together they lifted him, hugging and kissing him while his tail wagged a joyful greeting.
Caleb kissed them again and again, snuggling into their arms. He was home. ?
REMINDERS
JORY SHERMAN’s Writer’s Workshop is scheduled for four Saturdays in September from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Winnsboro Center for the Arts. Registration fee: $45 for all four classes. Call 903-342-0686 for more information. The Winnsboro Center for the Arts is located at 200 North Market Street, Winnsboro, TX.
EAST TEXAS BOOK FEST, September 25, 2009, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Ornelas Activity Center, Tyler, Texas. Registration forms were due September 1 or before. If you want to display and sell your books in that venue, but have not registered, it might be worth a call to
903-597-9111 to see if space is still available.
Virginia Brown, sister-in-law of Jackie Brown, sister of
Bob Brown, and NETWO member, has passed away. Poetry was Virginia’s favored writing and
some of her poems appeared in The Treasure Box. Online registration is at www.texarkanafuneralhome.com