A Quick Retreat
by Carrie Marsh
I watched anxiously all the reports on TV about the fire in the mountains of Arizona. I was concerned about the destruction of the beautiful trees and personal property. But there was more on my mind than the scenery. WHAT WERE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT THE RETREAT? I have my own priorities, I'm afraid.
Our quick-thinking presidency was on the job, and found a place—although much less scenic—for our weekend gathering. The 2002 Retreat was held at Sequoia School in Mesa, Arizona, on July 11-13.
Connie White and Margaret Turley received prizes for getting their money in early, and Karen Cantrill and Nan Turner won the prize for traveling the farthest—from San Antonio, Texas!
There was plenty of free time to work on writing or making new friends, and there may have been a few extra pounds added to some of our waistlines. All in all, it was a successful and fun time for all who attended.
There were several classes to help us get our creative juices flowing. General President Theresa Sneed began the Retreat by leading us in a memory exercise, using drawings and prose to describe events in our lives. Delsa Anderson reminded us that a good writer always checks unfamiliar words in the dictionary, instead of relying upon spell-check! Linda Whiting compared the skills necessary for descriptive writing to the tools of the artist. Karen Cantrill led us in a poetry-writing exercise—the results were...well, strange. Carrie Marsh gave the group five words to include in a story. Some of the excerpts are included in this newsletter.
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