Ding-dong rang the bell, interrupting my thoughts as I sat finishing up some last minute edits to the piece I would be sharing with my friends of the “Golden Quill.” I’ve heard the old saying “Even a blind dog gets a bone once in a while,” and I’m certain none of the original four that almost five years ago sat at a small restaurant planning our new supper writing club envisioned such a successful outcome.

This month we were delighted to have a new member, which, interestingly enough, gives our group two members named Sandy. Most, well now I that I think of it, all of the group are seniors. But not just any seniors mind you — very interesting and cool seniors! Seriously, the group is very diverse, and I consider myself blessed to have become acquainted with each one.

Soon the house filled with people of different backgrounds, educational levels, economic situations, and political persuasions. While our country is embroiled in an absolutely ridiculous political climate, our little group is proof that we can all come to understand and respect our differences.

I felt a satisfaction when I heard the noise level bumping up, not with bickering or trying to prove our individual beliefs were correct, but with a plethora of individual conversations discussing everything from vacation plans to upcoming events at our places of worship. Bursts of laughter splashed among the steady lilt of conversation like a bright spot of color on a canvas.

After a while, the smell of chili in the crockpot caused us to turn our thoughts toward one of the pleasures of life … food! Everyone brought a dish of something to share and soon our palettes yearned for a taste off the goodies. One of our members, Doug, blessed the food and we dug in. Grace gave me a knowing look and laughed when I asked the group to divide themselves into two groups of four and make their way to the tables. There was room for six people at one table, but that would mean the two additional people might feel left out. Grace is also a retired teacher and knows that occasionally the teacher in us bleeds over into other areas of life!

After dinner we sat around the fire and began to share. Our writing topic for this first meeting of 2019 was new beginnings, and most, but not all stuck to the topic. It is always fun to see what people come up with, and as usual we heard quite a variety. One of the Sandy’s is a great pianist so when one inspirational piece had the words faith of our fathers in it I immediately thought of the hymn by that name.

Since the flood last year my piano has been pretty badly in need of a tuning. I gave that a moment’s thought, but only a moment. Soon the sound of an out of tune piano and happy voices rang throughout the house. That’s my idea of a good time.

Jan Penton Miller can be reached at lilsisjan@yahoo.com.