THE REVIEW

SPRING AT LAST

Finally had some dry weather this week and there were five of us at the Meeting here on Wednesday. It was wonderful to see everyone!

Charity read first from “Trixie Trouble”. Trixie’s Ma saves her from any further beating by Mundy when she shoots him in the arm. Trixie is moved upstairs, the doctor is called, her wounds are addressed and she’s given morphine for the pain. When she’s healed enough to notice things, she sees a tattoo on her collarbone that hadn’t been there before, and knows her Ma has claimed her as her own and Trixie is furious. We are relieved Trixie isn’t being hurt anymore, but we want to know if she is being saved or if she’s being used?

Luke read to us about Goren and Galeena reaching the river, where he retrieves his boots and then they travel further, in search of his sister. As they proceed, Goren tires of Galeena constantly asking questions about everything. When they reach Tunnel Road, they discover the Inn has been destroyed and Galeena admits that is where she woke up in the earthquake that morning, something she remembers. Goren searches through bodies and ruins for his sister, but doesn’t find her. He and Galeena help others look for survivors in the ruins, and then also help bury bodies. This is a very sad chapter looking at the devastation after a natural disaster.

Darlene read to us more about Ethel and Ralph and the saga of watering restrictions. Due to all the protests about the restrictions, a public meeting is scheduled at the City Hall, where registered parties may voice their opinions. In a dress embroidered with vines and fruits, representing her love of gardening, Ethel heads to City Hall, with her husband protesting her attire and objectives. He sits in front and leaves her at the back of the room where she has a young man present her slides, showing the hypocrisy of the establishment. The whole meeting hilariously degenerates into total chaos. This is an excellent depiction of democratic foibles and follies.

Annette read to us about Maxine being in a hospital lounge, extremely upset that Jarod doesn’t remember her. Instead of going home, she drives to the big store where she works. Her boss, Carl, wants to know if she has left Jarod and when she says Jarod needs her, Carl really pushes her to dump the guy. In her present state, Carl won’t let her work out front, but sets her to work in the back of the store. When her cell phone rings, she sees it is the hospital calling. That was a good hook to end the chapter and keep readers turning the page. We have seen Maxine torn between wanting her freedom from a bad relationship, and feeling duty-bound to help a man who is not yet able to look after himself. That’s a tough dilemma.

After a previous discussion with Annette about murder stories and how to commit a perfect murder on paper, I decided to read my short story “Sandy The Sailor”. It’s about the older sister of a young exotic dancer who had committed suicide after contracting Aids from a sexual encounter she was forced to endure in order to collect her pay for dancing. To get revenge, the older sister takes up stripping and sets in motion the events that kill the evil bar owner. Darlene said it was a good story and I should send it out somewhere. Bryon had given me the details of how to engineer the murder. I wrote this about 15 years ago and hadn’t looked at it for at least 5 years. It’s amazing how much work I’ve collected through the years. Is that good or bad?

The next Meeting will be Wednesday, May 2nd at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. I know the sun is coming out before then, but don’t get sidetracked by it. Write on, Rams!!!

Lisa A. Hatton
Author