From Mark

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Kind, Sweet, Dutiful.  That's all that I can say, and that's all that needs to be said. (about Terri)

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From Ada

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TERRI TRIBUTE

 

I first became aware of the BJWG when Brenda Barrie (think that was her name) was in charge but I didn’t officially join until Terri was the leader.   Not sure of dates (I can ask Mike when that was).

I think I lucked out because she was such a mensch & a great leader.  There were more of us & more diversity in the group but she never lost her cool though there were members, probably including myself, who did press her at times.  She was professional yet warm.  A funny and a gifted writer on her own she came up with great projects for us to do.  Her critiques were insightful and helpful and always given with a gentle hand and word.

 

I looked forward to seeing her smile in her beautiful face and missed her leadership.  When she got sick it was devastating for us but nothing compared to what it must have been for her & Mike, her ever devoted husband.

 

I made it a point to visit her when I came to Maryland, not knowing it would be the last time I would see her.  I hope that after her interminable fight she is finally at peace - Avah Shalom - she was proud of her Judaism.

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From Edy

Well, here we are back together.  We can't mute through the discussions we're bored with, we can't hide ourselves when we are in our p.j. s and  our husbands walk past us in their boxers.

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It is sweet salvation to finally laugh and talk and reminisce about Terri and what she brought to the group.

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We have a new fearless  leader (thank you Diane) and a guest from New York (crazy, busy Ada).

We had Kosher food served by a nastiesh (not a typo) person and meals alongside "black hats".

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But it's good to see Lou in his rainhat, Mark in his polo shirt, Marlene with her catchy laugh and Linda (our fearless teacher) who diligently crosses through words and punctuates our sentences.

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And then there  is me, always trying to be the group clown.

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I don't care, laughter with you guys is worth the effort to get here.

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From Diane

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When I walked into the Beit Midrash at the Owings Mills JCC, the lovely large lady was sitting at the double-sized conference table. "Welcome to the Baltimore Jewish Writers Guild," she said with a radiant smile. I could see she had a way of making everyone feel warm and welcome. She presided over the meeting of the eight of us with grace, allowing everyone to speak, critiquing writing delicately, and never raising her voice when things might get a little heated. It was only months later that I noticed the wheelchair behind her. Someone told me that her husband brought her to the meetings, and she moved to a seat before we arrived because she didn't want us to see her in the wheelchair.

 

That's silly, I thought. We don't care what she sits in.

 

Mostly because of her, I came the next month, the month after, the month after that, and so on. One time after I mentioned I was writing a Purim Shpiel, the next meeting she gave out a document with script-writing information.

 

She always kept our group updated on happenings related to writing within our community, events that I knew nothing about.

 

When someone asked about how to include family members in a story without offending them, Terri used her own book as an example. "The Scarf Maven Ties One On" sounded like an interesting book that I am adding to my "must read" list. I even thought the title was adorable. I could tell from the discussion that she was a good writer.

 

One day she instructed us to "put a dot in the middle of your paper." Then she said, "Now write about what you see on your paper." When we discussed our writing exercise, she noted that everyone wrote about the dot, but no one wrote about the white space." What an insightful lesson. If only I had paid closer to attention to the white on her paper. Maybe I would have realized that her time with us was limited.

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