Hello, folks! Another terrific meeting. Here's some announcements.
REJECT-A-RAMA is Saturday, February 10, at Al's at 7 p.m. If you did not receive a flyer at the meeting with details, it was mailed to you in snail-mail if I had your address. Otherwise, e-mail me and I'll send you some details if you're interested. BURN IT. BURN IT ALL!
NEW WEBSITE. Our domain should be going soon. I'm hoping to pin Nathan down early next week. Meantime, visit http://pencilswritingworkshop.googlepages.com/home.
CAPA-U IS MAY 12. It will fill up VERY fast. Their attendance is limited to 125. If you're interested, make sure you sign up. If you did not get a sign-up sheet, visit the Web site and download the form. They do accept credit cards. Capa's not the greatest, but it's wonderful practice, and you never know who you'll might meet. It's especially great if you're a total beginner and have never been to a conference with agents before. For me, it certainly took the fear out of things—it made me see they were real people.
OUR NEXT REGULAR MEETING IS FEBRUARY 13TH AT BORDERS. If you'd like a little extra, consider coming to AL'S TUESDAY, JAN. 30. We'll be having a round-table meeting. We try to do this when, because of the days in the month, there's a three-week layover.
NEW MEMBERS. Welcome, Eric and Terry! Let's hope they come back!
Now, on to the meeting!
1. Walt opened by reading "Looking for a New Job," which had an interesting twist. "I could have joshed him about how to fold the New York Times into a snug shelter half, could have given him a piece of chalk and a cup of instant soup so he could create his own soup line, or passed on a list of edible plants in Central Park. But I didn't."
2. Next up, our introduction to John Palisano's work with "The Good God." "Those notes are to the afterlife." Her expression changed as she folded it in half and handed it back to him. "You best put this back where you found it. Unless you want the mort-vivant to come looking for it."
3. Roger brought us the next chapter of How My Retirement Went South: "There is a God!": "As everyone expected, it turned out to be a major event attended by the likes of Sean Penn and Jude Law. If DISAPPOINTED was written on every grain of sand at the Jersey shore, it wouldn't begin to express how disappointed I was."
4. Jen Connic treated us to an essay she'd written on that day, "I Don't Give a Flying." (FUCK, of course!): "That's when I heard the f-bomb. It wasn't once. It wasn't even twice. It was three times mixed in with "shits" too."
5. NICE TO SEE YOU SHIRLEY GENDRON! Shirley's going to be taking a class on Tuesday nights and will re-join us in the summer.
6. Next up, Joyce, with another chapter from Venus Ascending entitled The Bennett Healing Institute (Day 1): "Estelle's flesh shuddered. I'm going to have to remove my bra? I came thinking I'd always be the one who'd massage. Now I'm going to have to remove my bra? She thought of Murray, shutting his eyes and turning away when he first saw her, post-surgery, bare."
7. Last up, Gerry Rivard. Pencils! was introduced to his work for the first time also. From "Delusions," a short story: "When she had finished her third glass, she wiped her wet face with a paper towel and breathed a sigh of relief. The water had helped to clear her mind, and now she was ready for her next patient. Smiling, she opened the door to her office to greet him. It was important to instill a sense of trust, right from the beginning."
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