Indiana State Fair bird
The Riker's own Golden Pond.
Beautiful ladies!!!!
Salem Lighthouse
Donna Riker was our kind hostess for our meeting
last night August 10th. She procured 3 very tasty
Papa Murphy's pizza selections and she made a wonderful
tortellini salad with losts of healthy vegetables. We brought
our own beverages and we sat on her shady deck facing the
scenic lake. We had a nice turnout of 10 people.
These people attended- Donna R, Betsy, Julie, Sarah, Madeleine,
Nettie, Donna S, Nancy, Marsha, Kathy.
It seems we had all read the book and mostly all liked
it. What a difficult story to tell through the fractured mind
of a sexually abused child. The protagonist, Towner had
a split personality one of which was her twin who died at
birth. In order to cope with her abusive father she pretended
it was all happening to her twin. Only at the end did we realize
the twin did not exist. Marsha felt scammed while the rest
of us scrambled to re-read to better understand the
events. We all liked the strong women Eva, May and Ann
and their pro-active roles in the Salem Community with regard
to battered, troubled women. We felt that
the author certainly captured modern day Salem and it's
connection to the sea and the witchcraft of old as well as the
unique lace making industry. She also connected us historically
to the shipping industry, the shoe-making industry and the
freedom slave running which existed in that area.
We felt that Eva's house and gardens seem to
have a life of their own and could envision
it all in our minds' eyes.
We talked about how this could easily become a good movie.
Julie had bought a piece of lace in Brussels and we
may attempt a reading when next we meet. It was a fun
summer read with a little mystery and a shocking ending.
Marsha chose the next read, "When We Were Strangers"
by Pamela Schoenewaldt which is about a woman
who emigrates from Opi, a small Italian village in Abruzzo , to
America. No doubt the story must be about her ensuing hardships
and continuing connection to Opi.
We chose September 14th, for the next meeting.
It was difficult to work with upcoming trips. With the closure
of Uno's we will have to find a new venue.
Enjoy your new read and the rest of summer.
