Monday, December 21, 2015

CWC-BB Members Featured in Nepalese Magazine

 
CALIFORNIA WRITERS CLUB MEMBERS FEATURED IN NEPALESE MAGAZINE


Articles by California Writers Club-Berkeley Branch members Kristen Caven and Sheryl Bize-Boutte have been published in Chicago Newa, the “flagship magazine of the Newa American Dabu” a non-profit organization representing Napalese people in the U.S. and overseas.  Kristen and Dr. Louise Hart’s “The Powerful Role of Parents” and Sheryl’s “As the Crow Flies: A Lesson in Workplace Integrity” appear in the 2015
fifth edition of the annual publication.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Monday, December 7, 2015

HAPPY HAPPY AND MERRY MERRY!

Mommy and Oly

Mommy liked a cold beer every now and then.  Her favorite was Olympia.  I never could stand the taste of it, but  I would often, even into adulthood, ask her for that first cold sip just because the look on her face made it look so good.  She would always give me what was probably the best part of the drink, that initial satisfying swallow that would not be duplicated until the next tab was popped.  That small yet meaningful sacrifice was just one example of who she was.  That unforgettable sip was how she gave to me and to others, even if it meant giving the best away.

The day after Mommy died in 1981, Daddy removed the empty beer cans from the recycling bin and gave them to me.

They have been ornaments of loving memory on our Christmas tree ever since.
 



FROM OUR HOME TO YOUR HOME
HAPPY HAPPY AND MERRY MERRY!  

 BLESSINGS TO YOU AND YOURS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

WATCHING TV AND STYLING: 1972 ALDEN'S CATALOG

WATCHING TV AND STYLING!  

1972 ALDEN'S CATALOG


Hey, where's the remote?

Looking boss and out of sight!

Friday, July 3, 2015

THOUGHT I WOULD RE-POST TO WISH YOU A HAPPY AND SAFE FOURTH OF JULY!

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BUYING THE COW AND THE FOURTH OF JULY
 by
 Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte 


It is the 1950’s and the Friday before the Fourth of July.  At our house, this holiday was almost a big as Christmas.  And since it was also the first of the month and payday, the men of the neighborhood would stop off after work to fill their gas tanks, buy their spirits and beers of choice, a carton of cigarettes, and plenty of charcoal for the coming celebrations.  At the same time, the women would get off work and head to the meat market to buy pork ribs and chicken, and then to the supermarket to buy the ingredients for the macaroni and cheese, potato salad and deviled eggs that would be the main side dishes for the big day.  The beef that would be laid on the freshly cleaned grills was not included in this last minute buying frenzy because everyone had already bought the cow.

The annual buying of the cow was a tradition in many neighborhoods and ours during those days.  Usually it was limited to 2 or 3 participants per cow to assure the maximum amount of good cuts for the money.  The orders were usually placed in early spring with the proceeds from the tax return, and if one had a small family, beef would be a featured dinner menu item at least once a week for an entire year.  Everyone had an upright freezer in the garage to hold the bounty of steaks, roasts, ribs and what always seemed to be an overabundance of hamburger.

Back then, I knew times were good when I had new skates, the end of June was upon us, and I heard Mommy say to Daddy, “ Mr. Crenshaw is going to deliver the cow on Tuesday.”   Then Tuesday would arrive and Mr. Crenshaw would pull up to the front of the house in his white paneled van filled with his cow deliveries for the day.  We would all run out to the curb, and Daddy would roll out the wheelbarrow, check his neatly stacked order, and along with Mr. Crenshaw, begin to unload.  We helped by carrying whatever did not fit into the wheelbarrow into the garage.  Mommy would instruct us on how to load the packages into the freezer; roasts on one side, ribs in the middle and hamburger in one of the separate bins.  When the last blast of cold air escaped as we closed the lid on that full freezer, we felt prosperous and secure.

Soon the preparations for the big day would begin. Although we were in an urban setting, it was not unusual to see a fire pit being dug in someone’s backyard and spits being erected by the resident bbq engineer.  If the party was at our house, as it often was, Daddy and his friends would begin cooking the night before. The night air would be filled with their laughter punctuating the stories they would tell, along with the sweet smells of mesquite and Daddy’s secret sauce.  We would be “on call” to bring Daddy the forks, spoons, pans, and seasonings he always forgot and would request one by one.

On the holiday, our backyard would be filled with people coming and going from the early morning to the dawning of the next day.  We ate, laughed and danced to the music of the times and tunes from back in the day. The aura coming from those parties would sometimes draw strangers who were just passing by or neighbors we had not yet met.  It seemed everyone wanted to be a part of the magic.

We moved twice after the first party I remember in the 1950’s and in different backyards, Fourth of July bbq’s continued at my parent’s house for more than 25 years.  During that time, sons-in-law, grandchildren, disc jockeys and live bands would be added the mix.  Somewhere along the way, the tradition of getting together to buy the cow would disappear.  But as long as they were able, many of the same people who joined in that purchase in the 1950’s joined with us in the backyards of the 1960’s and 1970’s. 

 And each year, with the stars and stripes waving in the gentle summer breeze and the fireworks exploding in the night sky, we were happy to be together, once again.


 Excerpted From 
"A Dollar Five-Stories From A Baby Boomer's Ongoing Journey"

copyright©2014 by Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte

Available at Amazon.com and other major booksellers 



Tuesday, June 16, 2015

A GREAT SUMMER READ

GREAT SUMMER READ


A dynamic collection of stories perfect for a day at the beach, that chair under your favorite tree, or stealing away at the family picnic.  Buy the paperback or download your copy today and join in this journey sure to bring a smile to the heart, mind and spirit. 






http://www.amazon.com/Dollar-Five-Stories-Boomers-Ongoing-ebook/dp/B00KEWHKR0/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

Thursday, February 26, 2015

THE POSITIVE REVIEWS CONTINUE

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 LATEST REVIEW
 OF
 A DOLLAR FIVE-
STORIES FROM A BABY BOOMER’S ONGOING JOURNEY”

“These stories became more and more beguiling as I read. She touches lightly on Jim Crow in the Fifties and the Sixties and somehow emerges more intact than you would expect, because there must have been more incidents affecting her than she gives away. She describes her mother lovingly and her father as a somewhat stern yet caring man. The family's historic barbecues, their drive down the hairpin curves of San Francisco's famed Lombard Street, The Crookedest Street In The World, her triumph over dissecting a frog and the teacher, Miss Cook giving her the foundation for college and a profession, her Great Aunt Mary who hid her car from her employers because they were not to know she could afford one and did not need their handouts of cast-off clothes and leftover food, all these paint a picture of Sheryl Bize-Boutte's childhood in both light and shadowy landscapes.”   

L.B., Oakland, California, 2/21/2015


AVAILABLE AT AMAZON.COM AND OTHER BOOKSELLERS









Monday, January 12, 2015