WOW

(this was written on 2/15):

   I am heading for my writers group this morning. I went for my almost daily walk and wondered what I could contribute this month, or more likely, next month. What will I write about? I decided to talk about the writers group! I nearly ran the rest of the way home because I was so excited about it. Won’t they just love it!

   Yes, I am in a writers group, or a writers/editing/lunch group. Sometimes it is more writing and sometimes more lunch, well, if truth be told, it is always about lunch and some editing of the writing done that month by some or all of our members. We are a small group and think that works best for us. We are six strong women and we call ourselves WOW – Women on Wheels! More about that later.

   I met Susan about eight years ago after moving to Phoenix from San Antonio, Texas. I joined a local genealogy group and she was a member. We started a friendship. She eventually asked me if I wanted to join a writers group as they had just lost a couple of their members. I told her (of which she reminds me of quite frequently) that I didn’t have anything to write about. That possibility did NOT stop Susan. So, I said I would visit the group and decide then. Obviously, I enjoyed the ladies and joined – thinking that I was going to have to make up stories to write about – and fake the writing.

   As it turned out, I did have family stories to write about. I have certainly done more writing in these past seven years than I thought I had in me. I have published a few articles and started a blog for my family history and stories. I don’t get the writing done that I did in the early days of the blog, but still have many stories to go. And, I am writing my life story to share with my children someday.

   Each month we try to bring something we have written to be edited. We make a copy for each person and we take turns reading that person’s writing. We all have our strengths, weaknesses and areas of interest. I am probably the most fervent “genealogist” of the group and stick to family stories and the history of my family.

   Susan likes genealogy, but in reality she likes the genealogy because it gets her to the story she really wants to write. And find them she does. How many of us have two murders in our family history and a former Supreme Court Judge (Earl Warren) connected to one of them! She has published many of her family stories in a local Phoenix publication and one in northern California where her family settled for several generations. She self-published a book about ‘Horrifa the Witch’ for children, which was well-received. She authored a book about a young Arizona girl and her family from the late 1800s. This book won an award from the State. Denise is a former teacher for the blind and that is what she writes about, great stories about the lives she has changed.

   Ruth is a writer of wonderful stories about her family and always with a great sense of humor. She writes about chickens too. She has several books in her head, and we are working at getting her to put them on paper. Pris is another genealogist and is concentrating on writing about her family. She was left with information, stories and artifacts from her family which she is expanding upon. Her goal is a book for her children and grandchildren about their heritage. She also has published a few of her stories.

   Mary has inherited stories, diaries and information about her family too, especially from the early days of Arizona. She has written three ebooks of historical fiction about both the early days of the State and the LDS church. Her mother joined the church and Mary was brought up in that religion. She no longer practices the teachings of the church, but she has written about some of its history and beginnings in these books, with a fourth in the works. She is working on her life story too.

   We all wrote our own obituaries one month except one person, she was a little superstitious about doing it. We all have different editing strengths to bring to the table, even Denise who “listens” because of her blindness. It is amazing what she can catch that we don’t. Somehow it all works.

   We meet every month and have gotten to know each other quite well. We have been through a lot together. In those years, we have lost parents, husbands and, sadly, even children. We have celebrated, too - a wedding and the birth of great-grandchildren. We come from varied backgrounds but more similar than not. We are married, divorced and widowed. Some of us have children, some do not. We do a lot of laughing and have done our share of crying. Four are former teachers, one is a historian by education and worked for the State in that capacity. Me? I worked until my late 30s when children came along. I was fortunate to stay home with them and, as they left home, I pursued my genealogy. That still keeps me very busy.

    Why do we call ourselves WOW? We are Women on Wheels because we try to take at least one road trip a year - sometimes two. We have been to Tucson, Flagstaff, Coronado Island and Breckenridge, Colorado. There were many trips before and will hopefully be many more to come. We are ready for another getaway, so planning is on the agenda.