Karen Evans

October roll call

149 words

This room is filled with talent.

Through the years I have listened to Paula’s real-life love story that took place at the YMCA. Then Peggy described an innocent grandmother who baked chocolate chip cookies, and I kept thinking all the while she would add a poisonous ingredient. I heard the symphony hall break out with laughter, as Jim read the poem about losing his swimming trunks in the water.

 My friend, Cathy, invited me to my first meeting. I’d written by ear for most of my life, much like playing the piano without any lessons. Here, I learned that commas matter.

This room is filled with knowledge.

So, look around. The person sitting next to you makes a regular practice of reaching inside their chest, taking the beating heart in hand, breaking it open, and spilling out the words onto the blank page.

They are my kind of people.