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Valley Writers Read 2010 Schedule

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35. September 1, 2010 -- Judith Gallardo “Choices”
    Gabriella Lawson reads “Choices,” Judith Gallardo's story is about Susan, who is shocked by the news that husband Brian is divorcing her. How is she going to manage by herself? With her “soft-lady-like” background will she be able to find a job? Make a living? Earn back her self-respect?
    


36. September 8, 2010 -- Joe Hemphill “The Quest For My Grade” and Patty O. Vaughn “Bicycle Smitty--The Hermit”
    In “The Quest For My Grade,” Joe Hemphill, who has cerebral palsy, tells of his struggle to get a grade for the class he took at college.
    In “Bicycle Smitty--The Hermit,” Patty O. Vaughn describes the life of a deaf hermit, nicknamed “Bicycle Smitty” who lives in a remote section of the Arizona desert.
    


37. September 15, 2010 -- Janet Nichols Lynch "Chest Pains"
    In "Chest Pains" teacher Gordon Clay is facing a mid-life crisis. His career is going nowhere and his social life leaves a lot to be desired. Even his cats seem to feel sorry for him. Oh well, what did he expect?
    


38. September 22, 2010 -- Burlee Vang "A Necessary Trip"
    In "A Necessary Trip" a father takes his rebellious son to Laos in order to rehabilitate him.
    


39. September 29, 2010 -- Judy Ryan "Sunday Want Meetings"
    In "Sunday Want Meetings" an older sister takes charge of her siblings after their mother's death. The family gathers every Sunday to talk about what they really want out of life.
    


40. October 6, 2010 -- Howard Hendrix "Encounter at Totality"
    In Howard's story, we're fast-forwarded 32 years into the future where workers on a "space elevator" encounter a winged creature from the Celestial city.
    


41. October 13, 2010 -- Naoma Hayes "Steppin' High" & Susan Reep "Sunset"
    In "Steppin' High," Naoma Hays recalls her experience trying out for drum major in high school.
    In "Sunset," a daughter deals with the decline of her aging parents.
    


42. October 20, 2010 -- Terry Phillips "The April Fool"
    Chronicles of a foreign war correspondent as the author details adventures in Russia, Iraq and Haiti.
    


43. October 27, 2010 -- Charlotte Abrams "Everybody's got Troubles"
    Mattie's husband has passed away, and now she must deal with well meaning friends, scam artists, financial advisors and most important of all - her loneliness.
    


44. November 3, 2010 -- Franz Weinschenk "Sixty Years of Teaching"
    A memoir of a long career as an educator and administrator at Fresno City College.
    


45. November 10, 2010 -- Deb Borofka "Ordinary Grief"
    A tale of love and loss. The author first deals with the death of a family member and then the loss of an adopted stray cat.
    


46. November 17, 2010 -- Barbara Link "Yellow Airplane"
    In "Yellow Airplane," Barbara Link introduces us to a precocious teenager, Dessie, whose older brother just gave her the ride of her life in their dad’s yellow Piper Cub. After he leaves for the Air Force, she can’t wait to be old enough the fly the plane herself.
    


47. November 24, 2010 -- Marilyn Larson -- "My Stuga"
    In "My Stuga," Marilyn Larson tells the story of fourth-grader John and his strict parents. His mom caught him peeking in on her through the bathroom window. His dad is the principal of the grammar school he goes to. After visiting his cousins at Christmas time, he doesn’t want to go home.
    


48. December 1, 2010 -- Bonnie Hearn Hill "Black Moon Lilith"
    In "Black Moon Lilith," Lily who was abducted as a young child and enlisted into a gang of shop lifters, does her job with daring and skill. But ever since Elise got in trouble with Brownie, the leader of the gang, she’s thinking about changing her life.
    


49. December 8, 2010 -- John Walke --"Escaping Karachi"
    In "Escaping Karachi," John Walke remembers the great "partition" which separated India from Pakistan. The story describes how Derek’s family moved from New Delhi to Karachi.
    


50. December 15, 2010 -- Mary Lee Gowland "Daisies"
    In "Daisies," Mary Lee Gowland remembers her childhood with two great parents in Malibu Beach practically on the beach next to the Pacific Ocean. Her mom was very supportive, and her dad, a professional photographer, had many Hollywood stars as clients. At the end of her piece, she dedicates a poem to him.
    


51. December 22, 2010 -- James Benelli --"Spaghetti Farming In Kansas"
    In "Spaghetti Farming in Kansas" James Benelli tells the story of one of the richest men in America, J. Worthmore, buying a spaghetti farm right next to one owned by T. Boone Pickins in Kansas.
    


52. December 29, 2010 -- Valerie Schultz "My Name Is Sonia S."
    In "My Name is Sonia S," Valerie Schultz tells the story of a Sonia, a 13-year whose father is an alcoholic. He misses her birthday party so he could go drinking, has a big fight with her mom. But when he starts to beat up on her little brother, Sonia calls 911 on the cell phone she had stolen at school.